SUNSHINE: HOW ONE CAMP TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE, DEATH, AND HOPE by Jarrett J. Krosoczka If you are looking for a moving graphic biography then you will want to check out Sunshine by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. This tear jerker of a book tells the story of a summer Jarrett spent as a counselor at a camp for kids that have cancer. Initially, Jarrett expects that it's going to be a depressing summer surrounded by all these kids dealing with such serious life situations. Instead, he finds a camp that desires to give these kids a real camp experience, and most of these kids are ready for it. They're tired of always being the person that everyone feels sorry for. At camp, everyone is in the same boat. What they're experiencing is the norm. It's the healthy people that are the exception. The relationships that Jarrett forms are ones that affect him for the rest of his life. I can attest personally to this, because I worked my high school summers at a camp for the disabled. HEADS UP- There are a handful of profanities. (No F-bombs.) At the start of the story the teachers lay down the law to the counselors - boys in the boys' cabin, girls in the girls' cabin. When one of the smart mouth kids asks "why" the teacher responds that they don't need any girls going home pregnant.

WILD PLACES: THE LIFE OF NATURALIST DAVID ATTENBOROUGH by Hayley Rocco. Illustrated by John Rocco. British naturalist David Attenborough dedicated his life to taking people into all the wild places that most could never visit. He brought them face to face with animals in their natural habitats, so they could see how the animals lived. How did Attenborough begin this amazing journey? Hayley and John Rocco tell his story in the gorgeous picture book, Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough. After spending so much time in nature, David noticed that the wild places were disappearing. He now dedicates his life to restoring these natural treasures. HEADS UP- There is a reference to millions of years in this picture book.

DOGS ON THE TRAIL by Blair Braverman I don't know if you guys recently caught the Iditarod.i have loved the idea of the amazing race since I first heard about it. This year's race began March 3. First place winner, Dallas Seavey, is a 37-year-old Alaskan native, and this was his 6th time winning this famous dogsled race! He finished the race in 9 days, 2 hours, 16 minutes, and eight seconds. His winnings? $55,000.00. I recently read a beautiful picture book biography entitled Dogs on the Trail: A Year in the Life by Blair Braverman and Quince Mountain. This 143 page book takes you through the seasons of the year and what sled dogs are doing during those seasons. It explains what a sled dog is exactly and the special care it takes to have these amazingly athletic dogs. It showcases the dogs' individual personalities and gives the reader a chance to get to know them. The book is very well done and pictures are gorgeous. HEADS UP- Now, with what I am about to say next, we aren't going to comment directly about this in the comments. This is a very hot topic in our world and the goal of this page is not to fight with each other, but to help you have information. Sometimes we don't learn about authors themselves until we get home and read the bios. Some of you may have been familiar with the names and already know where I am going with this. I was not.These authors are married to each other. Quince is the "first openly transgender musher in the Iditarod." Quince was not originally born a male, but has since undergone procedures. I am just going to say I would not have guessed it from the pictures in the book. None of this is expressed in the book itself, but I want you to be aware so you can decide what books fit your family. We'll just leave it at that.

THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS: BOY MEETS SQUIRRELS by Mike Nawrocki In Book 2 of Mike Nawrocki's clever, but fun, Dead Sea Squirrels series, Boy Meets Squirrels, Michael is back, and he has a new problem to figure out. Edgar, the school bully, is targeting him. Michael wants to take matters into his own hands and get even, but the squirrels have some different advice they heard once from Jesus in The Sermon on the Mount. This series continues to be a humorous way at learning some great truths!

BEAR FINDS EGG by Karma Wilson. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. If you're a fan of Karma Wilson's Bear series, her newest edition, Bear Finds Eggs, won't disappoint. (If you aren't familiar with her books, you'll want to check them out!) While it has a bit of an Easter feel (in fact someone in my family knows how much I love books and tucked this in my Easter basket! ), it overwhelmingly has a feeling of Spring as Bear and his friends discover eggs that are about to hatch. Wilson's marvelous rhyming text invokes a singsong feeling as Jane Chapman's delightful illustrations are a feast for the reader's eyes. Everyone will enjoy the super sweet ending!

ECLIPSE by Kelsey Oseid Eclipse: Our Sky's Most Dazzling Phenomenon by Kelsey Oseid is a GREAT book to get your hands on if you are into the upcoming eclipse. Measuring just over 6"x6", with 97 pages of text, this little book is packed with lots of great information. Covering topics such as eclipses mentioned in history, mythology, basic terminology explained in easy to understand terms, different types of eclipses, eclipse chasers and more, this little book presents a feast for you to choose from without feeling overwhelming. (I'll give you a peek at it in the comments!) Filling the pages are Oseid's wonderful illustrations. They bring about a folksy feeling to the book and make it feel more welcoming and less text bookish. They're probably one of the reasons the book went home with me. HEADS UP- There are some brief mentions of evolutionary thought.  In one of the myth explanations " the sun and moon are depicted as lovers, meeting only in the darkness of a total solar eclipse so that we cannot watch their rare union." At one point Oseid tries to give an explanation on the Biblical accounts of the sun standing still as possibly stemming from an "optical illusion."

THE COMFORT OF CROWS: A BACKYARD YEAR by Margaret Renkl The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl is a book that speaks my language. If you are the type of person that loves watching nature go through its seasonal transformations or if you are the type of person that enjoys watching the habits of animals in their natural surroundings, then this book is for you. Renkl sets her book up in four parts. Each part is dedicated to a season. Within that season she divides her writing into 13 weeks and tells about the natural happenings around her home. Included in the natural happenings are the seasons of life that she is facing as her children "leave the nest."  I began this book before we officially crossed from winter into spring here in Ohio. I thought it would be a fun one to read as the year progressed, but I found that it was a book that I was drawn to, especially in the evenings when life was quieting down. Since it is divided into weeks, it is a book that was easy to pick up and put down without feeling like I'd lost a story line. At the beginning of each week, artist Billy Renkl (the author's brother) has included a beautiful piece of artwork depicting parts of Margaret's writings. The pictures are delightful and give the book the feel of a field guide of sorts. I really enjoyed having the concrete divisions between the weeks that gave the book an overall feeling of individual parts. HEADS UP- There was a mention of billions of years a time or two, but Renkl's focus is on what is currently unfolding in her yard in front of her.

FERRIS by Kate DiCamillo Ferris by Kate DiCamillo takes a different approach than her usual books. It starts with a family. A family that is not perfect, but they love each other tremendously. Ferris, whose real name is Emma Phineas Wilkey, was born under a Ferris wheel at the local fairgrounds. Experiences that surround her are typically unforgettable and that includes the summer before fifth grade. It was that summer that Uncle Ted and Aunt Shirley split over the fact that he wanted to paint a history of the world and moved into their basement. It was that summer that Grandma Charisse started seeing a ghost that needed help, and Ferris didn't think she was making it up. It was that summer Ferris's little sister (think of a Ramona Quimby type character but to the next level) decided she wanted to be an outlaw, so she attempted to hold up a bank. It was also that summer that Ferris discovered that she could trick bees and raccoons. But I think (so this is me speaking) what Ferris discovered most of all through her summer, is that she could choose to do things that brought people together. There are some very moving parts in Ferris's story, and there are some down right laugh out loud funny parts. And you may have a comment or two on some parenting. HEADS UP- There are two things to talk about here. One is the ghost. It is not a scary ghost. SPOILER ALERT The ghost is the wife of a man that died in war. Before he left, he ordered his wife a chandelier from Paris. She never lit the candles on it when he didn't come home. She regrets it now and wants to see it lit, so he can find his way home. Second is that on two occasions in the story, Ferris is around animals and pretends she isn't there so maybe they won't see her. This gives her an out of body experience where she can see down on her family. The book doesn't tell how she's able to do this. There is no magical element to it. It is a little hard to understand why DiCamillo put it in. It does give Ferris the ability to view her family in their entirety, and it saves her sister's life.

SURVIVNG SAVANNAH by Patti Callahan In Surviving Savannah, author Patti Callahan pens a moving historical fiction based on the true event of the sinking of the steamship the Pulaski. Reminiscent of the sinking of the Titanic, the Pulaski was a luxury boat moving wealthy families from Savannah to Baltimore, so they could escape the sweltering summer heat. When a boiler explodes, the ship quickly becomes a sinking vessel of death which claims the lives of many people including entire families. Similar to the Titanic, there were not enough lifeboats for everyone. The ship sank to the bottom of the ocean along with lots of treasures from the wealthy families and was never found.... until now. Intertwined in this story from the past, is the present day story of Everly Winthrop. Born into a wealthy Savannah family, Everly was raised with the story of the Pulaski. After the wreckage is found, she is asked to help curate the museum display that will tell the story of so many lost lives that still touch the people of Savannah today. She struggles with the weight of this task as she has recently experienced a loss that she can't let go of. HEADS UP- Surprisingly, there is a fair amount of profanity in this book (no F bombs). While the story itself is very good, the added language is so unnecessary that it gives it a feel of being added just to have it. There is also a comment about Everly having someone in her bed.

COLD-CASE CHRISTIANITY FOR KIDS by J. Warner Wallace and Susie Wallace Recently, we finished up Cold-Case Christianity For Kids by J. Warner and Susie Wallace in our family devotions. This book about Christ takes a different approach than typical Christian books do. Authored by a true blue, cold-case detective, J. Warner Wallace treats this like a case that he is reopening to solve. What does he want to know? He wants to know if the story of Christ and what he did is true or false. Wallace takes us through the steps of investigation, gathering evidence, witness testimony, crime scenes, and more. It's a very interesting way to study Christ and what he did for us. Highly recommend!

ELIJAH'S EASTER SUIT by Brentom Jackson. Illustrated by Emmanuel Boateng. Typically Easter Sunday is a day that most people take a little more consideration in their church attire (if that's not you, no shame here!). Spring colored items are pulled out of storage or new clothing shopped for as we prepare to celebrate our risen Lord and the arrival of spring. Elijah's Easter Suit tracks Elijah's search for the perfect outfit. Now, I'm going to put a little pause in here. There is a part of this book that makes me cringe a bit. His desire to do this is because the pastor acknowledges from the pulpit and the church applauds one person who wears something "spectacular." I almost quit the book right there. What kept me going was the remembrance of what his suit looked like on the front cover, so hang on to that picture. Despite searching all over town Elijah cannot find the right suit. When sharing this with some of the older church members they tell him "it's not about winning a competition", but " it's about remembering their culture." These older church elders share about a time they had to make their clothes, because they were not allowed in stores. Armed with this new info, Elijah goes home and collects fabric from memorable people and events in his life and fashions his suit. I think you can guess how the book wraps up from here, but I do want to mention the Author's Notes in the back. He traces the desire to dress up for African Americans back to slave days when Sunday was the only day other clothing could be worn than slave cloth. He goes through segregation when it was difficult to shop in stores and how African Americans overcame the obstacles. Overall it was an interesting look at Easter dress in the African American culture.

MEXIKID: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Pedro Martin One of this year's Newberry Honor Award winners, Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin, is the true story of the author's family's 2,000 mile return to Mexico to pick up their Grandfather and bring him back to the United States to live with them. Packed in a Winnebago RV, the Martin family, consisting of Apa (Dad), Ama (Mom), and 9 kids, has all the adventures, laugh out loud moments, and moving times you can imagine a family of this size having. Told from the point of view of Pedro/Peter (number 7 of 9), who loves superheroes, gives this story a larger than life feeling, especially since the grandfather they are going to bring back is a former Mexican-Revolutionist with a few tales of his own. The kicker? The story is true and the back of the book is chock full of family photos to prove it. This is a fun read, but there are a couple of bumps to be aware of! HEADS UP- There are a couple profanities. There is a Little Peepee Man. This is a kewpie doll they find at the market that when filled with water, a person can squeeze his hat and he pees. There is some crude humor. Some of it is hilarious. For example the kids that were born in Mexico can handle drinking the raw milk. The ones who were born in the states cannot. When one of the American born kids drinks a drink that has raw milk in it, his older brother grabs him and immediately starts running for the RV, because he knows a serious case of the runs is about to hit him. They have several hilarious names for what happens.