A Brave Writer's Life in Brief

Good books grow empathy, and this month’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang selections are no exception. As we explore grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literary devices, we’ll have the opportunity to grow new perspectives and deeper understanding.

We’ll see the world through the eyes of:

• swans,
• young dragons,
• and a beloved TV hero.

We’ll witness their hardships and cheer on our protagonists in their quests to overcome adversity.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White

Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can’t trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can’t even make a sound. And since he can’t trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena’s affection—he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?

The Trumpet of the Swan joins E. B. White favorites Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little as classic illustrated novels that continue to speak to today’s readers. Whether you curl up with your young reader to share these books or hand them off for independent reading, you are helping to create what are likely to be all-time favorite reading memories. ~Amazon

Get the Dart.

Purchase the novel here.

Wings of Fire (Book One), Tui T. Sutherland

A thrilling series that soars above the competition and redefines middle-grade fantasy fiction for a new generation!

The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy—a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice.

Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war.

But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when the select five escape their underground captors to look for their original homes, what has been unleashed on the dragon world may be far more than the revolutionary planners intended… ~Amazon

Get the Arrow.

Purchase the novel here.

They Called Us Enemy, George Takei

George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father’s—and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.

In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten “relocation centers,” hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.

They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.

What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime. ~Amazon

Get the Boomerang.

Purchase the novel here.

There are big ideas brewing in this month’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang guides!

While we discuss mechanics and literary devices, we’ll also experience the power of stories. We’ll read tales of:

• loss,
• love,
• resilience,
• and learning.

We’ll notice how stories shape and shift the way we think and help us to understand the world in wondrous new ways.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan

Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna’s point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa’s advertisement for a wife and mother. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay?

This children’s literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love. ~Amazon

Get the Dart.

Purchase the novel here.

The People Could Fly, Virginia Hamilton

The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable. With the added attraction of 40 wonderfully expressive paintings by the Dillons, this collection should be snapped up. ~School Library Journal

Note: Purchase or borrow the collection of folk tales, not the picture book version.

Get the Arrow.

Purchase the novel here.

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance...Blink reveals that great decision makers aren’t those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of “thin-slicing”, filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology and displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way. ~Amazon

Get the Boomerang.

Purchase the novel here.

If there is a thread that runs through the Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang issues this month, it is moving and the change that comes with it! Whether a penguin, a fox, or a young girl, a change of scenery often means adjusting to a new way of life.

As we explore the grammar, punctuation, spelling, and literary devices that make stories move, we’ll experience adjusting to a new environment right alongside our protagonists.

[This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click on those links to make purchases, Brave Writer receives compensation at no extra cost to you. Thank you!]

Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Richard Atwater

Mr. Popper’s Penguins was first published in 1938. Author Richard Atwater, a newspaper columnist and one-time classics instructor, began writing the novel until serious illness forced him to stop. His wife, Florence, finished the story. Together they have created a whimsical tale that has a serious, conservationist ending, as Mr. Popper realizes the penguins must be returned to their natural habitat. Award-winning illustrator Robert Lawson provides the elegant, pen-and-ink illustrations.…

A classic of American humor, the adventures of a house painter and his brood of high-stepping penguins have delighted children for generations. ~Scholastic

Get the Dart.

Purchase the novel here.

Pax, 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… ~Amazon

Get the Arrow.

Purchase the novel here.

Other Words for Home, Jasmine Warga

Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives.

At first, everything in America seems too fast and too loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven’t quite prepared her for starting school in the US—and her new label of “Middle Eastern,” an identity she’s never known before.

But this life also brings unexpected surprises—there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might just try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is.

This lyrical, life-affirming story is about losing and finding home and, most importantly, finding yourself. ~Amazon

Get the Boomerang.

Purchase the novel here.

What a year it’s been! Amidst toilet paper shortages, physical distancing, cancelled outings, and some heartache books have been a soothing balm.

And wow have you been reading! We’ve loved every report from our Brave Writer families. Each story shared of a Big Juicy Conversation, successful book-related project, consuming deep dive, or hearty “aha” moment has warmed our hearts and inspired our work. We’re grateful to you. Keep sharing these moments—we read and savor each one!

Now, with the new year just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to start thinking about the family reads ahead. 

To help you plan, we’ve pulled together a list of our 2020 Fan Favorites—a sampling of the Dart, Arrow, and Boomerang guides our families rave most about! (Yes, the list includes every Dart available because, goodness, those issues have been showered in praise!) 

While reading great books, these popular literature singles help you explore, experience, and explain:

• grammar,
• punctuation,
• spelling,
• literary analysis (Boomerang),
• and literary devices.

Enjoy!

Darts

• Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
• The Prairie Thief (Melissa Wiley)
• Finn Family Moomintroll (Tove Jansson)
• The House at Pooh Corner (A.A. Milne)
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Beverly Cleary)

Arrows

• The Wild Robot Escapes (Peter Brown)
• The One and Only Ivan (Katherine Applegate)
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O’Brien)
• Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)
• Because of Winn-Dixie (Kate DiCamillo)

Boomerangs

• The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
• Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
• Animal Farm (George Orwell)
• Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)