Kwame makes a slam dunk with this Playbook. Fans of The Crossover and Booked will be lined up to read The Playbook. While this is not a work of fiction, there are many stories about Kwame’s life and the lives of other athletes told throughout the book. Every detail of the book is well thought out. The physical appearance of the book will engage readers – they will appreciate the textured pages, imagery and photos, and the color used throughout. Sports enthusiasts will appreciate the layout of the book as it is set up like a sports game complete with quarters, half time, and overtime. Kwame is engaging and authentic. Kids will know that the 52 rules presented throughout the book come from Kwame’s heart. A must purchase for middle school libraries.
Fish Girl
The story takes place on the oceanfront, in a tourist attraction called Ocean Wonders. Visitors pay to see wonders from the ocean including a possible glimpse of “Fish Girl”. Neptune, God of the seas, manages the boardwalk aquarium. Fish Girl does not know that Neptune is a businessman nor that Ocean Wonders is a business. To her, it is her home. Fish Girl starts to question many things about her existence, life in the aquarium, and Neptune’s rules. She wants to be free – free to come and go, free to experience life beyond the glass walls of the aquarium, and free to be seen. She learns the truth about the man who calls himself Neptune and how all of the sea creatures came to be in their glass prison. She wants something different for herself and her underwater family. To get what she wants, she must defy Neptune. In her journey, Fish Girl learns to question. Answers to her questions lead to change – she will no longer be a prisoner in Neptune’s glass kingdom and nor will her underwater friends and family.
Charlotte the Scientist is Squished
This book is a fun way of introducing elementary students to the scientific method. Plus, it teaches – if at first you do not succeed, try, try, again.
“Charlotte solved problems by conducting experiments that followed the scientific method.” Charlotte found herself squished with too many little bunnies [genius on the part of illustrator Brianne Farley] around for her to be able to find room, time, and equipment to work on experiments at home. Charlotte used the scientific method to help her solve her problem. First- she asked a question, second- she formed a hypothesis, third- she tested her hypothesis with an experiment or two, fourth- she made and recorded her observations, and fifth- she drew her conclusions. Charlotte’s question has her screaming, ” ‘ How can I get some space around here?’ ‘ Charlotte’s hypothesis has her writing down,” ‘ If I can get rid of my brothers and sisters, I will have room to be a real scientist.’ ” Charlotte’s experiment does not work, so she tries to make herself disappear. That does not work either. Then Charlotte determines she should go into space to get the space she needs. [One carrot-shaped space ship appears thanks to Brianne Farley.] Charlotte is happy with all the space she now has! Her hypothesis was correct. Her conclusion confirms it, but now she is lonely. Back to step 2- writing a new hypothesis. ” ‘ If I can have friends in space THEN I won’t be lonely, and I can be a real scientist.’ ” The chocolate bunnies were too delicious, the bunny-shaped balloons floated away, “and the robot bunnies were poor conversationalists…she tried one last experiment”. Charlotte’s conclusion – go back to Earth and just get her own space for her experiments, in her case, Charlotte used her space ship for the space she needed.
The last two pages include a review of the scientific method with helpful tips for each of the 5 steps. PLUS, there is an address (both- pencil/ paper and email) for young school-aged scientists to send Charlotte their experiments using the scientific method to tell her all about it.
Revenge of the Green Banana
Revenge of the Green Banana reads like a memoir and many aspects of the fictional tale are true, but the book is considered a work of fiction – historical, humorous, and realistic. The story begins in 1958 with Jim Murphy beginning the sixth grade. He is determined that this year will be different than all of the others. This year, he will change his ways and become a serious student who is dedicated to academic excellence. Unfortunately, the teachers at St. Stephen’s Catholic School are not privy to Jim’s transformation. Jim finds himself a student in Sister Angelica’s class. Jim soon learns that Sister Angelica has a file on him and a chip on her shoulder. Jim’s journey into academic and social excellence is short lived and quickly transforms into a revenge plot to destroy his new teacher. Along the journey of revenge, Jim learns important life lessons both in and out of school. He soon questions his desire to destroy this new teacher and isn’t sure how to change the course of action. Kids will get a nice chuckle out of this book.
Truth or Dare
This coming-of-age story is funny and realistic, and it deals with issues that tween girls face today.
Lia Rollins’ mother was killed in a car accident. The other driver was busy texting when he collided with her mother’s car. Lia is still grieving her mother and refuses to use a cell phone. Lia is part of a group of friends who have known each other since childhood. All of the girls are growing up and hitting puberty at different times. The changes – physical and emotional – take their toll on this once tightly knit group of friends.There is a lot of talk about getting your period, cramps, and wearing a bra. The girls are starting to notice boys, too. Most of Lia’s friends are starting summer vacation by attending the same camp. Lia chooses not to go, but to stay with her aunt Shelby, her mother’s sister, instead of attending summer camp with her friends. When summer is over and the girls return to school, there is tension in the air. The girls are growing up and going their separate ways based on interest and, in some cases, based on poor treatment of one another. Identities are being discovered and shaped, girls are pushing each other’s buttons, and their once strong friendship is fragmenting. Lia is at a crossroads with her friends and her feelings about herself, growing up and letting go. Lia’s family turns out to be a stronger support system than she realized, Lia discovers the meaning of friendship, and Lia learns that bodies change on their own schedule. Lia finally decides to get a cell phone and discovers that moving on doesn’t necessarily mean letting go.
Examining Hurricanes
This book is about hurricanes. It caught my eye to see what could happen how many people die each year. This book was about hurricanes. The author gives how many lives are lost and the costs for each hurricane. I was frustrated when I read that barrier broke because of design faults. If we want to stop the number of people dying from hurricanes, they (barriers) should be made correctly. If you like to learn good information, I recommend this book especially to people who want to learn about hurricanes.
-J.D.
Examining Shipwrecks
Examining Shipwrecks by Hayden Wedge is an interesting and entertaining yet fact filled book.The nonfiction book maintains the theme of shipwreck exploration while traveling through time in order to tell the reader how and why shipwrecks happens. The book’s text features and fun facts gave the book a nice kid friendly touch while being relevant to the main purpose of the book. The book’s set up makes it hard to become lost and includes an index, glossary, table of contents, and further information page. I personally like ship rides but I don’t care too much to know how they work, yet Examining Shipwrecks maintained my attention the whole time throughout the book and I enjoyed it.This book is perfect for fourth through eighth grade. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. If you like ships or are curious about shipwrecks, I highly recommend you give this book a try. This book was an interesting yet informative read that left me feeling satisfied.
-N.D.
Examining Pandemics
The book Examining Pandemics catches attention because of the bright colors on the front and outside of the book, also the variety of pictures throughout the book when looking through. The book talks about the top 10 deadliest diseases and more. The book goes into detail of where they start, and what scientists or doctors are doing to help prevent them. I liked how the book stayed on the topic, went by smoothly, and was easy to understand most parts. It had a few spots in the context and graphs that were harder to understand for those who do not already know about the subject. I recommend that anyone who is curious about illnesses or wants to become a doctor or scientist reads this. All in all, this book was very informative about the illnesses it included.
-K.B.
Examining Volcanic Eruptions
This book is about destructive eruptions from active volcanoes. It states some of a few big eruptions around the northwestern area that were devastating to the locals. The book is overall great in describing why and how volcanoes erupt and what affect it can have on the environment. Although it is good in facts, it lacks an introduction to what the book is mainly about. I also feel like the author could have studied a few more eruptions around america, which can give the reader a better idea of how powerful an eruption can be over additional devastating stories. This book can be a great read for people learning about volcanoes or what makes one erupt. It can also be used for science projects. I give it a 3 star rating. It was an informative read.
-E.M.
Examining Bridge Collapses
Right off the bat I am intrigued by this book and it’s theme of engineering. This book is all about exploring why bridges collapse and how different types of bridges are better than others in certain situations. I personally like this book, the way they explain things make engineering sound fun and exciting. I would definitely suggest this book to a civil engineer needing a quick refresh on bridge terms and vocabulary. Also if you are in middle school wanting to try engineering this would be perfect to get you started. This book is an informational book and I would have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.
-Z.L.