Personal rating of 4 out of 5 stars
4 stars A wonderful conversation starter for topics of race and understanding other’s perspectives. Latham and Waters use poetry to tell the story of Irene and Charles, fifth-graders based on their own childhood selves, who have to work on a poetry assignment together. Along the way, they learn about each other, how they are the…
Read More
4 stars I have to say, it’s pretty impressive just how split the reviews are on this book. Let’s start with the obvious: the illustrations are pure magic. McWilliam did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. I loved all the colors and details in each image. It really brought the story to life….
Read More
4 stars More mysterious happenings in need of investigating, this time at Claire’s school. Another great entry in The Haunted Library series. While these are best read in order, there’s enough backtracking and explanation of past events, that one could still enjoy this without having read the first two. While Claire and Kaz investigate the…
Read More
4 stars Another adorable story featuring Tameika and her family from Ashley Franklin and Ebony Glenn (with illustrations by Saba Joshaghani). Similar in style to Not Quite Snow White, this one follows Tameika on a brand new adventure, the expanding of her family. A great story for those expecting the arrival of new siblings or those…
Read More
4 stars Another adorable, fun adventure. This one is a bit spooky with a nice mystery to solve. Great follow up to the first book. It continues the story, providing new mysteries and development of the overall plot, while still leaving some open ends to be discovered throughout the rest of the series. The mystery…
Read More
4 stars As far as the fake-dating trope goes, this one was pretty good. I’m not usually a fan of the trope because of the predetermined trajectory of the relationship. Because of that, it took me a bit to get into this book. But there were also enough other things going on to keep me…
Read More
4 stars A sweet story of a girl’s first time fasting for Ramadan. At first, Lailah is excited about being able to fast, but after moving from Abu Dhabi to American, she’s worried about explaining fasting and Ramadan to her teachers and classmates who might not understand. One aspect I loved about the book is…
Read More
4 stars A powerful read that demands to be heard, that defines its own voice, and rejects any false labels others try to pin on it. This book empowers readers to be themselves, to be who they are in all the ways they are. With messages of confidence, bravery, perseverance, curiosity, respect, humor, tenderness, and…
Read More
4 stars A beautiful exploration of the ways differences can separate people, but common interests can bridge the gaps to bring them closer together. Spanning age, language, and culture, Lê demonstrates how relationships do not have to be defined by the words we use to communicate. All they need is a shared space to overcome…
Read More
4 stars A delicious book recounting the tale of a girl trying different foods (even though pizza is the best!) for the sake of science. Perfect for pizza lovers of all ages and a good reminder about how fun (and delectable!) it can be to try new foods. Gianna Ruggiero‘s illustrations are just the right…
Read More