Random Randomness

Sometimes I get a pile of books from the public library and don't even know what I was thinking. Last night was like that.

Maclear, Kyo. Spork.
Spork is a combination of his parents, a spoon and a fork, and doesn't fit in with the other utensils until a small child arrives at the house and he turns out to be the perfect eating implement.

Strengths: Interesting way to present multiculturalism for the picture book crowd.
Weaknesses: I expected a bit more of a message that just wasn't there. Don't know what, but felt vague sense of being incomplete after reading.

Griffin, Adele. The Julian Game.
From the publisher: "In an effort to improve her social status, a new scholarship student at an exclusive girls' school uses a fake online profile to help a popular girl get back at her ex-boyfriend, but the consequences are difficult to handle. "

More of a high school book? Maybe the ending was slow. The cover disturbed me deeply? Just couldn't get into this one, and can't explain why. Picky Reader also didn't get more than a few pages, although that's common.


Black, Tracy. How I Made it to Eighteen.
Graphic novel format. Chronicles, in slightly fictionalized form, how the author struggled with depression, bulimia, and other problems when she was a young adult. Probably a must for high schools with manga loving, emotionally disturbed students, but it was too intense for middle school. (Language and situations.)

Also got another cupcake book out from the library, and wonder how my library ended up with so many British imports. Fascinating what candies they use for decorating that are not available here, but not exactly useful to my students.