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The Golden Ghost

Delsie knew it wasn’t a good idea to dare her best friend Todd to explore the abandoned houses by the old mill. But she couldn’t back down after the words slipped out of her mouth. Together, the two friends bike to the mill and try the door of each abandoned house. They are all locked . . . except one. Delsie and Todd sneak inside and discover two strange things. Someone is living there. And something doesn’t want Delsie to leave. It’s a dog, a strange golden dog, that only Delsie can see!

Newbery Honor-winning author Marion Dane Bauer spins a fourth spooky tale to complement her previous stories, The Blue Ghost, The Red Ghost, and The Green Ghost. The Golden Ghost will grab readers’ attention right from the start and keep them reading until the very end. Many readers will relate to Delsie, who wishes she could have a dog. However, her dad says, “No dogs. No cats. No hamsters. No guinea pigs. No bunny rabbits. No little white mice. No groundhogs. I’m allergic.” Instead of having a pet, Delsie must be content spending time with her friend Todd and his dog, Bug.  

When Delsie begins to see a ghost dog, it looks like “a collection of fireflies, glimmering in the evening light.” Delsie confides in her best friend Todd, and at first, he thinks Delsie is “positively nuts.” The mystery of the dog and the friendship conflict combine into a compelling story. In the end, Todd proves he is a true friend by believing Delsie even though he cannot see the ghost dog himself. In addition, the heartwarming conclusion shows how a dog’s love can transform a person’s life.  

Readers who are ready for chapter books will enjoy The Golden Ghost’s format because of the short chapters, large font, and illustrations. The Golden Ghost is perfect for readers who want to explore the world of ghosts without being frightened. The suspenseful story explores the bond between a person and their pet. Unlike the companion books, The Golden Ghost doesn’t have a positive life lesson. However, the enjoyable story will appeal to readers who love animals, as well as those curious about ghosts. For more ghostly fun, read Ghost Ship by Erin Soderberg and Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate Dicamillo.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When a dog named Bug begins jumping near an older man, the man “swung at Bug. First, he swung one of his bags of groceries. The bag missed. Then he swung a booted foot. The foot connected. Bug yelped, a single piercing cry. He turned and barreled back toward the house.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • When a dog named Bug begins jumping near an older man, the man yells, “Dad-blasted dog! Get away from me!” Later the man thinks to himself, “Blasted kids!” 
  • When Delsie tells her best friend that she sees a ghost dog, her friend says, “Sometimes I think you’re nuts. Positively nuts.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Dino-Gro

Cole is very excited about his new Dino-Gro toy. He can’t wait for it to reach its full size! But when Dino-Gro becomes much larger than intended, Cole goes so far as to put Dino-Gro on a liquid-free diet and an exercise regimen, which don’t seem to make a difference! As Dino-Gro becomes so big that he can’t fit in the house, Cole learns that growing up and getting bigger can have advantages too, even if you’re not a dinosaur. 

Dino-Gro is a super sweet story about Cole and his Dino-Gro. When the cute blue dinosaur first begins to grow, Cole has fun playing with him. But soon Dino-Gro is so big that he can’t fit into the house. This makes Cole and Dino-Grow sad, but when Cole gets stuck in a tree house during a terrible storm, Dino-Gro’s size makes him the perfect dino to save Cole. In the end, Cole realizes that “Dino-Gro stayed big. And that was just fine.” 

Cole and Dino-Gro’s relationship is heartwarming and humorous. Readers will laugh when Cole tries to get Dino-Gro to stay out of the water, and they will cry when Dino-Gro leaves because he is too big to stay in the house. However, the conclusion will have readers cheering when the two friends are reunited. Plus, the ending has a silly surprise.  

Dino-Gro is a quick and fun story to read out loud. Dino-Gro is an adorably cute blue dinosaur who has wonderfully expressive facial expressions. In addition, readers will have fun seeing Dino-Gro interact with Cole and his family. The large illustrations use primary colors and cartoonish illustrations that are packed with emotion. Each page has one to four short sentences that use easy vocabulary. Matt Myers’ humor shines through in both the text and the illustrations.  

Young readers will have so much fun reading Dino-Gro that they will want to read it again and again. Even though no one wanted Dino-Gro to grow so big and so strong, it is these very characteristics that make him the hero of the story. Dino-Gro uses the concepts of little and big to humorously show that growing up includes changing, which is “just fine.”      

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Here’s To Us

Two years after his first New York summer and his breakup with Ben, Arthur’s life is everything he could have wished for. His college classes are going really well, and his new boyfriend, Mikey, is amazing. He has finally moved on from that New York summer and couldn’t be happier with where he is right now. 

Ben, too, has moved on, although his life isn’t quite as dreamy as Arthur’s. He spent his first year of college finishing his novel manuscript he’s hoping to get published while working part-time at his dad’s store. He is casually dating a boy from his creative writing class, Mario, who is cute and a great Spanish tutor but not quite ready for the “boyfriend” commitment. Ben is content to be where he is, and yet he has this nagging feeling that there is more out there. 

When Arthur scores a dream internship at a Broadway theater, he is back in New York for the summer. Although he lost contact with Ben over those few years, they begin writing to each other, and soon both of them are excited to reunite as friends. They begin hanging out again in their New York friend group and even go on double dates when Mikey visits Arthur for a few days. But as they become closer, each of them realizes that they’re not quite over each other; it’s harder for them to see each other with other people, even though they’ve both moved on. Will they find their way back to each other again? Or has something broken forever between them, leaving each wishing for the other’s familiarity but unable to reconcile their feelings? 

This sequel to What If It’s Us is a delight from start to finish. It features all of the characters that readers know and love from the original book, plus a few new characters that readers will love meeting. This story moves at a consistent pace, keeping readers engaged while also allowing for slower moments that develop the characters and their relationships. The point of view alternates between Ben’s and Arthur’s, letting both voices and stories shine.  

A central theme in Here’s To Us is the importance of compromise in a relationship – both parties must put in an equal amount of effort for the relationship to be happy and healthy. Arthur and Ben learn this through trial and error, the way that all humans do. They don’t always make the best decisions and they hurt people they care about along the way, but they learn from their mistakes and do their best to make amends. Ben’s and Arthur’s growth makes them easy to sympathize with and subsequently learn from, even while being frustrated with decisions that we, as readers, can tell are not the best. 

Unlike, young adult stories, Here’s To Us is considered new adult fiction because the characters are in the 18–29 age bracket and deal with more mature topics. Here’s To Us tackles many questions that many teens and young adults have to navigate, especially when it comes to relationships. How do you know that you’re truly in love with someone? What is the best way to navigate complicated feelings in a relationship? How do your decisions affect your partner, and how do you act in a way that takes both parties’ feelings and best interests into account?   

Overall, Here’s to Us is a cute, funny, and satisfying sequel to What If It’s Us. At its core, it is a story about second chances and learning how to recover the people you may have lost touch with. Despite its drama, it has a happy ending, reminding readers that the universe always has a plan. 

Sexual Content  

  • Ben remembers a time when his father “was doing laundry and found a condom sleeve in my jeans pocket. It led to this big conversation where he asked if I was sexually active or not. He was shocked when I told him that I’d had sex with Hudson, Arthur, and Mario.” 
  • Arthur texts Jessie that he’s having trouble getting a fitted sheet on his mattress. Jessie texts back: “It’s probably turned the wrong way, check and see if it has one of those top or bottom labels.” Arthur replies: “My bedsheet has its own grindr profile now??” 
  • When Ben wonders what Arthur was doing all day before finally texting him, Ben thinks, “Maybe [Arthur and Mikey] were chilling. Let’s call it what it is– maybe they were having sex.” 
  • Arthur describes Ben as someone who “once turned down a blow job in favor of beating Dylan’s high score on Candy Crush. A blow job from Hudson, for the record. Ben’s never turned down a blow job from me.” 
  • When coming across a very overpriced shirt at a designer store, Ben asks, “Why is this better than, like, Marshalls? Is it threaded with diamonds? Does wearing it give you an orgasm?” 
  • Ben and Arthur have sex. Ben describes, “I fall back into bed first, kicking off my sneakers and unbuttoning Arthur’s shirt while he’s kissing me. We’re finding our way back to each other with every touch, both of us more experienced than last time, and without meaning to, we’re bringing those histories on top of the sheets. Even though I’m so damn ready to be naked with him again, I take my time undressing him.” 
  • Ben and Arthur kiss in a public place but away from a crowd. “[Ben] kisses me, his hands running down the sleeves of my jacket, leaving fields of goosebumps in their wake, even through layers of fabric. My arms hook beneath his, hugging him closer, holding his lips against mine, because air is good, but Ben’s breath is better. His hands change course, trailing back up to my shoulders, to the back of my neck, and I can’t stop thinking about how many stories these hands have told on tiny square keys. His fingertips find the skin just above my collar and just beneath it, tracing around the tag of my shirt – didn’t even know that was a move, but it definitely is. The way his touch lights me up, leans me forward. I think he’s italicizing me.” 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Arthur drinks a spoonful of chocolate liqueur. This is the first time he’s tried alcohol. “I swirl it around in my mouth for a moment, and at first I think it tastes like chocolate, but worse. But the more I sit with it, the more I like it, and by the time I finish the spoonful, I’m sold.” 

Language  

  • “Fuck” and “shit” are used often as exclamations. 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

At the Bottom of the World

Jack and his foster siblings, Ava and Matt, are not your typical kids—they’re geniuses. Well, Ava and Matt are. Ava speaks multiple languages and builds robots for fun, and Matt is an expert astronomer and math whiz. As for Jack, it’s hard to stand out when surrounded by geniuses all the time.

Things get more complicated when the trio start working for Dr. Hank Witherspoon, one of the world’s leading scientists. They travel to Antarctica with Hank for a prestigious award ceremony—but they quickly find that not all is as it seems. A scientist has gone missing and it’s up to Jack, Ava, and Matt to find her . . . and discover who’s behind it all.  

In the Jack and the Geniuses Series, readers join Jack, Ava, and Matt on adventures around the world to tackle some of science’s biggest challenges, including new ways to create clean drinking water, generate clean and renewable energy, and provide information access to the entire planet. Each book in the series includes cool facts about the real-life science that’s found in the story, plus a fun DIY project. 

At the Bottom of the World is told from Jack’s point of view. He uses a self-deprecating tone that adds humor to the action. Jack’s impulsive nature and curiosity make him a relatable and likable protagonist. Even though he is not as intelligent as Ava and Matt, he often becomes the leader. Jack, Ava, and Matt all work together and use their different skills to solve the mystery.

While in Antarctica, the kids learn about living in the harsh environment. The science is presented in a kid-friendly manner that is easy to understand. For example, Antarctica is “as large as the United States, not counting Alaska, and 98 percent of it is ice. If the whole thing were a pizza, and you cut the pie into a hundred slices, all but two would be frozen.” The fun facts are accompanied by references to real people and places, such as McMurdo Station in Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton, and Jules Vern.  

The action-packed story incorporates science into a fun mystery with plenty of twists and turns. Readers will find the three siblings—Jack, Ava, and Matt—to be interesting characters who each contribute to solving the mystery. Even though Ava and Matt are geniuses, they are likable and relatable. Plus, the three kids complement each other, and each adds a unique aspect to the story. 

Anyone interested in gadgets, science, and visiting new places will find At the Bottom of the World an enjoyable read. In the next book, In the Deep Blue Sea, readers will be eager to join Jack and the geniuses on their adventure to the Hawaiian islands. Readers who enjoy At the Bottom of the World can find more adventure by reading The Max Tilt Series by Peter Lerangis, the Masterminds Series by Gordon Korman and Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica by Katrina Charman. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Jack, Ava, and Matt break into a building when a “humanoid opened a compartment in his chest. . . The robot pulled something out and flung it at us. I ducked the shot, and a yellowish clump splattered on the dark wood paneling behind me. . . The machine threw something, striking Matt in the chest. My brother shouted and fell to the floor.” The robot is throwing pizza dough; no one is injured.  
  • The villain leaves a woman far from the base and other humans. He reveals, “I didn’t really leave her out here to die. I left her out here to freeze.” 
  • The villain points a gun at Jack, Ava, Matt, and Hank. The villain plans to strand the group so they cannot walk to shelter. 
  • As the villain leads the group further from civilization, Jack pretends to be too tired to walk. The villain “pressed his foot against my back and pushed me forward. I threw out my arms to stop myself from face-planting.”  
  • As the group walks, Matt breaks a hole through a trapdoor that a seal made. The villain’s “foot struck the newly opened trapdoor, he lost his balance and toppled forward. His eyes flashed with a mix of terror and confusion as he plunged down through the slush, falling up to his waist in the ice water.”  
  • Before the villain completely sinks, one of his “huge gloved hands wrapped around [Jack’s] ankles with the force of a boa constrictor death-gripping a helpless rat. My heels lost their grip as he yanked me down.” Jack and the villain are saved; they are cold but otherwise uninjured.  The scene with the villain takes place over a chapter. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

A Tale of Witchcraft

Brystal Evergreen knew that becoming the icon of the fairytale world was going to be a large responsibility, but the immense pressure as the newly-appointed “Fairy Godmother” is more than she can handle. In addition to public appearances, fixing local issues, and campaigning for fairy rights, she’s also the new headmaster of The Celeste Weatherberry Memorial Academy of Magic, which has gone from ten students to a thousand overnight. Additionally, a sect of revolutionaries called the Righteous Brotherhood are rising, ready to return magic to the crime it once was.  

If that wasn’t enough, Brystal’s resolve falters when Lucy and Pip, two of her trusted friends, decide to leave the Academy to join a strange woman named Mistress Mara at her school for witches, Ravencrest. As Brystal fails to juggle these tasks, thoughts of inadequacy and giving up start to plague Brystal’s mind. The one break in Brystal’s constant onslaught of responsibilities is her budding romance with “Seven,” otherwise known as Prince Gallivant, seventh in line for the throne of the Southern Kingdom.  

Meanwhile, Lucy begins to practice witchcraft at Ravencrest, trying her best to put her life as a fairy behind her. However, Mistress Mara’s teachings start to rub Lucy the wrong way. Witchcraft requires Lucy to hurt others, and it’s not without a price – Lucy starts to change physically too, growing feathers instead of hair. Skeptical, Lucy decides to investigate Mistress Mara’s affairs, and uncovers a secret plot to curse Brystal and destroy the reputation of the fairies. She flees from the academy to warn Brystal but it’s too late: Brystal has already fallen into the Righteous Brotherhood’s trap.  

Mistress Mara and Seven, who reveals himself as the Righteous Brotherhood’s leader, have cursed Brystal to think negative thoughts. After Seven frames Brystal for the King Champion’s murder, her weakened resolve from the curse and Seven’s betrayal compels her to surrender. Seven, having also killed his other six siblings, kills Brystal and aims to turn public opinion against the fairies. However, Brystal postpones her death by making a mysterious deal with Death himself facilitated by Mistress Mara, and comes back to life just in time to be rescued by Lucy and her allies, The Fairy Council. Reconnected with her friends, Brystal remembers why she works so hard: to give others hope. With renewed willpower, Brystal is ready to fight her curse and stop the Righteous Brotherhood from destroying everything she’s built.  

In the sequel to A Tale of Magic, the drastic changes made at the end of the last book – such as the rapid growth of the academy and the legalization of magic, have brought new challenges to Brystal’s door. It’s natural that she starts having some reservations. Brystal is now facing tougher challenges than ever, and the curse that afflicts her brings these questions to the forefront of her mind: “Am I good enough? Can I save everyone? What happens if I fail?” Brystal says, “I got so busy changing the world I forgot to change myself with it.”  

We all might not have experience changing the world, but anyone can relate to the feeling of the world moving on without you; where you wish you could stop time and get ahold of your own feelings before tackling another issue. Brystal has to learn the hard way that time doesn’t stop for anyone, magical or not. The way she struggles through these issues and moments of weakness make her a well-rounded and relatable narrator.  

While the conflict with the Righteous Brotherhood is the main event of the story, Brystal’s mental state, as well as her relationship with Lucy, is at the forefront. Early on in the story, Lucy discovers that Brystal has been keeping Madame Weatherberry’s identity as the Snow Queen a secret. She lashes out at Brystal and Brystal has her removed from the Fairy Council, which prompts Lucy to leave and join Mistress Mara’s school of witchcraft. This test in their relationship weighs on both their minds, as they had come to trust and support one another, but they are both left without their best friend in such a trying time. Brystal leans on Madame Weatherberry’s advice: “The only thing in life that lasts forever is the fact that nothing lasts forever. . . Just like the weather, people have seasons, too – we all go through periods of rain and sunshine – but we can’t let a particularly rough winter destroy our faith in the spring, otherwise, we’ll always be stuck in the snow.”  

As she spends time away from Lucy, Brystal decides to let go of her anger. Brystal and Lucy don’t let one bad “season” spoil their friendship. Because the emotional development between the characters takes the stage over battles and new plotlines, this book is a bit more mature, yet even more purposeful than Colfer’s Land of Stories Series. Beyond a compelling world of magic is an inspiring girl on a journey to discover herself, who demonstrates fierce loyalty to her friends, and can find hope even in the darkest of times.  

 Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Prince Gallivant, aka Seven, describes how he lost his family in an attack. “When I was three, we [the royal family] were travelling to the countryside when our carriage was attacked by an angry mob. . . I don’t remember much besides all the screaming. My parents shielded me, otherwise I wouldn’t have survived.” 
  • The Righteous Brotherhood attacks Brystal while she’s at her brother’s wedding. “In a matter of seconds, the wedding became a war zone. . . Brystal spotted a row of smoking cannons on the top of a nearby hill. . . BOOM! A cannonball whirled right past Brystal’s head. . .” They use cannons and crossbows to fire at her. “The [soldier] fired his first shot. Seven jumped in front of Brystal, and the arrow hit the front of his leg. He fell to the ground screaming in agony.” After Seven is shot, the attackers retreat. He is the only person mentioned who is injured. Brystal later finds out this attack was a ploy to help build her relationship with Seven. 
  • Seven kills Mistress Mara. “FWITT! Suddenly, Mistress Mara felt something hit her chest. She looked down and saw an arrow was sticking directly into her heart. . . The witch dropped to her knees and black blood poured down her body. . . Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, she collapsed, and then became deathly still. Like a dying fire, her body started to smoke, then she slowly disappeared from sight.” 
  • When the Fairy Council rescues Brystal from the clutches of the Righteous Brotherhood, Mrs. Vee, the cook at the academy, comes too, fighting more ruthlessly than anyone. “The bubbly housekeeper twirled her arms like a maestro conducting an orchestra as she assaulted the Brotherhood with her kitchen supplies. She smacked their faces with wooden spoons, she beat them over the head with baking sheets, and she poked their eyes with whisks and forks. Mrs. Vee unleashed such a powerful and ruthless attack the fairies almost felt sorry for the Brotherhood.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Lucy compares flying on a broomstick to Fabubblous Fizz, a bubbly drink, but it’s unclear if this is alcoholic or not. She says, “I feel like I just drank a barrel of Fabubblous Fizz!” 

Language    

  • While repairing a dam with the Fairy Council, Lucy says, “Dam!” Brystal says, “Watch your mouth, there are children—” Then, Lucy says, “No! Look at the dam!”  
  • Lucy says Tangerina “sounds dumb” when she speaks.  
  • Seven calls his soldiers “idiots.”  

Supernatural  

  • In the Fairy Tale world, magic exists. Magic is mentioned frequently in the story and used for everything from household chores to fighting. Every member of the Fairy Council uses magic that has to do with a ‘specialty,’ such as Tangerina, who controls bees and has hair made of honey. 
  • Brystal uses magic to repair a cracked dam. “Brystal waved her wand at the damage below her. The giant crack was magically filled with a golden seal. . . [and] the spewing water finally stopped. . . To help matters more, Brystal flicked her wand again and this time sent a powerful breeze through the city that dried up all the streets, shops, and homes.” 
  • Many magical creatures are mentioned in the book, such as unicorns and trolls. Unicorns are sometimes mentioned as means of travel or messengers, such as when a unicorn delivers a letter from the Fairy Council to a king. 
  • Mistress Mara, a witch, travels in a large carriage with wooden, spider-like legs that operates by magic. “[The] large carriage was shaped like a human skull. . . [it] crawled on eight wooden legs like a massive spider.”  
  • Brystal’s usual means of travel is by bubble. She creates a bubble with her wand and floats from place to place, able to steer it with her wand. “She quietly opened the windows of her office and floated outside in a large bubble. . . She landed on a snowy mountainside and popped the bubble with her wand.” She does this a few times in the story. 
  • Brystal visits Madame Weatherberry, the Snow Queen, who is living far from civilization in a cave in the mountains. Madame Weatherberry has used a spell to separate herself from the Snow Queen. She appears as a ghost-like figure to Brystal. “Brystal ran across the cavern to embrace her former mentor, but she passed through Madame Weatherberry like she was made of air. . . ”  
  • Madame Weatherberry explains how she became a ghost. “Living in seclusion made the Snow Queen stronger. . . I searched the mountains for a place to imprison her and discovered this cavern. I froze myself in a wall of ice to trap her, and just in case it melted, I blinded myself so she would never find a way out. With my last bit of strength, I performed a detachment spell to separate us. As long as the Snow Queen exists, I’ll exist like a phantom outside of her.”  
  • Ravencrest, Mistress Mara’s school of witchcraft, has an invisible butler, moving paintings, and staircases that move in all directions.  
  • Mistress Mara distinguishes witchcraft from fairy magic by four things – jinxes, hexes, potions, and curses. There is a lesson for each in the story. Jinxes alter one’s appearance, behavior, or function in a negative way, such as when Pip, a student, jinxes a mirror to show an ugly reflection. A hex is a jinx applied to a living creature. Pip hexes someone to have two left feet. Potions are non-magical. Lastly, a curse is a long-lasting or irreversible spell that can take over an environment, inanimate object, or a living thing, and is fueled by anger.  
  • Lucy curses girls who used to make fun of her by turning them into swans. Curses leave something called a “curse counter” behind, a token of the cursed person that shows how long the curse will last. Whenever Mistress Mara curses someone, a jack-o-lantern appears. If its candle is burning, then the curse is still active. 
  • Witchcraft also causes a “recoil” effect to those who use it. The spellcaster’s body is altered with non-human traits. When Lucy uses witchcraft, she grows feathers like a goose. When Pip uses witchcraft, she starts to grow whiskers. Mistress Mara has cast so many spells that she looks like a skeleton. The witches use magical golden necklaces to conceal their true appearances. 
  • Lucy and the witches travel by broomstick once in the story.  
  • Mistress Mara curses Lucy to contain a Shadow Beast, a creature that is used as a sacrifice for an incredibly powerful spell. Lucy has the Fairy Council expel the Shadow Beast from her. “Lucy’s body surpassed her original height and weight and kept growing as she blew up like an enormous balloon. The fairies were shocked as Lucy swelled before their eyes. They could hear something growling inside of her. . . The fairies grabbed hands and recited the chant. . .  Lucy’s body stopped expanding. The Shadow Beast started to howl from inside her. . . Lucy’s body started to twitch and shake. . . Suddenly a dark vapor erupted out of Lucy’s mouth. Her body deflated and she shrank to her original size. The Shadow Beast whirled around the office like a black cloud.” It escapes out the window and finds Mistress Mara.  
  • Mistress Mara sacrifices the Shadow Beast to raise an undead army of former members of the Righteous Brotherhood. “The witch twirled her arms through the air and the Shadow Beast grew into a massive cyclone. The storm whirled around the courtyard. . . The Shadow Beat split into ferocious animals. The creatures scattered to different parts of the fortress and disappeared into the walls and sank into the ground. . . Suddenly, hundreds of decaying hands emerged from the dirt and shot out of the stone walls. . . corpses clawed their way out from their resting places. The corpses faced their leader and saluted him, like a platoon of skeletal soldiers.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • After Seven kills Brystal, she goes to a place in between life and death. She describes it as a “gray field with a perfectly smooth surface.” There, she meets Death, a ten-foot-tall hooded figure with a cloak made of “darkness itself.”  

Time for School, Little Blue Truck

Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are excited to meet a bright yellow school bus on the road. They see all the animals lined up in the school bus’s many windows, and Blue wishes he could be a school bus too. What a fun job—but it is too big a job for a little pickup like Blue. Or is it? For when somebody misses the bus, it’s up to Blue to get his friend to school on time. Beep! Beep! Vroom! 

When Piggy misses the school bus, Little Blue zooms in to help. Since the bus is so far ahead, Little Blue takes a different path—through a forest full of animals that readers will have fun finding. Little Blue makes it to school at just the right time and when the school bus sees Little Blue Bus, he says, “You’re not big, not yellow, not long and wide, but you had room for a friend inside. You did this job your very own way. We needed a tough little truck today!”  

Get ready to use your animal voices, because Time for School, Little Blue is full of fun words to say! The book is full of animal sounds and other onomatopoeia. It also rhymes, which makes it great to read aloud. Each page has two to four short lines of large text, and each number and onomatopoeia is in a different color font. The illustrations use bright colors and are full of details, showing the wonder of nature with flying bugs, flowers, and animals that appear on almost every page.  

Young readers will love how Little Blue helps his friend get to school. In the end, the yellow bus and Little Blue both get student to school, but they do it in their own unique way. Time for School, Little Blue is a great read to get young readers excited about going to school.   

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Beanball

It’s the bottom of the last inning of a game between rival high school teams Oak Grove and Compton. Oak Grove is at bat, and the stage is set for star center fielder Luke “Wizard” Wallace to drive in the winning run, save the game, and be the hero. But instead, he’s hit by a beanball—a wild pitch that shatters his skull and destroys the vision in his left eye. 

The events surrounding Luke’s life-changing moment are presented through free-verse monologues by 28 different voices. Each monologue helps move the story’s plot forward and gives insight into how others are affected by Luke’s injuries. For example, Compton’s coach doesn’t have any remorse for telling his pitcher to throw close on the inside so Luke had to move back. The coach’s callous attitude highlights how some coaches only care about winning at any cost. Likewise, the girl that Luke had been dating comes across as self-centered and uncaring—she quickly abandons Luke because she’s more concerned with who to go to prom with. 

As Luke recovers, many people surround him with love. Adding Luke’s friends’ and family’s monologues gives the story more depth but also creates suspense. It is through their eyes that readers come to understand how close to death Luke came and how far he will have to go to recover. Luke’s coach and a long-time fan of Oak Grove’s team are also included, which allows readers to understand how sports have played a part in shaping Luke.  

After being hit in the head by the beanball, Luke is visually impaired and he mostly likely won’t be able to play sports again. This causes Luke great anguish, and he gets tired of people telling him he’s lucky to be alive. He thinks that without sports, he won’t have a full and happy life. Luke thinks, “Doesn’t anybody know there’s a big difference /between alive and living?” However, the conclusion ends on a hopeful note because Luke decides not to give up sports without a fight.    

Beanball is a fast-paced story that will leave readers empathizing with both Luke and the boy who accidentally threw the beanball. While much of the book deals with Luke’s injury, these intense scenes give readers a wide view of how Luke’s injury affects everyone around him, including the other players, his classmates, the umpire, and Luke’s friends and family. By including 28 different voices, Luke’s story shows you how one high school boy’s injuries impacted his entire community. By using verse, Fehler creates an engaging story that speeds along at a steady pace and is hard to put down. 

Sexual Content  

  • Luke’s best friend, Andy, had a dream that he was “Making out with Lisalette Dobbs.” Luke replies, “The chances of you starting at third and of us winning State are better than the chances of you making out with Lisalette.”  
  • After the game between Oak Grove, a Compton player goes to his girlfriend’s house, but complains, “We didn’t even have a chance to make out.”

Violence  

  • During a game, Luke is hit in the face with a beanball. The umpire thinks, “It’s the worst sound I’ve ever heard in all my years of umping. /Oh, I’ve heard plenty of pitches hit a helmet. /But this . . . this fastball, up and in. /This one hit bone, right in the face. /Not even a scream or grunt from the kid. /He went down like he was shot.”  
  • After Luke is hit with a beanball, the umpire sees “Blood. Lots of it. It looks like Luke’s dead.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • While in the hospital, Luke is given pills to help him sleep.  

Language  

  • By God and oh my God are used as exclamations occasionally.  
  • The umpire says “Jesus” after Luke is hit with a ball.  
  • Profanity is used sparingly. Profanity includes crap, damn, hell, pissed. 
  • Luke believes he’s partly to blame for his injury. He thinks he made a “bonehead decision” when he “was leaning in, expecting an outside pitch.”  

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • When Luke is rushed to the hospital, his coach thinks, “All we can do is wait. And pray.” When he finds out that Luke is alive, the coach thanks the Lord. 
  • Luke’s father prays that Luke doesn’t die. He says, “Please, God. /Please.”  
  • When Luke’s nurse describes his “disfigured” face, she’s upset because she knows Luke’s family from church. 
  • When Luke is finally able to talk, his mom thinks, “Thank the Lord.” She had been praying that Luke would live, but after “three days of prayer, /[she was] never certain if God was even listening.” 
  • While Luke is recovering in the hospital, his mom thinks, “I feel like a hypocrite, Lord /Forgive these thoughts I’ve been having. /It’s just that suddenly I have a hard time believing /the lessons I’ve preached /to my Sunday school classes all these years. . . I know I don’t deserve to ask You to heal Luke. /But Luke’s deserving. He is. /I’m begging You: Please help him.” The prayer takes one page.  
  • When the doctor tells Luke’s mom that Luke will be visually impaired but can have a normal life, she thinks, “Maybe God really was listening.” 
  • When Luke comes home, his mom praises the Lord. 

Into the Shadow Mist

Plum and her friends are traveling to the misty Bokati Island. There they will study with the mysterious Guardian Master Em, who is the keeper of the ancient forest there. The field trip comes just in time for Plum, who still can’t figure out why she’s so different from the other Novices on Lotus Island. 

At first, Plum doesn’t know what to make of this quiet and sometimes gloomy place. But it doesn’t take long to discover that Bokati is brimming with an incredible array of fascinating animals and plants. When an unseen force begins to destroy the trees, putting the entire ecosystem at risk, Plum and her classmates must spring into action. Plum is determined to help, even though she’s hiding secrets about her own Guardian powers from even her closest friends. 

Since the story is told from Plum’s point of view, readers will learn more about Plum’s struggles with feeling different. Because Plum’s Guardian powers are unique, Plum worries that something is wrong with her. This is why, when Plum learns that she can enhance other Guardians’ powers, she tries to keep it secret. But Plum’s secret has become “like a thorn in the bottom of my foot.” Even though she might get into trouble, Plum realizes she can’t “keep the secret inside anymore.” When Plum finally reveals her secret, she finds peace with her powers.  

Into the Shadow Mist follows Plum and her friends as they travel to a new island, where they learn that everything is connected. If you hurt one plant, you hurt the entire habitat. While Plum and her friends—Cherry, Sam, and Salan—explore the forest, they discover several Bokati trees have been cut down. To save the trees, the group must stop the person responsible. The story’s action focuses on the trees and readers will find themselves deeply invested in the trees’ plight.  

At the end of the story, Plum discovers that the villain is Rella—a student expelled from the Guardian Academy. Even though Rella used her Guardian powers to harm the Bokati trees, Plum wonders if she and Rella are similar. Both girls are trying to find their destiny. In the end, Plum lets Rella escape. However, Plum confesses, “I don’t know why I did it. I let my grip on her arm loosen.” This sets up the conflict that will appear in the next book, City of Wishes, and leaves readers questioning if Rella acted on her own or if the powerful Lady Ubon is the mastermind behind the destruction of the Bokati trees.  

Into the Shadow Mist takes readers onto the island where the Bokati trees live. Although the island is not a typical island paradise, Plum and her friends come to love the forest. And while the mystery revolves around trees, the book’s setting and characters will enchant readers and keep them invested in the story.  Plum is the only character who is developed in detail. However, adding a new teacher, Master Em, adds interest to the story. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the book to give  readers a visual of the diverse characters and some animals unique to Bokati Island. Since the characters and Guardian powers are introduced in the first book, The Guardian Test, the series should be read in order because the plots are connected. Readers who want to jump into an imaginative world full of magic will find Legends of the Lotus Island an enjoyable series.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Someone is sneaking onto the island and cutting down Bokati trees. Master Em and a group of Guardians follow a buzzing sound through the forest and find hoverbots. “Cherry rushed towards the hoverbots, claws out. She swatted the bot away from the Bokati tree. The bot spun out of control and slammed into the ground.” 
  • Another student, Mikko, “rushed to Cherry’s side and grabbed a hoverbot. He slung it away from the tree so hard that it slammed into another bot with a loud crash. Metal parts flew through the air in all directions.”  
  • After disabling several of the hoverbots, Plum follows a mysterious mist. The mist “swirled away from me like smoke through the trees, faster and faster. . . A figure stepped out of the disappearing mist. It was a large gray leopard. With a shake of its smoke-gray coat, the leopard shifted to human form.” The person escapes the island. 
  • When the bots come back to cut down another tree, Master Em and the Guardians are ready to attack. “When our homemade pomelo bombs hit the hoverbots, they burst open, sending clouds of spores into the air. . . [the spores] stuck to the hoverbots” which made them easier to see. After smashing several hoverbots, “a large net of woven Bokati fibers dropped own onto the hoverbots, trapping them.”  
  • Plum and another Guardian follow the shadow form of Rella through the woods. “Finally, the shadow vanished and the form of the gray leopard appeared. Sam pinned the big cat down, growling above her.” When Sam goes to get help, Plum lets Rella escape the island.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Heck is used once.

Supernatural 

  • According to stories, when “the Great Beast carried the people and animals across the sea from the Old Home, he allowed them to bring only one thing with them . . . during the long journey.” One of their great-great-great grandmothers brought a “rootlet of a Bokati tree. . . Every Bokati tree you see is descended from that root.”  
  • The Great Beast is mentioned several times. The Great Beast “bestowed his powers upon the Guardians, he gave them their ability to turn into extraordinary creatures so we could protect all the ‘normal’ animals.” 
  • There are different types of Guardians. “Breath Guardians learned to control their power of the mind and senses. Hand Guardians sharpened their powers of strength and agility. And Heart Guardians. . . worked to strengthen their healing powers.”  
  • When the lotus plants become unhealthy, the Guardians must heal them. One of the teachers, Brother Chalad, demonstrates. He “scooped up some water in his furry kinkajou hand. He sprinkled water onto a specked lotus pad. Then he placed his palm on the leaf and breathed out slowly. After a moment, vibrant green life began to flow out from the center of the leaf, erasing the brown spots one by one.”   
  • The students can turn into Guardian animals that have unique powers. For instance, Cherry turns into a gillybear. Cherry “began her transformation. Fluffy cream-colored fur burst out all over her legs, and her hands widened into paws. Her face elongated into a bear snout with a wet black nose. And she grew big, big, and bigger still.”  
  • While in her Guardian form, Plum discovers that she can enhance the other Guardian’s powers. In addition, her antlers can “glow like a torch.” When Plum uses her power, her “antlers thrummed like a pure note played on a piano. I could feel the electric tingle run through me, through Cherry, through Hetty, through each of us.” 
  • Master Em has the power of intuition and can see into the future. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None

Class Clown Fish

When a silly prank lands Squizzard in deep trouble, he comes down with a case of the barnacle blues. Instead of going to the Coral Carnival with his friends, he’ll have to do the impossible and turn Seaweed Elementary’s junk-filled basement into an activity room for after-school clubs. But there just may be hidden treasures to discover . . . if Squizzard can stop all his funny business long enough to find them. 

After pulling a mean prank, Squizzard gets sent to the office and the principal tells him, “This bad behavior cannot go unpunished. I’ll have to do something drastic. I’m going to have to call your mother!” As punishment, Squizzard is not allowed to go to the carnival but instead must help clean out the school’s basement. While in detention, Squizzard hears about several instances of bullying, which helps Squizzard realize that not all pranks are funny—some can make people feel embarrassed or sad. Squizzard finally realizes that “No one should have to feel left out or made fun of.”  

In the end, Squizzard’s time in detention teaches him an important lesson about understanding people’s feelings. Squizzard also proves that his humor can be used in a positive way—by making comics for the school newsletter. Still, not all of Squizzard’s time in detention is projective. While there, Squizzard draws a duck with a butt and helps his friend make photocopies of his butt. Young readers will giggle at Squizzard’s behavior, even if it doesn’t make adults grin. 

Class Clown Fish will appeal to young readers because of its fun design. As a graphic chapter book, it has easy-to-follow paneling and artwork that supports text comprehension. Squizzard’s ocean world comes to life in bright colors and cartoonish illustrations that show exaggerated facial expressions in order to help readers understand the characters’ emotions. The story is broken up into six chapters and each pages has two or more simple sentences. Class Clown Fish is perfect for beginning and newly independent readers aged six to eight. 

Squizzard’s outrageous behavior will leave readers giggling. However, the book isn’t just a series of silly events. Through Squizzard’s experiences, readers will learn that bullying is not a laughing matter. In addition to learning how to be a better friend, Class Clown Fish also teaches about cephalopods, sea urchins, jellyfish, and other ocean creatures. To reinforce the lessons Squizzard learns about bullying, add these titles to your reading list too: The Bully Blockers Club by Teresa Bateman and The Pout-Pout Fish and the Bully-Bully Shark by Deborah Diesen.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Squizzard is upset and wants to distract himself, so he does a “funny prank.” He grabs a first-grade pufferfish and puts him on the teacher’s chair. When the teacher sits down, both the puffer fish and the teacher are hurt. The puffer fish cries and Squizzard gets sent to the principal’s office. 
  • A shark is being mean to a jellyfish so the jellyfish’s friend, a sea urchin, purposely stands under the shark’s foot. The shark hurts himself, and the sea urchin is given detention. 
  • The sea urchin remembers a time when he was invited to a birthday party. The sea urchin says, “But when we got there, I found out the joke was on me. They used me to pop balloons.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Library Fish Learns to Read

The Library Fish is very happy living in her fishbowl on the desk of Mr. Hughes, the librarian. Library Fish loves welcoming visitors and seeing the books come and go as they are borrowed and returned.  

All the children seem so happy reading stories of faraway places, castles, and unicorns and listening to Mr. Hughes read at Story Time. Library Fish wants to read, too! Night after night, after Mr. Hughes says good night and locks the door, Library Fish gets busy. She learns the alphabet, puts sounds together to make words, and practices reading with all the wonderful books in the library. For Library Fish, a new world is opening up—and she is ready to explore! 

The Library Fish Learns to Read doesn’t have the same whimsy as The Library Fish; however, readers will still enjoy watching Library Fish learn to read, especially because the fish is so obviously proud of her accomplishments. It takes Library Fish “hour after hour, night after night,” to learn every letter and the sounds they make. As Library Fish learns to read, she has favorite words such as glub, wiggle, and bubble. Library Fish’s persistence pays off and soon she is reading books about oceans, vampires, and more!

Library Fish is an adorably cute fish who encourages readers to learn to read on their own. One positive aspect is that Library Fish doesn’t learn to read quickly. Instead, she has to practice letters first, and then words. All the hard work makes Library Fish’s accomplishments even more rewarding in the end.  

Even though The Library Fish is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. While some pages have no words, others have up to seven sentences. A few pages are text-heavy, but short sentences keep the pace going. Most of the story focuses on Library Fish, but the illustrations showcase humans with different skin tones.   

The Library Fish Learns to Read introduces the library to young readers and shows how reading can be an adventure. If you’re looking for a picture book that shows the joy of reading, then both Library Fish books are perfect for you.  

To teach young readers important library etiquette, check out If You Ever Want to Bring a Circus to the Library, DON’T! by Elise Parsley; the book will leave readers giggling as they learn. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

A Daring Rescue

Abby’s family has just moved to the Florida Keys to run an island resort. She’s excited to feel the surf, sand, and ocean breeze every day! And when Bella, a visitor to the island, discovers a hidden cove that’s home to a pod of dolphins, Abby knows she’s right where she should be. But Bella makes Abby swear to keep the dolphins a secret. Can Abby keep her promise, or will their friendship be over for good?  

Abby is a relatable character who is eager to be friends with Bella. Even though she is eight, Abby is given a phone because she is responsible. Abby helps at the resort when needed and is kind to the workers. However, Abby doesn’t always follow her parent’s rules. For instance, even though Abby knows it is wrong, she wades into the water to get closer to the dolphins. And when Abby’s parents discover that Abby is keeping secrets and disobeying their rules, they don’t discipline her.   

Unfortunately, Bella isn’t a good friend because she is secretive and dishonest. Bella keeps sneaking off to see the dolphins. Abby tries to find out why Bella keeps disappearing, but Bella doesn’t tell her the truth. When Abby discovers the dolphins, Bella makes Abby promise to keep the dolphins a secret. Bella says she’s afraid that if others come to the secret cove, the dolphins will leave. Even though Abby makes the promise, she is conflicted and, in the end, she accidentally tells her parents about the dolphins.  

A Daring Rescue’s plot is easy to understand, but readers may struggle with the advanced vocabulary. Black and white illustrations appear every eight to nine pages. The illustrations focus on the characters in the story and give the reader a visual of the island’s habitat. Each of the twelve chapters has five to nine pages, which makes A Daring Rescue a great book to read as a bedtime story.  

A Daring Rescue will appeal to young readers because of the dolphins and the mystery of the parrot. Abby’s adventures on the island are suspenseful and the surprising ending will leave readers with a smile. However, adults may want to discuss when it is acceptable to keep secrets as well as the danger of swimming alone. Splash into more ocean-related books by reading The Wishing Pearl by Paula Harrison, Lana Swims North by Lisa Ann Scott, and The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales by SJ King. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • A raccoon tries to eat a parrot named Bogart. “The raccoon was there—and he was creeping toward Bogart! The macaw edged toward the water, dragging his injured wing.” Abby and Bella save Bogart. The raccoon chase is described over four pages. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • A kid tells Abby that, “Mr. Robinson was kind of a jerk. . . He was rude to everyone.” 
  • Bella apologizes by saying, “I’m sorry I was such a jerk.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Terror of the Southlands

Hilary Westfield is a pirate. In fact, she’s the Terror of the Southlands. She’s daring, brave, fearless, and . . . in a rut. Okay, maybe Hilary hasn’t found any treasure lately. And maybe she isn’t fighting off as many scallywags as she’d like. But does that mean she and her loyal crew deserve to be kicked out of the ranks of the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates (VNHLP)? 

There is only one thing to do—find a daring mission worthy of her fearless reputation. With the help of her first mate Charlie, finishing school friend Claire, and a self-proclaimed intrepid gargoyle, Hilary sets sail on a swashbuckling expedition that may or may not involve a kidnapped Enchantress, bumbling inspectors, a mysterious group called the Mutineers, and—the most terrifying of all—a high Society ball. 

To prove herself worthy of being a pirate, Hilary sets off on another fast-paced adventure with her friends Charlie and Claire. The three must follow the clues to find the missing Enchantress, Miss Pimm. This is complicated because while Charlie may not be afraid of walking the plank, he is afraid of Claire. Miss Pimm’s disappearance adds mystery to the story while Charlie’s fear of girls adds humor. The two plots converge to show the importance of supporting your friends through thick and thin. 

The Terror of the Southlands brings back most of the characters from the first book, Magic Marks the Spot. However, several new and interesting characters are added to the cast. While Hilary’s focus is on being bold and daring, she also must navigate the complications of friendships, especially when there are disagreements. While the pirate elements of the story add excitement, the friendship element makes the story relatable. Through Hilary and her crew’s experiences, readers will see that pirates may not always follow the rules, but that doesn’t make them villains. While the true villains in the story are predictable, readers will still cheer when Hilary and her friends thwart their evil plans.  

The book includes the Gargoyle’s memoir, which recaps the backstory of the series. Despite this, The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates Series is a continuous story that should be read in order. To help readers keep apprised of the inspector’s investigation, additional information is given in the form of reports written by the queen’s inspectors. While the reports do contain important information, the queen’s inspectors are portrayed as bumbling fools, which adds to the story’s humor.  

Adventure-seeking readers will enjoy following Hilary and her crew as they take to the high seas in search of the Enchantress. The story’s humor and suspense will keep readers engaged until the very end. The story concludes with an enjoyable epic battle between the pirates and the villains. One fun aspect of the conclusion is that each character has a unique quality that makes them special. For instance, Hilary’s mother uses her skill as a hostess to get guests out of harm’s way, while Claire discovers her extraordinary ability to use magic, allowing her to vanquish the mutineers. In the end, Hilary proves that she is indeed bold and brave enough to be a pirate, even when she is wearing a dress that makes her look like a cabbage.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Someone shoots cannonballs at Hilary’s boat, Squeaker. “Then a tremendous splash drenched [Hilary] from her hat feather to her boot buckles, and the Squeaker rocked perilously from side to side. . . Another cannonball splashed in front of the ship, nearly grazing the Gargoyle’s Nest on the way down. The gargoyle yelped and buried himself as well as he could under his hat.” The other ship pulls close to the Squeaker and the ship’s occupants invite Hilary and her crew to their house.  
  • The president of the VNHLP, Captain Blacktooth, orders Hilary to abandon her quest. When Hilary refuses, Captain Blacktooth’s crew “advance toward Hilary. . . She raised her cutlass as a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder stepped in front of her. . . But the pirate didn’t back away. Instead, he swung his sword toward Hilary, clipping the end of her braid and knocking her cutlass to the floor. . .” Hilary’s governess, Miss Greyson appears and stops the pirates from hurting Hilary.  
  • When Claire tries to use magical coins, they explode. No one is injured. 
  • At the beginning of the story, Hilary’s friend Jasper disappears. Later, Jasper reveals that he was kidnapped. The villains “confiscated my sword, bound my wrists and ankles, and tied me to a rather uncomfortable palm tree. . . The pirates kept me well fed, at least.” When the pirates decided to leave the island, Jasper got out of the ropes and followed. 
  • When Miss Pimm is kidnapped, Hilary tracks her down. Miss Pimm’s “wrists and ankles were bound with thick ropes, her eyes were closed, and she was snoring softly.” She is weak, but uninjured. 
  • Miss Pimm explains, “I tried to stick [the kidnappers] to the ground with my crochet hook, and I did stop a few of them, but the others pulled the hook out of my hand. They picked me up, which must have been quite a challenge for them, since I confess I was kicking and scratching in a terribly unladylike way.” Someone hit Miss Pimm on the head and she woke to find herself tied up. 
  • While trying to sneak into a house, Hilary and her friends meet a coachman named Lewis. Before he can yell, “Hilary pulled her cutlass from her waistband and pressed the tip into Lewis’s shoulder, not hard enough to slice through his livery, but hard enough to show she meant business.” 
  • While trying to get Lewis to leave his guard post, the gargoyle “leaned toward Lewis, baring his teeth, crossing his eyes, wiggling his ears, and flapping his wings so violently. . . His snout touched Lewis’s nose, and he let out a great breath. . .” Lewis faints. 
  • While at a party, Hilary and her friends discover that the Mutineers, Mrs. Tilbury, Philomena, and Nicholas conspired to kidnap Miss Pimm so Philomena could be the next Enchantress. “Mrs. Tilbury, Philomena, and Nicholas raised their magic piece in the air. Hilary raised her cutlass. . .” Suddenly, a group of pirates crash through the windows and a fight ensues.  
  • During the fight, “Miss Greyson was using her crochet hook to blast several of them off their feet, while Claire jabbed all the guards within reach with two of her very sharp hairpins. . .” Captain Blacktooth corners Hilary. “He held his sword frighteningly close to her chin, and his expression was so fearsome that she froze. . .” Another pirate jumps in and saves Hilary. 
  • Philomena uses magic to put Claire in the air. Then Philomena begins taunting Claire. “Hilary grabbed Philomena from one side just as Charlie grabbed her from the other. They both held up their swords. . .” Philomena drops Claire, who “crashed to the floor” and “yelped in pain.” 
  • Claire stops the pirate fight when she grabs a magic item and says, “I wish all you dratted Mutineers would disappear to some horrid little deserted island and leave me alone!” Then, “with a very loud pop, Philomena (and the other villains) vanished.” The battle is described over 13 pages. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Some of the adult pirates drink Grog. 
  • At a party, some of the guests have champagne. 
  • Hilary gives Miss Greyson a cup of ginger beer. 

Language  

  • There is some name calling including sea cucumber, rogues, and slime. 
  • Drat and blast are used as exclamations frequently. 
  • “Oh, Crumbs” and “oh curses” are both used as an exclamation once. 
  • Pirates are often referred to as scallywags, scoundrels, and rapscallions.  
  • Hilary’s father, Admiral Westfield calls the Enchantress, “That Meddling Old Biddy.”

Supernatural 

  • Magical items exist. Claire tries to use a magic crochet hook to order “a tray of egg sandwiches.” Unexpectedly, a ball of light appeared and “flared up around Claire’s crochet hook so furiously that Hilary could hardly look at it. Then a tremendous bang shook the trees to their very roots, and the hook exploded.” Afterward, Claire’s fingers were red.  
  • While investigating Miss Pimm’s disappearance, Hilary uses magic to stop the queen’s inspectors. Hilary’s “cutlass floated out of its sheath and hovered in front of the inspectors, directing its point at their chest when they attempted to move. . . Hilary’s arms felt weak from the magic, and her breath was strained, but she had more than enough strength left to grin.” Hilary eventually lets the inspectors go.  
  • Hilary uses magic to pick a lock. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl

It’s time for the talent show at school, and eight-year-old Jasmine Toguchi is excited to show her stuff. But as Jasmine thinks about her strengths—tree-climbing, mochi-making, collage—none of them feel quite right to perform on stage. Jasmine’s friends already have talents: Tommy yo-yo’s, Daisy dances, and Linnie plays piano. Plus, Maggie Milsap (aka Miss Perfect) is saying she’ll have the best talent of them all.

When Jasmine’s mom introduces her to the taiko, a traditional Japanese drum, Jasmine finally finds an activity that feels just right. But will she be good enough at taiko in time to beat Maggie Milsap?  

Jasmine feels as if she is the only person in her class who isn’t talented. She also believes that all her classmates are talented and don’t have to practice. However, her sister Sophie helps Jasmine realize that “talent” doesn’t make a person good at a skill. Instead, “practice is what makes you good.” With Sophie’s encouragement and her parents’ support, Jasmine is (mostly) ready to go on stage. And most importantly, Jasmine has fun during her performance. She describes, “My arms were strong. My voice was loud. My heart lifted.” Through her experiences, Jasmine discovers the difference between being the best and trying your best. 

The story is accessible to fluent readers who are ready for a book with multiple plots. Black and white illustrations appear every two to three pages and show Jasmine’s daily life. Many of the illustrations show the characters’ facial expressions which will help readers understand the characters’ emotions. Another positive aspect of the story is that most of the Japanese words are explained within the text. In addition, readers can use context clues and illustrations to understand the unfamiliar words’ meanings. For more fun, the back of the book has directions on how to make a hacchi-maki, which is a headband. Even though Jasmine Toguchi is a series, the books do not need to be read in order because each book focuses on a new storyline.  

Young readers will relate to Jasmine’s insecurities and admire her determination to learn a new talent. While some of the story takes place at school, readers also get a glimpse into Jasmine’s home life, where she is surrounded by supportive adults and a bossy big sister. However, all of them encourage Jasmine to try her best and none of them expect her to be perfect. When Jasmine is afraid of making a mistake, her mom tells her, “Nobody ever died from embarrassment. I’ll be proud of you just for being on that stage.” As Jasmine learns how to play taiko, she learns the importance of practicing and having fun.  

Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl is an engaging book that showcases a spunky protagonist, who is extra loveable because she’s imperfect. While young readers will enjoy the plot, adults will appreciate the story’s positive life lessons. If you’re looking to teach a child about the importance of perseverance and practice, grab a copy of the nonfiction books A Girl Named Misty: The True Story of Misty Copeland by Kelly Starling Lyons and She Persisted in Sports by Chelsea Clinton.  

 Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School

Mr. Fish’s biggest worry was his first day of school. When he arrives, Mr. Fish feels out of place. Every other fish knows exactly where to go. They go to their lockers and classes in a fixed routine.  

Meanwhile, Mr. Fish, a new student, does not know what to do. He wanders into a writing class, but he does not know how to write any letters. He wanders into a math class, but he does not understand long division. At the end of the day, Mr. Fish swims towards the exit, tired of school.  

But Mr. Fish’s mind changes when a teacher, Miss Hewitt, stops him and says that all students begin this way. She says that with her help, Mr. Fish can learn. Miss Hewitt takes Mr. Fish to a classroom of new students who are each just as confused as him. By listening to Miss Hewitt, Mr. Fish begins to understand each subject. Finally, Mr. Fish is enjoying school! 

The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School is a fun and light-hearted picture book that is sure to connect with young readers who are dreading their first day of school. The book teaches readers that although school may seem overwhelming and challenging at first, it can be a rewarding experience if they are patient and attentive.  

The book is an easy read, with only one to six short sentences per page. Diesen uses a unique rhyming scheme to keep readers engaged. Like other Pout-Pout Fish books, this book includes a four-stanza chant (“Trouble One: I’m not smart! Trouble Two: I’ll never get it! Trouble Three: I don’t belong! So four: I should forget it!”) which Mr. Fish repeats throughout the book. At the end, he chants a positive, altered version (“Fact One: You are smart. Fact Two: You can get it. Fact Three: You belong. So Four: Don’t forget it!”). 

The art in The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School is drawn by series regular Dan Hanna and has a beautiful variety of colors. The hallways of the school are decorated with student drawings. Several jokes are hidden in the background too; the best of which is a series of posters with inspirational quotes from such names as “Shark Twain” and “Sharkspeare.” 

If your young reader is nervous for their first day of school, or simply having trouble learning something new, The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School is an entertaining story with a lesson about the importance of patience when facing a new experience. 

Sexual Content: 

  • None  

Violence: 

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol: 

  • None 

Language: 

  • None 

Supernatural: 

  • None 

Spiritual Content: 

  • None 

Get Well, Crabby!

Oh no! Crabby doesn’t feel well, and Plankton is determined to play doctor. But Plankton’s ideas aren’t always the most helpful. He takes his own temperature, wraps Crabby in bandages, and caters to Crabby’s increasingly outrageous demands. Will Crabby get better before Plankton finally loses his cool? 

Beginning readers will fall in love with Plankton’s enthusiasm and Crabby’s grumpiness. This easy-to-follow, silly plot comes to life in the brightly colored artwork that appears on every page. The pages are broken into colorful panels, which makes it easy for readers to follow along. Get Well, Crabby is perfect for children who are learning to read. The text uses simple sentences and easy vocabulary, and the speech bubbles are color-coded to distinguish each speaker. Each page contains five or fewer sentences, which makes the story accessible to new readers.   

Get Well, Crabby shows how Plankton tries to help Crabby while he is ill. Readers will giggle when Plankton protects himself against Crabby’s snotty sneeze and bandages Crabby’s entire body. Crabby, in his usual style, goes a little overboard when Plankton offers to help. Crabby asks Plankton to wash the dishes, mow the lawn, and take out the trash. A clam and a nurse shark make a short appearance and they both add humor. As part of Scholastic’s early reader line, Acorn, the Crabby Series makes learning to read fun.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Pet Store Sprite

Violet and her fairy friend Sprite have to send more pixies back to the Otherworld! This time, they team up with Violet’s cousin, Leon, to stop a water sprite named Aquamarina who loves the drip, drip, drip of leaky faucets. But there’s something terribly fishy about Aquamarina’s fun and games. Can Violet stop this tricky fairy and stay out of the deep end? 

The Pet Store Sprite starts with adults worrying about five people who have gone missing. However, the story turns humorous when Violet and Sprite discover that Aquamarina has changed the people into fish. All of the people are now swimming around in a pet store’s fish tank. The fish, who have some human accessories (such as eyeglasses), add silliness to Aquamarina’s mischief. The humor is ramped up when Leon is partly turned into a fish and begins craving fish food. In the end, Aquamarina confesses to all of her misdeeds and is transported back to the Otherworld. 

Newly independent readers who love fairies and magic will enjoy the Pixie Tricks Series. The story uses easy-to-read text and a fast-paced plot with lots of fairy mischief. Black and white illustrations appear on every page, which will help readers visualize the characters and understand the plot. For example, when a character is under Aquamarina’s spell, his eyes have stars in them and he has a blank expression.  

Readers will giggle their way through The Pet Store Sprite. Unlike the gremlin who appeared in the previous book, Aquamarina isn’t mean or cruel and she only changes people into fish to protect her identity so she can stay in the human world. And this time, Sprite and Violet don’t send the water sprite back to the Otherworld by tricking her. Instead, when Leon accidentally breaks the fish tank, Aquamarina lands on dry ground, which sends her home.  

The book’s only flaw is that Sprite is seen as an ineffective fairy, who doesn’t come up with a solution to the problem. Despite this, readers will find The Pet Store Sprite a lot of fun to read. Readers who want to step away from mischievous fairies and spend some time with a group of sweet fairies should instead check out the Candy Fairies Series by Helen Perelman.  

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • Violet’s aunt says, “Five people have disappeared in the last few days. . . Each one of them was near a lake, a pool, or a pond when they vanished!” Later, the reader learns that Aquamarina has turned the people into fish. Aquamarina tells Sprite, “Five humans saw me. That’s why I turned them into fish.” 
  • Leon, who is partially turned into a fish, hungers for fish food. “He tried to jump into the fish tank. But he knocked it over instead. The tank fell to the floor with a crash. Smash! The glass shattered into a million pieces, and water gushed everywhere.” The fish “flopped around on the floor.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • Aquamarina is a water sprite who lives in water and breathes underwater. She has “blue-green skin” and wears “a dress made out of fish scales. . . She almost looked like a mermaid, but she didn’t have a fishtail. Instead, she had legs and webbed feet. Her hands were webbed, too.”  
  • Violet goes into Mr. Miller’s pet store. Mr. Miller is acting strange and Violet notices “his eyes were sparking with blue lights.” Aquamarina had put him under a spell. 
  • While in the pet store, Violet’s friend Brittany gets close to a fish tank. Then, “two beams of blue-green light shot out of the tank. They zapped Brittany. Brittany’s body glowed brightly. Then she disappeared . . .” Brittany is turned into a fish. 
  • When Aquamarina tries to turn Violet’s cousin Leon into a fish, Sprite uses pixie dust to transport Violet and Leon to the parking lot. 
  • Aquamarina’s spell changes Leon partially into a fish. “Leon’s eyes were big and bulging, like fish eyes. He had shiny scales on his face. His ears looked like fins.”  
  • When Sprite needs help tricking Aquamarina, he reaches into his bag and “pulled out a glowing purple stone. The light on the stone faded. Then a picture began to appear. . . It was a woman’s face.” Queen Mab appears and tells Sprite and Violet, “You two must not give up.”  
  • When the fish tank that Aquamarina is in breaks, she “lands outside the [pet store’s] door and skidded across the sidewalk. . . a whirling tunnel of wind appeared out of nowhere. The wind scooped up Aquamarina.” Aquamarina is transported back to her world. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Stacey’s Remarkable Books

Stacey’s favorite day of the week is Thursday because on Thursday the whole class goes to the library and she gets to lose herself in her beloved books.  

But on one of these special days, Stacey discovers a new student named Julie has trouble reading in English. So Stacey and Julie begin sharing books and stories to practice reading. Soon, more students start to join them. The group goes on magical adventures through their books, exploring other worlds and cultures—but best of all, the books bring them together as friends. 

Stacey’s Remarkable Books is beautifully written and shows the power of books. At first, Stacey spends her recess reading books alone. But once Stacey meets Julie, everything changes. Julie has a difficult time reading because she recently moved from Vietnam, so Stacey helps Julie practice reading in English. Stacey and Julie connect through stories. Both girls believe that “Maybe if we read together, we can make our dreams come true.” The girls’ experiences reinforce the idea that friendship can be built by sharing a common interest, such as reading. 

Another student, Haddy, moves from Gambia, and Stacey and Julie quickly bring her into their group. Soon, the book club grows to include several children of different cultures. While the girls connect over books, they also share their unique perspectives: “Each brought their own words and different histories.”  

Stacey’s Remarkable Books highlights the importance of inclusion and respecting each other’s differences. But the lessons don’t end there! Even though Stacey loves to read during recess, her friendship with Julie gives her the ability to try something new. Stacy realizes, “If she tried, she could be out on the playground too. Spinning in circles and running like a cheetah. Laughing and having fun. Like her favorite characters in her favorite books.”  

Stacey’s Remarkable Books is an engaging story that uses full-page illustrations to show Stacey’s love of books. Some of the illustrations also include fun details that bring books to life. For example, when Stacey and Julie are reading a book about an octopus, the octopus is shown playing a violin. Many illustrations show Stacy’s friends, who are a diverse group. Each page has three to seven sentences and many of the sentences are complex.  

Anyone who wants to introduce young readers to the magical world of books should read Stacey’s Remarkable Books to their child. The story is beautifully written and teaches the importance of inclusion and practicing a skill. The back of the book includes a two-page author’s note and a “List of Stacey’s Remarkable Books,” such as Hair Twins by Raakhee Mirchandani, I Am Enough by Grace Byers, and Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’O. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None

Lucy Maud Montgomery: A Writer’s Life

Lucy Maud Montgomery believed that one day she would be taken seriously as a writer. Despite facing many obstacles, Montgomery not only earned a good living as a writer but also became famous after creating Anne of Green Gables—one of the most popular books ever written that has been translated into over 20 languages and earned Montgomery worldwide recognition and appeal.  

As a girl growing up in the 1800s, Montgomery’s dream of becoming a writer was unthinkable—at this time, only men were authors. However, when Montgomery was 16, she published her first poem. When she was in her 30s, Montgomery was writing “silly stories. Potboilers she called them, because they earned money to keep the pots boiling on the stove with enough food for her and her grandmother.” However, many people believed “she was odd because she earned her living as a writer, so they snubbed her.” 

Getting rejections from publishers was disheartening for Montgomery. However, she was determined to write a book. The first book that Montgomery published was Anne of Green Gables, which launched Montgomery into the limelight. Despite Montgomery’s success as a writer, she still lived with her grandmother, who “wouldn’t let her make any changes to their house to make it more uncomfortable.” In addition, her grandmother still gave her a bedtime and only allowed Montgomery to take a bath once a week.  

Lucy Maud Montgomery is only 32 pages, but it’s packed full of information about Montgomery’s life. Each two-page spread weaves the real events of her life into the fabric of her fiction using photographs, excerpts from newspapers, and actual journal pages. This biography explores Montgomery’s struggle and determination to realize her dreams. Despite difficulties in her private life, Montgomery continued to find success as a writer and became famous in Canada and Europe. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery: A Writer’s Life is part of the Snapshots: Images of People and Places in History Series and includes a concise timeline and a listing of pertinent websites. Anyone who has ever dreamed of being a writer or who has read Anne of Green Gables will be fascinated by Montgomery’s life. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Kneel

Football is everything to Russell Boudreaux. It’s his talent, his community, and his ticket to a Division I scholarship, where he’ll earn enough money to be set for life. Entering his senior year and final football season, Rus knows his future depends on a successful season. As the captain of the Jackson Jackals, his primary goal is to defeat his school’s rival, Westmond, and lead his team to a championship. However, everything quickly goes wrong. 

When the Jackals’ quarterback, Marion LaSalle, gets arrested for a crime he didn’t do, Rus suddenly becomes entangled in a battle against racism and discrimination. With the help of his teammates and childhood friend, Gabby Dupre, Rus embarks on a mission to give voice to the Black community and promote justice for the town of Monroe. Yet, with every newsworthy action, Rus risks placing himself—and his football future—in jeopardy. Will Rus achieve justice for the Jackson Jackals and Monroe? Or will his political activism cost him his season and his future? 

Rus is the story’s exciting main protagonist, and he strives to stand up for what is right. As a young black man, he sees the tension between the white and black communities of his town, and he desires justice for the racist attacks on the past and present black population. Despite being told to focus solely on football and ignore the blatant acts of inequality, Rus chooses to risk his life to shed light on his town’s issues. His courage and dedication to raising his voice are admirable, and his fearlessness in exposing the town’s discrimination through the newspaper should set an example and encourage readers to stand up and fight for what’s right in their own lives. 

The story’s enjoyable nature stems from Rus and his supporting characters. From the start, these characters help readers become invested in the plot by portraying actions and emotions that feel authentic and genuine. Whether it’s Gabby’s ambition to promote justice, Ms. Jabbar’s passion to discover truth, or Marion’s fortitude to succeed on the football field, readers can connect with these characters through shared human experience. Although some readers may not experience this type of overt discrimination, they can relate to the presence of difficult and frustrating circumstances in life. 

The story’s main conflict arises from Rus’s inability to balance football and political activism. Through these struggles, Rus’s resolution to “stand up for his people . . . despite people wanting to see [him] fail” highlights the book’s message about assertiveness: the ability to express one’s opinions and stand firm in one’s values. While this lesson can inspire readers to stand up against inequality in their own lives, the conclusion to the story’s problems can come across as idealistically hopeful or something achieved only in a perfect world. In addition, because the story centers around the theme of justice and equality, there are fewer action-packed football scenes in it compared to other sports stories. 

In conclusion, Kneel explores the themes of inequality, injustice, and self-expression through the journey of a promising black football star in Louisiana. Of course, the story does feature some heavy topics, like the impacts of modern-day racism, and its prolific use of offensive language and references to alcohol can be unwelcoming. However, the story’s strength comes from its applicable message that will stay with readers long after they put the book down. While football doesn’t play a major role in the story, Kneel will inspire readers to stand up for their beliefs despite their challenges. 

Sexual Content 

  • Rus’s friend, Marion, refers to sex by saying “smashed” and “the birds and the bees.” 
  • During lunch, Gabby and Rus’s “arms occasionally [brush] against each other.” Rus believes the “closeness felt natural, even though Gabby shied away every time it happened.” 
  • When Rus and Gabby sit next to each other, Rus notices that Gabby “scooted her hand next to mine. Her pinky finger grazed my skin.” 
  • Marion believes that Rus “blowing off steam” means he’s “off banging Gabby.” 
  • At one point, Gabby grabs Rus’s hand, and Rus says, “I like the hand-holding. I’d like to do other things too, but I was willing to move at Gabby’s pace.” 
  • On the porch of his house, Rus kisses Gabby. “His lips pressed into hers. A blend of emotions collided as we kissed—the months of longing, the layers of protest, and anger and frustration. The recent nights of separation, when I didn’t know if she was okay. All of it went into that rush of release.” 
  • In the car, Gabby leans “across the center console for another kiss,” and Rus “gladly [meets] her halfway.” 

Violence 

  • During a football game against Deerlake, Rus gets “pinned to the ground” by a big Deerlake linebacker. 
  • Before a major football game, Marion and Bradley Simmons, the quarterback for Westmond High, “[tousle] on the ground.” Soon afterward, Marion’s face is bruised and bloody, the officials suspend the game, and the two boys are taken to the police station. 
  • Terrance, one of Rus’s teammates, believes that Shreveport’s crowd wants “to lynch us for real.” 
  • Rus and Darrell, one of Rus’s teammates, “lunge across the aisle” and fight after a disappointing football game loss. No one is injured during this scene. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Rus mentions that his teammates drink beer at a Friday night party. 
  • Rus’s father, Pops, takes a “measured sip from his beer” during a conversation between Rus, his mom, and Marion. 
  • Beer makes multiple appearances at Terrence’s party, such as in the “liquor cabinet” and a “cooler of beers.” 
  • Gary Tounior, Darrell’s cousin, has a “Swisher blunt hanging from the lips” during a party. 
  • Rus’s teammates smoke and “conceal their blunts” during a party. 
  • Darrell pops “the top off a can of beer” and hands it to Rus during a Friday night party. 
  • Marion drinks and runs off with a “bottle of Olde English” after a rough conversation with Rus. 
  • When Marion is kicked off the football team, Rus fears that he is “still looking for answers in bottles of malt liquor.” 
  • During homecoming preparation, Coach Fontenot, Rus’s football coach, spits “a wad of chewing tobacco into [a crumpled water bottle] before tucking it out of sight.” 
  • During a political rally, activist Charlotte Martin talks about a man who was arrested for selling “loose cigarettes outside of a convenience store.” 
  • Dave, Gabby’s close friend, asks Rus if he wants some “beer” during a college party. 
  • At Terrance’s house, Rus remembers “sneaking booze out of his mama’s liquor cabinet and staying up too late.” 

Language 

  • Marion gives Rus “the finger” after Rus jokes about his lack of a car. 
  • Profanity is used excessively. Profanity includes shit, damn, ass, hell, horseshit, piss, and fuck. 
  • “God,” “Jesus,” “Lord, help us,” “Lord knows he deserves worse,” and other similar phrases are used rarely as an exclamation. 
  • Marion threatens to call Bradley a piece of “trash.” 
  • The term “negro” is used several times. 
  • Gary insults Rus by calling him a “Mr. Big Man Baller.” 
  • One of Westmond’s football players, Lawrence, calls Rus a “nigga.” 
  • During a fight, Gabby calls the people on the football field a “dick.” 
  • Rus describes the town’s reaction to his decision to kneel during the national anthem as “bullshit.” He and Gabby use it again later on in the book during a similar conversation. 
  • Coach Fontenot calls his football team “a bunch of gosh darn amateurs” after a bad play. 
  • Rus describes football practice without Marion as a “shitstorm.” 
  • Rus feels like an “asshole” when he prematurely brings up his scholarship opportunity with Clemson to Marion. 
  • Bradley calls Lawrence a “fucking asshole” when he apologizes to Marion. 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content 

  • Rus’s teammate, Karim, has a tattoo of his mother posed “as Mother Mary—complete with a bowed head and hands folded in prayer.” 
  • Rus’s mother believes that “prayer and perseverance” will fix her family’s problems. 
  • Rus repeats a “prayer” that the rungs of his tree house ladder won’t break under his weight. 
  • After throwing a good football pass to Rus, Marion kisses “his fist then point[s] to the sky, as if sending God a little prayer.” 
  • When Rus runs to his car after a football game, he prays “to God” that “[the car] would start tonight.” 
  • When Rus and his friends are being chased by the police, Rus “hope[s] to God” that Terrance grabbed his house keys. 

by Caleb Kleinmann

Strike Zone

Twelve-year-old star Little League pitcher Nick Garcia has a dream. Several in fact. He dreams he’ll win this season’s MVP and earn the chance to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. He dreams he’ll meet his hero, Yankee pitcher Michael Arroyo. He dreams they’ll find a cure for Lupus so his sister won’t have to suffer. But mostly, he dreams that one day his family can stop living in fear of the government.  

For one kid, it’s almost too much to bear. Luckily, Nick has his two best friends, Ben and Diego, to keep him balanced. But when Nick notices a mysterious man lurking on his street corner, his worst fears are realized. But just when it seems there’s no one they can trust, an unexpected hero emerges and changes everything. 

Baseball-loving fans will instantly connect with Nick Garcia and his baseball ambitions. Nick is a kind protagonist who has a caring support system that includes friends, families, and neighbors. Despite his support system, Nick constantly worries that others will discover his family’s secret—both of his parents are illegal immigrants. This conflict weaves its way into almost every aspect of Nick’s life. At times, the story’s explanations of complex immigration problems including immigration raids, detention centers, and the legal system overshadow the baseball story thread. However through Nick’s experiences, readers will empathize with Nick and his family and learn about the harmful aspects of the immigration system. 

Nick and his two best friends, Ben and Diego, support each other and show readers the positive aspects of being part of a team. During their team’s games, most of the action focuses on Nick’s pitching ability. While this gives the reader an inside view of Nick’s emotions, the book lacks a broader sense of the team working together. There is play-by-play baseball action, but these scenes focus mainly on Nick and the other players are seldom mentioned. The narrow focus on Nick removes some of the joy from the game scenes.  

Strike Zone weaves the different aspects of Nick’s life together, showing how community surrounds Nick and his family in times of trouble. Nick has many trustworthy people in his life; however, he is surprised when his favorite Yankee, Michael Arroyo, steps in to help as well. Readers who have read the book Heat will understand how Michael’s and Nick’s stories connect, but the books don’t need to be read in order to enjoy Strike Zone. Both Michael’s and Nick’s stories show that achieving one’s dream is possible. However, it takes dedication, perseverance, and community.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Nick and his father take his sister Amelia to a free clinic. As they are leaving, a drunk man pushes her. “Amelia lost her balance and almost went down, but Nick caught her by the hip.” 
  • Afterward, the drunk man “swung at Nick’s father. It was a wild swing, one the man had telegraphed, and Nick’s dad easily avoided it. But missing the punch just seemed to make the big man angrier. He clumsily lowered his shoulder and drove into Victor, bringing them both violently to the ground. With Victor Garcia pinned beneath him, the man grunted, throwing punch after punch. . .” Both men are arrested. 
  • When Nick is sliding into home plate, “Eric slapped a hard tag on Nick. Right across the face. Nick’s head snapped to the side, and he immediately cupped his jaw in pain.” Nick has a bruise but is otherwise fine.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Heck is used once.  

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Nick’s coach tells him, “I honestly believe the good Lord has blessed you with a right arm like Michael Arroyo’s left.”  
  • Nick’s dad tells him, “God gives the heaviest burdens to the strongest backs.” 
  • Nick tells his neighbor about his hardships. She says, “When I was a little girl in Mexico, my mother used to read me a poem. It was about doing the right things to get into heaven so that one day God could answer all our questions about why things in our life happened the way they did.”  
  • Nick’s father talks about being an illegal immigrant. He says, “We have to put our trust in God until my beautiful daughter turns twenty-one.”  

My Pet Goldfish

In My Pet Goldfish, prolific children’s author Catherine Rayner recounts her first experience owning a goldfish. Rayner was only four years old when she got her goldfish named Richard. Although Richard was no bigger than her hand, Rayner quickly realized that caring for a goldfish is not as simple as it may seem. Rayner had to learn about the proper tank size and food type for goldfish to provide her pet with a suitable environment. Regardless of these challenges, Rayner grew attached to Richard. With the help of her friend, Sandy, Rayner learned how to properly take care of a pet fish. 

My Pet Goldfish is a straightforward story that provides new owners with instructions on how to care for a goldfish. Along with Sandy’s advice, the book features small captions with additional information in the corners of each page. For example, one caption reads: “Goldfish need plenty of space to grow properly, so you need a BIG tank to keep them in.” Along with these tips, each page features a piece of trivia about goldfish, such as, “scientists believe goldfish can remember things for up to five months.” 

Along with Rayner’s story, the book includes a list of tips for caring for a goldfish. These tips include how to change the water in a tank and the proper tank size for goldfish. Rayner also provides a list of additional resources for curious readers, including a website all about goldfish and a recommendation to read How to Look After Your Goldfish, an instructional novel by David Alderton about tending to pet goldfish. Although this is an informative book, Rayner’s passionate narration invites the reader to look at this straightforward story with the same curiosity and wonder she felt as a child. For example, Reyner writes: “[Richard] would swim over when he saw me, wiggling his tail. If I gently touched the glass, he would follow my finger.”  

By telling the story through a child’s point of view, Rayner turns the common experience of owning a pet goldfish into an exciting adventure. Rayner’s beautiful watercolor illustrations also create a sense of wonder. Rayner’s fish tank is painted in soft blues and greens. Fish of many species swim about with their own unique color scheme. The book is a relatively easy read, with one to five short sentences per page. My Pet Goldfish is a short, informative book written with a clear passion for its subject and is perfect for readers considering getting their first goldfish. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Joseph Stalin

In 1917, Russian workers shocked the world by overthrowing their emperor and ending centuries of tyranny. The leaders of the Russian Revolution proclaimed a new nation—the Soviet Union—and promised to build a just society run by and for the common people.  

Instead, they gave the world Joseph Stalin. 

Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a world power—at an almost unimaginable cost. He uprooted millions of peasants and starved millions more to death. He executed his enemies, real or imagined, and filled a notorious system of prison camps with Soviet citizens. He was more ruthless than any of the previous Russian emperors.  

Joseph Stalin takes readers through Stalin’s life, from his troubled childhood until his death. The book adeptly includes enough detail to provide context and color to each chapter without overwhelming the reader with facts. From Stalin’s childhood to his time as a revolutionary and finally to his span as leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin’s life is fraught with violence. 

Reading about Stalin is not for the faint of heart. From bombs to gulags, mass executions to deliberate starvation, the information in this book—while not described in graphic detail—is disturbing in the extreme. Each chapter contains one to two black-and-white historical photographs. In addition, there is a seven-page photo collection in the middle of the book. While the illustrations are often grainy enough to obscure any gory details, the images of corpses, skeletons, and violence may be disturbing.  

Joseph Stalin is written at a high reading level, with some challenging vocabulary. Each chapter is only four to six pages long, making this a short read for those interested in learning about this dark chapter in history. The story is engaging and quick-paced, perfect for readers who do not want to get bogged down in endless details. Readers don’t need to know much about Stalin in order to understand this non-fiction book, but enough facts are included that those familiar with Stalin’s life will still learn something new. The book ends with a timeline of Stalin’s life and a glossary that includes definitions of both Russian terminology and some of the more difficult vocabulary.  

While the short chapters and illustrations will help readers engage with this disturbing tale, the difficult vocabulary and extremely violent content make this book a good fit for more mature readers. Teaching our youth about dark chapters in history is essential in educating and empowering the next generation; however, this book may give sensitive readers nightmares. Readers who would like to learn more about Stalin’s time period without disturbing details should instead read Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • A flood near Kolpashevo unearths a mass grave. “As the current eroded the riverbanks . . . human skeletons began to tumble from the ground. Half-frozen, mummified bodies surfaced in the layer below the skeletons. Many of the remains slid into the river.” 
  • The secret police “forced local residents to tie weights to the bodies and sink them in the river.” The KGB said the bodies were “military deserters executed after World War II . . . but the people of Kolpashevo knew the truth . . . In the late 1930s, friends, relatives, and neighbors . . . were shot in the back of the head and shoveled into a mass grave” by the local secret police. A black-and-white photograph of a mass grave accompanies this chapter.  
  • When Stalin was a young boy, he “once threw a knife at his father in order to protect his mother from a beating.”  
  • When Stalin was twenty years old, he joined the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party, where “he organized protests, strikes, and riots. At one point, he was suspected of setting a fire in an oil refinery.”  
  • In 1905, during protests across Russia, “peasants lashed out at their landlords, burning their estates to the ground and torching police stations . . . [Stalin] and other revolutionaries created battle squads to harass and kill tsarist troops.” Afterwards, the “tsar allowed vigilante death squads called the Black Hundreds to roam the countryside and crush all signs of public protest.”  
  • When Stalin started working for Lenin and the Bolsheviks, he “took up life as a gangster . . . [he] robbed banks, trains, and mail ships. In one murderous assault, [his] gang blew up two horse-drawn carriages.” Forty people were killed. 
  • The Bolsheviks “sent squads of assassins armed with rifles, pistols, and homemade bombs into Russian cities. Between 1906 and 1909, the Bolsheviks and other revolutionary groups killed more than 2,600 police and government officials.”  
  • There are many references to people being “shot” and “executed,” often “with a bullet to the back of the head.” For example, the NKVD in Stalinabad “ended up shooting more than 13,000 [people].” Not all instances of executions are listed here.  
  • A Red Army newspaper said, “Without mercy, without sparing, [The Red Army] will kill our enemies in scores of hundreds. Let them drown themselves in their own blood.”  
  • Lenin (the leader of the Communist Revolution in Russia) said, “How can you make a revolution without firing squads? If we can’t shoot [enemy] saboteurs, what kind of revolution is this?” 
  • Stalin had many slave-labor camps called gulags. “Prisoners . . . lived on starvation rations and received little medical care. They were purposely worked to exhaustion. They died by the thousands. . . At least one million would die in the gulags,” the book says, though many think the number is much higher.  
  • Gulag survivor Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote about how prisoners were “singled out for bad behavior” and thrown into a “bedbug infested box.” When the bedbugs swarmed the victim, “he waged war with them strenuously, crushing them on his body and on the walls, suffocated by their stink. But after several hours, he weakened and let them drink his blood without a murmur.”  
  • Stalin created a massive famine where “peasants were dropping dead of starvation.” Millions starve, and “once-lively villages [became] ghost towns with skeleton-thin corpses lining the street.” 
  • The famine gets so bad that “reports of cannibalism leaked out from the worst affected regions. In the city of Poltava, children started mysteriously disappearing from the streets. Before long, fresh supplies of meat appeared in the normally barren city markets. Upon inspection, the meat was found to be human flesh.”  
  • Sergei Kirov, a rival of Stalin, is “shot dead in Leningrad by an assassin.” Many suspect “that Stalin had ordered Kirov’s murder to get rid of a dangerous rival.” Trotsky, another rival, was later assassinated by “a blow to the head with an ice pick.”  
  • Two rivals of Stalin are “dragged from their cells and shot. Afterward, the bullets were removed from their brains and kept by NKVD chief Genrich Yagoda as souvenirs.”  
  • Many times during Stalin’s reign, “mass graves were dug.” Several photos of dead bodies and skeletons are included in the book.  
  • During World War II, Red Army officers received orders to “execute deserters and troops who fled from battle. More than 150,000 soldiers were shot in 1941 and 1942 alone.”  
  • The chapter on World War II includes a photograph of two Soviets being hung by Nazis. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Stalin’s father “was an angry man who drank heavily and beat his wife and son.”  
  • It is said that “Georgians had a reputation for drinking hard, singing loud, and settling feuds with punches if not daggers,” and Stalin “fit right in.”  

Language   

  • A politician praises Stalin’s Five-Year Plan, saying, “Damn it all . . . you just want to live and live—really, just look what’s going on.”

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Stalin’s mother was “determined to see [Stalin] wear the long black robes of a Russian Orthodox priest.” Stalin enrolls in Tiflis Spiritual Seminary but is kicked out.  

Ballerina Dreams: From Orphan to Dancer

At the age of three, Michaela DePrince found a photo of a ballerina that changed her life. She was living in an orphanage in Sierra Leone at the time, but soon she was adopted by a family and brought to America. Michaela never forgot the photo of the dancer she once saw, and she quickly decided to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true. She has been dancing ever since and is now a principal dancer in New York City. She has also been featured in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Oprah magazine. 

Ballerina Dreams is told from Michaela’s point of view. The story uses a friendly tone that makes the reader feel as if they know Michaela personally. While in the orphanage, Michaela’s teacher said, “You can become a ballerina, too, if you take lessons for many years, if you work hard, and if you practice every day.” While Michaela’s story has a happy ending, she acknowledges her fears and explains how she overcame them. Her motivational story shows the importance of hard work and perseverance.  

As part of the Ready To Read Level 4 Series, Ballerina Dreams is intended for children who can read independently. The story is told using short chapters. The paragraphs are short and use simple sentences. Most pages have full-color illustrations or photographs of Michaela to break up the text. However, some pages do not have pictures.  

Ballerina Dreams is an inspiring story that encourages readers to aspire to great heights. The informative book explains how Michaela was able to make her dreams come true. Michaela encourages readers by saying, “It doesn’t matter if you dream of being a doctor, a teacher, a writer, or a ballerina. Every dream begins with one step. After that, you must work hard and practice every day. If you never give up, your dream will come true.” For another inspirational biography, pair Ballerina Dreams with A Girl Named Misty by Kelly Starling Lyons. Readers who love ballet should also read the picture books Tallulah’s Tutu by Marilyn Singer and Parker Shines On by Parker Curry & Jessica Curry. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Michaela was born in Sierra Leone and her parents “died there in the ongoing war.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

One Tiny Turtle

Unlike their notoriously slow counterparts on land, sea turtles travel thousands of miles each year. This makes them very difficult to research, and much is still unknown about their mysterious lives. In One Tiny Turtle, zoologist and author Nicola Davies describes the known life cycle of the loggerhead turtle, one of seven species of sea turtles. Readers will follow the turtle from her time as an infant living beneath a patch of seaweed to her adulthood when she lays her own eggs on a beach before disappearing back into her mysterious life beneath the sea. 

One Tiny Turtle is an informative book that grabs readers’ attention through Davies’ beautiful prose and illustrator Jane Chapman’s vibrant, realistic art. Like all books in the Read and Wonder series, One Tiny Turtle includes a fun fact about its subject on every page. For example, in a page describing the loggerheads’ swimming process, a small caption informs readers that sea turtles can spend hours underwater while asleep and only come up for air every four or five minutes while awake.   

One Tiny Turtle is an accessible book for younger readers, with one to eight short sentences per page. A prolific children’s author, Davies captures young readers’ imagination through her rich and descriptive writing. For example, she describes a baby turtle as “not much bigger than a bottle top, she hides in the green shadows.”  The colorful and detailed illustrations help readers understand the turtle’s life and habitat. Chapman’s photorealistic sea creatures blend beautifully with the greens and blues of the sea.  

Although it is a nonfiction book, One Tiny Turtle is sure to engage readers’ curiosity and leave them wondering about a species whose mysteries are still being uncovered. As part of the Read and Wonder Series, One Tiny Turtle is meant for younger readers. It is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. The book is fascinating and educational and will help readers understand the mysteries of turtles.  

Introduce your young readers to more lovable sea creatures by reading Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London. Sea-loving readers can also learn life lessons by reading the Pout-Pout Fish Adventure picture book series by Deborah Diesen.  

Sexual Content 

  • None 

Violence 

  • None  

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • None 
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