Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo

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Jun moves to America from Hong Kong. She only knows a handful of words and they are written on her hand. School feels isolating and very scary. Her lunchbox is filled with familiar comforting things from home and leads the way to new friendships.

The book is mostly wordless and the only text is speech bubbles and a few pages. The illustrations of school are dark and you can feel Jun’s sadness, but when Jun opens her lunchbox, joy and color burst forth. The end of the book includes the English and Cantonese translations of the few words that Jun knows, as well as a description of the things in her lunchbox.

Veena and the Red Roti: A Story of Hope During Partition by Namita Moolani Mehra

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Veena loves to be in the kitchen when the women are making roti. Veena practices making the roti and finally gets the hang of it. Then her world changes and the Partition of India occurs and her family leaves their home. They end up in a migrant shelter, where she is given a roti that was like nothing she had tasted before, it was red and hard to swallow. Veena decides that she needs to do something to help at the kitchen and makes red roti.

The end of the story includes a glossary, an author’s note and historical context. The story is inspired by the author’s grandparents’ journey during the Partition of India. The historical context explains what the partition was and is important for those who may not know this piece of history.

I Worked Hard on That

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After seeing a beautiful web, Kiara is inspired to make her own web. It was not as easy as it seemed and her first webs were not works of art. Finally she created a masterpiece when a squirrel ran through her web, destroying her work. Each web Kiara created were ruined by others not paying attention. Kiara meets another spider, Orb, and they work together to create something beautiful until Orb gets hungry and eats the web. Frustrated Kiara runs away destroying Paws, the squirrel’s, sculpture. Kiara helps Paws and learns that creating is just as important, if not more than the finished product.

The digitally created illustrations feature expressive characters, intricate webs, and designs to demonstrate varying textures.

This book would be great for discussing frustration when creating something and for how to respond when you accidentally ruin someone’s creation.

Careers in STEM: Aerospace Engineer

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Aerospace engineers use math and physics to design airplanes and spacecraft.

This book is a Blastoff Reader from the Careers in STEM series. There are 2-3 sentences per page and uses many text features such as bold words, table of contents, photographs and captions. The glossary is needed as there are many words that will be new to readers, such as internships and physics. This book explains what an aerospace engineer is, does, and how to become an aerospace engineer. The books in this series introduce readers to careers they may not be familiar with.

Careers in STEM: Mechanical Engineer

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This book is a Blastoff Reader from the Careers in STEM series.This series for beginning readers focuses on jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. There are 2-3 sentences per page and uses many text features such as bold words, table of contents, glossary, photographs and captions. Information about a famous mechanical engineer is included.This book explains what a mechanical engineer is, does, and how to become a mechanical engineer. The books in this series introduce readers to careers they may not be familiar with.

A Boy and His Mirror

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Chris gets teased for his long curly hair, but he likes it. When he looks in an ornate mirror to reassure himself, an African woman mystically appears. She reminds him that in a faraway land his hair is the hair of a king. Chris learns that acting like a king isn’t about swagger and bling it’s about how you treat others. Chris steps up into a leadership role on the playground encouraging others to “stop judging, quit calling names. Be a little more chill. Stop playing games.” The story ends with Chris playing with his new group of friends.

Lovely illustrations portray a diverse cast of children with expressive faces. The story encourages the concepts of positive self-image as well as acceptance and kindness to others. The only drawback is the unexpected appearance of the mirror that does not fit the flow of the story.

Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by: Robin Wasley

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Rory C.

Robin Wasley’s novel, “Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear,” was an imaginative masterpiece with such a thoughtful and meaningful plot filled with wonderful characters that is definitely worth every reader’s attention. In her crazy town full of magic, Sid Spencer has always been normal until a guardian of the magic in town is killed, leaving her to join other extraordinary guardians and fight to make things right. The captivating, constantly growing, and interesting plot truly makes the story even more charming than it already is. The imagery present in the novel is also extremely detailed and well-written; every scene felt as though you were with the characters as well.

I really loved how well the characters were written. Every character was human with flaws, regrets, mistakes, etc. They felt real and not superficial. They all had things to add to the story and push events forward in various ways. Every character was important with their unique differences. It was wonderful to read and connect to as it truly resonated with me a lot. I also loved the message of the novel. It is such a beautiful and amazing message that I think everyone should hear and remember. The imagery and details were also astounding and captivated me whenever I read a scene. Overall, the novel felt inspiring and truly meaningful to me.

At first, I will admit, I did not really like the novel at the start (though that definitely changed as it progressed). It was confusing at first and a little boring as I had not really found a reason to care about it specifically. This led it to being a novel that I had a hard time getting into but once I did, it was amazing. Also, a fantasy novel being confusing at first happens all the time so I do not think that is a true negative aspect to the book. Besides that, I think sometimes the pacing up to the point of the reveal of certain important things was a little off. I don’t know if it’s just me but it never really felt that suspenseful or jaw-dropping when it seemed like it should’ve been. This made some reveals be a little less satisfactory for me.

Anyone who enjoys fantasy and emotional roller-coasters in novels should read this book. I think it will satisfy and go beyond each of your standards when it comes to fantasy.

Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement

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Year after year as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month, we hear about the same heroes; MLK, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks. There are many other Americans who stepped up and made a difference during the Civil Rights Movement. This book focuses on twelve women who through their actions furthered the fight for equality and justice during the Civil Rights Movement.

In the book, you will hear about; Ella Baker, Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, Dorothy Cotton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Coretta Scott King, Diane Nash, Rosa Parks, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Gloria Richardson, Jo Ann Robinson, and Sheyann Webb. The twelve women each have a page long biography detailing their work, their struggles, and their successes. Each biography is concise yet comprehensive enough to paint a picture for the reader.

Recommended for elementary libraries.

The Together Tree

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Rumi starts at a new school and doesn’t feel like he fits in; not in class and not at recess. At recess while the other kids played, Rumi sat beneath a shady old willow tree, twirling a stick. Everything was different at his old home. Some of his classmates started making fun of him and it escalated to bullying. When a student threw a rock and hurt Rumi, his classmates realized their behavior was hurtful and gradually they all joined Rumi under the tree to create beautiful drawings in the dirt. The story ends with the bully being invited to join the group under the tree.

A beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of being a new student from a different cultural background and how teasing escalates to bullying.

Inheritance of Scars

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Astrid Skarsgard is leading as normal of a life as a teenager can with Crohn’s disease during her Senior year in Stockholm, when her beloved grandmother, with whom her father forbade communication, goes missing. She finally has leverage to force her father to bring her back to her hometown of Unden, but instead of closure, the homecoming raises more questions than answers: why is no one looking for Amma; and, why is no one mourning. Following clues to reunite with her grandmother, Astrid first meets … or reunites with the feared draugr, Soren, who she accidentally awakens from a centuries-long sleep. Their instant magnetic draw to one another provides a welcome tension for readers as the story follows the improbable couple into Tiveden, a forest dangerously haunted with the aftermath of her family’s blood oath. More questions are raised and secrets discovered and it is up to Astrid to reconcile her beliefs about her family and her attraction to Soren, the monster of her grandmother’s stories. Norse mythology is woven throughout and provides a backdrop for readers to consider ethical questions of good v. evil and contemplate altering values for love. The tense chemistry between Astrid and Soren will keep readers turning pages as they quest for answers. The story is best enjoyed at a surface-level read; while clearly fiction, it is at times inconsistent and many answers are merely stated rather than explained. Fortunately, the plot twists and fraught romance are favorable for a quick read!