Mission: READ

Today, the IMC hosted our December Books and Bites featuring books about some very intimidating characters…and those forced to deal with them. Below are the three books that I talked about. 

In Shredderman: Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen, readers meet Bubba Bixby, the school bully who makes Nolan Byrd’s (and every other student’s) life miserable at Cedar Valley School.  Nerd –I mean Nolan–decides to fight back one day, not with his fists, but with a website! Shredderman.com (yes, the link works) not only exposes Bubba’s bad deeds, but serves as a place for his victims to vent as well. This book is not too long, quick and fun to read, and has great comic-book type illustrations to go along. Plus, you can read about Shredderman’s further adventures in the following sequels #2: Attack of the Tagger, #3 : Meet the Gecko, and #4: Enemy Spy.

And now for a story about an initmidating adult…Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami tells the story of three teenage sisters, Amber, Jazz, and Geena, who have gotten used to wrapping their dad around their little fingers (all six of them!) ever since their mom died last year. Enter Auntie from India who takes one look at the girls’ designer clothes and manipulating ways and just says “no.” Soon Auntie and Dad are making (and enforcing) new household rules and the girls have no choice but to make a plan to eliminate their Auntie–by marrying her off to the first available and unsuspecting guy!

And now for a book from the bully’s point of view…At fifteen, Cole Matthews has been an angry, violent bully but has never gotten into any trouble his parents couldn’t get him out of…until now. When he smashes a classmate’s head so hard that he may suffer permanent brain damage, Cole faces prison time.  However, he is given an alternative: to participate in Circle Justice, a Native American tradition that strives to heal both the victim and the offender and to create community.  Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen tells what happens when Cole is banished to live on an Alaskan island alone for one year.  After burning down his only shelter, trying to swim for the mainland and failing, and getting attacked by a bear, Cole must look inside to see who he really is and who he wants to become.

Want to know more about Shredderman: Secret Identity, Bindi Babes, or Touching Spirit Bear?  Then check them out and read them yourself! You can even listen to audiotapes of Touching Spirit Bear.

Mission: Accomplished