Entries by Christina Matekel-Gibson

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

As I mentioned in my most recent review, I challenged myself to read the Coretta Scott King Award honorees this past February as an attempt to diversify my reading and celebrate Black History Month the best way I know how to celebrate anything: by reading. The second honoree I read was VARIAN JOHNSON’s middle-grade mystery […]

Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome

This February, I challenged myself to read all of the Coretta Scott King Author Award winners and honorees in the Joplin Public Library’s Children’s Department. I ended up reading two out of three, but they were both excellent. If you are unfamiliar with this award, let me quickly explain: The Coretta Scott King Award is […]

Maker Cart for Elementary School Aged Children

The Rosemary Titus Reynolds Children’s Library in Joplin Public Library is proud to announce a new program for Children in 1st through 5th grade. The Maker Cart program is funded by the MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES and is offered on the first and third Saturdays of the month. Come use recycled materials to explore […]

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green

Written in sparse prose, this offering from Shari Green is touching without being full of angst. Macy McMillan is a typical sixth grader with one exception – she’s deaf. In a refreshing twist, this story doesn’t use Macy’s hearing as a main focal point. Instead we are introduced to a pre-teen who is anxious about […]

Diverse Picture Books

I started this week’s review with another novel in mind, but a recent comment from a storytime attendee directed my attention elsewhere. On their way out the door, a small child stopped to look at a display book; as they did so, they told their caregiver, “Look, its me!” The child holding the book and […]