Category Archives: Recommend

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.

Betting On You by: Lynn Painter

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Eliza T.

This book beautifully combines a soft romance with the challenges of having divorced parents.

Bailey and Charlie first meet on a plane when they are both flying to live with their other parent. They meet again when they are older, and their initial hate blossoms into a beautiful romance as they connect through their shared parental experiences.

This book is perfect for those looking to better understand the life of a child of divorce, or those who just want to cozy up for a sweet romance. I loved the banter throughout the book, as Charlie and Bailey learn that the other might not be so bad. Bailey’s mom’s boyfriend has a daughter, and I think there could have been more conflict there, where it felt very understated.

Ice Skating

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This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title ICE SKATING, but only provides a little information on the actual mechanics of ice skating. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what ice skating looks like but does not tell you how to ice skate. The color photos of young ice skaters build excitement for the sport.

The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Ice Skating?’, ‘On the Ice’, ‘Ice Skating Gear’, and ‘Ice Skating Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has two good site for more information of the three provided.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Snowshoeing

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This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title SNOWSHOEING, but provides minimal information on the actual mechanics of snowshoeing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what snowshoeing looks like but does not tell you how to snowshoe. The color photos of young snowshoers build excitement for the sport.

The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Snowshoeing?’, ‘Walking on Snow’, ‘Snowshoeing Gear’, and ‘Snowshoeing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has only one good site for more information of the three provided.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Cross-country Skiing

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This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING, but only provides a little information on the actual mechanics of cross-country skiing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what cross-country skiing looks like and tells you how to ski both classic and skate. The color photos of young skiers build excitement for the sport.

The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Cross-country Skiing?’, ‘Classic or Skate?’, ‘Cross-country Skiing Gear’, and ‘Cross-country Skiing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has two good sites for more information of the three provided.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Downhill Skiing

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This book fulfills the idea of “Let’s Get Outdoors!” for the title DOWNHILL SKIING, but provides minimal information on the actual mechanics of downhill skiing. If a picture (photo) is worth a 1000 words it’s a good thing this title has a glossary. It shows what skiing looks like but does not tell you how to ski. The color photos of young skiers build excitement for the sport.

The book contains a Table of Contents: ‘What is Downhill Skiing?’, ‘On the Hill’, ‘Downhill Skiing Gear’, and ‘Downhill Skiing Safety’ , before the glossary, index, and their safe internet search website for more information – Factsurfer.com. This title’s Factsurfer has only one good site for more information of the three provided.

Submitted by Mary Pong

When the MOON Became the MOON

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The Moon is personified as it tells its life story in cute illustrations with smiley faces on the heavenly bodies. It is presented in eleven chapters using cartoon bubbles with the sun and moon giving factual information in a non-so-factual format.

I particularly liked the illustration of the orbiting moon around the earth while the earth is orbiting around the sun on pages 20-21, the waning and waxing moon on pages 36-37 and 40-41. The new moon on page 39 is subtle but very revealing. Having seen a solar eclipse in person, I especially enjoyed the illustrations of its approach on page 51 and at totality on page 53! While this book would be hard to use for a research project it has excellent illustrations for younger readers to understand the moon and its phases.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Big Bub, Small Car

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Beginning readers, who enjoy slap-stick humor, will want to read how Big Bub-the purple blob with arms and legs- makes it to the birthday party after he finds out his bicycle has two flat tires. Big Bub is too big to fit into the taxi, too heavy for the pick-up truck, and too slow to catch the bus. Then he sees the junk yard where he spots two old bumper cars which he uses as roller skates to get to the party.

Before the story, there is a list of “Word Families” (7), “Sight words” (25), and “Bonus words” (16) to warm the young reader up for success. After the story, there are three questions demonstrate the reader’s success in reading.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Sabrina Sue Loves the Moon

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Sabrina Sue, the chicken, is infatuated with going to the moon after seeing it one moonlit starry night. Her farm friends try to talk her out of it. Sabrina Sue struggles with if she should stay safe or go on her adventure to the moon! She does her moon research, gets in great physical shape, and goes to the rocket for her adventure. She loves the moon. Then returns to earth to tell all of her farm friends about it and show them her moon rock.

Submitted by Mary Pong

Patina

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By Jason Reynolds

2nd of the Track Series ~ Spanish edition

Patina (Spanish Edition) (2) (Track)

The second book in Jason Reynolds’ Track series, Patina follows Patty’s story on the track team. Ghost, the main character from book one, Sunny (book 3), and Lu (book 4) are minor characters this time. In this book, Patty struggles with family, the pressures of track and new relay team training, and the relationships with some of her teammates. It’s not easy that she and her sister now live with her uncle and his white mom, Momly (Mamacita) while also trying to help her biological mom with her medical needs. I both loved & hated the ending. (No spoilers other than it’s a big cliffhanger!) I know that’s a great way to keep readers reading, but I wanted to KNOW! For readers who are also runners, there are some great scenes about training for a relay race. I loved this fast-paced book that probably should be read after Ghost and before Sunny, but not completely necessary (other than the ending which will make readers want to find Sunny to find out what happened!) Don’t just get one book – get the whole series.

This review is for the Spanish copy, but was originally read by the reviewer in English.