Jasmine wakes before dawn, hugs her parents, and leaves with her papa (her grandpa) to drive to Great-Grandma Caroline’s one hundredth birthday. On the long drive, Jasmine naps, snacks, and reflects on the ages of things she cares about; goldfish lived 30 days, hamster lived 6 months, and a dog that shares her age. In meeting and spending time with a great-grandma she had never met, Jasmine learns how she got so old – patience, determination, and faith. The youngest and the oldest then work together to blow out the birthday candles.
This book features a multi-generational black family. Beautiful illustrations reinforces the themes of interconnectedness, caring, and learning life lessons from family.
Everyday Vietnamese offers a simple, friendly introduction to basic Vietnamese phrases for young learners, with bright illustrations that help give context to the vocabulary. The book is easy to follow and works well as an introductory cultural resource.
However, the content is very limited, and the phrases are presented without enough depth or explanation. Most importantly, nowhere in the book does the author include guidance on how to make the sounds of the Vietnamese words. Without pronunciation support or phonetic cues, young readers and educators may struggle to use the phrases accurately, which reduces the book’s effectiveness as a language-learning tool.
Overall, Everyday Vietnamese provides a visually appealing introduction but lacks the pronunciation support and contextual detail needed to fully support beginners.
Do Aliens Visit Earth? is an accessible entry in the Into the Unknown series, aimed at curious young readers who love mysteries, science, and the possibility of life beyond our planet. The book attempts to strike a balance between scientific explanation and the thrill of the unexplained. The author introduces readers to UFO sightings, government investigations, and theories about extraterrestrial visitors. The book encourages critical thinking – rather than pushing a single viewpoint it lets readers decide what they believe. The photos, sidebars and quick fact boxes break up the text and keep readers engaged. It’s well-suited for middle-grade audiences who enjoy nonfiction packed with intriguing questions.
Some of the “Fast Facts” are not actual facts. For example, on page 23, the Fast Fact includes opinions from scientists about why we haven’t found intelligent life, but none of these statements are proven or supported by evidence. These are hypotheses, not facts, which makes the section misleading and weakens the book’s credibility.
The book lays out evidence through real-world reports and debunks common myths though at times the stories feel disconnected. The book jumps between ideas in a way that lacks cohesion. While including elements of non-fiction such as table of contents, glossary, and index, readers may find the layout of the chapters confusing.
This graphic novel retelling of Anne of Green Gables features a male “Anne” living in rural Tennessee with strangers after being abandoned by his mother. He struggles with the very conservative religious beliefs of his grandparents, particularly the Grandpa. Dan is gay and that goes against the r. I really liked that it was easy to read and I wanted to keep reading. I don’t usually read graphic novels, but this one was compelling and made me want to read more. The art is colorful and Dan keeps the signature red hair of the inspirational “Anne”. I also appreciated that there was a warning about possible triggers in the book for readers at the very beginning regarding bullying, physical assault and homophobia. All of these topics are handled gently in the book, but do represent real experiences that some individuals experience. That being said, I didn’t like the way some characters treated Dan, but I realize this was part of the plot. His grandfather had some positive realizations about Dan and accepted him more for who he was by the end. Dan even chose to stay with his grandparents even though his mother came back to get him. Overall, I’d give it 4-5 stars.
Reviewed by Rosalee B, 7th grader at Komachin Middle School
This beautifully written verse novel about a neurodivergent 7th grader named Alex pulls you in immediately. Alex is in a self contained classroom because of outbursts in third grade. Now, in 7th grade, he desperately wants to be in a regular science class to learn about his favorite topics like everyone else. He still struggles to keep thoughts in his head and not let them explode out of his mouth or body. He has new friends in his SC class and still sees what used to be old friends but who now taunt and tease him. He just wants the chance to try. Alex has a lot on his plate as he learns to navigate asking for help to meet his goals and adjust to new demands on his studying. I loved how he really had to advocate for himself with his teachers, but also his parents. It’s hard to watch someone struggle and TRY, even though that is how we grow. Alex struggles with this too! I also really liked that when the students made mistakes, there were legitimate consequences and restorative methods for healing and moving forward. The other thing I enjoyed about the book was the mix of Spanish and English. Alex’s family has Puerto Rican roots, so at home, they speak a mix of Spanish and English. I do not speak Spanish, but interestingly, did not find it a barrier to understanding the family conversations. I didn’t even feel like they all needed to be translated. It was lovely to see it all mixed in as part of the norm. I highly recommend this beautiful book showing strength and bravery in the face of adversity and challenge.
In this Sci-fi mystery adventure, readers get to read many, many endings depending on which decisions they make as they read. I found myself octopus-fingers in pages as I tried out the many choices offered along each path. I did not even get to all of them! The basic premise is that this band of space travelers has picked up rocks and potentially an alien being at the planet they had been exploring. Midway through their cryogenic sleep home, the crew awakens fearing that an alien is hiding within one of them. It’s happened before causing the brave decision to blow up the entire former ship and all aboard to save Earth. The travelers would like to avoid that. The only way to stop Earth from being infected is to figure out who is no longer themself and eradicate the now-alien among them. Each path leads to accusations and showdowns. In some scenarios the culprit is found; in others, all become infected and Earth will be doomed. Black and white illustrations keep the book accessible to struggling readers, but doesn’t overwhelm the text. Along the way, there are brainteasers to solve. Some of these were quite hard, though luckily the answers are given in the back. My only objection with these is that they did not REALLY need to be solved in order to continue down the path. They could be easily skipped since they had no real connection to the plot line of that particular scenario. I think readers who love choose-your-own adventure stories will enjoy this modern story. (The old paperbacks from the 1990s? 1980s? are out of print and look pretty tired now. It’s time for some new multi-path adventures.) I did as many paths as I had energy to do and did lose interest in trying to follow all of them. So, did I read all of the book (192 pages)…no. Did I enjoy what I DID read…yes. I think middle school readers will find the same.
Unique and interesting animals are a great way to encourage the curiosity of young readers. The Marsupials series by Bullfrog Books is sure to catch their interest! With less than a dozen words per page in simple sentences, the content is perfect for preschool and early elementary children. Bullfrog books uses large up-close photos to support the text. The Table of Contents is limited to the five sections of each book – the body of the book and the four endpaper sections; Parts of the animal, Picture Glossary, Index, and Learn More. The square shape of the book is easy for young hands to enjoy independently.
The Bullfrog Books Marsupials series includes the following titles: Kangaroos, Koalas, Opossums, Sugar Gliders, Tasmanian Devils, and Wombats
People have always used their imagination to explain the unexplained. The Mythical Creatures series describes some of the best known creatures in an engaging, age appropriate way that is sure to be a hit with young readers. Each book contains ten chapters focusing on different aspects of the creature. This includes the mythical origins, typical characteristics, unique powers or skills, geographic home, and similar mythical and real life creatures. Short sentences are divided on the page into a variety of text boxes. Labeled illustration and diagrams support the content and break up the pages in a manner reminiscent of a screen. Includes Glossary, Index, and Table of Contents.
The Mythical Creature series currently contains eight titles. Titles used for this review are: Centaurs, Giants, Werewolves, and Kraken.
Phantoms Among Us, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb Alien Visits, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb Creatures Walking, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb Lost Worlds, by Spencer Brinker and Stuart Webb
This set of books about unexplained phenomena is a perfect addition to a middle school non-fiction collection. Each book covers its topics with text and full-color images, maps, photos, and appealing illustrations on each page. A Table of Contents, Glossary, Read More, Online resources, and an Index are also included in each book. Books are at a 7th grade reading level, but skinny enough to not be intimidating (48 pages each). Interest level is for 5th – 8th grade. I found the text to be engaging. I liked that each book grouped similar phenomena together, for example, Atlantis, Lemuria, and other legendary, lost lands were all in the same book, Lost Worlds. Similarly, Bigfoot, Yeti, and other apelike cryptids are all grouped together in the Creatures Walking volume. I did find the white text on black background a little bit hard to read, but that could just be my older eyes! Each book also had interesting tangents blocked on some of the pages, giving extra or supplementary text. For example, in Phantoms Among Us, one of the extra blocks just explained the word “mediums” to add extra context to the other text on the page about communicating with the dead. A reader could read it or skip it depending on their background knowledge. I think my students will enjoy these additions to our collection on odd and unexplained mysteries of the world.
This book is about a girl and her friends who find a mysterious glade in their dreams while at a camp where someone went missing in the past. Their friendships are tested as they protect each other from the force in the glade that wants to come back to the real world. I think this book was interesting because it had so many surprises like dreams that led characters to a mystical world. It was also very fun to read because the conflict tested the friends in a very suspenseful way. It took a while to get into the book – about 50 pages or so before it really got moving. Once you got into it, the author did a great job making the book interesting to read and fun to spend time finishing. The plot was very good with twists and turns. If readers can stick with it, they won’t regret it!
Reviewed by Rosalee B, 7th grader at Komachin Middle School
