I am continuing my themed reviews. Today we are focusing on outer space, and I am sharing two books for younger readers (3-8 year olds). One is a pop-up and the other is graphic novel style. We will start with the pop-up. It is Into Starry Outer Space by Joel Stern and illustrated by Vivian Mineker. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5.
Do you like ghost stories? Do you believe in ghosts? Today we are sharing a young adult graphic novel that is a Japanese ghost story. It is called Festival of Shadows: A Japanese Ghost Story by Atelier Sento. It is recommended for grades 8 to 12.
I feel like it has been a while since I shared a middle grade book. I am behind on my reading. Today however I am sharing a new (out today) middle grade graphic novel. This book delves into the differences of people and cultures as well as a bit about a loggerhead turtle. To go with this book, I am providing a round-up of over 30 turtle crafts, activities, and more. The book is Saving Sunshine by Saadia Faruqi and illustrated by Shazleen Khan. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Have you discovered the Shadow and Bone Series? There are a series of books as well as a television series on Netflix. We discovered this amazing series when they released the television series. We got to review the first book in the series. After reading the first book, Hazel could not wait to get her hands on the next book and really all the books in the three series of Grishaverse. At the time they were hard to come by because of the television series. The second season was released recently. Today I get to share the newest book with you. It is a graphic novel and it gives a bit of the background story of the Darkling. It is Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo and illustrated by Dani Pendergast.
As March draws to a close, I want to continue sharing resources for Women's History Month. Today's book is perfect for Women's History Month or Black History Month and of course for any day as it is a history book! The book is a historical graphic novel for middle grades. It is part of the History Comics Series. It is Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin by Tracey Baptiste and Shauna J. Grant. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
On the news last week while I was on vacation in Florida, I heard about an arrest of a New Jersey man who threatened a kill a Florida sheriff after he publicly denounced hate groups and antisemitic groups after white supremacists were recording holding antisemitic signs over a speedway here in Florida. Swastikas were also found as graffiti in a local school. (Source) It amazes me in this day and age how much antisemitism there still is. The Holocaust ended 78 years ago! We need to educate ourselves and our youth about the truth of the Holocaust so it won't be repeated. Today I am sharing a new nonfiction graphic novel about a brave woman who survived being in Auschwitz. The book is The Librarian of Auschwitz based on a novel by Antonio Iturbe, adapted by Salva Rubio and translated by Lilit Zekulin Thwaites and illustrated by Loreto Aroca. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Today I get to share with you a new middle school graphic novel. It is about the summer the author went on a three-week tour of Europe and experienced many firsts in his life. The book is A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat. It is recommended for ages 10 to 14.
It is hard to believe there are people who do not believe the Holocaust actually happened. But there are. If we do not study history, we will repeat it and the Holocaust is not a part of history I care to ever have repeated. With this in mind, I am sharing today's book. It is We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story by Frank W. Baker with Tim E. Ogline and Esther Goldberg Greenberg, Karl Goldberg, and Henry Goldberg. It is a graphic novel, and it shares the stories of survival of Bluma and Felix Goldberg. They lived through the concentration camps and so much more of World War II. At the end I will share some crafts to go with this book.
What have you taught your child(ren) about money? It can be a hard topic for some. The other day I was having a conversation about how it is so different for this generation. When we were young, we used money. We got money. We earned money. We saved money. We spent money. These days almost everything is purchased with plastic. We order online and use a credit card. Most people pay with credit card just about everywhere. I know I often don't have that much cash on me. Our credit world is teaching kids a different lesson than we learned, and they may not truly understand that we have to pay for the purchases when the credit card bill comes. Today I am going to share a fun graphic novel style book for kids that helps teach about money. It is The Golden Quest by David Delisle and illustrated by Travis Hanson.
Do you have a reader who loves fantasy and science fiction? Today I get to share two new books with you that fall in these genres. One is a middle grades novel and the other is a young adult graphic novel. Both novels are multicultural with diverse characters. We will start with Area-51 Interns: Alien Summer by James S. Murray and Carsen Smith. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
Hispanic Heritage Month ends Friday and I wanted to share two new Latinx books with you to help celebrate. One is a graphic memoir. The author was in middle school living in New York City when 9/11 occurred. The other is a young adult novel that deals with ethnicity as well as rape and more. We will start with Big Apple Diaries by Alyssa Bermudez. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
With the Tokyo Olympics still going on I thought this week I would share two books that have Westerner authors who have chosen lives in Japan. They share their experiences in their books. Both of these books are written for adults and definitely have some adult overtones to them. The first book is manga or a graphic novel. It is written by a French born author. It is Tokyo Love Story by Julie Blanchin Fujita and is bilingual in both English and Japanese.
Do you have siblings? Where do you fall in the order? I am the youngest of three girls. I went through my elementary school being called my middle sister's name and then in middle school one of the art teachers kept calling out my oldest sister's name for an end of the quarter review and when he finally used our last name I realized he meant me. He had never taken the time to learn my first name and my oldest sister is truly an artist so he remembered her. (She earned a degree in art.) So I can completely relate to today's book. The book is Kyle's Little Sister by BonHyung Jeong. It is a graphic novel for middle school ages (age 8-12).
It is hard to believe Earth Day is next week! I feel like April is flying by and as a former teacher once April hits--well April vacation (next week)--I feel like the school year is basically over. Hazel's new school has a different vacation schedule so she had two weeks off in March, but I know the public schools are off next week so the feeling is still there. Today I am going to share an other set of books that are great for Earth Day. These books range for ages 4-7 and 7-12, so basically books perfect for elementary grades. We will start with Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by Robbi Behr.
A week or so ago I shared a round-up of the picture books I have to review. I meant to do these books that same week but life got in the way. So I am continuing with some middle grade and young adult novels for gift ideas. I am focusing on the four gift idea and the fourth gift being something to read! Here are some ideas for something to read. The first two are middle grade books for ages 8 to 12 and the last two are young adult books usually 14+.
