pub date: April 21, 2020
The Water Bears is a terrific middle-grade novel by Kim Baker. It's about thirteen-year-old Newt Gomez, a boy who is recovering from a bear attack that left him scarred--on the outside and the inside. Newt lives on an island that has eccentric characters and maybe even a lake monster. It also has memories--good ones and, since the bear attack, traumatic ones. If he lived on the mainland, his family wouldn't be the only Latinx family in town, and he could be near his relatives--and farther from his nightmares. When he finds a bear statue, his best friend thinks it might grant wishes. But that couldn't happen. Could it?
I'm a huge fan of Kim Baker. Kim writes stories filled with my favorite ingredients for middle-grade novels: heart, hope, and humor. I love The Water Bears, and I highly recommend it.
Simon says, "Read The Water Bears by Kim Baker."