Category Archives: Highly Recommend

The Fossil Whisperer by Helaine Becker and Sandra Dumais

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This picture book biography of Wendy Sloboda shows how nurturing her curious and adventurous nature as a child helped her develop the skills she needed to become a world renowned fossil hunter. While always fascinated in exploring and documenting the world around her, it was during a field trip when she was 12 that she found her first fossil and was hooked. Wendy is now recognized as one of the preeminent fossil hunters alive today. She is most well known for the discovery of a new species of ceratopsian, the Wendiceratops. Over the course of her career, she discovered more than 3000 fossils.

Wendy Slobada’s energy is captured in the engaging illustrations. Endpapers include more information about Wendy, fossil hunting, Alberta’s bone beds, and the Wendiceratops.

The story of a female fossil hunter with dreadlocks and a tattoo reminds all students build on their strengths and interests – be themselves as they follow their dreams. A great choice for dinosaur lovers and to promote women in STEM.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

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by Xiran Jay Zhao

This middle grade story is a beautiful mix of Chinese history, fantasy, mythology, and science fiction technology. It has all the adventure of a Rick Riordan gods & goddesses mythology book, but using the stories of ancient Chinese Emperors and their complex machinations as the myths. These are the stories of China that have been passed down and have been woven into modern Chinese and world culture, including manga & video gaming. The story centers around Zachary Ying, a modern Chinese American kid who loves to play the video game Mythrealm using his special portal goggles. Things go awry when the ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, tries to possess Zach, but ends up stuck fused to his portal goggles. They embark on an epic adventure with several others to try to stop the spirits from breaking more completely into our world from the spirit realm. The book is sprinkled with history lessons to help familiarize students with Chinese history they may have never learned – like Zack and me. Water dragons, crazy battles between immortals, and trying to find one’s moral compass make this action-packed adventure worth the read. Those unfamiliar with Chinese names, may mentally destroy & horribly mispronounce some of the names of characters or could find it a stumbling block. It’s worth reading despite that and might be an opportunity to share the audiobook version as a way of learning how to pronounce some of the names. (It helped me!) I think students who love mythology adventures will probably love this addition to the genre. This appears to be a first book in a series as it leaves a major cliffhanger at the end of the book.

Itzel and the Ocelot by Rachel Katstaller

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Itzel lives with her nana on the edge of the jungle. Times are hard, because there has been no rain and the seeds her grandmother planted cannot grow without water. Her nana tells her a story about the great snake that brought the rainy season so long ago. But, people no longer believe and the snake retreated to the origin of water. Itzel wants to help her nana and decides to find this snake to bring back the rainy seasons. She enters the jungle and meets up with an ocelot, who agrees to accompany her on her quest. Other animals join along the way, because they too need water. They finally come to the dry riverbed and Itzel realizes that is no giant snake or water. Itzel sits down to play her flute, tears running down her cheeks. Suddenly, something crashes and bangs and the riverbed fills with water. Itzel and the ocelot are carried downriver and their animal companions on the riverbanks return to their homes. Itzel and the ocelot end up back with her nana and watch the rains come down. Her bravery and beliefs brought the rain back.

The story is eloquently told, with additional words in Spanish (word origin is Nawat, and indigenous Salvadoran language. This language is explained (with a glossary) at the back of the book along with an author’s note that gives information about folktales from this culture. Text is accessible and the glossary is helpful for those words that are unfamiliar. Accompanying illustrations are in a folk-art style, which is perfect for this story. Highly recommended.

Another Squiggly Story by Andrew Larson

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A young student has a problem. His teacher, Mr. Lopez, assigns the task of writing an autobiography. First of all, what is that? His classmates get right to work. His best friend, Marcus, loves hats and Alia wants to write about vampires, because she thinks about them all the time.

He is stuck! But, his sister comes to the rescue, telling him about her autobiography and reassuring him when he makes mistakes (it’s ok, you can edit). In class, the writing continues, with brainstorming , lists and first proofs. The boy continues his writing journey with a title, cover and more editing. The story ends with an addition to his list of “Things I Want to Be” – an author.

This is a fantastic book for kickstarting the writing process for young students. Appropriate vocabulary and simple illustrations make it a quick read and great discussion starter. I appreciate that the young boy works through his frustration and learns as he goes along. We have all been in that same place in our own writing journey. His friend, Marcus, adapts his autobiography into a comic style piece, noting that “drawing is easier than writing for me”. What a great representation of the reality of writing for so many kids. And, we can infer that the teacher is accepting of this change, since Marcus proudly shows his work-in-progress to the young writer. Use this book to introduce some of the elements of the writing process as well as the concept of autobiographies. Highly Recommended

Let the Monster Out, by Chad Lucas

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Having just moved to a new town, Bones Malone is trying to fit in and make new friends and keep his temper in check. This is not easy for Bones, especially since he’s often misunderstood and judged unfairly. Things in this new town get complicated as Bones and then several other new friends start sharing the nightmares of each other. Also, the adults in town start acting like vacant, alien-zombie librarians (AZL). The kids team up to solve the problem and fix the adults in their life from all succumbing to the weird AZLing. To do this, they take on the big corporation that employs many of the town’s adults, but who are definitely up to something shady. The book is a mystery wrapped up in a “Stranger Things” vibe – spooky and suspenseful. Some of the kids’ nightmares are downright scary!  The book is full of diverse characters, including Kyle who has autism. I liked that his friends get to experience the way Kyle views the world when they end up in his nightmare. It helps them relate to him better in the real world once they understand how intense sounds, lights, and other stimuli can be for him. Bones is black with a Mom and siblings starting over away from his violent dad. His background has left Bones often feeling the need to protect his Mom and siblings, but also gets him into trouble. Friendship, courage, and facing fears all take center stage in this sometimes scary story. I know this is going to be a hit with students!

Strange Nature: The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss by Gregory Mone

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I need to state right here, right now: BUY THIS BOOK!! Insect books for kids are wonderful and can often lead to further exploration. This book can turn anyone into a budding entomologist (and the book explains what that is).

Each two page spread includes a full page photo of an insect with added details and explanations. The second page for each insect includes size, habitat, facts and a sometimes humorous paragraph to bring it more inline with the intellect of a typical 10 year old. The back of the book includes a glossary and a link to the photographer’s website for more incredible insect photos and information.

Photographer Levon Biss went from a backyard foray with his son to an amazing photo exhibit of 37 insects from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. He called this work “Microsculpture”. Each insect was photographed thousands of times using special equipment and those pictures were combined to make these amazing photographic masterpieces. These photos were originally exhibited as ten foot tall art pieces and now, are in a book that is accessible to young entomologists. This book will not be on the shelf very long – it’s that good! Highly Recommended

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters by Dan Sasuweh Jones

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This is a collection of 32 scary stories, collected and shared by Dan Sasuweh Jones, Ponca Nation. Each story is one to six pages in length with illustrations by Weshoyot Alvitre, Tongva. Stories are prefaced by their origin information (tribe, extra details) and are shared with the permission of those entities. Some stories are mildly creepy and others are downright shiver-inducing. They are a mixture of generations-old stories handed down to more contemporary experiences as told by individuals Mr. Jones has interviewed while traveling across the country in his research.

Readers who are fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will enjoy this book, as will students of Native American culture. This is a great introduction to the horror genre and will not stay on the shelves very long.

The author’s introduction provides his insight as well as detailing his respectful omission of stories that are not to be shared outside particular tribes. Other sources and further reading are helpful for those looking for more information. Highly recommended.

The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson

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This story follows a brother and sister, who become bored one stormy summer day and start to argue. Their grandmother offers advice “Lift your arms, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and believe in a thing.” They come to realize that their imaginations can take them anywhere as they imagine themselves flying over their city, which is full of color. They relive this experience many times over through the fall and winter and they realize that they can use their imaginations in a wonderful way.

Grandmother “had learned to fly from the people who came before. They were aunts and uncles and cousins who were brought here on huge ships,their wrists and ankles cuffed in iron.” She reminds them “But, nobody can ever cuff your beautiful and brilliant mind.” 

They move to a new neighborhood and remember their grandmother’s advice when they feel lonely. They aren’t alone for long as they share with their new friends, who ‘One by one they too learned to fly.”

This is a poetic piece that reminds all of us to close our eyes and use our imaginations. There are so many possibilities and the challenges can be overcome. We have that power to look to a brighter future.

Text is accessible and accompanying illustrations are bold, bright and engaging. The author’s afterward gives credit to Virginia Hamilton’s “The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales” for her inspiration. The Main characters are Black and supporting characters are diverse. This is the second book by the author/illustrator duo of Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez (“The Day You Begin”) and it is just as richly created. Highly recommended.

Thunder and Cluck. Friends do not eat friends by Jill Esbaum

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Thunder and Cluck are an unlikely pair of friends. Of course, they don’t start out as friends, as told in this easy-to-read graphic novel. Big, toothy dino Thunder comes upon small, birdlike dinosaur Cluck and prepares to eat him. But, Cluck doesn’t do what he is supposed to do – run! A discussion ensues, with Cluck attempting to strike up a friendship and Thunder giving all kinds of excuses about how this can’t happen. Suddenly, another large, toothy dinosaur sidles up to eat Cluck and Thunder protects his “little buddy” (his words). He finally acquiesces to a friendship experiment, muttering something about hanging out with Cluck will be …interesting.

This beginning graphic novel is a perfect starting point for new readers. The book’s introduction explains how to read a graphic novel, describing panels and word versus thought bubbles. Each page has one to three panels on it and the colors are bright and bold. The main characters are cartoon dinosaurs – can it get any better? Buy this one for your youngest readers. They will be hooked! Highly recommended.

No se permiten elefantes by Lisa Mantchev

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A small boy and his tiny pet elephant are turned away from the Pet Club. There’s even a sign that specifically states “Strictly No Elephants” (No se permiten elefantes). They walk away sadly, only to come upon a dejected girl and her pet skunk, who were also turned away (“He doesn’t stink” she says). Together they form an inclusive Pet Club at a tree house and make it official with a sign that says “All Are Welcome”. And, others come with their unusual pets, like a bat, giraffe, armadillo and tiny narwhal.

Text is simple and illustrations are warmly detailed using block print, Photoshop and colored pencils. Observant readers will notice that the boy, girl and their pets are colorful, while everything else in the background is teal and black on one double page spread. They might also notice a few unusual pets peeking out windows as they walk by on their way to start their new club.

This is a message of inclusion and caring friendship. Characters and pets are diverse. The boy and his elephant have a special bond as noted when the boy helps the tentative elephant over cracks – “I always go back and help him over. That’s what friends do: lift each other over the cracks.” “Siempre regreso y lo ayudo. Eso es lo que hacen los amigos: apoyarse en medio de las grientas.”

This is a lovely book with a wonderful message. It may lead to some great discussions about what friendship looks like for children and what it means to be included. Highly recommended.