The Good Son by Pierre-Jacques Ober & Illus by Jules Ober and Felicity Coonan

This book, based on a real event, breaks your heart. 

And since it is based on WWI, where Veteran's Day began, it seemed fitting for today.

Created with hobby store miniatures arranged into WWI sets and then photographed, it doesn't sound like the kind of book that would move you to tears. 

But it does.

The book opens with a French soldier, Pierre, awaiting sentencing for desertion. 

His solitary meal. 

Waiting.... hoping there will be leniency since he came back of his own accord....

He thinks back to the beginning of this war. 

It was meant to be over soon. And as they walked across the French countryside in spring, it didn't seem like too much. 

(I like this plane)

But then the war dragged on. And there were horrors that young men had not been able to imagine when they headed out. 

There was so much this young soldier wanted to do with his life. Things he would never get to do if he was condemned to death by his own army.

And then the lieutenant lets him know that nameless higher-ups had decided he had to be made an example of. They didn't necessary think he was horrible and deserved to die, but he had left for a few days and even though he came back to finish his job, they were too worried other soldiers would try to take leave. So it was death for Pierre. Death so the army could terrify other men into not leaving. 

As he waits for his execution at dawn, he writes to his mother. And then you find out more about his desertion. He had promised his widowed mother that he would be home for Christmas. Since everyone said the war would be done by then. 

Not wanting to break his promise, even though the war was not done by Christmas, he went home, spent two days with his mother and came back. 

On his travels, he met the enemy--the young Germans the French were fighting against. He learned that they were tired and homesick too.  

And all the savagery of that war was more than most young men could bear. 

The ruination of human life, of spring, and of the countryside. 

Writing to his chere maman on his last night on earth.  

"I didn't want you to be alone for Christmas and now I am leaving you alone forever."

He remembers Christmas with her. "The best two days of the war."

And then the morning came. "I will wear your new socks tomorrow. You'll keep me warm, Maman." 

The war would eventually be over and won.... But not by Christmas. And not by Pierre. 

Oh my, This book just broke my heart. Trying to be a good son and good soldier and apparently failing at both and dying because of it just so a heartless official could make an example of him to keep demoralized soldiers from heading home. 

It is such a powerful book to talk about the sacrifices made by soldiers. Definitely for older readers though.... 

New Kid by Jerry Craft

This awesome graphic novel highlights what it is like to be the new kid in a school where you don't truly feel you belong with people who don't really get you. 

Jordan Banks is not quite sure about life. 

This is how I feel every single day of my life, like I'm falling without a parachute.

His mom and dad have decided that Jordan needs to go to a better school. His mother is a little in love with this new school. Jordan just wants to draw. 

Every couple pages, Jordan's illustrations show up, which is great!

The first day of school, Jordan is picked up by another father taking his son to school. Jordan impresses him with his super strong handshake and climbs in next to a sleeping schoolmate. 

Not the best way to start a new school.

But, Liam, the sleeping schoolmate wakes up enough to give Jordan a tour. The school is just as impressive and beautiful as his mother said it would be. 

Most of the kids are white, but then, Jordan spies Maury, another kid who looks like him. 

And then Drew walks in, both of them standing out to each other due to their non-whiteness. 

Eventually, Liam, Drew, and Jordan become a squad. 

How everyone feels in a new cafeteria. Just as he is making friends through his art, the sophomores let them know they sat at the wrong table. 

I love this cafeteria hierarchy! 

The transformation from the school neighboorhood back to his own turf. 

Trying to maintain old friendships while going to different schools....

Going over to Liam's house (mansion) is an education in itself. 

Striking up a friendship with Alexandra, who wears a puppet on her hand all the time. 

Drew runs afoul of one of the teachers, who is always calling him the name of a different black kid. This teacher is calling him out for something everyone else does all the time. 

Jordan isn't too sure about this. He understands where Drew is coming from, but... to tell a teacher they were wrong!! 

Jordan's perception of books for African American kids. I honestly think this is slowly but surely changing for the better. 

Drew finally helps the teacher understand the difference between him and DeAndre. 

Mrs. R is just not a favorite. She reads Jordan's private journal and finds out some unpleasant things about herself. 

At the end of the year, things are pretty good. 

It wasn't an easy year, but Jordan found his people and made peace with this new school. 

Even his art gets accepted. As the cover of the year book. 

This is a great book discussing typical middle school things, race, and being true to yourself while letting yourself grasp a new opportunity. 

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Look at that! A graphic novel with a Newbery! That doesn't happen often, but El Deafo definitely deserved it. 

A great way for even the youngest readers to understand deafness with a lot of humor and relate-able growing pains thrown in. 

Using a personified bunny as a character, Cece Bell tells her autobiography. The bunny works to make it more accessible to kids. If it was super realistic, some of these things would be a bit scary. 

Here, Cece develops meningitis, is taken to a hospital where all kinds of scary tests and treatments are done. 

Despite the treatment, Cece loses her hearing. 

They don't notice this right away until Cece panics when her mother is not in the room. Her mother comes running and despite her calling out for Cece, Cece is running to look for her mother in a different direction because she can't hear her mother calling. 

Hearing tests....

So then she gets hearing aids. Mind you, this was in the 1970's, so there was none of this "No one will even notice them!" nonsense. EVERYone will notice the things in her ears that are attached to the pouch on her front. 

Eventually she can hide her hearing aid under her clothes, but even with the assistance, communication with other people is a minefield of misunderstanding. 

At first, Cece goes to a school for other people with hearing difficulty. Other kids with bionic ears.

Cece being a detective trying to discern what people are saying through non-verbal cues since the audio she hears is so jumbled up. Such a great way to help young kids understand hearing problems. 

Some things that make life difficult....

At her school, she feels like she is still alone in her own little world due to her hearing limitations, but at least everyone else is in the same boat or universe. 

But then they move.... And there is a whole new neighborhood with kids who don't know she has hearing issues. 

A close up of all the parts of the Phonic Ear that she got. 

At her new school, with her Phonic Ear, the teacher wears a little microphone so Cece can hear clearly. This leads to Cece hearing what the teacher is doing in the hallway, bathroom, and teacher's lounge better than anyone else in her class. 

She can even hear her teacher use the bathroom. 

Tada! A superhero is born!

But what to call herself?

One night, while watching television, someone refers to someone else as el deafo. Her brother and sister think she will be upset, but she isn't. Because she just discovered her superhero name, thank you very much. 

The trials of sleepovers when the light goes out. The insecurities and uncertainties of these situations are heightened to an unbearable point. 

But through all of that, she was El Deafo! 

A picture of Cece in her elementary days and her Phonic Ear.