Dear Super-Cool Kid
(Who Is Looking for a Super Cool Book About, Maybe Not Super-Cool Changes, but Is Still Super-Cool!)
Hey there!
I’m Holden , a 5th grader living in Portland, Oregon.
I am the oldest of three sisters (basically I am a second mom). I bet if we knew each other we would be friends.
Anyway, I have gone through many changes this year. One thing that helped with understanding what all these new situations were was by reading books that talked about those changes. One of these books is Jawbreaker, by Christina Wyman. Why I chose this book to write a review on is because it has so many different elements of change. Some are physical changes, and others are changes within families such as parent and sibling relationships.
Turning ten this year brought a lot of physical changes to my world. For one, I grew like a foot overnight. And while new clothes are great, it can be hard getting used to my new center of gravity.
The main character in Jawbreaker, Max Plink, is told by her orthodontist that she has to get surgery to align, or change, her teeth. Hospital pudding can be great but surgery can be scary. But, it’s not just a “go to sleep, have the surgery, and wake up now you’re good” type of thing. Oh no. Max has to get orthodontic headgear (see front cover photo…yikes).
One would assume because she doesn’t have to wear it to school (THANK GOSH) that it wouldn’t be that bad. BUT, she has a younger sister. And what does that younger sister do? That younger sister tells Max’s bullies about this new headgear and the mean name-calling is on.
Reading about how Max deals with this change was very inspirational. She took all her negative and sad energy and funneled it into a subject she really loved: journalism. And it wasn’t just about distracting herself from her changes or getting away from her bullies. It was about embracing her body and standing up to these mean kids at the same time.
Getting older has been great in many ways. This change of age means I get to stay up later with my parents and I get to watch movies or TV shows my younger sisters aren’t allowed to. (BTW the new season of Wednesday is out now, OMG.)
BUT, I also understand way more that is happening in my parents’ lives and sometimes it can cause anxiety or questions.
In Max’s world, she starts to understand more, too, and it’s not great. At all. Her parents fight about money, working overtime, and even their relationships with the kids—all in earshot. Max starts feeling sad and angry that her parents are fighting and keeping secrets.
I really liked reading about how Max learned to navigate change in adult relationships. Sometimes it can feel hard to talk to your parents about questions or fears you may have when it’s clear they are having a hard time even talking to each other.
Max finally tells her parents about the journalism competition and it seems to bring them all together. Max is able to feel connected to her parents even when they might not feel totally connected to each other. Max learns that by continuing to communicate with them about her fears and questions, they will continue to show up and help her. They show up in ways like helping her on her journalism project. They read her writing, give feedback, and support her in many different ways.
Now for this next section, I definitely know how Max feels. Siblings cause all kinds of change. I still remember the good old days of being an only child….sweet, sweet bliss.
Remember how I told you that Max’s younger sister TOTALLY BETRAYED HER AND TOLD THOSE GOOD-FOR-NOTHING BULLIES AT SCHOOL ABOUT HER HEADGEAR?! (I’ll take a calm breath here. Whew.) Well, this change is all about Max and her sister coming together after that.
Max gets really mad at her sister (her name is
Alexis, BTW) over this betrayal and they start a sibling WAR. They go back and forth at each other’s throats until Alexis goes too far one day helping Max’s bullies with a nasty prank. Alexis gets suspended. While serving time in her suspension, Alexis has time to reflect and realizes Max is actually pretty great (oldest sisters always are). Max not only has to navigate the change with her sibling when their relationship is rocky but she also has to learn to navigate the change when her sibling wants to reconnect in a positive way. This doesn’t always look like a forced apology dictated from mom. Sometimes it’s letting someone pick the dinner option that night.
So my wish for you today, before I send you on your merry way, is that this book review has given you a novel to go in search of at your local library.
If you do read the book I hope it helps you ride the waves of change. Because the waves will come. They will. Just trust me on this one.
Sincerely,
Holden Lee (Who will never allow the change of sharing her room with any of her siblings. Never. EVER. Do you hear me, Mom? Never.)
By William Wheeler
Okay kiddo, let’s brainstorm about how to get that achy loose tooth finally out :
Wrap dental floss around Ellie the Remote Control Elephant, then hit Spin.
Tumble down the grass of Sledding Hill, stop yourself with your face.
Papa Bill grabs the apple in your mouth, then backflips off the front porch.
Gently bite down on the neighbor’s Labrador’s tail— everybody yells, “Squirrel!”
Maybe, we can laugh it out? Or at least, ease the dull ache of those small but stubborn parts of us leaving us.
Kid, this little jaw jewel you thought was permanent is not.
It feels strange to want gone even a small piece of these wondrous bodies we’ve been given.
But this loss is growth, making mouth room for the next tooth you will sport like a champ into old age. (How amazing that its knitting started when you were a baby!)
Let’s let losing a tooth remind us we only wear our bodies, like a jumpsuit, for a little while. The true you doesn’t fall out, or decay with cavities, or chip on accident. (And yes, though your soul is eternal, still brush your teeth, bruh.)
I know it hurts. Try this: Talk through the awkwardness, like weird prayer.
We can use our tongues, with uneasy wiggles, to work what bothers us out of our mouths, and into the air above us. Offer up the pain, the strangeness, the accidents, and mistakes.
We never know how long it takes.
Leroy woke up sneezing again. The birds tweeted above him. The squirrels squeaked, and the bugs buzzed. As he yawned, he combed his fingers through his long, thick beard. He sneezed again as he stood and heard Loretta shout, “God bless yer nostrils!”
Leroy shouted back, “My nostrils don’t need no blessing!”
“Sounds like someone’s in a mood! Hmmph!” Loretta shouted back. She hummed as she flipped the flapjacks over the stove.
Leroy was in a mood. And had been for days.
“I’m sorry, Loretta. A sneeze woke me up and I, I dunno.” Leroy paused. “I guess I’m just feeling like prospectin’ ain’t what it used to be.”
Leroy was a gold prospector and had been his whole life. Loretta also prospected, but had been filling her time with knitting clubs and book clubs and squirrel pie clubs. So much so, she hardly had time for prospecting with Leroy. At least that’s how it felt.
Leroy and Loretta set out years before to mine the caves of Tortuga. They spent every waking moment sifting through the silt of the rivers flowing down to the sea in search of gold nuggets. They had very little success, but it felt like a gift to spend their days together doing something they both loved.
It didn’t feel like that anymore, and Leroy was in a mood about it.
“Why don’t you ever go prospecting with me anymore, Loretta?” Leroy said this with a mouth
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full of flapjacks.
“You know I love prospecting, but Joanna at the saloon is waiting on my squirrel dumplings. Then Trisha and I are meeting to discuss the newest Bob the Good Pirate novel. After that, it’s afternoon tea with the girls, and then back home for dinner.”
Leroy grunted and shoved another handful of flapjacks in his mouth. Loretta stopped what she was doing and sat down next to Leroy.
“Leroy, I think it’s time you went and made yerself some friends.”
“But what if today is the day we’ve been waiting for?”
“Leroy, that gold will be there tomorrow. Now I know you’ve been putting this off. You think those pirates won’t like you, or something. But you need some friends.”
Leroy knew deep down, beneath the beard and the overalls, deep down in his heart, Loretta was right. But Leroy was scared.
“I don’t even know how to make friends. Unless, of course, you count my squeaking squirrel friends.”
“Squirrel friends don’t count! Now go down there and find something in common to talk about.”
“I like gold. I bet those pirates like gold, too.” Leroy said this while scratching his beard and standing up from the log to stretch his back.
“Yes. Yes. Talk about gold. Now go!” Loretta was shooing him down the path from their home by the river toward the town of Tortuga.
Tortuga was most known for pirates. And it should be. If you weren’t a pirate in Tortuga, you were at least pirate adjacent.
Except for Leroy.
The only things he had in common with pirates were a love for gold and poor hygiene.
But Leroy was determined. It was time to stop talking to squirrels about people and start talking to people about squirrels.
When he spotted Ringo the blacksmith, he was ready for a friend.
“I once talked to a squirrel for two hours straight before realizing there was no squirrel in the first place,” Leroy blurted out without any introduction.
Ringo stopped his hammering and looked up at the short, bearded, dust-crusted man standing in front of him. Ringo was a man of few words and wasn’t used to the up-front friendliness Leroy was presenting.
Leroy felt a bit shy and decided to try another tactic.
“I love gold! Do you love gold?”
Ringo did love gold and, without saying anything, walked to the back of the shop to find his gold squirrel figurines to show his new friend.
Unfortunately, Leroy took his departure as a sign that Ringo was not interested in a friendship. By the time Ringo got back with his figurines, Leroy was gone.
Farther down the road, Leroy decided to walk into the local saloon. Behind the bar, a parrot was repeating, “First the dog and now the auntie.”
“Excuse me! I was wondering if any gold lovers were here,” Leroy shouted.
Joanna, the barkeep, looked out over the saloon to see who spoke, but couldn’t see anyone. Leroy was very short, and couldn’t quite get his head into view even on his tiptoes.
He tried again. “Excuse me! I was wondering if any gold lovers were here!”
Joanna scanned the room again, still not seeing anything–this time more alarmed, before looking at the parrot.
“I wonder where the bird learned that one.”
Leroy was about to repeat it, but he heard a bark outside that sounded almost like a squirrel squeak, and decided to run out and see
what it was.
Of all the strange things he had seen over the years, Leroy had never seen something like this. The squirrel had a tiny tail and wore a leash and a collar. The squirrel walked beside a man at least three times as tall as Leroy.
“Can I pet yer squirrel?” Leroy shouted before looking up at the man towering next to him. As he got a better look at the man, he regretted ever approaching the odd squirrel.
The man wore a black hat with a skull on its crest. The patch over his eye sat above a mouth full of yellow teeth. He held the leash with a tight grip and stared down at Leroy.
“Umm. Well. I was wondering if I might pet yer squirrel…uh…sir,” Leroy repeated, looking down and wishing he could run away.
“What is yer name?” the man asked, eyes fixed.
“Leroy. I live up in them hills. I love gold. And I’m looking for a friend… Would you like to be my friend?”
The man paused, staring, before he spoke again. “I’m Captain Blackbeard. And this is not a squirrel.”
“What?!?! Then what in tootin’ tarnation is this creature?” Leroy whipped his hand away and stepped back.
“This is Aburito. My dog.”
“Well, I don’t know what dinner has to do with this.”
Leroy cautiously stepped forward.
looking dog I ever seen.”
The whole town gasped at this. Captain Blackbeard paused, smiled, and picked up his dog, Aburito.
“I was considering your request for friendship. You do not seem to be a threat. You may be enjoyable to have around as entertainment. But, unfortunately, a man who does not love my dog is no friend of mine.”
With that, Captain Blackbeard unsheathed his sword. Leroy, who knew enough to know that this was not going in his favor, blurted out, “Squeaking squirrels with sassafrass!
I think it’s high time I got gettin’ back home.”
Captain Blackbeard lunged at Leroy, but because Leroy spent so much time around squirrels, he’d learned some quick maneuvers.
Leroy scurried through Blackbeard’s legs, jumped up to clack his heels together, and ran off before Blackbeard could figure out how he got away.
Joanna, the barkeep, looked out the window, shocked by the little bearded man running for his life down the streets of Tortuga. Ringo the blacksmith tried waving at Leroy to show him the figurines, but Leroy kept moving.
Despite his speed and squirreliness, Captain Blackbeard and his squirreldog were gaining on him. In a final attempt to shake them, Leroy dove into what he thought was a small ditch beside the road.
The ditch, much to his surprise and relief, was a cave. Blackbeard and Aburito ran by without seeing Leroy, and the immediate danger of insulting a pirate’s dog had passed.
Leroy woke up sneezing in the cave an hour later. All the attempts at friend-making and running away made Leroy a different kind of tired. The quiet of the cave and the stillness of the air calmed him to a point where he couldn’t keep his ruffled eyes open any longer. It took him a moment to figure himself out. He remembered running, and then a strange dog, and then the rest of his journey came into memory, and he jumped. The jump sent the top of his head into the top of the cave.
“Yelping yipsters! That hurt!” Leroy shouted, and then quickly quieted, remembering what could be waiting for him outside the cave. Leroy was used to talking to himself, so it wasn’t weird that he did so now.
“Loretta is not gonna be too happy about my present predicament. I guess squirrel friends are as good as I’m going to get!”
down in him sank. He didn’t know how much he wanted a friend until he went looking for one. He sat down, his overalls a bit damp on the britches from the bottom of the cave. He kept feeling his deep-down sink more and more until he wasn’t sure if he could feel any lower. He tried to lie down, thinking he might just need a bit more rest. But while he looked for a comfortable place to do so, his hands felt something strange.
Leather. Like old worn paper. It was a scroll.
With just enough light coming through the cave opening, he unrolled the scroll with wide eyes and his tongue out. The scroll felt ancient, and the art that covered the scroll was exquisite. In the upper left, a drawing of Tortuga started
even imagine. He didn’t fully know what he was looking at, but knew it was important. And he did understand one image on the scroll—the picture of treasure beneath the “X” on the bottom right.
“Well, Leroy,” he said to himself. “It looks like you might have just stumbled yerself upon a treasure map.”
Leroy thought about this. He didn’t think about much, besides gold and squirrel pies and the way he loved Loretta’s hearty laugh. But today was a day for firsts. He thought long. He thought hard. And finally, with his tongue sticking as far out of his mouth as he could, he found an idea swimming around in his head.
“I do love gold, but this looks like more than an old prospector like me could handle. But,” Leroy rubbed his hands together as his eyes danced over the treasure map, “I don’t need to find this treasure. This here map could help me find a friend.”
Leroy smiled big. So big his four teeth shone as bright as gold in the darkest of caves. His eyes danced with wonder as he imagined an adventure beyond the river and the caves and the squirrels he knew and loved.
He smiled so big, the deep down started rising back up and the hope that was lost became found.
He rolled up the scroll and with one final declaration, yelped,
“Better go get Loretta!”
Moving is a huge change that can be exciting and stressful and everything in between. We caught up with Hayes (14) and Kyler (15) Kimmel about what it was like to move from Arizona to Oregon 5 years ago. Here are their top 5 tips to keep in mind if you ever find yourself packing up those Legos for someplace new.
Hayes:
When they first told us, we weren’t happy ‘cause we had a ton of friends. But after we talked more about it we got used to the idea and it was kind of fun and exciting to look at houses.
Kyler:
2. Give it Time
Hayes:
If someone is having a hard time with a move, I would say—it will get better. When you move it starts out awkward and weird and you don’t know where you belong, but over time you’ll find your place. You’ll find friends.
3. Explore Your New Neighborhood
Kyler:
Spend some time exploring around your new neighborhood and find some things about it you like.
Hayes:
When we moved here there were a ton of kids in our neighborhood and we all played tag and that helped a lot to make immediate friends.
4. Keep Your Old Friends
Kyler:
I liked the idea ‘cause we had gone to Oregon beforehand and I really liked it. They didn’t tell us we were moving yet (they hadn’t decided yet), which was helpful so we could see what it was like first.
1. Try New Things
Kyler:
I would tell kids to just try a lot of new things after they move. When I moved I decided to join boy scouts and that was really helpful in making new friends.
Before you move, make sure to get the contact info from your friends so you can keep in touch. I wish I had done more of that.
5. Some Things Don’t Change
Hayes:
Whenever we missed the bus to school we would listen to Twenty One Pilots in the car, and when we moved we also did that, which was nice. It helped to have similar routines with the little things.
HOW TO DRAW
Try starting with a pencil.
, but I’m not here to trick or devour anyone. I just wanted to tell you the story about how wolves are the best, strongest, coolest, most important animal in the world. Without us, everyone suffers, and when I say everyone, I’m including otters. Don’t believe me? You’ve been listening to too many fairy tales. Those fairy tales are written by humans, and the way they write about us is totally unfair.
The best way to prove my point is to tell you about Yellowstone Park. We were living in that forest long before some guy came along and decided to give it a stupid name like “Yellowstone.” I mean, the stones aren’t yellow, but there are lots of other real, interesting things in the park. There are geysers! Why not call it Water Shooty Park?
Anyway, that was OUR territory.
Like any other creature, we get hungry, and when we’re hungry, we like to eat meat. That means hunting and killing animals. Don’t judge us. Think about what you ate in the last week. Do you think hamburgers grow on trees?
Anyway, the more humans started coming around, the more they painted us as the bad guy. They felt sorry for the elk and they’d get pretty miffed when we went onto their ranches to eat the occasional cow. Everyone likes a steak, can you blame us?
After criticizing us for “terrorizing” the park, they decided to terrorize us! Suddenly, we, the best, strongest, coolest, most important animals in the world, were being hunted!
Before long, they received payback for what they did. There were only a few of us wolves left, but we watched as the little herds of elk decided to come out from the trees, form one big herd, and have an absolute blow-out party in the meadow.
And do you know what they did? The elk ate EVERYTHING. They ate the shrubs. They ate the grasses. They ate the berries. They ate the saplings. They weren’t even that hungry and they kept eating! I call that greedy
But this is where things get good. Everyone got to find out what jerks the elk are. Since the elk ate all the tall grasses, the rabbits had no place to hide from coyotes. Without the berry bushes, bears went hungry. With fewer trees, birds didn’t have anywhere to live. That’s right! They took away birds’ houses, for goodness, sake! They’re monsters!
But they didn’t stop there. Ruining life for the land creatures wasn’t enough. They danced around on the riverbank so much that they kicked all the dirt up and made the water all muddy. Basically, they destroyed the fish's homes too. They ate the plants that beavers had built dams with, so there were no dams, and without dams slowing the water down, where are otters going to float around and take naps? Even I think otters are cute. The elk should have known better than to mess with the otters!
In no time flat, the elk had turned the meadows into little wastelands with no flowers or songbirds or otters!
This is about the time the humans realized their mistake—when the elk made the cute things disappear. Everyone had to suffer for decades just because the humans didn’t think wolves should be allowed to eat!
It took the humans a long time to humble themselves and work up the courage to do it, but they finally went up to Canada where they actually have some respect for my kind, and invited—no—begged a pack of wolves to move down to Yellowstone.
I still remember the day those wolves arrived. I was just a pup back then, but we formed a pack and what do you suppose we did next?
Those Canadian wolves had never seen so much food in their lives! The reign of the wolf had returned and when we were once again the kings of Water Shooty Park, the elk hid in fear. Without those pesky elk going around eating until their stomachs practically exploded, the grasses, shrubs, berries, flowers, and trees grew back. The water was cleaner for the fish. Beavers had building materials again. After the beavers built back the dams, you know what else made a comeback? Those tasty little otters! … Did I say tasty? I meant cute. Yes. Very cute.
And that’s why we’re the best. The humans have come to their senses and started protecting us. Now it’s illegal to kill a wolf. It should always have been that way. You know why? Because we’re the best, strongest, coolest, most important animals in the world and we deserve to feast on elk.
Now that my story is done, you ought to be afraid of me again. To tell you the truth, we really can be pretty tricky, and boy do we like to gobble up some meat.
Chili Crisp Pasta
Recipe by Norah D.
Serving size: 4 - Total time 50 min
Ingredients
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup tomato paste
1 ½ tablespoons chile crisp
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 pound of pasta (any kind)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
Basil and Parmesan for topping
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions. (Heads-up: Once the pasta is done you’re going to want to save a cup of the pasta water to use later.)
2. While pasta is cooking, finely mince the shallots and garlic.
3. In a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and melt, then sauté the shallots and garlic until soft and golden. Add tomato paste and stir until it turns a rust color. At this point, add the crisp and sauté for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and put your tomato mixture in a bowl. Set it aside.
4. Next, make the roux. First, melt 3 tablespoons of butter on low heat. Let the butter melt completely before adding the flour. Whisk the flour into the butter until smooth.
5. Add the milk and continue stirring until fully incorporated with the butter and flour mixture. Add in your chile crisp and tomato mixture and continue to stir on low to medium heat until thickened. Add salt and pepper.
6. Add ¾ cup of pasta water (or more if you want it thinner) to the sauce along with your cooked pasta, and simmer until the pasta is mixed in with the sauce, a couple minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir until melted. Check seasoning and add more salt if needed. Top with basil and Parmesan. You could also add chicken or protein of your choice. Yum!
What is a roux?
Although making a roux might seem daunting, it can actually be really straightforward! It is made from equal parts flour and butter and is a thickening agent in a lot of popular sauces. It came from 17th-century France, and then came to America from French colonists. The best tool for making a roux is a flat whisk—sometimes even called a roux whisk.
What is chili crisp?
It’s a Chinese condiment made of chili flakes, crispy bits, and infused oil. It’s sold in a shelfstable jar in many grocery stores these days. I like to add it to rice, ramen, eggs, avocado toast, and more! Here are two store-bought chilicrisps that we reccommend:
Make it gluten-FREE!
My mom can’t eat gluten so if I’m making this for my whole family I use gluten-free flour and pasta. Either make all of it gluten-free or have two separate pastas. In this case, make sure to use the pasta water from the GF pasta, and pour the sauce over the two pastas rather than adding the pasta to the sauce in step 6. It turns out just as good!
Iremember the first time I tried chili crisp. I love spice and unique flavors, and this checked both boxes for me. The first time I tried this recipe, I had no idea how it would turn out, but when I tried the sauce, I was surprised by the result. The sauce was creamy, spicy, and still held on to the flavors of the chili crisp without being overwhelming. This is now my go-to weekend lunch or dinner pasta recipe, and I don’t think I will ever go back. Cooking has become my outlet, the space that always calms me down, and I hope you find as much comfort in this recipe as I do!
A Note from Norah:
Carefully cut out the shapes from the above square, and fit them into the wolf on the left. You must use all seven pieces with no overlap!
If you want to, glue down your shapes and color your picture. What season do you think it is? How many other animals can you find hidden in the picture?
Tangrams are geometric puzzles made up of seven flat shapes cut out of a square—triangles, a smaller square, and a parallelogram. They were invented in China hundreds of years ago and we still have fun with them today!
Have you ever had a thought you didn’t like? Maybe it’s something that makes you feel scared, or a memory that makes you feel embarrassed. What if you could destroy the thought using your imagination?
Have a grown-up read this to you while you close your eyes and picture what’s happening. You might want to try it more than once.
• First, imagine the thought you don’t like as an object you can hold.
Perhaps it’s a shoebox with the thought inside. Maybe it’s a jar, or a bag of trash.
• Now imagine you’re holding the object at the top of a staircase. You look down into a dark, but safe, basement. With every step down, more of the basement comes into view. Old junk lines the walls—a roller skate, your old tricycle, a box of baby toys. In the center of the floor sits a big, old trunk. The paint is chipped, and rust gathers along the bottom.
• You open the trunk. It’s completely empty. You put the thought inside, close the lid, and wait a moment.
When you open it again, the object is gone. The trunk is completely empty. Thank goodness— your thought has vanished! You can stop here…or you can take it a step further.
• Suddenly, your arms bulge with the muscles of a professional wrestler. You heave the trunk above your head and carry it up the stairs. You step out through a screen door into a peaceful backyard that borders a calm lake.
• You set the trunk on a raft that bobs in the water. You line the raft with fireworks, give it a push, and watch it drift toward the middle of the lake.
• A very cool bow and arrow appear beside you. You light the tip of the arrow on fire, take aim, and snick! —the arrow flies straight and true. It ignites the fireworks, and the trunk bursts into glorious, sparkling flames before sinking to the bottom of the lake.
Don’t worry—the next time you visit the basement, there will be a new magical trunk waiting for you.
