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Shakespeare Fun and Frivolity
Shakespeare fans who have room on their shelves and a box of freshly sharpened colored pencils will find good application for both with three fun and frivolous titles to add to their collection. Pop-Up Shakespeare by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, Reed Martin & Austin Tichenor, illustrated by Jennie Maizels. Candlewick Press, 2017. 10 pages Now you can make more efficient use of your precious bookshelf space by using your fat Norton Shakespeare collection as a doorstop. Think how much time you’ll save by browsing this succinct pop-up version by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, which not only introduces the historical context of the plays, but also summarizes all the plots in…
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Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret by Trudi Truett
With Explorer Academy, National Geographic launches an action sci-fi series taking readers to the world’s natural wonders. The Nebula Secret (Explorer Academy #1) by Trudi Truett. National Geographic Partners, 2018, 205 pages Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Cruz Coronado has been accepted into the elite Explorers Academy, a high-tech, cutting-edge facility in Washington D. C. He’s hoping it’s not because his Aunt Marisol is an instructor there, but soon he has other worries. In short, it appears someone is trying to stop him: to disable, delay, perhaps even kill him. His mother was involved in a top-secret project before she died in a work related…
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Zap by Martha Freeman
A days-long power outage is the premise for Zap, a STEM-based, character-driven novel for middle graders. Zap by Martha Freeman. Simon & Schuster, 2018, 288 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14, especially boys Luis is interested in science and likes to find out stuff. His best friend Maura—make that his ex-bf, even though they’re still friends—is interested in science and likes to explain stuff. That’s one reason why she’s an ex: it gets a little irritating sometimes. When the power goes down in their New Jersey town, both are looking for answers. At first it’s just an inconvenience. But as the days pass and order…
