Tandem Insights

Book of the Week: Tyrell

Tyrell grew up with eight buildings as his whole world.  He lived with his family in the Bronxwood Houses.  Maybe not the nicest apartments in the city, but certainly nicer than the homeless shelter where he lives now with his mom and brother since his dad has been in prison (again). 

Now his world is bigger than eight buildings, but sometimes it feels a lot smaller.  His choices seem so limited. 

“I really wanna put my fist through a wall.  I can’t calm myself down.  I can feel the blood pounding in my brain.  I gotta do something.  I wanna go somewhere, But I don’t got nowhere to go.”

He needs to make money to get his family into a real apartment again, but he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes his dad made, which landed him in jail.  Trying to stay clean in Tyrell’s world isn’t easy. 

But he has a plan.  He isn’t going to live in a shelter forever.  And he isn’t going to end up like his father.  He’s going to save his family himself since his mother obviously can’t do it and all the “at risk” programs and social workers who’ve been in and out of his life can’t do it.  He’s going to figure out a way to make money and take care of them on his own without getting into trouble.  That’s a lot of pressure for a fifteen-year-old. 

Tyrell is immediate and real.  Highly recommended for libraries wanting to increase their urban fiction for teens.

View this book in the Tandem Library Books online Bookstore

Heroic Reads

What makes a hero?  Courage, ability, honor, strength... These are a just a few words people use to describe their heroes.  Maybe a hero is someone who has stood up for what’s right, or maybe a hero is someone you know who has struggled against the odds. 

Anyone can be a hero, even animals.  The cat in Eileen Spinelli’s Hero Cat shows great courage and selflessness to save her kittens from a fire. This picture book is based on a real cat, but if your animal lovers want more fact than story, give them Snow Search Dogs by Maida Silverman, which is part of Bearport’s Dog Heroes series.  Or for those cat lovers who just aren’t interested in the bravery of dogs, suggest Cats to the Rescue by Marilyn Singer for a collection of stories about cats who have some amazing adventures and find themselves heroes.

         

Inspire your would-be heroes to action with Laura Driscoll’s Real Heroes Don’t Wear Capes.  This easy-to-read story includes facts about heroes of all sorts while emphasizing the idea that anyone can be a hero to someone.  Some people want to be heroes, like Dex in Dex: The Heart of a Hero and others just stumble into it, like the boy in A Strange Day who is oblivious to his heroism as he goes about his day.  Both books make entertaining readalouds for grades 1 to 3.

   

Heroes can be found in history or in our own lives. These are just a few books to help your students define their own heroes. Or become someone else’s.