First loves make your heart beat fast, make your cheeks burn pink, and make you shy even when they’re your best friend. Archie and Zack love eachother, and everyone knows this. Archie decides to write Zack a note, from A to Z, but he feels something is missing, so he hides it in a tree. He writes another one, but again hides it. He writes a third note, and hides that one as well. Three classmates find the notes: Zuzella, Zinnia, and Zelda. All who the note could be for since it didn’t say Zack – but each knew the note was from Archie to Zack because everyone knew they loved eachother.

This cute picture book is the perfect first love story, a perfect depiction of people who are just meant to be, and a perfect picture story of acceptance. I enjoyed that the illustrations add to the story, in fact, you need them to fully understand what Archie feels as he wonders whether this will be the note he gives to Zack.

If you are looking for an LGBTQIA+ fiction picture book to add to your collection, this sweet story is the one! Don’t forget to check out the cover under the jacket for a surprise!

Brave Face, a memoir by Shaun David Hutchinson, is not light-hearted reading.  Hutchison explores his self-worth, sexuality, depression, and anxiety through a tumultuous time in his life. All of it – good, bad, and ugly. His journey is told honestly as he swirls through thoughts of self.

Shaun struggled to fit in even in parochial elementary schools with many trips to the principal’s office. High school finds him in all new surroundings in a much larger public school with none of his old friends around.  His love of fantasy stories allows him to land a part in a school play and he feels at home with the students in the drama department. He learns he can “play a part” even in real life because of his sexuality. This leads to little things setting him off with feelings of anger and rage, such as his mom asking him to do a simple chore. In Shaun’s words, “By society’s definition, any gay man was going to live a lonely life of constant lies, die of aids, become the victim of someone who didn’t even see him as a human being, or worse. There was no future to being gay.  Therefore, I couldn’t be gay. I had a future. I’d spent a lifetime building the vision of who I wanted to be, and that person was not a fag.” Some friends will walk away as he decides to come out after high school. But he is a smart man and continues to do well academically.

Throughout the book, Shaun shares his thought process and contorted inner self-talk and the role depression has played in his life. Which Shaun was he? Why was he smoking? The cutting and burning to hide his intellectual self-loathing. The drugs. The break-ups. The suicide attempt. The commitment for treatment. The recovery. The straight-A student. The brilliant writer.

His story is written to show there is light at the end of the tunnel. It could be an eye-opener that will help one in their understanding of self or others.  Ultimately, it is a look into the mind that is a beautiful, exciting, and scary thing.

As part of the History of Crime and Punishment series, Abdo’s For-Profit Prisons explains the concept and history behind the creation of for-profit prisons. As early as 1825, the state of Kentucky began the practice of making money by leasing out prisoners. When slavery was abolished, the use of prisoners became more common as a means to replace slave labor. Newspaper accounts of the mistreatment and inhumane conditions forced Congress to pass legislation barring Federal prisons from leasing out their prisoners, but it could not curb private prisons on a national level. Individual states enacted their own patchwork of laws. But when the US got “tough on crime” in the 1980’s with drug possession laws and the 1990’s with three-strikes laws, prison populations ballooned and taxpayers didn’t want to pay for more prisons. Private investors were back in action. Private prisons are on the radar again today because of cost and treatment of inmates. This text gives plenty of specific details to teach readers about both sides of the prison argument. If this is a topic students in your school might investigate, perhaps in a street law course, then Harris’ text is worthy.

Parvin Mohammadi outwardly shows confidence in her boisterous comments and snarky remarks. But as with most fourteen-year-old girls, Parvin second-guesses herself, especially when it comes to boys. As the summer wraps up, Parvin has fallen for Wesley, who held her hand and then kissed her. They are an item, now, right? So why won’t he acknowledge her at the 9th-grade orientation two days later? As he explains, Parvin is just “too much”. Why does she feel so sorry for herself is one question she should be asking. But instead, she asks, how can I get him back. Enter the plan to slow her roll and make him jealous. All Parvin has to do is get Matty to ask her to homecoming. Surely that will let Wesley know he’s made a grave mistake. With best friends Fabian and Ruth helping to run the plot, Parvin pretend-flirts with Matty while also subconsciously flirting with her Farsi teacher and friend Amir. Intentions will become muddied, in as much as Parvin is muddied in realizing that she should not have to change who she is to impress a romantic interest and if she does, she’ll lose far more. This Iranian-American teen will see that self-confidence begins with self-love and her crazy hair, room-filling laugh, and prank-loving spirit are what make her Perfectly Parvin.

Grace Hansen has once again provided young readers with clear, concise, easy to understand, basic information on a subject without talking down to the reader, this time the subject is IGNEOUS ROCKS.

Igneous Rocks by Grace Hansen explains what igneous rocks are: where and how they are formed- including the rock cycle and what igneous rocks are used for in our lives.

Two or three sentences of information, in large font text, on the left side page accompany large (10.5″ X 9″) full page photos on the right side page.

The book includes: table of contents, index, glossary, and “abdokids.com to access crafts, games, videos, and more!” [GIK551] (24) The same website information can be obtained by using the QR code provided on the same page.

Bulldozers by Aubrey Zalewsk gives young readers basic information on why and where bulldozers are used. Bulldozers level ground, plow snow, build roads, mining, logging and can also be used by farmers.

The three main parts ( tracks, blade, and ripper) are labeled in a photo. The vocabulary words are highlighted in blue throughout the medium sized text of the book. The blue matches the outside spine of the book and other sidebar bits of information.

Bulldozers by Aubrey Zalewski has the added feature of four QR codes – one for each chapter. When the first QR code is scanned the reader will see of short video clip of bulldozers moving earth. The other QR codes will send the reader to more information (links), and activities. The same information can be obtained by going to popbooksonline.com/bulldozer on a computer.

Young readers will discover much about the real life of Clown Fish, made so popular in the movie FINDING NEMO.

Clown Fish by Emma Bassier has the added feature of four QR codes – one for each chapter. When the first QR code is scanned the reader will see of short video clip of the clown fish swimming. The other QR codes will send the reader to more information (links), and activities. The same information can be obtained by going to popbooksonline.com/clown-fish on a computer.

The format is the typical large font text on one page filled with color photos on the opposite page. The spine of the book is in purple, as are the vocabulary words as they are presented within the text.