Book-Talk : Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!

Major-league pitcher VJ Capello has been Vivy Cohen’s hero ever since he showed her his grip for the knuckleball at a social event for people on the autism spectrum and their families. Vivy writes a letter to VJ to satisfy the requirements of her social-skills class and, after Vivy sends him several letters, VJ actually writes back! The author, Sarah Kapit brings her lived experience as an autistic individual to craft Vivy as a believable character. In 2021, Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! was an Honor Book for the Schneider Family Book Award.

‘Mascot’ by Antony John

First-person narration by main character Noah Savino kept this reader engaged. The story centers around an attempt to unmask “Fredbird,” official mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals, while addressing the challenges that Noah has to face while undergoing physical therapy from an auto collision that paralyzed him and also killed his father. The story is full of memorable and very detailed characters that populate Noah’s world; I think a lot of readers will relate to Noah’s concern about a new man in his mother’s life while Noah struggles to hold onto memories of his father and resolve feelings concerning the collision.

(I found an ARC of this title among books that were donated by a library vendor.)

‘Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate’

I could thoroughly relate to Cynthia Kim’s experiences in Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate, A User Guide to an Asperger Life (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2015). Kim and I grew up during a time when our condition was not understood or documented to the degree that it is today.

“Like a lot of autistic adults of my generation, I made it well into middle age before realizing that I wasn’t just shy or weird or nerdy. That I wasn’t going to outgrow my quirks and wake up one day to suddenly find I was ‘normal.’”

With candor and honesty, Kim writes about early challenges: about being bullied and then later becoming a “mean girl” herself.

‘Coaching Ms. Parker’ by Carla Heymsfeld

A reluctant reader finds himself in the position of teacher in Coaching Ms. Parker by Carla Heymsfeld (Bradbury Press, 1992).

On the day that his book-reading journal is due, Mike’s fourth-grade class is interrupted by the sixth-graders’ challenge: an annual baseball game pits the sixth grade against the elementary school teachers.

Tradition demands that Mike’s teacher play, but baseball is “not her sport.”

Mike and Ms. Parker work out a trade: He will coach her in baseball, and she will help with his reading. The fact that Mike’s sister is playing for the sixth-grade team adds complications to their agreement.

The team-sports setting of this story may appeal to reluctant readers. I also think children will enjoy the role reversal that puts a child in a mentor’s role.

Coaching Ms. Parker can be found in the Bellview Elementary School library. It is also shelved in the Ashland branch, Jackson County Library Services.

Cross-posted to the Facebook page of Jackson County Library Services

League bowling: Lexie Firth bowls first games for ‘Killer Bees’

My husband Jonathan Donihue and I had an opportunity to bowl last night with the Lake County Record-Bee “Killer Bees.”

Our departure from Lake County, Calif. is only a few weeks away and I treasure these last occasions to bowl with my team. The two seasons that I bowled with the “Killer Bees” marked the first time in my life that I competed on an athletic team.

Lexie Firth and Nathan DeHart rounded out last night’s quartet as we bowled against D&K Carpet Cleaning. Firth’s average and handicap are yet to be determined, which will influence the wins and losses. I think they will be close games.

For my personal scores, I bowled 99 during my first game. My second game was low and during the third game I bowled an 87. My average remains at 80.

YA book blog: Summerland

Cover image: Summerland

In  Summerland by Michael Chabon (New York: Miramax Books for Children,  2002), Ethan Feld is on the verge of quitting his Little League baseball team because he is “The Worst Ballplayer in the History of Clam Island, Washington.”

Ethan is recruited by Chiron Brown, a scout for heroes, to prevent an attempt by Coyote to bring the world to an end.

The fairy realms that Feld and his companions travel through construct their societies around baseball. Feld faces a series of individual and team challenges and discovers the position of catcher is what he is destined to play.

I don’t follow baseball. I’ve been disinclined toward team sports ever since being chosen last every single time in PE. But that doesn’t matter. Chabon makes baseball captivating and understandable. This is an excellent story and I think its subject matter will encourage boys to read.

A strong female character, Shadowtails pitcher Jennifer T. Rideout, makes the story accessible for girls and I relate to Feld’s early frustration toward the sport of baseball. The book is shelved in the Young Adult collection at the main branch of my library.

Originally submitted to a class discussion board for Cuesta College LIBT 118: Connecting Adolescents with Literature and Libraries.