Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery Newletter

Youth Yak

Page One Staff Picks Youth Yak Book Groups News

Jen				Can Somebody Please Scratch My Back? Jory John and Liz Climo I’m in love with this children’s picture book! An elephant has an itch and absolutely cannot reach it to scratch it. The elephant requests help from other animals, but it doesn’t go so well—the turtle can’t reach, the crocodile is a little too willing to help, the hippo doesn’t really understand how to help, and so on. Finally, the elephant stumbles on just the right creature to help him. As is often the case, once this creature has eased the elephant of his trouble, the elephant is deaf to the needs of the creature. The text is spare and humorous, the illustrations are uncomplicated and effective. This would be a fun book for storytime, bedtime, or just any reading time!




Cascade's Picks				A List of Cages Robin Roe Adam is reunited with Julian by accident at school after a five-year separation. Julian was Adam’s foster brother after Julian’s parents tragically died in a car accident. They begin to rekindle their friendship, but it is obvious that Julian still harbors residual trauma. As the plot progresses, Adam discovers that Julian’s guardian uncle is abusive. This discovery causes Adam to take action. This is a powerful story of friendship.
				The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo The key takeaway from this book is the main character finding her voice. The fact that the book is written in verse parallels how Xiomara (“X”) uses poetry to vent her feelings. She struggles immensely with her mother’s complete faith and unforgiving rules. The only place she feels she can be herself is while participating in the school’s slam poetry club. This book deals a lot with Dominican immigrants living in Harlem, thus there is a lot of Spanish speaking and ghetto slang.