Lots of great books this week! Read the book reviews below, and learn more about my favorite reads:
- Discover all the books I read this week in the It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? post.
- Read more book review posts.
- Follow my reading and reviews on Goodreads.
13th Street: The Shocking Shark Showdown by David Bowles (first chapter)
Gr. 2-3. This time, Malia, Dante, and Ivan are looking for a portal to 13th Street. They need to get back to help Mickey, the trapped boy they met there, find his way home. But when they do manage to re-enter the magical, creepy world, they find themselves underneath the city–literally! The sewers are filled with magical fiends, such as sharks that can shoot off an electric charge. Can the cousins figure out how to save Mickey without getting hurt themselves?
Another fun 13th Street adventure. While Desmond Cole is a little more my style, this series is a great next-step-up for fans of those books looking for a lot of adventure and something a little bit creepy. I’m looking forward to unraveling more of the mystery in the next book!
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang (picture book)
Gr. PreS-2. Amy is excited to design her very own dragon. Her dragon is long and thin with horns like a stag and claws like an eagle. But…her friends are sure that isn’t a real dragon. Where are its wings? Its fire? Its scales? Amy tries to make her dragon look more like her classmates’ dragons, but it just doesn’t feel right. Can she make a dragon that is perfect for her?
Amy Wu is back, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! While this didn’t hold quite as much charm for me as the original, I still love all of Amy’s adventures, and I am thrilled to share this one at storytime. I’m hoping for more!
Astrid and Apollo by V.T. Bidania (first chapter)
Gr. 2-3. A fun new first chapter series featuring a Hmong family living in Minnesota. Astrid and Apollo go on everyday adventures that weave in elements of their culture (especially many yummy foods!). A glossary of Hmong words are included in the front, and backmatter contains facts about the Hmong people, popular Hmong foods featured in that book, a glossary of more challenging English words found in the story, and questions and activity ideas to continue learning.
Astrid and Apollo and the Happy New Year: Astrid and Apollo are ready for the Hmong New Year Festival–but they quickly get separated from their parents and little sister in the large crowds. Can they figure out how to get back to their family again?
Astrid and Apollo and the Soccer Celebration: Astrid and Apollo are excited for the Hmong July Fourth Soccer Festival! They get to try new foods, watch their dad’s favorite team triumph on the field….and babysit their little sister. Young Eliana just wants “yummy milk!” But regular milk and other sweet drinks aren’t stopping her cries. Can they figure out how to help her and also not miss the big match?
Cat Kid Comic Club by Dav Pilkey (graphic novel)
Gr. 2-4. Li’l Petey, Flippy, and Molly are ready to teach their family of baby frogs how to make comics. But wait–some frogs don’t have any ideas! Others are sure they can’t draw well. What if they make a mistake?!?
While this book isn’t going to be the continuation (or even spinoff) of the Dog Man main series that fans may be looking for, it is a WONDERFUL companion read for teaching young kids how to draw their own comics, especially kids ages 6-8. The sample comics are similar to what kids would create and draw, and the chapters work well as a day-by-day schedule for a real life comics camp.
And Pilkey even has a fantastic chapter directed at those grown-ups that say that kids need to create “uplifting” stories that don’t “recklessly disregard the sanctity of life and stuff.” In Pilkey’s words: “Adults make up stories about that stuff all the time, and we call them artists and geniuses and visionaries! Look at Shakespeare: It’s all death and violence and fart jokes! If it’s normal and healthy for grown-ups then why not for kids? Are you seriously going to praise a grown-up and shame a child for the same darn thing?”
Ellie Ultra by Gina Bellisario (first chapter)
Gr. 2-3. Ellie is a cute, spunky young superhero. I prefer Mia Mayhem’s everyday adventures to this series, but, reading level wise, this is a good step up from the Mia Mayhem books. Lots of kid appeal, and I appreciate any diverse young superheroes.
Camp Hero Double Trouble: Ellie is so excited to meet some other kid superheroes during her week at Camp Hero! While her cabinmates have super cool freezing powers, twins Mona and Leona don’t seem to want to hang out with Ellie. Ellie uses her parents special hypnosis invention to reverse the girls’ feelings about Ellie–but she also reverses their love for each other. Soon the twins are fighting for Ellie’s attention, and Ellie realizes she may have made a huge mistake.
Mighty Pet Sitter: Young superhero Ellie Ultra has a more mundane task this weekend: she is watching the class hamster for her teacher. Surely watching such a small, cute animal won’t be too difficult? But when Squeak the hamster meets high-energy puppy, Super Fluffy, chaos ensues.
Superhero for President: Young superhero Ellie Ultra is excited to do her civil duty and run as class president! But she is running against future-supervillain Dex Diggs. Dex is determined to win by any means necessary, including making false promises. Ellie decides to beat Dex at his own game–making her classmate’s wishes come true with her parent’s new invention, the Ultra Genie! But when Dex gets his hands on the device and makes his own villain wishes come true, Ellie can barely recognize her old school anymore.
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott (picture book)
Gr. 1-3. When asked to speak in front of his class, a boy struggles, his stutter making it hard for him to speak. His father picks him up from school, taking him to the river. His father helps him see that he talks like the river–with words sometimes flowing, bubbling, whirling, churning, and crashing.
A beautiful, poetic, hope-filled memoir reflecting on the author’s own experiences with a stutter. The words are poetic and the story is excellent, but everything comes together with the gorgeous watercolor illustrations, including that wonderful fold-out spread. Much to see here and definitely worth many a re-reading.
Isadora Moon Gets In Trouble by Harriet Muncaster (first chapter)
Gr. 2-3. Isadora is so excited that her fairy-witch cousin is coming for a visit! But her cousin, Mirabelle, is a little bit older and a little bit more adventurous than Isadora. Mirabelle’s activities are a lot of fun, but soon Isadora realizes that maybe she shouldn’t have agreed to let her cousin magic a baby dragon into existence. Can Isadora keep the dragon a secret from her parents so no one gets in trouble?
Another great addition to the sweet Isadora Moon series. I enjoy the twist on the traditional realistic fiction first chapter book. The only difference between these titles and other everyday school adventures is that Isadora’s mom is a fairy and her dad is a vampire-but those changes are enough to make this series hold its own.
Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum by Natasha Yim (picture book)
Gr. PreS-K. Luna’s family is going out to celebrate her birthday at a delicious dim sum restaurant. The three siblings are meant to share six pork buns, but when Luna accidentally drops one, suddenly there are only five left. Obviously the older brother deserves more–because he is the oldest! Though maybe the younger brother deserves more–because he is the smallest. But it IS Luna’s birthday, so surely she deserves more? Discover how the siblings figure out how to divide the remaining buns equally among themselves.
This was so cute! I like that Luna’s family is biracial, and, of course, pork buns = yum! The simple math and diversity of this new book series (story telling math) is much appreciated too.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (teen)
Gr. 6-9. In Jam’s world, there are no more monsters. A series of horrible wars, before Jam was born, emptied the world of all those humans that were really monsters–those murderers, abusers, selfish billionaires, and more. Jam and her family and friends live happy lives in the city of Lucille, until Jam stumbles upon her mother’s newest painting–and accidentally brings it to life.
This new creation is the image of a monster, but Jam is confident that it isn’t one. This creature–named Pet–has come to hunt monsters. Because no matter what Jam’s parents have told her, there is a monster in Lucille, in the home of Jam’s best friend. While Jam becomes increasingly convinced that Pet is correct and something is wrong, she isn’t sure how to protect her friend or convince others to help. After all, “how do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?”
Ohhhh this book. There are so many layers to unpack here. I wish I knew more about the backstory of how Lucille came to be, though more knowledge was definitely not necessary for this book to succeed (in fact, more information would have probably weighed it down). I always have to give extra appreciation to a book where a main character is transgender and her sexuality isn’t a big part of the plot (plus even more love for this being written by an own voices black, non-binary, transgender author). This is filled with magical realism and hidden meanings, and it definitely won’t be for everyone–but it is a book that will stick with me forever.
Super Sidekicks: No Adults Allowed by Gavin Aung Than (graphic novel)
Gr. 3-4. These young sidekicks are done with their days serving superheroes. They can do so much more than washing laundry and trying to clean up their superheroes’ messes. Junior Justice, Flygirl, Dinomite, and Goo are determined to form their own super team…but everything goes wrong when supervillain Dr. Enok realizes that Goo is missing from his laboratory! Soon Dr. Enok and all of their old superheroes are determined to track them down and put their sidekicks back to work–but the Super Sidekicks know that they have the power to save the day.
A cute, laugh-out-loud graphic novel that will appeal to all young superhero fans, especially fans of Max Meow or the Investigators. Looking forward to more!
WolfWalkers by Tomm Moore and Samuel Sattin (graphic novel)
Gr. 3-4. Lord Protector Cromwell is determined to rid the forest in Ireland of its wolves and “civilize” the country with more farmland. But the forest is filled with more than meets the eye, including the last of the legendary wolfwalkers, people that are human when awake, wolves when asleep, and have magical healing powers. Young Robyn comes to Ireland with her father, a soldier of Lord Cromwell, ready to hunt wolves. But when Robyn sneaks into the forest for her own hunt, and instead stumbles upon another girl–wild wolfwalker Mebh–she realizes that maybe hunting wolves isn’t the mission she and her father should be on.
There is a lot happening here, but, except for a very abrupt “epilogue” spread at the end, the fast pace works well for the format. I’m not familiar with the movie this is adapted from, and I don’t think I missed much. I think this might have benefited from less backstory–the whole Saint Patrick curse felt like an afterthought most of the time, and when it did come up it was more confusing than useful. The girls’ friendship was fun, and the action regularly propelled the story forward.