Category Archives: Recommend

Where to Hide a Star

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Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers is a heartwarming tale perfect for sparking classroom conversations about friendship, imagination, and empathy. When a beloved star goes missing, the Boy embarks on a space-bound adventure that introduces a new character and a powerful message about sharing what brings us joy. With its rich illustrations and gentle humor, this book is an ideal read-aloud and a valuable addition to social-emotional learning lessons. Where to Hide a Star is a stellar story of friendship and wonder.

Bella Ballerina

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Bella Ballerina by Sharon M. Draper is a sweet and inspiring picture book about a shy little girl who loves to dance. Bella enjoys ballet class. She listens to the music and tries her best to point her toes, twirl, and jump. When her teacher says there will be a recital, Bella wants to do well. But when she practices a big jump, she almost falls—until a friend helps her. Bella starts to feel unsure. Maybe she’s not ready to perform. On recital day, when the curtain opens, Bella gets scared and doesn’t move. Can she be brave enough to dance? This story shows that it’s okay to be nervous—and that with friends and courage, we can do amazing things.

A Sea of Gold

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Patricia Polacco, a well-known author and illustrator, shares a powerful story based on her Ukrainian family history. In a small village called Cherinovska, a family grows sunflowers, or sunlasknuk, year after year. But when war comes, they must leave their home and move to America. They bring only what they can carry—including special seeds hidden in a little girl’s pocket. This picture book shows how families stay strong during hard times. It’s a story about love, hope, and keeping traditions alive—even when everything changes.

Crush by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin

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This second book in the graphic novel series by twin sister authors, Tegan and Sara Quin, will appeal to all middle grader readers who’ve ever taken on a new challenge, lost themselves in music, and found themselves in music, all while enduring middle school and establishing an identity.  Songwriters will appreciate the challenge of capturing big teenage emotions in song lyrics and the risk it requires to share your truth with an audience. LGBTQIAP+ readers will see themselves and like that reflection, as these authors walk their talk and provide a candid opportunity for readers to feel represented and seen. Most of all, put this book in the hands of your music fans, the ones who may also want to start a garage band, or join a battle of the bands contest, who think best with earbuds in, who see themselves in lyrics, who find themselves in beats and rhythms.  I LOVED the authors’ notes in both this 2nd book and the 1st book, as we hear not only what inspired this series, but we get a blast from their pasts, including pictures and a window into their real lives, which ultimately inspired this series. A must have for your graphic novel shelves. 


Olympians #12, Dionysos, the New God

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Reviewed by: OHS Substitute, Chase C.

In this graphic novel, George O’Connor tells the myth of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine (among other things), through colorful art and a form that is approachable to those learning about Ancient Greek myths. The start of the novel is dedicated to the story of Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth (and the first Olympian). Her story, with themes of stability and order, is juxtaposed with the story of Dionysus, whose chaotic and avant-garde journey takes him from his adolescence in the woods with satyrs and the creation of wine, to his entry into the temple on Mount Olympus. The reader will get to enjoy bold and expressive art that brings these ancient myths to life. While the novel is engaging, readers unfamiliar with the series or Greek mythology may find it useful to reference preceding installments or external sources to fully grasp the Olympians’ interactions.

Talk Santa to Me by Linda Urban

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Reviewed by: OHS student, Rory C.

The novel, “Talk Santa To Me” by Linda Urban, is a short but satisfying story destined to become someone’s comfort book. Despite her Aunt attempting to ruin the family business and her past kiss coming back to haunt her, Francie continues to try and save the business while juggling her social life. This book has great comforting characters for anyone wanting to sit back and relax. It also has excellent pacing and it does not go too fast or too slow.

I like the characters and how they are simply teenagers. In my opinion, this book is a read for when you have had a bad day and want to read something easy but sweet. The characters help with that. The drama in place is also not super serious like some other books. If you’re trying to read something for only the romance, I would not recommend this book. I believe the romance is sweet but it is not the focus of the book. Some may like that more and others may not based on their preferences. It was not how the romance was not the main point of the novel for me but how it seemingly popped up out of nowhere. I thought there should have been more of a build up in chemistry however that never happened. It sort of felt like Francie gained a crush on the guy randomly a couple chapters into the book. Maybe I am missing something but she seemed way to focused on everything else going on in her life to even think about this guy. How could she get a crush on him like that? It’s like she mentioned him three times before she ended up liking him so much. The romance was cute but it had no build up and I could not see the connection. It felt forced.

If simple and cute books are your thing, then I would totally recommend this novel to you. Although I did not like this book as much, I have to admit it was fun to read. It was a different feeling from those high-action and thrilling fantasy books. I think this book has everything you would want for when you just want to read and not be so stressed about what is happening in the story!

The Little Puppy

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Ollie was excited to have a play date with her grandma’s new puppy, Milo. She learned, however, that puppies need supervision or they can be destructive. After Milo chewed up Ollie’s drawing, Ollie needed time alone and went for a walk. Milo followed her and they ended up having a fun time playing fetch, going to the pond, and jumping in mud puddles.

Cute black and white illustrations with red accents. Some pages contain cut outs, connecting of the theme from one page to the next. Review by Kathy Beach, teacher.

In the Groves

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The story of Clara, a young girl visiting her family in California. They want to take her to all the touristy places but she wants to go to the citrus groves with her grandfather so she hides in his truck and tags along with him for the day. She loves seeing him work and hearing all of his stories. While sharing the day together, Clara’s imagination takes flight and the stories she creates with her grandfather are retold again to her family that night. This book includes a number of Spanish words in the text and explores the culture of a family of farm workers. Review by Kathy Beach, teacher.

This book is perfect for a unit celebrating family stories, immigration stories, or the important role of farm workers.

This is How We Play: A Celebration of Disability and Adaptation

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This is a very joyful book about disability and adaptations involved in the lives of those affected by differences in their bodies or minds. It emphasizes the concept that even though people have a disability, they are still able to play, sing, dance, and enjoy life with the help of others or some sort of tool or adaption.

Backmatter includes a helpful list of different disabilities, a guide for grown-ups, how to teach kids about those with a disability and an explanation from the authors about why they wrote the book.

Recommended for all age levels. Review written by Kathy Beach, teacher.

Delicious Monsters, by Liselle Sambury

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Reviewed by OHS Substitute, Victoria O.

Let’s be clear: Daisy does not enjoy being special. How can she when what makes her so unique is the fact she can see swarms of dead people wandering the streets of downtown Toronto, drawn to sadness and despair like clouds of gray flies to honey? And now, the one source of happiness in Daisy’s life seems to have abandoned her: After their first fight as a couple, her boyfriend, Noah, has been spotted around town with a pretty white girl on his arm and is no longer answering any of her texts. 

Meanwhile: Brittney, an ambitious young content creator and aspiring filmmaker, works a dead-end internship for a scummy media corporation to help pay the bills so she doesn’t have to rely on her abusive, wealthy mother for support. As she continues work on her surprise hit YouTube series, Haunted, she and her best friend, Jayden, begin investigating the house that made her self-help guru mother famous, hoping to uncover its dark secrets and solve the mystery behind the tragic loss of life that occurred there 10 years earlier: The unexplained death of a young black girl named Daisy. 

Author Liselle Sambury interweaves themes of generational trauma and coming of age within a framework of compelling supernatural mystery, featuring two timelines with two equally intriguing protagonists. This thrilling haunted-house-turned-ghost-hunter novel will keep you up at night until the wee hours of the morning as you turn pages in a race alongside Brittney to find out just what happened to Daisy on the night she disappeared all those years ago… Recommended for those who loved Netflix’ The Haunting of Hill House and Sadie.