I listened to this book and the narrator was great! It is a story about a father and son. The father is very frugal and loves to procure items for free, for bargaining, or from garage sales. Carl is very embarrassed because he is now trying to impress a girl. One day he finds a flyer on puppy training and decides to train his father out of his tightwad ways. Carl just wants to be a normal kid and have a father who is the same.
This book is really funny, it is also short and so it is a great book for kids who don't like long books. There are a few swear words in the story which is probably nothing that kids don't hear every day. In elementary school, students are always surprised to find swear words in their novels!
Knowing that Gary Paulsen had a rough childhood, I hope writing this book gave him some of his youth back with delight and humor. Sadly, He passed while he was on tour promoting this book. We will miss him in the children's literature world.
This survival adventure story kept me very engaged. I listened to the audio and it was terrific. It is about a girl who is left alone in a town to survive after the entire population evacuated. It is not just a few days either. She is on her own for a very long time and has to deal with not only her physical needs but also the difficulty of being all alone with no human relationships. She isn't stranded in the wilderness so this survival story is a new twist on the typical lost and alone type of plot.
I have lots of questions about why everyone had to evacuate. and the author doesn't give much of a back story as to the cause. You just have to let this go I guess.
I think this book would be great for middle school kids. There is an instance of animal cruelty, a few swears and some period talk. It is written in free verse so it is a quick read despite being over 400 pages.
This is a book for the beginning chapter book reader. The main character is a first-grade Ojibwe girl and the stories are about her school and family life. It has a humorous slant. Think Junie B. Jones to get an idea of the style of this story. There are also a few pictures to support the book which is always nice for the younger reader. Best of all, this is the beginning of a new series.
Teachers in Minnesota could introduce this book to their kids as a window or a mirror into the life of so many Native American kids in our state. This would be a great read-aloud in November during Native American Heritage Month. Dawn Quigley is also from Minnesota and she is Ojibwe.
I enjoyed listening to this book. I didn't have to struggle with pronouncing the words of the Native American language! There is a glossary at the back of the print book to help with this.
I had a lot of favorite middle-grade reads this year. Let me tell you briefly about them in this post. If I have a more detailed blog post, I will link it as well on the image. These books are in no particular order because I just couldn't rank them any further! However, I will start with my favorite and number one middle-grade read for 2021!
I loved imagining this colony of adults and kids on Mars as they pioneer a new life together. This science-fiction book
is very accessible for the middle-grade reader and is more realistic than fantasy. I hope there is a sequel!
This book moved me! I cried, laughed, and identified with Genesis as she struggles with her identity and her appearance.
Karina's grandfather is attacked by a racist and she uses social media to bring the community together.
The publisher asked this author to write a follow-up book and he nailed it! The penguins are well taken care of when two kids find penguin eggs and make sure they hatch! Mom intervenes to help them find a good home for the penguins. This book is funny and heartwarming.
This book is so beautifully written and tells the difficult story of two girls who were sexually abused by their mother's boyfriend. Every adult who reads this book loves it and it is really a great book for many middle-school kids. Watch the video linked to the image to learn what the author has to say about the reason she wrote this book.
Stamped (For Kids) is a great introduction to the history of racism for upper elementary students and everyone else too.
This is such a fun way to learn about Minnesota and Canadian voyageur history. The main character is a red squirrel who goes along on the voyageur's journey.
The dream team of James Patterson, Kwame Alexander have created a wonderful biography/memoir about Muhammad Ali's youth.
Efren's mother is deported back to Mexico and it leaves him and his father to take care of the younger kids as well as figure out how to get her back to the family.
Find out what life is like for a figure skater who is hoping to be in the Olympics someday.
Ahmed's family moves to Minnesota for their father's medical care. He is trying to fit into a new middle school and deal with family issues too.
April and her father are living on an arctic island called Bear Island while her father does climate research. April becomes friends with a polar bear that lives on the island.
The Peach family is going on the road with a food truck one summer in order to heal and come back together as a family unit after the death of their mother.
Sila makes friends with an elderly man and a classmate and together they work to save and take care of a circus elephant.
Ellie is bullied for her weight by kids and school and even her mother and brother at home. Ellie's father connects her with a therapist to help her cope with these difficult relationships.
Ellie is in middle school and is bulled every day for her weight. It comes not just from peers at school but also from home. Ellie's mother is always on her case for what she eats and gives her strict rules for food. Her brother is embarrassed by his sister's appearance.
Ellie does have some great allies. Even though her best friend has moved, she meets a new girl in her neighborhood and they form a fast friendship. Ellie's father is also loving and supportive and connects her with a therapist who can help her get through her emotional issues.
Swimming helps Ellie feel free and weightless. She can even spread out as much as she likes just like a starfish. Learning how to do this in her regular life is one of the themes in this book. She usually wants to make herself as small as possible or even invisible so that others won't make fun of her.
This book is written in beautiful poetry and is a pretty fast book to read. Ellie's family is Jewish and her friend, Catalina is Hispanic and those family heritages are also a part of the story.
I think this book will touch a lot of adults who probably can identify with Ellie. The author, Lisa Fipps, was encouraged to write this story for middle school instead of her intended young adult audience because this story needs to be told for younger readers. I think she is a very gifted author and look forward to reading more from her.
Karina Chopra is Indian-American and lives in Texas. Her grandfather comes to live with them and he is such a delight. In fact, he ends up tutoring the boy who lives next door in math. He just has a way of bringing people together and Karina and Chris become friends too. One day a terrible racial attack happens to the three of them. The book shows the aftermath of this incident and how Karina uses social media to help heal and bring a community together.
I gave this book five stars because I loved the characters so much, especially the grandfather. This book gives attention to the immigrant experience as well as the hate that also exists. Kids and adults have to figure out how to react and come to terms with situations that are, unfortunately, too common.
