This colorful and easy-to-read graphic novel will appeal to a young adult reader who enjoys a book set in the early 2000’s and can empathize with an outcast goth girl.
Liz Holme isn’t a good fit at her new high school and is struggling with multiple social issues. Just as she finds some sanctuary in the mall scene, gets a job, and makes a few new gaming friends, a possibly dangerous situation develops with a creepy teacher.
Liz’s realistic experiences will resonate with contemporary teens, especially those who may be negotiating a parental divorce or are dealing with being LGBTQ issues. I like that Liz is a strong character who demonstrates resiliency in the face of many odds; however, it was a bit clunky for me to read – the transitions were not very smooth in the storyline.
This book beautifully combines a soft romance with the challenges of having divorced parents.
Bailey and Charlie first meet on a plane when they are both flying to live with their other parent. They meet again when they are older, and their initial hate blossoms into a beautiful romance as they connect through their shared parental experiences.
This book is perfect for those looking to better understand the life of a child of divorce, or those who just want to cozy up for a sweet romance. I loved the banter throughout the book, as Charlie and Bailey learn that the other might not be so bad. Bailey’s mom’s boyfriend has a daughter, and I think there could have been more conflict there, where it felt very understated.
This high-adventure novel takes place in the frigid Antarctic in the early 1900’s. It has a gripping storyline but I felt the narrative was somewhat too elementary and I didn’t care for the diary format.
Clara has just come from the front lines of the violent suffragist movement in England, where women were being beaten for their demand that women have the same rights as men. She signs up for an Antarctic expedition just as WWI is starting, and encounters many challenges with the tortuous expedition itself and the all-male crew.
History buffs may enjoy the rendition of the famous Shackleton expedition told from a strong female protagonist’s point of view. Trigger warning: there is an attempted sexual assault in the story.
I enjoyed the extreme adventure depictions, and the descriptions of surviving in the Antarctic. I disliked the diary format spoken in a peculiarly juvenile voice (I imagine even an 18-year-old in 1914 would be a tad more sophisticated).
This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title ICE SKATING, but only provides a little information on the actual mechanics of ice skating. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what ice skating looks like but does not tell you how to ice skate. The color photos of young ice skaters build excitement for the sport.
The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Ice Skating?’, ‘On the Ice’, ‘Ice Skating Gear’, and ‘Ice Skating Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has two good site for more information of the three provided.
This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title SNOWSHOEING, but provides minimal information on the actual mechanics of snowshoeing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what snowshoeing looks like but does not tell you how to snowshoe. The color photos of young snowshoers build excitement for the sport.
The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Snowshoeing?’, ‘Walking on Snow’, ‘Snowshoeing Gear’, and ‘Snowshoeing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has only one good site for more information of the three provided.
This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING, but only provides a little information on the actual mechanics of cross-country skiing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what cross-country skiing looks like and tells you how to ski both classic and skate. The color photos of young skiers build excitement for the sport.
The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Cross-country Skiing?’, ‘Classic or Skate?’, ‘Cross-country Skiing Gear’, and ‘Cross-country Skiing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has two good sites for more information of the three provided.
This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title DOWNHILL SKIING, but provides minimal information on the actual mechanics of downhill skiing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what skiing looks like but does not tell you how to ski. The color photos of young skiers build excitement for the sport.
The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Downhill Skiing?’, ‘On the Hill’, ‘Downhill Skiing Gear’, and ‘Downhill Skiing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has only one good site for more information of the three provided.
Emory is a student at the Aldryn College for Lunar Magics. Each student’s magic is based upon the lunar cycle they were born under. For Emory, her magic has always been that of a healer, but she’s never been very accomplished. When her classmates, including her roommate, Romie, venture into a cave and all turn up dead, Emory is left with the feeling that there is something more behind their deaths, and the many others that came before them. What she begins to discover is that her magic is changing and there are secrets to her past she is only now discovering. Teaming up with Romie’s brother, Baz, who she believes can help her unlock the truth behind Romie’s mysterious actions leading up to that fateful day, they may be in way over their heads and not ready for the reality of their relationship. Although the plot concept was creative, I sometimes felt a little lost in the details and it often felt fragmented or forced. The story had a distinct progression but was a bit predictable in the end. If considering this for your library, I’d recommend this for high school ages as there is a significant bit of language and one romantic encounter, although the details were minimal.
The Moon is personified as it tells its life story in cute illustrations with smiley faces on the heavenly bodies. It is presented in eleven chapters using cartoon bubbles with the sun and moon giving factual information in a non-so-factual format.
I particularly liked the illustration of the orbiting moon around the earth while the earth is orbiting around the sun on pages 20-21, the waning and waxing moon on pages 36-37 and 40-41. The new moon on page 39 is subtle but very revealing. Having seen a solar eclipse in person, I especially enjoyed the illustrations of its approach on page 51 and at totality on page 53! While this book would be hard to use for a research project it has excellent illustrations for younger readers to understand the moon and its phases.
Beginning readers, who enjoy slap-stick humor, will want to read how Big Bub-the purple blob with arms and legs- makes it to the birthday party after he finds out his bicycle has two flat tires. Big Bub is too big to fit into the taxi, too heavy for the pick-up truck, and too slow to catch the bus. Then he sees the junk yard where he spots two old bumper cars which he uses as roller skates to get to the party.
Before the story, there is a list of “Word Families” (7), “Sight words” (25), and “Bonus words” (16) to warm the young reader up for success. After the story, there are three questions demonstrate the reader’s success in reading.
Sabrina Sue, the chicken, is infatuated with going to the moon after seeing it one moonlit starry night. Her farm friends try to talk her out of it. Sabrina Sue struggles with if she should stay safe or go on her adventure to the moon! She does her moon research, gets in great physical shape, and goes to the rocket for her adventure. She loves the moon. Then returns to earth to tell all of her farm friends about it and show them her moon rock.
This second graphic novel continues Huda’s story as she gains more confidence with who she is and her place in the world. In this book, she and her family take a trip to three of the Disney parks in Florida. That means a squished car ride for a day with her sisters and then staying with one for each day in the parks. They all get life lessons about having each other’s backs out in the world than they’re used to, including boys, comments about her dress & hijab, and public daily prayers. She also finds a potential friend and a renewed closeness with her sisters. I like the bright, simple illustrations with clear facial expressions. Huda has her own version of the “angel & devil on her shoulder” and they help us understand her internal dialogue and struggles along the way. I also liked that while the Disney parks are hinted at in the background of scenes, this is in no way an advertisement for Disney. The focus is on Huda and her family. While the storyline and dialogue are fairly simple, the issues are perfectly appropriate for middle and high school. Issues of religious freedom, consent, finding your voice, Islamophobia, and family values weave through the book. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you already have Huda F Are You? If you don’t – get both!
The second book in Jason Reynolds’ Track series, Patina follows Patty’s story on the track team. Ghost, the main character from book one, Sunny (book 3), and Lu (book 4) are minor characters this time. In this book, Patty struggles with family, the pressures of track and new relay team training, and the relationships with some of her teammates. It’s not easy that she and her sister now live with her uncle and his white mom, Momly (Mamacita) while also trying to help her biological mom with her medical needs. I both loved & hated the ending. (No spoilers other than it’s a big cliffhanger!) I know that’s a great way to keep readers reading, but I wanted to KNOW! For readers who are also runners, there are some great scenes about training for a relay race. I loved this fast-paced book that probably should be read after Ghost and before Sunny, but not completely necessary (other than the ending which will make readers want to find Sunny to find out what happened!) Don’t just get one book – get the whole series.
This review is for the Spanish copy, but was originally read by the reviewer in English.
Written in prose-poem form, Jacqueline Woodson’s newest book should not be missed. The book tells the story of Sage, growing up in the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn, also known as “The Matchbox”. The summer the story starts shows a neighborhood that seems to be constantly on fire and the sounds of fire sirens sounding on the night air. It’s also the summer Sage gets to know the new kid, Freddy. Sage spends most summer days playing basketball in the park with the boys with aspirations of going pro someday on an NBA team. That is until someone questions her identity and she does a really stupid thing that gets her grounded. It’s a year of change, of finding out who she really is, and remembering what she loves about this Brooklyn neighborhood. A beautiful book with poetic language that just flows. A little bit of basketball for the sports-lovers, but not so much that it will turn off those non-sporty readers. And while I love a long book, especially if it’s good (& this is!), I think it’s the perfect length for the readers who will be interested in the topic – not too long, not too short. A must get for any middle & high school library.
Andy Zhou is pretty used to being someone he truly isn’t in order to please others – whether it’s for his parents, his friend Cindy, or even being an invisible person in order to avoid trouble and attention. He’s used to coming out of his shell for his best friend Cindy, and recently, she’s gotten interested in a dance group called the movement. Add on the fact that there’s a new student named Jameel who wasn’t exactly the nicest, and Andy’s life is feeling troublesome. Things soon get more complicated as he tries to keep old friendships with Cindy and make new friendships, like with Jameel. He’s also struggling to figure out who he really is – switching between mask, after mask, constantly in order to please people. Jack Cheng has portrayed the relatable struggles of some people to create something we can laugh at, or feel comforted, knowing that there’s someone else out there struggling with the same thing. We aren’t alone. This book is one that people who don’t have a strong sense of identity or face stereotypes and expectations might find comfort in reading and connecting to the main character. Jack Cheng has done a stunning job at weaving in the troubles of how a person might struggle to fit into a different person to please others, and how sometimes, our ethnic and cultural background can set high expectations or stereotypes that aren’t always true. He does a great job at showing a young Chinese boy’s struggles and journey to identity and acceptance for himself.
I think that he did a great job describing and portraying the Lion dance that happens with all the drums and the movement of the lions themselves. I’ve seen a lot of Lion dances since it’s deeply ingrained into the Lunar New Year celebration in all different parts of the world that celebrate it. He did a spectacular job describing the actual events and the way the Lion moves around. It’s very accurate.He also did a great job portraying the struggles that sometimes happen for teenagers when we don’t know who we are, trying to please everyone else. We hide behind a different person- a mask of a person. Not to mention the stereotypes that could sometimes be unintentionally or intentionally put as a label on us because of others.
This is a pretty normal thing to say, but I love how the author puts in relatable things in this book. Sometimes, I struggle with figuring who I am, and sometimes I can’t shake the feeling that I’m invisible and forgettable. I could relate to Andy. I felt comforted and happy at the end, especially at the little author’s note at the end where he talked about how he related to the feelings and things put in this book. Not to mention the fact that I was raised differently than my parents, so sometimes I struggle to keep up with their expectations.I know what it’s like to have grandparents that don’t speak English at all (Although, I can’t exactly speak their language myself, I decently understand it.) The Lion dance that happened in this book hit a spot in my heart. I still get the happy, joyful, or even comforting feeling everytime I see the Dragon moving around, at the familiarity of the drums, the Lions jumping and wiggling around. It’s one of the things deeply ingrained into my culture and others who celebrate Chinese New Year. I really liked this book and highly recommend it.
By Victoria L., 7th grader at Komachin Middle School
Red Fox vs. Fisher by Nathan Sommer is part of a 40 book Bellwether Torque set of Animal Battles. This set is geared towards third grade through seventh grade, with full color pictures and a reading level of third grade. Perfect for your reluctant readers. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short introduction to each of the competitors.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, labeled photos, and infographics for easy access to information.
All of my students in elementary really enjoy this series, especially the pages showing the secret weapons of each animal and the hearing of a red fox! In each book you’ll find eye-catching colorful symbols that make the information pop and easy to understand.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your young researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Torque Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability. I love, and so do my readers, how the text is combined with the photos and graphics to make something on each page accessible to so many students. My students enjoy these immensely and often check out more than one.
I highly recommend adding this collection to your library collection.
Saltwater Crocodile vs. Great Hammerhead Shark by Nathan Sommer is part of a 40 book Torque set of Animal Battles. This set is geared towards third grade through seventh grade, with full color pictures and a reading level of third grade. Perfect for your reluctant readers. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short introduction to each of the competitors.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, labeled photos, and infographics for easy access to information.
All of my students in elementary really enjoy this series, especially the pages showing the secret weapons of each animal and the tooth size of the crocodile! In each book you’ll find eye-catching colorful symbols that make the information pop.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your young researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Torque Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability. I love, and so do my readers, how the text is combined with the photos and graphics to make something on each page accessible to so many students. My students enjoy these immensely and often check out more than one.
I highly recommend adding this collection to your library collection.
World War II by Alex Monroe is part of a Torque set of War Histories. This set is geared towards third grade through seventh grade, with full color pictures and a reading level of third grade. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short description of the war.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, and labeled photos.
My students in grade four and five really enjoy this series, especially the pages 8-9 where there is a comparison between the Axis Leader and Allied Leader. In each book you’ll find a timeline of the impact of the war on page 14-15 – this is done with eye-catching colorful symbols that definitely make you look toward the bottom of the page. I find the infographic on page 21 very useful, as it shows students fatalities and the impact of war with graphics that are easy to compare to one another.
This book also happens to have a box on page 13 that acknowledges the suppression of Japanese Americans during WWII, and how around 120,000 of them were interned in camps across the country. I would have liked to see this number also represented graphically in the infographic on page 21.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your young researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Torque Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability. My students enjoy these immensely and often check out more than one to compare different wars.
If you need to update your books on wars, I recommend adding this book to your library collection.
The American Revolutionary War by Kate Moening is part of a Torque set of War Histories. This set is geared towards third grade through seventh grade, with full color pictures and a reading level of third grade. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short description of the war.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, and labeled photos.
My students in grade four and five really enjoy this series, especially the page 11 gives details about the musket used during the war. In each book you’ll find a timeline of the impact of the war on page 18-19 – this is done with eye-catching colorful symbols that definitely make you look toward the bottom of the page. I find the infographic on page 21 very useful, as it shows students fatalities and the impact of war with graphics that are easy to compare to one another.
This book also happens to have a box on page 10 that acknowledges the role that Native Americans and Black soldiers played within the war. I appreciated this, however would have wished for a bit more than four sentences – maybe instead highlighting a Native American or Black soldier.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your young researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Torque Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability. My students enjoy these immensely and often check out more than one to compare different wars.
If you need to update your books on wars, I recommend adding this book to your library collection.
The Vietnam War by Alex Monroe is part of a Torque set of War Histories. This set is geared towards third grade through seventh grade, with full color pictures and a reading level of third grade. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short description of the war.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, and labeled photos.
My students in grade four and five really enjoy this series, especially the pages like 8 and 9 where the leaders of the two countries are compared with easy to read facts. In each book you’ll find a timeline of the impact of the war on page 18-19 – this is done with eye-catching colorful symbols that definitely make you look toward the bottom of the page. I find the infographic on page 21 very useful, as it shows students fatalities and the impact of war with graphics that are easy to compare to one another.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your young researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Torque Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability. My students enjoy these immensely and often check out more than one to compare different wars.
If you need to update your books on wars, I recommend adding this book to your library collection.
Craving that authentic, richly Hispanic fresh cooking one finds in many small-town, family-owned Mexican restaurants, then this fiesta of a cookbook is for you. While this beautifully crafted collection is meant to be breakfast forward –from salsas to drinks, to salads, soups, and sides– any of the recipes can be served for any meal in the day. Most of the recipes are made from traditional yet simple ingredients found in most major supermarket chains, though a trip to a specialty store will be required here and there. Pair a cactus and tomatillo cooler with the chicken mole folds. Perhaps a marinated panela cheese with watermelon, peach, and cucumber salad to bring a bit of health to the banana run french toast. Each recipe comes with a half-page or larger vividly colored photograph of the finished dish. Fifteen “Something Sweet”s finish this collection. The intro method on “How to roast a poblano chili” sets adventurists up for the several recipes that require the chili’s presence. This is a lovely addition to any cookbook collection — one that will make my Hispanic students proud to see and all other children hungry to try.
written by Rie Neal and Illustrated by Talitha Shipman
Astrid is excited to work with her best friend, Hallie, when the Petite Picassos and the Shooting Stars get together to combine art and science. She’s not as thrilled to have Pearl on the team. Pearl is competing against Astrid for a scholarship to space camp and she always says that Astrid doesn’t share or work with others. She called her a ‘plant hog’, for goodness sake! The trio work together (kind of…no, not really) and Astrid is worried that Pearl is trying to ruin the project. So, she and Hallie spy on her and realize that Pearl is just sneaking into the lab to feed a hurt bunny. She isn’t there to ruin the project. They pull together as a team to care for the bunny and tell Mrs. Ruiz, the teacher, who adopts the bunny as a class pet. Even though they didn’t win, they learned the value of teamwork and trust.
The kids appear ethnically diverse and Astrid uses hearing aids. While not a huge part of the story, it is incorporated seamlessly into the book. This is wonderful, because there are very few books with differently-abled characters, who are just part of the group, getting into mischief like their peers. The focus on girls in science is very positive and much needed. There are black and white illustrations throughout and the language is very accessible. This is a very nice addition for those that need some easier chapter books. Presently, there are four books in the series.
Kenya by Monika Davies is part of a Blastoff Readers series of Countries of the World. This set is geared towards kindergarten through grade 3, with short sentences, bright color photographs, and bolded vocabulary words. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short description of the country.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, and labeled photos – perfect for introducing a country to early elementary through third grade and working with them on identifying non-fiction text features.
Each section includes several short sentences and a photograph describing the country (p. 4), land and animals (p. 6), and what life is like in Kenya (p. 12).
This book is a good introduction to a foreign country. The photos show different parts of the country and are eye-catching for younger students. I love the facts pages (p. 20-21) as it summarizes the points talked about in the book and adds details.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your beginning researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Blastoff Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability.
If you need books for younger elementary students about countries, I recommend adding this book to your library collection.
Theodore Roosevelt by Rebecca Pettiford is part of a Blastoff Readers series of the American Presidents. This set is geared towards kindergarten through grade 3, with short sentences, bright color photographs, and bolded vocabulary words. Each book is 24 pages and starts with a table of contents a short description of the former president.
This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, and labeled photos – perfect for introducing a president to early elementary through third grade and working with them on identifying non-fiction text features.
Each section includes several short sentences and a photograph describing the president’s background is (p. 6) and their time in office (p.12).
This book is a good, biography of the Theodore Roosevelt. The photos show different parts of the former president’s life, although all are tinted green. I love the timeline page (p. 19) as it summarizes the points talked about in the book.
This series also includes a page referring you to Factsurfer (factsurfer.com) for additional kid friendly web sources. I liked this website and feel like it would be a great place for your beginning researchers to find online sources, or broaden their knowledge base. At the website you type in the title of your book, click the picture of the book cover that pops up, and then are given three age appropriate sites to go to for more information.
I find these Blastoff Readers a go-to in my library because I know I can count on them for their eye-catching covers and photos, their quality, and their consistency in content and readability.
If you need books for elementary students about presidents, I recommend adding this book to your library collection.
This bright, colorful, nonfiction text teaches key coding concepts through step by step unplugged activities. I love that this series (Adventures in Unplugged Coding), geared for 3-8 grades, and how they use fun concepts, games, and activities to teach efficiency in coding, loops, and commands to upper elementary and beyond. There are fun activities that need minimal supplies as well as activities you can do with peers. The book has plenty of text, but it’s presented in cut-outs and with different color backgrounds, and fun images so it doesn’t feel text heavy and overwhelming. Each unplugged activity has numbered steps, a supply list, and then a section to see how you did. There are also extensions for each activity in the “coding challenge” sections!
This is perfect for the upper elementary crowd. You will find all your classic nonfiction text features in this book: a table of contents, glossary, bolded words, cutouts, images that support the text. Each of the books in this series also has a “to learn more” page where you are provided with resources you might find at the library as well as the resources you will find on the web.
My students love this series and how, no matter their interests, there is a coding book for them.
