The Summer I Saved the World in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz: I LOVED THIS BOOK!! Nina decides to spend her summer doing 65 small "good things" for others. She does small, nice things anonymously. I love this whole concept. We live in an "everyone gets a trophy society" these days, people EXPECT to get praised and noticed for EVERYTHING they do. This is a wonderful concept of just doing nice things to help people because its nice and will make them feel better without wanting anything back for yourself. This book shows that "niceness" spreads. Nina's efforts take on a life of their own throughout her neighborhood. This story just makes you feel good. I hope it inspires everyone to go out and just be nice...the world needs kindness right now.
Dash by Kirby Larson: Dash is a work of historical fiction. Mitsi is an American citizen who just happens to be of Japanese descent. She has never even been to Japan. This doesn't matter to the US government after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. They make Japanese-Americans leave their homes and enter internment camps. Mitsi is forced to leave her dog Dash with a neighbor, and it breaks her heart. Stories like this hurt my heart. Blaming an entire group of people for the wrongs of others. Unfortunately, it is still happening in our world today. Makes you want to be like Nina in the previous book and be kind for the sake of being kind.
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt: Ally can't read and she does everything in her power to make sure people don't know it. She ends up getting in trouble at school and picked on at school. Then, Mr. Daniel shows up as her new teacher and Ally finally gets help. Ally is a great character, and I love Keisha and Albert, her two classmates who become fierce friends with her. This is a great reminder that people are smart in different ways. You can be "smart" without always getting A's in classes. What's important is sticking with something, having the "grit" to continue to try. Kindness would have gone a long way to helping Ally and her friends. I hope as we read these three books, it helps us realize that we have the power to tear others down BUT we also have the power to build each other up. We need to celebrate our differences, otherwise, what a boring world this would be.
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