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The Bee’s Bookshelf is a place to explore the connection between stories and spelling, and to celebrate your favorite books with friends. Each month, subscribers receive an email with the monthly selection, a spelling list with words from the book and fun extras like printable bookmarks.
this month's book
The In-Between
by Katie Van Heidrich
In the early 2000s, thirteen-year-old Katie Van Heidrich has moved more times that she can count, for as long as she can remember. There were the slow moves where you see the whole thing coming. There were the fast ones where you grab what you can in seconds. When Katie and her family come back from an out-of-town funeral, they discover their landlord has unceremoniously evicted them, forcing them to pack lightly and move quickly.
They make their way to an Extended Stay America Motel, with Katie’s mother promising it’s temporary. Within the four walls of their new home, Katie and her siblings, Josh and Haley, try to live a normal life.
Lyrical and forthcoming, Katie navigates the complexities that come with living in-between: in between homes, parents, and childhood and young adulthood, all while remaining hopeful for the future.
about the author
Katie Van Heidrich graduated from Brown University with a BA in Africana studies and religious studies. Upon graduation, she taught fifth grade reading and social studies at a charter school in Charlotte, North Carolina through Teach for America. Katie relocated to San Francisco, California in 2015 and continued to teach and coach middle school social studies. Working with underserved children from diverse backgrounds, she is tasked with empowering students to reimagine the world we live in while affirming their place in it. In her daily teaching, Katie aims to help children realize their abilities to advance change. In her free time, Katie is an avid reader and self-proclaimed picture book enthusiast. She and her husband are the parents of two young sons.
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