Home / elementary upper
elementary upper etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
elementary upper etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster

The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear! by Tom Angleberger - ADVISABLE


Star Wars: The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear by Tom Angleberger, illustrated by Andie Tong, 262 pages.  Disney Press, 2018.  $14.  

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

Chewbacca is sent on a mission to retrieve an important book with Mayv, a librarian and a cargo droid.  At first the mission seems like a business transaction, but when the lady who sent them on the mission threatens to hurt Hans Solo if Chewie doesn’t return with the book, Mayv and Chewie have to step up their efforts.  They fly to a plant covered forest where they have trouble with the aggressive monsters on the island, but Chewie and Mayv become friends and work together to find what they are looking for.  

I’m that rare non-Star Wars lover, but I think Chewie is adorable and I love him, so I enjoyed this story.  I listened to it on audio and the readers and sounds made me feel like I was watching a movie.  I liked the adventure and thought the forest was creative and well described.  I enjoyed the characters and their humor.  The story is simple, but I do think this book fits at a middle school level for Star Wars fans as well as reluctant readers.  The illustrations are three full-page drawings dispersed throughout the book. Quick, fun read.  

C. Peterson    

Blended by Sharon M. Draper - ESSENTIAL

Blended by Sharon M. Draper, 308 pages.  Atheneum (Simon), 2018.  $17.  

Content: PG (does mention a noose, a shooting).

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Isabella, 11, is never quite sure where she fits in.  She goes to the same school every day, but one week she lives at Dad’s and the next week she is at Mom’s – neither place feels like home.  Also, she is one of those “mixed” kids – a blend that feels neither black nor white.  Drama at school and anger between her parents make it hard for her to find her footing.

Draper saves the most dramatic, heart-wrenching, and unfortunately too common, scene for the very end.  Isabella’s story can easily read up, at least to middle school.  Students all over will connect with Draper’s look at divorce, blended families, blended kids, and life while not white, and will not forget it any time soon.  Easily a classroom novel and /or read aloud for lots of great discussion.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Sheets by Brenna Thummler- ADVISABLE


Sheets by Brenna Thummler, 238 pages.  GRAPHIC NOVEL Cub House (Lion Forge), 2018.  $13.  

Content: G  BUYING ADVISORY: EL , MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Thirteen year old Marjorie is trying to keep her family’s laundromat in business, but ever since her mother passed away her father has been depressed and hardly comes out of his room.  There is a business man in town who bullies Marjorie because he wants to open a Yoga studio in the location of her laundromat.  Wendell is the ghost of an eleven-year-old boy and he tries to help Marjorie against the bully, but at first, he causes more trouble than good.  When Wendell and Marjorie team up they help each other, and Marjorie begins to feel like she can move on.  

The cover of this graphic novel looks like it’s going to be cute and fun, but it takes on serious topics of loss, fears, depression and fitting in.  Marjorie’s character is often depicted frowning and hunched over and there is a melancholy feel to the whole book.  That said, I did enjoy the creative story and I loved the ending.  

C. Peterson

My Heart by Corinna Luyken - ADVISABLE


My Heart by Corinna Luyken.  PICTUR BOOK Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), 2019.  $18.  9780735227934  

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL – ESSENTIAL; MS, HS - ADVISABLE    

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

This poetic look at what the heart is has simple lines with amazing yellow and black illustrations.  “My heart can be closed or opened up wide” is one of the many simple yet profound lines found in the book.  The illustrations show little kids among illustrations that create a feeling.  

As I read this to my son, I found us reading slower and softer because the book pulls feelings about dreaming, heart break, joy or fear.  This review doesn’t do the book justice.  I also think this book would be fun to use as a prompt in a middle school or high school English class.  

C. Peterson

A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan - ADVISABLE

A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by Xia Gordon.  PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY.  Sterling, 2019.  $17. 9781454930884

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Celebrate the life path of Gwendolyn Brooks – the first black and the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize.  

Teachers can use this to celebrate Brooks, celebrate the work of poetry, and even use the great page that talks about the value of polishing poetry with revision.  Gordon’s illustrations add just the right note to support the narrative without taking over.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Lucy and Andy Neanderthal: Bad to the Bones by Jeffrey Brown - ADVISABLE


Lucy and Andy Neanderthal: Bad to the Bones (Lucy and AndyNeanderthal #3) by Jeffrey Brown, 208 pages.  GRAPHIC NOVEL  Crown (Random House), 2018. $13.  

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS – ADVISABLE  

AUDIENCE APPEAL – HIGH  

Lucy and Sasha decide that they are going to create a club that discovers new things around them.  While out looking they find dinosaur bones and some other Neanderthals.  The other clan of Neanderthals keep cropping up throughout the book and are not very nice, eventually they try to steal from the family’s cave.  All the kids ban together to set up traps to discourage the outsiders from being in their cave.  

Throughout the book there are two scientists who comment on what happens in each chapter, explaining the facts from the chapter and other interesting tidbits, which I totally enjoyed.  The illustrations are in black and white, and I wish they were in color because my boys aren’t pulled in by the drawings but would love the story if they would just give it a chance.  Overall, it’s a creative story with funny story lines and interesting information.  

C. Peterson

Kaydol: Kayıtlar (Atom)