Great Hockey Debates by Giles Ferrell is about some of the famous conflicts that broke out in hockey. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in hockey.The book also includes pages for: further discussion, glossary, online resources, books for more information, an index, and information about the author.
Review by Barrett
Humans and animals are not as different as you think, even in smog filled cities and strange places of fantasy. The book Tales From The Inner City by Shaun Tan covers the stories of different animals and their relationship with humans in a creative way. There is a short story for each animal included in the book, accompanied by beautiful art displaying the mood of the story. Some stories are from the perspective of the animal, and some from the perspective of the human. Along the way you will read the enticing stories of bears with lawyers, fish that swim in the sky, and pigs that sink into the ground. The stories all come together to teach the reader that nature is valuable, and the bond between human and animal needs to be mended. It can also show that people must be kind to animals, and that kindness and joy are more important than money and power. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, art, and messages, since they are interesting and inspirational. I felt myself excited each time I turned the page, wondering what will happen next. I would recommend it for anyone seventh grade and up. Readers who like animals, dystopian fiction, or stunning art would definitely love this book.
Review by Alison
Mars Orbiters is about trying to uncover data from Mars to see what is on Mars and trying to see why the water disappeared from Mars. This story of how NASA,Russia and others are making improvements to their orbiters. The book should be in a school or a public library because people may want to check out it too learn more about the orbiters, the scientists who built them (like NASA) and the history of the orbiters. The table of contents was helpful,the timeline,glossary and index in the back of the book were really helpful. This book is best for grades 5th to 8th grade for people who want to know more about the the planets.
Review by Enrique
Darius Drake gets a letter written in blood with, ¨Who killed Darius Drake?¨ Darius decides to solve this mystery involving missing diamonds, his parents´ death, and his own death with the help of tough guy, Arthur Bash and his stepsister, Deirdre. But which adult tells the truth? ¨Who Killed Darius Drake?¨ by Rodman Philbrick is a story full of mystery of finding out how everything is connected no matter how different the subjects may be. From photos of a little girl and a man to a tennis team. This book is also about which adult tells the truth or which wants to betray the children for their own self interest. If you like mysteries or solving things, this is an amazing book. It’s filled with information to connect the dots to solve the question. The growing relationship with Darius and Arthur from business partners to friends feels real and makes sense. All three main characters are developed and fun to read about and their situation. This book has relatable characters in a situation we’d never expect kids to be in and shows what kids can accomplish and that kids should not be put down just because of their age. I would suggest this book if you’re into mysteries, developed characters and platonic relationships.
Review by Natalie
The California Drought by Laura Perdew Droughts is about natural phenomena that are caused by high temperature and changing weather patterns. They caused a severe shortage in water. I learned more about droughts and what the community does to prevent them from happening. I also learned how animals are affected by droughts. Even trees are affected by these phenomena. The cover of the book showed a picture of a drought that made me want to learn more about them. The book also contained pictures with captions that explained them thoroughly. There was also a glossary that explained words that were unknown to me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who want to learn more about natural phenomena and how to help prevent them.
Review by Adalie
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen is an amazing book. This book is a fictional story following the adventures of a Jewish girl names Chaya during World War II. Chaya is a 16 year old girl from Poland joining the resistance to fight against Adolf Hitler and save the people being tortured during the war. Nazis and soldiers from Poland both attack Jews for little entertainment, and she is trying to stop that. She makes a friend out of someone she despised who helps her on the way. What makes this book good is that it gives a message. It gives the idea that no matter the consequences, it is always best to give others hope and fight for what’s right. It also has some history of the war involved. Doing some research on World War II makes the book satisfy almost any reader. It is historically correct in some places, but it also isn’t based entirely on historical events. It does use historical event and figures to create some of the characters. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes realistic fiction and history.
Review by Zach
Flippers and Fins by Tessa Miller is an awesome book about how humans are inspired by nature to make useful new inventions. The book is about different products we have today that are being improved and things that are being worked on. There are parts about fish inspired boats, whale inspired wind turbines, shark inspired swimsuits and cephalopod inspired camouflage. There were boats made in the shape of fish to help them go faster. Bumps were put on wind turbines to help them spin faster. A new type of fabric was designed to be like shark skin and allow people to swim faster. New camouflage is being made to work like cephalopods such as Octopi and change colors. This book has many features including a table of contents, fullpage pictures, an index, a page of websites to get more information from and a glossary. This book is written very well making it very easy to read. All the information is thorough, well explained and easy to understand. If you like to read about innovative ideas and new inventions I would highly recommend this book to you.
Review by Janelle
“‘I want you to start at the beginning. The whole story’” the book starts out as a reporter is asking Travis about his experience in the intense life threatening situation. The book, Survivor Diaries: Overboard! by Terry Lynn Johnson is the telling of a boy, Travis, who got thrown off of a boat with another girl, Marina, while out on the water, off the coast of Washington state. The two have to get to shore and survive until they are found and rescued again. The story is filled to the brim with interesting survival information and other fun and useful facts. It’s a fun, shorter, adventure read. I would recommend it to beginning adventure readers. It is a rare, fun mix of informational and entertaining. There are a few black and white illustrations scattered throughout the 84-page story. After the story ends, there is a section with very useful survival tips for tough situations that you might not know how to handle. It includes things like hypothermia and dehydration for situations that you can’t always predict. This book is included in a series, “Survivor Diaries,” along with one other book so far. Overall, this book is very fun and informational and I would definitely recommend it to a younger level reader. Recommended.
Review by Viveka
The book Death Eaters by Kelly Milner Halls is a detailed book about the life and death of all living things and the complicated genius way that our home planet earth cycles the bodies. It’s a very interesting book that is full of interesting facts and bright pictures. The book is not really a positive one, and it’s not for readers who can’t handle the idea of death, but the delivery of the information is intriguing. This book is very real and factual but it’s a good story with a ton of great features. This book has many diagrams and extra information boxes and it also has links for more information to read. I liked this book, I thought it was interesting and was very engaging for the reader. The book was bright and the pages were easy to follow along. It’s a good book for students of a certain level of maturity, good for middle schoolers. It’s very informative and helps develop appreciation for our home planet and its natural cycles that keeps this whole world and all living things balanced.
Review by Jesse
Skeleton Tree by Kim Ventrella is about a 12 year old boy named Stanly. He was experiencing an average day in his backyard until he found a white plant sticking out of the dirt in the garden. At least he thought it was a plant. This white plant looked like the tip of a finger. He struggles to keep the bone a secret from his parents and especially his 7 year old sister, Miren. Stanly was wondering if he found a real human body or a new species of vegetation. The cover of the book was vibrant and had many things to say. I loved the way each and every character was described. Each moment in the book was described thoroughly. I enjoyed every second of it. The beginning started out strong and the ending touched my heart. I’d recommend this book to any young reader who enjoys a story full of happiness with a hint of sadness.
Review by Adalie