Category Archives: Recommend

Acura NSX

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by Kaitlyn Duling

Epic: Cool Cars series literally says it all in the series’ name. These are books about fast, luxurious and fun cars that are, well, COOL! High interest topics paired with a load of brilliant photos and accessible text make this 28 book set a must-have in your library. Nonfiction elements include: Table of Contents, glossary, index, bolded words and labeled illustrations. Each book has the important facts about a car like its engine type, history, size, speed and future plans of the manufacturers. This photo-heavy, high-low series will be popular among your patrons!

Acura NSX describes a Honda manufactured hybrid car that can be on the racetrack or the road. This luxury model is fast, quiet and full of fun. Future Acura tech will recognize the faces of the driver and passengers. It will be a smart car! Readers will enjoy the photos and facts about this super fast, super quiet car.

Ford GT

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by Kaitlyn Duling

Epic: Cool Cars series literally says it all in the series’ name. These are books about fast, luxurious and fun cars that are, well, COOL! High interest topics paired with a load of brilliant photos and accessible text make this 28 book set a must-have in your library. Nonfiction elements include: Table of Contents, glossary, index, bolded words and labeled illustrations. Each book has the important facts about a car like its engine type, history, size, speed and future plans of the manufacturers. This photo-heavy, high-low series will be popular among your patrons!

Ford has a long history in car manufacturing starting in 2004. The Ford GT has been its fastest car to date. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds and its top speed is 216 mph. While Ford stopped making this model in 2022, die-hard fans hope for more in the future. Ford GT is a book that won’t be on your shelves for long! It packs some great information and pictures into 24 pages.

Keonigsegg Regera

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by Kaitlyn Duling

Epic: Cool Cars series literally says it all in the series’ name. These are books about fast, luxurious and fun cars that are, well, COOL! High interest topics paired with a load of brilliant photos and accessible text make this 28 book set a must-have in your library. Nonfiction elements include: Table of Contents, glossary, index, bolded words and labeled illustrations. Each book has the important facts about a car like its engine type, history, size, speed and future plans of the manufacturers. This photo-heavy, high-low series will be popular among your patrons!

Koenigsegg Regera is about a rather short-lived model from the Swedish carmaker, Koenigsegg. This hybrid model was introduced in 2015 and is no longer made. It is a luxurious vehicle with race car attributes and each one was custom-made for its owner, with a starting price of $1.9 million. Readers can dream about what is next from the maker of this fabulous car.

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4

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by Kaitlyn Duling

Epic: Cool Cars series literally says it all in the series’ name. These are books about fast, luxurious and fun cars that are, well, COOL! High interest topics paired with a load of brilliant photos and accessible text make this 28 book set a must-have in your library. Nonfiction elements include: Table of Contents, glossary, index, bolded words and labeled illustrations. Each book has the important facts about a car like its engine type, history, size, speed and future plans of the manufacturers. This photo-heavy, high-low series will be popular among your patrons!

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 is all about one of the newer models from Porsche that has the feel of a race car and the technology to keep it moving forward – fast! Caymans were first introduced by Porsche in 2016 and have improved over the years with an all-electric version set for production in 2030. Extra facts interspersed in white boxes throughout add to the reading experience. This German car is sleek and fun and readers will learn a lot.

Just Snow Already! by Howard McWilliam

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A young boy gets excited one morning when he’s told it might snow. He checks outside – nothing yet. He fixates on the idea of snow and all the fun he will have. Outside the house, the day goes on with increasingly exciting people and occurrences. The mail carrier spills her mail, the fire truck comes to get a cat from a tree, a Safari Park Truck crashes, and monkeys escape. The rest of the neighborhood is caught up in the excitement, but still the boy’s day is ruined because there is no snow. Finally, SNOW! The neighborhood has become a fun carnival, and at last, now that there’s snow, the boy is ready to dive in.

Impatience and fixation leads the young boy to miss all the excitement happening in his neighborhood. Colorful animated illustrations become increasingly entertaining. A fun winter read.

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet

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By Jake Maia Arlow

Al is having a really rough school year. After a few close calls with needing to poop during the school day, her mortifying embarassment with this issue, and her own questions about who she’s crushing on, life has gotten really complicated. It doesn’t help that her mom is all in her business about her health and her diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. She’s also struggling with her best friend and neighbor who has taken a sudden interest in the drama club and balancing new friends in a IBS support group. This is a good book for anyone dealing with severe medical issues, particularly  the embarrassing poop-related ones, but also anyone trying to just feel comfortable in their own skin. Al learns to deal with her shyness with personal issues as she tries to be her most authentic self – not an easy task! I liked that it normalizes IBS and “poop” and shows someone struggling to come out of the silence to advocate for herself. Al also deals with coming to terms with her own sexuality and those of her friends and mother. I imagine all the poop talk will cause some readers to giggle or be uncomfortable, but in the end, I think it shows just how many hidden issues students are dealing with on any given day. Some may even see their own struggles in some of Al’s – especially her difficulties with communication with her mother and friends. 

Ever Since by Alena Bruzas

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This book was really difficult to read because of the content; it’s very powerful, but will need content warnings if added to a high school collection.

The main character, Virginia, is a victim of sexual assault and abuse – but she is keeping it hidden. Instead, she displays risky behaviors with drinking, drug use, and sex. As the reader, we are not made aware of the extent of the abuse, and the fact that there are multiple abusers, until much later in the book. Instead we follow Virginia’s journey of self-loathing desire to feel love.

As details about Virginia’s story unfold, other victims come forward – all of which are close friends of Virginia’s and all were groomed by the same abuser.

This book should be considered for high school libraries only.

It is set in Washington State and has some local references, which I always appreciate.

Aardvark or Anteater?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Aardvark or Anteater? is a highly engaging look at two animals that initially seem very similar. Yet, we learn that despite those similarities, they are very different animals. They are both mammals with long tongues that eat ants. But, their fur, snouts, ears and habitats are very different. New readers will enjoy discovering new information in a simply written book packed with facts and wonderful photos. This won’t be on your shelves for long!

Crow or Raven?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Reader Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty books set that delves in the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar word are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Crow or Raven? There’s a lot to learn about these two types of birds! This book gives some really solid differences between two birds that seem very alike. For instance, crows have fan shaped tails and ravens have wedge shaped tails. Additionally, their beaks, size and throat feathers differ. Accompanying these memorable facts are photos that show those characteristics very clearly. Young readers will enjoy learning about these differences and will be quick to share! Word choice is appropriate to the audience and the nonfiction text features are helpful. Recommended.

Dolphin or Porpoise?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details their physical and behavioral traits. Text is accessible to your newest readers and accompanying illustrations are high quality and engaging. Nonfiction text features include: table of contents, index, glossary and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are bold type and the animal pair’s differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Dolphin or Porpoise? starts out by sharing that both are mammals and swim in oceans or rivers. Then, the book describes several different features, including fin shape and size, tooth size and their general body types. Behavior differences are also touched upon. Young readers will be able to share some solid facts about each animal and make some great comparisons. This book would be great for beginning animal reports. It has just enough information to be interesting and not so much that it’s overwhelming. Perfect for the target audience!