Friedman Foundation Children's Room
New Books and Resources!
It's January 1986. The launch of the Challenger is just weeks away, and Cash, Fitch, and Bird Nelson Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware.
Cash loves basketball, Dr. J, and a girl named Penny; he's also in danger of failing seventh grade for a second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade and wrestles with an explosive temper that he doesn't understand. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA's first female shuttle commander, but feels like she's disappearing.
The Nelson Thomas siblings exist in their own orbits, circling a tense, crowded, and unpredictable household, dreaming of escape, dreaming of the future, dreaming of space. They have little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga—a failed applicant to the Teacher in Space program—who encourages her students to live vicariously through the launch. Cash and Fitch take a passive interest, but Bird builds her dreams around it. When the fated day arrives, it changes everything
Some people can do their homework. Some people get to have crushes on boys. Some people have other things they’ve got to do.
Seventh-grader Zoey has her hands full as she takes care of her much younger siblings after school every day while her mom works her shift at the pizza parlor. Not that her mom seems to appreciate it. At least there’s Lenny, her mom’s boyfriend—they all get to live in his nice, clean trailer. At school, Zoey tries to stay under the radar. Her only friend Fuchsia has her own issues, and since they’re in an entirely different world than the rich kids, it’s best if no one notices them. Zoey thinks how much easier everything would be if she were an octopus: eight arms to do eight things at once. Incredible camouflage ability and steady, unblinking vision. Powerful protective defenses.Unfortunately, she’s not totally invisible, and one of her teachers forces her to join the debate club. Even though Zoey resists participating, debate ultimately leads her to see things in a new way: her mom’s relationship with Lenny, Fuchsia’s situation, and her own place in this town of people who think they’re better than her. Can Zoey find the courage to speak up, even if it means risking the most stable home she’s ever had?
When Regina's mother heads off to hunt, she tells her little dinosaur: stay in the nest and be mama's good little carnivore. But just who is she calling little?! Regina is big! And she has all the tools to hunt herself: a fear-inducing predator stare, a terrifying roar, and an uncanny ability to camouflage. And so Regina sets off on her first real hunt, all alone. ROAR! Along the way, she meets some truly huge dinosaurs, and hilariously, and miserably, fails at catching anything. What if she has to live her life as an.... herbivore?! Little kids everywhere will recognize themselves in Andrea Zuill's intrepid young dino--eager for independence, but still very much needing the safety and comfort of home.
WEB RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
Windham County Parent Resource Calendar
The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award Booklists for Vermont Students Grades 4-8
Red Clover Book Award Booklists for Vermont Students Grades K-3
