This book is a great addition to any elementary library’s non-fiction sports section. It has great color images of kids playing pickleball. It explains the history of the sport, the rules and how to play the game, what equipment is needed, and if it is the sport for you. It also explains how young readers can successfully read non-fiction. It has a glossary as well as recommendations for further reading and internet sites. It is clear and concise and an interesting read. I would recommend this book for purchase as there are few books about this sport at a lower reading level.
Based on the True Tale of the Berlin Candy Bombers
By Christy Mandin
This adorably illustrated book is about Berlin after World War II. It describes how many were short on food and supplies and many buildings were destroyed and rubble was everywhere. Hilda was struggling to survive as the roads, rivers and railways were being blocked by the eastern side of the city. The U.S. decided that the best way to resolve this by flying over and dropping supplies. One pilot decided that kids needed hope and thus dropped chocolate and other treats for kids.
This is a great book that talks about post war situations that could be happening today in our world. It also talks about how others can create hope in the world. I would recommend this book for purchase as there are many ways to address it. There is also a great author’s note at the end as well. For older readers it would be a great pairing with Michael Tunnell’s non-fiction book, “Candy Bomber: The Story of Berlin Airlift’s Chocolate Pilot”.
Taehee and her college friends all have secret lives from their parents and grandparents – Korean families with different generational expectations of their children. They all get tricked into going to Taehee’s grandmother’s farm for Daeboreum, the first full moon of the year. Taehee had overheard her grandmother and her friends discuss spooky plans for the celebration and Taehee is hoping for her friends’ help in surviving the overnight stay at the farm that her parents are requiring that she attend. Along the way, the kids and the grannies all get what they need in surprising ways. The reader learns a bit of history of Korea, a bit of tradition and how modern generations are finding their way through all of it.
The characters are a bit older than my middle school readers since they are in college, but the book is otherwise perfect for middle school audiences. I liked the bright bold illustrations, with muted ones indicating historical events.This multi-cultural, multi-generational book should be a hit with graphic novel lovers.
Lucinda’s neighbors scurry inside and close their doors tightly as the sounds of battle grow near. Lucinda peers outside before locking the shutters. As family and friends gather inside, the earth trembles, flashes of light burst between the shutters and sounds and smells of battle pervade the house. Lucinda wonders how her mother can continue to cook with all that is going on. Her mother explains that everyone does their part in the family when times are rough and her part is to cook. Lucinda helps her mother and finds that by being part of the solution makes a difference in how she copes with the uncertainty of armed conflict.
The juxtaposition of the percussive rat-a-ta-tat with the soothing sounds of her mother cooking and the supportive actions of her Abuelo and Tia create a story of human resilience and unity. While a complex and troubling topic, this soothing story is still clearly written for young children.
The story is set in the 1950s during the Cuban Revolution and is based on a story the author’s mother told her. The recipe for Mama’s picadillo is included.
This book is also available in Spanish – Una luz para Lucinda: Una historia de la Revolución cubana (978-1-62354-819-3)
A beautiful new printing of the stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. I found my old favorites and a few that I had never read before. I had never read “Manuscript Found in a Bottle”, the opening tale and enjoyed discovering something “new” by Poe. I found all my old favorites with “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell- Tale Heart” among others. The same was true in the poetry section. My favorite of “Annabel Lee” was at the end of this section of the book, while ones I had never read before, like “Al Aaraaf” opened this part of the book. And, of course, it includes The Raven! A collection by Poe would nevermore be complete without it.
If you’re looking to replace an old, sad copy of Poe’s works, this book has an appealing cover and a comprehensive list of his works. It is not noted with definitions or translations,so readers should know it’s in Poe’s original language. It looks like part of a series of classic reprintings including Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and The Phantom of the Opera.
Written in a variety of verse forms, this is an interesting biography of the mother of climate science who was overshadowed in the history of science by men who claimed their spots after her, but in her limelight. Eunice Newton Foote was a scientist, inventor, mother, and political activist in a time when women rarely got to claim their acknowledgements. This verse biography spans her lifetime from 1819 to her death in 1888. It covers women’s role in science education, membership in scientific organizations, the history of early patents (& who was allowed to claim them), women’s civil rights, the Civil war and the subsequent Reconstruction era. The book ends with one final poem about 2010 when a retired petroleum geologist comes upon an old book with her paper on climate science from 1856, predating the one by John Tyndall in 1859.
I learned a lot of history in this book, including the life of one pretty amazing woman. I enjoyed they variety of poetic forms. Most are free verse, but some are long, some short, some are more concrete in form. I hope this fascinating book finds readers who will enjoy it as much as I did!
I read this book in approximately four hours. It was very hard to put down. The story follows Ara, a girl who is growing up in a cult, and her older brother Leo, who has just enough memories of the outside to start to question everything that they have been made to believe in Jupiter Station— the neopagan, planet worshiping cult they have been brought to.
It’s really hard to talk about this book without revealing too many spoilers, but I found it very hard to put this book down because I was so invested in the characters uncovering the truth of their situation. As a reader, you very quickly understand that they are in a cult, and it is so jarring to be reading from their point of view as they navigate the world beyond what they have been made to believe it is.
And at a very slim 200 pages, I think that this would be a great book for any reader, but especially reluctant readers. Short chapters keep it engaging.
There are moments in the book where characters reflect upon real world cults, which introduces a little bit of history, which I appreciated.
Honestly, the only thing I did not like about this book was the cover. It makes the book seem like more of a tragedy or an emotional book rather than an extremely high stakes suspenseful book.
Reviewed by Komachin Middle School Staff, D. Moulton
A bright, bold graphic non-fiction title that starts with the Earth and then zooms back in time to the start of the universe as we understand it. Each section then focuses on how the solar system and the earth have changed over the eons of their lifetimes. I found the graphics and the clear time markers helpful in placing each mind bogglingly-long chunks of time in their place in the larger timeline. Not only is space vast, but so is time. Hard for a mere human brain to take it all in. The way this book is organized helps. Besides a table of content at the beginning, the book includes a glossary and an index for easy reference at the end. I think space science enthusiasts will really enjoy this book.
Llama Llama Graduation Day by Anna Dewdney is a heartwarming story about celebrating an important milestone. As the school year ends, Llama Llama is excited to graduate but also nervous about saying goodbye to his teacher and friends. With support from his family and classmates, he learns that change can be scary, but it can also lead to new adventures. This sweet book is perfect for young readers who are getting ready for their own graduation or other big changes. Consider adding this to your collection of Llama Llama stories.
Napesni and Renegade – the two names given a young bison calf transported with 6 other bison from South Dakota to Minnesota as part of a multi-tribal partnership to nurture bison as a traditional food source. The story is based on a real calf who escaped an enclosure when a storm hit the first night at his new Minnesota home. The calf earned his name Renegade for his ability to avoid capture. Just before hunting season was to begin, Renegade calmly entered the enclosure to join his mother. The themes of Native tribal stewardship and ecological repair by native species are clear in this animal story.
Author Marcie Rendon also wrote Stitches of Tradition and Powwow Summer as well as a number of titles for adults. Illustrator Sam Zimmerman draws on Anishinaabe traditions and ancestral connections in his art.
