Saturday, January 25, 2020

We Hunt The Flame by Hafsah Faizal

It's a good story filled with danger and adventure.  Perhaps a touch of romance.  Fine for high school libraries.  Enjoy.  Audio book also very good.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

This is a really good story.  Lots of plot twist, danger, secrets, magic and a little romance.  Add this one to your library.  Enjoy.  Audio book also very good.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling


Oh my, this is such a great story.  Very inspirational of this fictional story.  Add this one to your middle school library.  It's a great read.  I had already read the second one.  Add that one too to your library.  Enjoy.  Also, audio book very good too.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis



It's a good read and I'm looking forward to the next installment.  I plan on getting this for my high school library.   Add this one for sure.  Enjoy.  Also audio book is well done.

The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer


Perfect for elementary and middle school libraries.  It is smart and silly at the same time.  Enjoy.

Guys Read Heroes & Villains edited by Jon Scieszka


If you have upper elementary or middle school students, this is a book that they will enjoy.  The audio book also very good.  Enjoy.  It's a great collection of short stories.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee


The audio book is an excellent one to listen to.  The story is one that stayed with me for weeks.  It's a good read.  Go back in time before cars were around, when bicycles were a new novelty and hats were fancy and expensive.  Jo is plucky and resourceful.  She is intelligent and must face racial discrimination.  It's a good story and fine for any high school library.  Enjoy.

Legacy of Orishi Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

This African story is very intense.  It's a good read and fine for high school.  There is political power and magic and family dynamics taking place in this story.  Enjoy.

24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling

It's a great read.  Perfect for any middle school library.  The story is compelling and the local bully is pure evil.  Gus is a very smart boy and Rossie is talented in dirt bike racing.  It's an adventure and a treasure hunt.  Enjoy.

Gravity by Sarah Deming

There are parts of this story I like in this realistic fiction but then there are parts of the story I have concerns about.  Gravity's mother steals from her and neglects her brother.  Mom is an addict and alcoholic.  There are mature themes in the story, Gravity is a girl who has sex and is still figuring it out.  The story is perfect for public libraries.  For school libraries, I would say and read decide for yourself.  

Notorious by Gordon Korman


I love Gordon Korman's stories and this is another winner!  Perfect for elementary and middle school.  The heroes are both a boy and a girl learning to become friends and working together.  It's a good read with humor infused into it.  Enjoy.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil


This is a must read of a brave young woman who tells of her childhood of being a refugee, fleeing for her life as a genocide takes place.  How survival and a very smart older sister takes care of her. How she makes her way to the United States.  This is a book that should be read by many people, especially people who are in power to help others in need.

The Star Shepherd by Haring & Connolly


An adventure book for young readers to read or be read to.  There is loss, before the story begins as the young boy's mother has died.  Both boy and father must handle their grief and also must answer the call of saving fallen stars and send them back to the sky.  But things get out of hand as a monster rips them out of the sky.  It's a good read.

The Green Ember by S. D. Smith


This is not your Peter Rabbit series.  Instead think Watership Down meets Red Wall series and you have a book that will be great for those young readers who enjoy animals in the role of people set in a simpler time.  Enjoy.  Perfect for upper elementary and middle school libraries.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Ricky the Rock, that Couldn’t roll by Miletsky & Wozniak

I liked this picture book because of how the rocks problem solved.  I would use it in a lesson for high school students.  It's a good read aloud too.