Friends to the End by C.L. Colyer

October 19, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Friends to the End by C.L. Colyer
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Twelve-year-old Zach is convinced he’ll never be happy without his best friend Jeremy by his side. But both of their lives changed with a bang five months ago, and as far as Zach’s concerned, it’s his fault Jeremy will never see his twelfth birthday.

When Zach moves with his family to a Chicago suburb, he quickly becomes friends with a group of thrill-seeking kids trying to find a disappearing haunted house. But Zach’s not worried. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he follows them into a wild, dangerous encounter that becomes a battle to decide what’s real and what’s not.

Dying with unfinished business is no laughing matter.

The spirits were well written and generally sympathetic characters. While there were a few frightening ones that I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to meet in a dark alley, I was pleased with the wide range of personalities and backstories they had in general. Getting to know characters like these and learning what might have kept them tied to earthly matters after their deaths is one of the things I enjoy the most about paranormal stories. It was utterly delightful to have so many opportunities to do so here.

I would have liked to see a little more attention paid to world building. For example, some ghosts in this world seem to be much more powerful than others. Certain beings also appeared to have some special abilities that aren’t commonly seen in this genre. As much as I liked the plot in general, all of these pieces of information never quite gelled into a coherent explanation of how the afterlife works in this universe. If it had, I would have happily chosen a full five-star rating.

The narrator had some poignant things to say about grief, friendship, and regret. These scenes did a wonderful job of rounding out Zach’s character and exposing the audience to portions of his personality that many preteens his age would probably keep to themselves in most other situations. Every time he revealed another fact about his past and the heavy grief he was trying so hard to hide from his new friends, I grew to like him even more than I already did.

Friends to the End was a heartwarming read for anyone who loves the paranormal side of the fantasy genre.

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On the Right Path (Book 2) by Brett Gunning & Stacy Padula

October 18, 2021 By Leave a Comment


On the Right Path by Brett Gunning & Stacy Padula
Book 2
Publisher: Briley & Baxter Publications
Genre: Contemporary, Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Ginger

Jordan is at his second day of basketball camp with his brother Jayden and his sister Jasmine. Along with new basketball skills, the kids are learning life-lessons such as how to be unselfish. Just like the other On The Right Path books, this is sure to become a beloved story for parents and children alike.

NBA Coach Brett Gunning and award-winning author Stacy Padula have teamed up to create the On The Right Path (OTRP) book series. OTRP is also a non-profit organization created by Brett Gunning to guide youth basketball players on the right path to achieving their maximum potential through education, mentorship, and skill development. The core principles of OTRP are guidance, inspiration, and creativity. The book series focuses on six life-skill pillars: Loving Others, Being Unselfish, Staying Healthy & Strong, Showing Respect, Showing Forgiveness, and Having Fun.

Book Two of On the Right Path opens with Jordan at his second day of basketball camp with his brother Jayden, his sister Jasmine and their friend Shai. After Jordan’s shot is blocked by Chase, Coach Pete takes a moment to give another life skill to the team. He offers a quick lesson that basketball is a team sport. This life lesson is not only something to remember while playing sports but for all aspects of life. Coach Pete’s message is simply put, we should put the needs of others before our own.

This colorful inspiration for young readers gives vivid illustrations as well as examples of unselfish acts. The message is delivered in a relatable and brief story that is sure to make for quick reads. The life skill of being unselfish and looking for opportunities to make unselfish plays is not only for those that play sports but in life as well. This core principle can be used to help enforce kind behavior and it also offers a scripture at the end that supports the book’s message. This inspirational series will be of great value to households with young minds who are entering the skills development stage.

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A Different Pond by Bao Phi

October 14, 2021 By 1 Comment


A Different Pond by Bao Phi
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event – a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son – and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father’s long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui’s striking, evocative art paired with Phi’s expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books six starred reviews and numerous awards.

Fishing isn’t always just a fun hobby. Sometimes it’s the best way to hopefully feed a family!

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that gently but realistically showed the reader what life was like for Bao’s family as low-income Vietnamese immigrants. His parents worked incredibly hard to keep their family fed and housed. What made them even more admirable were the subtle signs of the better lives they hoped their children would have in the years to come. The various ways these moments could be interpreted was one of the biggest reasons why I chose such a large age range for this picture book. Young children can understand the basic storyline, but older readers will have the opportunity to dig much more deeply into these characters’ lives.

I adore tales that present a moral dilemma or a complicated topic to their readers but then leave it up to the audience to think critically about it. There were plenty of opportunities here to get to know Bao’s family and the many struggles his parents faced in improving their English and finding jobs that would make it easier to financially support their children. The compassion the narrator showed for this family was quiet but unrelenting. I felt the author’s love for these characters shining through strongly, and it cemented my opinions on the issues he raised quickly.

The final page couldn’t have been written better. While I was expecting it due to everything Bao had shared about his childhood earlier, it was nice to have my educated guess reinforced. This scene made me want to crawl into the story and give him a big hug. He was such a brave and hardworking kid. Seeing how the author acknowledged that was satisfying.

A Different Pond was a beautiful read.

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Alice’s Adventures Under Water by Lenny de Rooy

September 27, 2021 By 1 Comment


Alice’s Adventures Under Water by Lenny de Rooy
Publisher: Millennyum Publications
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

If you enjoyed Lewis Carroll’s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There”, this is the book for you! Finally, there is a third story in the ‘Alice’ series – written in Carroll’s familiar style, but packed with a great number of completely new puns, parodies, and poetry. This time, Alice explores an under-water world, in which she meets new characters who again make her wonder about their strange logic and behaviour. The story can be enjoyed by everyone, even those who have never read Carroll’s books. However, the more familiar you are with them, the more references you will recognise in this exceptionally clever tale…

Anything can happen during a boat ride.

The storyline was every bit as delightful and occasionally nonsensical as I was hoping it would be. Honestly, many of the chapters could have worked as standalone stories, and yet they still all came together in the end to explore deeper subjects that kids might not quite understand yet but adults would pick up on.

Ms. de Rooy captured the essence of Alice and her adventures beautifully. This tale contained all of the magic that was included in the original Alice books. I especially loved the subtle modern twists the author added in her references to public figures, songs, and more. She struck the perfect balance between copying the original tone of this series and including things that would appeal to the sensibilities of twenty-first century readers.

I was thrilled to see how many different age groups this was written for. It’s not easy to write for middle schoolers, teenagers, and adults simultaneously, but the author did a wonderful job of speaking to all three of these groups by including multiple levels of meaning in her writing. This was something I’d love to read aloud to a classroom or at an extended family reunion. It truly had something for everyone.

One of my favorite things to do while reading this story was to take note of as many cultural references as I could find and find out where they came from. It certainly wasn’t necessary to figure out all or even any of them, but it was a great deal of fun to determine which classic poems inspired a lighthearted underwater version of itself here or why certain characters had such unusual names.

Alice’s Adventures Under Water was an incredible adventure I’d recommend to kids and adults alike.

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Leif and the Fall by Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant

September 13, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Leif and the Fall by Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant
Publisher: Dial Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Leif is a leaf. A worried leaf. It is autumn, and Leif is afraid to fall. “All leaves fall in the fall,” say the other leaves. But Leif is determined to find a different way down, and with his friend Laurel, he uses the resources around him to create a net, a kite, a parachute in hopes of softening his landing. The clock is ticking, the wind is blowing. What will happen when a gust of wind pulls Leif from his branch?

In a culture that prizes achievement, kids are often afraid to fail–failing to realize that some of the very ideas that don’t work are steps along the path to ones that will.

Success is never guaranteed.

I was impressed by the wide range of ages this picture book seemed to be written for. Some layers of meaning sure seemed like they were meant for older kids, but the basic storyline about the importance of persistence was straightforward enough to be appreciated by younger readers as well. This isn’t something I see done very often, but it makes me smile every time it happens. It’s delightful to find examples of stories like this one that can speak to kids of all ages.

There were a few times when I wondered why Leif kept throwing away his inventions. It seems wasteful, especially as other leaves began to fall and he had fewer friends to help and fewer materials to work with. Surely he could have found a better use for his inventions or kept trying to improve them! This was a minor criticism of something I otherwise enjoyed a lot, but it is something I’d want to discuss with young readers after finishing this tale.

The ending made me smile. I nodded along as Leif put all of the pieces together and realized what had just happened to him after his time to fall from his tree finally came. This conclusion was as logical as it was downright funny! While I was satisfied with how everything was wrapped up, it also left room for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one.

Leif and the Fall was a humorous take on a serious subject that I was glad to read this autumn.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers

August 23, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Fate of Fausto by Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

There was once a man who believed he owned everything and set out to survey what was his.

“You are mine,” Fausto said to the flower, the sheep, and the mountain, and they all bowed before him. But they were not enough for Fausto, so he conquered a boat and set out to sea . . .

Combining bold art and powerful prose, and working in traditional lithographic printmaking techniques for the first time, world-renowned talent Oliver Jeffers has created a poignant modern-day fable to touch the hearts of adults and children alike.

Greed tarnishes everything.

Fausto was honestly one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever met, but that was a good thing. Fables often need these types of flat protagonists in order to make their points obvious, and he served his purpose well. The fact that he was consistently portrayed in the same way over and over again no matter how many chances he had to change only made me wonder what the narrator was planning to do with him. Surely they had something special up their sleeves!

Figuring out the most appropriate age range for this tale was tricky. Most picture books are written for young children, yet the themes discussed in this one were far too complex and abstract for little ones. Middle grade readers would be the youngest audience I’d expect to connect with the storyline, and even there I noticed some things that would probably be more meaningful for teen or even adult readers. It would have been helpful if the author had been clearer about who they were and weren’t writing this for.

The ending was unusual but perfectly suited for the plot. I loved the fact that Mr. Jeffers took so many risks here. They paid off beautifully and have made me incredibly curious to read more from him. It’s always wonderful to find storytellers who know how to surprise their audiences and push the envelopes of the genre or genres they write in.

I’d recommend The Fate of Fausto to older readers who love fables.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Watercress by Andrea Wang

August 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Watercress by Andrea Wang
Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Gathering watercress by the side of the road brings a girl closer to her family’s Chinese Heritage.

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

Driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl’s parents stop suddenly when they spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. Grabbing an old paper bag and some rusty scissors, the whole family wades into the muck to collect as much of the muddy, snail covered watercress as they can.

At first, she’s embarrassed. Why can’t her family get food from the grocery store? But when her mother shares a story of her family’s time in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged. Together, they make a new memory of watercress.

Andrea Wang tells a moving autobiographical story of a child of immigrants discovering and connecting with her heritage, illustrated by award winning author and artist Jason Chin, working in an entirely new style, inspired by Chinese painting techniques. An author’s note in the back shares Andrea’s childhood experience with her parents.

Some memories should never be forgotten.

This picture book couldn’t have done a better job at discussing difficult subjects with children from a wide range of ages. Each scene included information that could be interpreted in multiple ways depending on the age of the reader and how much they’d already figured out about the main character’s family. All of these interpretations were equally true. I loved the fact that some of them were softened a little for younger audiences who might not be ready for every single detail of the past yet.

Ms. Wang packed an exquisite amount of detail into every scene, from the sharp sting of cold water as the main character stepped into a puddle to gather watercress to the moment she learned the story behind why her parents insisted on performing this ritual every time they spotted free food growing in a ditch on the side of the road. I was so mesmerized by the plot that I felt as though I were experiencing it alongside this family. The author couldn’t have done a more thorough job of drawing the audience into the mixed emotions that were soon to flood her characters’ minds as they dove into topics they had never felt brave enough to talk about with each other before.

While I can’t mention the specific things the characters discussed without giving away spoilers, I can say I was pleased with the hopeful ending. The plot was so serious and sad earlier on that I wondered how the author was planning to wrap everything up, especially since this tale does have some autobiographical elements to it even if they were fictionalized. I thought she did a wonderful job of balancing out the truth of the past with reassuring kids about how much the meaning of something small and seemingly ordinary can change over the course of time. It’s as important to understand the sometimes heavy weight of history as it is to remember that the future is still unwritten!

Watercress is a must-read for any family who is interested in finding empathic ways to explain tough topics to their youngest members.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Doll by Nhung N. Tran-Davies

August 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Doll by Nhung N. Tran-Davies
Publisher: Second Story Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A young girl and her family arrive in an airport in a new country. They are refugees, migrants who have travelled across the world to find safety. Strangers greet them, and one of them gives the little girl a doll. Decades later, that little girl is grown up and she has the chance to welcome a group of refugees who are newly arrived in her adopted country. To the youngest of them, a little girl, she gives a doll, knowing it will help make her feel welcome. Inspired by real events.

Every act of kindness matters.

There was so much compassion included in the plot. Some scenes were straightforward about the many benefits of caring about the suffering of others, while others encouraged the audience to think things through for ourselves when needed. This was a wonderful way to speak to readers of many different ages and ability levels, whether they are already naturally compassionate or are still working to improve this skill.

With that being said, the intended age group this picture book seemed to be written for felt a bit too large to me. Some portions appeared to be written for preschoolers, while others touched on serious topics like why refugees are forced to leave their home countries that would be more interesting and appropriate for older elementary students. While I appreciated the fact that the author tried to reach so many different ages, I do think the story would have benefitted from reducing its scope a little so that it could go into more detail about issues related to this type of immigration. It’s an important subject that older kids should definitely be educated on.

The ending was by far my favorite part of it all. It had a straightforward message that built on everything the author had decided to include in this fictionalized version of something that really happened to her as a child. I loved the fact that it trusted its audience to make certain logical leaps between the narrator’s memories and what she hoped everything would take away from her tale. It was a nice way to wrap things up in the end.

The Doll was a heartwarming read.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Big Bad Wolf in My House by Valérie Fontaine

August 5, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Big Bad Wolf in My House by Valérie Fontaine
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A young girl describes what it’s like when her mom’s new friend comes to stay — a moving story about domestic violence that ends on a hopeful note.

The young girl tells us that her mom’s new friend is just like the big bad wolf. At first the wolf is sweet and kind to her mom, though the girl notices the wolf’s cold eyes from the very beginning. When her mom arrives home late one day, the wolf suddenly hurls angry words and terrible names at her. From that day on her mother doesn’t smile anymore. The girl is careful to clean her room and brush her teeth and do everything to keep the peace, but the wolf is unpredictable, throwing plates on the floor, yelling at her mother and holding the girl’s arm so tightly she is left with bruises. Whenever the yelling begins, she hides under the covers in her room.

How will she and her mom cope as the wolf becomes increasingly fierce?

Not everyone in this world is loving and kind.

I was impressed by how the author’s clever use of metaphor allowed her to talk about various forms of abuse that are rarely if ever mentioned in children’s fiction, especially stories written for the youngest little ones. By framing it as a big bad wolf being invited into an unsuspecting family’s home, she was able to cover subjects like the cycle of domestic violence in ways that kids can understand without frightening them.

My only piece of constructive criticism for this tale had to do with some ambiguity about the age group for which it was written. I was never quite sure who exactly it was meant for. Some sections seemed to be geared towards preschoolers, while others were subtle enough that they seemed to be written for older kids or even preteens. This is such an important topic to cover for kids affected by it that I did wish things had been made clearer in that regard.

With that being said, the ending was wonderfully appropriate for children of all ages. The author was definitely covering some heavy subjects in this tale, but be assured that she kept her audience in mind when writing the last few scenes. I appreciated the sensitivity she showed while explaining what happened to the main character and her mother after they realized there was a metaphorical wolf living with them.

I’d recommend The Big Bad Wolf in My House to families who have experienced verbal, emotional, physical, or any other form of abuse.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Noisy Classroom by Angela Shanté

August 4, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Noisy Classroom by Angela Shanté
Publisher: West Margin Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The first day of school is coming… and I’m going to be in the noisy class. Any class but the noisy class will do!

A young girl is about to enter the third grade, but this year she’s put into Ms. Johnson’s noisy class. Everything about the noisy class is odd. While all the other classes are quiet, Ms. Johnson sings and the kids chatter all day. The door is always closed, yet sounds from it can be heard in the hallway. With summer coming to an end and school starting, the girl realizes that soon she’ll be going to the noisy class. What will school be like now?

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There were so many humorous moments in this picture book. The author sprinkled them into nearly every scene, and they only grew better over time. That was a wonderful way to approach a topic that can be a little sensitive for some kids. It’s hard to remain nervous about discussing something serious when the first few pages are already filled with laughter and joy.

This story seemed to be a little too dismissive of the idea that noisy classrooms are not going to be a good fit for every student. Some children who have sensory processing disorders, anxiety, and other diagnoses wouldn’t enjoy that type of learning environment at all. I wish this had been acknowledged alongside the encouragement to give scary things a try and not make assumptions ahead of time. This is something I’d be thrilled to read to some kids but hesitant to introduce to others depending on their personalities and reasons for being nervous about starting a new school year. The message itself was a good one. It was simply something that I would have liked to see tailored to its intended audience better and with a deeper sense of empathy for the young readers out there who need a quieter learning environment for any number of medical reasons.

With that being said, I did appreciate seeing how the main character reacted to the dreaded noisy classroom. She had thoughtful reasons for wanting to avoid it, and the creative method for getting out of it she slowly perfected over the summer made me laugh out loud. What a clever kid she was! I only grew more curious to see how she’d react to her first day back at school in the autumn when she had to face up to her fear. Her stubbornness and imaginative personality were going to be quite the match for her new teacher, and I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.

I’d recommend The Noisy Classroom to early elementary students who are a little nervous about adjusting to a new teacher this autumn.

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