LIFT is a fantastical picture book for any child or kid-at-heart. I don’t know a child who hasn’t wanted to push elevator buttons to see where the big silver box takes them. After her little brother beats her to the “push” one day, Iris becomes upset. She is supposed to push the button! Later, theContinue reading “Book Review: LIFT by Minh Lê and Dan Santat”
Category Archives: Book Reviews
Book Review: Green Lantern: Legacy
Mihn Lê adds to the popular trend in middle grade books — comic book heroes — with Green Lantern: Legacy. (DC Comics, 2020) Teen artist, Tai Pham, hangs out and draws in his grandmother’s (Bà’s) store, Jade Market, after school, dreaming of his future. Another brick through the front window, another attack. The family (whoContinue reading “Book Review: Green Lantern: Legacy”
Audiobook Review – Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi Read by Jason Reynolds, with an introduction by Ibram X. Kendi (provided by libro.fm) Wow, wow, wow. I’m not an audiobook reader, but I’m listening to books more in an effort to be intelligent while also cleaning house on the weekends. I canContinue reading “Audiobook Review – Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You”
Book PREview: Seven Clues to Home
Joy and Lukas had been friends ever since second grade, when Mr. Carter told each student with a summer birthday to stand up and be recognized before the end of the school year. “August…How weird is that? What are the chances?” (p.15) Lukas loved math, so he tried to figure out the chances. Joy playedContinue reading “Book PREview: Seven Clues to Home”
Best Books of 2019 – What a Year of Reading!
Here it is! The Best Books of 2019! What a Year of Reading! I pored over my book lists and reviewed my book stacks to create this “Best of 2019” list. I found it difficult to decide which books are “best,” since I (pretty much) like everything I read. I’m also a reader who readsContinue reading “Best Books of 2019 – What a Year of Reading!”
Book Thoughts: White Bird by R.J. Palacio
After reading Wonder for the “ump-teenth” time, I was adding it to my list of “Books of the Decade” today and I WONDERED how this book has stayed at the top of “kids’ favorites” lists for so long. Of course, it’s the story, which is universal and “real” for students in schools (and their parentsContinue reading “Book Thoughts: White Bird by R.J. Palacio”
Book Review: 7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar
I just love using picture books for my middle school classroom! This book will help both math and reading teachers spread the book love. This is 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story, by Tara Lazar, and illustrated by Ross MacDonald, and it is comic genius in picture book form. Private I tells the story of hisContinue reading “Book Review: 7 Ate 9 by Tara Lazar”
Book PREview: All of a Sudden and Forever by Chris Barton
I was reading some new Net Galley titles tonight, and I came across Chris Barton’s upcoming, All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing After the Oklahoma City Bombing (due February 2020). I felt compelled to write, since the Oklahoma City bombing happened while I was in labor with my second daughter. I rememberContinue reading “Book PREview: All of a Sudden and Forever by Chris Barton”
Book Review: Stargazing by Jen Wang
“Moon is everything Christine isn’t.” The back cover describes this new middle grade graphic novel to a tee. When you’re young, you naturally compare yourself to the people around you, and that’s exactly what happens in this book. Christine is reluctant to meet Moon, the new girl across the street. Their parents get along andContinue reading “Book Review: Stargazing by Jen Wang”
Book Review: Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me (Due April, 2020)
Gae Polisner’s new novel, Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, is due in April 2020 from Wednesday Books, but you should pre-order this now. JL Markham’s teen years seem typical, and yet this main character grabs the reader’s attention and holds on for dear life. In Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, JL’s stories surroundContinue reading “Book Review: Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me (Due April, 2020)”
Reading Teacher Writes 