Dragon vs. Unicorn: Friends or Frenemies?

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Dragon vs. Unicorn: Friends or Frenemies? written by PJ Hoover draws readers in from the get go. I can envision many kids I would put this in the hands of – great for a reluctant reader, great for dragon and unicorn kids, and great for kids who love choose your own adventure style books. Lisa Wiley did an excellent job on the illustrations to this book and they add so much life to the characters. The panels are easy to follow to kids who may be new to graphic novel style books.

Dragon and Unicorn are best friends, but very different. This book teaches us that we can be friends despite our differences but we’ll probably need tools for empathy, listening, and problem solving along the way. This is where I love the illustrations – the characters emotions! Their eyebrows, nose crinkles, and gestures add so much to the feelings that best friends go through. As the reader follows these two along their adventures, the reader gets to make decisions that will side with one friend or the other and then see how that works out for them. When you get to the end of your story, you’re invited to go back to the first decision making page turn and try the alternate route. I love this! If you were reading it as a social story with a student, the invitation to go back and see how the other choice would have affected the friends is perfect for conversations. I also hope it adds incentive for the solo reader to go back and try again. There are three short stories in this book.

If you have students who love cute unicorns, who love tidy dragons, who love friendship stories where its not always perfect, then this book would be a good fit for your space.

The publisher has this book tagged under cooperation, empathy, honesty, and teamwork – this book has plenty of examples for each of those social skills.

cover of the book dragon vs. unicorn

ROAR is for READING by Beth Ferry

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ROAR is for READING by Beth Ferry is a must have for any library! This book teaches advocacy and a love and appreciation for the diversity found in libraries.

The book starts with the first library, a cave with a few rare and precious books in it. Who better to guard these books than a lion who can ROAR and protect them! Over time, lions turned into librarians and their libraries grew in size and number. They found they didn’t have to ROAR so much, they could focus on enjoying the books, and getting others to enjoy them as well.

Until a letter came in the mail. The librarian took her son with her to the Mayor’s office to find out about this letter, and when she returned she began taking books off the shelves. Julius, her son, felt sad and asked why. He was told people were afraid these books were dangerous. He ran to his favorites to make sure they were still there and sat remembering them and who read them to him. Cherishing those moments that make those books our favorites.

Celebrating the Chinook

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Celebrating the Chinook Tribes by Anne Accardi is part of a Mitchell Lane series highlighting Indigenous American Cultures. This series is geared towards elementary with a reading level of grade 3 and 4 (sited on the Mitchell Lane website), with full color pictures. This book is 32 pages long.

This book includes not only a table of contents, but also headings, bolded words, glossary, index, further reading, and websites to explore on the internet.

I was really impressed with this book and how it presented the people of Chinook tribe (whose lands are close to where I currently teach) and the history in our area. I appreciated that the text also mentioned that people with Chinook ancestry can live all across the nation, not just where their people lived since time immemorial. In this book you’ll find each chapter focuses on a part of the Chinook tribes traditions including present and past tribal lands, celebrations, and language.

Although this book does a good job of bridging the time before colonisers entered their land, to famous people enrolled in the Chinook tribes, I did notice that there was no language stating the tribe had been residing in the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial (a phrase that is used in our indigenous education throughout the PNW). I would have also preferred the term colonizers to settlers that the book highlights on page 8. I think the definition in the glossary would also match the word colonizer better than settler.

The author, Anne Accardi, has a biography in the back and it does not say she is affiliated with any tribe herself. Although I think the book is well done, as a librarian, I would prefer to by books about indigenous tribes by people who are members or affiliated with the tribe. I understand this is not always possible, yet.

This series also includes a cut out in the beginning (before the Table of Contents) that gives a parent or caregiver tips for reading non-fiction with their reader, and for encouraging them to read more nonfiction. This is always helpful as many guardians would like help knowing what to ask, what text features are called in non-fiction and how to encourage their young readers.

I found this book well done, even though I think there are improvements that could be made. If you need to update your books highlighting indigenous cultures, I would definitely take a look at this series. There are six books in the series so far. Each book is available in hardcover, paperback and as an ebook.

If you need to update your books on indigenous tribes, I recommend looking to see if this book would fit into your library collection.

cover of the book Celebrating the Chinook Tribes by Anne Accardi

The British Invasion!

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Herve Bourhis’s fifty year pop culture chronicle of all things British would be the perfect gift for an ex-pat living abroad, a Briton on the homefront or those of us who feel weirdly drawn to the English way. Covering the years 1962-2022, Bourhis graphic novel format gives the first full page to that year’s musical influencer for each year and the subsequent three pages become a patchwork quilt of pictures and text in primary colors of blue, red, yellow, black, white, and peachy-pink that relaying an array of British influence. Almost all musicians are names most people would recognize: The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Sex Pistols, The Beegees, The Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Adele, Dua Lipa. On page 2 of each year’s focus, musical influences as well as worldly influences on musicians are highlighted as well as 5 more British albums for that year. Page 3 is a patchwork of British factoids for the year that are runners-up to the winner of the biggest British influencer taking center-stage on page 4. For example, in 2021 the winner was Astra Zeneca because of its creation of the anti-covid vaccine “Vaxzevria”. Herve’ Bourhis handi-work with in sketching really make the book pop. They are so spot on and yet so British at the same time, ending so apropro with “God save the King” as the final kiss to this passion project he undertook during the covid pandemic when he couldn’t make his bi-yearly trips to England that he had enjoyed for close to thirty years.

Crafting With Style! series

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This series encourages readers to express their style through crafting. Whether they are creating their style through accessories, room decor or nails, this series has step by step instructions on crafting and creating their style. Each book focuses on a different style element and includes eight crafts with instructions. The crafts use common items around the house and encourages the reader to reuse things when crafting. Material and tips are included with the step by step instructions as well as factual information pertaining to the craft. A glossary, index, and resources to learn more are included at the back of the book.

Books reviewed in this series: Fashion, Accessories, Nail Art, Room Decor, Jewelry, and Hairstyles.

Whose Poo? Series

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A guessing game about poo? Each book in the series features a different biome and has pictures of scat and has the reader guess the animal the scat belongs to. Turn the page to find out the answer and facts about that animal and what it eats. The photographs give you an up close look at the poo. There are several facts on each page inside different text boxes and captions. Vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to the reader is in bold and is included in the glossary at the back of the book. This is a humorous, fun look at animal scat. The warnings to not touch poop is an appreciated addition. Geared towards 1st – 3rd graders, this is sure to fly off the shelves.

The titles reviewed in this series: Poo Down Under, Poo In the Desert, Poo At the Zoo, and Poo in the City.

Digital Banking and Payment Services

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by Martha Hubbard

As a fully functioning, banking adult, I must admit I learned something  from this book! It was fascinating to see some of the banking options that are available now that, admittedly, I do not use. Checks, I get. ATMs, no problem. On-line, digital payments, yes. I’ve even learned to Venmo. I’d never heard of neobanks, and cryptocurrency is the one I have not quite figured out. I found it interesting to read about all the pros and cons of various banking methods. And while cybersecurity often makes me nervous, this book had some good suggestions for ways to keep yourself and your money safer with strong passwords or even payment tokenization. Even two-factor authentication, which I sometimes get irritated with having to use, does make it harder for thieves to steal what is on line. For young readers in my library today, so much of what seems futuristic will feel like it’s just what is natural to do. Understanding how we got to the digital age may put some of their options in perspective. The book was well-organized in 5 clear chapters and included a table of contents, glossary, index and additional resources.

WNBA: Washington Mystics

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by Julianna Helt

Having enough sports books to satisfy my middle school readers can be a challenge! This book on the Washington Mystics is sure to pull in basketball players and fans. I love that it is on one of the women’s teams in basketball. The book is well organized with clear, readable text with only 1-2 paragraphs per page. The four chapters highlight their championship winning season, the team’s history, their winning coaches and some of the famous players. The book includes a table of contents, a glossary, an index, fun trivia facts, and resources to dig further into the topic. I also liked that the more challenging vocabulary was highlighted & those words corresponded to the words in the glossary. Photos are included throughout the book, with identifying captions. Also included are “Fun Facts” scattered throughout the pages adding extra information to the main text. 

Dealing with Health Issues

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by Aimee Popalis

A well-organized non-fiction book about and for students navigating medical conditions of their own or others. Various sections of the book cover topics like the kinds of health issues students might encounter, how to care for oneself or others, and strategies for taking control when medical needs might make one feel out of control. Each section has clear, easy to read text suitable for a middle school student. I appreciated the notes at the beginning of the book with tips for reading non-fiction. The book includes a glossary of terms, an index, and additional resources students can use. Most pictures did not have captions, but rather many had “Did you know” text nearby that enhanced the main text on the page. I found the text approachable and factual with the illustrations being very inclusive of many races and genders.

To the Bone

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Students of traditional American Literature courses are presented with letters and diary entries of the colonial period and perhaps the study of The Crucible, the latter of which always gave them pause. To the Bone will illicit the same response. It is based on the factual account of a Virginia colony during “The Starving Time” from 1609-1610. Ellis, a servant to a gentleman named Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, takes readers through the fall and winter, as she struggles with the expectations put upon her — to not be wicked by only doing what Mr. Collins asks, including not wanting Jane romantically. It is also the story of Powhatan’s Confederacy becoming frustrated by the English invaders. A harsh, and at times gruesome, life, Ellis hopes to find her father, if only she could leave the fort. She builds tenacity in dealing with physical and mental torture get her further than most of the colonists, but will she survive the winter? Alena Bruzas writing is curt. Short sentences in short paragraphs echo the tight grip Ellis fought against. Realistic fiction readers will likely enjoy this historical fiction account if the worst aspects of survival and humanity don’t shock them away. More likely, it will keep them reading all the way through the author’s note at the end.