Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna
A young girl has a small Fear with her all the time. It helps keep her safe. However, when she moves away, the Fear grows to an extent where it takes over. It will not let her even leave the house at times. And it makes her new school very difficult. She cannot imagine anyone understanding her, or her feelings. However, the reader can see that there is a “little something” (in the form of a young boy) that seems to want to get to […]
The Pronoun Book by Chris Ayala-Kronos and Melita Tirado
While reading, I thought The Pronoun Book is going to make a great board book. I then realized, that yes, it is a board book. (I had the opportunity to read it on a website the bookstore uses to order books and not the physical book. Which is one of the drawbacks to eBooks in my opinion). And a board book is the perfect format as it is only a dozen or so words, with a form of repetition. Chris Ayala-Kronos and Melita Tirado know […]
Big Dreams, Small Fish by Paula Cohen
Gibberish by Young Vo
Culture is an interesting subject. And when you come from one and go to a different one, things get interesting. The publisher Levine Querido has stories that are about cultures we may/may not be familiar with. In the process of reading them, there is a lot to learn about how we are not only different, but the same, too. Shirley is a child with big ideas, her family are immigrants, they live over their grocery store, and they cannot sell their gefilte fish. Her parents […]
Skeletina and the In-Between World by Susie Jaramillo
Skeletina likes living in the In-Between world where she is the queen of her castle and can play with her friends who live there. And her favorite friends are the ones who are still living. You see, the living can enter this other realm in their sleep. And Skeletina has taken it upon herself to help those who come over. She tries and capture the critters who help create nightmares. She talks and listens. She learns and plays. It is a happily ever after. And […]
What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? True Stories of Imagination and Courage by Heather Camlot
What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? True Stories of Imagination and Courage is a book of What Ifs, but a lot cooler than, “What if you were a dog?” or “What if you were green?” It is, “What if people fought by not fighting? By using soccer, pens, seeds, and music and other non-violent materials and ways.” Each page, or you could consider them chapters, talks about true life events that helped people by planting food, playing soccer and so much more. Each example that […]
Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits) by S.K. Ali
Janna Yusuf is a relatable young girl in Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits book two) by S.K. Ali. She is dealing with the ins and outs of love, friendship, change and finding a swimsuit that fits. And, oh yeah, she is Muslim, too. This piece of the puzzle that is Janna is a large part of her life, but regardless anyone who was/is almost 18 can relate to her boy troubles, big and little brothers’ woes, parents changing (or at least how we start […]
