The Littlest Bigfoot

The Littlest Bigfoot
by Jennifer Weiner
304 pages, ages 8-12
Aladdin, 2016

Twelve-year-old Alice doesn't fit it . She's big, ungainly, and her hair is wild and sproingy - no matter how many clips or scrunchies she uses to tame it.

Now she's been shipped her off to her eighth boarding school in as many years. This one's an experimental school in Upstate New York, a converted campground where hippies-turned-teachers refer to students as "learners" and school lunches are full of whole grains and kale. It is a place where everyone is accepted and their differences celebrated. At least that's what it says on the brochure.

Millie Maximus doesn't fit in. She is too small and her hair is too white and fine. Sometimes she wonders if she really is a Bigfoot - or Yare, as the clan call themselves. Millie loves to sing and her secret wish is that she will be discovered and sing on TV. She's insatiably curious about the "no furs" and wonders what her life would be like if she weren't so furry. Her curiosity drives her to steal a canoe and paddle across the lake, and her actions put her entire clan at risk.

Jeremy Bigelow doesn't fit it. A seventh-grader at Standish Middle School, he  is a nerd with single-minded passion: to find a Bigfoot. There are local legends about Bigfoot in the area, and years ago one was captured and put in a circus. When he is invited to join an underground group of Bigfoot hunters, his dreams come true: he discovers evidence that there are Bigfoot in the area. Now all he has to do is prove it!

This is a wonderful adventure about friendship and finding your place in the world. Check out a video and read an excerpt from Littlest Bigfoot here. 

We'll be hanging out on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Hop over to see what other people are reading.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

Thanksgiving Reading

Today's Theme: Holidays! Especially Thanksgiving.
Next week we gather together to share food and stories. If you're looking for some good tales, try these... I headed down to the local library for a couple old favorites. Nothing better than reading a story (or listening to one) while waiting for pie.

The Legend of the Cranberry: A Paleo-Indian Tale

by Ellin Greene

This is a retelling of a Delaware Indian legend in which the Great Spirit created Mastadon-like “Yah-qua-whee” to be the People’s helpers and friends.  “For many years they carried the people’s belongings on their long journey to the sea, helped them to clear the forests, provided meat to eat, hides for clothing, and bones for tent frames, beads and musical instruments.”

But when they come to the place where the land ends and the sea begins, the Yah-qua-whee go on a rampage, trampling and destroying everything. The People, the smaller animals and the Great Spirit join together to fight the huge giants. There is a huge battle and the ground is churned up into a muddy bog with much blood spilled.  In the spring, the bogs where the mastodons were buried bloomed pink with blossoms that ripened into bitter-tasting blood red berries. The people discovered that the berries could be crushed and mixed with dried meat and fat to make pemmican. Poultices from the berries helped heal wounds, and the juice of the berries made a rich dye for clothing. Thousands of years later, descendants of those People offered berries to hungry Pilgrims.

If you are looking for a different sort of holiday book, check out An Outlaw Thanksgiving by Emily McCully.  It's based on a true incident in the 1890's Wild West, when Butch Cassidy and his gang threw a Thanksgiving banquet for the ranching community that was their favorite "hideout". McCully imagines this feast through the eyes of a young girl traveling from New York state to California. A blizzard stops the train and Clara ends up sharing dinner with Butch and the gang. Puts a different twist on the whole idea of cooking up a turkey and "inviting the gang over".

Activities ~ Make some Cranberry Ink! When soldiers in the Civil War ran out of ink to send home letters to their loved ones, they smooshed up some berries and used the juice as ink. You can use cranberries - the recipe's over at Archimedes Notebook.

Today's review is part of PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copies obtained from a library.

Molly by Golly!

Molly, by Golly!

by Dianne Ochiltree; illus. by Kathleen Kemly

32 pages, ages 7 – 10

Calkins Creek, 2012

Molly Williams whips up hasty pudding, chicken roly-poly and johnnycakes for the volunteers of New York City’s Fire Company No. 11. But one wintry day, when snow covered the streets and flu had laid many of the volunteer firefighters low, church bells clanged out a fire alarm. Molly wrapped her shawl around he shoulders and headed outside to help any way she could.

In 1818, New York City is still a small town. Volunteers and townspeople spill into the street to lend a hand battling the blaze. People toss leather buckets to the streets below for the “bucket brigade”. Molly jumps into action, helping push the pumper engine through snowdrifts, cranking the long pump handles, and pulling down bits of burning roof with a long iron hook. And, according to legend, became the first female firefighter in the United States.

Though legend, there’s a lot of history in this book: info-packed back pages and historically accurate illustrations. This is a great book for any kid whose dad – or mom – is a volunteer on the local squad, and for anyone who thinks they want to drive a fire engine when they grow up.

Review copy from publisher.