The goddess kidnaps Anna’s best friend in the village, and the only way she can save him is to remember the stories her Tutu has taught her, and, most importantly, remember who she is and honor that first. At first she tries to reject her Tutu’s teachings, but when she picks the wrong flower in a fury, she triggers the Hawaiin goddess Pela’s rage. However, after a falling out with her best friend in Colorado, Anna believes that if she embraces her Hawaiian heritage, she’ll become a social outcast. Since Anna was little, Tutu has been teaching her Indigenous Hawaiian folklore, traditions, and language in the hopes that Anna will remember and carry her Hawaiian heritage proudly. Twelve-year-old Anna/Leilani spends her summers with her grandmother, Tutu, in a small village near a volcano, though Anna wishes she could spend time with her former best friend in Paris instead. At the end of each paragraph-long biography, Prevo asks the athlete to describe a daily challenge and joy. In addition to Geib, there’s paralympic champion Will Groulx, who competes in recumbent hand cycling, and adaptive CrossFit star Dr. There’s a lyrical storyline from beginning to end, while each page has a one-paragraph biography of the disabled athlete illustrated. ![]() For example, dancer Annabelle Geib, who has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, describes the difficulty in navigating her middle school’s hallways and her worry about falling, while she also takes joy in dancing TikToks with her sister. ![]() Many books about disabled athletes either focus on being inspirational or on trauma this collection instead shows the complexity and nuance of the disabled experience and allows the athletes to speak about both the daily challenges and joys of being disabled. This is an amazing nonfiction biography collection about disabled athletes that I could immediately tell was written by a disabled author. There are plenty of books to choose from in this list of June children’s book releases. For Pride reads, there’s a picture book about wearing the clothes you like, plus a book about gender identity for early chapter book readers. For June middle grade releases, there’s a stellar Hawaiian fantasy, several books that will make you cry, and even a novel about periods and activism. For June picture book releases, there are laugh-out-loud read-alouds, a fantastic biography collection of disabled athletes, intergenerational stories, and more. Returning to June children’s book releases, I have many recommendations for readers this summer. This month I think it’s really vital for queer allies to speak up about the rampant anti-trans and anti-queer legislation that’s being passed. I feel absolutely heartbroken that safety is even a concern at what should be such a joyful event - sending so much love to queer readers who live in red states and/or feel unsafe being themselves. ![]() My daughter has asked to attend a Pride event, and I confess to being a little worried about doing so here in Tennessee, with its rampant anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and where a recent shooting has occurred. ![]() Get your sunscreen and TBR stacks ready because it’s June, when kids are no longer in school, summer reading programs begin, and my daughter and I spend every weekend at the pool.
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