#bookaday -- Mary Lee's Pile #7-#12

#7 They Called Themselves the K.K.K.
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Grim, but important in understanding Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and where our country is today in terms of race relations.

#8 Tortilla Sun
by Jennifer Cervantes

This book was a welcome relief after a string of tough reads. The characters and the setting come to life in this debut novel.

#9 The Serpent's Tale
by Ariana Franklin

It's cheating only a little to count this one as #bookaday -- it was an adult audiobook that I finished listening to on day 9, but I didn't read the whole thing on day 9. This is the second book in the first adult mystery series I've ever loved. Great strong medieval woman main character.

#10 Noonie's Masterpiece
by Lisa Railsback

Add Noonie to your list of favorite spunky girl characters -- she's right up there with Clementine and Frankly Frannie, and Gooney Bird Green.  She's an aspiring artist, and it's her art that helps her make it through some tough times.

#11 Vocabulary Unplugged
by Alana Morris

Maybe this book won't "revolutionize" how I teach vocabulary, but I sure did get some good ideas that I'm going to try out immediately.

#12 I Can Make a Difference
by Marian Wright Edelman

Great collection of quotes, poems, songs, folktales, and fables from around the world on 12 different themes that all illustrate that any person can, in lots of small ways, make a difference in the world.