Ask Mrs. B About…as if being 12 3/4 isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president!

as if being 12 3/4 isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president! by Donna Gephart

Well, the reviews are in…Natalie told me it was “really good!” and Kate said “it’s really exciting right up to the end!” Given the fabulous student reviews, I had to read this Donna Gephart book during Spring Break.

Natalie and Kate were right! Kudos (Kudos. K-U-D-O-S. Kudos.) to Gephart. This book is another winner.

As if Vanessa Rothrock doesn’t have enough to contend with already - Preparing for the upcoming spelling bee by  endlessly spelling out words; Worrying about tripping over her huge feet, while praying that her other body parts will catch up; Being followed everywhere by a huge bodyguard (and I mean EVERYWHERE!); Realizing that the cute boy she’s been crushing on is actually a neanderthal (Neanderthal.  N-E-A-N-D-E-R-T-H-A-L. Neanderthal.); Worst of all,  Vanessa is starting to feel like she has to make an appointment to see her mom, the one person she needs most of all.  Her mother has been busy dealing with her work as the Governor of Florida.  

And now her mother is running for President of the United States.  Not only does Vanessa worry that she’ll never see her mother again, what if something bad happens to her?  As Vanessa begins receiving threatening (Threatening. T-H-R-E-A-T-E-N-I-N-G. Threatening.) notes at school, it looks like her fears may prove to be very real!  Somebody has to do something, and it’s looking like that someone will have to be Vanessa.  But does she have the courage to do what needs to be done to protect her mother?  And will her mother understand and forgive her?   Well, you don’t expect me to tell you, do you?  You’ll have to read this book to find out.

Ask Mrs. B about…Wonder

Wonder by RJ. Palacio
This is the season of giving and I am excited to share with you the gift of Wonder by R.J. Palacio!  I think you will also want to share this book with others when you are done reading it.
August "Auggie" Pullman is an ordinary boy in many ways.  He likes to ride his bike, eat ice cream and play XBox, just like many of the students at Canonsburg Middle School.  Unfortunately, Auggie doesn't feel like a normal boy, especially when other kids stare at him or look at him and run away screaming.  All because he was unlucky enough to be born with a severe facial deformity.
Now after years of home-schooling, Auggie is about to enter the fifth grade at Beecher Prep. It’s hard enough being the new kid in middle school, but being the new kid in middle school who doesn’t look like anyone else…this was going to be a challenge!
It would be nice to think that everyone at Auggie’s new school will be welcoming and accepting, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case. It rarely is. While some of the students are nice to him, others are just down-right mean. At one point, Auggie discovers that his class-mates are playing their own version of “The Cheese Touch” by spreading the rumor that you’ll get the “Plague” by touching Auggie.
So what do you think? Will the kids at Beecher Prep be up to the challenge? Will they choose to be cruel or kind? I dare you to read Wonder and not want to do your own part to make even just a small difference at Canonsburg Middle School. Are you ready to Choose to be Kind?