A Little Bit of Spectacular

A Little Bit of Spectacular by Gin Phillips

 Olivia, an 11-year-old girl has to move from her home in Charleston to Birmingham after her mother becomes sick. As she adjusts to the new city she is living in she finds interesting clues in the bathroom of a coffee shop that make her wonder if their is an alien life form here on earth.  This book is a little less spectacular than one may hope for, but the ending is satisfying and Olivia is a character that readers will root for.

Crenshaw

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

What an endearing tale this Crenshaw is. From the author who wrote The One and Only Ivan comes a book of great imagination and creativity.  Jackson, a young boy is having a hard time dealing with the fact that his family is struggling to make it day to day.  They have a lack of food and have to sell many of their personal items so they have enough money for rent.  Jackson feels  that he's old enough to hear about these problems from his parents, but they try not to burden him and keep an optimistic attitude.  During this troubling time Jackson's imaginary friend from years ago, shows up again.  Crenshaw is a very large cat who comes to help Jackson and teach us all about the lesson of trust and being honest.