A World of Discovery introduces pre-teens to the basics of technology and invention. A World of Discovery by James Brown and Richard Platt. Candlewick Studio, 2019, 63 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 7-12 Every technology we take for granted had to be “discovered”—usually by necessity followed by invention, but not always. The need for wheels seems obvious but the reason some cultures never got around to making them is that they’re very hard to make (ever try drawing a perfectly round circle?). The technology for making the technology had to come first. Penicillin, on the other hand, had been around in the form of bread…

Everybody Counts is more than a counting book: it includes big numbers and big thoughts. Everybody Counts: a Counting Story from 0 to 7.5 Billion by Kristin Roskifte. Magicon Fortag (Wide-Eyed Editions), 2020, 56 pages. (Originally published in Norway, 2018) Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8 Recommended for: all ages We start with “no one.” No people, that is, just a monochrome bucolic landscape. Then, “One person. He is lying in bed counting his heartbeats. He wonders how many people are looking at the same stars right now.” Next page: “Two people in a forest. One of them says something the other will remember for the rest of his life.”…

The One and Only Bob stars the cynical, lovable mutt from Katherine Applegate’s 2012 Newbery-award-winning novel. The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate.  Harper, 2020, 334 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 8-14 Readers of The One and Only Ivan will remember Bob, the stray pooch who met Ivan by waking up on the 400-lb silverback gorilla’s stomach. Life has improved for Bob, as it has for his friends frm the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ivan and Ruby the baby elephant now live in a spacious animal preserve where they can congregate with others of their species and roam at will—within…

Two series starters that fizzled and two new authors to enjoy. *Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer. Page Street Kids, 2020. 400 pages. The first hint (besides the lovely cover) that the book was going to be good: Rosamund Hodge liked it. The second hint: mentioning “spinners of stories” Diana Wynne Jones and Robin McKinley in its dedication. The third hint? I was too busy reading to notice . . . An absolutely lovely fairytale retelling, Echo North places Joanna Ruth Meyer soundly in story spinner tradition. (Kirkus and Publishers Weekly both gave it a starred review.) Echos of different fairytales are woven together in a vaguely Russian landscape. Beautiful…

Gyo Fujikawa When you grow up with an author/illustrator’s books, they become part of your definition of “home” or “reading” or “friend.” Gyo Fujikawa is one of those authors for me. I remember Oh, What a Busy Day in particular. Gyo Fujikawa’s Books What makes Fujikawa’s books memorable? For starters, she was one of the very first to include children of many different races in her books. Not only does she illustrate many different races, she depicts them all doing ordinary things. Fujikawa wasn’t writing history books for toddlers or trying to show one people group as a distinct culture. Instead, she focused on activities and interests that most American…

Yumi Chung faces the classic teen dilemma: honor your parents or follow your dream? Stand Up, Yumi Chung! By Jessica Kim. Penguin Random House, 2020, 306 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Take my parents—please! Yumi Chung’s parents are typical Korean overachievers who brag about her older sister’s medical-school grades incessantly. Mom has also signed Yumi up for the SSAT so she can earn another year’s scholarship at Winston Preparatory Academy, and the ‘rents can garner bragging rights for their second-born, too. Shy, awkward Yumi doesn’t fit at WPA, where they call her Yu-Meat after catching a whiff of the family Korean-barbecue restaurant. She feels…

Dragon Hoops turns a high-school basketball championship season into a close-up look at life’s changes and choices. Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang. First Second, 2020, 445 pages. Reading Level: Teen, ages 12-15 Recommended for: ages 12-up “I’ve hated sports ever since I was a kid. Especially basketball.” Young Gene Yang was interested in comics and superheroes. An adult, he even fulfilled his dream of publishing an award-winning graphic novel (American-Born Chinese), while teaching computer science at Bishop O’Dowd Catholic High School in Oakland. Now, with more highly- praised books to his credit, can he keep up with two careers and a growing family? And if so, what’s the next…