I am Sonia Sotomayor is the newest book in the Ordinary People Change the World series by Brad Meltzer.  You won’t be disappointed as you read about this Supreme Court Justice’s life.  I think you’ll be inspired.  I was.  The truth that “with opportunity comes justice” is clearly demonstrated through this biography.  I hope we all learn to take advantage of every opportunity we have.  I appreciate the two questions Justice Sotomayor asks at the end of each day.  They seem to be good ones to keep track of.  I’m going to give it a try.  “What did I learn today?”  and “What act of giving did I do today?”  If she can’t answer the first question, she reads.  If she can’t answer the second, she sends a message of appreciation to someone she cares about.  Read I am Sonia Sotomayor to find out the rest of her story.

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown is a new picture book biography about the author of The Important Book.  The order came on Sunday and I read it right away.  The book is 42 pages long; one page for every year of her life.  In it MacBarnett has tried to capture the important things about the author of over 100 books for children.  When I finished reading, I wanted to know more about this unusual author and I wondered what you would think.  Would you like this book, or not.  I hope you’ll find it and read it and tell me what you think.  I’m not sure what I think.  I’ll have to read it again and again…

A few years ago Elias gave me a book written by his second cousin, Esta Spalding, Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts.  I read it over that summer and completely enjoyed the ingenuity of children who are left to fend for themselves because they have the absolute worst parents in the world.  I got the second book right away, but it sat in the TBR pile for over a year.  Mrs. Wyman wrote about reading the Fitzgerald-Trout books aloud to her 5th graders, so I pulled Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts to the top.  I wish I’d done that sooner, but I’ll recommend it to you now.  There are five Fitzgerald-Trouts:  Kim, Kimo (both 11), Pippa, Toby and baby, Penny.  They’ve been left to live on the island in a small green car.  Really they’re better off that way because their parents are self-centered, greedy brutes involved in unsavory and shallow pursuits.  The children are far more responsible than the adults.  The children are searching for a home – someplace larger than a car – so they can live more comfortably.  They need space and security, but something strange is going on.  The brizzill bugs are worse then ever, the rumble and shake of periodic “knock-abouts” are becoming alarmingly frequent and dormant Mount Muldoon – is not anymore.  Combine those concerns with a carnival and a boat, Johnny Trout and his pig, carnivorous plants, floods, lava flows and appearance of the island goddess, Maha, and you’ve got a great mystery adventure that you won’t put down until you reach the end. The best thing is, there’s a third Fitzgerald-Trout adventure to read as soon as you’re ready.