The Doughnut Fix and The Doughnut King by Jessie Janowitz

I picked up The Doughnut Fix one day because I was hungry for doughnuts and the cover called to me. I was delighted with this funny and charming book about a family and a small, quirky town. The story starts with Tristan's family moving from New York City to a very small town in upstate New York. It is a hard transition for Tris because the principal of the school recommends that the kids in their family wait until the beginning of the semester to start school. In the meantime, they are encouraged to come up with a project. Tristan discovers that there is a closed doughnut shop in the town. His family happens to love baking and so Tristan decides that he is going to reopen up the doughnut shop. But first, he needs the recipe and has to learn to start a business. 

Well, I didn't expect this book to be so funny!  It reminded me of the old TV show, Green Acres, where city folk moves to the country and all of the funny things that happen as they adjust to a new life. It was also just a warm and happy family story with a lot of baking going on. 

The Doughnut King is the sequel and it is also delightful. This time, Tristan cannot keep up with the demand of the doughnuts and is disappointing customers. He finds out that a 50,000.00 robot doughnut maker could be the solution. So, he gets on a kids cooking show in hopes of raising the funds. Again, you learn about business, cooking, and in this book, doing the right things. 

If you want to read a happy story with plenty of humor and throw in some baking and great friendships, then this is a good choice.  I rate both books a 4. I really liked them.

The book trailer for The Doughnut Fix:

The book trailer for The Doughnut King:

Do you want to learn how to make the winning cupcake recipe?  Watch this show!

White Bird by R. J. Palacio

Graphic Novels Win Awards!

The author of Wonder, R. J. Palacio, has written and illustrated a graphic novel about World War II and it is the story of Julian's grandmother as a young girl and her experiences during the war. Julian is one of the characters in Wonder who was a bully to the main character. 

First, this is a very moving and beautiful story of courage when living in a time when war made nothing normal. It is about fighting injustice, being kind, and doing the right things even when it is difficult. Next, it is just a gorgeously illustrated book. I admired many of the illustrations. 

I loved this emotional scene where Sara is enjoying time with her parents in a forest scene filled with bluebells; the illustrations were exceptional. I remember double checking on who was the illustrator and then realized that Palacio also did her own artwork. Impressive.

This book won the 2020 Syndey Taylor award which is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. It is a great introduction to upper elementary and middle school students on WW II and Nazi topics. 

I think I could easily recommend this book to most 5th graders and up and I would especially press this book into the hands of adults. It is really an inspirational story. I give it a 5 rating for Amazing!

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

Graphic Novels Win Awards

They Called Us Enemy won the 2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature. It is the memoir of George Takei (rhymes with OK), who is the actor from Star Trek who played Mr. Sulu.  This book has been put on many best-of lists and has received much press. 

Takei tells of the story of when he was a small child and his family was sent to an internment camp during WWII just because they were Japanese living on the West coast.  This is his first-hand account of life in a prison camp and his reactions as a small child. Sometimes it was very hard and then at times a new normal.  George Takei wrote this story so that the next generation will not forget this time of history and repeat it again. 

My book club read this book and we gave it high scores. It is a great historical memoir for teens and adults. I give it a 4 out of 4 rating. It is a must-read!

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions; First Edition edition (July 16, 2019)
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Stargazing by Jen Wang

Graphic Novels Win Awards

This year's winner for the Asian Pacific American Book Award for Children's Literature was Stargazing by Jen Wang. It is the story of a Chinese-American girl named Christine who meets Moon who is very different from her. 

Christine's family is Christian, strict and high expectations. Moon is Buddist, outgoing, confident, and has visions of celestial beings from the stars. Christine and Moon become friends but suddenly Moon is very sick. Christine has to figure out how this friendship can survive their differences. 

The author had a health situation when she was young that she draws upon for this story. It isn't a memoir but some of the storylines come from Wang's personal experiences.  She is able to show us that there are great differences in culture within the culture of the Chinese American and to notice the shades within a group of people. 

I really liked this book and rated it a 4 out of 4. It is a good choice for upper elementary students. I would call it a realistic school story. 

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 4
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: First Second (September 10, 2019)
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New Kid by Jerry Craft

Graphic Novels Win Awards

New Kid is the first graphic novel to win the gold Newbery medal.  A few have been honor books in the past but this is the year that a graphic novel took top honors. It also won the Coretta Scott King Author Award and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature. Not only that, but it was named Audible book of the year.  I noticed that it takes about 2 hours to listen to the audio version of this book.  They have a full cast of readers and music and I am really curious to see if you can only listen and get all the nuances of the plot. Otherwise, this would be a great book to listen to while looking at the graphics. 

The story is about a seventh-grader named Jordan Banks who is enrolled in a fancy private school and finds that he is one of only a few kids of color. His family isn't wealthy and he lives in an apartment in a not as affluent area of the city. Jordan is finding it difficult to fit in and uses his artist sketchbook to convey his feelings. He is talented at art and is hoping to someday go to a high school for the arts. 

This funny and yet thought-provoking story should be a hit with middle school kids. It is very current and full of pop-culture. It is a humorous school story.  I really liked it and give it a 4 out of 4 rating. 

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Quill Tree Books (February 5, 2019)

Graphic Novel Read-a-thon for Middle Grade March

Graphic novels are real books.

I am doing a graphic novel read-a-thon challenge for this month. I have been unpacking some brand new books and I saved a stack of graphic novels for myself to read. I will be sharing these books with you as I read them.

I am doing this challenge because I have not been making reading graphic novels a priority in my professional reading. My sense was that kids are reading them already and so I don't need to promote them as much with a book talk.  However, I noticed that graphic novels were huge winners in the recent American Library Youth Awards last month and the award committees are solidly supporting graphic novels as "real books". It is worth my while to intensify my support for this format of books with some dedication to reading and reviewing them. 

In reading a graphic novel, you will find that you can easily read some in as little as a half-hour.  Most of the middle-grade books I have picked up take me about an hour or more to read. You can't speed read because there are a lot of pictures to look at and "read". Sometimes I will go over a page several times as I try to understand what is going on and what each scene means to the story line. Take your time and slow down as you look at the pictures. They are essential to the flow of the plot as you make inferences about each graphic box; especially the ones without words. This type of reading is different from all text and you may find yourself a little confused if you just rush through the book and just read the words. It may feel strange...but keep reading and you should begin to find a rhythm. 

First up is the book Sheets by Brenna Thummler.  She is both the writer and the illustrator of this graphic novel. It is about a 13-year-old girl named Marjorie who is holding her family together while her father deals with depression and her mother's death.  Marjorie is also trying to keep the laundromat business going as well as going to school and feeling at a loss herself. A villain character tries to con the business from Marjorie's family and resorts to sabotage to get it done.  Meanwhile, a young ghost who isn't happy about settling into a typical ghost routine comes to the laundromat at night and manages to leave signs of his presence. He has to keep his "sheet" clean and finds the laundromat a good place to land. It turns out that the ghost and Marjorie need each other. 

This book deals with some sad themes such as depression, grief, feelings of hopelessness, abandonment, and money problems. The ghosts are cute and friendly and look like Casper and not really creepy. There are some moments of humor and levity in the story but I would not classify this book as humor. It is a mash-up of realistic fiction and fantasy. 

I rate this book a 3 out of 4. I liked it, but it was a sad story. Slow down and look at the pages carefully as you figure out the plot of the book. 

• Age Range: 9 and up
• Grade Level: 4 - 7
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oni Press (August 28, 2018)

I didn't read Anne until I was an adult and adored it and read the entire series.  When the new graphic novel came out which is written by Mariah Marsden and illustrated by Brenna Thummler, I heard it was terrific.  I was doubtful because I wasn't sure if the story would really translate well into graphics.  So, I read the book.  I loved it....and I laughed and cried. Another teacher read the book after my recommendation and felt the same.  The true test was giving the book to a teacher who hadn't read the book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for her.  She had a hard time figuring out the characters and didn't feel all of the emotions that I experienced.  I suspect that this graphic novel is best read by someone who has already read the novel. 

If you are a reluctant graphic novel reader. Try reading a book that has been made into a graphic novel that you are familiar with. See what kind of experience it is and how it compares with a book without graphics. 

I rate this book a 4 out of 4. I really liked it and the graphics were wonderful, especially the fall scenery. It was nice to reread "Anne" without the time commitment of the entire novel. 

• Age Range: 8 - 11 years
• Grade Level: 2 - 6
• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 24, 2017)

The Line Tender by Kate Allen

This is an amazing story by another Minnesota author! Everyone is simply raving about this one and it is a must-read. I rated it a 5!  

Lucy, a twelve-year-old, goes through a summer of intense experiences with the support of her father, friends, and neighbors. Her mother, who was a marine biologist and studied sharks, died when she was seven. The research she started comes back to Lucy as she looks to find meaning in her life in this eventful summer. 

There is a reason why the book reviews for this book are vague. It is too easy to spoil the story for the reader. Just trust everyone and put this book on your reading list. 

Enjoy Colby Sharp's enthusiastic book review! He was nice and vague about the plot as well! Pick up the book to find out what it is all about. 

Age Range: 10 and up

Grade Level: 5 - 6

Reading Level:  4.6

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (April 16, 2019)