Category Archives: Recommendation

The Together Tree

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Rumi starts at a new school and doesn’t feel like he fits in; not in class and not at recess. At recess while the other kids played, Rumi sat beneath a shady old willow tree, twirling a stick. Everything was different at his old home. Some of his classmates started making fun of him and it escalated to bullying. When a student threw a rock and hurt Rumi, his classmates realized their behavior was hurtful and gradually they all joined Rumi under the tree to create beautiful drawings in the dirt. The story ends with the bully being invited to join the group under the tree.

A beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of being a new student from a different cultural background and how teasing escalates to bullying.

Leena Mo, CEO

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Written by Deena Shakir and illustrated by Nez Riaz

Leena had to shovel snow and she really didn’t like that job. So, She dreamed, brainstormed, investigated and eventually built a duck-like robot to do the job for her. Her neighbors noticed how great her new snow removal device, aka Helmy (Arabic for “my dream”) and the orders started pouring in. Leena asks her two friends to join her business – Olivia (a robotics whiz) and Lily (a successful lemonade stand entrepreneur). Leena’s only remaining problem was Helmy parts procurement. How would she pay for them? Her nice neighbor, Miss Irma, offered to invest in Leena’s venture. Her business was ready to go! The girls got right to work with production, They sold all the Helmys they produced and business grew. Leena was a CEO! The story ends with a tv interview, which a man and his granddaughter watch in Leena’s mom’s hometown in Iraq. That little girl saw her future dreams in Leena’s story. Anything is possible!

This is an inspiring STEM related story that will resonate with young girls, who may not even realize that their interest in one area might turn into something even bigger. Characters are culturally diverse and the community seems to be positive and supportive of the young CEO. The illustrations are colorful and complement the storyline. Buy this for your library and share it with your young scientists. What if a child read this and said “I can do this, too!”? How cool would that be?

Pedro and the Monster Eaters = Pedro y los devoradores de monstruos

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written by Xequina María Berbér and illustrated by C. Rod. Unalt

Pedro is a young boy that comes from a family of artists that creates papier maché art pieces – from pinatas to giant puppets called mojigangas that are used in parades and festivals in Mexico. His family is very busy, because their artwork is so beautiful. So, Pedro learns the aspects of the art from an early age. One night, he becomes very sick and has a high fever. He has some terrible dreams in which the mojigangas chase after him. In his nightmares, colorful creatures called alebrijes rescue him by gobbling up the scary puppets. He awakens and is determined to create these monster-eating creatures in papier maché. Soon, people from all around are buying his colorful art pieces and he become world renowned for his beautiful work.

This story is loosely based on the life of Mexican folk artist Pedro Linares, who created beautifully painted fantastical creatures in papier maché. The book is written in English and Spanish and illustrated with colorful otherworldly creatures that spring from Pedro’s imagination. Text and illustrations work very well together to convey Pedro’s story. An author’s note at the end gives more information about Pedro Linares and is a great starting point for more thorough research about an artist in a medium about which there is typically little information.

Purchase this book for your library for a variety of reasons – the subject matter, dual language presentation and the beautiful illustrations. Students will be curious to explore more about the artist and the medium after such a wonderful introduction.

Man O’War by: Cory McCarthy

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Reviewed by OHS student, Cyrus P.

River McIntyre is a young high school trans person who spends his life in Haley, Ohio swimming, raving about jellyfish, exploring life and love, and battling all forms of discrimination. He spends the most significant of his days at the local SeaPlanet swimming with fish and being queer. Giving the full scope of a coming of age novel this book puts the reader through the full athletic queer experience the perfect read for someone who wants to learn about marine biology and life as a queer person.

I like the “sciencey” aspects to the book and the ways that River connects those aspects to themselves. At times I felt that it was egregiously queer. Gay to a fault – making the issues seem too forced at times. Queer people and athletes may like this book. They should read it because it’s a great, full journey and keeps you invested in the lives of these people while teaching you about marine biology.

The Dagger and the Flame by: Catherine Doyle

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Lakshitha R.

In The Dagger and the Flame, Doyle puts together an enthralling narrative with an air of mystery and hint of romance drawing the reader in.

The City of Fantome is run by the Cloaks and Daggers made up of thieves and assassins. Seraphine Marchant, the daughter of a smuggler, lives a happy life in the plains until the day her mother is murdered by the order. In seeking refuge with the Cloaks, Seraphine uncovers the secrets of her mother’s murder. Ransom, the heir to the mysterious order of the Daggers, is tasked to kill Sera but soon becomes drawn in by this mystery spitfire and her strange abilities; thus leaving him torn between duty and desire. This enthralling, forbidden romance is enhanced by magic and mystery.

The vivid details, spicy romance, and constant suspense will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Readers who like books by Sara J. Maas and other romantasy books would like one, too.

The Quiet and the Loud by: Helena Fox

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Connie C.

The book “The Quiet and the Loud” highlights the importance of addressing your mental health and your personal needs, and raises awareness to ongoing problems in our world. Set in Australia, we follow Georgia, a girl who finds peace in kayaking and art. As we watch her overcome her past struggles and her present struggles we learn what is truly important in life. The heavy emphasis of art and poetry makes this book both touching and beautiful. As well as the common reoccurrence of mental health/abuse makes this book relatable and deep.

I like how this book is extremely relatable and how you can see things that are happening in real time in the book. I also like how poetic/artistic is it and how it battles important topics of mental health, relationships, and climate change. I dislike how poorly they built the setting. I had to guess they lived in Australia but I didn’t know exactly until like halfway through the book where the header said “Sydney”… That made me really confused. And (since it dealt with tough topics) it was not the most interesting book and I found myself getting bored really easily and I really wanted the book to end.

I think people who are interested in reading books about LGBTQ+ romances and mental health/climate change topics.

Westfallen

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by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

The first book in what will eventually be a series, Westfallen follows six teens – 3 in 1944 and 3 in modern day. They all live in the same neighborhood, even homes, years apart. Both find old radios that strangely link them together in an old shed. As seemingly innocent information is shared, the butterfly effect comes into play and huge changes are wrought in the world beyond 1944. Fixing the problems just leads to more problems, the biggest is finding that the modern teens no longer live in the United States but in the Nazi-ruled Westfallen. The ending is clearly a cliffhanger for a yet-to-be written/published sequel. I normally prefer to read first books AFTER the next book has come out. I get impatient to know what comes next. I hope we do not have to wait long!  I also sense that there were some teasers of further secrets in the beginning, though I can’t quite see how they will play out yet. I did enjoy the reminder that even the littlest things that we do can have huge consequences on the future. It’s always a good reminder to live thoughtfully. Like the 3 teens from the modern day in the book – Henry, Frances, and Lukas- the world run by a prejudiced dictator did not feel like a world I would want to live in. The story moves along with lots of twists and turns in this not-really time travel story of characters who can communicate over time, but are unable to move through time. How they manage that communication is part of the challenge throughout the book. Hopefully we won’t have long to wait for the next part of the story! (Side note, be sure to read the author bios on the flaps of the book. Ann and Ben are siblings & each had funny blurbs about each other from their own childhoods.)

Gorgeously Me!

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By Jonathan Van Ness. Illustrated by Kamala Nair

From bestselling author and star of Queer Eye Jonathan Van Ness, Gorgeously ME! is a book about being true to yourself and accepting who you are even if it isn’t alway easy. It reinforces the concept that being different and unique is okay and it is okay to express it. This nicely illustrated book has characters of many different backgrounds who show confidence and acceptance of all even if they look different or have physical challenges. It encourages kids to admit mistakes and talk through things to make resolutions.

I would recommend this book to all elementary school libraries as it encourages acceptance, kindness and loving one’s self.

The River is My Ocean

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By Rio Cortez. Illustrated by AshLeigh Corrin

In this book our main character travels down to the Hudson River every Saturday with her abuela who has missed to ocean since moving from Puerto Rico. Going there and back, she and her abuela stop and visit people and shops in their neighborhood They also relax and enjoy the river when they arrive at the park. This book celebrates the culture and history of the Afro-Caribbean communities of New York. This would be a good book to purchase if your community has Caribbean or Spanish speaking students. It talks about the powerful goddess Yemaya who represents motherhood and the sea.

Chicka Chicka Ho Ho Ho

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By William Boniface. Illustrated by Julien Chung

Similar to the original, this book is an alphabet book about letters trying to climb a tree but this time it’s a Christmas tree. As the letters decorate the tree they string themselves along making the reader want to sing the original melody. As they slip and drop they see someone put a square beneath the tree. From there they see many different shaped presents appearing. This is a great book that reinforces the learning of the alphabet but also teaches about different shapes. I would recommend this book to libraries that have preschool classes or need more alphabet book titles.