Laura's Bookshelf: Finding Perfect

Happy Poetry Friday!I recently added a line to my email signature. Along with my title (poet in the schools) and the titles of my children's novels (The Last Fifth Grade, Takedown), you will now see "Currently reading: ---" listed under my name.Publicly sharing what I'm reading is a practice I learned from educator friends, a way of showing the children we teach that adults -- like kids -- read for school and for pleasure.This week I finished a book I've been meaning to read for months, Elly Swartz's  middle grade novel, FINDING PERFECT. It's the story of middle schooler and slam poet Molly, who is experiencing a lot of turbulence in her life. Her parents are back together after a brief separation, but her mother has taken a year-long job in Canada. Molly, her father, and her siblings are struggling with this transition. Each handles missing Mom in a different way.On the surface, Molly is the perfect kid: a good friend, great student, and talented poet. But her perfectionism is a coping mechanism, hiding her anxiety. As the stress caused by her mother's absence deepens, Molly's obsessive compulsive tics begin to impact her friendships, family, and sense of self.FINDING PERFECT is a favorite of upper elementary and middle school educators and their students. The first person voice allows readers to get to know Molly when she's feeling mainly like herself. We travel through the story with her, experiencing the way OCD and anxiety gradually weigh her down. This is a great book to prompt a conversation about empathy.Here is the Goodreads blurb for FINDING PERFECT :To Molly Nathans, perfect is:• The number four• The tip of a newly sharpened number two pencil• A crisp, white pad of paper• Her neatly aligned glass animal figurinesWhat’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are often broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Slam Poetry Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with table cloths. Molly’s sure her mother would never miss that. Right…?But as time goes on, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly’s world from spinning out of control. FINDING PERFECT is a great read for upper elementary through early high school.Who will like it?

• Kids who are interested in psychology and how people's emotions work.
• Kids who are experiencing a difficult separation.
• Readers who enjoy friendship and family stories.

What will readers learn about?

• Obsessive compulsive disorder. Swartz conducted extensive research for this novel. Resources are listed in the back.
• The importance of reaching out to peers and adults during times of stress and anxiety. Some changes are too big to handle by yourself!
• Empathy. Molly is a relatable character who explains why some people have nervous tics and compulsions.

The poem I'm pairing with FINDING PERFECT is "Perfection" by Naomi Katz. Lines two through four describe how Molly feels as she measures, with a ruler, the space between the glass animals collected on her shelf. As a whole, the poem reminds me of how Molly pressures herself to create the perfect slam poem for a school competition.PerfectionNaomi KatzAlways that passion in the human breast,That restless passion for The Perfect Thing,With its sifting, sorting, rule and measure-string,And a terrible eye for the error manifest.Yet, well for the sometime jewel emerged from the quest!And well for the seldom ore with the mellow ring!And well for the hunter whose diligent hands can bringOne easeful object to the great Unrest.Slow is the process, infinitely slowUp the tedious road with Perfection for its goal;Read the rest at the Poetry Foundation.Swartz has another middle grade novel coming out in January. You can read more about SMART COOKIE here.(Elly and I have something important in common: Both of us are Beagle moms! And both of us worked our beloved Beagles into our second books.)I hope you're snuggling up with a book and some holiday cookies this weekend.LauraCurrently reading: EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid