Category Archives: Recommendation

Noodle and the No Bones Day

Posted on by

Written by Jonathan Graziano, Illustrated by Dan Tavis

What a wonderfully adorable book about a pug and his person. This tale emphasizes that it is okay to have an “off day” every once in a while. Noodle and his person, Jonathan – the author, have busy and adventuresome days every day but when Noodle is feeling under the weather, Jonathan becomes concerned. Soon he realizes that there are days where one must just take the time to relax and be content to just be. A highly recommended tale for elementary students that really explains that it’s okay to have a “no bones” day.

The Moon from Dehradun: a Story of Partition

Posted on by

Written by Shirin Shamsi Illustrated by Tarun Lak

This is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book about the partition of India in 1947. It follows a family that suddenly has to leave their home and move to what is now Pakistan where they find an empty house and move in (presumably because that family had to move to what is now India). While recommended for ages 4-8, this book would be a more relevant purchase for intermediate grades. The story will be relatable to individuals who have an understanding of refugees and individuals that flee from their homelands due to fear. This book also contains maps, a glossary as well as the author’s family experiences in the back that would better explain the story to more advanced intermediate readers.

Little Red and the Big Bad Editor

Posted on by

The Big Bad Wolf Editor actually saves Little Red from being eaten fives times in this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Who could have guessed the wolf, turned editor, cared more about the rules of good composition than in eating his prey? When Red runs into the Wolf on her way to Grandma’s house with her basket of goodies, topped off with a thank-you note, the editor in the wolf wins over time and time again. Wolf is compelled to correct Red’s composition mistakes: no finger spaces between words, no capital letter at the beginning of each sentence, and no greeting salutation or signature at the end of the note.

Combine that with the ‘cool as a cucumber’ similes, onomatopoeia, and colorful verbs the wolf with his pencil behind his ear are doomed to not enjoy a human meal today. Who would have guessed the IMPORTANCE of a great thank-you note!

Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf Editor

Welcome to Dweeb Club

Posted on by

by Betsy Uhrig

I think this is a very good book for people who love books that have humor in them and a book that is semi-realistic but still has crazy ideas. and it’s one of the books that is in first-person. Jason Sloan is not one of the people you will notice in the halls of a school, he is according to his sister, a “Dorkfus” and he decides to join a also not very known or noticed club. and it was named…H.A.I.R club!… [trails off] yeah he knows. Super weird name. Their job in this club is looking at cameras and security (NOT HAIR), and when they look at the cameras, they find something out. The pictures in the cameras show scenes of the future possibility. This club leads them to adventures. I think she did well at making this book funny. Also most of the time, people make things which was interesting. I also liked the book cover. I like the humor in the book. One example In the book was a teacher named Ms. Grossman. Near the end of chapter 58, a kid named Steve typed into his computer, “WHAT PRODUCT AM I PUTTING ON MY HAIR THAT IS MAKING IT LOOK LIKE THIS????”(244) After reading that, I laughed for 1 whole minute! I also kinda found it funny how much idiotic stuff they did. I did wonder though, “What’s with all the weird abbreviations?” TWERP? No idea what that stood for. Overall, I give the book a 4 out of 5.  [This review written by Komachin 6th grader, Victoria L. ]

Geraldine Pu and Her Lucky Pencil, Too!

Posted on by

So glad this is part of a series! Geraldine Pu is a cute rambunctious little Asian American girl with a story to tell. This time her story evolves around writing a story about her family for part of an assignment at school. She discovers her everyday family members have a history she does not know about neatly stored in boxes and scrapbooks down in their basement dealing with the family’s immigration from Taiwan.

Geraldine gives helpful instructions on to how to read a graphic novel ( from box to box), for first time graphic novel readers, Then at the end of the book, Geraldine gives readers helpful instructions on “HOW TO MAKE A SCRAPBOOK” like the ones she discovered in her family’s basement.

Pig Makes Art

Posted on by

Written by Laura Gehl Illustrated by Fred Blunt

This book is an “emerging reader” book about a pig who creates art but leaves out the cat from the picture. The cat gets bored and takes a nap so the pig makes art on the cat while it’s sleeping. This makes the cat angry. In the end, pig and cat both make art together as friends. This book contains a list of word families, sight words and bonus words. It also has questions about the book on the last page.

Astrid the Astronaut: The Astronomically Grand Plan

Posted on by

Astrid, a lover of all things outer space, is excited to start the new year with a new after school club at school, The Shooting Stars. Being in the group is step one to her goal of becoming the first astronaut that uses hearing aids. She is a determined young lady with a great deal of grit although because of her focus on becoming an astronaut she ignores her best friends desire to be an artist assuming she wants to go to space camp as well. This short book is a wonderful starter into reading chapter books. It not only discusses goal setting, working as a team and being kind, but also being a good listener and friend. I would recommend this book for emerging readers.

Wednesday Wilson Fixes All Your Problems by Bree Galbraith

Posted on by
Click for more information on this title

Wednesday Wilson’s morning is not off to a good start. Her mom made egg pizza for breakfast again, she spilled her brother’s orange juice all over his family tree project, her favorite marble hit the principal in the head and her brother locked himself in the bathroom at school. To get her brother to come out of the bathroom, Wednesday’s classmate, Emmett, says he needs a worry stone. And this leads Wednesday to her next business adventure: selling her marble collection to students to solve their problems. This short chapter book is book two in the Wednesday Wilson series, but you can read it without feeling like you are missing too much from the first book.

Chickadee: Criminal Mastermind

Posted on by

Written by Monica Silvie Illustrated by Elina Ellis

What a fun book about a bird who feels he is a rebel compared to the rest of his nest mates. His mom and dad teach all of them to never leave the forest and don’t go near the houses. All summer and fall our little “rapscallion” is staying safe in the forest but when winter comes along he is cold and heads to the houses to become the “thief” that he is. This is a humorous book that discusses how we can help birds that do not migrate in the winter by leaving food out for them in our yards and neighborhoods. There is a three pager at the end of the book discussing facts about the Black-Capped Chickadee. There are also online resources and book recommendations.

You Should Meet Yayoi Kusama

Posted on by

This leveled book is at the top of the Ready-to-Read difficulty level with longer, more complex sentences; wider, more challenging vocabulary; and up to a paragraph of text on a page. It includes a table of contents, two one-page bios of other famous women artists, a list of areas of study involving art, information about Japan, and a quiz about the text.

The text does a great job of conveying a straightforward summary of the life of Yayoi Kusama highlighting her struggles over the course of her long life, and how she eventually became regarded as a celebrity with her exhibitions selling out instantly. The theme focuses on how dedication and belief in yourself can lead to dreams coming true.

As Kusama is famous for her extensive use of polka dots in her art, the illustrations have polka dots on many pages. The bright palette of her artwork is reflected in the illustrations.

This book could be an inspiration to young girls who want to pursue an art career.