Book Ordering

I just finished my 9th month of work at Heads Up! - pretty exciting! In the spring, we do our most major book ordering. This has been FANTASTIC! I got to 1) revisit some of my childhood favorites 2) learn more about childhood development in the process and 3) learn what "kids these days" are reading. On the subway going from site to site, I read some of the books I order (yes, I am currently working my way through the Twlight series) because I love being able to recommend books specifically tailored to a child's interest.

I love discovering what I've missed in the world of children's and "young adult" books over the past seven years. Seven years doesn't seem like all that much time to me, but according to the publishing industry at least, I am now firmly stuck in the "adult" category. Next up after the Twlight series: Gregor the Overlander, The Hunger Games, Rules, The Percy Jackson Series, and Gail Carson Levine's Fairest. I loved Ella Enchanted in middle school so I'm excited to explore Fairest, but I think Rules will be the one to stick with me. It's about a girl who has a younger brother with autism, and the rules she makes to help him navigate a world filled with complex social interaction that he does not always understand. "No toys in the fish tank" and "If the bathroom door is closed, knock," she tells him. I have a cousin with Asperger's syndrome (which is on the autism spectrum), so to me her rules like "Sometimes people laugh when they like you. But sometimes they laugh to hurt you" are especially meaningful.