Category Archives: Recommendation

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.

Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff

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From the author of the Newbery Honor book “Too Bright to See” and the picture book “When Aidan Became a Brother,” Kyle Lukoff presents us with a novel on the queer community through the eyes of sixth grade Annabelle. When a vocal, cool binary student, Bailey, joins her class, Annabelle is instantly infatuated with them, and begins to wonder if this is actually a crush. When she brings Bailey home, Annabelle’s parents instantly act awkward and seem to be discouraging their friendship. Misreading their attitude about Bailey’s gender identity, her parents share with Annabelle that her dad is not only transgender, but a seahorse father. (He was the one who birthed Annabelle when it was discovered that her mother was unable to have children). Once this is out in the open, Annabelle, Bailey, and their families get involved in the Spectrum Families chapter in Tahoma Falls and Seattle, WA. Annabelle continues to try to “figure out which letter in LGBTQ+ applied to me, now that I know that I was something.” National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is quickly approaching and Annabelle feels pressured to figure it out soon.

From the very beginning, I saw this is as an “instructive manual” on how to “they/them” and teach terms such as butch, femme, seahorse, pan, and more. While I respect this possible motive by the author, for me, it drove the book rather than an interesting plot. I believe there are better books out there on questioning your sexual and gender identity, but if you’re looking to add to your collection, this may appeal to lower middle school students.

When You Call My Name by: Tucker Shaw

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This is an LGBTQ+ Romance set in the early 90s. Usually, I love books set within this time period because I was a teen during that era; however, this one falls short for me. The pop culture references sprinkled within the book are pretty obscure; I worry today’s teens will not have enough knowledge to understand the reference and grow bored of it, unable to relate.

I appreciated the way the author told of society’s attitude toward the LGBTQ+ community during that time period; however, I feel as though parts were very trite and predictable.

I also dislike the title – it feels like it’s trying to allude to Call Me by Your Name by Aciman (which it does not compare).

I do think that our high school libraries will have an audience for this title. I am curious to hear what today’s teens say about it it.

When You Call My Name

See You Yesterday by: Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Author, Rachel Lynn Solomon, is a fellow Washingtonian – and her books are set in Washington State. See You Tomorrow is set on the University of Washington campus, with a ton of local references. It made the book more enjoyable for me because I could picture the places she describes.

This story isn’t a new idea – it’s very much like the movie Groundhog Day, in that the two main characters are caught within a time loop, doomed to live one single day over and over. In the process of discovering that they are in it together, Miles and Barrett begin to work together to figure out what, if anything, can break the loop. The two begin as strangers, who irritate each other. We see their relationship begin to morph into something more as they spend more time together and learn about each other. Half way through the book, the romantic tension is palpable.

Readers will enjoy the comedic elements, as well as the slow burn love story. There are a couple of spicy love scenes within, so readers should be aware of this going into it. There is also swearing throughout.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Readers who are fans of Solomon’s other books, or Again But Better by Riccio will enjoy this one as well.

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Other Talk by Brendan Kiely

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This book has an introduction by Jason Reynolds.

The book is definitely written at teens – the casual language and clearly defined vocabulary and anecdotes will hold the attention of teen readers. The thing I liked most about the language in this book was the use of “Global Majority” as the descriptor for BIPOC folks in the United States. This puts a constant reminder in the reader’s mind that the BIPOC population is NOT the minority – and even in the US this population will outnumber the White population within the next couple of years.

This book explains why it’s important to speak of and acknowledge white priviledge within our society. It’s main message is to listen.

The book is accessible and appropriate for grades 6-12. It’s a quick read; the audio version is read by the author, so it’s equally as good.

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

Pugs Cause Traffic Jams by Jennifer McGrath

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Kirby, the pug, is missing! As his owner searches the town for her errant puppy, the reader sees Kirby causing all kinds of problems in the streets. Each page is full of color and life and different breeds of dogs. Kirby’s owner notes each breed’s characteristic. For example, “Huskies are singers”. And, “Samoyeds just smile and smile”. Finally, we find Kirby at the end, somehow turning all these traffic jams into a street party, complete with red carpet and cake.

This is a fun romp of a story with lots of dogs. Pugs are the current stars of many popular picture books and this one will be equally popular with younger readers. Busy illustrations are engaging and fun. And, the author is pretty spot on with the breeds’ personalities. Recommended.

When Whales Fly by Erica S. Perl

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Whale, Quail and Snail are hanging out watching the clouds when Whale states that she wishes she could fly. Snail, in a very matter-of-fact voice, tells her that she can learn to fly and that he and Quail will teach her. Quail is pretty dubious about this and states repeatedly that whales cannot fly. Snail believes it can happen and, eventually, Whale leaps (or flies) out of the water much to her delight and astonishment. Her big splash knocks Quail off the surfboard and Quail flounders, because he can’t swim. Whale offers to teach him how, because she’s a great swimmer…and pretty good at flying, too (according to Quail).

This Level Two reader has very accessible text and slightly longer sentences and simple chapters. Illustrations are bright and cartoon-like, filling the page with happy color. This is a fun story in a book that feels like a chapter book, perfect for young readers ready to move up a notch from picture books. Recommended.