Small Fry Pick of the Week: Ms. Bixby's Last Day

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson

Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers.  The good ones. The not so good ones.  The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard.  The ones you'll never remember, the ones you want to forget.  But Mr. Bixby is none of these. She's the sort of teacher who makes you feel like the indignity of school is worthwhile.  Who makes the idea of growing up less terrifying.  Who you never want to disappoint.  What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind.

Topher, Brand, and Steve know this better than anyone. And so when Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she is very sick and won't be able to finish the school year, they come up with a plan.  Through the three different stories they tell, we begin to understand just what MS. Bixby means to Topher, Brand, and Steve--and what they are willing to go to such great lengths to tell her.

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Teen Pick of the Week: Salt to the Sea

Young Adult

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Each born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies . . . and war.
AS thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.
Yet not all promises can be kept.  Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling author Ruta Sepetys lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II.

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Small Fry Pick of the Week: Pax

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes a beautifully wrought, utterly compelling novel about the powerful relationship between a boy and his fox. Pax is destined to become a classic, beloved for generations to come.

Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.

At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.

Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . .

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