Reading Level: Elementary

Hidden Truths

Dani and Eric have been best friends since Dani moved next door in second grade. They bond over donuts, comic books, and camping on the Cape. Until one summer when everything changes.

Did Eric cause the accident that leaves Dani unable to do the one thing in the world she most cares about? The question plagues him, and he will do anything to get answers about the explosion that injured her. But Dani is hurting too much to want Eric to pursue the truth—she just wants to shut him out and move on. Besides, Eric has a history of dropping things he starts. Eric knows that and is determined that this will be the one time he follows through.

But what if his pursuit brings him into direct conflict with another friend? Where does Eric’s loyalty really lie? 

Hidden Truths follows two middle school students dealing with the aftermath of an accident. Eric struggles with guilt, unsure whether he caused Dani’s injury, while Dani must abandon her baseball dreams after finally making the junior high boys’ team. Their friendship becomes strained as both characters navigate difficult emotions and personal challenges. 

Eric will resonate with any reader who has experienced guilt after a mistake. Unsure if he was responsible for the accident, Eric wants to do something to help Dani. However, he wasn’t expecting Dani to reject his offers of help. To make matters worse, Eric struggles to remember things, and he doesn’t process information in the same way as most of his peers. Despite this, Eric realizes that this is actually his “superpower” because he “see[s] stuff differently” and “[doesn’t] give up on stuff or people.” His attempts to help Dani are repeatedly rejected, yet he persists with remarkable determination. 

Eric’s experience with bullying provides insight into how cruelty affects victims. When Dani dismisses his struggles, he reflects that “she’s never been on the receiving end of mean. She doesn’t know how it scrapes your insides hollow and sticks to the layers of your skin.” This perspective highlights how different people process trauma and adversity. 

Dani’s anger over losing her baseball dreams is understandable, but it leads her to mistreat Eric and befriend Meadow, a thoroughly unlikable character who lies and bullies others. Through this friendship, Dani grapples with moral complexity, realizing that “people were either good or bad. I didn’t think there were in-betweeners. Meadow is definitely an in-betweener.” 

However, Dani fails to recognize that she, too, is an “in-betweener.” Her dismissive attitude toward Eric’s bullying experience reveals her own moral blind spots. She believes her situation is uniquely difficult and does nothing to stop Meadow’s cruel behavior toward Eric. 

The novel explores several meaningful themes. Most prominently, it examines moral complexity, showing how people aren’t simply good or bad but fall somewhere in between. The story also addresses the lasting impact of bullying, revealing how cruelty leaves emotional scars that others may not understand. Additionally, the book emphasizes perseverance as both characters learn to persist despite setbacks. Dani and Eric both learn two valuable lessons: “We all make mistakes” and “the truth matters.” 

Dani finds inspiration in baseball player Mo’ne Davis. She uses this role model to fuel her determination during physical therapy. The story’s conclusion reinforces the theme of personal choice, as Dani’s physical therapist reminds her, “You may not get to choose what sport you play or when you get to play it, but you get to choose who you are. And in the end, that’s what matters most.” 

Hidden Truths succeeds in several important ways. The characters are relatable and flawed, allowing readers to connect with them authentically rather than seeing them as perfect heroes. The book addresses significant themes, including bullying, friendship conflicts, and personal growth, in a meaningful way that will resonate with middle-grade readers. The characters’ internal struggles feel genuine and age-appropriate. At the same time, the realistic resolution avoids tying everything up too neatly—Dani’s future in baseball remains uncertain, reflecting how real life doesn’t always provide clear answers.  

Hidden Truths alternates between Dani’s and Eric’s points of view, which allows the reader to see how one event affects each person. Each chapter starts with either a picture of a baseball with Dani’s name on it or a picture of a crossword with Eric’s name on it; this visual cue makes it easy to transition between the two characters’ points of view.  

However, the novel has some limitations. The heavy emphasis on internal conflict means some sections lack action, resulting in slower pacing that may not engage all readers. Additionally, those expecting a fast-paced sports story will likely be disappointed by the book’s introspective focus. Expand your reading list by adding other books that explore the topic of friendship and sports, including The Academy by T.Z. Layton, Free Throws, Friendship, and Other Things We Fouled Up by Jenn Bishop and Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer by Waka T. Brown. 

Sexual Content  

  • Eric has a crush on a classmate named Rachel. They start spending time together, holding hands several times. One time, when they hold hands, Eric tries “to walk like a normal person while every neuron in [his] brain’s firing.” 
  • After Eric makes a good presentation at school, “Rachel leans over and kisses [his] cheek.” Eric thinks, “Best meeting ever.” 

Violence  

  • Dani is sleeping in an RV when it blows up. A cabinet falls on Dani and knocks her unconscious. Eric goes inside to save her. “I cough. Bang into something. Gasp. Run out the door to grab air. . . Blood trickles down my leg. I dart into the camper again.” Dani is hospitalized with major injuries and needs physical therapy for nerve damage. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • While in the hospital, Dani is given pain medication. 

Language  

  • Occasionally, someone is referred to as a jerk or an idiot. 
  • A bully calls Eric an idiot. Afterward, Eric prays, “God, if you’re there, a little help would be great.” 
  • Dani calls a boy a “brainless idiot.” 
  • A girl says Eric is “being a brat.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • When Dani is injured and taken to the hospital, Eric pleads with God. He prays, “I’ll do anything, please let Dani be okay. . . I’ll set two alarms in the morning. Never oversleep again. Clean my room. Remember stuff. Anything.” Since Eric continues to pray like this throughout the book, not all of the prayers are listed below. 
  • Before Eric goes into the chapel at the hospital, he wonders if he “need[s] to be more religious to go inside.” 
  • While in the chapel, a woman says, “Bless you, my child.” Eric isn’t sure what to do, so he says, “Bless you, too.” 
  • Eric prays that Dani is okay. He prays, “I promise to stop drinking the milk straight from the half-gallon carton in the refrigerator.” He continues to pray intermittently throughout the book. 
  • Eric is Jewish. When he goes into the hospital’s chapel, he mentions the Torah. He also thinks, “I don’t feel strange or out of place, which is weird. Not that I go to Shabbat service every week, but I thought I’d feel like an outsider in this chapel. But I don’t.”  
  • When Dani and Eric stop talking to each other, Eric prays, “God, I’m not sure if it’s possible to ask for too much. Or if a new prayer cancels out the ones that came before. Or if there are rules I should be following. Because if there are, that would be helpful to know.” 
  • Dani faints at school and is taken to the hospital. While Eric waits to hear about Dani’s condition, he goes to the chapel and prays. “I’m back. I’m sorry for anything I’ve ever done wrong. . . I’m sorry I stink at remembering. But, I promise, I’ll do anything for Dani to be all right.” The prayer is a paragraph long. 
  • When Eric sees his crush, “I pray she can’t tell I’m a horrible human just by looking at me.”  
  • Eric’s aunt says, “I’m putting it out in the world to heal Dani.” Eric goes on to explain, “Aunt Josie believes if you say your wish out loud—put it into the world—it’ll come true.” 
  • Eric’s aunt tells Dani, “I told the world to heal you.” 
  • Several times, Dani feels her dead grandmother’s presence. The second time this happens, Dani talks to her grandmother. 

Baker’s Magic

After running away from her abusive foster family, the protagonist, Bee (short for Beatrix), finds herself in Zeewal, a small village in the struggling kingdom of Aradyn. After failing to steal baked goods, Bee quickly earns an apprenticeship with the town’s baker, Master Bouts. Bee learns all there is to know about baking, and she soon discovers that she has the magical ability to infuse her treats with her emotions, causing customers to experience her happiness, pain, and annoyance. Her skills lead Master Bouts’ bakery to be summoned to deliver pastries to Master Joris, the kingdom’s head mage and de facto ruler. This allows Bee to begin an unlikely friendship with the orphaned Princess Anika, Joris’ ward, who will soon inherit the kingdom of Aradyn.  

However, when Bee learns of Joris’ plot to marry Anika off to a neighboring kingdom and steal her throne, Bee devises a plan with her friend, Willem (Wil), to take Anika away from Joris. Wil, Anika, and Bee go on a journey to find the Island of the Mages, hoping that the mages’ council can protect Anika and put a stop to Joris’ reign. On their adventure, they encounter the Tulip Pirates of the ship the Egbertina-Henriette, thieves who steal the lucrative tulips that Joris grows in Aradyn. With help from the pirates, a wizard named Bartholomew, and a few tree spirits, Bee and her friends learn just how harmful Master Joris has been to Aradyn. This causes Bee to grow ever more determined to rid the kingdom of the mage once and for all. 

Bee is an inquisitive and caring protagonist whose self-assurance and sense of identity grow throughout the book. She begins as an orphan with a lonely and miserable past, but through her own determination and kindness, she unites her past and present and finds a true family. Despite being only twelve years old, Bee displays a strong moral compass that propels her to do everything she can to help her friends and her kingdom. Bee’s friendship with Wil quickly develops into a strong connection, marked by laughter and selflessness. Their loyalty to each other contributes to the heartwarming atmosphere of the novel. 

Princess Anika is sheltered and naive about the outside world, but she never displays the haughtiness expected of her. The unlikely friendship that the three of them form exemplifies the book’s message that our differences are less than our similarities, and heroes can come from anywhere. Another central idea of Baker’s Magic is the importance of trees. Joris uses his magic to banish all of Aradyn’s tree life before the book begins, and this results in flooding and food shortages. The characters gradually learn the importance of trees, educating audiences along the way. 

Come along for Bee’s exciting adventure across land and sea. Each stage of the journey brings new twists and turns, from the humorous Council of Mages to the lonely floating islands. Audiences seeking minimal interpersonal conflict will appreciate the good-natured characters. The central antagonist, Master Joris, is the source of every problem and the only irredeemable figure, so his defeat solves every conflict. This results in a clean, yet simple narrative that is best suited for younger readers. The stakes are high, but the book is ultimately low-stress.  

Lighthearted, comedic characters like the Tulip Pirates serve to counteract the looming threat of Master Joris, and there are helpful figures around every corner that aid the central trio on their journey. However, Bee’s history of abuse may be disturbing for some readers, and the young protagonists are often in life-or-death situations. The back of the novel contains a recipe for the most popular baked good in the story, the “Bouts Bun,” which adds a unique participatory aspect to the book. Overall, Baker’s Magic is an uplifting and entertaining read that puts a fantastical spin on the world of baking. Readers can take another magical adventure by reading The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates Series by Caroline Carlson and The Grimmelings by Rachael King. 

Sexual Content  

  • There is no explicit sexual content or mentions of sex, but there are minor references to romance and attraction. For example, Wil, the loyal son of the Zeewal blacksmith, kisses “Anika’s limp hand” before going into battle alongside the pirates. 
  • Princess Anika kisses Captain Zay, a pirate and the leader of the ship called the Egbertina-Henriette (Egg Hen), on the cheek. 
  • Anika and Wil form a relationship by the end of the novel – “the princess, in love with the blacksmith’s son!” 

Violence  

  • After attempting to steal from Master Bouts’ bakery, Bee is tripped and falls to the ground. “She landed on the hard stones with a bone-jarring thump.” Bouts grabs her “in a painfully tight grip.” 
  • Long before the story begins, Bee’s mother drowned in a shipwreck that nearly killed Bee as well. 
  • After opening the closet in the palace kitchen, Bee’s shoulder is injured by a falling broom handle. “A broom handle popped out, smacking her hard on the shoulder.” 
  • The kingdom of Aradyn is threatened by large storms that destroy houses and drown civilians. Past storms have given Master Bouts a fear of floods and drowning. 
  • Wil is apprenticing as a blacksmith, so he has many burn scars. “He held out his hands, and Bee noticed, for the first time, the scars on nearly every finger, the back of his hands, his wrists.” 
  • Bee confides in Anika about her former foster family. “The master shouted and threw things. And the mistress beat me.” 
  • Master Bouts attempts to save a burning omelet but forgets “to use a cloth,” resulting in his hand burning. 
  • To escape an arranged marriage, Anika runs away from Master Joris, the conniving head mage of Aradyn. He sends magic after them, but they escape unharmed. This tense escape scene lasts two and a half pages. 
  • Master Joris uses his magic to send rocks after Bee, Anika, and Wil as they try to escape him on a boat. “Then, all at once, splashes surrounded them, and something crashed against Bee’s temple, so hard that the night sky spun before her eyes.” Bee’s injury causes her to bleed from her head, and Wil is bruised. 
  • Bee nearly drowns when her boat sinks, but pirates save her. “Something grabbed her by her cropped hair and yanked, pulling upward. Oh, it hurt!” Wil and Anika are also saved from drowning. 
  • The pirates go into battle with a Zeewal merchant ship to steal their supply of tulips. Bee and Anika watch as a merchant’s sword nearly slices Wil. “The blades flashed as Wil bent backward over the rail, his sword raised against the oncoming steel that threatened to slice down onto his neck.” Captain Zay saves Wil by cutting the sailor, and the blood makes Wil vomit. No lives are lost in the battle, and the scene lasts for two and a half pages. 
  • Bartholomew, a hedge wizard and Bee’s long-lost father, uses magic to turn the entire tree island clockwise. He loses control of it, and Bee is nearly tossed off the island by the centrifugal force. The spinning only ceases when Bartholomew is thrown from his feet due to the force of the spinning. 
  • Bee, Wil, and Bartholomew are attacked by Joris’ taxidermy collection. A fox, a mole, a rabbit, and a mouse attack first, and Bee is bitten by the mouse. Birds then peck at them from above, and the next wave is a horde of flying, stinging, and crawling bugs. This scene lasts for three pages. 
  • When Bee is trapped in one of Joris’ snow globes, Bartholomew sends rocks to break the glass of her prison. “The glass showered down over Bee, and she rolled into a ball to try to protect herself from the bombardment of shards and stone. One ricocheting rock hit her in the ribs, and she gasped with the pain of it.” 
  • Master Bouts is being kept in the palace prison when Joris’ magic causes it to flood, and Bee momentarily thinks that he has drowned. Anika also almost drowns, but Captain Zay saves her. 
  • Pepin, Anika’s pet hedgehog, bites Joris’ leg to prevent him from escaping Bee, Anika, and the pirates. “Master Joris let out a shout and tried to shake Pepin off, but he hung on, his sharp teeth embedded in the mage’s calf.” 
  • Joris is ultimately defeated by anthropomorphic trees that return to Aradyn from exile. The trees use their roots to grab him and take him underground. “The mage let out a shriek of terror and tried to kick and twist free. But the roots held him tight as he struggled. Slowly they pulled him downward into the mire.”

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Alcohol is mentioned sparsely throughout the book. For example, Master Bouts and Wil mention a cooper whose wine “tasted better than the palace’s own vintage.” 
  • Master Bouts smokes a pipe, but tobacco is never mentioned by name. 
  • Wil’s father, Master Weatherwax, drinks a “tumbler of ale” after dinner. 
  • On the pirate ship, Bee bakes cookies with “sugar, flour, and rum.” She later uses beer to make the Bouts Buns’ dough rise on the ship. 
  • Captain Zay puts rum in her and Bartholomew’s coffee, but she refuses to give any to Bee, Wil, or Anika due to them being underage. 

Language    

  • Bee and Wil often call each other names, either jokingly or out of anger. When Wil calls her baking “off,” Bee angrily responds, “It’s you who’s off!” 
  • Wil angrily shouts to Bee and Bouts, “The cursed door’s locked!” 
  • When Joris figures out that Bee is hiding in the castle, he demands, “Come out of there this minute, you sorry wench.” 
  • The pirate Limmo tells his crewmates, “It ain’t suppertime yet, you feckless oafs.” 
  • The pirate Haleem mentions a parrot that “used to curse a blue streak.” 
  • One of the members of the Council of Mages calls their fellow mage an idiot. 
  • The pirate Filmon says that, when Captain Zay was under Bee’s truth spell, “She told us we were rogues and rapscallions and should go to the devil. . .” 

Supernatural 

  • Hedge wizards and witches are regular people who “have some magic.” With practice, they can increase their skills and become mages. 
  • Bee has the power to infuse her baked goods with her emotions, causing her customers to feel her feelings. As Master Bouts puts it, “I think your pastries make people feel the way you do.” She inherited this magic from her father, a hedge wizard. 
  • Master Joris is “the mage of all Aradyn,” a powerful magic-user who can control every aspect of the environment but has no sway over water. Each kingdom has a head mage appointed by the Council of Mages. 
  • Joris creates sparks when he walks. “Bee noticed, to her astonishment, that as his heels struck the ground, small sparks flew upward.” Joris can also create elaborate firework displays. 
  • While staying on the island of the Council of Mages, Bee, Wil, and Anika are able to ask for what they want, and it magically appears. Bee loudly yells for water, and a tiny storm cloud appears to rain into a water basin. 
  • The “moss maidens” are spirits connected to trees. When Joris banished Aradyn’s trees to a floating island, the moss maidens were trapped with them. The maidens can communicate with their trees, and with Bee’s guidance, they use tree roots to paddle their island prison toward Zeewal. These trees later grab hold of Joris and imprison him underground. 
  • After being called a murderer by Bartholomew, Joris stamps his foot in rage and creates a large crack in the earth. “The crack in the ground became a cleft and then a crevice, and it widened with every passing second.” 

 Spiritual Content  

  • None

by Gabrielle Barke 

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

This memoir by Ji Li Jiang details her experience as a young girl in China during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. She and her family are living under the influence and rule of Mao Zedong, a communist leader. Her red scarf is an emblem of the Young Pioneers of the revolution.   

Ji Li was 12 years old in 1966 and lived with her mother, father, grandmother, and two younger siblings. She grew up believing that her life was nearly perfect, but that was about to change. At school, Ji Li is selected to audition for a dance training class for the Liberation Army. When she tells her parents, they urge her not to go to the audition. Her father doesn’t think the family would be able to pass the political background check, and her auditioning could cause social issues for her family. This is her first glimpse into the more nuanced reality around her. Articles are written about Ji Li in the paper that critiques her identity as a communist, and those same newspapers are used to cover the door of her grandfather’s bookstore. Ji Li’s world is changing.  

She starts to uncover truths about her family and their class status. She discovers that her grandfather was a landlord. This is against the Red Party’s code of ethics. More events like this pile on, and soon after Ji Li’s home is searched, and her father is detained. She begins to worry about her family.  Later, Ji Li finds a letter her mother wrote to the comrades of the municipal party committee about the torture the Red Guards inflict on those who oppose the Red Party. Her family’s house is searched, and the guards find the letter. The memoir is a frightening example of how quickly things can change.  

All of the events in Ji Li’s memoir occur when Ji Li is between the ages of 12 and 14, which makes the book’s pace fast. Ji Li goes from thinking her family and government are perfect to discovering that both have their flaws. This realization leaves her confused about how the world works. Young readers may relate to Ji Li’s constant mental battle between doing what she believes is right and what is wrong. She overcomes bullying by believing in herself, which may encourage young readers to be brave and believe in themselves.   

Overall, Red Scarf Girl is an engaging and informative book that provides insight into China’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Ji Li’s story is an emotionally charged tale that will linger with readers for a long time to come. Through her personal journey from innocence to awareness, Ji Li demonstrates how political upheaval can shatter individual lives and force young people to confront difficult truths about loyalty, family, and survival. The memoir serves as both a historical document and a universal coming-of-age story that reminds us how resilience and love can endure even in the darkest of times. 

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Ji Li is visited by her father’s friend Fan Wen-Chong, who was beaten up by the Red Guards. Ji Li “stopped when [she] saw his face, it was swollen, bruised and bloody. Standing in the dark doorway he looked like a monster.” 
  • The family is interrogated about a letter to the municipal party committee. A Red Guard slaps her grandmother. “Thin face slapped her with all his strength. Grandma staggered into Mom’s arms.”  

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • Ji Li’s classmates bully her about her name and her family. She thinks to herself, “No, I do not want to have this damned name anymore.” 
  • Kids call Ji Li’s family a black family, which means they oppose the Red movement.  

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual 

  • After Ji Li’s father is detained, her grandmother prays, “May Allah protect my son.” 
  • When the family finds out Ji Li’s father is okay, “Grandma was in tears and she could not stop thanking Allah for his blessing.” 

Kayleigh Doyle

The Pharaoh’s Charioteer

Visited by the restless ghosts of warriors past, Arthur and Finn must travel back in time and rewrite history to set the ghosts free. Will the boys be able to gain the trust of a prince and princess caught up in dangerous rivalries? Even if they do, will they be able to prevent a war? 

Join Arthur and Finn as they travel back to ancient Egypt and find out if the boys have what it takes to survive a kidnapping and make it home alive. 

In The Pharaoh’s Charioteer, Arthur and Finn arrive in Ancient Egypt in separate parts of the city. Arthur finds himself in the Nile River, where the pharaoh’s son, Thami, fishes him out of the water. The two arrive on the edges of a city just in time to see Finn and Thami’s sister, Nefi, running from a group of men. Thami and Nefi take the two brothers to their home, allowing the reader to understand the life of a pharaoh’s child who was born from one of his secondary wives. While the pharaoh’s children’s lives are luxurious, they are also dangerous.  

Filled with adventure and suspense, the story has many exciting scenes—a lion hunt, a kidnapping, and a cunning high priest—that propel the plot forward. Suspense is created because Thami’s and Nefi’s lives are always in danger. Their mother explains some of the dangers facing a pharaoh’s child, “The palace is full of plotting between the queens, all of whom secretly hope that a son of theirs will be pharaoh one day. All I want is for Thami and Nefi to make it out of the palace, grown up and alive.” In this adventure, Arthur and Finn get an intimate view of the dangers of palace life, which makes the surprising conclusion satisfying. 

Even though The Pharaoh’s Charioteer is part of a series, the books do not have to be read in order because each focuses on Arthur and Finn going back to a different time period and wraps up the storyline. Each book in the series follows a familiar pattern, but there are enough differences to make each story unique and exciting.  

The Pharaoh’s Charioteer is a wonderfully engaging adventure that uses a unique angle to showcase the lives of the children of the pharaoh’s secondary wives. Neither Thami nor Nefi dreams of one day being the pharaoh, which allows them to have a caring sibling relationship. Even though Thami and Arthur are kidnapped, The Pharaoh’s Charioteer feels like a daring adventure with interesting characters, power-hungry villains, and unexpected developments that will keep readers reading late into the night. Readers can learn more about Ancient Egypt by reading these fast-paced adventures: Kid Detective Zet Series by Scott Peters, and TombQuest Series by Michael Northrop.   

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • Finn goes into a tavern where a girl cheats at a game. When the men discover the con, Finn grabs the girl, and they flee. The girl disappears into a courtyard with multiple exits. “But before he could begin to think about which route to take, he felt cold metal at his throat.” The men find the two kids and begin shouting at them. 
  • Finn’s brother, Arthur, and the girl’s brother, Thami, hear the commotion and come to their aid. Thami throws a fishnet over some of the men. “Two of the men went down, cursing in the tangle. . . Arthur swung the boathook through the air and knocked [one of the men] out with a blow to the head.” 
  • Arthur and Thami are kidnapped. “When he and Thami cried out for help, they were swiftly knocked unconscious.” The two kids are bound, blindfolded, and taken to the enemy’s country.  
  • Finn and Nefi help Arthur and Thami escape prison and return to Thebes. Finn and Thami are hiding when soldiers find them and give chase. “The first guards grabbed each boy by the shoulders, and the next thing Finn knew was the nasty sensation of a hood being pulled over his eyes, followed by a sharp blow to the head, and complete darkness.” 
  • The high priest finds two men he claims are spies. The high priest says, “And when we had tortured them, only yesterday, before we made them swim with Sobek, the great crocodile god, did they not reveal that the queen, also, is a spy?” 
  • Thami’s father, the pharaoh, realizes the high priest is plotting against him. The pharaoh decides they will let the crocodile god decide if the high priest is innocent or guilty. The high priest is taken to the pool. “Two guards brought forward a long, thin beam. . . they placed on either side of the pool so that it spanned the middle of the water. . .” The high priest is ordered to walk across the board. 
  • When the high priest refuses to walk across the plank, “the pharaoh brought his wipe down again, causing the priest to lurch forwards. . . The crocodiles’ head emerged from the water. . . With a sudden surge, the crocodile powered up and thrust the upper part of its body out of the water, huge jaws gaping. . . The priest screamed. The crocodile’s jaws snapped closed and there was a loud splash.” The crocodile kills the high priest.

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • The Nile River allowed the Egyptians to grow “a lot of barley, which they used/ to make beer.” 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • Arthur and Finn’s grandfather created a museum about warriors throughout history. The museum is haunted, and when the grandfather died, “he started haunting the place too. He felt guilty about the trapped ghost warriors and vowed he would not rest in peace until all the other ghosts were laid to rest first.” 
  • When one of the ghost warriors touches the boys, “we get transported to the time and place where the ghost lived and died. And we can’t get back until we’ve fixed whatever keeps the ghost from resting in peace.” 
  • When the boys travel through time, “the room began to spin, and the firelight turned into a belt of light acceleration around them, until it vanished completely.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • In Egypt, the pharaoh “was believed to be a living god, in touch with the other gods who controlled the universe and who decided when the Nile would flood. . .” 
  • After being kidnapped, Arthur and Thami are imprisoned. They hear footsteps, and “Arthur prayed that it would be the prince returning with a plan. . .” 
  • Before going to war, the high priest “would conduct sacred rites in the palace temple in Thebes before blessing the pharaoh and his army.” 
  • Before giving the pharaoh his blessing, the high priest gives a speech saying, “The gods have spoken to me of VICTORY! VICTORY! VICTORY!. . .And the gods have decreed that your pharaoh will lead the army himself!” 
  • The high priest was plotting against the pharaoh. During the high priest’s blessing ceremony, the pharaoh and Thami discuss who is the messenger of the gods. Thami says, “No, Father, YOU are their messenger, just as YOU and not the high priest will one day become a god yourself.” 
  • When the high priest begs for mercy, the pharaoh says, “Pray to Sobek for mercy!” 
  • Two and a half pages explain who some of the Egyptian Gods were. For example, Amen-Ra “was really a combination of two gods—Ra, the great sun god, and Amen, the local god of Themes.”  

My Life as a Meme

Derek is a tween navigating life and the social playground that is the internet. And he loves making memes! His mom is a veterinarian who was hired to care for a rich client’s dog, Poufy. Poufy is an Instagram-famous Pomeranian who is a little bit of a Diva. When Derek’s family arrives at Poufy’s house in Malibu, they are greeted with a big binder of instructions on how to care for the dog. Derek has brought his friends Matt, Carly, and Umberto to Malibu with his family. Even with all these people, the task of tending to Poufy falls on Derek, which frustrates him.  

Soon after their arrival, a fire breaks out in Malibu, forcing Derek and his crew to head to an evacuation center, where Poufy is a star! The famous Pomeranian helps take people’s minds off the fire that is sweeping Malibu. But then Derek finds himself on the other side of an embarrassing meme when a picture is taken of him with Poufy on his lap. Because Poufy is so well-known, the meme spreads quickly. When Derek returns to school, he decides to confront the creator of the hurtful meme, Brian. 

Derek exhibits significant character development as his worldview expands. He learns the importance of communication and learning people’s stories and perspectives. This is shown in his conversations with Brian and Poufy’s owner, Darcy. She is so high maintenance with Poufy because her last Pomeranian was hit by a car and killed. Brian learns that most people have reasons behind their actions, even though he may not understand their reasoning. This character arc teaches not to make assumptions and snap judgments. Readers will likely relate to Derek as he navigates the internet and potential cyberbullying. His story shows the impact that even one meme can have on someone’s life.  

The book is great for reluctant readers because it’s written in oversized text with humorous cartoon-style doodles around the edges of the pages. Even though a wildfire is presented, it is used as a tool to move the story along and get Derek and his friends to the evacuation center. Although it is a fun read, the narrative jumps around and has a strangely paced structure, which makes the moral of the story confusing. Although My Life as a Meme is part of the My Life Series, it can be read as a standalone. 

My Life as a Meme has a relatable protagonist and other quirky characters that will appeal to middle-grade readers. Since the book delves into the world of social media and internet fame, it will have a broad appeal. In addition, the book offers several positive life lessons, including how online behavior can impact real-life situations. Janet Tashijan employs metaphors to reinforce themes about the rapid dissemination of information on the internet. For example, the motif of things “spreading” is prevalent throughout the novel, as seen in examples such as fire, memes, and lice. My Life as a Meme is a quick and enjoyable read that prompts readers to consider the perspectives of others.   

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Darcy explains how she lost her last dog. “I had a Pomeranian as a kid, Fluffy. She never liked to fetch but I kept trying to train her. I threw her a tennis ball, and she ended up getting hit by a car”.  

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual 

  • While the fire is sweeping through Malibu, Derek’s mom prays. Derek thinks, “It’s not often Mom talks about praying, so the seriousness of the situation definitely sinks in.”  

The Desert Challenge

Sophie loves camp – except for all the creepy crawlies. Getting trapped in the tent with a Daddy Long Legs is terrifying, and spiders make her scream. It’s so embarrassing. But then a mysterious compass transports her to a fiercely hot desert, where Bear Grylls, her guide, is waiting. The sun is beating down, and together they must trek to find water and overcome the dangers of lurking in the dunes.

Sophie’s fear of all bugs is extreme. When she sees a bug in her tent, she thinks, “Insects just made her feel sick, and there was nothing she could do about it. She hated them all. Spiders, wasps, bees, beetles, caterpillars, earwigs. . .” While readers may not relate to her fear of bugs, she remains a likable character because she openly admits to her fear and never complains about it. When Sophie is transported to the desert, she eagerly learns about the dangers lurking in the desert as well as how to survive.

During her adventure, Bear shows her how to survive, including how the desert provides food. Sophie discovers that eating a scorpion isn’t as disgusting as expected, and she overcomes her fear when she sees “an enormous snake, coiled, and staring right at her.” Instead of panicking, she is “strangely calm. [The desert] was changing her for the better, making her tougher. She was learning to deal with shock and trauma like someone who could handle the pressure of the desert.”

The Desert Challenge has large text and illustrations that will appeal to readers and help readers visualize the story’s events. Because the book is written in the UK, some of the terms will be unfamiliar. For example, the zipline is referred to as a zipwire, and a flashlight is called a torch. Additionally, some of the desert terms may be new to readers, but the context clues make it easy to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. For example, Bear explains that a wadi is “a dry riverbed.”

The Bear Grylls Adventure Series books can be read as a standalone and do not need to be read in order. Each book focuses on a different child at the outdoor activity camp. Once the camper is given the magical compass, they meet the adventurer, Bear, in an amazing place and learn new skills and facts they can take with them back to their real life. Each book aligns with Common Core Standards, making it suitable for educational purposes. Plus, the book is printed “in a reader-friendly font and design” to help those with dyslexia. Three pages of additional information about deserts are included at the end of the book.

The story’s conclusion is abrupt, making it feel as if Sophie’s journey was cut off too quickly. However, readers familiar with the Bear Grylls Adventure Series will enjoy the familiar format and the easy-to-understand plot. The Desert Challenge teaches important lessons about overcoming your fears. The engaging format, the simple plot, and the encouraging message make The Desert Challenge a good choice for readers who aren’t ready to tackle longer, more complex books.

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Bear kills a scorpion in order to eat it. “He pulled out his knife and killed it calmly and quickly, then cut off the stinger on its tail and put the scorpion in his pocket.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • When Sophie falls off a zipline, she thinks, “What kind of idiot can’t even sit on a zipwire?” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Percy Jackson has fought monsters, titans, and gods. But now he faces his greatest challenge yet: college admissions. In order to attend New Rome University, Percy needs to earn three recommendation letters from Greek gods. After earning his first letter by finding the cupbearer Ganymede’s missing chalice, Percy was enjoying living a quest-free life. But as the son of Poseidon, Percy rarely gets a break from being a hero. When Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads, promises to write a recommendation letter for Percy in exchange for a week of pet sitting, he can’t refuse.  

With the help of his girlfriend Annabeth, and his best friend Grover, Percy hopes that looking after Hecate’s hellhound and polecat will be a piece of cake. But Hecate’s mysterious mansion is filled with temptations, and her mischief-minded pets are eager to cause trouble. When Grover’s appetite gets the better of him and he drinks one of Hecate’s potions, chaos is unleashed. And so are Hecate’s pets. As Grover tears through the house in a potion-induced frenzy, Hecuba the hellhound and Gale the polecat escape to romp around New York City.   

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must find Hecate’s missing pets and repair her mansion before she gets home, or they will face the goddess’s wrath.  

Percy Jackson is a witty, strong, and heroic character. As the narrator, he guides the reader through the story in a way that is engaging and humorous. Throughout the novel, Percy proves himself to be a compassionate and capable leader. He learns from his mistakes and uses the knowledge that he has gained from previous experiences to ensure that he keeps his friends safe. He also maintains a positive outlook, despite the challenging circumstances. 

Percy is joined by Annabeth and Grover, who are both strong and inspirational characters. Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, is a fierce warrior and strategist. She often uses her wisdom and intelligence to think her way out of situations, and she uses her skills to protect her friends. Grover is a selfless satyr with a big heart. He is in tune with nature and his emotions, using these skills to advocate for the natural world.   

While Wrath of the Triple Goddess is the seventeenth book in the Percy Jackson universe, it is still understandable and enjoyable for readers who are unfamiliar with Rick Riordan’s previous works. The main details are summarized for new readers, and the plot is straightforward. Readers also do not need to be familiar with Greek mythology to enjoy this book. Longtime fans will appreciate reading about the adventures of familiar characters and will enjoy many references and callbacks to the previous books.  This novel contains Rick Riordan’s recognizable style and humor but differs from Riordan’s previous works since the conflict is less high-stakes, and the overall tone is more whimsical.    

This story contains themes of friendship, perseverance, and compassion. Throughout the novel, Percy and his friends succeed because of the faith they place in each other. They are stronger as a team and work together to solve their problems. The trio also faces many different challenges, but they are determined to keep on fighting. They don’t give up on each other or their goals. Ultimately, the characters are compassionate and forgive one another for the mistakes they make. Rather than blaming Grover for the pets going missing, Annabeth and Percy reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and work with him to find a solution. Wrath of the Triple Goddess is a light-hearted and entertaining addition to the world of Percy Jackson.  

Sexual Content   

  • Before parting ways, Percy and Annabeth kiss goodbye outside Annabeth’s school. “She gave me a big wet kiss.”  
  • Percy and Annabeth kiss after eating an antidote, which helped them recover from a magical gas that gave them animal features. “I kissed Annabeth, though my breath probably smelled like cinnamon and bug shells.”   

Violence   

  • Percy discovers a hellhound puppy with a wound on its back. Percy suspects the puppy was attacked by some type of monster. “His black fur was matted with gunk. Flies buzzed around his cherry-red eyes. His ears were back, and he trembled with fear. A nasty-looking cut zigzagged across his back, like he’d been attacked by something with claws.” The puppy recovers.  
  • Zombies attack Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Percy “cut down the first reanimated corpse, then sliced another two undead into dust. Meanwhile, Annabeth launched herself at another dead guy, driving her dagger into his face, while Grover goat-kicked one right through the windshield of a parked Toyota.” The trio defeats the zombies. 
  • A bear-monster attacks Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Percy “got to the bear before she could claw Annabeth and [he] slashed with [his sword]—cutting clean through [the monster’s] right paw. The paw went flying.” The bear-monster recovers.  

Drugs and Alcohol   

  • Percy and Annabeth drink nectar to regain their strength. “Percy gulped it down. A surge of warmth washed through [his] organs. [He] recognized the sensation. It was nectar—the drink of the gods.”  

Language     

  • Percy learns that he will be picked up from school by a family member, rather than taking the subway by himself. When he learns this, he thinks “it made me look like a doofus. . .”  
  • Animals called “hellhounds” are referred to frequently. 
  • Characters rarely say expressions such as “Oh, gods.”  
  • Percy jokingly calls his friend Leo a doofus twice.    

Supernatural   

  • Hecate is referred to as the “goddess of ghosts.” 
  • Percy thinks he sees a ghost while walking towards a park. Percy “thought [he] saw a glowing blue apparition—the figure of a child on a bicycle, pedaling away from us in terror. When [Percy] blinked, it was gone.”  
  • Percy communicates telepathically with three eels in Hecate’s mansion. The eels lie to Percy to try to get him to feed them extra fish. “The eels were telling me all about it telepathically. Their thoughts chiseled their way into my skull like ice picks.” Percy occasionally communicates with the eels throughout the novel.  
  • Grover drinks a potion from Hecate’s laboratory that turns him into a giant goat. Percy discovers him sleeping on the floor in Hecate’s ruined mansion. “And in the middle of all this chaos was a mountain of hairy flesh, snoring with gusto, its two massive shaggy legs propped against the kitchen island, its moose-size hooves pointing towards the ceiling.” Grover recovers and goes back to normal after letting out a large belch.  
  • During a battle against zombies, a zombie touches Percy, and he has a vision of the Siege of Troy. “When I looked up, I was no longer in Queens. I knelt on a barren, battle-scarred hillside. To my right, the city of Troy was burning.” Percy wakes up from this vision and continues fighting.    
  • Grover goes into a trancelike state and summons a large number of squirrels. “Then the squirrels began to arrive. Three scrambled down the nearest tree trunk and hopped onto Grover’s back. Another raced out of the bushes and leaped onto his shoulder. Two more tunneled through the leaves and skittered up Grover’s legs. Within a minute, there were dozens, maybe hundreds.” Grover speaks with the squirrels, and they help him find Hecate’s missing pet polecat. After communicating with Grover, the squirrels leave, and Grover recovers. 
  • Percy shadow-travels with Hecuba, the pet hellhound. Shadow-travelling is a type of teleportation that hellhounds are capable of. Percy “was pulled off [his] feet. A dark portal whirled at the edge of the roof, and as Hecuba jumped through it [he was] sucked into the shadow-world.” Percy and Hecuba shadow-travel across the world for seven pages and stop when they get back to Hecate’s mansion.  
  • Percy is sprayed in the face with a potion that paralyzes him. “The [potion] got in my nostrils, my eyes, my mouth. . . Then my mouth stopped working. My arms turned into sandbags. My legs crumpled. I crashed sideways to the floor, completely paralyzed.” Percy recovers after being revived by Grover.  
  • A magical gas hits Annabeth, Percy, and Grover, which transforms them. Annabeth’s head turns into an owl’s, Percy’s arms turn into octopus tentacles, and Grover’s goat legs turn into human legs. “Where [Annabeth’s] face had been a second before, two huge black eyes stared out over a hooked golden beak. Her head had turned into a heart-shaped expanse of white plumage, rimmed with speckled brown feathers. From the neck up, [Annabeth] was a barn owl. . . Where my arms used to be were eight thick purple tentacles lined with pink suction cups. . . [Grover] was staring down at his legs and weeping. Where his furry goat hindquarters had been, there was bare skin, forward-articulating knees, and instead of hooves. . . feet.” They all return to their normal selves after eating a magical antidote.  
  • Percy makes a magical antidote to return himself and his friends to normal after the magical gas transformed them. “Annabeth tore into the second [antidote] with her sharp, hooked bill. . . She doubled over, breathing heavily. When she straightened again, she was normal Annabeth – human face, human hair, with the scent of her usual apple shampoo.” The antidote is effective, and they return to normal.  
  • Percy, Annabeth, and Grover summon ghosts in a graveyard to help them repair Hecate’s mansion. “The dark silhouette deepened, peeling itself from the bricks and taking on a smoky form like a cloud of coal dust.” They take the ghosts to the mansion, and once it is repaired, they release the ghosts.    

Spiritual Content   

  • This novel is centered around Greek mythology and contains frequent depictions of and references to Ancient Greek gods.  

by Kelly Barker 

Gravity Falls: Lost Legends

Four new short, illustrated stories from the Gravity Falls universe explode from the page in this exciting graphic novel! Shmebulock, the gnome who is cursed to only speak his name—except for one night every 1,000 years—spills the beans on four thrilling new stories! After each story, he presents a witty joke or a brief epilogue, concluding each story in a satisfying manner. 

In Face It, Pacifica Northwest comes to her friends, Mabel and Dipper Pines, hoping for some magic to make her ageless. Against their wishes, she summons the monster Mr. What’s-His-Face, who steals Mabel’s face! Dipper and Pacifica must travel to an underground monster market to get it back. Pacifica overcomes her vanity when she realizes that beauty is not the most important aspect of a person. 

In Comix Up!, Stanley Pines (Dipper and Mabel’s grand-uncle) accidently curses a comic book and then gets sucked into it. Dipper, Mabel, their friends Soos and Wendy, and their other grand-uncle Stanford, all must travel through various comic book styles to save him. Stanley Pines initially makes fun of comic books but later reveals that he actually loves comic books and is jealous because his comic book series never took off. 

In Don’t Dimension It, Mabel gets transported to an alternate dimension where everyone is another version of her! As her grand-uncles try to save her, she must work together with her other selves and learn a valuable lesson about the dangers of selfishness.  

Finally, in The Jersey Devil’s in the Details, Stanley and Stanford Pines flashback to when they were kids, solving the mystery of who stole their dad’s gold chain. They encounter a rival set of mystery-solving twins, as well as the Jersey Devil itself. Then they confront their relationship difficulties with their father and each other.  

The graphic novel format of this book will appeal to many readers because of how bright and vibrant the illustrations are. Each story has a new illustrator, meaning the styles slightly change depending on the story—for example, Don’t Dimension It, which is about Mabel, is drawn in a slightly more cutesy style. Furthermore, Comix Up! uses comic book illustration style in an incredibly fun way—the style of illustration regularly changes from manga to Peanuts-influenced to superhero-esque! Each page of each story has numerous speech and thought bubbles, so readers get lots of chances to read real dialogue rather than only looking at pictures. 

The main characters of each story are humorous and entertaining, but also often overcome a flaw in an admirable fashion. Because the characters learn more about themselves and how to be kinder people, their journeys are truly charming, and it is easy to fall in love with them. Furthermore, highlighting each characters’ flaws portrays them as realistic, three-dimensional characters rather than perfect heroes.  

Despite the light-hearted tone of the book, the stories deal with serious topics such as vanity, self-esteem, selfishness, and more. Pacifica’s aforementioned issues with vanity are one, but Stanley Pines’ self-consciousness as the “dumb twin” is also addressed in The Jersey Devil’s in the Details. Furthermore, Mabel must confront how, despite her intentions, she can be unwittingly self-centered and not think about what anyone else wants. She learns a valuable lesson about being more aware of others. These lessons are articulated quite gracefully, without feeling out-of-place or preachy. 

The graphic novel is a lot of fun, but it might not be very fulfilling for readers who have not seen the original show Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls is a cartoon on Disney Channel about twins Dipper and Mabel moving to the supernatural town of Gravity Falls and discovering its mysteries. There are numerous references to the show, and readers unfamiliar with it will likely be confused. However, for readers who are familiar with the show, this book is a fantastic addition because it further develops the characters’ traits while maintaining the same tone as the source material. 

Gravity Falls: Lost Legends is a fantastic addition to the original show Gravity Falls, and a truly entertaining comic book in its own right. The illustrations are vibrant and entertaining, and the book boasts a surprising depth, as it develops the characters into full-fledged individuals and empathetically addresses their flaws. The quality of this book and the richness of its storytelling raise the bar for TV show novelizations. You can find more humorous, action-packed fun by reading the Hilo Series by Judd Winick and the InvestiGators Series by John Patrick Green. 

Sexual Content  

  • In Face It, it is revealed that Stanford Pines dated a siren.  
  • Pacific insults Dipper by saying, “Just like how you care about kissing aliens or whatever!” Dipper responds, “I’ve never kissed an alien! I’ve never kissed anyone!” 
  • Pacifica gives Dipper a hug. Later, she texts him, claiming that the hug wasn’t on purpose and that Dipper shouldn’t “get the wrong idea or anything.” Unfortunately, she accidentally texts Mabel, who gets excited and thinks Pacifica likes Dipper romantically. Mabel asks, “WHEN’S THE WEDDING LOLLLLLL” and sends kissy emojis.  
  • In Comix Up, there’s a brief visual gag where the characters are illustrated in a romantic manga style. Mabel is attracted to many of the characters, including an attractively-drawn sink, and a boy named Gideon, who tells Mabel, “Help me collect the seven crystal sailor angel capture cards, and then we can finally kiss!” Mabel refuses. 

Violence  

  • In Face It, a vendor in the underground monster market, called the Crawlspace, sells, “Severed hands! Straight from a wet cave!” 
  • When Dipper and Pacifica trespass, monsters capture them in a net, sell them, and then put them in a sack. “Sold! Hope you like burlap!” declares a monster vendor. 
  • To protect Dipper and Mabel, Pacifica sets Mr. What’s-His-Face on fire using some magic pills. Mr. What’s-His-Face yells, “Aughh!! My face! My beautiful flesh-tornado of a face!”  
  • Mr. What’s-His-Face threatens to kill Pacifica, Dipper, and Mabel. Mr. What’s-His-Face yells, “When I get my hands on you, they’ll never find your faceless bodies!” 
  • Dipper and Mabel’s grand-uncle Stanford uses a sci-fi ray gun to freeze Mr. What’s-His-Face in a block of ice. “Prepare to be destroy—ack!” 
  • In Comix Up, there is an extensive amount of humorous, comic violence. The characters dodge obstacles such as anvils, dynamite, and swinging logs, which make comedic sounds like “Zoip!” “Poomp!” or “Brak!”  
  • There is a zombie who rises from the grave. He has an eyeball hanging out of his skull. He is only in one panel. There is no dialogue about his decomposed state, but the zombie says, “Nyaaaaaargh.”  
  • Mabel breaks the fourth wall, grabbing the speech bubble and attacking a superhero with it. When she does, the comic superhero cries, “Augh!! My one weakness!”  
  • The characters all gain comic superpowers and defeat the superheroes—their powers include “Telekinervousness,” “Cutting blades and cutting sarcasm,” “Growing bigger every time [Soos] says ‘dude,’” and using a rainbow as a weapon. 
  • Out of frustration and resentment, Stanley Pines threatens to poison a character’s food. Stanley Pines says, “I’ll poison your lasagna, Sarcasti-pup!” after Sarcasti-pup makes fun of him. 
  • In Don’t Dimension It, Mabel travels to the Nightmare Realm and a giant hand with a mouth in the palm tries to eat her but fails. She cries, “This can’t be happening! I’m too adorable to die!”  
  • A Cthulhu-esque monster tries to eat Stanley’s head. Stanley emerges from another dimension with the monster on top of him. Stanley says, “Keep looking.”  
  • All of the Mabel versions wield grappling hooks.  
  • An evil version of Mabel sticks Stanley and Stanford to the floor with a sticky gun and attempts to throw them out of the spaceship they’re in. The evil Mabel says, “Sounds like you two need some space. Endless space!” 
  • The good versions of Mabel have a comical fight with the evil version of Mabel. Evil Mabel glues a bunch of Mabels to the ground and severely wounds Military Mabel (who ultimately survives). Good Mabel punches Evil Mabel and sends her into space. “This is for Military Mabel,” declares Good Mabel. 
  • In The Jersey Devil’s in the Details, Stanley ties a knife to a possum in hopes of turning him into a violent, protective pet. Stanley tells his brother, “Say hello to my associate . . . Shanklin the Stab Possum!”  
  • Stanley pushes two rival twins off a small hill after they make fun of him and his brother. Stanley shouts, “Oh my god! We killed the Sibling Brothers!” They are fine and just passed out. 
  • The Jersey Devil, some sort of dinosaur-esque monster, attempts to eat all of the twins, and also breathes fire. It does not harm anyone. Stanford yells, “I think this is the end!”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • In Face It, Pacifica purchases pills “guaranteed to cure your wrinkles and make you a stunning queen, girl.” 

Language    

  • In Face It, Pacifica refers to homeless people as hobos.  
  • Pacifica refers to the monster Mr. What’s-His-Face as a “freak show.” 
  • In Comix Up, it is revealed that, as a kid, Stanley wrote a comic book with swear words in it. Later, a boy picks it up and says, “A book for kids that has swears in it! Cool!” 
  • In Don’t Dimension It, Evil Mabel calls Good Mabel an idiot. When Stanley and Stanford discover Evil Mabel is pretending to be Good Mabel, Stanford exclaims, “Dang it, Stan! You got the wrong one!” 
  • Evil Mabel calls Good Mabel a “giggling punch line” as an insult.  
  • In The Jersey Devil’s in the Details, Stanford and Stanley debate the existence of ghosts’ crotches. Stanford says, “I’m not sure ghosts have crotches.” 
  • After being accused of stealing, Stanley exclaims, “Darn, Pa!”  
  • The circus performers insult Stanford and Stanley for being normal. “Yeah, we ain’t got time for average jacks in freak-town!” says a heavily-tattooed circus player.

Supernatural  

  • This book is almost entirely supernatural. Each story involves the main characters interacting with a supernatural world or element. 
  • In Face It, Pacifica, Dipper, and Mabel encounter a monster called Mr. What’s-His-Face who steals people’s faces. Mr. What’s-His-Face refers to himself in the third-person, declaring, “Mr. What’s-His-Face can fix anything you don’t like about your face for a price.” 
  • Pacifica and Dipper travel to the Crawlspace, an underground paranormal market for monster vendors. Humans are not allowed. Dipper exclaims, “It’s a paranormal black market under the town!”  
  • In Comix Up, Stanley puts a bunch of comic books in a treasure chest, which turns out to be cursed and sentient. “Stan, that chest is cursed!” Stanford cries in horror. 
  • The characters jump into the comic book world, often breaking the fourth wall and experiencing different styles of comic illustration. Stanford warns the group about the dangers of the world, saying, “This world is subjective and unstable and could change styles at any moment!”  
  • In Don’t Dimension It, Dipper, Mabel, Stanford, and Stanley are in the woods trying to clean up damage from a past event that was almost apocalyptic. “We’re searching for leftover multidimensional rips from Weirdmaggedon to patch with aliens adhesive,” explains Stanford. 
  • Mabel gets transported to the Mabel dimension. “Razzle my dazzle, it’s a Mabel bonanza! There’s every possible version of me…” Mabel says in wonder. 
  • In The Jersey Devil’s in the Details, Stanley and Stanford encounter the Jersey Devil, a flying dragon-dinosaur type monster that breathes fire. “Legend has it that this cloven-hooved weirdo of the night hides by the boardwalk and pilfers gold and jewels to add to its collection,” Stanford informs Stanley. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Figure it Out, Henri Weldon

Seventh grader Henri Weldon is transferring from a special education school to a new school, where she’ll be “mainstreamed.” At her new school, she doesn’t know anyone, and she is already behind in her classes. While the rest of Henri’s family excels in school, she struggles with math and needs the help of a tutoring program to pass her classes. 

Henri’s older sister, Kat, offers to help Henri find friends and survive the seventh grade. That is, until Henri befriends the Morgans. The Morgans (Lily, Ana, Vinnie, and Drew) are a group of foster children that Kat dislikes because Lily used to bully her. However, two of the other Morgans, Ana and Vinnie, are incredibly nice to Henri. Ana convinces Henri to try out for soccer, and Vinnie becomes Henri’s math tutor. 

Henri’s friendship with the Morgans creates a rift between Henri and the rest of her family. Henri’s parents don’t want her to play soccer because they want her to focus on school. To make matters worse, Kat won’t talk to Henri because Henri’s friends with Lily. Henri just wants to be accepted for who she is. She tries to be a good student and a good family member. Henri tries to juggle these new aspects of her life, but she needs the support of her family and friends.  

Henri is an incredibly likable character who always tries her best to please everyone. Henri’s conflicts are realistic and showcase the difficulties of navigating relationships in a way that wins her parents’ approval. Many students will relate to Henri as she wants to try new things and create her own path.  

As Henri becomes closer to Ana and Vinnie, she realizes that families are chosen. Even when Henri’s family has disputes, they still choose each other. Throughout the various characters’ dynamics, Davis creates vivid examples of different types of families. Some families are bound together by blood, while other families are formed through unconventional relationships. Henri realizes that families are meant to love and support each other. Henri compares families to a team, saying, “Each member is the glue that makes a team stick, all for one, together.” Like family members, each player has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. While the members of Henri’s team are all different, Henri’s team sticks together just like a family should. 

Figure It Out, Henri Weldon is told from a third-person perspective. This allows readers not only to see Henri’s struggles firsthand but also to gain a broader understanding of the other characters’ feelings.  Henri wants to maintain her friendship with the Morgans, but Kat believes “sisters [are] supposed to have each other’s backs, or at least be on the same team.” By using the third person, readers understand that Kat thinks sisters should always support each other, even if that means Henri has to give up her friendship. This highlights the complicated nature of relationships and shows that people are not always good or always bad.  

Henri’s relationship with the Morgan family creates an interesting contradiction. While Henri lives in a stable two-parent household, the four Morgans come from different backgrounds and are being raised by a foster parent named “Grandma Dot.” However, they choose to be a family, loving and supportive of each other. The Morgans sit together at lunch, support each other’s hopes and dreams, and go to all of Ana Morgan’s soccer games. On the other hand, Henri’s family does their own thing and often seems cold. Henri’s family doesn’t attend her soccer games or understand the type of love Henri needs to be successful. Figure It Out, Henri Weldon shows that traditional households do not create the mold of a true family.  

Henri’s seventh-grade struggles will be incredibly relatable to readers who have faced similar challenges, including family expectations, friendship drama, and change. Readers seeking genuine friends will connect with Henri’s struggles. Like Henri, all readers want to be accepted, and no one wants to be an outcast; however, no one wants to give up who they are just to be accepted. Henri isn’t like the rest of her family, but she still deserves their love and support. Everyone in this story learns what a true family is: a choice to support the ones you love.  

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • There is some name-calling and hurtful teasing. For example, while Henri and Kat ride the bus to school, Lily Morgan picks on Kat, calling her “My Little Pony” and “Rainbow Pony, ” and saying, ” got that Big Bird sweater going on today. I like it.” 

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Football Fumble

The flag football season is in full swing for Franklin Elementary School, and the MVP Club, which comprises five best friends, is preparing for a major showdown against their rival school, Hamilton Elementary School. For the past several years, Hamilton has dominated Franklin’s flag football team, and it always seems like “their players are bigger and better.” However, the MVP Club is determined to change their school’s fortune, and its members have dedicated themselves to practice, teamwork, and super-secret football plays. Will they finally bring home a resounding victory? 

The Football Fumble is an action-packed book about the power of teamwork in the face of difficult challenges. Told from a third-person perspective, the story focuses on the five members of the MVP Club—Max, Alice, Nico, Luke, and Kat—and their roles on their elementary football team. While the book attempts to give each member of the club adequate attention and development, much of the conflict and difficulty revolves around Max, who struggles to complete football plays. Max also faces opposition from Hamilton football team’s bully, Logan, who makes his life more difficult with constant teasing and taunting. Nonetheless, each of the five kids displays exemplary character and fortitude in their ability to work as a team. In addition, their optimistic attitude despite tough times will be inspiring for many readers. Add in the charm of flag football and fun rivalries, and the book and its characters become relatable for readers who have competed in team-dependent sports. 

The book presents a positive outlook on the themes of teamwork and self-belief. Early on in the big game against Hamilton, the MVP Club struggles to execute plays and work well together. However, after leaning into each other’s strengths, such as Kat’s football intelligence and Max’s speed, they turn a disappointing start into an unbelievable victory—something that Kat reiterates after the final whistle: “We didn’t give up when we were down, and we believed in ourselves enough to come back and win the game!” The story reminds readers of the importance of working towards a goal and demonstrates that teamwork and the right mindset can accomplish mighty tasks. 

The book also wraps up Max’s struggle with Logan by having the two characters admit their shortcomings to each other after the game. For example, Logan recognizes his unkind behavior by telling Max that he “should have focused on football instead of teasing you. Sorry. Sometimes I try so hard to be tough.” Through Max and Logan’s repaired relationship, the story teaches readers that bullying can be solved through honest conversations and acknowledgment. 

The Football Fumble is divided into eight small chapters, with each chapter typically comprising eight to twelve pages and containing a couple of hand-drawn illustrations. Although the story doesn’t use advanced diction, its paragraph-oriented structure and longer sentences might be challenging for emerging readers. At the end of the book, a small section provides real-life facts and definitions for key football terms and plays. It also includes a sneak peek of the next MVP book to keep readers interested. Overall, The Football Fumble is a fabulous book that utilizes the sport of football to highlight the importance of teamwork, friendship, and self-belief. Although the characters and plot can be enjoyed by a broader audience, this book will appeal more to football and sports fans alike. 

Sexual Content 

  • None 

Violence 

  • Logan, a mean bully from Hamilton’s football team, makes fun of the opposing teammates. Kat, the kid coach of Franklin’s football team and one of the MVP kids, gets angry and “Kat smooshed her cone right into Logan’s forehead! The cone stuck to Logan’s head for a moment. It made Logan look a little bit like a unicorn.”  

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None 

Language 

  • After Max, one of the main characters in the story, fumbles the football during practice, his friend Alice teases him by shouting, “Butterfingers! Max has butterfingers!” 
  • Logan bullies one of his smaller teammates because he doesn’t run fast enough. Logan says, “My grandmother runs faster than that! You’re out for the next five plays.” 
  • Logan makes fun of Max, calling him names and comparing his small stature and personality to a bunny. Logan says, “Look at this one! He’s small and has big ears, just like a rabbit.” This teasing scene lasts for four pages.  
  • During the coin flip, Logan teases Max, referencing his earlier bunny joke. Logan says, “‘Aww, its Hopper! The wittle bunny came to play football.’ Then, Logan stuck out his upper teeth and made rabbit sounds at Max. ‘Tuc-tuc-tuc!’” 
  • After Logan stops Max from reaching the end zone, he teases Max and references his bunny joke again, saying, “Oh, wook at the poor wittle bunny wabbit. He slipped and messed up. Why don’t you get up and hop along back to the other baby bunnies?” 
  • When Max approaches Logan with the football during a play, Logan mocks Max by pretending to cry and again calling Max a bunny. Logan says, “Aw, wook at the wittle bunny. He can’t go weft and he can’t go wight. Poor wittle bunny is going to cry!” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • None 

Dodsworth in Paris

Dodsworth, a distinguished mouse, and his hilarious friend — a white duck known only as “the duck”—are visiting Paris for the first time. Join this charming duo as they explore the city streets and familiar landmarks of a fictional early 20th-century France, bustling with a menagerie of impeccably dressed animal characters going about their days. 

There is never a dull moment as they dine in a café and visit the Eiffel Tower, bicycling through town, admire the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and sail over Paris in a hot air balloon. A few days in the City of Light provide a charming backdrop for a series of comical missteps and surprising twists for these two complementary characters. After losing their money due to the duck’s whimsy, getting caught up in a chance mishap, and crashing their bicycle—only to end up penniless on a park bench—will these two friends find a way to recover their funds? 

In this chapter book, Egan presents themes of humor, friendship, and resilience through a simple narrative that is sure to delight young readers. Dodsworth and the duck arrive in Paris by sea. Immediately after disembarking the ship, the duck comically picks up an acorn cap and wears it on his head to resemble a beret. Dodsworth is constantly trying to ensure his friend behaves appropriately, while the duck — driven by earnest curiosity — seems to seek mischief at every turn.  On their first morning, a spontaneous desire to scale the towering clock tower leads the duck to climb out of his hotel window and make his way “all the way up” the structure, while Dodsworth is still fast asleep. 

Young readers will relate to the lighthearted setbacks and moments of serendipity that unfold throughout this Parisian holiday. One scene that highlights forgiveness between friends occurs when the duck accidentally loses all their money, leaving Dodsworth furious. Sensing his friend’s anger, a tear “fell onto the duck’s beak.” Dodsworth instantly feels remorseful and reassures him, saying, “Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t cry.” Comically, Egan reveals that the duck wasn’t really crying. “He just had something in his eye for a second.” Readers are left to interpret the moment themselves, knowing the duck’s mischievous nature. Similarly, after a bicycle crash, Dodsworth fears the worst, but after a tense pause, the duck dramatically opens one eye and declares, “Bonjour.” 

The story is suitable for fluent readers who are ready for a book with multiple plotlines. Cheerful watercolor and ink illustrations appear on every page. Many of the illustrations depict the characters’ facial expressions, which will help readers understand their emotions more clearly. For example, after losing all their money, Dodsworth and the duck are seen bicycling down the street, with Dodsworth wearing a furrowed brow of frustration and the duck shedding a tear from his downcast eyes. Another positive aspect of the story is that most of the French words are explained within the text. Additionally, readers can use context clues and illustrations to understand the meanings of unfamiliar words, such as Monsieur and magnifique. Although Dodsworth is a series, the books do not need to be read in order, as each focuses on a distinct storyline. 

Resilience in the face of misfortune, along with the deep bond of friendship between these two characters, brings the story full circle. A chance visit to the Louvre sparked a creative idea that ultimately fell flat, but the characters never gave up. “The duck did not like his friend to be sad. He had an idea.” The idea was a well-intentioned effort to earn money, although it initially failed. What followed was a final twist that will charm young readers and parents alike. Animal-loving readers who are always ready for a little mischief should also read The Great Pet Escape by Victoria Jamieson. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret

Lucy Lancaster is a bright young student who loves her parents, her friends, and her school. She is always the first to enter her second-grade classroom, saying hello to her teacher, Mrs. Welli, and feeding the classroom fish. Her two best friends, Heidi Heckelbeck and Bruce Bickerson, sit next to her in class. 

One morning, Lucy’s teacher announces that the class will be raising caterpillars and watching them turn into butterflies. To Lucy’s dismay, she gets paired with Bryce Beltran instead of Heidi or Bruce. Bryce calls Lucy “boring” for wanting to name one of their caterpillars Tony, and then something strange happens. Lucy’s toes start tingling, and she hiccups! Suddenly, Bryce is no longer opposed to naming the caterpillar Tony. What changed? 

Lucy’s hiccups persist, and strange things continue to happen. One day, Lucy hiccups after seeing her caterpillars become butterflies, and the rest of the class’s caterpillars suddenly transform and escape from their containers. The class erupts into chaos, so Lucy hiccups again, and all of the butterflies gather to safely land on Lucy. Ms. Egli, the visiting librarian, takes Lucy aside and tells her to come see her at the library. Lucy is very nervous. Is Lucy in trouble for the butterflies? 

As it turns out, Ms. Egli is a witch, and Lucy is one too! Lucy’s hiccups show the beginnings of her powers. Ms. Egli leads Lucy to a magical part of the library where Lucy can learn spells to control her powers. Lucy returns to school the next day feeling different but excited for her future as a young witch. 

Told in the third person, Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret follows the magical mishaps of a young girl as she learns that magic does exist. Since readers follow Lucy’s point of view exclusively, their understanding of magic evolves alongside hers as she gradually discovers who she is. Small, strange occurrences become signs of a larger, magical power that will be expanded upon in later books, making for an immersive journey into the life of an almost ordinary second-grader. Even though Lucy must keep her magic a secret, there is no overarching moral or commentary provided on keeping secrets. 

Lucy herself is a relatable and realistic child. She is smart, eager, and friendly, enjoying school and diligently completing her homework. This makes Lucy a likable protagonist whom children can aspire to emulate. When faced with Bryce’s unkindness, Lucy does not respond with cruelty. Instead, she chooses to stand up for herself without putting him down. Parents and children can discuss Lucy and Bryce’s interactions as an introduction to the topic of early childhood bullying. 

Children interested in stories of everyday magic will appreciate the quick and humorous tricks that Lucy manifests with her hiccups. Despite the supernatural quality of her powers, the magic in the Lucy Lancaster Series is very grounded. Lucy’s spells are simple; the first entry in her spellbook is “The Call-It-Back Spell,” an incantation that reverses mistakes. 

Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret is a fun book suitable for independent readers. Large black-and-white illustrations appear on almost every page. The illustrations are charming and highly expressive, effectively highlighting key details of every scene and visually conveying the characters’ emotions. Illustrator Priscilla Burris also drew the page of Lucy’s spellbook containing “The Call-It-Back Spell” in its entirety, adding to the story’s immersion. Other short pieces of text, like the words on Lucy’s magical library card, are included in the illustrations. Each chapter begins with a full-page illustration that seamlessly transitions readers into the next section, picking up where the previous chapter left off. The Lucy Lancaster books can be read as individual stories because each book focuses on a new adventure. 

Lucy Lancaster Has a Secret primarily serves as an introduction to Lucy Lancaster and her magical powers. Readers who enjoyed the Heidi Heckelbeck books will appreciate the familiar characters in Lucy Lancaster, including Heidi herself. The story’s end offers readers a comforting lesson: even if you change as a person, your friends will remain by your side. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • Lucy’s partner for the butterfly project, Bryce, calls Lucy boring for naming a caterpillar. Bryce says, “Only a BORING person would choose a BORING name like Tony.”
  • Lucy’s teacher, Mrs. Welli, exclaims, “Oh my!” when the butterflies are let loose in the classroom. 

Supernatural 

  • The first time Lucy uses her powers, Bryce magically changes her mind about naming a caterpillar. Lucy lets out “a big, loud hiccup,” and her toes start tingling. Immediately afterwards, Bryce calls the caterpillar Tony, signifying that he has suddenly agreed on the name.
  • Lucy wonders to herself if she should let her best friend, Heidi, win their game of Super Flag Tag. In that instant, she hiccups, and her toes tingle. The ensuing spell causes Heidi to find “EXACTLY where [Lucy] was hiding.” 
  • Lucy and Bryce’s two caterpillars become butterflies, and Lucy is so mesmerized by their beauty that she hiccups. Her magic causes all the butterflies in the classroom to hatch at once, their containers popping open. Lucy worried that they would never catch all of the butterflies, and she hiccups again. “One by one, the butterflies landed on Lucy’s arms, shoulders, and even the rim of her glasses, until she was covered from head to toe!” 
  • The librarian, Ms. Egli, takes Lucy to a corridor in the library that has a painting of a witch. Lucy holds up a “golden library card,” and the wall disappears to reveal a hidden entrance to “the magical library.” In this hidden room, books magically fly. 
  • Ms. Egli asks Lucy, “Have you ever thought you might be a witch?” Lucy is astonished by the question, causing her to hiccup and send “a whole shelf of books” flying around the room. One flying book turns into a cat, and Ms. Egli uses a magic key to turn it back into a book. 
  • In the library, a blank “Book of Spells” chooses Lucy to be its next reader. Lucy decides that the first spell she wants to learn is an undoing spell, and the incantation magically appears in the book. 
  • Ms. Egli uses her magic key to make many books fly around the library, and Lucy chants the words to the new “Call-It-Back Spell” in her spellbook to return the books to their piles. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

by Gabrielle Barke 

Sydney

Australia’s largest city benefits from its place “Down Under,” as Sydney has grown into one of the most exciting and booming cities in the world. Inside, see how “Sydneysiders” and other Australians have carved their own identity from a mold created by Great Britain in the 1800s. Read about how today’s new waves of arrivals and visitors are adding diversity and growth to Sydney, while it continues to revel in its sunshine and enthusiasm for life.  

Major World Cities travels the globe to bring readers the up-close story—from yesterday to today—of the people, sights, sounds, and achievements of key urban centers. This series is the ultimate city travel guide. 

Major World Cities: Sydney takes an in-depth look into the city’s history by breaking down information into super-short sections. Each page has blocks of information typed in large font and placed into different-colored boxes to help readers distinguish when a topic changes. In addition, each page has one or more full-color graphic elements, including artwork and photographs. Each page has two to four paragraphs; however, the wide variety of topics may overwhelm some readers. Some words appear in bold text and are defined in the book’s glossary. Nevertheless, the complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary make Sydney best suited for strong readers. 

Anyone interested in Sydney will find Major World Cities: Sydney an interesting nonfiction book with a pleasing format. To show a change of topic, each page uses white and yellow boxes with large headlines. Most illustrations also have a one or two sentence caption that gives additional information. The book contains 18 two-page spreads that describe Sydney’s culture, entertainment, education, and industry, as well as other interesting topics. The book also has a map of the city, a timeline, and a glossary. 

Major World Cities: Sydney is the perfect book for anyone who wants to research Australia’s past and present. Because the book covers so many topics, readers will find other fascinating topics to explore. For example, many don’t know that Great Britain used Sydney as a penal colony or that “a dynamic Scot called Lachlan Macquarie become Governor of New South Wales. . . By the end of his 11-year rule, Sydney was a true city.” Readers will enjoy learning how Sydney has a diverse population and a laid-back lifestyle. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • When Captain Cook and his crew arrived in Australia, “the Aborigines threw spears at the strangers, then ran off into the bush.”  
  • A two-page spread discusses crime and punishment. “By the late 19th century, gangs of thugs known as larrikins roamed the city, terrorizing its inhabitants. They committed many serious crimes, including murder.” There is one illustration of criminals waiting to ambush people on a road.  
  • One illustration shows Aborigines and their supporters protesting. One person has a sign that reads: “Police killed our brothers where is our equal rights for justice.” 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Organized gangs “arrange crimes and run illegal businesses such as drug dealing and gambling.” The Chinese Triads “are mostly involved in drug trafficking, financial crime, or money laundering.” 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual Content  

  • A short paragraph tells what religious groups live in Sydney, but no religious practices are described. “Most early Sydenysiders were Christians: either British Protestants or Irish Roman Catholics . . . Today the city contains many other Christian groups, too, including a large Greek Orthodox community.”  

The Eyes and The Impossible

Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea. His job is to be the Eyes—to see everything that happens within the park and report back to the park’s elders, three ancient Bison. His friends—a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican—work with him as the Assistant Eyes, observing the humans and other animals that share the park and ensuring the Equilibrium is in balance.

But changes are afoot. More humans arrive in the park. A new building, containing mysterious and hypnotic rectangles, goes up. And then there are the goats—an actual boatload of goats—who appear, along with a shocking revelation that changes Johannes’s view of the world. 

The park, nestled by the sea, is a vast, lush sanctuary that is “green and windblown.” The park provides a protected sense of rugged mystery that draws the reader into this story about animals and their relationships. But it’s so much more. This story follows the comical, emotional, and philosophical observations and dilemmas that come when alliances are formed and tested between friends and communities. The day-to-day experiences of the protagonist, Johannes, reach a tipping point when he begins crafting an “impossible” plan that could change the course of his fate and that of those around him. Meanwhile, a heroic act is misunderstood, and new activity in the park places Johannes in danger, threatening both his life and the delicate ecosystem that protects the park’s inhabitants.  

As the narrator, Johannes invites the reader into his world where they meet a collection of memorable characters—his closest friends. The animals are humorous and share emotionally rich, interpersonal bonds that deepen the story. Time is comically exaggerated, much to the reader’s delight. From the start, and woven throughout the narrative, the theme of nature serves to guide, comfort, and amuse Johannes as he navigates the ups and downs of survival. Known for his speed and for running the perimeter of the park, Johannes is proud to be “unkempt and free.” 

Interspersed spiritual themes convey a reverence for nature. The animals express an appreciation for harmony and beauty in the natural world. Johannes perceives God as the sun—he delights in its warmth but also seems to understand it on a biological level, as a vital force behind all life and existence. “God is the sun. Clouds are her messengers. Rain is only rain.” This phrase becomes Johannes’s mantra, and its meaning is open to interpretation, allowing readers to draw their own connections. 

A sequence of exciting and revealing events propels Johannes to uncover his origin story. As plans for the “impossible task” unfold, the reader is drawn into a journey filled with lessons of love, loss, and friendship, resulting in an intelligent and heartwarming read. The story accelerates as Johannes attempts to carry out his plan, sweeping the reader up in a cascade of events that lead to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. 

Eggers taps into deep emotions, the kind that make readers connect with a character and root for them. Themes like success, fear, and happiness are woven into the story in a way that feels universally relatable. In addition, the story features illustrations by Shawn Harris every 30 pages, in the style of classical landscapes from old-world painters. With surprising depth for adults and plenty of charm for kids, The Eyes & The Impossible makes a perfect addition to a child’s reading list. Johannes takes great pride in his friendships and responsibilities: “I have been entrusted with seeing and reporting.” Much like our own lives, his mission is shaped by the relationships he forms, and ultimately, his love for others. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language 

  • In one scene, park rangers yell, “Oh my God” in response to raccoons causing chaos.  

Supernatural  

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • The animals show reverence for nature. Johannes perceives God as the sun—he delights in its warmth but also seems to understand it on a biological level, as a vital force behind all life and existence. 
  • One storyline addresses the loss of purpose and, ultimately, death by depicting a ritual called “coda.” When injured or aged, seagulls take flight and then drop into the sea, signaling the end of life. 

My Survival: A Girl on Schindler’s List

The Nazis forced eleven-year-old Rena Finder and her family into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and her father were sent away. A Girl on Schindler’s List details Rena’s experience as a young Jewish girl during the time of Nazi rule.  

Rena’s time in the ghetto was miserable, but things were going to get worse. Rena and her mother were marched to the Plaszów concentration camp, where they experienced Nazi terror firsthand. Near the end of the war, Rena and her mother were relocated to Auschwitz, where they met Oskar Schindler. In Auschwitz, they were put on Schindler’s list, which allowed Jewish prisoners to work in Schindler’s subcamp. Rena was one of the lucky few because the individuals on Schindler’s list were treated better than other camp members. They were given food, water, and Schindler’s factory also provided them with shelter from harsh winter conditions and death marches.  

Young readers will relate to Rena’s confusion about the world around her and empathize with her as she loses her childhood innocence and the rights she once had, such as the ability to play and learn like the non-Jewish children around her. She feels lost and scared when she is called a “dirty Jew,” and she wonders, “Why did that girl call me dirty? I’m not dirty, I took a shower just this morning.” Many of the chapters end in a question, which solidifies the feeling of confusion. She loses so much at such a young age, and young readers may feel the weight of this loss. As Rena matures, she begins to understand the harsh truths about the world and how much hurt hate can cause. 

Joshua M. Greene works to paint an accurate picture of the horrors Rena faced, making A Girl on Schindler’s List a quick and eye-opening read for young readers. The book includes depictions of murder and death, but the descriptions are handled with tact and grace. The descriptions are from Rena’s point of view, which provides a more innocent perspective on World War II. Each chapter flows smoothly into the next, advancing the story at a steady pace. However, the ending speeds up significantly, making the conclusion feel rushed.  

A Girl on Schindler’s List serves as an accurate first-person account of the horrors of the Holocaust. This novel serves as a tool to enlighten younger readers on the realities of World War II and Nazi Germany. A basic level of background knowledge about World War II is required to understand the context of this novel. The book is worth reading due to its accurate and nuanced perspective on the Nazi regime during World War II. It is narrated by a young girl, which lends it a unique perspective that few other Holocaust books possess. Readers who want to learn more about World War II should read Survival Tails: World War II by Katrina Charman and I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. 

Sexual Content 

  • None

Violence 

  • Rena hears about the torture in camps from adults. “In some camps, prisoners were worked to death. In other camps, prisoners were suffocated in gas chambers and their bodies burned to ashes in crematorium ovens.” 
  • Rena’s grandparents were taken away as punishment for hiding from Nazi guards. “I will never forget the expression on my mother’s face watching her parents walking away to be murdered.” Rena never sees her grandparents again. 
  • Amon Goeth, a Nazi guard at Auschwitz, finds pleasure in torturing Jews. “Each morning, he aimed his rifle at people coming and going and killed people at random.”  
  • As Rena and her mother are taken to Auschwitz, Rena hears gunshots outside the orphanage. She hears someone sharing the fate of the children: “Someone came up and whispered that the children in the orphanage were being murdered.” 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • Vodka is used as a bartering tool once Rena and her mother are freed from the camp. 

Language 

  • The word “Jew” is occasionally used in a derogatory way. For example, a girl yells, “Go home, you dirty Jew,” to Rena.  

Supernatural 

  • None

Spiritual 

  • Rena and her parents practice the Jewish religion. “We secretly held religious services at our apartment.” Religion is only mentioned once because the story is from Rena’s perspective, and being Jewish is just another part of her everyday life.   

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. . .  

On the remote desert planet Tatooine, a young slave named Anakin Skywalker dreams of freedom. One fateful day, two Jedi knights discover that Anakin is exceptionally strong in the Force. Anakin grows up to become a powerful Jedi and a hero of the Republic in the Clone Wars, but eventually is seduced by the dark side. Now, the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader, Anakin, betrays the Jedi Order and helps his master establish the first Galactic Empire. 

Anakin’s son, Luke Skywalker, grows up on Tatooine, raised by his aunt and uncle and watched over by his father’s former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When two droids with an important mission show up on his farm, Luke joins Obi-Wan to rescue Princess Leia, destroying the Empire’s feared Death Star in the process. Now a hero of the Rebellion, Luke trains to become a Jedi knight, learning the truth of his father’s identity. In a final confrontation with Darth Vader and the Emperor, Luke resists the temptation of the Dark Side and helps redeem his father from the evil he had been consumed by, saving the galaxy and restoring peace. 

Thirty years later, a girl named Rey has spent her entire life as a lonely scavenger on the planet Jakku, yearning for a sense of belonging in a harsh world. Drawn into the ongoing conflict between the Resistance and the First Order, Rey discovers her sensitivity to the Force. Upon uncovering the location of the missing Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, she is shocked to learn that Luke is not interested in returning to the fight. The older Jedi reluctantly agrees to train Rey as she tries to find her place in the galaxy while avoiding the temptation of the dark side. 

The Skywalker Saga is an entertaining retelling of the first eight films of the Star Wars saga, specifically told through the lens of each trilogy’s main protagonist—Anakin, Luke, and Rey. There are eight chapters, one for each film. The stories do not begin when the film starts, but with the introduction of each protagonist.  However, the overall plot is identical to the films. The Skywalker Saga is essentially an illustrated chapter book, with an average of seven to ten sentences per page, and features beautiful illustrations by artist Brian Rood that seem to have been taken directly from the movies, reminiscent of Drew Struzan’s iconic Star Wars poster art. The images are large; some take up entire pages. The combination of a concise, engaging retelling by author Delilah S. Dawson and Rood’s illustrations makes for a compelling combination.  

Overall, Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga would be a good introduction to the saga for young readers and a key addition to any Star Wars fan’s book collection. Even if you’ve seen the movies a million times, Dawson still makes the story entertaining. The Skywalker Saga streamlines and simplifies complex plot points, making them understandable and engaging for readers of all ages. 

Sexual Content 

  • While enslaved by Jabba the Hutt, Princess Leia is forced to wear a metal bikini. “Leia was dressed in dancing clothes and forced to sit near Jabba’s throne.” 

Violence 

  • In The Phantom Menace, “Obi-Wan watched in horror as Qui-Gon sprang into action, only to be stopped forever by a swift slash of the dark warrior’s red saber.”  
  • Anakin watched in horror as “the blue electricity enrobed Master Windu and hurled him out the window to his death.”  
  • During Attack of the Clones, after Anakin discovers the Tusken Raiders have held his mother captive, Anakin “showed no mercy . . . he slaughtered the entire encampment.” 
  • In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin chops off Count Dooku’s hands in a lightsaber duel, before ultimately beheading him. “Finally, he found his Jedi calm, and with one swift stroke, he sliced off Count Dooku’s hands and caught the Sith’s lit red lightsaber midair.” 
  • In Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader uses the Force to choke his pregnant wife Padme “to silence her, to punish her for hurting him so.” The Emperor later confirms that this led to her death. “The Emperor gave him a pitying look. ‘It seems, in your anger, you killed her.’” 
  • In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker “found smoke rising from their ravaged home. Luke’s aunt and uncle had been killed by the Empire.” 
  • In A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi confronts his former apprentice, Darth Vader, on the Death Star. To buy Luke and his friends time to escape, “He held his blue lightsaber and closed his eyes. As Luke watched, helpless, Darth Vader struck the old man down with a fatal blow.” 
  • During the climactic final duel in Return of the Jedi, when Luke refuses to join the Dark side, “the Emperor snarled and began his final blast of Force lightning to kill the young Jedi, once and for all. Suddenly, Darth Vader picked up Emperor Palpatine and threw him down a shaft at the center of the Death Star!” On the next page, there is an illustration of the Emperor falling to his death. 
  • In Return of the Jedi, Leia, a captive of Jabba the Hutt, “wrapped her chain across Jabba’s neck and choked the powerful gangster who had dared to treat her as a slave, ending his cruel reign.” There is a two-page illustration of Leia choking Jabba.  
  • In The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren murders his father, Han Solo, during a tense confrontation on Starkiller Base, “just as the sky outside went dark, he ignited the red blade, driving it through his father.”  
  • In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren shows Rey an altered vision of himself, with his former master (and uncle), Luke Skywalker, confronting the younger Kylo with a drawn lightsaber. Kylo “lit his lightsaber to block the killing stroke, then used the Force to pull the temple down on top of his master.”  
  • In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren later betrays his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, by “slicing him in half” with a lightsaber. 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi visit a cantina on Tatooine. During an altercation between Luke and a pair of aliens, Obi-Wan offers to buy one of them a drink. 

Language 

  • The book contains examples of mild language throughout. For instance, in The Empire Strikes Back Princess Leia calls Han Solo a “stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy looking nerf herder.” Generally, the profanity in Star Wars is toned down compared to its real-world counterparts.  

Supernatural Content 

  • In A New Hope, the Force itself can be interpreted as some form of supernatural entity. As Obi-Wan explains to Luke, “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” 

Spiritual Content 

  • The Force is viewed as a form of religion by some characters, most notably Han Solo, who initially doubts the Force and its powers. As Han tells Luke in A New Hope, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” 

The Cave Challenge

Harry likes to look his best – new white trainers for indoor games, designer jeans for the evening Camp barbecue. But when he meets Bear Grylls exploring an underground maze of caves and tunnels, Harry realizes that his clothes are going to be put to the test – and so is he, if they want to make it back to the surface. Will Harry discover that there’s more to the right kit than just keeping it clean?  

Readers will instantly connect with Harry, who is overly fashion-conscious but seems destined to get dirty. Harry “hated the idea of getting filthy. He would never usually sign up for anything that meant he would trash his clothes or look stupid.” When he’s magically transported into a cave system, Harry has no choice other than to belly crawl through bat guano, swim inside a tunnel, and complete other tasks that get him filthy. At first, Harry’s dislike of dirt is comical, which makes Harry’s transformation all the more satisfying for readers. 

With Bear Grylls as a guide, Harry faces his fears and gains confidence along the way. Throughout the adventure, Harry learns many important life lessons, such as the importance of maintaining a positive outlook. Bear also teaches him that, “Sometimes you just have to take things as they come. . . Some things, you just don’t worry about until you have to.” In the end, Harry no longer cares about keeping his clothes clean because “he had helped Bear get through the caves by being brave and working hard, not because of what style of outfit he was wearing.” 

The Cave Challenge’s large text and illustrations will appeal to readers. The illustrations help readers visualize the story’s events, while also adding humor and suspense. When cave terms are used, the story incorporates a definition, making it easier to read. Additionally, the book is printed “in a reader-friendly font and design” to help those with dyslexia. Two pages of additional information about caves are included at the end of the book. These facts discuss a soccer team in Thailand that got trapped in a cave. Readers who would like more information on the team’s experiences should read All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat. 

The Bear Grylls Adventure Series books can be read as a standalone and do not need to be read in order. Each book focuses on a different child at the outdoor activity camp. Once the camper is given the magical compass, they meet the adventurer, Bear, in an amazing place and learn new skills and facts they can take with them back to their real life. Each book aligns with Common Core Standards, making it suitable for educational purposes.  

The Cave Challenge takes readers into the depths of a natural cave system, where they’ll discover many fascinating facts about the formation of caves. When Harry is uncertain or afraid, Bear’s voice is kind and gentle, which allows Harry to overcome his fears. While Harry’s antics are often funny, Bear never rebukes or teases him. Instead, Bear helps Harry view crawling through caves as a fun adventure, and that tone is infectious. While the plot isn’t unique, young readers looking for adventure will find the story engaging, and it will encourage them to try new things. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • A magical compass transports Harry to an extensive cave system. One minute, Harry is at camp, and the next, “Camp had vanished.”  
  • Without any explanation, Harry is transported back to camp.

Spiritual Content  

  • Deep in the cave, Harry finds a statue of a person. Bear says, “The ancient peoples who used to live in this part of the world thought the caverns were entrances to the Underworld, so they would throw offerings in for their gods.” Out of respect, Harry leaves the statue where he found it. 

The Story of the Wright Brothers

The Wright brothers were one of the most famous inventors in history, and their hard work, intelligence, and perseverance helped them create one of the greatest inventions of all time: the airplane. These brothers forever transformed the world of transportation and turned the skies into a valuable method of travel. Today, their legacy is seen in the millions of airplanes flying across the globe, and their desire to conquer the sky led to the growing reliance and importance of air travel in our society. However, the Wright brothers’ journey wasn’t easy, and the construction of the airplane didn’t come without failure. 

Wilbur and Orville Wright were intelligent and curious children born shortly after the American Civil War. They were avid readers and inventors, especially intrigued by the prospect of flight. With technology progressing rapidly during these years, the brothers decided to do the impossible: build a flying machine! However, after many failed attempts and broken prototypes, the future looked bleak for the aspiring innovators. Could they overcome the challenges and successfully build an airplane? 

The Story of the Wright Brothers tells the biographical story of Wilbur and Orville’s journey as the inventors of the airplane. Told from the perspective of an outside narrator, the book follows the brothers’ lives, beginning with their childhood curiosity for gadgets and ending with their lasting impact on the world of air travel. While other characters, such as friends and family, briefly appear in the story to encourage the brothers, the chapters primarily focus on the Wright brothers’ work on the airplane. Thus, they are portrayed as inspirational figures whose perseverance through numerous failed attempts can serve as an exemplary and influential model for readers. The difficulties and challenges that arose from the airplane’s creation also lend the story an authentic and genuine feel.  

The biography presents a positive outlook on the themes of hard work and perseverance. Although the Wright brothers endured numerous failures with their prototype airplanes, their passion for inventing a functional aircraft highlights the book’s message about never giving up. The Wright brothers’ story inspires readers to pursue their dreams and overcome adversity. The brothers “didn’t give up, even when flight looked impossible. These smart men persevered when things got tough—and they succeeded!” 

As part of the A Biography for New Readers Series, The Story of the Wright Brothers is educationally oriented and includes additional supplementary materials, such as fun facts, discussion questions, a reading quiz, and a glossary. Colorful, hand-drawn illustrations are sprinkled every one to three pages, and the end of the book contains real-life photographs that highlight key moments of the Wright brothers’ lives. While some text features advanced vocabulary that may be challenging for younger readers, The Story of the Wright Brothers delivers an exciting tale about two of history’s most famous inventors. The biography is an engaging story that will inspire readers to create the next big invention. Curious readers who want to learn more about the flight should also read The Wright Brothers: Nose-Diving into History by Erik Slader & Ben Thompson, Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane by Kirsten W. Larson, and Ada Twist Scientist Exploring Flight by Andrea Beaty & Dr. Theanne Griffith. 

Sexual Content 

  • None 

Violence 

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content 

  • None 

Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference

When Megan Rapinoe retired from professional soccer in 2023, she left behind one of the most extraordinary careers in the sport. Rapinoe won an Olympic gold medal, two FIFA Women’s World Cups, and the FIFA Player of the Year award. These accomplishments coincided with victories off the field as well. An advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and equal pay for female athletes, Rapinoe inspired countless people who may not have felt welcome in professional sports. In this book, readers will follow Rapinoe’s illustrious career, from her beginnings as a promising junior athlete to her many achievements as an Olympic athlete.

Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference is divided into three short chapters, and the last four pages are filled with a glossary, citations, and an index. Chapter One describes Rapinoe’s childhood, where she discovered her passion for soccer and joined her first team. Readers will learn how Rapinoe’s love for the sport persisted through numerous obstacles. Her family lived two and a half hours away from where her team practiced, and the round trip was 350 miles. Although the journey was difficult for Rapinoe and her family, her team made it to the finals of the US Youth Soccer National Championships – the first of many accomplishments for Rapinoe.

Chapter Two follows Rapinoe’s college career. In her first season with the Portland Pilots, Rapinoe scored seven game-winning goals, helping the team win the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. This victory led to a life-changing phone call: Rapinoe was invited to join the US Women’s Senior National Team.

Chapter Three follows Rapinoe’s professional career. At this time, Rapinoe discovered that she and many of her teammates were gay, but they hid their identities from the press and their fans. Rapinoe soon made her identity public and became an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. “[Coming out] can be a difficult, emotional process,” Anderson writes. “Megan hoped that coming out would set a positive example for others.”

The book is presented as a comic book, with one to three brightly colored panels per page. The characters’ dialogue appears in word balloons, but most of the information is presented through captions in the corner of the page. The information is spread over the pages, so young readers are not overwhelmed by the text. Each caption contains one to three sentences. The syntax is simple and accessible, though the book uses several soccer terms such as “cross” and “penalty kick.” Readers unfamiliar with soccer can consult the book’s glossary for the meaning of each term.

Megan Rapinoe: Athletes Who Made a Difference is a thoroughly researched introduction to a monumental figure. Casey Ella Fredrick’s kinetic illustrations of Rapinoe’s many games will excite soccer fans, but the book is a valuable read for any reader. Rapinoe’s story demonstrates to young readers the importance of standing up for what is right and speaking out when they are being treated unfairly.

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Shadow Fox

Shadow the fox does not trust humans. Well, except for Nan, who feeds her chunks of fish behind a lakeside motel every night. When Nan goes missing, a man from the mysterious Whistlenorth Island comes ashore to seek the aid of Nan’s granddaughter, Bee, whom he thinks is destined not only to help Nan, but also to save Whistlenorth from the greedy and destructive Night Islanders.  

The plans go topsy-turvy when it becomes obvious that Bee does not have the magic powers of a chosen one — but Shadow does! Can a fox really rescue an island of people? As Shadow grudgingly comes to trust her new human companions, she and Bee develop a mystical bond, a special connection between human and animal that might be the key to driving the Night Islanders from Whistlenorth for good.  

The story is told from Shadow’s point of view, offering a unique perspective and allowing readers to understand how environmental destruction impacts wild animals. Shadow was hunting when a group of men cleared an entire swath of forest and killed Shadow’s mother and sister. Afterwards, Shadow doesn’t want to “like” anyone, especially humans. Shadow’s quest isn’t just about saving the people of Whistlenorth; the fox also has to accept her family’s death and allow others into her heart.  

Shadow and Bee discover they have a special magical bond that allows them to hear each other’s thoughts. Bee often comments on Shadow’s thoughts and helps her understand the human world. In addition, Bee gives Shadow confidence by saying, “Don’t you ever doubt yourself! I used to think that being wild was a bad thing, but being wild is the best thing.” In the end, Shadow realizes that she doesn’t need to act human to defeat the Night Islanders. Instead, she needs to think like a fox. This reinforces the idea that Shadow does not need to become a tame pet in order to save Whistlenorth.  

Shadow also has a special bond with a bird that she helped hatch. At first, Shadow does not want to care about the bird, but the bird refuses to leave Shadow’s side. Shadow notices the bird is “gazing at me as if I am his everything. I am the sun and the moon and the fish and the stars. Yes, he is just a bird, but he is everything worth fighting for, all wrapped up in feathers.” Shadow’s relationship with the bird and Bee helps Shadow overcome her grief and allows others into her heart. In addition, it is these relationships that give him the ability to save Whistlenorth. In the end, Shadow is motivated to save the isle because it’s the only way to save her friends. 

Shadow Fox has a strong environmental focus that helps readers understand the importance of caring for everything “wild.” The death of Shadow’s family highlights what happens when natural areas are destroyed to make room for progress. The environmental focus is seamlessly integrated throughout the book, without being overwhelming or preachy. Bee’s grandmother warns: “‘Make no mistake. If the foxes disappear, if the birds disappear, humans are next. We might still be breathing, we might still be alive, but inside, in here—’ She taps her heart with two fingers. ‘It’s all over.’” 

By telling the story from Shadow’s point of view, Sorosiak creates an endearing protagonist that readers will fall in love with. Shadow’s thoughts and actions are consistent with a wild fox, which often brings humor into the story. Shadow often thinks about food—including her favorite food, fish—and this leads to some silly moments. In addition, Shadow makes many references to fish. For example, Shadow describes the wind saying, “It pelts my face like a dead trout. Or a cold, stiff sturgeon.”  

Shadow Fox begins by describing the magical islands of Whistlenorth and the dangers presented by the Night Islanders. The worldbuilding is essential; however, it lacks action and suspense. When Shadow and Bee get to the island, the story becomes more interesting and intense. However, the large cast of supporting characters, the complicated plot, and the detailed fight scenes will require readers to pay close attention to the text. Despite this, animal-loving readers will be drawn into Shadow’s adventure and cheer when Shadow not only defeats the Night Islanders but also defeats her fears. For more stories that teach about the importance of caring for our environment, check out Spark by Sarah Beth Durst, Out of My Shell by Jenny Goebel, and the Wild Rescuers Series by Stacy Plays. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Shadow is in a barn when a groundkeeper appears. “One of his gloved hands grips my neck alongside the metal loop, and he lifts me straight into the air.” The man tells Shadow, “I was going to turn you into the wildlife authorities, but maybe I should turn you into a hat.” Shadow uses magic to escape. 
  • Bee sees bed birds. “They are a famous species. Little blue birds. They sneak through cracked-open windows at night and bite humans, sleeping in their beds.” 
  • Shadow’s mother and sister were killed when humans took “down a swath of the forest in a day,” and sliced down the trees. Afterwards, Shadow felt “a feeling [she]’d never felt and never want[ed] to feel again. The total loss, that emptiness, the knowledge that nowhere—nowhere out there—were [her] sister and mother breathing. Their breath was smothered out.” 
  • The Night Islanders are killing everything—plants and animals—to extract magic. A Night Islander wears a “metal cage that’s around his face, just two little holes cut out for eyes, and wearing . . . a beaver hat. The tail dangles along his neck. The matted pelt shrouds his head.” 
  • Two Night Islanders travel to Whistlenorth with the intent of kidnapping the chosen one. Shadow calls one of the men “the Hunter.” Shadow realizes that the Hunter and other Night Islanders are the ones that killed her family. “The ones with the metal and the smoke and the saws. . . They were Night Islanders!” 
  • The Hunter grabs Bee. Shadow attacks and “clamp[s] the second attacker’s leg in my jaws. He lets out a single yelping note, louder than a fox, before kicking, kicking, flinging me against the nearest tree. Arching through the air, I hit the bark with a thwomp. . . The blow has me seeing tiny bees, buzzing above my ears. One of my ribs bends inward, bruising but not breaking.”  
  • To escape the man’s grasp, Bee “opens her mouth and bites the Hunter’s mitten—hard. Another shriek escapes him, voice dark and blooming like blood. . .” Bee is unable to escape, and the Hunter kidnaps her. 
  • To free Bee, a pack of snow foxes attacks. “Advancing forward, all one hundred of them pounce, paws first, tongue second. Spit flies. Tongues reach out. . . The foxes lick ears. They lick toes. They lick fingers and noses and palms, slurping-slurp.” The foxes’ spit numbs the Night Islanders so they are unable to move.  
  • Shadow finds Bee. “The sleeve of her sweater is tied around her mouth and nose, blocking her breath. . . her wrists are bound with a strip of fishing net.” The snow foxes surround the Hunter, and he is “pinned in all directions by snouts and teeth.” 
  • The Night Islanders use their magic to make “spikes rise from the earth. . . They’re taller than the tallest oaks, sharper than thorns.” Shadow, Bee, and the bird are “hemmed in on all sides, like an ice cage.” 
  • To trap some of the Night Islanders, Shadow uses magic to summon “the canoes from the lakeshore. . . Falling to the earth, they trap a few Night Islanders beneath them.” 
  • The Night Islanders combine their magic to create a mound of snow that traps Bee, Shadow, and others. “Under the snow-flood, my body wiggles and flits. Thrashing, flaying! . . . And my breath has nowhere to go! The snow is packed so tightly. . . The Hunter and the Night Islanders. . .. They’ve summoned all the snow from the island to bury us alive.” Everyone escapes.  
  • The only way to defeat the Night Islanders is to take their magic. The bird uses magic to make a flock of birds out of snow. The birds disappear and reappear inside of the Night Islanders’ stomachs. “The Hunter shrieks, hippity-hopping on his toes. Now the other Night Islanders are clutching their stomachs, massaging their throats, beating their chests.” 
  • Once the birds have collected all of the magic from the Night Islanders’ stomachs, “the birds reappear as a flock. . . a little bit melted at the tips of their feathers but roughly intact. Their bellies bulge with magic. . . waddling calmly away.” The Night Islanders return to their isle.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None

Language  

  • A man calls Shadow a “good-for-nothing.” 
  • When learning that the fox and Bee don’t swim, a man yells, “Fish sticks almighty.” “Fish sticks” is used as an exclamation four times. 
  • Bee uses “jeez” as an exclamation twice.  
  • Shadow uses magic, causing a dining room table, table settings, and hundreds of fish to appear suddenly. Nan exclaims, “Oh, holy herring in cream sauce.” 
  • When a Night Islander wakes up to the smell of fox urine, he yells, “What the—.” 

Supernatural 

  • Magic is prevalent throughout the book, so not every instance is listed below. Some people have magic that allows them to summon things. Shadow can “change smoke into tiny foxes and summon cans of pudding. Not so intimidating. Unless, I suppose, you’re afraid of pudding. Or aluminum.” 
  • Some people are cultivators. “We make things grow. Or shrink them. Some can even take an object and reshape it into something else. . . Like pudding cans into teaspoons.” 
  • Bee reads a book of predictions written by a woman who “had a knack for predicting the future, but she didn’t get it right all the time.” There are several general predictions. One says that Beatrice Shadowen from Minnesota, US, “will be chosen by nature to save the island from the magical extinction.” 
  • Nan explains where magic comes from. She says, “The magic comes from nature: the trees, the rivers, the soil. Think of it like oxygen. We breathe in magic, then breathe it out—intentionally—to make something happen.” 
  • Magic allows Bee and Shadow to hear each other’s thoughts and allows Shadow to understand human speech. Bee tells Shadow, “It’s not like I asked for this power. . . You got most of the magic, but—somehow—I got the power to understand you.” It also allows Shadow to read human books. 
  • After the groundkeeper captures Shadow, the fox becomes warm. “My belly prickles with the heat.” The fox becomes so hot that the “groundkeeper shrieks, his hand unclenching. . .” Somehow, Shadow had turned the groundkeeper’s gloves into pumpkin soup. Afterwards, “the groundkeeper is murmuring, examining his hands, which are slick with hot orange goop.” Both Shadow and the groundkeeper are confused about how the gloves changed.  
  • Shadow has a habit of taking people’s shoes. While in the barn with the groundkeeper, “one of my shoes is hovering in the air. . . Then another one. A bright-blue flip-flop, suspended like a hummingbird.” The groundkeeper runs away before seeing the shoes “circling the air before stacking all around [Shadow], a tower on four sides. With a flip-flop roof!” 
  • A swarm of bed birds surrounds Shadow, making her skin tingle. “Tiny sprigs of fur are beginning to sprout. Midnight-black tufts grow and rush over the paw. On my belly, too, is a feeling. A feeling like lying in the sun.” When the birds leave, Shadow’s fur is full and healthy. 
  • When Shadow thinks of fish toast, it appears. “A slice of white bread, smothered in lake-trout paste. It just. . .appears, right by my paws. Without thinking, I shove the toast in my mouth. . .” 
  • Shadow helps a bird hatch, and the bird imprints on the fox. Later, Shadow discovers that the bird has magic. The bird can disappear and reappear somewhere else. The bird can also transport others.  
  • While practicing her magic, Shadow makes a spoon grow. The spoon gets so big that “soon, it’ll be punching a hole in the houseboat. . . The houseboat creaks again, this time from the pressure of the spoon. It’s bending, metal thrusting against the rafters. . .” With Nan’s help, Shadow shrinks the spoon to its normal size. 
  • To help fight the Night Islanders, Shadow conjures dozens of foxes made of snow. Some are “spikier, with pine needles sticking from their snow like hackles.” To get to the Night Isle, the bird transports Shadow and the snow foxes.

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

The Gladiator’s Victory

Travel back to ancient Rome with time-traveling brothers Arthur and Finn as they try to convince a powerful gladiator to escape certain death in the Roman arena. Will the boys manage to persuade the gladiator to break free, escape the clutches of the powerful and evil lords, and avoid being caught by the unforgiving Roman soldiers?  

The Gladiator’s Victory explores the brotherly bond and begins with the introduction of Marcus, a gladiator who regrets not joining his brother in fighting for freedom. When Arthur and Finn go back in time to help Marcus, their bond is tested. When Senator Lucius discovers Arthur and Finn’s bond, he uses it to manipulate Finn. If Finn doesn’t poison Titus, Lucius’ rival, the senator will murder Marcus. Despite his conflict, Finn is determined to save both his brother’s and Titus’ life. As readers continue reading the Warrior Heroes Series, they will discover that while Arthur and Finn have different personalities, they are devoted to each other and willingly jump into battle to protect each other. The brother’s bond and their desire to help the restless ghost gives the story heart.  

Short sections interspersed throughout the book provide more historical information, including descriptions of life in Rome, life as a gladiator, the types of gladiators, and how the games worked. One section describes the origins of gladiators. “The Greeks did it and so did the Etruscans who lived near Rome in the early days. They used to get people fighting to the death as a sacrifice at funerals, and the Romans picked up the idea and ran with it.” Eventually, the funeral games became a big business so the gladiators “weren’t expected to kill each other anymore. . . Of course, people still wanted to see some blood, so the Romans would execute prisoners or get prisoners of war to fight to the death. . .”   

Even though The Gladiator’s Victory is part of a series, the books do not have to be read in order because each book focuses on Arthur and Finn going back to a different time period and each book wraps up the storyline.  

The Gladiator’s Victory is another action-packed adventure that leads Arthur and Finn into the dangerous world of Rome. In a world ruled by rich senators, the boys discover death lurks around every corner. Senator Lucius magnifies the ruthlessness of the wealthy and the vulnerability of slaves. The Gladiator’s Victory will leave readers reflecting on Finn’s situation—is killing an innocent man worth saving Arthur’s life? Despite this question, Finn displays admirable strength of character and a willingness to trust others with the truth. This leads to a surprising and satisfying conclusion that asks: What is worth dying for?  

Readers interested in jumping back into time but want to avoid intense battle scenes have many opinions, including Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth by Lloyd Alexander, Time Travel Adventure Duology by Elvira Woodruff, and the Tangled in Time Series by Kathryn Lasky. 

 Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • Spartacus, a gladiator, recruited “an army of highly trained solider-slaves who wanted to be free.” Spartacus and his army were defeated. “And most of them were crucified to set an example to other slaves.” 
  • When Arthur travels through time, he appears in an alley. Festus, a bully who leads a gang of homeless boys, finds Arthur. Festus says, “Now get up and tell me why you’re here, or by Jupiter, I’ll crush your skull before you say another word.”  
  • Arthur convinces Festus to fight with no weapons. “Festus hurled his club to the floor and charged at Arthur without warning. . . Arthur stepped to one side, leaving a foot trailing so that Festus tripped and tumbled to the ground. . . Festus stepped forward, feigned as if to punch Arthur in the stomach and then dropped to one knee, grabbing hold of Arthur’s ankle and giving it a vicious twist. Arthur tumbled to the ground, and Festus pounced, pinning him with an arm across his chest and punching him hard on the chin.” 
  • As the fight continues, Arthur escapes Festus’ grasp and stands up. Arthur “grabbed Festus’ wrist in both hands and twisted as the punch carried the older boy forwards and past Arthur. . . [Arthur] standing behind Festus and twisting his arm up behind his back. He curled a foot in front of Festus and pushed, sending him crashing to the floor.” Festus admits defeat. One illustration shows Festus getting ready to punch Arthur. 
  • When Festus’ gang surrounds Arthur, an older group of men who watched the fight step in. When the men approach the boys, “the gang’s circle disintegrated, and a brawl broke out as fists and boots and knees and heads connected with each other.”  
  • Festus goes after Arthur with a club. Finn helps his brother by “leaping onto Festus’ back. Festus staggered backwards and then fell forward to the floor yet again. Arthur rushed forwards and stomped on Festus’ arm. He dropped the club and roared in pain.” The fight ends after four pages. An illustration shows Festus preparing to punch Arthur. 
  • Arthur and Finn are taken to a gladiator school. Finn is recruited to be a spy for Senator Lucius. The senator threatens Finn with punishment if Finn is unable to carry out his mission. Lucius “gestured toward the slave . . . The slave grimaced and opened his mouth. . . it seemed that the slave was missing his tongue.” 
  • Lucius wants Finn to use poison to kill his rival, Titus. 
  • Finn meets Lucius’ niece. She says, “If I could kill him without getting caught, I would. He is very, very careful. He kills anyone who gets in his way yet no-one can kill him. He poisons people . . . He poisoned my parents.”  
  • Arthur is ordered to spar with Ajax. Arthur is given a net “to ensnare” his opponent and a trident, while Ajax has a spear and shield. “Arthur spang into action, taking a step forward and jabbing with the trident, which clattered into Ajax’s shield and glanced off . . . Arthur switched the trident to his right hand just as Ajax lunged forward, holding his shield out before him like a battering ram and crashing into Arthur, who fell heavily to the floor. . .” 
  • Arthur believes Ajax is going to kill him. “Arthur slashed out with the dagger in the direction of Ajax’s feet and felt the blade jar against something hard as his opponent howled in pain, dropping his sword and falling to the floor.” Because Arthur injured Ajax, Arthur is ordered to fight in the gladiator’s ring in Ajax’s place. The fight is described over one page and has one illustration.  
  • Two gladiators, Marcus and Achilles, fight each other on horse. “Again and again they charged . . . at last Marcus caught Achilles with a glancing blow to the shield arm, drawing blood from his opponent . . . Achilles was knocked back in his saddle but stayed on his horse and wheeled around immediately.”  
  • As the gladiators charged again, Marcus’ horse reared, and “Marcus fell heavily onto the sand of the arena. . . Both men drew their swords and rushed to clash again, this time on foot. . . Achilles was down on one knee, fending off overhead blows until his sword was smashed from his grip by a particularly savage strike.” Achilles surrenders. The match is described over three pages.  
  • Unable to poison Titus, Finn lies. When Lucius finds out, he “screamed, lashing out and slapping Finn hard across the mouth. . . Lucius roared, leaping forward and grabbing Finn by the throat.” Lucilla jumps in to help before Lucius kills Finn. 
  • Enraged further, Lucius grabs Lucilla by the throat with the intent to kill her. “Marcus could hold back no longer. He leapt at Gaius [who oversees the gladiator’s school] and with one vicious punch laid him out cold. . .” Lucius mocks Marcus for being a slave, but Lucius’ “words turned to a high-pitched groan as Marcus lunged and thrust forward savagely, burying his sword in Lucius’ back. The girl fell gasping to the floor while Marcus stood behind the senator and pushed him away, causing him to topple forward off the sword.” Lucius dies. 
  • Finn, Arthur, Lucilla, and Marcus must flee Rome. They get help from Festus and his gang. To hide the fugitives, Festus has Lucilla and Marcus crawl into a cart filled with dead bodies.  
  • When guards discover the ruse, a fight ensues. Marcus “leaped down with a cry, punching the hold of his sword into one man and knocking him into the other so that both collapsed to the ground. Two quick thrusts followed, and moments later, Marcus was dragging the bodies down the steps and flinging them in the river.” A boatman takes the fugitives out of the city.

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Arthur calls Festus and his gang cowards. 
  • A man calls Arthur an idiot. 

Supernatural 

  • Arthur and Finn’s grandfather created a museum about warriors throughout history. The museum is haunted, and when the grandfather died, “he started haunting the place too. He felt guilty about the trapped ghost warriors and vowed he would not rest in peace until all the other ghosts were laid to rest first.” 
  • When one of the ghost warriors touches the boys, “we get transported to the time and place where the ghost lived and died. And we can’t get back until we’ve fixed whatever it is that keeps the ghost from resting in peace.” 
  • When the boys travel through time, “the air in the room shifted, and seemed to fill with mist, drifting at first and then whirling faster and faster around them until the study could not be seen, and it felt to the boys if they were spinning through the sky.”

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Inside the Park

Pumpsie needs a win. Or to be more precise, he needs the Nashville Wildcats to win. Pumpsie’s been waiting his entire life—twelve whole years!—for his favorite team to make it to the playoffs. And this year—finally!—they’re just one win away. 

But when Pumpsie accidentally gets trapped in Lookout Field the night before the last game of the season, with only a lost dog named Campy for company, he may have accidentally stumbled into the best night of his life. For a baseball fan like Pumpsie, using the pro batting cages, running the bases, playing with the public address system, eating all the concession-stand junk food he can find is a dream come true . . . until he realizes he’s not alone in the stadium. Foul plots are brewing beneath Lookout Field, and now it’s on Pumpsie to swallow his fears, gum up his courage, and swing for the fences if he wants to save the Wildcats’ postseason chances. 

Readers will instantly be drawn into Pumpsie’s conflict and feel empathy for the boy who feels like all four of his siblings are loved more than he is. Pumpsie is upset because he never gets his parents’ undivided attention. This is reinforced when he is accidentally trapped in a baseball stadium, and none of his family realizes he’s missing. Pumpsie’s emotions swing from fear of being alone to the joy of exploring the stadium. Pumpsie’s explorations feel like a great adventure full of fun, fear, and a little bit of peril. 

Similar to the movie Home Alone, Pumpsie uses slapstick violence, such as coating the stairs with ketchup and mustard, to keep himself and the stadium safe. Since the story is told from Pumpsie’s point of view, readers will understand his reasoning as well as his emotional swings. Although some of the plot points are a bit outrageous and unbelievable, the story is so much fun that it’s easy to overlook the story’s flaws. However, one negative aspect of the story is that the two bad guys are arrested, but the man behind poisoning the Wildcats isn’t punished, and he gets “to keep his reputation intact.” Allowing the man behind the poisoning to go without punishment shows that the rich are allowed to do anything—even break the law—without consequences.

Inside the Park is a fast-paced, suspenseful story that throws in a dash of humor to create a story that hits it out of the park. Pumpsie is an extremely likable protagonist, and anyone who has ever felt overlooked will relate to Pumpsie’s conflict. Inside the Park will have readers rooting for both the Wildcats and Pumpsie, and the story’s conclusion is so perfect that it will have them smiling. Middle grade readers who enjoy humorous baseball stories should also read The Rhino in Right Field by Stacy Dekeyser. 

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • Pumpsie is locked inside the stadium with two bad guys, Jordan and Travis. When Jordan sees Pumpsie, “Jordan [puts] a giant hand on my shoulder, pushing me so hard against the wall it knocks the wind out of me.” Pumpsie kicks “him in the shins as hard as I can.” 
  • To get away from the bad guys, Pumpsie shoots them with a T-shirt launcher. “The first baseball zips across the room, hitting Travis in his left leg with a smack. He immediately grabs at the spot and grits his teeth . . . The last ball crashes into Jordan’s forehead, just above his right eye, and his skin splits open like a cracked sidewalk.” Jordan is bleeding but otherwise uninjured. The scene is described over two pages. 
  • Jordan and Travis walk into another trap that Pumpsie created. Pumpsie yanks “the string, and all the wooden bats I took from the equipment room and batting cage tumble out of the net and onto Jordan and Travis. . . Travis curls up in a ball, clutching one swollen knee to his chest and then switching to the other. 
  • Pumpsie sprays hair spray at Jordan and Travis. “A fog of hairspray floats over Jordan’s and Travis’s heads and settles in their noses, in their mouths, on the tips of their fingers.”

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Jordan and Travis put Salmonella bacteria into the Wildcats’ food, which caused most of them to get sick, but they recovered. 
  • After winning a tournament, the Wildcats have champagne. 

Language  

  • Pumpsie’s older brother calls him names such as Poopsie, Poo-Poo, and other mean names. 
  • Dang is used once. 
  • Crap is used twice and crappy is used once. 
  • One of the bad guys asks Pumpsie, “What the heck are you smiling at, you little punk?” The bad guy also calls Pumpsie a brat.  
  • Pumpsie calls the bad guys idiots. 
  • An adult says, “Brothers can be jerks sometimes.” 

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • Pumpsie’s grandfather told him, “First is important, but sometimes last is more significant. . . And you know what God says. . . The last should be first.” 
  • When Pumpsie realizes he’s locked inside the stadium, he prays, “God, if you get me out of this, I promise to never be mean to [my sister] again.” 
  • Occasionally, Pumpsie says a prayer. For example, Pumpsie sent “up a quick prayer that Jordan and Travis don’t try to use the elevator while I’m getting everything ready.” 
  • An adult baseball player tells Pumpsie, “And from personal experience, I can tell you that even when you’re the one doing the wrong, God’s got a way of fixing that too.” 
  • After Pumpsie’s family finds him, his baby sister says, “Thank you, God, for making Pumpsie come back quick.” 

Aaron Judge

Any fan of the New York Yankees is sure to know the name Aaron Judge. Beginning his first major league season with thirty home runs — the most of any Yankee rookie since the legendary Joe DiMaggio in 1936 — Judge went on to secure such accolades as the 2017 Home Run Derby trophy and the Rookie of the Year award. He quickly became a favorite among Yankees fans. Anyone with a ticket to a Yankees game during the 2017 season would see a large group of fans crowded in the right field of the Yankee Stadium. These seats – nicknamed the “Judge’s Chambers” – were filled with fans wearing judge’s robes and cheering Judge’s name. During one game, this passionate crowd even included US Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor – a longtime Yankees fan. 

Although Judge’s rookie season featured the success most baseball players aspire to, it was the product of years of hard work. In this book, Jon M. Fishman details the life of Judge, from his beginnings as a promising high school athlete to his fantastic achievements as a major league player.  

Aaron Judge is five short chapters, with the last five pages comprising a glossary, index, and citations. Chapter One briefly introduces Aaron Judge’s career. Chapter Two recounts Judge’s high school years, during which he played several sports before focusing on baseball. Chapter Three provides a detailed account of Judge’s typical training routine. Although he is a player for the MLB – and one of the strongest in the league’s history – he still trains regularly. Fishman explains Judge’s workout routine, while defining terms readers may not know, such as “cardio” or “pilates.” Fishman uses this chapter to communicate an important message to the reader: being good at something does not mean you should stop working to learn and improve. In Chapters Four and Five, Fishman writes about Judge’s achievements with the Yankees. 

Each page features a photo from Judge’s career – from high school yearbook pictures to action shots of Judge striking a home run. Each chapter is meticulously researched and filled with information. With one to thirteen sentences per page, this book will be a challenge for beginning readers.  

Aaron Judge is an excellent study of Judge’s impressive career. It is a thorough introduction to readers unfamiliar with Judge. Readers who are already fans of Judge are sure to learn something new from Fishman’s extensive research. If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out Aaron Judge vs. Babe Ruth: Who Would Win? by Josh Anderson and the other books in the Sports All-Stars Series. Like Aaron Judge, each book describes the life and career of a famous American athlete playing today.

Sexual Content  

  • None

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None

Supernatural 

  • None 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer

Rick Kotani is looking forward to spending the entire summer playing baseball. Sure, his team never wins, but he’s been practicing a special pitch he knows is going to land him a 400-million-dollar major-league contract . . . someday. That all changes when his mother throws a curveball of her own: Instead of playing ball in California, Rick will be heading to Oregon to help keep an eye on Grandpa Hiroshi while they move him to a retirement home. Trading no-hitters to be a babysitter? Rick is beyond bummed. 

But once there, Rick discovers Grandpa is actually pretty cool, and the two bond over a Japanese folktale about a fisherman, Urashima Taro, who trades his life on earth for the riches of an underwater kingdom. And like the fisherman, Rick soon forgets about his team back home when he joins a supercompetitive local league that only cares about being the best—at any cost.  

As the team racks up the wins and Grandpa makes his final move, Rick must decide which ending he wants for his story: Will he fall in line with his ruthless teammates and their victory-obsessed coach in his own “underwater kingdom,” or will family, true friendship, and integrity lead him back to shore? 

When Rick meets Toni, a girl his age who loves baseball, he is excited for the opportunity to play ball. However, the coach and players don’t care about having fun, they just want to win. The baseball coach is truly despicable because he belittles the players and doesn’t follow the rules. Even though it’s against the rules, the coach allows Rick to play, which requires Rick to lie so he can take the place of another player. Rick explains, “Technically, I wasn’t allowed to be part of the team since I lived outside the area and the team roster had already been finalized.” To make matters worse, the coach encourages Rick to throw a curveball, eventually leading to an injury. In the end, Rick acknowledges that he will never play for the MLB. While the realization is heartbreaking, the story ends on a hopeful note, hinting that Rick could continue to love baseball and shift his focus to being a referee.  

Rick’s relationship with his teammates is superficial, and his only true friend is Toni. However, Toni’s role is confusing. Plus, her parents’ sole focus is on her brother, and the coach wouldn’t allow her to play on the team because she is a girl. Toni’s situation is reminiscent of older times when gender roles were more rigid. This dynamic makes Rick’s relationship with Toni feel one-sided. Despite this, Toni plays an important role and demonstrates the qualities of a good friend. In the end, Toni reminds Rick, “You can’t change what happened. But what happens next is up to you.” 

Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer revolves around baseball and is interspersed with Rick’s family life and Japanese folklore. The combination allows the story to have a fast pace as it weaves between topics and explores the difficulty of divorce and dealing with an aging relative. The realistic conflicts will draw readers into the story as well as teach them the importance of sharing your feelings with others because “If you keep it in, it will eat you up.” Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer will entertain middle school readers who dream of playing for the MLB and remind them that winning isn’t the most important thing in baseball or in life.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • Profanity is used occasionally. Profanity includes crap, dang, darn, fricking, heck, and hell. 
  • The word ass is implied but is spelled “a$$”. 
  • After throwing rocks at turtles, a boy says, “What about this bonehead tortoise?” 
  • There is some name-calling, including jerk and dingbat. 
  • “Good god” is used as an exclamation. 
  • While talking to a boy, the coach uses the word “goddamn.” 

Supernatural 

  • In the tale of Urashima Taro, magic is used several times. For example, when Urashima opened a box, “a plume of smoke wafted out, followed by a cloud that billowed around him.” After opening the box, Urashima turns into an old man. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 
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