Octopus Moon

Pearl does everything with Rosie and Mia, but things are changing. They are headed to fifth grade. They will change classes, have lockers, and maybe have different lunches. As summer ends, Pearl starts to feel different. Suddenly, what used to be easy, like running and homework, seems too difficult to do. She has no classes with her friends, she can’t get organized, she loses her unfinished homework, and she feels like she’s in a thick, gray fog. She doesn’t make the track team, and her teachers tell her parents she is really behind. Can Pearl find her way out of the fog?

Author Bobbie Pyron has tackled a very tough topic, looking at the onset of clinical depression at such a young age. Told in lyrical free verse from Pearl’s point of view, this is a moving story that will engage young readers, tapping into their natural empathy. There is a lot of teaching that goes on in this story, but it never becomes the least bit didactic. The writing is lovely, and the characters are realistic and well-rounded. This book deserves to be read far beyond its intended audience. Do not miss this wonderful book.