This graphic novel has two stories set in London. Four kids (Tyler, Zoey, Kyle and Ashley) are part of the Mystery Club and are dedicated to solving mysteries involving monsters. In Wild Werewolves, the group solves the sudden appearance of numerous werewolves that roam the city. Mummy Mischief involves a lovelorn mummy roaming the subways. Both stories have an enemy named Harnak that is thwarted by the kids each time.
The stories are light and flow smoothly. The colors are bright and and the illustrations are not overdone. This is a fun, “safe” graphic novel for younger readers and won’t shock anyone. The reading level is set at a 2.8 and interest level at 3-6. But, younger students will certainly understand and enjoy it and your hi-lo readers will appreciate it.
Third grader Judy Moody has many moods and the one we read about here is jealousy. She is jealous of her classmate, Jessica Finch, who gets her picture on the front page of the newspaper for winning the spelling bee. Judy wants that same fame so badly that she will do anything to achieve it. As fans of Judy Moody know, this might backfire and Judy may well become rather infamous instead! Her brother, Stink, appears in this book as well. So, fans of his series may enjoy reading about Stink’s adventures with his sister as well.
Illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds are crisp and realistic, adding to the story as pictures the size of thumbnails to two page spreads. They move the story along nicely and give it a clean, fresh look. The cover art is bright and will attract young readers that might not have found the previous editions as appealing. Recommended.
When a young girl’s parents decide to simplify and downsize from their “ginormous” house with its (very) many pets, she worries that her pet-owning days are over. She learns about some wonderful new “pets” in her science class, organisms such as nematodes, paramecia and, her favorite, tardigrade (water bear). She makes a case for this new pet and her parents agree. The little girl is thrilled, because she can take her new pet anywhere – even to a new, smaller home!
This book introduces many discussion-worthy ideas that can lead in many different directions – research, narrative writing, art and science, to name a few. What does pet ownership entail? How many pets are too many? What are the many microscopic organisms around us? Can we collect and observe some of those organisms?
Text is spare and the illustrations are lively and colorful. The final page has a photo of the tardigrade and an author’s note with more information. Wow! This book is a great addition to your collection, simply due to its versatility and usefulness as a teaching tool. Plus, the kids will love the little critters inside. Highly recommended.
The concept of enough, too much and not enough are thoughtfully and simply conveyed in this picture book. One is a lot when talking about the sun, but not enough when talking about feeding ducks with one breadcrumb.
This story begins with a girl and her dog and a boy and his dog. Individually, the children play in the park with their pets and we see how the same number can be a lot, not enough or too much. Two is most often too much, especially when the two dogs’ leashes become tangled. But, one hello is a lot and brings the two friends and their pets together. The final page is a lovely scene with the now grown boy and girl, their daughter and a dog that looks like a mix of their two pets from the book’s beginning.
The illustrations are colorful and appealing. The text is minimal and the characters are diverse. The story will generate a good discussion about numbers and perspective.
“If Pluto was a pea,” begins every two page spread of this delightfully illustrated science book for the younger crowd. Two children camping in their backyard compare the solar system to everyday items, using a pea and Pluto as a starting point. For example, earth would be a golf ball (with measurements in both centimeters and inches) and the Jupiter would be a beach ball. The book ends with how small they are, but how big their thoughts are and how great the things they could do might be.
Digital illustrations of a black girl and white boy are energetic and engaging. Text is simple and repetitive. The information is presented in a format that young readers can understand, which is very helpful for a topic that is much bigger than most children can grasp. Comparisons at this level are a fantastic way to help students understand and relate to scientific content that they cannot touch or examine easily. It will be quite simple to gather the items noted in the text for reinforcement. Recommended.
Max, a young boy, and Marla, a barn owl, are best friends. One day, Max decides to build a kite and he draws his face on it, so that he and Marla can “fly together”. Marla is not interested and he soon discovers that she is afraid to fly. They go to bed that night, each dreaming different dreams – Max dreams of Marla flying next to his kite and Marla dreams of Max and she quietly sitting together on the couch.
The next morning, they see leaves everywhere after the night’s storm. They go outside to rake the leaves and find his kite, which Marla finds when a gust of wind lifts it into the air with her on it! With Max’s shouts of encouragement, Marla takes flight and realizes that she is a natural. They triumphantly head to bed that night, both dreaming of Marla flying next to Max’s kite. And, they wake up to do just that!
This very sweet story of friendship, fears and gentle encouragement is accompanied by beautiful pen and ink illustrations that flow beautifully with the story. Buy this book (and the others in the set) and share it with all your students.
This multi-generational novel is an attention-grabber in which the variety of characters make it easy for the reader to identify with both characters and plot.
This first-person narrative in the voice of teenaged Charlie is multi-faceted and easy to read. Charlie is a sky-gazer, looking for UFO’s. It begins with the eighth-grade boy studying the night sky out of his bedroom window, searching for a UFO. He had begun this search in his seventh-grade year, looking for his mother. As the plot develops, Charlie’s parents are no longer together, probably because his father is a bully. Charlie greatly misses his mother.
The plot moves forward at a gentle pace. (Is Mom up there? She’s coming back for me.)
At school Charlie suffers teasing and bullying because his name is Charles (Charlie) Dickens and because the small group of boys enjoy bullying. Charlie uses various methods to cope with being taunted and bullied.
Most attractive about this narrative is the voice of Charlie, who recounts events and feelings from his youthful and hopeful point of view. His friendships, his wistful wonder at the beauty of a girl at school, and his relations with his father and grandmother draw the reader into the novel.
Teen readers can relate to this novel: Charlie’s longing for his mother, his efforts to get along with his father, his earnest friendship with Seth, a new kid at school, his distant awe at the beauty of Jennifer Bennett, a girl at school.
Other readers can enjoy other characters, conflict, and the space between hope and despair that this novel evokes. One feels mpathy for a friendly neighbor who is morbidly obese and has a dog for company.
Memories of driving cross state over the mountain passes of Washington came to mind while reading this book.
Trucker ( a semi-truck loaded with a shipping container) is full of himself.” Trucker was bigger and stronger and tougher than anyone else on the road.”(4) The mopeds, cars, and pick-up trucks all give him a wide berth. Then one day, Trucker makes his first trip over mountains. New road, new views, and new experiences. Trucker sees his first freight train. Trucker is impressed by the number of cars Train carries, but does not like the way everyone admires Train.
Trucker tries racing Train, but Train gets the right-of-way. Trucker finally pulls ahead when Train stops at the station. Trucker starts up another mountain pass. The mopeds, cars, and pick-up trucks can pass Trucker on this uphill grade, under his heavy load. As Trucker rests at the top of the pass, he notices the train gate is broken off down in the valley. Trucker zooms into action to speed past the mopeds, cars, and pick-up trucks on the downhill grade to stop the traffic at the train crossing since the train grate arm is broken. Trucker blocks the train crossing, also, blocking the other vehicles view. They are not happy. Once Train goes speeding through the intersection the other vehicles cheer for Trucker who kept them safe. “And Trucker started off, along with the others, happy to share the road.” (32)
This compact review of slavery and race relations in American history is an excellent introduction for younger readers, but it posits a number of ideas that could be included in much more critical (higher thinking) discussion.
The book outlines the early roots of slavery and procedes with quite a thorough chronological examination of major events regarding how discrimination and racism persist. The work also reveals how racism continues to be a concern today and suggests ways to address this concern for dealing with the more subtle aspects of racial bias.
I appreciated the simple, clear rendering of the history of slavery and the awful history that followed the civil war. The author also included a number of ancillary details that might not be illustrated in a standard approach to the subject. For example, it was interesting to note how the leaders of the Black Panther movement recognized how African American women in the organization were the victims of discrimination within the ranks.
I truly did not dislike any aspect of the work. It is hard to find anything objectionable in a book that deals with the subject of slavery and the ways in which those roots still affect culture and society today (and into the future). Perhaps this has something to do with what has been called “white fragility”.
The ideas were presented in clear, readable fashion geared toward younger readers. However, the style and delivery of the vital ideas and implications in the book made it useful for much higher level thinking/questioning. I also found the “sideline” sections to be useful as additional information to supplement the main text.
Younger, less-informed readers will find the book accessible and readable. Those older readers who are familiar with the sad history of racism in America will be surprised by the more complex issues that might be revealed (and discussed) along the way.
I recommend this book with enthusiasm, especially for the younger reader (middle school). It is a great introduction for the subject of slavery and how those roots still affect our society and culture. I gleaned a good deal from my reading of Harris’ book; it is an easy way to review the essentials while affording much more discussion about the complexities of racism even in these more “enlighted” times.
A circle gets caught in a geo-dome shaped jungle gym and cannot get out by himself. A parade of different shapes try to help and some also get stuck. Finally a straight and narrow line rushes to the rescue. With the help of a prism and sphere, line creates a lever to pop the shapes free. The line then convinces the jungle gym to make her spaces wider so the other shapes will not get tangled in her again.
A fun and engaging story to reinforce geometric shapes. The mixing of 2 and 3 dimensional shapes without any identifying the differences, however, undermines the math concepts.
