Category Archives: Recommend

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!

Lizard or Salamander?

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by Mari Schuh

Blastoff! Readers Level 1: Spotting Differences series is a twenty book set that delves into the differences between animals. Each book focuses on a pair of animals and details 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, glossary, index and labeled diagrams. Unfamiliar words are in bold type and their differences are repeated at the end as a wrap up. Suggested websites and resources are noted for further investigation.

Lizard or Salamander? looks at the differences between those organisms. Different physical features are noted like dry skin vs. wet skin and claws vs. no claws. Then, behaviors are compared. The reader also learns that lizards come out at daytime and salamanders are active at night. and each live in different places. Photos are clear and crisp and text is not dense. Give this to your new readers as the books have high interest content. These won’t stay on the shelves!

The Polter-Ghost Problem

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by Betsy Uhrig

What do you do when you have a long, boring summer ahead of you and a journal-writing assignment to go along with it? Three friends (Pen, Aldo and Jasper) discover an abandoned orphanage with some ghostly children. These young ghosts are trapped in their old home by a poltergeist that throws some major tantrums, furniture and lots of other stuff. The boys want to help these trapped entities while still dodging Aldo’s older brother and the possibility of being grounded for the rest of the summer. They investigate the old orphanage through documents at the library and the cranky librarian turns out to be more help than they can believe. With her next to them and Aldo’s brother tailing them, they plan to figure out what the poltergeist wants and free their ghostly friends.

Told in a conversational tone, with lots of middle school humor, this story moves along at a nice pace. It is humorous and slightly scary at times, ending with a nice twist that wraps it up with some laughs and a a big brother that really is kinda nice to have around. Give this to your readers that enjoy slapstick adventure.

Harvey Hammer : S.O.S. Mess!

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Harvey Hammer, the hammerhead shark, is off on a family vacation where they will encounter humans up close! Harvey and his family, plus friends, are off to see Leggy-Air Breathers (LABs) at Seafari Park. When their tour guide cuts the tour short because of dangerous conditions and starts a film by Dr. Jacques Crusteau Harvey, his sister Hettie, and their friends Flash -the turtle and Poppy- the octopus sneak off to get a closer look at the LABs. Flash gets caught between two young LABs and needs rescuing. Harvey comes up with a rescue plan using his superhero alter-ego Hammer Boy. The rescue is successful and they get back to the tour group just as the film ends. The next day, back at school Hettie and Poppy present their science research project on LABs to the entire school. The previous day’s exploits mentioned in Hettie’s and Poppy’s project turn Harvey, Hettie, Poppy, and Flash into school heroes.

Large font, short chapters, fun word play, black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout the story, and a glossary make this an entertaining book for young readers venturing out to bigger, longer books.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Where is Poppy?

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Where is Poppy? follows a young child’s search for her beloved grandfather, who has passed away the previous year, as her extended family gathers for their Passover Seder. The young girl discovers her ‘Poppy’ is not hiding anywhere around the house, as she remembers him in years past. She soon discovers ‘Poppy’ is present in all of her family members as they carry on the family/religious traditions.

Illustrated is somber shades of bluish purples, yellow, black, white and gray.

Concludes with a page of sixteen Passover terms used within the story on Passover Traditions.

Submitted by Mary Pong

First Day, Worst Day

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written by Andy Nonamus and illustrated by Amy Jindra

An anonymous narrator (we know this because we can’t see a face, which is covered by a sticker in all the illustrations and there appears to be no name) recounts the adventurous horror of the first day in a new school. Readers will cringe and laugh at all the crazy stuff that happens in this weird place, from being “attacked” by a pack of dogs that want to lick the maple syrup off their shirt to locating a classroom through a locker! Along the way, friendships are made and what started out as the First Day, Worst Day ended as the First Day, Best Day.

Written in very accessible language with fun black and white illustrations, this book will appeal to those reluctant readers that enjoy books that are humorous in a goofy way. Characters are diverse and their behaviors and interactions are age appropriate. This is the beginning of a series that will be popular. Recommended.