Animal Battles: Badger vs. Bobcat

Badger vs. Bobcat is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In Badger vs. Bobcat, the bobcat is stalking the badger. Each animal has unique characteristics that could lead to it winning this face-off. Which animal will come out on top? This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Animal Battles: Asiatic Lion Vs. Bengal Tiger

Asiatic Lion vs. Bengal Tiger is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In MantisIn Asiatic Lion vs Bengal Tiger, the lion and the tiger face off over hunting territory. The lion’s camouflage and claws are pitted against the tiger’s sharp teeth. This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Animal Battles: Skunk Vs. Raccoon

Skunk vs. Raccoon is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In Skunk vs. Raccoon, the skunk and racoon face off over food. The skunk’s spray and sharp claws are paired against the raccoon’s ability to make itself look bigger. This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Yellowstone National Park

Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Yellowstone National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on the Yellowstone National Park, the third most visited United States National Park in 2021, while not being a travel vacation advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the geysers erupt (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park from too many visitors and climate change (p 24-27).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Yellowstone National Park can be gotten safely through Factsurfer.com.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited United States National Park, while not being a travel vacation advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the Smokies were formed (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park from too many visitors and climate change (p 24-27).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be gotten safelythrough Factsurfer.com.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Glacier National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on Glacier National Park while not being a vacation travel advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the glaciers formed (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park (p24-27) from too many visitors and climate change. “Many of he park’s glaciers have started to disappear in recent years”(p 24).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 Glacier National Park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Glacier National Park can be gotten safely through Factsurfer.com..

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Los Mapas de la Memoria (The Maps of Memory)(Spanish version)

by Marjorie Agosin

This book is about the  deep history and woeful past of a city in Chile. It makes it an interesting book for readers who will learn about a culture that may be new to them. Celeste must find her friend Lucilia. She must also learn about her mother’s and father’s past. She’s upset that she got sent away to the states, but will get over it eventually. Until then,  everyone in the city is haunted by the past of what happened on the Esmeralda boat when the supposed enemies of the general were kidnapped. The author did a great job setting the plot and making it an eventful and interesting story. I liked Celeste’s  interest in finding her parents’ past on the Esmeralda boat and her growing interest in the boys. This book has the same soft illustrations throughout like the first book in the series does. There was nothing I disliked. It was a perfecto book! Overall I’d give this book a 5 out of 5.

Note: This book was originally read from the English edition.

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Viví en el cerro Mariposa (I Lived on Butterfly Hill) (Spanish Edition)

by Marjorie Agosin

Celeste lives on Butterfly Hill in the Chilean city of Valparaiso. She loves her town and her family that live in this beautiful place – the only place she’s ever known. The government is in turmoil, the streets don’t feel safe, and her parents are unfortunately drawn in as they go to help people who need medical attention. Whether a reader knows anything about the history of Chili or not, the story of a young girl sent away from her home to find safety elsewhere will touch many readers. Celeste eventually finds herself sent to her aunt who lives in Massachusetts so she can be safe during the time of violence & changing regimes. She misses home and must learn to navigate in a new place and a new language. I loved the occasional soft illustrations that give the reader a glimpse into Celeste’s new life. I learned more than I ever had known before about Chile, its culture, and its history. This book won the Pura Belpre award & I feel it was much deserved. An immigrant story. A positive portrayal of a feisty Hispanic heroine. A gem of a book!

Note: I originally read this book in the English edition.

My Nest of Silence

by Matt Faulkner

In this book, while living in Manzanar Relocation Center in California,  Mari makes a vow of silence not to talk until her brother Mak returns from the military during WWII. She intends to keep this promise by compensating with her facial expressions and her art.  This  internment camp story will be of interest to those who want to learn how others were treated and how they dealt with events of life in the 1940s. I like the graphic novel sections for the telling of Mak contrasting to the full text sections from Mari’s point of view.  It makes it very interesting and easier to see the difference between the 2 main characters and what life was like IN the camp and during the war. I didn’t dislike much about this book, actually. I just dislike how the Japanese-Americans were treated back then. It was so unfair. The book will be a great read for people who are interested in historic events to learn how people had to live back then.

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Freaks

by Brett Riley

This book is a great read for those who are in love with the supernatural. In this story, despite the bullying happening to them in high school, the four friends, the freaks, have to save their Arkansas town from a mysterious danger and bloodthirsty creatures. I like how the kids stick together throughout their hardships. I particularly love the character Christian’s personality. She doesn’t care about what other people think about her. She makes everything seem funny. There wasn’t much to dislike, but maybe there was not enough story on the monster’s side of things. There is some swearing in the book, so if a reader is offended by that, perhaps this wouldn’t be the book for them. Overall, I’d give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I really liked it!

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Note: Book cover recommends 14 years and up. This student reviewer is often the student to let me know if the content is too mature for 6th graders, however, other than the swearing, the rest of the content did not bother her.