Levi moves to the Midwest at the beginning of seventh grade and just hopes to fit in with the guys. When pretty girl Macallan is assigned to show him around, they immediately discover their love of British comedy and become fast friends. The book, looking back and told in alternating voices with a few present day comments thrown in, follows the pair through 11th grade and attempts to answer the question: Can boys and girls just be friends? While the pair seem to navigate more than a few ups and downs, jealousy sets in when they date others. Sweet, gentle – definitely a summer read.
Heather Fell In the Water
Wonderfully illustrated with watercolor, appropriate to the topic, this is a story about a little girl who is attracted to but afraid of the water. Maybe for humor, the parents make Heather wear arm floaties any time she is near water, including visiting a farm with water wells and going to an art museum with a water exhibit. The arm floaties help create a fear of the water that the parent then have to fix. To the author’s credit, the parents do get into the pool with her for swim lessons. Heather soon realizes she wasn’t attracted to water out of fear but out of love. Making a pact with it, she says she’ll learn to swim. Progressing quickly, the older Heather even joins a competitive swim team. When she wins, all of their cheering makes them fall into the water together. This small amount of humor helps send the message that kids need to become accustomed to the water and that water is fun! An additional purchase unless your library doesn’t already have something on the subject.
Trouper
Trouper is a touching story of a black lab who is rescued from the pound. Told from the dog’s point of view, readers learn that he ran with a pack of mutts until caught by an animal control worker. The beautiful watercolor cover of this picture book gives hints of the emotional pull this story will have with readers, but the reason to make this a read aloud is to work with kids on the reading of the artwork. The causal reader will be enjoying and predicting the storyline and then forced to re-read when they encounter the cover art’s page within the book 3/4 of the way through as the dog says “Before you found me, I thought all the kids were mean, though I dreamed each night I might find just one who didn’t mind so much my hairy stump, who liked the way I lean on those I love.” The careful reader will have seen in the artwork that Trouper is missing a back leg, but this reader did not! And first I went back to read only the text. I then realized that the picture is worth all those words too! What a great reminder for kids. Or maybe they do this naturally and I am the one who needed the lesson. Regardless, E.B. Lewis’s brushwork is extraordinary and deserves just as much attention as the text by Meg Kearney. Trouper is a worthy addition to any library.
Snorkeling With Sea-Bots!
Kolten goes out into the water for some snorkeling fun. What he discovers is an underwater city of hard working robots whose job it is to keep the ocean running smoothly.
I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading. Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers. The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.
I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words. Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word. Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.
Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers. Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.
The Good, The Bad and The Monkeys
Jake has an unusual job of herding monkeys. When monkey rustlers come and try to steal his “herd”, Jake acts responsibly to tend to his small group.
I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading. Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers. The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.
I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words. Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word. Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.
Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers. Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.
Triple H
Pro wrestling WWE fans this might be the book for you if you like a bad boy champion.
Triple H has gone by a few names on his way to the top: Terra Ryzing, Jean-Paul Levesque, The “Connecticut Blueblood”- Hunter Hearst Helmsley now shortened to Triple H, and his nickname – The Game. His real name is Paul Michael Levesque. He loved wrestling from an early age and started working towards it by first becoming a body builder. Then he moved on to wrestling, first with the IWF, then WCW, and finally with the WWE.
The book is set up for fans with more photos than text. The photos show the “intense competitor” Triple H is especially through glimpses of his facial expressions. Nine times the text is centered within the fist shaped hole of a shattered glass window, adding to the intensity.
Includes an eight item timeline of his life, an index, and glossary.
Hidden Like Anne Frank
This book tells the stories of 14 Jews who went into hiding in the Netherlands during World War II to survive. The stories are stark; a few have moments of happiness but most are stories of desperation, fear and longing. Some of the survivors lived in more than 25 different locations before the Netherlands was liberated. Some spent their time hiding in confinement in small spaces; others were able for at least a while to move around in a home and have contact with other people. Some stayed with family or friends; others lived with perfect strangers.
Prins was inspired to write the book because his mother was forced to go into hiding in the Netherlands when she was only six years old. The experiences of the survivors vary greatly; however, many describe themselves as broken after the war. So many looked forward to liberation, only to discover that it was not significantly better: they had no homes to return to, no possessions, no businesses, and frequently, no sense of family after living apart for so long. They could not connect again with parents who sent them into hiding and had to hide apart from their children. Many felt closer to their “foster” families than their own.
Although I was compelled by the stories to finish the book, I am not sure who the audience will be. The voices in this book are stilted; whether that is a factor of translation, the unease of telling of their stories or that the survivors told their stories in the voices of the children in them who lived it, it felt off. I do think students who are fascinated by the Holocaust, especially if they have just finished The Diary of Anne Frank, will want to read this book.
Itsy-Bitsy Animals
From zebras to badgers, from parrots to seahorses, this cuddly picture book celebrates cute animals. Each page features one adorably illustrated species, surrounded by butterflies and pastel-patterned backdrops. The illustrations are accompanied by short sentences pairing each animal with an action. It is unclear what qualifies an animal as “itsy-bitsy” – not all of the animals featured are babies, and neither are all of them small. This is especially obvious when animals pictured opposite each other are in very different scale. This does not profess to be a nonfiction work, however. Thus, these small problems may be overlooked. Families will enjoy the gentle text and friendly beasts. While we may not see a badger curled up with rabbits and ducklings any time soon, it isn’t a bad way to imagine the world. The field is thick with inoffensive books like this – making this entry an additional purchase.
Romeo Blue
Romeo Blue is the continuation of the story of Felicity Budwig and her intuitive mind, as first introduced in The Romeo and Juliet Code. Fliss, as she is nicknamed, is a very smart young girl, probably much like her parents who are spies for America in World War II. Now a year later, Fliss is set to learn even more about her quirky relatives, including how she has two dads. Throw in there Nazi spies and the budding pre-teen romance between her and her best friend Derek, and this becomes a light-hearted read full of historical references that could serve to reinforce lessons on WWII and twists that are unexpected. Definitely upper elementary/middle school material because of historical references and she’s got a teddy bear she still considers to be a companion. At times it feels a bit old fashioned and may not sit well with students in this digital age. Given the right framing or book talking, students could pick this up as a stand alone or will be happy to continue the story if they liked The Romeo and Juliet Code. Recommended for elementary and middle school libraries.
The Arab-Israeli Six-Day War
Recently a group named Hamas, located in the Gaza Strip, and the nation of Israel engaged in prolonged exchanges of rocket attacks and air strikes. A series of “ceasefires” did nothing to assuage the violence. This military tit-for-tat response has its roots in the results of what historians refer to as the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War and which is the topic of a new book (by the same name) in the “Perspectives on Modern World History” series.
The 1967 Six Day pitted Israel against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. In that short conflict Israel defeated all three and took land from each. The land taken from Jordan, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and East Jerusalem were inhabited by Palestinians, a Moslem ethnic group. Israel won the war, but has been unable to win the peace, mainly because of their inability to figure out what to do with the Palestinians. This Israeli victory on the battlefield has spawned numerous negotiations, an occasional agreement, and Palestinian anger which nurtured terrorism.
“The Arab-Israeli Six-Day War” is a collection of essays examining in detail the causes, miscalculations, and results of that short-lived conflict. The book begins with a short chronology of events leading to war, the war, and its results. The intent of the essays is to provide different perspectives on the major questions which still dominate the debate. For instance, was Israel’ pre-emptive attack on it neighbors justified? Abba Eban, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. at the time, builds a case for war. Another essay contends that Israel, militarily, had nothing to fear. “The Postwar Occupation Provided Many Benefits to Palestinians as Well as Israeli” is countered a short piece written by a Palestinian, “Israel’s Postwar Occupations Imposed Harsh Conditions on Palestinians.”
A couple of essays touch on the subject of how to unravel this complicated issue, but one comes to understand how national myths and bravado, domestic politics, and the international political scene make reasonable men seek solace in armed confrontations.
This volume provides an excellent introduction for someone new to the subject, relying on historical facts wrapped in competing perspectives.
(Submitted by the Washington State Civics Educator of the Year, Ed Bergh)