Tag: Miriam Spitzer Franklin

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Call Me Sunflower explores alternative families

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Call Me Sunflower, by Miriam Spitzer Franklin, (May 2017, Sky Pony Press), $15.99, ISBN: 9781510711792

Recommended for ages 9-13

Sunflower Beringer can’t stand her first name, so she has everyone call her Sunny. And she really can’t stand that her mother uprooted her and her sister, and left their dad, Scott, back in New Jersey to run his bookstore while she attends grad school in North Carolina. Now they’re living with a grandmother they barely know, and she’s the new kid in school. Ugh. Sunny has to do something, so she creates Sunny Beringer’s Totally Awesome Plan for Romance”: a can’t-miss list of ways to bring her mom and Scott back together, including making playlists of Scott’s favorite songs and getting her mother a makeover. While she works on a family album that will remind Scott and Mom of when they were in love all over again, though, she discovers a picture that changes everything. A strong subplot involving animal rights activism and Sunny’s relationship with her grandmother really gives Call Me Sunflower depth.

I’m becoming a Miriam Spitzer Franklin fangirl. I loved Extraordinary (2015); in Sunny, I found many similiaries to Pansy, Extraordinary‘s protagonist. Both stories are realistic fiction, told in the first person, about girls dealing with big life changes. They have complicated friendships and they have both There are humorous moments, and each has a unique voice, a unique point of view; Ms. Franklin captures the frustrations, the fears, and the unique experience of being a tween in a relatable voice that readers will gravitate to. I love that she created an alternative family structure with an adoptive family outside the traditional husband-wife setting and gave us a family unit that is working it all out. I admit to being a little confused with Sunny’s birth story – she is adopted, but has pictures of her mother holding her at the hospital – but that’s likely because my own adoption experience happened differently. All in all, a bittersweet, tender look at families. Pair with realistic fiction like Death by Toilet Paper by Donna Gephart, Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm, and Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand.

 

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Can you become Extraordinary in 15 weeks?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

extraordinaryExtraordinary, by Miriam Spitzer Franklin (2015, Sky Pony Press), $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-63220-402-8

Recommended for ages 9-14

Ten year-old Pansy wasn’t the brave one. That was Anna, her best friend. Anna cut off her hair for Locks of Love, she was a star student, she ice skated and went camping… and Pansy always chickened out at the last minute. But Anna went away to camp, even after Pansy backed out, and contracted meningitis, and now she’s a different person: wheelchair-bound and nonverbal, suffering from seizures.

When Pansy discovers that Anna’s parents have scheduled brain surgery to relieve Anna’s seizures, Pansy expects a miracle that will bring Anna back to her. And she’s going to become the friend Anna deserves. She’s going to be extraordinary. She’s going to take all the risks that she backed out on, do everything that scared her, and be the student Anna was, so that Anna will be proud of her when she comes out of surgery. The only thing is, what will she sacrifice in the process?

This is such a good story about enduring friendship. We get a glimpse into a pre-adolescent psyche, where Pansy takes on the guilt and weight of Anna’s illness, making herself responsible, in some ways, for Anna’s recovery. If she can become extraordinary, Anna will be okay. It’s unspoken, but it’s there. We see a family forever changed by their daughter’s sudden illness, and we see the fallout radiate to family friends. It’s a strong picture that we don’t normally see, but that I hope – with the advent of the #weneeddiversebooks movement – we will read more often.

While the book doesn’t make Anna’s illness the focal point, it is the motivating factor for the main character, and we see the conflicts presented in supporting characters as they deal with it. Anna’s twin brother, Andy, has his own wishes and frustrations; her parents have to care for her and make tough decisions about her care, and her friends at school have questions. Ms. Franklin includes Anna’s big picture story within the framework of Pansy’s main story, and it comes together beautifully.

Extraordinary should be on Summer Reading lists, particularly with the CSLP‘s Every Hero Has a Story theme this year. If it’s not on your school’s list, add it to your personal list, and mention it to your teachers for Fall/Back to School reading.

Miriam Spitzer Franklin’s author page offers information about Extraordinary, including a forthcoming educator’s guide and a list of K-5 workshops she conducts.