Category Archives: Reviewer’s Library Type

With Lots of Love

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Moving to a new country and leaving extended family is hard. Rocio misses so much of her old life. Most of all, Rocio misses her Abuela. Rocio and Abuela used to spend a lot of time together and their love for each other is evident in the many small rituals of their lives together. Missing that connection to her Abuela, one night Rocio finds the brightest star and makes a wish. Her family wakes her the next morning singing Las Mañanitas for her birthday and she finds a package from her Abuela. That night she sends her love back across the sky to her Abuela.

Sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases, the story will resonate for children with similar immigration stories. The themes of family, relocating, and staying connected to family and traditions make this a meaningful story for all young children.

Step by Step

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With rhyming repetitive text, Step by Step shows how many activities that can appear daunting or impossible for a child can be conquered with one small action after another. “Stride by stride, one by one” a child can make it to school. “Smile by smile, one by one” a child can make new friends. “A to Z, one by one” a child can learn the alphabet. And when working together with friends, children can accomplish even more. The story ends with a challenge to continue to learn and grow by tackling future adventures “step by step, one by one”. The illustrations are cheerful and optimistic, featuring diverse children and supportive adults.

Step by Step would be a great read aloud to encourage the reluctant student on the first day, promote perseverance when learning new things, and celebrate the next steps at the end of of the school year.

Daddy Speaks Love

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Daddy Speaks Love explores the special bond between father and child. Daddy speaks of nurturing though love, truth, joy, and comfort. Daddy also speaks of learning with dream, future, unity, and pride. The book then circles back to love and promise of together. The author’s note indicates that the story was inspired by words of 6 year old Gianna Floyd after her father’s death.

Beautifully warm illustrations feature father-child relationships of various races and ethnicities and children various genders.

Whales to the Rescue How Whales Help Engineer the Planet

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Whales to the Rescue provides readers with a unique look into how whales can make a difference for the planet. Author Adrienne Mason describes whales as “ecosystem engineers” – meaning they are animals that create, modify or maintain an ecosystem. This book describes how whales help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Whales store a large amount of carbon in their bodies for decades, even centuries; when they die, they sink to the ocean floor, taking their carbon with them. They also deposit nutrients into the ocean when they poop which helps feed phytoplankton and draws carbon out of the atmosphere and into the ocean during photosynthesis.

This book was very fascinating! It begins by giving the reader background information on whales, including types of whales, what they eat and poop and how they migrate. It then moves on to describe how whales help the planet. It concludes with how we can help whales help the planet. This book has additional resources, a glossary and an index to give readers more information. Kim Smith’s illustrations are beautiful and really help support the concepts presented in this book. This book is also part of the Ecosystem Guardians series and would be a wonderful addition to any library.

Super Gross: What’s That Smell? by Ximena Hastings

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What are some of the smelliest things in the world? Why do some things smell bad? Where do smells come from? These are some of the questions answered in this Ready to Read Level 2 book. Dr. Ick and his friend Sam the dog take us through why some things smell. There are 2-3 sentences per page and includes illustrations as well as photographs. Important vocabulary words are in bold and many also include a pronunciation guide. The glossary is located at the front of the book and an experiment is located at the back of the book.

I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres

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Plunger does not want to be a plunger anymore, it wants to be a vase. Soon other household items want to be different things. The vacuum is so adamant that they have to be what they already are that he makes a mess, spraying dust everywhere. Vacuum realizes that nothing bad would happen if others got to be what they wanted.

The artwork is vibrant and jumps off the page. While I feel that the idea of the story, that we can be whatever we want, is important, I am not sure that it is effective with some of the items chosen. I think kids will be attracted to the vibrant colors and will find the book funny, but may miss the idea that you can be whatever you want.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun, by Tọlá Okogwu

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Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

This novel is a little bit Harry Potter magic, a little bit X-Men or Black Panther superheros,  a little bit Lightning Thief mythology & adventure. It’s rich with girl-power and learning to love oneself – flaws and all. Set initially in the States, the plot moves quickly to Nigeria and its magical school in the country’s capital city of Lagos.  This action-packed story hits all the marks for an amazing middle grades read. While some readers may be thrown by pronunciation of Nigerian names, some of which include potentially unfamiliar accent marks, if they just read on without  too much worry, it doesn’t really effect the story. I enjoyed the audio book because I got to hear the actual pronunciation of these names. The book does include a glossary of cultural terms the reader may need explained. I loved that Onyeka’s superpower is her hair which she hates at the beginning of the story because it is so different from her friends and is so unruly. She learns through the story to love it and the power it brings her. By the end, you realize this is definitely meant to be book 1 in a series. Future books to come. I think middle school readers will be anxious to read the next one! (Due out May, 2023) This is a nice addition to any fantasy collection, especially if you’re interested in having diverse authors who tell a rich tale. This fits the bill!

Youngblood

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Review by Lili, Student

Be prepared for plot twists and the unexpected–even for a vampire book. You will never know where it is going to go. Kat and Taylor were best friends until the age of 13 when their parents fought, and Kat moved away. Later, Kat and Taylor find themselves roommates at a private school, a vampire school. My favorite part is when Kat finds out who her true fang-maker is. It all begins to make sense when Kat has a meeting with Victor Castel.

Boo! Hiss!

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Boo! Hiss! By Cyndi Marko is a delightful graphic novel chapter book that young readers will surely love. 

A ghost named Phyllis and a snake named Sheldon live in an old, empty rundown house. They live there peacefully with no one to bother them. Until one day a human family moves in with a crying baby, a barking dog, a saxophone playing Dad and disturbs their peace and quiet. Phyllis and Sheldon retreat to the attic to make a plan to reclaim their home. After numerous attempts to scare the family away, they realize they don’t want them to leave. 

This is a fun beginning graphic novel chapter book for younger readers. The story is funny and the illustrations are entertaining, bright and colorful. I think young readers will truly enjoy this fun, scary story. Author-illustrator Cyndi Marko is also the creator of the Kung Pow Chicken book series.

The Most Magnificent Idea

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The Most Magnificent Idea is the long awaited companion to author Ashley Spire’s book, The Most Magnificent Thing.

In this story the young girl is an “idea machine,” with her dog at her side she creates “cozy things, whirling things, and helpful things” until one day she runs out of ideas. She tries everything: brainstorming, gathering new supplies, even jumping up and down on one foot to shake an idea loose. But, nothing seems to work. She becomes very sad and worries that she will never have another idea again. 

Author-illustrator Ashley Spires’ colorful, detailed illustrations present readers with a clear picture of the ups and downs of the creative process. This book offers a terrific character education lesson in patience and perseverance. It could also easily be used to introduce a STEAM lesson to help inspire the creative process.