Category: Book Reviews

A Slip Of A Girl

four-stars

Patricia Reilly Giff never disappoints. This verse is a tale of around the time of the potato famine. The story isn’t about the famine, but the time during the Drumlish Land War, the Irish were very poor, life was hard and the English could know down your home for a place to raise their sheep.  Anna takes her baby sister to go live with an old aunt she has never met. Their Da is working and no one knows when he will be back,  This is a time when hundreds of people came together to make the English back off from claiming people’s homes. Their voices were heard.

Throughout the verse, are many photographs taken during this time frame. There is a glossary to help with some vocabulary that may not be familiar to the reader.

Reviewed by Jeri Fitzpatrick, GNG Middle School, Gray

four-stars

Stargazing

StargazingStargazing by Jen Wang
Published by First Second on September 10th 2019
ISBN: 125018388X
Pages: 224
Goodreads
five-stars

This graphic novel about friendship is based on an experience in Wang’s childhood. The main character, Christine, is struggling with living up to the expectations of her parents and many of these include stereotypical behavior in the Chinese American community: do well at math, play violin, always obey your parents and strive to be the best. But Christine is not great at math and she is just okay at violin. When she meets Moon, another Chinese American girl, she realizes that not all Chinese Americans are the same, nor do they have to be. Moon is relaxed and fun, she is a Buddhist, and she loves to draw and dance to K-pop music. Christine really likes Moon, but she is also jealous at the ease in which Moon seems to move through life. When her jealousy leads her to do something unkind, she must come to terms with her behavior. Adding to this is the fact that Moon is sick. Did Christine contribute to the illness with her unkindness? Will there be time to make it up to Moon? Wang layers in her message about the difficulty of being a good friend and the consequences of decisions we make with a gentle touch. Gorgeously drawn and colored, this graphic novel will be a hit with fans of Jenny Holms, Raina Telgemeier, and Shannon Hale.

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

five-stars

The Unofficial Guide to Minecraft Mining and Farming

The Unofficial Guide to Minecraft Mining and FarmingThe Unofficial Guide to Minecraft Mining and Farming by Heather E. Schwartz
Series: My Minecraft
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on January 1st 2019
ISBN: 1541538854
Pages: 32
Goodreads
three-stars

As the name of the game implies, mining is a huge part of playing the game Minecraft. And in order to survive, a player must also learn to grow food. This guide avoids telling players things they might already know simply from playing the game and sticks to offering tips and tricks about mining and farming better. With plenty of screen shots and some connections to real-world applications, this is a book for those just beginning to play or who are interested in learning if they might like to play the game (and perhaps justifying it to an adult in their life). Not essential, but if it were on the shelf in a school or public library, it would certainly circulate.

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

three-stars

Smell My Foot

Smell My FootChick and Brain: Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell
Series: Chick and Brain #1
Published by Candlewick Press on September 3rd 2019
ISBN: 0763679364
Pages: 72
Goodreads
five-stars

Riffing on the Dick & Jane books, Cece Bell has created a new early reader, graphic series introducing Chick & Brain and their hilarious dynamic. Despite having a large brain, Brain is a simple guy. He wants Chick to smell his foot, but Chick will do no such thing until Brain says, “Please.” In a series of Abbot-and-Costello-esque exchanges, the two go round and round. Enter Spot the dog. He gets caught up in the sniff-fest but turns it to his advantage, happily inviting Chick “to lunch.” Then the reader learns that Brain is not as clueless as he seems. Kids will laugh out loud and won’t care that this is a book slyly teaching them about manners. Bell’s illustrations are large and clear and limited to two or three panels per page. Recommend for classrooms and public library collections.

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

five-stars

The American Dream?

The American Dream?The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito by Shing Yin Khor
Published by Zest Books (Tm) on August 6th 2019
ISBN: 154157852X
Pages: 160
Goodreads
five-stars

The title of this book includes a question mark which clues readers into the fact that it will challenge traditional notions of the “American Dream.” The author of this graphic memoir, Shing Yin Khor, is an immigrant and artist from Malaysia who after living in Los Angeles for ten years sets out in 2016 to learn about the rest of America. She sets out on Route 66, the “Mother Road” she read about in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. This memoir is just as much about the roadside attractions and the search for the “American Dream”, as it is about the author becoming comfortable in her own skin as an immigrant and an American. The eye-catching artwork in ink and watercolor formatted in a variety of sizes often taking up whole pages. This book will have wide appeal for readers who have just left high school and are looking to set their own path and begin their own journeys. 

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School

five-stars

The Moon Book

The Moon BookThe Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
Published by Holiday House on May 14th 2019
ISBN: 0823443248
Pages: 32
Goodreads
four-stars

This revised and updated edition of Gail Gibbon’s The Moon Book provides students with a clear introduction to how the moon was formed, its orbit, phases of the moon, solar and lunar eclipse, exploration, milestones, legends, and additional facts. Gibbon’s characteristic illustrations direct the reader’s eye to what is being explained. While the book does not include an index or glossary, there are many labeled diagrams and bold subject headings across the top of the pages. This updated version includes a map of the moon. Recommended for schools and libraries serving k-3 children. Margy Soule, Coffin elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

four-stars

The Tornado

four-stars

Bell is being bullied by Parker at school. He has devised a strategy to help stop the bullying- avoid Parker at all costs. He tried to tell the principal about it and so did his parents, but the principal is Parker’s dad and he just can’t see/believe what Parker is doing. But then a new student joins the school and Parker has a new target which Bell knows is wrong but can’t help feeling relieved. The humor in here was good and the bullying very real. Also the turning on friends or just not standing up for them to avoid being bullied is something lots of kids will relate too. Bells parents were a big plus in this book, their roll is minor but it added quite a bit. Not quite as good as Burt’s other books, as Good as Greetings from Witness Protection or The Right Hook of Devin Velma, but still good. Grades 4 and up

Mary Lehmer, Youth Services Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

four-stars

Cog

five-stars

COG is an android. He was developed on the sly by Gina, a programmer that wanted to make a robot that could learn and grow with the experiences it had. The company that hired Gina,  uniMIND, has other ideas and want the android for themselves. COG is going to have use all of his experiences to out smart uniMIND and escape them. This is a great sci-fi book for a younger reader. It has a few pictures, (wish it had more), that add to the book. COG’s dilemma  about what to do and how to go about doing it were action filled at times, other times creative and sometimes funny. Each of the robots/androids had a quirk and unique personality that made the story. Grades 4 and up

Mary Lehmer, Youth Services Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

 

five-stars

The Year We Fell From Space

The Year We Fell From SpaceThe Year We Fell From Space by A.S. King
Published by Arthur A. Levine Books on October 15th 2019
ISBN: 1338236369
Pages: 272
Goodreads
four-stars

Liberty loves everything about constellations and she knows so much about them. She often goes out at night to look at them. One night when she is outside she sees a meteorite crash into the forest behind their cabin. She is super excited about it, but on that same night, something awful happens, her dad moves out and her parents end up getting divorced. This book deals with depression in a parent and the impact it can have on their children. Liberty tries to shoulder a lot of the taking care of people in her family because of this, but it affects her and her life in ways she can’t see until she gets help. The story also explores the fears a child might have in a family with depression that they too might have depression. There is a list of resources at the back of the book on where to get help and learn about depression. Grades 5 and up

Mary Lehmer, Youth Services Librarian, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

 

four-stars

Cassandra Animal Psychic, Cassandra Steps Out

Cassandra Animal Psychic, Cassandra Steps OutCassandra Steps Out by Isabelle Bottier, Haelaene Canac, Norwyn Mactyre
Published by Graphic Universe (TM) on September 3rd 2019
ISBN: 1541543971
Pages: 56
Goodreads
two-stars

Translation of: Cassandra prend son envol.

Cassandra can understand animals. She decides to use her ability to find lost pets but doesn’t want anyone to know. She gets very upset with her friend when she suggests she shouldn’t hide her talent. To make Cassandra even more upset,  her friend might go England and Cassandra will be left behind. Cool graphics in here but Cassandra is just on ok character. It’s hard to really get behind her frustration with her friend, the boy reporter and her mom because it is kind of muddled and the story needs more information on all 3 of these to help with that. Grades 4 and up.

Mary Lehmer, Youth Services Librarian, Freeport Community Library.

two-stars