Category Archives: Recommendation

Delicious Monsters, by Liselle Sambury

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Reviewed by OHS Substitute, Victoria O.

Let’s be clear: Daisy does not enjoy being special. How can she when what makes her so unique is the fact she can see swarms of dead people wandering the streets of downtown Toronto, drawn to sadness and despair like clouds of gray flies to honey? And now, the one source of happiness in Daisy’s life seems to have abandoned her: After their first fight as a couple, her boyfriend, Noah, has been spotted around town with a pretty white girl on his arm and is no longer answering any of her texts. 

Meanwhile: Brittney, an ambitious young content creator and aspiring filmmaker, works a dead-end internship for a scummy media corporation to help pay the bills so she doesn’t have to rely on her abusive, wealthy mother for support. As she continues work on her surprise hit YouTube series, Haunted, she and her best friend, Jayden, begin investigating the house that made her self-help guru mother famous, hoping to uncover its dark secrets and solve the mystery behind the tragic loss of life that occurred there 10 years earlier: The unexplained death of a young black girl named Daisy. 

Author Liselle Sambury interweaves themes of generational trauma and coming of age within a framework of compelling supernatural mystery, featuring two timelines with two equally intriguing protagonists. This thrilling haunted-house-turned-ghost-hunter novel will keep you up at night until the wee hours of the morning as you turn pages in a race alongside Brittney to find out just what happened to Daisy on the night she disappeared all those years ago… Recommended for those who loved Netflix’ The Haunting of Hill House and Sadie. 

Skandar and the Skeleton Curse

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By A.F. Steadman

In book 4 of this epic fantasy series, Skandar must join his friends at the Eyrie to solve the mystery of the Skeleton Curse which is killing pegasus and their riders. Skandar’s sister, a rebel fighting to save her life and her pegasus’ life will do anything including cursing all others on the island. Not only that, the commodore of the Eyrie wants to destroy all spirit wielding riders including Skandar and his sister. Will Skandar survive against his sister? Will he help his sister survive?

This is an epic fantasy series that has the feel of Harry Potter but the perk of pegasus. It is also a series that MUST be read in order. This is book 4. I would recommend it for any who are searching for that next series to pull kids into reading.

A Little Like Magic

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Written and Illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel

Our narrator doesn’t like to try new things or venture to new places but when she spends the evening at an ice sculpting event she finds herself feeling okay with the crowds and noise as long as her mom is there. When she returns home she finds that she has lost her favorite horse statue and is sad that she will never see it again. After spending the day in sadness they once again go to the sculpting event to see the results from the day before feeling more familiar and comfortable only to see a beautiful sculpture of a horse that looks just like hers. Will she find her horse? Only reading this picture book will tell.

What a beautifully illustrated book about pushing past one’s fears. As the back cover says, “Sometimes you have to brave the cold to experience something special”

Brandon and the Totally Troublesome Time Machine

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Written by Seth Fishman, Illustrated by Mark Fearing

One day, Brandon decides to build a time machine. After doing all the things one must do when building this type tool such as: seeing dinosaurs wish upon a REALLY big falling star, and watching creatures learn to climb and live on land, he decides to venture into his own past and try to fix things like acing the test he failed the day before. He soon starts to depend on his future self to do everything for him. Cleaning, doing homework, and other things that his present self doesn’t want to do. Future self starts to sabotage past self and a humorous battle ensues. Will Brandon realize he is only fighting himself?

What a fun and well illustrated book that sends a great moral. I recommend this book for any elementary library.

Dinosaur Roar!

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Written and Illustrated by Paul and Henrietta Stickland

In a fun and well illustrated way, this book simply discusses opposites. First, what kid doesn’t like dinosaurs? Second, it’s cartoon-like nature will attract all. With two simple sentences on each page such as, “Dinosaur weak, dinosaur strong” as well as rhyming throughout, this book will attract all emerging readers. This will also be a great and short read-aloud for for any librarian or family member.

I strongly recommend this book for libraries who serve preschool and primary readers.

Perla the Mighty Dog

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Written by Isabel Allende, Illustrated by Sandy Rodriguez

Perla has two superpowers. First, she can make anybody love them. Second, she can roar like a lion. When she is adopted by the Ricos, she finds herself in the position to help Nico Rico who is being bullied. Nico learns how to roar like a lion against a bully at school.

Written from the viewpoint of Perla, this is a light story about how a dog’s love can support the boy who cares about him the most.

Stopping by Jungle on a Snowy Evening

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Written by Richard T. Morris, Illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch

A young boy adventures into a jungle, or is it the woods? He stumbles upon a house where he meets the poet, Robert Frost. From there the boy and the poet argue about his famous work, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. The boy argues that the poem needs more action and needs to include his hippo in the jungle. The poet insists that the poem should be calming and meditative. An humorous adventure ensues with a jingling hippo, meteors, snakes and karate.

This book contains bright and vibrant illustrations. It has the original poem at the end as well. If one has a specific theme to focus upon or the actual Frost poem is a focus within the school, this would be a fun extra purchase for your library.

What Lolo Wants

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Written by Cristina Oxtra, Illustrated by Jamie Bauza

Maria and her Lolo (Grandfather) have a beautiful relationship. They spend a great deal of time together: in the garden, getting ice cream and especially drawing. Lolo can draw anything! But when Maria’s Lolo starts to feel unwell and forgetful, Maria gets worried. Soon, Lolo starts having problems remembering names of things and people. It is a struggle for Lolo to explain what he needs. How will Maria help her Grandpa remember and communicate what he wants?

This lovely picture book has threads of Philippine American traditions and culture within it. It carefully discusses Dementia in a kind way that children can understand. The illustrations are beautifully done in pencil and watercolor. I would recommend this book for any elementary library.

Wonder & Awe by Annie Herzig

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A little girl makes a snowman and names her Wonder. She and Wonder spend so much time together, but when spring comes it is time for Wonder to go. The girl is sad until she finds something else that sparks wonder. The color change in the illustration highlights the girl’s feelings. When she is happy and can see the beauty around her, the illustrations are colorful. When she is sad the illustrations are shades of gray and white. A sweet story of friendship and finding joy in everyday things.

Snow Is… by Laura Gehl

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“Snow is the feeling the moment you wake. Snow is a stillness before the first flake.” Through rhyming text, this book takes a look at the joy found in snow as a young boy and his family enjoys a day in the snow. The main colors in the illustration of blue, gray and white take on the feeling and look of snow, while the pops of red in the family’s house and clothing stand out. A sweet celebration of snow.