Category: Book Reviews

It’s Not Bragging if It’s True: How to be Awesome at Life

It’s Not Bragging if It’s True: How to be Awesome at LifeIt's Not Bragging If It's True: How to Be Awesome at Life, from a Winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee by Zaila Avant-Garde, Marti Dumas
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 0593568990
Pages: 144
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Zaila Avant-Garde is tenacious and intelligent. She is a Scripps Spelling Bee winner, a two-time Guinness World Record holder, and has won Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year. She has a lot to teach young people about setting goals and working hard to achieve them. With humor and insight, Zaila offers readers 9 steps to “level up” to meet their goals and become their most authentic selves. These steps include having someone else’s back, knowing when to ask for help, and embracing your own weirdness. Zaila’s positive attitude and confidence shines throughout in this nonfiction self-help book for upper-elementary aged children. Readers will enjoy the short chapters and the photos of Zaila’s achievements through the years.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

four-stars

Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker: Dragon Rider

Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker: Dragon RiderDragon Rider by J.C. Phillipps
Series: Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker, #4, #4, #4
Published by Random House Graphic on March 21, 2023
ISBN: 0593179595
Pages: 240
Genres: Adventure
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
three-stars

Book 4 in the Pacey Packer series. To protect everyone in Rundalyn, Pacey and Slasher collect the pieces of the magic horn before the evil Alpha Unicorn does. Things get complicated when Pacey’s sister, Mina, gets taken by a dragon. The purple-toned artwork is tough on the eyes, but  kids who love unicorns will enjoy this adventure story. Pacey is an intrepid heroine and a role model for young girls overcoming their fears. Having never read the first three books, this book stands alone. A compelling and humorous plot without being too scary. Bonus at the back of book includes instructions for how to draw a dragon.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

Frog

FrogFrog (Little Life Cycles) by Maggie Li
Published by Templar on March 7, 2023
ISBN: 1536230235
Genres: Animals
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
four-stars

One of four books in Little Life Cycles series. Clever cut-out of frog’s eyes that transform into frog eggs that young children will enjoy poking their fingers through. This book is a stronger title than Bug in in the same series. Like Bug, this title is too wordy but less so. The illustrations are less busy and more descriptive. Preschoolers will enjoy the frog metamorphosis and will be encouraged to explore and look for frogs in different stages. This book can also be an added resource for K-2 classrooms studying life cycles.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

four-stars

How to Write a Poem

How to Write a PoemHow to Write a Poem by Deanna Nikaido, Kwame Alexander, Melissa Sweet
Published by Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins ISBN: 0063060906
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

A visually gorgeous book that invites readers to immerse themselves in colorful, poetry-making experiences through wordplay and art. Sweet’s collage illustrations and hand lettering exists symbiotically with Alexander and Nikaido’s text, blurring the line between written art and visual art, giving each page both words to ponder upon and endless artistic details to contemplate. A pitch-perfect introduction to all that poetry can be.

Easy to put in the hands of young children who enjoy looking at books on their own, and for families to read aloud; could also be used in a story hour paired with collage crafts. Highly recommend.

Reviewed by Jenny Martinez Nocito, Maine State Library, Augusta

five-stars

Bug

BugBug (Little Life Cycles) by Maggie Li
Published by Templar on March 7, 2023
ISBN: 1536230227
Genres: Animals
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
three-stars

One of four books in Little Life Cycles series. Clever cut-out of worm on pages that babies will enjoy poking their fingers through. With a nod to “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” the caterpillar eats his way through one adventure after another. The illustrations are a bit too busy for this age group and word count for board books should be zero to one hundred; this book far exceeds that limit. If sharing with very young readers, the reader would probably need to paraphrase. The book could definitely be used in K-2 classrooms when teaching life cycles.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

Unseen Jungle

Unseen JungleUnseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World by Eleanor Spicer Rice, Rob Wilson
Published by MIT Kids Press on May 2, 2023
Pages: 176
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

A fun and fascinating look at the microbes that surround us in our homes, our yards, our food, and yes, our bodies. Conversational and humorous in tone, with colorful cartoon drawings throughout, this book is informative as well as entertaining. The chapters are short, the language is accessible, add in some occasionally creepy and gross details and you have high appeal for the upper elementary set. Interviews with scientists are interspersed and suggestions for further reading and a bibliography are included at the end of the book. 

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

Grades 3-6

Kerrie Lattari, York Middle School, York

four-stars

Someday We’ll Find It

Someday We’ll Find ItSomeday We'll Find It by Jennifer Wilson
Published by HarperTeen on April 26, 2022
ISBN: 006304465X
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Six years ago, Bliss Walker’s mother left for Japan to pursue a modeling career, leaving her to live with her Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin Patsy in a rural, dusty town in Illinois. Now 17, Bliss is spending her summer before senior year trying to sort out her future. Not strong academically and feeling trapped by her attitudinally challenged boyfriend, River, Bliss becomes even more confused about life when her mother waltzes back into town promising to bring Bliss along to model with her in Europe. Add in Blake, the new guy in town whose very presence poses a threat to River, and Bliss is even more unsure of what she wants and who she is. 

Teens who are contemplating life post-high school and who may be grappling with who they are outside of the life they’ve been living, the expectations of others, and the future they always imagined will relate to Bliss and the tug-of-war she is having within herself. Wilson’s ability to capture small-town rural life will undoubtedly connect to readers who have grown up in such places. Predictable but enjoyable. 

Grades 9-12

Kerrie Lattari, York Middle School, York

three-stars

A Different Kind of Normal

A Different Kind of NormalA Different Kind of Normal: My Real-Life COMPLETELY True Story About Being Unique by Abigail Balfe
on 10/04/2022
ISBN: 0593566467
Genres: Biography/Autobiography
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

In this illustrated memoir by Abigail Balfe, she describes growing up in England with undiagnosed autism throughout childhood all the way up to adulthood when she was finally diagnosed at the age of 33. Balfe begins by shedding light on what it means to be autistic and neurodivergent in general. Other chapters include discussions about how she handled school, friendship, family, sensory sensitivities, puberty, college and more. The end of the book contains a glossary, resources for further learning, tips for neurotypical people to relate to those who are neurodivergent, and an author’s note. 

The colorful illustrations and conversational tone are appealing but readers may find the meandering narration to be distracting. The overall message is reassuring–those who are neurodivergent may face struggles, but success and happiness are theirs to have too. 

Ages 9-12

Kerrie Lattari, York Middle School, York

three-stars

The Book of Turtles

The Book of TurtlesThe Book of Turtles by Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson
Published by Clarion Books on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 0358458072
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

While Sy Montgomery is renowned for her “Scientists in the Field” series, this nonfiction science book about turtles is not part of that series. The fact-filled text is engaging and the “Celebrity Turtle Profiles” features some of the world’s most famous turtles, including Myrtle, the 90-year-old, 550-pound green sea turtle at the New England Aquarium in Boston. The book concludes with some of the dangers turtles face and how we can help. Patterson’s highly detailed illustrations are accurate and life-like. I recommend this book for all ages. I guarantee you will learn something new about turtles. However, a book for adults Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by the same author and illustrator duo will be published in September. The first sentence of the book is brilliant – “Sometime around 240 million years ago — about the time of the first dinosaurs, and 9 million years before the first crocodile — the shell invented the turtle.” It goes on to report that the shell, composed of 60 joined bones, makes a turtle a turtle.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

This Little Kitty

This Little KittyThis Little Kitty by Karen Obuhanych
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on January 31, 2023
ISBN: 0593435141
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Anyone who love cats will enjoy this book! The observations of cat behavior throughout the day are entirely on point, but the  bold, graphic-style illustrations are what really make this book exceptional. The numerous cats depicted all convey their unique appearance and personality, even though they are all created with basically the same three shapes – head, body and tail. Miss Katy from Rockland Public Library created a wonderful template and video of how these shapes work together as a craft activity to go along with the book.

The bouncy rhyming text reads smoothly and is not forced, making it a great choice for Story Time. A fun book for preschoolers and cat lovers!

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars