It's Monday! What are you reading?

I finished Scar Island, the book by Dan Gemeinhart that was featured in last week's post.  Then I moved on to The Bridge Home, a book we purchased for the library last year.  

Emily Kupersztoch, the librarian at Elsa England Elementary, mentioned it the other day when we were discussing "windows and mirrors" books, so I thought it would be good to check it out.

We know from the dust jacket blurb that Viji and Rukku are sisters living on the streets of Chennai, India; we find out why within the first few pages.  Instead of dwelling on the reasons, the story moves quickly to the sisters leaving home.  Viji feels responsible for her cognitively-impaired older sister, and is resourceful in finding work, food, and shelter.  She intuitively avoids the dangers posed by predatory adults, a detail that may escape younger readers as the situations aren't always fully explained by the author.  

I've read a third of The Bridge Home, and I'm hoping for a happy ending for Viji and Rukku, even as the story's opening hints at their separation.

Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the new 20-21 Bluebonnet Award Nominees list, just announced this weekend!

Do you see it, down in the bottom right corner?  We also have Greystone Secrets #1: The Strangers, No More Poems, What Do You Do With A Voice Like That?, and If I Built a School already on our shelves!  Whoohoo!  Of course, we'll be buying more copies in the spring so our students can get a jump start on the Bluebonnet Reading Program for next year.

It's Monday, and I'm reading one of the new Bluebonnet Award Nominees!  What are you reading this week?