students – Mom Read It

Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, by John David Anderson (June 2016, Walden Pond Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9780062338174

Recommended for ages 8-12

A beloved sixth grade teacher announces that she’s unable to finish the school year; she’s very sick and needs to be hospitalized. Topher, Steve, and Brand are three students who know just how special Ms. Bixby is come up with a plan to give her the best last day with her students. They cut school, make a specific list of supplies to acquire, and make their way to the hospital.

Each chapter is narrated by one of the boys, and switches between the boys’ journey to the hospital and the stories each boy has about Ms. Bixby and her impact on their lives.

I fell in love with this book. Impossible to put down, it’s honest, heart-breaking, and inspiring, all at once. Each boy’s story draws on experiences that many kids will recognize either in their own lives or a close friend or family member’s life. Knowing that there are teachers like Ms. Bixby out there may help kids seek out an adult they can trust with their own personal challenges, even if it’s just another ear to listen.

Warning: this is quite possibly a three-tissue read. It’s an emotional and powerful read, but it is about grief and loss, so be prepared for that. This is an excellent choice for middle grade readers and collections. I’d put this on a booktalk list with reads like The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern and Donna Gephart’s Death by Toilet Paper.

Ms. Bixby’s Last Day has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. The author’s website offers more information about his books, school and virtual visits, and contact info.

Whew! I’ve done it. I’ve spoken on my first panel. I was a guest at the first (hopefully annual) Long Island PopCon, a pop culture conference for librarians, educators, and students held at St. John’s Oakdale Campus. I got a nice nap on the LIRR in, and after a couple of coffees, was ready to go. I met some great exhibitors, got to hear Raina Telgemeier give a brilliant keynote at our lunch, and attended great panels – there were so many great panels lined up, I need to look into cloning technology for next year, so I don’t miss out on anything.

The anime/manga panel was a huge help for me. I tried to get an anime/manga club going at Pomonok Library for my tweens and teens earlier this year, but couldn’t sustain it past a few sessions. Now that I have resources recommended by both academic and public librarians, I feel more confident in offering this over the summer and seeing what I can get.

My panel, The Image of the Librarian and the Librarian’s Image, was filled with some great ladies, all of whom shared a love of pop culture and a firm tongue-in-cheek sense of humor when it comes to the classic image of the bunheaded librarian. We looked at our collective image from pop culture/media crit, sociological, and literary standpoints, and I hope that our audience learned from us as much as we learned from one another.

If you ever have a chance to go to St. John’s Oakdale campus, I highly recommend it. It’s gorgeous and green, and the Bourne Mansion is stunning. My fellow pop culture librarians and I are already talking about what panels we can put together for next year.

If you want to keep up to date with the Con, you can follow them on Facebook and their website, where you can also find a copy of yesterday’s program, complete with speaker information for your networking needs.

Tag: students

3-tissue reading: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day

LI PopCon was a Blast!