Category: Book Reviews

The Magicians of Elephant County

The Magicians of Elephant CountyThe Magicians of Elephant County by Adam Perry
Published by HarperCollins on October 9th 2018
ISBN: 006279535X
Pages: 384
Goodreads
four-stars

A momentous event has taken place in the fictional Elephant County. This narrative is an attempt to explain what happened. The story is told in alternating chapters using the two main characters. Eleven year old Duncan and twelve year old Emma are best friends. They dream of becoming great magicians. Duncan accidently acquires a real magic wand and then the story accelerates. Using two different points of view as to what happened is clever and humorous. This novel was fun to read since it had many surprises and moved quickly. This is the author’s first novel. I highly recommend it for grades 4-7

Reviewed by Kris Zuidema, retired school librarian, Standish

four-stars

Elephant Secret

Elephant SecretElephant Secret by Eric Walters
Published by Clarion Books on August 28th 2018
ISBN: 1328796175
Pages: 352
Goodreads
five-stars

Sam lives with her dad in an elephant sanctuary. The elephants are her family. She understands them and feels an exceptional closeness to them, especially a newborn orphan, Wooly. In many ways she relates to the elephants easier than her middle school friends and her father’s girlfriend. This exceptional novel offers a wealth of information on elephant behavior, elephant management, and a look into the future. Readers will enjoy this well told story with its variety of themes. Included is an afterward, an author’s note, and a print and non-print bibliography. I highly recommend this excellent book. Recommended for grades 4-8

Reviewed by Kris Zuidema, retired school librarian, Standish

 

five-stars

Courageous: A Novel of Dunkirk

Courageous: A Novel of DunkirkCourageous by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Published by Scholastic Press on November 27th 2018
ISBN: 1338226851
Pages: 192
Goodreads
four-stars

The story begins with Aiden having a nightmare about drowning. Aiden has lost a brother in the war whose ship was sunk by a German U-Boat. His surviving brother is in France, part of the British troops that need to be evacuated because they are surrounded by Nazi forces. Aiden and his friend Sally want to take part in the dangerous attempt to rescue British troops. All available boats are needed to cross the channel from England to France and bring home the soldiers. This includes small fishing boats that families rely on to make a living. Aiden’s mother and father forbid him from taking part in the rescue operation, though Aiden is determined to save his brother. Having a family who has lost one son and has another serving in the military brings a personal approach to the story. This fast paced historical novel will appeal to younger readers and older reluctant readers. It is well written and informative. The author includes as glossary, brief history of WWII, timeline of the evacuation of Dunkirk, and bibliography. Recommended for grades 4-10.

Reviewed by Kris Zuidema, retired school librarian, Standish

four-stars

The Waking Forest

The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees
Published by Delacorte Press on March 12th 2019
ISBN: 0525581162
Pages: 304
Goodreads
three-stars

The Waking Forest

 

In a fantasy story that begins from two points of view:  Rhea’s and the Witch of the forest, readers are sent on an often confusing ride to know what is true.  Rhea is one of many sisters, who are hard to keep straight at first, and readers aren’t sure if her parents are alive or dead or who is related to whom.  A fox follows Rhea around keeping her safe until the end when the fox is revealed to be a person.  In the end Rhea is shown to be the Witch of Wishes and also the Witch of Words or stories.  Varon keeps Rhea safe on her journey and is someone who is very special to her throughout the book.  Fantasy fans may enjoy this with witches, magic, darkness, a princess, and a Fox who is not a Fox but, to me, it was often confusing.  In her first book Alyssa Wees often uses poetical and elegant language.  This book is recommended for grades 7-12.

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland

three-stars

The Last Last-Day-Of-Summer

The Last Last-Day-Of-SummerThe Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles
Published by Versify on April 2nd 2019
ISBN: 1328460835
Pages: 304
Goodreads
four-stars

Lamar Giles’ “The Last Last-Day-of-Summer” follows brothers Otto and Sheed Alston on their last day of summer. Otto and Sheed are not just brothers, but are also local detectives who have solved several mysteries in Fry, Virginia and gotten the key to the city twice! Apparently a lot of weird things happen in their town, but today may be the weirdest: a man appears  and offers them an old camera, but when they take a picture, time freezes! How will the Legendary Alston Boys fix this mess? Written by the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books, Otto and Sheed are black and the book features several main characters of color. Filled with time travel, giant platypus-like creatures, robots and more, “The Last Last-Day-of-Summer,” is an action-filled story with characters you will want to read about again. I really hope Giles makes this a series!

Reminiscent of “The Phantom Tollbooth” and the Hardy Boys/Three Investigators, this middle grade novel will appeal to kids who enjoy funny stories with characters who get into weird situations. Aimed at kids in grades 5 through 7, this is definitely worth purchasing for your middle grade fiction collection.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.

four-stars

Watch Hollow

Watch HollowWatch Hollow by Gregory Funaro
Published by HarperCollins on February 12th 2019
ISBN: 0062643452
Pages: 320
Goodreads
five-stars

A mysterious man shows up to Lucy’s dad’s clock shop just as they were closing with an offer that her dad, Mr. Tinker, can’t pass up — money that will help make Lucy, her brother Oliver and her dad’s lives better. According to the stranger, he can’t move into the house unless the clock is working and the only one that can fix it is Mr. Tinker. Once the clock is fixed, the house will have power to run. Not long after  Lucy and her family arrive, strange things start to happen and small animal figures that look like they belong in the clock wake up and start talking to Lucy.

An exciting interesting twist to the supernatural with talking clock animals, a evil being in the woods, which by the way are slowly making their way to the house each day. Not scary. Recommended for grades 4-7.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford, ME.

five-stars

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of The Soviet Union in World War II

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of The Soviet Union in World War IIA Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth E. Wein
Published by Balzer + Bray on January 22nd 2019
ISBN: 0062453017
Pages: 388
Goodreads
five-stars

Fans of Elizabeth Wein’s  Code Name Verity will enjoy A Thousand Sisters. Wein introduces to the reader to  3 Soviet regiments that were manned by female volunteers to fly combat missions for the Soviet Union during World War II. Wein tells about their ambitions, duty to country, their daily lives along with the  horrors and successes of their combat missions. Most of these women were in their late teens and early twenties and many did not survive. The black and white photos in the book are of various individual women that are mentioned and of their regiments and comrades . This book would be considered a collective biography.

You  might want to pair this up with Kathryn Lasky’s Night Witches: A Novel of World War II, as the nickname Night Witches was given to these female pilots as they drop bombs during the middle of the night on unsuspecting German soldiers. Included is a TOC, bibliography, author’s notes and an easy to use index. Source notes are also provided.

Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford, ME.

five-stars

Orange for the Sunsets

Orange for the SunsetsOrange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on April 2nd 2019
ISBN: 0062795295
Pages: 336
Goodreads
five-stars

Asha and Yesofu are best friends. They have grown up doing everything together even though Asha comes from a wealthy Indian family, who Yesofu’s mother and brother work for and Yesofu who is an African, that works in the fields with his father. This is a tale of friendship and racism that revolves around President Idi Amin’s take over of Uganda. In 1972, Amin set in motion the expulsion of all Indians from Uganda so that Africa could be returned to the Africans.  Whether Indians were Ugandan citizens, of which many were, they were required to leave or face dire consequences.

This is a well written historical fiction of a time in Uganda’s history that pitted friends, family and a country against each other.  Told in alternating perspectives between how Asha, who doesn’t feel that their friendship is wrong and Yesofu, who is torn between friendship and the right thing to do.  In the back of the book is a timeline for the “Countdown to the Expulsion” and the Author’s Notes there is historical background information provided.

Recommended for grades 4-7.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford, ME.

five-stars

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen

four-stars

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen is the story of a fifth grader from a large family who dreams of going to Hollywood Stunt camp because she loves to punch things.  Old Bernice is a bully but Bernice’s mother sends her to go live with her Aunt Josephine at a church and no one knows her there. She is thinking about becoming New Bernice.

This book has messages about self confidence and classism.  It tells the reader that just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you can’t achieve your goals.  It also teaches that bullies are not always bad people.  Bernice learns that not everything is about punching people.  This is a story of a character rather than a plot.

The narration is from Bernice, an eleven year old’s perspective.  I think this is appropriate for people who are a similar age.

Kathleen Powers, Winslow Public Library, Winslow, ME

four-stars

The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement by Eric Braun
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1st 2018
ISBN: 1541523318
Pages: 32
Goodreads
three-stars

The Civil Rights Movement describes historical events in the 1950s and 60s as well as the past ten years. It portrays historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and also more modern events with Black Lives Matter and football players kneeling during the national anthem. The coverage of each event or person is brief to allow younger readers an introduction to the subject matter without overwhelming them.

The reading level is ideal for a beginning reader as the language that is used is very simple. Key vocabulary is highlighted with a reference in the back of the book. This would be great for elementary school students who love history and social studies or an early research project.

Most of the illustrations are photography and each photograph has a simple caption for the reader to connect it back to the main text. The boarder of the pages is a blue and black illustration of protesters which complements the text.

A weakness of the arc of this book is that it feels like information is missing or skipped over with the jump from the 1960s to 2012. There may have been a better way for the writing to transition between time periods.

Reviewed by Kathleen Powers, Winslow Public Library, Winslow, ME

three-stars