Category Archives: Highly Recommend

The Snow Man

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By Jonah Winter, Illustrated by Jeanette Winter

This is the biography of billy barr (he chooses not to capitalize his name), a man who chose to live in the Rocky Mountains alone in the early 1970’s and continues to live there to this day. The author’s note at the end explains that billy become bored and thus started measuring and noting information about the first snowfall, snowpack and when certain animals and flowers returned to the mountains or came out of hibernation. His notebooks are still used when researching climate change and global warming.

I would highly recommend this book for elementary school. It is a wonderfully written and illustrated book that can be used extensively when recognizing climate change as well as a great example of the scientific method in action.

Styx and Scones in the Sticky Wand

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by Jay Cooper

Miss Hildy and Miss Hattie, two friendly witches, leave Styx (a purple cat) and Scones (a ginger colored dog) alone in their cottage when they go off to gather some fenfruit. They instruct their pets to leave various magical items alone, including a crystal ball, potions and herbs and the flying brooms. They don’t say anything about the stick on the mantel. So, Scones figures it’s ok to play with, right? Well, mayhem ensues as the two animals scuffle over the magical stick, turning Styx into a variety of purple animals and adding a ship, pirates and many other magical things to the mix. Upon the return of the witches, they learn that the stick is just that, not a magic wand. Yet, they turn Miss Hattie into a jar of peanut butter. So, what is that about?

This hilarious beginning graphic novel is perfect for new readers, who are introduced to the format by Styx and Scones on the first few pages. Cartoon-like illustrations are bright and the text is very accessible. This book will not be on the library shelves for long! Highly recommended.

I’m Going to Build a Snowman

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by Jashar Awan

A young boy wakes up to a snowy landscape and decides to build “THE BEST SNOWMAN EVER!” He mulls over the steps to the perfect snowman and about daydreams about the result, so perfect that it will be a dream come true! Well, sometimes the outcome isn’t as perfect as planned. But, this little boy is undaunted. He creates his “BEST SNOWMAN YET!” And, it is.

Bright, bold colors in simple illustrations help tell a story that is full of fun, exuberance and heart. Text is spare, yet moves the story along and readers will enjoy the onomatopoeia along the way. Add this to your collection. It will become a classic!

Lia Park and the Missing Jewel

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by Jenna Yoon

All Lia wants is make it into the International Magic School with her friend, Joon. Her overprotective parents, who work mundane desk jobs for the magical organization, won’t let her do anything and she can’t figure out why. In an act of rebellion, Lia attends the party of the popular girl from school and ends up revealing her family’s location (by breaking an ancient protection spell) to the evil diviner spirit, Gaya, who kidnaps her parents and demands a ransom. Lia’s parents manage to get a message to her during the kidnapping and she and Joon are magically transported to Korea. There, they discover Lia’s true lineage as they and Lia’s grandmother desperately fight to save her parents and destroy Gaya before she returns Korea to a vastly different time hundreds of years before.

This book brings together Korean mythology, magic, modern day technology and typical tween feelings in a wonderfully rich, exciting story. Lia is a twelve year old that is feeling a little (ok, a lot) hemmed in by her parents and sets off a chain of events that will change her life (and possibly the world) when she sneaks out to a swim party at the popular girl’s house. This act of rebellion leads to a fast-paced fantasy adventure that will cause you some sleepless nights, because you just can’t put it down. Hand this book to those students that love Rick Riordan’s books. They will thank you!

Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh

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Amazon.com: Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh eBook : Lippincott, Rachael: Kindle Store

Lippincott is known for writing sweet, sometimes heartbreaking stories involving challenges like illness and loss, such as Five Feet Apart. Her characters’ experiences are relatable and are always refreshingly reflective, which is a perk for adult readers, as seen in The Lucky List. Her first venture into sweet, queer ya romance with She Gets the Girl was one of my favorite and most recommended reads of 2022.

In Pride, Prejudice, and Pittsburgh, she adds some time travel and destiny into the mix. Both modern day Pittsburgh and the 1812 settings are characters themselves and the miscommunications about how life works in these different eras between the two main characters, Audrey and Lucy, are amusing. In the beginning, Lucy is betrothed to marry a man and Audrey was recently dumped by her first love, so both are experiencing romantic woes before the sparks fly between them. As with most time travel stories, Audrey learns to appreciate her life and I especially liked her relationship with her dad and their convenience store that felt very Pittsburgh . 

My one complaint is that the title is misleading! This is not a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, at least not that I (someone who is admittedly not a P&P stan) caught.

By Emma-Kate Schaake @hiketothelibrary

The Hopi

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Liz Sonneborn presents excellent information about the past and present Hopi people – the “people who live the correct way”. The Hopi live in present day northern Arizona which is a very dry arid land. The Hopi have devised unique ways to successfully live in this climate, in balance with nature, but present-day draught/climate change is making it more difficult.

The book informs about traditional and present use of the Hopi’s resources, the Hopi’s introduction to European contact, their government, and their use of both English and the Hopi languages.

The book includes: a timeline, glossary, index, and a safe internet web site- FACTSURFER.COM- for further information.

Submitted by Mary Pong

My Red, White, and Blue by Alana Tyson

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Follow a young boy through his community as he walks the reader through his thoughts and feelings about the American flag. The flag invokes feelings pride and hope.The flag symbolizes freedom. The flag is part of the boy’s community every day. Reflecting on the flag reminds the boy of the struggles of Americans in the past and the ways we can work individually and as a group today and tomorrow to make America a better place for all people.

My Red, White, and Blue does a good job showing that the flag represents different things to different people Through images and words, the book reinforces the idea that an individual’s experience and as well as perceptions of the past influence what the flag represents to each individual.

The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland

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Reviewed by OHS Substitute, Megan C.

Ireland’s book is a lot of fun – reminding me of the reality show The Bachelor. Main character Jasmine has a cheating boyfriend; after this realization her family goes on a mission to find her a replacement boyfriend while hosting her graduation party.

Not only is this book fun, it includes a lot of valuable voices and representation including mixed race voices and adopted families. In addition to prose, much of the text is written in text messages, which allows for alternating voices to come through. A great example of a YA Rom/Com.

Try a Bite, Trilobite!

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by Jonathan Fenske

Bug really wants his friend, Trilobite, to try his snack. But, Trilobite ONLY eats noodles. In the end, Trilobite is willing to take a nibble and eats the whole thing. Fortunately, she has LOTS of noodles to share.

This easy reader is written in the same way as “Elephant & Piggie” and uses speech bubbles to convey the story. Colors are bright and there is a lot of white space on the page. The characters’ emotions are clearly shown in their expressions and the book is simple enough for early readers. This book should fly off the shelves as another option for those kids that love Mo Willems’ books and easy graphic novels. Highly recommended.

The Navajo

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My friend born and raised on the Navajo reservation was very impressed with how accurate and up to date this book on his native people is. I reached out to my friend and former colleague after reading author Betty Marcks statement, ” I am a white women of European descent. As such, I can claim no direct lived experience of being a Native American…”

My friend thought very highly of Marcks’ inclusion and importance of the Navajo language, the clans, the early history of the Navajo with white culture, the native uses of resources- the rug weaving, basketry, jewelry making, the cultural upbringing of the women, and the current Navajo government. Mt friend was under the impression Marcks must have talked with a Navajo elder.

The book includes a timeline, glossary, a student safe to use FACTSURFER.com internet site, and index.

Submitted by Mary Pong