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Wonder by R.J. Palacio follows August Pullman through the 5th grade at Beecher Prep Middle School in Manhattan. August has a genetic disorder that has required multiple facial surgeries, and his face will never look normal. He’s been homeschooled thr...more
Wonder by R.J. Palacio follows August Pullman through the 5th grade at Beecher Prep Middle School in Manhattan. August has a genetic disorder that has required multiple facial surgeries, and his face will never look normal. He’s been homeschooled through 4th grade, so his first day of 5th grade is really his first day out in the world on his own. Middle school is tough for most kids, but truly terrifying for August, who encounters both bullying and kindness. The story is divided into eight parts with Parts 1, 6, and 8 narrated by August, Part 2 narrated by August’s sister Via ( a freshman in high school), Part 3 narrated by August’s friend Summer, Part 4 narrated by August’s friend Jack, Part 5 narrated by Via’s boyfriend Justin, and Part 7 narrated by Via’s friend Miranda.
Telling the story from six different points of view, three male and three female, three younger (5th grade) and three older (9th grade) make this an engaging story for boys and girls alike. I thought the ending could have been stronger, but overall excellent writing and a powerful message earn this book five stars. Every middle school kid would benefit from reading this book. The absence of profanity and adult situations makes it appropriate for advanced 3rd and 4th grade readers as well.(less)
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Tiny Cooper is gay. If the idea of a gay high school student makes you uncomfortable, then this book probably isn’t for you. For those ready to embrace all of humanity and the unpredictable truth of what is and what is not through teenage eyes, Will...more
Tiny Cooper is gay. If the idea of a gay high school student makes you uncomfortable, then this book probably isn’t for you. For those ready to embrace all of humanity and the unpredictable truth of what is and what is not through teenage eyes, Will Grayson Will Grayson brilliantly unfolds the miraculous layers of love and friendship through music and metaphor.(less)
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Miles Halter aka “Mr. Famous Last Words Guy” aka “Pudge” goes to a private boarding school in Alabama in search of the Great Perhaps. Together with his roommate “the Colonel” and a girl named Alaska, he discovers friendship, love, and the value of a...more
Miles Halter aka “Mr. Famous Last Words Guy” aka “Pudge” goes to a private boarding school in Alabama in search of the Great Perhaps. Together with his roommate “the Colonel” and a girl named Alaska, he discovers friendship, love, and the value of a truly great prank. The novel spans 273 days—136 before and 136 after. To reveal the event the novel revolves around would be a spoiler. I laughed, and I cried. I highly recommend this book for older teens and adults, but not for middle school readers due to mature subject matter.(less)
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From quirky to entertaining to enlightening, there’s nothing quite like a road trip with a former child prodigy and his content-to-do-nothing Muslim friend. They wind up in Gutshot, Tennessee, and land a job recording the podunk’s unlikely history. I...more
From quirky to entertaining to enlightening, there’s nothing quite like a road trip with a former child prodigy and his content-to-do-nothing Muslim friend. They wind up in Gutshot, Tennessee, and land a job recording the podunk’s unlikely history. It’s an intriguing tale about the value of connection and storytelling because as it turns out, we don’t remember what happened. What we remember becomes what happened. And even if it’s a dumb story, telling the story changes the people who hear it in much the same way living the story changes us.(less)
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Bullying and Me: Schoolyard Stories by Ousie Shapiro opens with a letter to the reader that addresses bullying broadly and sends the message to anyone who has ever been bullied that you are not alone and it is not your fault. Thirteen personal accoun...more
Bullying and Me: Schoolyard Stories by Ousie Shapiro opens with a letter to the reader that addresses bullying broadly and sends the message to anyone who has ever been bullied that you are not alone and it is not your fault. Thirteen personal accounts follow. Eleven come from school-age children and teenagers talking about their experiences with bullying in grades 5 – 12, while two come from adults who recall being bullied when they were younger. Every story includes a photograph of the narrator by Steven Vote and a comment from bullying expert Dorothy Espelage (“Dr. Dorothy”). The book concludes with six tips on dealing with bullies: Ignore the bully, don’t fight back, tell someone you trust, find your real friends, steer clear of bullies, and don’t stand by and do nothing.
Excellent photography makes the book visually appealing, but its concept is stronger than its execution for two reasons: Shapiro never really defines what bullying is, and Dr. Dorothy’s advice seems confusing or inconsistent in light of the stories selected. Dr. Dorothy sidesteps the issue of self-defense and when, if ever, it’s appropriate to respond to violence with violence. She tells one boy who fights back physically it is not his fault. She tells another boy who beats up his bully and threatens someone who was bullying a friend that he was brave and kind to help his friend, but that it’s dangerous to stand up to bullies.
As a picture book designed for ages 9-12, Bullying and Me focuses on raising awareness and does create an opportunity for meaningful discussion with children in this age group. Unfortunately, it does not move beyond the standard bullying advice for children to avoid it if you can, ignore it if you cannot avoid it, and ultimately just tell an adult.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vol. XV, No. 5, November 2011); used with permission.(less)
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One of more than a dozen books in the Invisible Ink Press “Handy” series, The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu features 800 questions with 100 color photographs and illustrations in ten chapters: Outer Space; Planet Earth an...more
One of more than a dozen books in the Invisible Ink Press “Handy” series, The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu features 800 questions with 100 color photographs and illustrations in ten chapters: Outer Space; Planet Earth and Our Moon; Creatures Big and Small; Plant Life; People around the World; Politics and Government; How Things Work; Math, Measurement, and Time; All about My Body; and Daily Life. From “Why is the ocean salty?” and “Where does the water from my toilet go?” to “”How do airplanes fly?” and “What causes people to pass gas?” this book provides substantive answers to typical questions curious children ask every day.
Designed primarily as a reference volume with an index, the book is nevertheless engaging enough to read simply for pleasure on any topic of potential interest. The real value of the book lies in the breadth of the questions and the depth of the answers. Some questions seem unlikely to be posed by children (“How is the earth like an onion?” or “Which tree was used in the fledgling shipbuilding industry?”), but the vast majority are consistent with a child’s imagination and the answer parents would like to be able to give on most subjects.
Questions of faith (“Where do people go after they die?” and “Who is God?”) are answered generally, reflecting the beliefs of multiple world religions. One subject where all parents might appreciate some child-friendly answers is missing completely: The word “sex” appears nowhere in the text or index. In response to the question “How did my life begin?” Misiroglu writes, “Each person begins life as a single fertilized cell.”
The book never claims to have all the answers, just lots of handy ones. That it does. It’s an excellent resource for parents and middle-grade readers.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vol. XIV, No. 6, December 2010); used with permission.(less)
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One of more than a dozen books in the Visible Ink Press “Handy” series, The Handy Law Answer Book by David L. Hudson Jr. surveys legal history in the United States and summarizes six prominent practice areas of the law: constitutional, criminal, bank...more
One of more than a dozen books in the Visible Ink Press “Handy” series, The Handy Law Answer Book by David L. Hudson Jr. surveys legal history in the United States and summarizes six prominent practice areas of the law: constitutional, criminal, bankruptcy, employment, family, and personal injury. The book provides a practical overview of these areas, including leading principles, seminal court rulings, and numerous “LegalSpeak” sidebars with specific examples and helpful explanations. Also useful are the glossary of more than 150 terms, the extensive index, and three appendices explaining how to cite cases and statutes, the complete text of the U.S. Constitution, and ten pages of online resources. The author is well-qualified to address the subject and follows the question-and-answer format of the “Handy” series.
The book’s two principle shortcomings are those you might expect from the enormity of the undertaking. The book claims to be an exhaustive overview of U.S. law without touching on areas such as property, immigration, business entities, or intellectual property. Professor Hudson simplifies the issues, but sometimes struggles to be both legally precise and intelligible to laypersons. Consider this sentence on page 21: “It is essential to just construction that many words which import something excessive should be understood in a more mitigated sense—in the sense which common usage justifies.” This sentence may be understandable to lawyers, but would surely puzzle the average person. The section on “sequestered juries” never defines “sequester,” and the glossary also omits the term. Additional editing could improve text readability.
Overall, The Handy Law Answer Book does a nice job of introducing readers to the rules that govern our society and the practice of law. It is probably most useful as a general reference tool for those with a strong interest in history, government, politics, or legal studies.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vol. XV, No. 1, February 2011); used with permission.(less)
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Pythagoras and the Ratios by Julie Ellis carries young mathematicians and musicians back to Ancient Greece where an ever-curious Pythagoras enjoys solving problems so much that he often forgets to finish his chores. Young Pythagoras helps his cousin...more
Pythagoras and the Ratios by Julie Ellis carries young mathematicians and musicians back to Ancient Greece where an ever-curious Pythagoras enjoys solving problems so much that he often forgets to finish his chores. Young Pythagoras helps his cousin Octavius tune his new pipes by comparing them to his own and realizing that because they are twice as wide, they also need to be twice as long. Using the same ratios, he ties rocks of varying weight to the lyres of Reyna and Amara so that all of the cousins can play their instruments together for the first time in history.
The book is one of 19 in the Charlesbridge Math Adventures Series and does an excellent job of explaining the mathematical and musical principles of string and woodwind instruments. Ellis includes an historical note and some additional math and music explanations at the end to help the reader separate fact from fiction and make an “instrument” using six identical glasses containing various levels of water. Phyllis Hornung Peacock’s warm cartoon illustrations, created in acrylic and water color pencil on cold-press watercolor paper, delightfully depict the general landscape and dress of Ancient Greece.
Although the story and dialogue are entirely fictitious, the introduction of Pythagoras as a mathematician is sound. The in-depth explanation of ratios, including diagrams and charts that correspond directly with the story, crystallize the concepts simply for students in grades 3-6. Issues of responsibility and working cooperatively are nicely interwoven into the story, which ends on a humorous note. Ellis strikes a nice balance of fun and education in this charming picture book.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vol. XIV, No. 4, August 2010); used with permission.(less)
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In Immigration: This Land Is Whose Land? Lila Perl examines legal and illegal immigration in the United States from both an historical and a political perspective. The book focuses first on the current Hispanic population, and then flashes back to Ch...more
In Immigration: This Land Is Whose Land? Lila Perl examines legal and illegal immigration in the United States from both an historical and a political perspective. The book focuses first on the current Hispanic population, and then flashes back to Chinese, Irish, Japanese and Italian emigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries before delving into more recent policies regarding guest workers, internees, refugees, displaced persons, and asylum seekers. It includes a timeline of major immigration laws from 1819 to 2006, extensive chapter notes, a bibliography, an index, and a list of books and websites for further information.
Interspersed throughout the text are a dozen side articles on one, two, or three gold-colored pages that are interesting and informative, but interrupt the flow of the chapters because they appear abruptly, sometimes right in the middle of a paragraph or sentence. There are 17 photographs from various sources that are more appropriately placed throughout. Generally, the book pleads for a more humane approach to assimilating diverse populations and promotes global citizenship over American nationalism. Perl exposes the racism that has fueled America’s policy of exclusion and questions the criminalization of undocumented aliens, many of whom make important contributions to our national economy. Typed above the title on the cover and title page is the word “CONTROVERSY!” which accurately reflects the unsettling, but factual, information within.
The design of the book targets middle school readers, but high school students might also use it as a reference. The extensive citations make this a particularly useful resource for students interested in understanding the pro-immigration side of the current debate on this subject.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vol. XV, No. 3, June 2011); used with permission.(less)
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Madeleine L’Engle by Tracey Baptiste chronicles the personal and professional journey of the Newbery-award-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time. Although she wrote fiction, nonfiction and religious books, L’Engle rejected being portrayed as either a c...more
Madeleine L’Engle by Tracey Baptiste chronicles the personal and professional journey of the Newbery-award-winning author of A Wrinkle in Time. Although she wrote fiction, nonfiction and religious books, L’Engle rejected being portrayed as either a children’s writer or a Christian writer, insisting, “I’m a writer period.” L’Engle fans will appreciate the details of her childhood, acting career, marriage and the overview of her published works with special attention to the Time Fantasy series and the Austin Family Series. Through plentiful quotes from L’Engle herself, the biography offers insight into the connection between her life, her stories and the characters she created: “Every single one of my adolescent heroines is based on my own experience.” Baptiste also addresses the religious controversy that has surrounded A Wrinkle in Time as one of the 10 most banned books in the United States and L’Engle’s response that she felt honored to be listed alongside some of her favorite writers such as Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Anne Frank.
Baptiste’s biography is part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Who Wrote That? series on famous children’s and young-adult authors. Packed with information on both L’Engle’s life and work, this relatively thin volume is well-organized and easily accessible. Each chapter contains at least one telling photograph of L’Engle and a “Did You Know?” sidebar. Extensive appendices include a chronology of L’Engle’s life from her birth in 1918 until her death in 2007 as well as comprehensive timelines of her 42 published works and 16 major awards. Baptiste provides numerous endnotes and a lengthy bibliography, however many of these cite internet sources, some of which are no longer available online and others which require registration to view. The biography does provide a valuable list of seven books and two websites for further reading. Overall, her facts seem to be accurate and well-supported, making the work suitable for high school students who simply want to learn more about L’Engle. Baptiste does a nice job of portraying L’Engle’s struggles and foibles as well as her virtues and success at an appropriate level for middle school readers.
Laurie A. Gray
Reprinted from the Christian Library Journal (Vo. XIV, No. 1, February 2010); used with permission.(less)
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4.00 avg rating — 18 ratings
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2010
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3 editions
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