Format: Chapter Book Fiction

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

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

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

Love in English

Love in EnglishLove in English by Maria E. Andreu
Published by Balzer + Bray on February 2, 2021
ISBN: 0062996517
Pages: 336
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
four-stars
Ana loves poetry and she loves language. The only problem is that she’s just moved to the US from Argentina, and she can barely speak English. Seemingly simple, everyday conversations are a struggle. She gets bullied for not knowing the language, she feels lost. One shining light in all of this is her ESL class. No one in that class speaks English as a first language, they’re all struggling. They don’t share a common language, except English in ESL. Ana begins falling for Harrison, an American boy who ticks all the classic American boyfriend boxes. At the same time, however, she is spending a lot of time with Neo, a Cypriot boy from her ESL class. Ana struggles to determine what feelings are real and how to even talk about them in any language.

This is a wonderfully written romance, coming of age YA novel. There are many explorations of the nuances of the English language that are both illuminating and humorous. Readers will relate to Ana’s struggles to figure herself out and they’ll find empathy in her language struggles where they may not have existed before.

Recommended for readers 12 and up. Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

Unsettled

UnsettledUnsettled by Reem Faruqi
Published by HarperCollins on May 11, 2021
ISBN: 0063044706
Pages: 352
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars
Unsettled is a well written story told in verse that is bound to capture the hearts of readers.  When Nurah’s family relocates from Pakistan to Georgia life become a challenge.  As a middle school student, she is aware that everything is different from her home and finds herself isolated.   Nurah’s story is not surprising yet it is revealing in many specific situations, several that are heartbreaking.  This strong central character is portrayed as a sensitive and introspective Muslim girl who is not without flaws.

The storyline flows like a river, it weaves in and out of places of joy and sadness.   There are henna designs throughout the book but it is the chapter introduction pages that reveal the intricate henna illustrations depicting staging of growth.  This story is truly told in text and illustrations, it belongs on all public library shelves. Middle grade school media centers should add Unsettled to their collection.  An amazing coming-of-age story concerning immigration that will benefit all readers.  The back pages include a glossary as well as a recipe for Kabab.

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

Recommended for Cream of the Crop

five-stars

Franklin Endicott and the Third Key

Franklin Endicott and the Third KeyFranklin Endicott and the Third Key by Chris Van Dusen, Kate DiCamillo
Published by Candlewick Press on June 8, 2021
ISBN: 9781536201819
Pages: 112
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars
Book 6 in Tales from Deckawoo Drive series. True confession – I love everything this team of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen puts out! And I didn’t think I could like any book better than Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem. But along came Franklin Endicott and the Third Key…

Franklin Endicott is a worrier. (Aren’t we all these days?) One night, when his worries cause nightmares, he befriends Eugenia Lincoln, the lady next door (and one of my all-time favorite characters!), who is also up in her kitchen fighting insomnia. Together they visit Buddy Lamp’s Used Goods shop to get a key duplicated and wind up with an extra key that nobody knows what it goes to – which worries Franklin. After returning it to the shop, Buddy Lamp shares a book of stories which helps Franklin, (and maybe Eugenia?) deal with his other worries. The power of words and stories is a central theme, but Kate also weaves in the importance of family and friends plus the power of learning to let go. Van Dusen’s illustrations are perfect, especially the ones of Eugenia. Mercy Watson plays a cameo role as a reading therapy pig.

 Professional Review

The latest book from “Tales from Deckawoo Drive” might be DiCamillo’s most charming offering yet in the series. . . . The tale is as uplifting as it is literary, and the author tells a genuine story that may inspire readers to be like Franklin, a child open to receiving his very own mysterious, ­life-changing key. . . . DiCamillo pens a glorious love letter to childhood uncertainty and the powerful and transformative world of reading.

—School Library Journal (starred review)

And from Chris Van Dusen’s Facebook page: A brand new Tales from Deckawoo Drive hits the stores today! And it might be my favorite so far. Kate’s story is simply wonderful and it was an honor to illustrate her words. I love this sweet little book.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for KidsAncestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Andrea L. Rogers, Art Coulson, Brian Young, Carole Lindstrom, Christine Day, Cynthia Leitich Smith, David Alexander Robertson, Dawn Quigley, Eric Gansworth, Erika T. Wurth, Joseph Bruchac, Kim Rogers, Monique Gray Smith, Rebecca Roanhorse, Tim Tingle, Traci Sorell
Published by Heartdrum on February 9, 2021
ISBN: 0062869949
Pages: 320
Genres: Short Stories
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars
An anthology of short stories and poems themed around an intertribal powwow, written by major Indigenous authors including Joseph Bruchac, Carole Lindstrom, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Traci Sorell, this book is a must-buy for every collection. The stories and poems all revolve around the theme of community. Some are humorous, some more serious, but all of them celebrate Native culture.

I also really appreciated the various glossaries at the back of the book that defined words from various Nations, including Cree, Choctaw, Navajo, and Ojibwe. The author bios and notes at the end of the book add to the collection, really emphasizing the fact that this book is something special and that the publishing industry should be doing more to promote Indigenous authors.

Written for kids aged 8 to 12, though teens and adults will enjoy it as well. If this middle grade book is not already in your collection, I highly recommend getting it!

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.

five-stars