-
Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli
“Dead Wednesday” is supposed to be the day middle-schoolers contemplate their own mortality, but for one 8th-grader it’s a turning point in life. Dead Wednesday by Jerry Spinelli. Knopf, 2021, 227 pages. Reading Level: Teen, 12-15 Recommended for: ages 13-16 Amber Springs Middle School has a weird tradition for 8th-graders. On the last Wednesday of the school year, they get to pretend to be dead. That is, they’ll take on the identity of a teen who died in the previous year—mostly by auto accident—and be invisible to teachers, staff, and younger students. It’s supposed to make them think about the fragility of life and be a little more careful once…
-
Population Picture Books: *If the World Were 100 People and We Are a Garden
Two high-concept picture books present stories of people and movements in a way even small children can grasp. *If the World Were 100 People: A Visual to Our Global Village by Jackie McCann, illustrated by Aaron Cushley. Crown, 2021, 26 pages Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 0-4 Recommended for: all ages “It’s tricky to picture 800 billion people, so instead let’s imagine the whole planet as a village where 100 people live . . . If we focus on 100 people, it’s easier to see the things we have in common and the things that make us different.” In our imaginary village, it may be no surprise that half of…
-
9/11 for Middle Graders: Ground Zero and In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers
Novelist Alan Gratz and graphic artist Don Brown offer views of 9/11 accessible to middle-grade readers. In The Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown. HMH, 2021, 111 pages plus notes and bibliography. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 8-14 “Jules Naudet runs for his life. That morning, Jules had been with New York City Fire Department Chief Joseph Pfeifer and his firefighting crew in Lower Manhattan filming a documentary about the Fire Department.” As such, he was in a perfect position to aim his camera at a jetliner hitting the North Tower…
-
The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book by Kate Milford
15 storytellers each tell a mesmerizing tale for the Raconteur’s Commonplace book, a book as clever as any Milford has written. The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book : A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford. Clarion, 2021. 400 pages. Reading Level: Teens, Ages 12-15 Recommended For: Ages 12 and up A storm is brewing outside the Blue Vein Tavern in Nagspeake. Its inmates are trapped, at least for the time being, as the waters of the Skidwrack rise. A motley gathering of unlikely companions it is, too: a folklorist, an old lady, a gambler, a captain, an orphan, and many more, each with a story to tell. And, in a manner reminiscent…
-
The Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma
Blending Fact With Fiction The Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma is a marvellous Christian historical novel and part of the True Colors series. It is a fascinating novel set in Denver in 1900 and based on true crimes. Fact blends with fiction to produce a cracking tale. We witness the plight of women. They were […]
-
Revealing Light by Marilyn Turk
Shine His Light Revealing Light by Marilyn Turk is a delightful historical Christian novel. It is the second book in the Coastal Lights Legacy series but can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces. This book is set in 1883, twenty two years after book one and follows Sally Rose […]
-
Both Of You by Adele Parks
A Clue Or A Red Herring? Both Of You by Adele Parks is a marvellous contemporary psychological suspense that will have you looking this way and that as you try to guess the perpetrator. Two women go missing, two husbands are distraught, two police officers lead the hunt – and what they discover will be […]
-
Mission Bandits by Sarah Sawyer
Exciting Mission Bandits by Sarah Sawyer is an exciting historical Christian novella and the second book in the Doc Beck Western series. It can be read as a stand-alone. The beautiful bond of loyalty between Doc Beck and her side-kick Just Jimmy continues. I love their banter which deepens and cements their relationship. In spite […]
-
Rebel Light by Marilyn Turk
Shining His Light Rebel Light by Marilyn Turk is a charming Christian historical novel and the first book in the Coastal Lights Legacy which promises to be fantastic. The setting is 1861 in the American south. It is a time of turmoil as the American Civil War begins. There is a question of trust as […]
-
The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan
Delightfully Fun The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan is the most charming contemporary novel showing you are never too old to have the trip of a lifetime. The novel is a journey of discovery – literally as the characters drive across America on route 66 and also internally as characters unlock and realise their full […]
