To Dance: a ballerina's graphic novel by Siena Cherson Siegal. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.

I love a graphic memoir. Read this a long time ago and still try to sell it to girls. Memoir of a real little girl who eats and breathes ballet-- it takes all her time and effort. No parties or school clubs or sleep overs for her. Only American Ballet Theatre. I especially love the scene where we understand she battles anorexia-- all told without words. Seems like the essence of the graphic's ability to tell the story in few, if any, words.

El Deafo by Cece Bell. Amulet Books, 2014. 233 pages

I love a graphic memoir. How many times can I say it but it is so true. When a childhood illness leaves future author and illustrator Cece Bell deaf, her whole life changes. She navigates elementary school issues like best friends and liking boys and wanting to look cute and fit in-- all universal-- as a deaf person in a hearing world. Honest and funny-- think Smile or Sisters or To Dance or Relish. Loved it immediately.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass. Scholastic Press, 2009. 267 pages

The kids are crazy for the very popular and prolific Wendy Mass. I am finally reading her.
11 year olds Anna and Leo share a birthday, and a party every year. But for the 10th birthday they have a fight (of sorts) and Birthday 11 is the first they will celebrate separately. Anna cannot wait for it to be over but in true "Freaky Friday" tradition, she relives her birthday over and over and over until she can get it right-- and undo the damage of last year.
A huge hit and sure to be well loved by bookgroup-- already have a parents 2 thumbs up.

What We See When We Read: A Phenomenology ; With Illustrations, by Peter Mendelsund. First Vintage Books, 2014, 400 pages.

The Dirt Diary by Anna Staniszewski. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2013, 246 pages.

A huge hit for my 3-5th grade bookclub. Fun and readable and full of surprises.

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: The New Girl by Meg Cabot. Scholastic Press, 2008, 222 pages.

A People's History of the New Boston by Jim Vrabel, University of Massachusetts Press, 2014, 235.

I love narrative nonfiction-- easy reading. And i especially love narrative nonfiction about Boston. Vrabel recounts the recent history of the "new" Boston-- some stories I knew, some I learned more about and some were totally new to me. Recent past because it still plays out everyday and in every election. Loved it just from the title-- great for local yokels and Boston news junkies.