The Girl In Between

Carroll, S. (2017). The girl in between. New York: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books.

Overview: The girl in between is a book that covers the topic of homelessness. It is about a girl and her Ma who wonder the streets to find a safe place to stay away from the authorities. They find an old mill that the girl calls their castle. She is not allowed to leave the castle only Ma can. They panhandle for change to survive. The girl spends her day exploring the building. She is fine until her Ma starts to drink and do drugs again. Then her world starts to spiral out of control. This book is for a more advanced middle age reader who is able to make higher level connections to the text. Lots of jumping around in the book between present and past. The ending was unexpected by me, lots of surprises in story for a reader. The book made me think about what it might be like for a family living on the streets, but also at the end the super natural twist made me reflect on the whole book to think about how much of the book was taking place in the present. I still have questions. Is Ma alive or dead? Is caretaker a ghost?

Resources:
Interview with the Author
Publisher Information about the book.
An Article about effects of Homelessness on Youth

Texas Library Association Conference - April 2018 - Dallas

Wow! What a fantastic week of learning! I attended three of the four days. I meet lots of great vendors and authors, but the best part of all was learning from other librarians from around the state.

So I will share a few great resources that you can add to your collection if you were unable to attend or missed the session I went to.

My absolute favorite is from Round Rock ISD - The librarians have a great program called Armadillo Readers Choice Award. If you are looking for great books and lessons for K-2nd grade check out their website. They have posted all the books from each year since the award began, plus all the lessons. Check it out, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel! Each lesson has a digital component if possible. 

A great resource for students to share in the discussion, or to use in a professional development session - TodaysMeet 

Andrea Keller from Elliott Elementary from Irving. She presented on family engagement in your library. This is one of my passions. I believe families need to be invited into the library for access to information. Not all families can or will access the public library but they will come visit their child's school library if invited. Educators need to help educate the whole system not just the child, but parents as well. Check her out on twitter - @akbusybee or her blog 

I went to the 2X2 Showcase and was entertained by Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli. They are teaming up and have created a young readers early chapter book called Jack. It is about a Monkey, a dog and a lady. Super funny! Check out the 2018 2X2's. Also visit A Kid's Book A Day blog for more picture book reviews.

Are you looking for Inquiry help? Well visit the Library Door by Paige Jaeger. She shares lots of great hand outs to use while doing inquiry in her Symbaloo.

An lastly, are you wanting some new education sites that promote interactive lessons. Visit Interactive Sites for Education. 

I survived my first TLA Conference and look forward to next year. If you have never been I highly recommend trying to write a grant or asking your principal to send you. It is pricey for 4 days if it is not local, but it is well worth it for the learning and networking opportunities.