This book is a Blastoff Reader from the Careers in STEM series.This series for beginning readers focuses on jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. There are 2-3 sentences per page and uses many text features such as bold words, table of contents, glossary, photographs and captions. Information about a famous mechanical engineer is included.This book explains what a mechanical engineer is, does, and how to become a mechanical engineer. The books in this series introduce readers to careers they may not be familiar with.
Category Archives: Recommend
Justice Rising: 12 Amazing Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Year after year as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month, we hear about the same heroes; MLK, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks. There are many other Americans who stepped up and made a difference during the Civil Rights Movement. This book focuses on twelve women who through their actions furthered the fight for equality and justice during the Civil Rights Movement.
In the book, you will hear about; Ella Baker, Ruby Bridges, Claudette Colvin, Dorothy Cotton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Coretta Scott King, Diane Nash, Rosa Parks, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Gloria Richardson, Jo Ann Robinson, and Sheyann Webb. The twelve women each have a page long biography detailing their work, their struggles, and their successes. Each biography is concise yet comprehensive enough to paint a picture for the reader.
Recommended for elementary libraries.
Man O’War by: Cory McCarthy
Reviewed by OHS student, Cyrus P.
River McIntyre is a young high school trans person who spends his life in Haley, Ohio swimming, raving about jellyfish, exploring life and love, and battling all forms of discrimination. He spends the most significant of his days at the local SeaPlanet swimming with fish and being queer. Giving the full scope of a coming of age novel this book puts the reader through the full athletic queer experience the perfect read for someone who wants to learn about marine biology and life as a queer person.
I like the “sciencey” aspects to the book and the ways that River connects those aspects to themselves. At times I felt that it was egregiously queer. Gay to a fault – making the issues seem too forced at times. Queer people and athletes may like this book. They should read it because it’s a great, full journey and keeps you invested in the lives of these people while teaching you about marine biology.
The Quiet and the Loud by: Helena Fox
Reviewed by OHS Student, Connie C.
The book “The Quiet and the Loud” highlights the importance of addressing your mental health and your personal needs, and raises awareness to ongoing problems in our world. Set in Australia, we follow Georgia, a girl who finds peace in kayaking and art. As we watch her overcome her past struggles and her present struggles we learn what is truly important in life. The heavy emphasis of art and poetry makes this book both touching and beautiful. As well as the common reoccurrence of mental health/abuse makes this book relatable and deep.
I like how this book is extremely relatable and how you can see things that are happening in real time in the book. I also like how poetic/artistic is it and how it battles important topics of mental health, relationships, and climate change. I dislike how poorly they built the setting. I had to guess they lived in Australia but I didn’t know exactly until like halfway through the book where the header said “Sydney”… That made me really confused. And (since it dealt with tough topics) it was not the most interesting book and I found myself getting bored really easily and I really wanted the book to end.
I think people who are interested in reading books about LGBTQ+ romances and mental health/climate change topics.
Westfallen
by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares
The first book in what will eventually be a series, Westfallen follows six teens – 3 in 1944 and 3 in modern day. They all live in the same neighborhood, even homes, years apart. Both find old radios that strangely link them together in an old shed. As seemingly innocent information is shared, the butterfly effect comes into play and huge changes are wrought in the world beyond 1944. Fixing the problems just leads to more problems, the biggest is finding that the modern teens no longer live in the United States but in the Nazi-ruled Westfallen. The ending is clearly a cliffhanger for a yet-to-be written/published sequel. I normally prefer to read first books AFTER the next book has come out. I get impatient to know what comes next. I hope we do not have to wait long! I also sense that there were some teasers of further secrets in the beginning, though I can’t quite see how they will play out yet. I did enjoy the reminder that even the littlest things that we do can have huge consequences on the future. It’s always a good reminder to live thoughtfully. Like the 3 teens from the modern day in the book – Henry, Frances, and Lukas- the world run by a prejudiced dictator did not feel like a world I would want to live in. The story moves along with lots of twists and turns in this not-really time travel story of characters who can communicate over time, but are unable to move through time. How they manage that communication is part of the challenge throughout the book. Hopefully we won’t have long to wait for the next part of the story! (Side note, be sure to read the author bios on the flaps of the book. Ann and Ben are siblings & each had funny blurbs about each other from their own childhoods.)
Gorgeously Me!
By Jonathan Van Ness. Illustrated by Kamala Nair
From bestselling author and star of Queer Eye Jonathan Van Ness, Gorgeously ME! is a book about being true to yourself and accepting who you are even if it isn’t alway easy. It reinforces the concept that being different and unique is okay and it is okay to express it. This nicely illustrated book has characters of many different backgrounds who show confidence and acceptance of all even if they look different or have physical challenges. It encourages kids to admit mistakes and talk through things to make resolutions.
I would recommend this book to all elementary school libraries as it encourages acceptance, kindness and loving one’s self.
Chicka Chicka Ho Ho Ho
By William Boniface. Illustrated by Julien Chung
Similar to the original, this book is an alphabet book about letters trying to climb a tree but this time it’s a Christmas tree. As the letters decorate the tree they string themselves along making the reader want to sing the original melody. As they slip and drop they see someone put a square beneath the tree. From there they see many different shaped presents appearing. This is a great book that reinforces the learning of the alphabet but also teaches about different shapes. I would recommend this book to libraries that have preschool classes or need more alphabet book titles.
The Truth About the Couch
By Adam Rubin. Illustrated by Liniers
From the author of “Dragons Love Tacos” we have another funny addition to children’s literature. Did you know there are FURNITURE POLICE?!? Well YES! there are! They are the “secret elite enforcement squadron that ride dinosaurs and lasso runaway couches with barbed wire”. Apparently there are those that don’t believe this though and want to stop our main character from letting us, the readers, learn more. Our main character, Fox, proceeds to tell us the supposed history of the couch but the Possum does not believe him. Possum soon tries to put black tape on all of Fox’s pictures and argues that he is just making it up. Possum is concerned about the well being of readers and that Fox is filling their minds with nonsense. Is that true? This book is a humorous book about couches, dinosaurs, lion kings, aliens and so much more. But the question is…..what is the truth about the couch?
I highly recommend this silly and humorous book for all elementary libraries.
All I Need to Be
By Rachel Ricketts. Illustrated by Tiffany Rose
“All I Need to Be” is a wonderfully illustrated picture book that encourages the reader to be okay with themselves as they are. The main character reminds us that it is okay to look within ourselves when the world gets to be too much. When students read this they will more than likely see themself in the many different characters on the pages. This would be a nice addition to a library that may be in need of SEL books for younger readers. I would recommend this picture book.
Charlie Hernandez & the Phantom of Time
by Ryan Calejo
In this fourth installment of the adventures of Charlie Hernandez, he and his friends must save the land of the living from dark forces by traveling back in time to the 1950’s in Cuba. Charlie is a morphling and able to transform in moments of crises into animals that help him save the day. While trying to save the past, present and future, the 3 friends encounter many of the monsters and figures from previous books as well as a few new ones – the Phantom of Time, Tragaldabas, La Carreta, La Llorona, La Mano Paluda, Queen Joanna, Madremonte, and Charlie’s dead grandmother are just a few of the many mythological and story characters Charlie encounters. The action is non-stop, as in previous books. The monsters from South American mythology are frequent and, for me, mostly unknown. That has been my only frustration as a reader. I don’t have the background myths and legends to fall back on, though Charlie certainly does. I’m occasionally at a loss for who is who, but by book 4, it is nice to see a few of the creatures from earlier books reappear. The books could use a glossary of legendary creatures for a quick reference. There are usually some context clues, but for me, I could use a few more. There are always a lot of characters – good & bad – to keep track of! Anyone who has enjoyed the series previously will undoubtedly enjoy book four. Since it leans on the past three books for reference, I’m not sure I would recommend jumping right into book 4.