Welcome to Litsy!

“It‘s been an honor, teaching you, Bree.“

You could base any writing prompts off this book. Maybe you have them compare it to a time that they felt anxious while doing something new or how they will be determined to be better at things.

Week 3: Graphia. this is such an inspiring book to read to children or have them read on their own. It dives into hard topics like anxiety, racism, family, dynamic, sports and friendships. It‘s a good reading level for many students.

😂Some of the team names in this book!
#middlegrademagic #summerofmiddlegrade

Following up on the Olympics, I read this middle grade graphic novel about a Black girl who overcomes her family‘s historic discomfort with swimming/pools to compete on her middle school swim team. The story was good, and I liked the intergenerational friendships portrayed in the book, but I really didn‘t connect with the art style. And one plot point was so ridiculous it was distracting. It was hard to really enjoy the reading experience.

A solid story about facing your fears. A few parts were a bit clunky, but overall I really liked it!

Picture: We took out the boat for the first time in years. A little freaky to be in 121 feet of water! 😳 #lakesuperior

#summersouls #pool @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A great middle grade story of a girl trying something new and learning a little history too.

A very likable GN about Bree and a move to a new town. Because most of the electives do not accommodate her schedule, she reluctantly enters Swim 101 - Problem is she can‘t swim!

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick

Kids graphic novel about a girl trying to fit in in a new school and going from not knowing how to swim to joining the swim team. She also learns about the history of Black people being excluded from public pools.

4.5 ⭐ What an absolutely fantastic read. This book is about a girl and her father moving to a new town so he can get a better job and make their life better. We follow Bree as she navigates a new middle school in tropical Florida and finds out that it‘s about time she learns to swim. However, Bree thinks that she‘s too old to learn how to swim, and that Black people don‘t swim.