Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle School, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Last year, Sal and Gabi broke the universe. This year, they’re going to fix it.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez, (May 2020, Rick Riordan Presents), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1368022835

Ages 8-12

I finally got to read Sal and Gabi Break the Universe for the 2019 Cybils earlier this year, and WOW. I loved it all: the Cuban-American characters and cultural references; the great storytelling and witty dialogue; the wild magic-meets-science; the overwhelming power of family, in all its forms, that comes through the story. When I had the chance to read an advanced reader copy of the sequel, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, I jumped for it!

You had to know, if you read the first book, that Sal and Gabi’s second adventure is even more fun than the first. Avoiding spoilers, I’ll just say that events in Break the Universe have reverberations in Fix the Universe. Sal’s calamity physicist father and Dad: The Final Frontier, one of Gabi’s dads, have been working on a machine that can fix the wormholes Sal creates. This causes some problems, as a rogue alternate Gabi arrives on the scene to warn Sal about. Meanwhile, bully Yasmany has gone missing from school, adding another mystery for the two to solve. American Stepmom, the Gabi-Dads, and Principal Torres are all back, joined by Rogue Gabi and a self-aware bathroom. There’s more non-stop action, hilarious dialogue and more creativity from the Culeco Academy crew as they work to put on a school show in the middle of everything. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Here’s a helpful list of Gabi’s Dads, if you need help keeping up. There’s a great Educator’s Guide for Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, which can serve as a jumping-off point for new questions and discussion topics. If you have been to Rick Riordan’s website, you know there’s a wealth of Riordan resources for his books available; the Read Riordan website is working toward offering the same types of resources for the Rick Riordan Presents books. Keep both of these links in your reference resources folder; they’re good to have. Visit author Carlos Hernandez’s website for links to blog posts and social media.
Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe has a starred review from Kirkus. Don’t miss out!
Posted in Middle Grade, Middle School, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

#SummersCool Math books that your kids will love! Honest!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I do not take Math lightly. It’s one of those subjects I have endless admiration for, and way too much fear of. I encourage my kids, and my library kids, to love Math. Embrace Math, run to Math and dance in a field of flowers with it: you get my drift. It’s too late for me, go… go forth and calculate, my children.

So, when I was invited to review two Math books, I was a little terrified. Cool Math? Geometry is as Easy as Pie? I broke out in a cold sweat just thinking of them. I needn’t have stressed. These books are SO much fun (and tasty, as you’ll see). C’mon, join me for an exploration of Math.

 

Geometry is as Easy as Pie (Pieces of Cake series), by Katie Coppens, (March 2020, Tumblehome, Inc.) $17.95, ISBN: 978-1-943431-52-6

Ages 8-12

I know Katie Coppens as the author of the Acadia Files series (I’ve got a writeup about the latest one coming), but she writes about Math, too! Her first book, Geology is a Piece of Cake is a companion of sorts to her latest, Geometry is as Easy as Pie, and it’s an oh-so-yummy way to learn about angles, polygons, and symmetry. Katie Coppens uses pie to explain geometry, but she goes above and beyond the usual “look at this pie chart and imagine it’s a piece of pie” business. She BAKES PIES to illustrate the seven fundamental concepts of geometry. With direct, parent- and child-friendly explanations (she is an English and Science teacher), she discusses mathematical concepts, including calculating radius and diameter, and – naturally – she devotes time to talk about pi (π). You’ll feel a rumbly in your tumbly as you look through her lovely photographed pies; you may want to get a shopping lists together, too, because she includes recipes. Geometry includes pie-centric review questions and a photo gallery of “Just Desserts”, making this a phenomenal way to spend the summer learning math and baking with your kiddos. Yum.

 

Cool Math: 50 Fantastic Facts for Kids of All Ages, by Tracie Young & Katie Hewett, (March 2020, Pavilion Books), $14.95, ISBN: 978-1-84365-448-3

Ages 11+

Geared more toward middle and high schoolers Cool Math (originally released in the UK as Cool Maths, because they can even make Math sound cooler than we do) is so much more than a rundown of 50 Math facts for kids. Think of the NatGeo digest books on weird stuff, silly stuff, cool facts, and add Math to it. That’s Cool Math. With a cover that looks like chalk board gone wild, and with page backgrounds like chalk board, graph paper, and lined paper, this is the notebook your cool nerdy friend would have put together with all their doodles during the school day. Tips and tricks make your life easier throughout the book, like how to multiply by 9 on your fingers. IT WORKS. I tried it. Remember PEMDAS and FOIL? They almost gave me a nervous breakdown in 8th grade, but they’re here in this book, and they’re not as terrifying any more. Real-life tips, like the Super Speedy Recipe Converter and How to Tip put an end to questions like, “When will I ever need this in my life?”

A smart, witty, companion to keep handy, Cool Math takes a lot of the fear out of Math and makes it… dare I say… pretty cool.

 

Disclaimer: I’ve received copies of each of these books from the publisher/their publicists in exchange for a review.

Posted in picture books

If there was ever a timely book… King of Boredom

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

King of Boredom, by Ilaria Guarducci, (Apr. 2020, Schiffer Kids), $14.99, ISBN: 9780764359743

Ages 5-8

Pale, thin Ben is a kid who never enjoyed himself. His favorite color is light gray, he likes plain white pasta, he doesn’t really do a whole heck of a lot, and no matter what his parents do, he’s just bored. He pronounces himself the Supreme King of Boredom, locks himself in his room… and decides to make himself a throne. And if you make a throne, you should really have a castle, right? As the Supreme King of Boredom, Ben adds onto his empire, aided by a cardboard box, scissors, some buttons and thread, and the toys in his room. He even takes a lovely queen, who pledges to be bored with him forever. WAIT! Is that… a slight smile?

Who doesn’t have a King (or Queen) or Boredom at home these days? Ben is incredibly relatable to kids stuck indoors and BOOOOOOOORED, and those kids who just don’t know what to do to NOT be bored. The dramatic pronouncement of Supreme King of Boredom is all Ben needed to spark his creativity: he’s got a cardboard box, some supplies, and – whether he realizes it or not – a little bit of imagination. At once a fun book on making and a boredom buster, King of Boredom is a smart summer reading choice for kids who need a little push in the right direction. Colorful artwork, with a taciturn Ben in the center of it all, makes for a fun read. Grab some cardboard, some paper, tape, and glue, and see what you and your Boredom Royalty can create together.

 

Just to clarify, King of Boredom – as with most of the books I read and write about here – was provided to me for free by Schiffer in exchange for a review. I haven’t added this disclaimer in the past, but I want to make sure I’m FTC complaint, so I’ll be tacking a little boilerplate at the bottom of future reviews going forward. Thanks, all!

 

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade

Shhh… there’s a pony on the 12th floor, but you’re not supposed to know.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Pony on the Twelfth Floor, by Polly Faber/Illustrated by Sarah Jennings, (June 2020, Candlewick Press), $16.99, ISBN: 9781536209303

Ages 8-12

Kizzy is a girl who would love to have a pony of her own. She has pony pictures in her room, she thinks of ponies all the time, but she never expects to discover a pony snacking on donuts in her grocery store! She seizes the day and claims the pony as hers, rather than have the store owner call the authorities. Now, after sneaking her new pet – now named Donut – into her 12th-floor apartment, she has to figure out how to keep Donut a secret from the super and figure out how to gently break the news to her mother. Oh, and how to keep the grounds clean, because when Donut has to go… it’s pretty stinky. Her best friend Pawel tries to talk some sense into Kizzy, but it’s hard to be heard over the joyful shrieks of his younger twin sisters, who are firmly in favor of keeping Donut.

Polly Faber has created a sweet story about a girl finding out that getting what one wishes for isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. It’s a light, fun, happy story with a kind characters and a sweet, snacky pony, that animal fiction fans will love. Black and white illustrations throughout up the cute factor. It’s a good book to introduce chapter book readers to longer, slightly denser books. Set in the UK, Kizzy and her family are brown-skinned, Pawel and his family are Polish. Pony on the Twelfth Floor is a good fit for the Imagine Your Story Summer Reading theme this year: imagine what would happen if you discovered your dream pet in the supermarket? In the park, or walking down the street?  This could work for a book group or a series of readalouds, too.

Posted in Graphic Novels, History, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Tween Reads

Summer School? Summer’s Cool! Books to read with your kids this summer: History Comics

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Count this as a subset of my running Books From Quarantine posts. I’ve been stressed out thinking about my second grader, soon to be rising third grader, this summer, when half of his school year has consisted of less homeschooling than crisis management. I want to find things for my kiddo to read and enjoy that give him a little bit of each of his subjects, you know? I know you know. So consider these Summer’s Cool posts as my way of sharing some bookish and Web-ish things I find along my way. Today, I’m talking History Comics, a new nonfiction graphic novel series from First Second; the imprint we know and love that’s given us Science Comics and Secret Coders.

The Roanoke Colony: America’s First Mystery (History Comics), by Chris Schweizer, (June 2020, First Second), $19.99, ISBN: 9781250174345

Ages 8-13

Before the pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock; before Captain John Smith landed at Jamestown, the first English settlers arrived in what we now call the United States, on Roanoke Island. Colony governor John White returned to England to get supplies for the colony, but we delayed for three years. When he returned, the colony was abandoned; the settlers, gone. No trace. It’s one of the biggest mysteries in American history, and Chris Schweizer investigates in this History Comic.

Similar in format to Science Comics, we get two guides through the story: in this case, Wanchese a Roanoke Indian, and Manteo, a Croatan chief, inspired by the actual Native Americans who met with the settlers and Sir Walter Raleigh in the earliest days of the settlement. At once a history of the Roanoke Colony and the politics behind its settlement and a discussion of Native Americans and the settlers’ condescending treatment of them from the beginning, The Roanoke Colony is an historical mystery filled with explorers, pirates, jealous queens, shady businessmen, and a brewing war. Very readable and with cartoon-realistic illustrations, this will enchant a new generation of budding historians the same way In Search Of pulled me in when I was a kid. The book examines theories, some plausible and some… well, out there, that persist as people try to work out what happened to the colonists at Roanoke. An afterword from the author on what we know about Roanoke includes a discussion of primary and secondary sources: hugely helpful when working on research reports!

For more information about Roanoke, check out The First Colony Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to research and public education. Education site Ducksters has a unit on the Roanoke Colony. And DreamWorks TV has a YouTube channel, Peacock Kids, that’s also published a Roanoke mystery video.

 

The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes (History Comics), by Kate Hannigan/Illustrated by Alexandra Graudins, (June 2020, First Second), $19.99, ISBN: 9781250174253

Ages 8-13

In October of 1871, a fire started in the city of Chicago and burned for two days, destroying homes, taking lives, and causing millions of dollars in damage. It’s become a moment in history and an American legend. The story of the Chicago Fire is told here, through the points of view of two siblings, Franny and John Patrick (JP), as they search for their parents in the midst of the fire and the chaos that erupts. It was a disaster that made an urban legend out of a woman named Catherine O’Leary: the fire began about 10 blocks from her home, leading anti-Irish residents to lay the blame on her and her cow; stories ranged from the cow kicking over a bucket while being milked to one of O’Leary’s renters hosting a drunken party which resulted in a lantern being knocked over. These theories, and more plausible ones are covered here, as Franny’s and JP’s story progresses.

Back matter includes a timeline of the fire, a map of spots mentioned in the story, a section dedicated to fire sites to visit in Chicago, a list of fast facts, and a bibliography and resources for further reading. Rising From the Ashes is a comprehensive, thrilling retelling of a major moment in American history.

For more Great Chicago Fire resources, point your browser to The Great Chicago Fire and The Web of Memory, a joint project with the Chicago History Museum and Northwestern University Information Technology (NUIT) Department of Academic and Research Technologies (A&RT), and supported by the Guild of the Chicago History Museum. It’s got a wealth of information, including stories from eyewitnesses, image galleries, songs inspired by the fire, and excerpts from media and personal correspondence. The History Channel has a section about the fire; Smithsonian magazine has an article on the Mrs. O’Leary myth; education site Ducksters.com has a section on the fire, and so does Kids Britannica.

Booktalk these to your I Survived readers – they will eat these up (especially with I Survived graphic novels also hitting shelves). There is an I Survived the Great Chicago Fire chapter book available, so make sure to have a copy handy (cross-promotion is everything)!

 

Posted in Graphic Novels, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Books from Quarantine: Wonder Woman and Aqualad

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

DC Ink has two more original YA graphic novels out, and they are getting the cream of the YA crop to write them, pairing them with outstanding artists to illustrate. What a time to be a comic book fan (or new to comic books)!

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed, by Laurie Halse Anderson/Illustrated by Leila Del Duca, (June 2020, DC Comics), $16.99, ISBN: 9781401286453

Ages 12+

Easily one of the best Wonder Woman stories I’ve ever read. Diana is the first and only woman on Themyscira to have a birthday (you can read about her origins, both original and updated, here), so her 16th Born Day is a cause for great celebration! The festivities are interrupted when refugees in rafts drift across the barrier separating Themyscira from our world, and Diana, horrified at the sight of people struggling to stay afloat in tumultuous waters, is furious with the Themyscirans who refuse to get involved. She dives into the water and begins helping the strugglers back into the raft, only to discover that the veil has drawn back, obscuring Themyscira once again… and she’s outside of it. Wonder Woman is a teenaged refugee with no way back home and separated from everything she knows and loves. Once the rafts come ashore in Greece, she joins the other refugees as they wait for food, warm clothes, and shelter; she endures the baleful stares and harsh talk from those around her who have no trust in the refugees. Diana is a stranger in a strange and sometimes, unfriendly land. With the help of two kind aid workers named Steve and Trevor, she heads to the United States to formalize her education and become an aid worker herself. And she also discovers a dark underbelly in her new home that demands justice.

This is an incredible Wonder Woman story that strips (most) of her superpowers away and leaves us with the story of a young woman, alone, enduring life as a refugee in our world. With the right care and help, she can make a difference in the world: but how many of our refugees get that chance? A powerful message delivered by Laurie Halse Anderson, with beautiful artwork from comic book artist Leila Del Duca, Tempest Tossed is a strong statement on our attitudes toward refugees, justice, and the state of our world today.

 

You Brought Me the Ocean, by Alex Sanchez/Illustrated by Julie Maroh, (June 2020, DC Comics), $16.99, ISBN: 9781401290818

Ages 12+

Who better to write a story about Aqualad than Rainbow Boys author Alex Sanchez? Jake Hyde is a high school kid living with his widowed mother in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He is desperate to leave his hometown and study oceanography in Miami. Since his father died, his mother won’t let him near water; it’s at odds with his strong attraction to the ocean, his desire to be near the water. His best friend, Maria, wants him to stay home and go to a local college with her… where they can make a home together in the future… but Jake doesn’t really feel that way about Maria. And then, there’s Kenny Liu, the openly gay and proud swimmer at school. He doesn’t care about the jerks that tease him, and he’ll never let himself be bullied. Jake is drawn to Kenny; as the two spend more time together, Jake realizes that his feelings for Kenny are very, very different than he feels for Maria, and that Kenny feels the same, too. At the same time, Jake discovers that what he thought were birthmarks on his skin are actually something very different, too… something that connects him to his father, who isn’t quite dead after all. Jake is about to learn his origin, but it may not be what he wants to hear.

If you saw the Aquaman movie, you know who Jake is. (Hint: he isn’t related to Aquaman.) Aqualad, in the DC Universe, is a founding member of Teen Titans and has come out as gay in the Young Justice animated show. This story is a coming-out story and origin story, both given the sensitivity necessary when writing this character. Graphic novel author and illustrator Julie Maroh creates soft, almost dreamlike artwork with earthy shades and watery shades to show the difference between Jake’s life in New Mexico and his origins in the water. A gorgeous book and story, perfect for Pride month and beyond. A very fun cameo makes this an all-around win.

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate

Books from Quarantine: Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem by Kate DiCamillo

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem, by Kate DiCamillo/Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Tales from Deckawoo Drive), (June 2020, Candlewick Press), $14.99, ISBN: 9781536201802

Ages 7-10

When my bigger little ones (my first and second graders, usually) come into the library, many of them automatically ask me for Mercy Watson books. They love Kate DiCamillo, they love Mercy Watson and all her friends on Deckawoo Drive, and they love Kate DiCamillo at an early age; when they’re a couple of years older, and come in looking for Tales of Desperaux, I remind them that this is the same author they’ve been reading since they picked up Mercy Watson, and that smile, that book hug, it makes every day I’m there fantastic. Yeah, I’m rhapsodizing again; forgive me. It’s been going on three months since I’ve been around my Corona Kids and I’m missing them, big time. Every book I read, I know just the kid I want to tell about it. This is hard, folks. Don’t think for a second it isn’t.

Okay. So, let’s talk the newest book in the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series. Stella Endicott loves school and loves her teacher, Miss Liliana. She’s so excited to work on her assignment, to write a poem, because she knows just who she’s going to write about: Mercy Watson, the pig who lives next door and relaxes on a couch! She creates a lovely poem, but class know-it-all Horace Broom insists that she’s lying: wizards don’t play accordions, and pigs don’t live in houses! Annoyed not only by Horace’s lack of imagination, but the fact that he called her a liar, Stella shouts back at him, and the two are sent to the principal’s office, which leads to an adventure where the two will learn to see things from the other’s point of view.

The Deckawoo Drive books just make me happy. They’re funny, upbeat, and always have a good message to share. Here, we learn that it’s good to be literal and metaphorical. It’s balance! Stella is smart and spirited, and Horace may have learned his lesson about offering uninvited criticism. Gouache artwork from Chris Van Dusen is automatically recognizable: kids will spot this book on a bookshelf (literal or virtual) a mile away. Mercy’s cameo is adorable – if you have the space in your reading area, stick some cushions or pillows on the floor with a stuffed pig and let your kids curl up with their Mercy to read, imagine, and create with.

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem has a starred review from Kirkus. Want to visit Deckawoo Drive and spend some time with Mercy? Visit the Mercy Watson website for information about the books, resources for parents and educators, join the fan club, and play some games.

Kate DiCamillo is the Newbery-Award winning author of Flora & Ulysses and The Tale of Desperaux, and a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Chris Van Dusen is the illustrator of the Mercy Watson and Deckawoo Drive series, and an author-illustrator of books including The Circus Ship and Hattie & Hudson.

 

Posted in Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Books from Quarantine: Dogchild, by Kevin Brooks

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Dogchild, by Kevin Brooks, (June 2020, Candlewick Press), $22.99, ISBN: 9781536209747

Ages 15+

This is a stark, often unsettling post-apocalyptic story. Jeet, a child raised by the wild dogs that killed his human family, lives in a settlement where there are few other “dogchildren” – most dogchildren don’t rehabilitate back to being human well; they run away, back to their dog families or die in the process of rehumanizing. Jeet lives with his uncle, Starry, after the settlement kills his pack of Deathland dogs on a raid, and eventually, becomes trusted enough that town head Marshal Gun Sur first asks him to write a history of their people, and then, to be part of a spying mission as the group gets ready to go to war against their enemy settlement, the Dau. Chola Se, another dogchild, and the closest thing Jeet has to a friend, has been kidnapped in a raid on the settlement; Jeet rescues her and learns that she has been sexually assaulted mutiple times – including by their own settlement’s second in command, Deputy Pilgrim. Jeet and Chola Se believe that Deputy is a traitor, but before they can enact their own plans, Pilgrim puts actions in motion that will turn the entire encampment against the two. While they want to flee, go back to their dog family and forget about the settlers entirely, but Chola also wants revenge against Pilgrim.

This is a gritty, rough story that includes sexual assault, graphic violence, and cannibalism. Definitely not for the younger set. The story is harrowing, with desperation that reaches out and grabs readers with every turn of the page. Kevin Brooks has created a stark, desolate landscape and characters that will stay with you after you finish the book. The love between Jeet and his dog mother makes for emotional, moving writing; Chola’s rage, always simmering, ready to explode, will leave readers gritting their teeth. He gets to readers on a visceral level. The book is written as if it were Jeet’s chronicle, so you won’t see punctuation; there aren’t traditional paragraphs, sentence structures, or spelling; there are no real chapter breaks, either; more like pauses between entries. If you have teen post-apocalypse fans that can handle rougher subject matter, give them this book.

Dogchild has a starred review from Booklist.

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Science Fiction

Books from Quarantine: Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision, by SJ King, (July 2020, DK), $5.99, ISBN: 978-0744021066

Ages 7-10

This is the second book in an upcoming new series from DK; the first, The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales, also publishes on July 7, 2020. Perfect reading for kids who loved Little Einsteins, Octonauts, or Wild Kratts when they were younger, these chapter books introduce a group of Secret Explorers – kids who specialize in different areas of the sciences – who go on secret missions to gather knowledge and solve a big problem. In Comet Collision, two explorers, Roshni and Ollie, have to work together when they’re sent into space to fix a broken space probe by the planet Jupiter. A comet is set to collide with the planet and will wipe out all the probe’s important data if they don’t fix it in time, so they have to work together and work fast!

Loaded with adventure, facts, and fast-paced reading, this is a fun new STEM-based series for readers. You don’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one (I picked this up at ALA Midwinter, and thought it was the first in the series until I finished it and saw the “2” on the spine). The kids play with cool technology, are specialists in different areas of science, and take readers to space and beyond. This will be a good series to fit with the Imagine Your Story Summer Reading theme this year, too – ask your readers to think of their favorite type of science (or give them one to explore) and ask them to imagine their story as a scientist in space, in a rain forest, in a lab, anywhere. Black and white cartoony artwork throughout helps place readers on a spacewalk and at the controls of a spaceship. The cast of characters is multicultural, from all over the world.

Invite kids to learn more about space probes from NASA, and about Jupiter and the other planets here.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Books from Quarantine: Nina Soni, middle grader at large

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

My reading mojo is back, thank goodness, so let’s keep fingers crossed that my blogging mojo is back, too.

I just finished two books that I think are great for that intermediate/middle grade reader who isn’t quite ready to take on the 300-400 page books just yet, but the 80-10 pagers are leaving them wanting a little more. Let’s meet Nina Soni and her family, shall we?

Nina Soni, Former Best Friend, by Kashmira Sheth/Illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky, (Oct. 2019, Peachtree Publishers), $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-68263-057-0

Ages 7-12

Nina is an Indian-American elementary school student with a loving family, a little sister who can bug her sometimes, and a knack for making lists, which she keeps in her journal, named Shakhi, which means “friend” in Hindi. She’s got big ideas, but they don’t always turn out the way she expects. In Former Best Friend, Nina finds herself on the outs with her best friend, Jay. She also has her little sister’s birthday party to help plan, and a school project where she has to come up with and write about a great discovery!

Nina Soni is such a likable character. She thinks a lot: she works out math to describe her family while her father’s away for work during the week; she writes down words she’s thinking and learning about, defining them in easy-to-understand words and breaking them down by syllable. She’s organized, making lists – to follow, lists about things she likes, things that drive her crazy. Kavita, Nina’s younger sister, is younger, freer, sillier, and it drives Nina crazy as much as she loves her. Cooking and family are main activities in the book, and there’s some interesting bits about Indian culture throughout.  It’s a fun story with likable characters and black and white line drawings and notebook pages throughout. Give this one an add to your middle grade collections, and booktalk it with books like Planet Omar by Zanib Mian, Alvin Ho and Ruby Lu books by Lenore Look  and Debbi Michiko Florence’s Jasmine Toguchi books.

 

Nina Soni, Sister Fixer, by Kashmira Sheth/Illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky, (Apr. 2020, Peachtree Publishers), $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-68263-054-9

Ages 7-12

Nina’s back and this time, she’s GOT to do something about Kavita. Her younger sister is driving her CRAZY, making up songs all the time; songs that don’t make sense, that don’t rhyme, that are just plain annoying! Spring Break is coming, and they’re going away to Jay’s grandfather’s cabin for a couple of days; Nina decides she’s got three days to “fix” her sister so she won’t embarrass her on their trip. Nina also decides to build a dam using some of the dirt by her next door neighbor’s house; a project that may keep Kavita entertained enough to forget about singing. But her impromptu science project may be more than she bargained for!

Even more fun than Former Best Friend, Sister Fixer has some great moments, including an emergency phone call to India that will leave readers laughing out loud. Kavita is a gleeful first grader who loves to dance, make up songs, and make artwork; that it gets on her bigger sister’s nerves is of no consequence: something older siblings will recognize and empathize with. Writing in Shakhi helps Nina come to her own conclusions, making this a good book to suggest to fledgling writers and journalers to record their thoughts and revisit them.

Don’t miss either of these books! Enjoy a Q&A with author Kashmira Sheth here and get a free discussion guide for both books here.