Brendan Buckley!

 

Happily, Brendan Buckley's Sixth Grade Experiment was another great book about this very cool dude.  I am pretty embarassed that I hadn't previously heard of him and his talented creator, Sundee T. Frazier.    Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It was wonderful and so was this one.  I emailed Ms. Frazier and asked if there will be any more BB books, and she wrote back right away!  So that was super nice.  Super sad, though, because it doesn't look like there will be anymore books about Brendan.  She does have a new book in the works though, and I will be reading that for sure.  Brendan and his dad are the main focus of this book.  Great, great book!  You can learn about biomass and anolis lizards, but not in a preachy or weird-through-in-there-as-education way.

Wonderful Book

The Other Half of My Heart is one of the best books that I read so far in 2013.   Every character is rich and interesting.  I just wish that there was another book.  This is one of those deals where you wish it was a series!  Mini and Keira are twins, Mini is more light-skinned and resembles her Caucasian father, whereas Keira looks like her African American mother.  The book is told from Mini's perspective, and from her POV, the issue of their physical differences has never been an issue at all.  This summer, however, Their maternal grandma wants them to come for two weeks in one of the Carolinas (I can't remember which one) to compete in the Miss Black Pearl Pre Teen Program.  Sundee Frazier is a sensitive and amazing writer who addresses this very sensitive and important issue in a way that everyone can understand.  It is a wonderful portrayal of race, family, sisters, growing up, everything.  Loved, loved, loved this book.

Al Had a Book Club

Maybe he still does, but I can't find anything after 2011.  But for more than a few years, NBC's Al Roker had a book club for kids.  One of the books that he chose was Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It.  If the other books that he chose for his club are as good as this one, I am going to read anything Al Roker ever tells me someone to read.  Brendan Buckley was available on audio download from my local library and I needed something.  When I saw that Sundee T. Frazier had won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2008, I knew I had to download and have a listen.
Man, man, man!  This book was awesome!  I loved Brendan, his mom, his dad, his grandma.  Man, man, man.  This book is so funny and so real and so amazing.  The main story itself is incredible.  But as a bonus, the stuff you learn along the way about rocks and minerals and Tae Kwon Do, is so totally interesting and made me want to learn even more about rocks and TKD.
I am now reading Frazier's The Other Half of My Heart and loving it.   There is also a sequel to Brendan Buckley's Universe, but after that, nothing.  I hope that Frazier is still writing.  She is incredible!