Category: Book Reviews

The Great Godden

The Great GoddenThe Great Godden by Meg Rosoff
Published by Candlewick Press on April 13, 2021
ISBN: 1536215856
Pages: 256
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

The Great Godden

 

In a fascinating beach read, a narrator who we neither know the name of or the gender, tells of one summer spent in a beach home with a family of six, two other close family members, and the infamous Godden brothers, Kit and Hugo.

Kit must always be the center of attention and breaks up relationships everywhere he goes.  Hugo is distant and moody until the end where all is revealed.

The writing is lyrical but the plot was somewhat lacking.  The author, Meg Rosoff, has won the Printz award previously, but this book isn’t the one.  The descriptions of summer activities were very evocative.  Older teens will enjoy this, but bisexuality is depicted in a very negative manner.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

three-stars

When the World Was Ours

When the World Was OursWhen the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler
Published by Aladdin on May 18, 2021
ISBN: 1534499652
Pages: 352
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Liz Kessler, author of the Emily Windsnap series takes readers in a totally different direction in her new book When the world Was Ours. Inspired by a true family story, she introduces the three main characters living in Austria just as Hitler is coming to power. Leo, Elsa and Max are the three young friends who have been best friends forever. the story opens in 1936 and Leo has invited Max and Elsa to his ninth birthday, a day at the Vienna Ferris wheel, the Riesenrad. Little do they know that after this day, their lives will never be the same- ever.

Leo and Elsa are Jewish and as the reader reads each chapter-the years that follow , they are in the classroom where they ae asked to sit in the back, friends told that they are to shun them, and they don’t understand why. The reader follows the fear, humiliation and then terror of what their lives become as Hitler rises to power. Max’s family on the other hand rises in stature and position as they embrace the new rule, though Max wanting to please a father that is disappointed in him, struggles to do what is expected of him as a Hitler youth.

This is a hard book to read. Kessler writing hits hard and she does not hold back in its reality. The friends do not live happily ever after and when the horror of the war is over, their families are forever changed, as is the world.

There are many, many stories of the war and the holocaust, but somehow this one is different, it leaves an impression on the reader and there are pieces of it that one could be reading in todays news.

Cream of the Crop

suggested reading level-grades 4and up

Reviewed by Kathy George

Gray Public Library, Gray Maine

 

 

five-stars

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey

Maybe Maybe Marisol RaineyMaybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly
Published by Greenwillow Books on May 4, 2021
ISBN: 0062970429
Pages: 160
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Marisol Rainey is a delightful and endearing character. She has a penchant for naming inanimate objects and a healthy fear of many, usual childhood things, the most absorbing being climbing the tree (Peppina) in her backyard. Marisol is such a relatable and likeable character. She lives in a world where her mother is Filipino and her father is white, but is also away working on an oil rig, so in addition to feeling different for having a parent from another country, she also acutely misses her dad. Her nemesis, Evie, has a way of pointing out how much fun she has with her own dad, which hurts Marisol’s heart. However, she has a best friend, Jada, who is a particularly lovely character, and who helps her feel like she is enough even with her sadness and fears. A wonderful book for readers in grades 2-4 who know what it’s like to worry about everything and who are still defining for themselves what it means to be brave. Highly recommend.

Review by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

Extremely Gross Animals: Stinky, Slimy and Strange Animal Adaptations

Extremely Gross Animals: Stinky, Slimy and Strange Animal AdaptationsExtremely Gross Animals: Stinky, Slimy and Strange Animal Adaptations? by Claire Eamer
Published by Kids Can Press on June 1, 2021
ISBN: 1525303376
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Sure, readers know the skunk is a stinky animal but how many know that the bombardier beetle unleashes a more horrendous smell when threatened?  The author has selected over 30 animals into groups of seven using like behaviors as her classification method.  Part of the appeal is the gross factor yet not all readers will be disgusted or disturbed by these animals.  Readers might be surprised what animals will vomit as a defense or who east poop for breakfast.

This book will introduce scientific thought to young readers and may lead some to perusing biology.  Employing techniques like observation and research Eamer will open the eyes of many budding scientist.  The photo illustrations are excellent, many are close-ups from the field while others are taken in a laboratory environment. The after pages include a glossary of scientific terms and selected sources.  Most of the sources are as current as three years.  Add this to public libraries and to primary school media center collections.  Once introduced to student readers this book will rarely remain on the shelf.

 

Submitted by Jan Hamilton, retired youth services librarian in Scarborough, ME.

four-stars

The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell

The Boy Who Failed Show and TellThe Boy Who Failed Show and Tell by Jordan Sonnenblick
Published by Scholastic Press on February 2, 2021
ISBN: 1338647237
Pages: 224
Genres: Biography/Autobiography, Humor, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Jordan Sonnenblick is starting 4th grade at PS 35 on Staten Island and worries about his teacher — will his teacher like him or hate him? Jordan’s asthma medication makes him antsy so he often gets in trouble for not concentrating and tapping his pencil. Jordan also worries about his pet snake (the show and tell exhibit), his mom driving home from grad school late at night, his drum-playing, and how he can be best at something — even if it’s best at getting hit by pitches. This memoir is an hilarious look at childhood anxieties and will remind readers how important empathetic adults — parents, teachers, drum teachers — are to kids. 

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

five-stars

Chlorine Sky

Chlorine SkyChlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers on January 12, 2021
ISBN: 0593176391
Pages: 192
Genres: Fiction in Verse/Poetry, Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars

In this brief YA novel-in-verse, a girl struggles with self-confidence and self-esteem. She lives in California with her single mom and mean-spirited older step-sister; her father is in prison. She wears hand-me-downs and gets teased a lot. When her best friend Lay Li starts to laugh at some of the teasing, their friendship suffers. She holds her own on the basketball court playing with the neighborhood boys and she pushes back when the boys don’t like her playing rough and trash-talking like them. Will she come to terms with who she is and learn her own self-worth? Although a short book, Browne raises interesting questions about sex roles and stereotypes and the double-standard girls run into. Why can boys talk about conquests but girls are shamed?

Writing about Lay Li:

“But now I realize she ain’t the boss.

Now I realize it’s all a trick

Now I realize being a girl is heavy business.” (p. 152)

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

four-stars

Unsettled

UnsettledUnsettled by Reem Faruqi
Published by HarperCollins on May 11, 2021
ISBN: 0063044706
Pages: 352
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Nurah, a Pakistani girl has it all. Family and friends  who love her. When her father accepts a job offer in  America, Nurah must leave all she knows. This is her story. A story of learning to settle into a new country, neighborhood, school and culture. She misses her best friend, grandparents  and struggles to fit in yet keep her identity and honor her culture.

This story is told in verse, with short chapters and divided into 9 sections that not only explore Nurah’s struggles but cover topics of domestic abuse, bullying, assimilation, racial profiling.

Author Farqui  introduces the readers to Islamic concepts and uses both  Arabic and Urdu words throughout the story which adds depth to the story. It is an authentic look at what it means to leave one life and begin a new one. It is also the story of what it means to be  Pakistani and Muslim in America.

Ms. Farqui has added back matter – glossary of Arabic and Urdu terms, an author’s note, even a recipe for kababs.

This is a fives star story ! It is  a thought provoking coming of age story that is not to be missed.

Add this to : Other Words for Home-Jasmine Warga, Kelly Yang’s Front Desk, and Hena Khan’s Amina’s Voice.

Reviewed by Kathy George

Gray Public Library, Gray, Maine

 

 

 

five-stars

Leonard (My Life as a Cat)

Leonard (My Life as a Cat)Leonard (My Life as a Cat) by Carlie Sorosiak
Published by Walker Books US on April 13, 2021
ISBN: 1536207705
Pages: 240
Genres: Animals, Fantasy, Humor, Science Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Leonard the cat narrates this story. Leonard is also an extraterrestrial being whose inhabitants visit Earth to experience life in a corporal body when they reach 300 years old. Leonard intended to experience life on Earth as a Yellowstone forest ranger but ended up as a cat in South Carolina. He is rescued from a flood by Olive, who may need some rescuing of her own, and soon they are inseparable. Olive is spending the summer with her grandmother while her mom travels with her new boyfriend. Olive’s mom is thinking of moving them to California from Maine at the end of the summer. This book is heartwarming and hilarious — at one point Olive describes middle school as “being dropped on an alien planet.” From the author of I, Cosmo, this should be very popular with upper-elementary and middle-grade readers and animal lovers of all ages.

Recommended for Cream of the Crop.

Reviewed by Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham

five-stars

A B C Cats

A B C CatsABC Cats: An Alpha-Cat Book by Isabella Kung, Lesléa Newman
Published by Candlewick on May 4, 2021
ISBN: 1536209945
Pages: 26
Genres: Animals, Fiction in Verse/Poetry
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
four-stars
This is the perfect companion board book to Newman’s 1 2 3 Cats.  The talented author/illustrator team have created another enticing book for toddlers and those who read aloud to the younger set.  Each page reveals one adorable cat lounging or playing on a letter in the alphabet.  Individual cats may be adored with jewels, be playing with yarn or in one case swimming.  While unique in size and breed the cats each enjoy their special letter.   The background is white while the letters are large and painted using watercolors in a variety of colors.

As attractive as this board book is the words seem to be somewhat of a stretch for the toddler set.  The rhyme and text will appeal to pre-K children who find words compelling.  Add this to public libraries where board books are collected and gift to nursery and day care programs.   Like 1 2 3 Cats, this title is a good baby shower or first birthday gift.

Reviewed by Jan Hamilton, retired youth services librarian in Scarborough, ME

four-stars

Yang Warriors

Yang WarriorsYang Warriors by Billy Thao, Kao Kalia Yang
Published by Univ Of Minnesota Press on April 13, 2021
ISBN: 1517907985
Pages: 40
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars
Following the Vietnam War, the CIA conducted a secret war in Laos that relied on the Hmong soldiers to prevent the threat of Communism from spreading throughout Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands died or fled. Ban Vanai was a refugee camp set up for the Hmong people and other tribes of Laos in 1975 in Northeast Thailand.

Author Kao Yang and her family lived at Ban Vanai when she was a child.  Her story is about her ten cousins who trained daily as warriors in the event they might have to defend their families. They balance stones on their heads, sit for hours in the hot sun, and wield magical swords as part of daily drills in the camp.

After a week without fresh vegetables, the warriors decide to risk everything, including punishment from both family elders and the guards for leaving  the camp  to get  for fresh food for their families.

While on the surface it appears to be a story of children finding a way to pass the days in a refugee camp, it is a story of never giving up, of working as a group in times of great need, the comradery this group of “super heroes” shows to each other and their people as they struggle to maintain their culture and dignity.

Illustrations by Hmong artist Billy Thao bring the Yang warriors and their camp to life with the colors of the region and the feel of the camp.

An authors note gives truth to both her culture and her childhood.

There are not many stories about refugee camps and even fewer about those in Southeast Asia. This one should not be missed.

Grades 3-6

Reviewed by Kathy George

Gray Public Library, Gray Maine

 

five-stars