Today's Book Recommendation

Title: Aniana Del Mar Jumps In​

Author: Jasminne Mendez

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse

Age Range: 9+

Summary: Ani loves to swim. When in the water — whether the ocean around her home of Galveston, TX or in the pool for a swim meet — Ani is free and able to fly. But her Mami, plagued by traumatic hurricanes of her youth, fears the water and forbids Ani from swimming. And Ani’s own body aches and swells from an autoimmune disease that challenges Ani to accept all parts of herself.

Teaching with Aniana Del Mar Jumps In

Recommend it during independent reading:

• Ani’s Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis diagnosis will be relatable to your students with chronic illnesses or diseases. They may not be accustomed to seeing their health journey reflected back to them in a book.
• Young athletes will delight in Ani’s competitive swimming: the competitions, trophies, scouting, and setbacks.
• Ani’s Mami immigrated to the USA from the Dominican Republic, creating a thoughtful storyline of growing up with parents caught between two cultures.
• Maria Tere is Ani’s fun-loving, basketball-playing best friend who likes girls. Her first crush unfolds throughout the story and is a magnetic storyline for readers navigating young romantic feelings.

---

This newsletter is brought to you by...

Your opportunity to get a customized list of 50+ books to fill your classroom library.

Check it out ⇗

---

Have a good one and learn everything you can,

Hannah