Category: fiction

Summer of the Tree Army: A Civilian Conservation Corps Story
by Gloria Whelan (Author) and Kirbi Fagan (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: When young Charlie Brightelot first spies the mysterious barracks in the woods near his home, he’s not sure what to think. His father explains that the barracks will soon house young men serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the work relief program to help employ millions of young men during the Great Depression. Not everyone is happy to see these young men and Charlie’s father questions their value. But when a fire threatens the forest, Roosevelt’s “Tree Army” springs into action.

Snippet: It wasn’t until August when Charlie peeked through the tees and saw a group of young men. They were on a truck full of small trees.

Charlie followed the truck through the woods to a place where there had been a forest fire. Dead trees rose like skeletons. Charlie watched as the men planted a tiny tree near each dead one.

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Bea by the Sea
by Jo Byatt (Author / Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

Booktalk: Bea loves lions and knows everything there is to know about them. She lives by the beach, but she doesn’t like sand one little bit! One day, her mother persuades her to visit the beach, where she meets a sand sculpture of a lion who is afraid of water. Their developing friendship helps each of them to overcome their anxieties, but the next day the lion has disappeared! How will Bea cope?

Snippet: “Wow!” exclaimed Mom. “Look at all those sand sculptures! They’re amazing!”

But Bea was far too busy not touching the sand.

Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.