Category Archives: Recommendation

Parker Bell and the Science of Friendship by Cynthia Platt

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Parker, a budding scientist, is so excited when her teacher announces a three part science competition. She knows that she and her coding-expert best friend, Cassie, can easily win and will set her on her path to be be as great a scientist as her heroes, Mae Jemison and Jane Goodall. Unfortunately, Cassie invites super shy Theo to be part of the team. Parker isn’t happy. Cassie asked him without consulting her and she’s worried that Cassie might have a new friend that come between them. Also, she is concerned. Will he contribute to the project when he can’t even speak loudly enough for her to hear.

Friendship and STEM come together in a nicely written story that is both realistic and humorous. Three teammates struggle to come up with the best science project ever while navigating the pitfalls of new friends and old friends working together. Parker’s idea of building guinea pig robots is perfect, right? Nothing can go wrong with that. Or, can it?

Illustrations are cartoon-like, full page digital artwork. The story packs some STEM fun into a friendship story that breaks some gender boundaries. Parker LOVES science and has her own Mad Science Lab. Her dad is a baker and her mom is a P.E. teacher, who both encourage her scientific enthusiasm. Give this book to your budding scientists. They will certainly connect with Parker and her friends! Recommended.

I Will! by Juana Medina

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This is a book of fourteen affirmations for young students. Each double page spread has hand-lettered words on one side and an accompanying illustration on the other. Characters are diverse in ethnicity and ability and the illustrations are digitally rendered in bright colors, which is very engaging for the target audience.

Affirmations are split between those that help others and those that are more self reflective. Examples include “I will help those in need and ask for help when I need it”. This book will be very useful for discussion with young children about being the best they can be to themselves and others. And, as the story says “I will join with you to make this a better world for everyone”. Recommended

Waiting for Mama by Gianna Marino

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This is a story about the life of an emperor penguin chick, mostly told from inside the egg. The chick and father await mama’s return from feeding with the egg mostly tucked under the father’s belly on his feet. The chick describes what he hears and feels from inside the egg until near the end of the story when he “CRACK” comes out of his shell to greet his father and returning mother.

This simple story with its warmly colored illustrations gives some great details about the emperor penguin interwoven with the flow of the story. Young students will be learning without even realizing it. An author’s note expands on the information given in the story, which will certainly lead to further research for many interested young penguin enthusiasts. Recommended

The Rainbow Hunters by Andrea Farotto

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Bill is on a rainbow hunt and as he begins his adventure, he is joined by three friends. Each adds something – butterfly net, candy and so forth. They travel in every direction yet don’t find the end of the rainbow or treasure. They do find something even better – a wonderful day with friends full of adventure (and a bonus white dog that they name Cheesecake, or is it Coconut?). The story ends with Bill setting out on another hunt, this time for Bigfoot and the story continues…

This wonderful story is all about the fun of being with friends and having an adventure outside. The goal, like the gold at the end of the rainbow, might not be achieved. But, it is the journey and its excitement that is the the memorable byproduct. Young readers will identify with the four friends as they turn here and there during their quest. And, they will certainly agree that the most fun part is is the hunt itself.

Text is appropriate for young readers and illustrations are simple and bright. Characters are diverse. Recommended.

Tide Pool Troubles by Ashlyn Anstee

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Shelby and Watts are “Planetary Investigators”, aka detectives with an environmental focus in this first book of a new graphic novel series. Shelby, a fox with a notebook, is a budding detective while her friend, Watts, loves facts and encyclopedias. They are called upon to investigate the disappearance of shells on the beach. Fred, a hermit crab in a very tight shell, is frantic. He needs a new shell for a home and protection, but there are aren’t any to be found. His pals are in the same “pickle” (“in a difficult situation” as defined by Watts).

So, Shelby get to work tracking down the shell thief. They follow several clues, all of which are noted in Shelby’s notebook. And, Watts adds in relevant facts about the beach and its inhabitants. They discover the missing shells and the so-called thief – Arty, the rhino, who was collecting beach shells and didn’t know the havoc he was creating in the hermit crab world. Shelby and Watts give some great tips about saving the beach at the end of the story, like “leave the beach cleaner than when you found it”.

This simple nine chapter graphic novel is a nice transition story. It is much shorter than its 94 pages appear, with several single panel pages. Color is vibrant and text is accessible. Interesting facts about ocean creatures are interspersed throughout and do not interrupt the flow of the story. Recommended.

Let the Monster Out, by Chad Lucas

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Having just moved to a new town, Bones Malone is trying to fit in and make new friends and keep his temper in check. This is not easy for Bones, especially since he’s often misunderstood and judged unfairly. Things in this new town get complicated as Bones and then several other new friends start sharing the nightmares of each other. Also, the adults in town start acting like vacant, alien-zombie librarians (AZL). The kids team up to solve the problem and fix the adults in their life from all succumbing to the weird AZLing. To do this, they take on the big corporation that employs many of the town’s adults, but who are definitely up to something shady. The book is a mystery wrapped up in a “Stranger Things” vibe – spooky and suspenseful. Some of the kids’ nightmares are downright scary!  The book is full of diverse characters, including Kyle who has autism. I liked that his friends get to experience the way Kyle views the world when they end up in his nightmare. It helps them relate to him better in the real world once they understand how intense sounds, lights, and other stimuli can be for him. Bones is black with a Mom and siblings starting over away from his violent dad. His background has left Bones often feeling the need to protect his Mom and siblings, but also gets him into trouble. Friendship, courage, and facing fears all take center stage in this sometimes scary story. I know this is going to be a hit with students!

The Great Candy Caper by JoJo Siwa

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Nickolodeon;s JoJo Siwa is invited to sing at the opening of a new candy-themed park, SugarPalooza, and takes her two friends, Grace and Kyra for a special tour before the show. The park’s owner’s daughter, Avery, and her friend, Jada, join the tour. Something’s not quite right, but JoJo can’t figure it out. Actually, there’s a lot that isn’t right, including a big mess of chocolate as the chocolate pumps malfunction. Candy is everywhere, rides are breaking down and Grace is missing! JoJo and Kyra spring into action to fix both calamities. The chocolate malfunction is fixed, thanks to help from Jada and their tour guide, Maddy. And, they locate Grace, who has a history with Avery (not a nice girl). But, Grace saves Avery despite their bad relationship, and Avery apologizes. The show must go on and, after a cleanup, the park opens and JoJo performs for the adoring crowds. Everything is sweet in this Candy Caper.

This graphic novel is full of color and a simple story line (girl drama that is fixed in the end). The font is fairly small. The illustrations are set in one to five panes per page. Fans of JoJo Siwa will enjoy this book and a wider audience might like the adventurous romp through SugarPalooza.

The Mystery Monster by Amy Marie Stadelmann

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Paige is a self-professed “Fact Collector” and she uses that skill in her new neighborhood. She writes facts, such as there are 73 windows on her streets, in her trusty notebook. She also writes some cool facts that she hears or reads, like “A wombat’s poop is cube-shaped”. One day, her new friend, Penn, states that there is a monster in their neighborhood and Paige is determined to discover if that is a fact. She needs to collect evidence to prove or disprove Penn’s claim. This leads the pair on a fact-finding mission that eventually disproves Penn’s statement. But, wait…Penn looks at the evidence and comes to another conclusion – the monster is real! Well, the real conclusion is that two people can look at the same evidence and come to different conclusions. It looks like more evidence is needed!

This book is billed as a graphic novel chapter book and has single and double paneled pages, as well as pages from Paige’s notebook. The nine chapters are short and easy to read. This mystery is a nice introduction to the genre and has some great facts as a bonus!

Strange Nature: The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss by Gregory Mone

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I need to state right here, right now: BUY THIS BOOK!! Insect books for kids are wonderful and can often lead to further exploration. This book can turn anyone into a budding entomologist (and the book explains what that is).

Each two page spread includes a full page photo of an insect with added details and explanations. The second page for each insect includes size, habitat, facts and a sometimes humorous paragraph to bring it more inline with the intellect of a typical 10 year old. The back of the book includes a glossary and a link to the photographer’s website for more incredible insect photos and information.

Photographer Levon Biss went from a backyard foray with his son to an amazing photo exhibit of 37 insects from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. He called this work “Microsculpture”. Each insect was photographed thousands of times using special equipment and those pictures were combined to make these amazing photographic masterpieces. These photos were originally exhibited as ten foot tall art pieces and now, are in a book that is accessible to young entomologists. This book will not be on the shelf very long – it’s that good! Highly Recommended

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters by Dan Sasuweh Jones

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This is a collection of 32 scary stories, collected and shared by Dan Sasuweh Jones, Ponca Nation. Each story is one to six pages in length with illustrations by Weshoyot Alvitre, Tongva. Stories are prefaced by their origin information (tribe, extra details) and are shared with the permission of those entities. Some stories are mildly creepy and others are downright shiver-inducing. They are a mixture of generations-old stories handed down to more contemporary experiences as told by individuals Mr. Jones has interviewed while traveling across the country in his research.

Readers who are fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will enjoy this book, as will students of Native American culture. This is a great introduction to the horror genre and will not stay on the shelves very long.

The author’s introduction provides his insight as well as detailing his respectful omission of stories that are not to be shared outside particular tribes. Other sources and further reading are helpful for those looking for more information. Highly recommended.