Category Archives: Recommendation

Animal Battles: Mantis Shrimp vs. Lionfish

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Mantis Shrimp vs. Lionfish is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In Mantis Shrimp vs. Lionfish, the lionfish is hunting the mantis shrimp. Each animal has unique characteristics that could lead to it winning this face-off. Which animal will come out on top? This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Animal Battles: Badger vs. Bobcat

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Badger vs. Bobcat is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In Badger vs. Bobcat, the bobcat is stalking the badger. Each animal has unique characteristics that could lead to it winning this face-off. Which animal will come out on top? This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Animal Battles: Asiatic Lion Vs. Bengal Tiger

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Asiatic Lion vs. Bengal Tiger is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In MantisIn Asiatic Lion vs Bengal Tiger, the lion and the tiger face off over hunting territory. The lion’s camouflage and claws are pitted against the tiger’s sharp teeth. This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Animal Battles: Skunk Vs. Raccoon

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Skunk vs. Raccoon is part of the Animal Battles series. In this series, two animals face off against each other. Each book starts off with a description of the two competitors, their attack moves, their secret weapons and then finally the battle. The narrative text at the end describes the fight scene and will certainly catch the reader’s’ attention. The book has 4-5 sentences per page for each animal and color photographs.

Text features such as bold words, text boxes, maps, a table of contents, glossary and an index are incorporated to aid the readers. Profiles of animal statistics include the height and weight as well as the physical advantages of each animal and habitat.

In Skunk vs. Raccoon, the skunk and racoon face off over food. The skunk’s spray and sharp claws are paired against the raccoon’s ability to make itself look bigger. This series is perfect for fans of Who Would Win.

Yellowstone National Park

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Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Yellowstone National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on the Yellowstone National Park, the third most visited United States National Park in 2021, while not being a travel vacation advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the geysers erupt (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park from too many visitors and climate change (p 24-27).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Yellowstone National Park can be gotten safely through Factsurfer.com.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited United States National Park, while not being a travel vacation advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the Smokies were formed (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park from too many visitors and climate change (p 24-27).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be gotten safelythrough Factsurfer.com.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

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Chris Bowman takes on an impressive undertaking of providing elementary age readers with the who, what, where, when, and why of the Glacier National Park in 32 pages of color photos and text.

Bowman gives basic facts and visuals on Glacier National Park while not being a vacation travel advertisement.

Bowman includes: plants and animals (p 12-15), history of peoples in the area (p 16-21), how the glaciers formed (p 8-9), top sites (p 22-23), and perhaps most importantly protecting the park (p24-27) from too many visitors and climate change. “Many of he park’s glaciers have started to disappear in recent years”(p 24).

Bowman also includes graphics of 6 Glacier National Park facts, food web, and a timeline (p28-29).

More information on the Glacier National Park can be gotten safely through Factsurfer.com..

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Los Mapas de la Memoria (The Maps of Memory)(Spanish version)

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by Marjorie Agosin

This book is about the  deep history and woeful past of a city in Chile. It makes it an interesting book for readers who will learn about a culture that may be new to them. Celeste must find her friend Lucilia. She must also learn about her mother’s and father’s past. She’s upset that she got sent away to the states, but will get over it eventually. Until then,  everyone in the city is haunted by the past of what happened on the Esmeralda boat when the supposed enemies of the general were kidnapped. The author did a great job setting the plot and making it an eventful and interesting story. I liked Celeste’s  interest in finding her parents’ past on the Esmeralda boat and her growing interest in the boys. This book has the same soft illustrations throughout like the first book in the series does. There was nothing I disliked. It was a perfecto book! Overall I’d give this book a 5 out of 5.

Note: This book was originally read from the English edition.

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Viví en el cerro Mariposa (I Lived on Butterfly Hill) (Spanish Edition)

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by Marjorie Agosin

Celeste lives on Butterfly Hill in the Chilean city of Valparaiso. She loves her town and her family that live in this beautiful place – the only place she’s ever known. The government is in turmoil, the streets don’t feel safe, and her parents are unfortunately drawn in as they go to help people who need medical attention. Whether a reader knows anything about the history of Chili or not, the story of a young girl sent away from her home to find safety elsewhere will touch many readers. Celeste eventually finds herself sent to her aunt who lives in Massachusetts so she can be safe during the time of violence & changing regimes. She misses home and must learn to navigate in a new place and a new language. I loved the occasional soft illustrations that give the reader a glimpse into Celeste’s new life. I learned more than I ever had known before about Chile, its culture, and its history. This book won the Pura Belpre award & I feel it was much deserved. An immigrant story. A positive portrayal of a feisty Hispanic heroine. A gem of a book!

Note: I originally read this book in the English edition.

My Nest of Silence

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by Matt Faulkner

In this book, while living in Manzanar Relocation Center in California,  Mari makes a vow of silence not to talk until her brother Mak returns from the military during WWII. She intends to keep this promise by compensating with her facial expressions and her art.  This  internment camp story will be of interest to those who want to learn how others were treated and how they dealt with events of life in the 1940s. I like the graphic novel sections for the telling of Mak contrasting to the full text sections from Mari’s point of view.  It makes it very interesting and easier to see the difference between the 2 main characters and what life was like IN the camp and during the war. I didn’t dislike much about this book, actually. I just dislike how the Japanese-Americans were treated back then. It was so unfair. The book will be a great read for people who are interested in historic events to learn how people had to live back then.

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Freaks

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by Brett Riley

This book is a great read for those who are in love with the supernatural. In this story, despite the bullying happening to them in high school, the four friends, the freaks, have to save their Arkansas town from a mysterious danger and bloodthirsty creatures. I like how the kids stick together throughout their hardships. I particularly love the character Christian’s personality. She doesn’t care about what other people think about her. She makes everything seem funny. There wasn’t much to dislike, but maybe there was not enough story on the monster’s side of things. There is some swearing in the book, so if a reader is offended by that, perhaps this wouldn’t be the book for them. Overall, I’d give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I really liked it!

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Note: Book cover recommends 14 years and up. This student reviewer is often the student to let me know if the content is too mature for 6th graders, however, other than the swearing, the rest of the content did not bother her.

A Seed in the Sun

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Aida Salazar

Cover art

This book is a great read for people who love learning about struggles and how they overcome it in history. Despite her father’s mood changes which mostly cause aggression and her mother’s sickness, Lula finds the strength in herself to find her voice to fight for her community’s rights. The story is an enthusiastic read for people to help them find the strength inside and their voices. I like the main character’s heroism, even though her father told her not to do certain things. Lula didn’t cowardly stay away. When her friend said,  “Let’s go; we are the people that this is affecting, too!” They went to the Labor Union Protest and met the Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and other real labor rights activists in the 1960s. I disliked the verse novel format since this is the first verse novel that I’ve read. I prefer paragraphs. I found it could be a bit confusing to find where sentences and ideas start or continue. For readers who like verse novels, this probably wouldn’t be an issue. Overall, I’d give this book a 4 out 5 stars.

Reviewed by 6th grader, Addison K.

Operation Final Notice

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by Matthew Landis

This is a good book for people who play an instrument or have money problems, or perhaps people who have had to play in front of an audience. Characters Ronny and Jo both have problems. Ronny’s family has bills marked “Final Notice” that cannot be ignored and Jo has an audition coming up and is feeling unprepared. They only have until January to take care  of these things – only 4 weeks away. Can they do it? The countdown is ticking!  The main character Jo plays a cello. She had to play in front of everyone and that made her nervous.. I play the violin and I know what it feels like to play in front of everyone. I liked this book since I can relate. I also know some people who have money problems like the other character named Ronny. I really like the characteristics and personality of the characters that are throughout the story. The dialogue sounds believable. I feel like something the author did well in this were the conflicts that are very relatable. I related to Jo mostly. These conflicts made me wonder what would happen next. Also  you could tell how nervous and desperate they both were. I didn’t really like the way it was kinda fast, though other people might like that . Overall, I’d give this book a 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to friends. 

Review by 6th grader, Victoria L.

SmART: Use your eyes to boost your brain, by Amy E. Herman with Heather Maclean

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This non-fiction book is a guidebook of self-discovery and self-education to help the reader learn to stimulate their brain and get smarter. The strategy involves really learning to see the things around us, but particularly using famous works of art to learn to do this. The author does a nice job asking the reader to interact with each piece of art in the book, often multiple times, as the reader is encouraged to notice more and more interesting aspects of the art. By the end of the book, I found I was noticing more than I was at the beginning of the book. I also liked that by using these strategies, the reader might find these observational skills might help reduce stress since it refocuses the brain on something else, taking a break from whatever might be stressing them. The book is very interactive which I liked, but if a reader is more passive & chooses not to engage, they may not get as much out of the book. And that would be a shame. The message is powerful and the strategies work! This book should appeal to students who like art, but it can equally be enjoyed by someone who knows NOTHING about art.

Clouds

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Clouds in varying shapes, sizes, and colors are shown in this book for emergent readers

Big beautiful color photos of clouds high in the sky and low to the ground let young readers see this weather/climate phenomenon.

There is a 3 step graphic on “How Clouds Forms” (p 15) , a “Question” ( What shapes do you see in the clouds?”) [p21], and a graphic “Cloudy Day Activities” chart (p 19) . Four science vocabulary words, appropriate to the topic (example- droplets), are given in the glossary each with a definition and color photo.

There is more information available on-line through Bellwether Media’s safe “factsurfer.com” website.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Wind

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Gentle breezes to stronger winds are shown and talked about from cooling, to creating power, to causing damage in this book for emergent readers..

Big beautiful color photos of wind blowing through palm trees and meadows of grass let young readers vicariously feel the benefits of wind.

There is a 3 step graphic on “How Wind Forms” (p 15) , a “Question” (Have you ever felt a very strong wind?”) [p21], and a graphic “Windy Day Activities” chart (p 19) . Six science vocabulary words, appropriate to the topic (example- turbines), are given in the glossary each with a definition and color photo.

There is more information available on-line through Bellwether Media’s safe “factsurfer.com” website.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Black Internet Effect, by Shavone Charles

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Black Internet Effect (Pocket Change Collective)

A tiny-in-size, mighty-in-voice book in the Pocket Change Collective, I enjoyed this quick modern biography about a young black woman’s journey into the technology industry. As a writing and communications major in college, she knew she wanted into the lucrative tech industry, knew there were jobs for more than engineers and coders, and knew there were not many in the big tech companies who looked like her. She had to create a new path for herself where few had gone before. She chronicles the many steps she took in finding a job that allowed her to be authentically herself as a Black woman in an industry that is not very racially diverse. The book is an inspirational guidebook for others trying to get ahead in places that may feel out of reach. She worked hard. She took every opportunity to learn and grow. It’a quick 62 page, 4 ½”x 6 ½” book. My only criticism with this and others in the Pocket Change Collective series (& I have a few)  is that because of their tiny size, they can get a bit lost on the shelf with other books. They are perfect for a reluctant reader who wants a quick read by an authentic author who will hopefully inspire them.

Thunderstorms

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Thunderstorms should not be frightening for young readers once they learn how they are formed and the storms are part of nature.

Big beautiful color photos of lightning, wind blown trees, and driving rain will let young readers see the lightning bolts that disappears so quickly as it happens in real time . One young observer has his fingers in his ears from the thunderous ‘booms’, while another is watching out a window wide-eyed in shear amazement to the storm outside. These two boys do not look scared.

There is a 4-step graphic on “How Thunderstorms Form”, “Question” ( Have you heard thunder or seen lightning during a thunderstorm? [p 19]) , and a graphic “Stormy Day Activities” chart .

Six science vocabulary words, appropriate to the topic, are given in the glossary each with a definition and color photo.

There is more information available on-line through Bellwether Media’s safe ‘Factsurfer.com’ website.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong.

Zion National Park

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The expanse of Zion National Park comes to life in the scenic beauty of its landforms, to the inclusion of its wildlife, to our responsibility to preserve it for ourselves and future generations, all while being able to see and enjoy Zion first hand comes through loud and clear in this 32 page book.

Zion National Park has me yearning to revisit this national park. The ‘Factsurfer’ websites on page 31 include: Britannica Kids, National Geographic Kids, and the National Park Service. The National Park Service site includes a 23 minute video that deepens this yearning all the more.

This book is a job well done by Chris Bowman and the various photographers who gave us the ability to see and experience Zion National Park vicariously.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

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Reviewed by OHS Library Secretary, Mikel D.L.

For readers who equate “corn maze” with dread, this is your book.  This perfect Halloween season story is narrated by Claire, a teenager who is about to testify in her sister’s murder trial. She’s a horror movie fanatic, but a total scaredy-cat of anything that moves in real life. The plot twists in cryptic ways and I certainly couldn’t have predicted the conclusion. It’s a real nail-biter and readers will have a hard time putting it down …to go to sleep (!?).

The Edge of Being by James Brandon

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Reviewed by OHS Library Secretary, Mikel D.L.

I read this book in record time. The author has a highly emotional, gripping writing style that made it hard to put down. There’s lots of internal struggle that Isaac is processing, having never had a dad in his life. He has always felt like half of himself is missing. The quest for his father and his slow breakup with his boyfriend have him on the edge of a breakdown, but surprising events (no spoiler!) change that trajectory. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction and stories about mental health. 

The Lost Dreamer by Lizz Huerta

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Does the intrigue into the lives of kings and religious temple life from distant tropical islands interest you?  How about gifted women who possess spiritual powers, enabling them to gain knowledge and secrets of the unseen world make for an interesting read?  Lizz Huertauses flowery, descriptive words to bring you into the hearts and minds of her characters as they interact with Indir, the Dreamer, the seer.

Royalty passes the throne of power from the father to the son and song with this succession, comes change.  Immediately, the new king tells his audience of the old traditions that, “I am here to usher in a new age.”  The tradition of Dreamers is now threatened.  What does Alcan, the new king want?  Power.  He believes power means having control over others. 

But Alcan is also an angry person.  Indir escapes from Alcan’s threats.  Not until three quarters into our story is Indir told the source of this anger, the secret brother of Alcan.  Even kings are not spared from the consequences of unfaithfulness in a family.  You’ll just need to read for yourselves how Indir’s lost Dreamer is found.

Reviewed By: OHS Substitute

Generation Wonder: The New Age of Heroes by Bary Lyga

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Attention all superhero fans! Award winner, writer of a New York Times Bestseller edits this story of heroes and superheroes in an anthology format with popular and diverse YA writers. If you want to fly, figuratively, this is the book to read. When is the last time you deliberately made mistakes or performed poorly to avoid the suspicion that would inevitably follow a perfect performance.  It’s here in the book for you!  Compelling graphics begin each new chapter.  If you are looking for an exciting “can’t put it down” book, this one’s for you.

Reviewed by: OHS Substitute, James D.

The Counselors by Jessica Goodman

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The author, Jessica Goodman, is a New York Times best selling writer – and like her other titles, this book does not disappoint. 

Have you ever been sent to summer camp for 8 weeks?  Our main character, Goldie, in this book has, but for the first time she returns to camp as a counselor.  You will learn the secrets that haunt Camp Alpine Lake, previously a very safe place. She has had a very hard year and her reputation has followed her to camp.  The real mystery and thrill ride begins when Goldie’s ex, who broker her heart, turns up dead in the lake. Put yourself in her shoes and try to get used to being hated by some, loved by others. An exciting read.

Reviewed by OHS Substitute, James D.

Henry’s Pizzas

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I’m sorry to say I didn’t like this one as much as I hoped to. The illustrations are fun and bright and silly, and fans of the other Henry Duck books will pick this one up and the young readers may be more willing to take it as it is, but I was hoping for something a bit more. On the very first page, when Henry’s friend Clara phones to ask him to help him with a chore that evening, but forgets to wish Henry happy birthday, any reader with much story experience is likely to already be predicting that the day will end with a surprise party at Clara’s house (spoiler alert, it does). Henry’s day proceeds as a series of pizza deliveries, as all his friends and family seems to have sent the same gift, until his table literally collapses under the weight of 14 pizzas (funny perhaps, but less than believable). Bummed that he didn’t get to enjoy any of his gifts, he trudges to his friend’s house where he is indeed surprised with a pizza party. The whole middle part of the story just seemed like filler, disconnected to the beginning and the end, except that he did get pizza after all.