Read, Discuss, and Do with MARI IN THE MARGINS

By Marci Whitehurst The best books make readers feel like they aren’t alone. They’re seen. Understood. Our very own  Rebecca J. Gomez  accomplishes this flawlessly in Mari in the Margins , her new middle grade novel in verse, published by Bandersnatch Books. It releases May 14 th !  Here’s a snippet about the novel, which you’ll surely want to READ:   For Marivel Jiménez, life in her big family is full of chaos. Feeling overlooked by her parents and overshadowed by her siblings is frustrating, and it's even worse to have the constant attention of her annoying, mischievous three-year-old sister, Susana.  Caught between her need to be noticed and her dream of having time to herself, Marivel pours herself into poetry and, eventually, art journaling. When she hears of a school-wide poetry contest, she sees winning as a chance to escape the margins of her family and finally be seen. Doesn’t that sound amazing? That’s because it is. I was honored to read the book ahead of its release—and
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What is Read, Discuss, Do?



Read, Discuss, Do! exists to help you extend the magic of story time beyond the last page!

Reading with a child is a magical thing. It's fun. It helps create and maintain human connection. It helps young readers build their vocabulary, learn literacy skills, and develop empathy. Imagine taking that magic and supercharging it! You can, and you don't have to be a librarian or reading teacher to do it. All it takes is three simple steps:

Read a book. Talk about the book. Do a simple activity inspired by the book.

Simple. No need to search Pinterest for "story time ideas" and end up lost in a sea of boards, lists and links dedicated to library and classroom story time ideas. 

That is why I started Read, Discuss, Do! To offer simple (often book-specific) ideas that can be used by anyone--parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians--to make the most out of reading with kids.

So, take a look around. Hopefully you will find some ideas and inspiration to read, discuss, and do with the young readers in your life.

Happy reading! 

Rebecca