​Jett Jamison is a precocious sixth grader.  She loves lists, schedules and silence.  However, the voices in her head don't always cooperate.  Her refuge is the library since her twin brothers are always noisy and her parents aren't exactly the schedule type. One day, Jett stumbles across Sister Gia, a nun working in the gardens.  Sister Gia offers Jett a refuge from the noise and a listening ear.  Sister Gia wonders if Jett might benefit from a book she knows, but soon after Jett discovers the book at her local library, it disappears.  Jett then learns that the other copies of the book have disappeared as well.  Jett believes that the book will help all of her problems and decides to fight the censor while fighting for herself. 

Jett Jamison & The Secret Storm is a powerful middle grade, coming of age story.  Told through an authentic middle school voice, Jett comes alive with relatable struggles and issues that many middle schoolers face.  Jett has very strong emotions and is dealing with past trauma while trying to stand up for what is right and learning about who her true friends are.  Jett's journey of coming to terms with her trauma through a book really resonated with me.  I enjoyed seeing Jett growing as she learned that she would have to be loud and use her voice in order to advocate against the book censorship as well as how the book opened an avenue for Jett finally seeking help.  Jett Jamison & The Secret Storm offers a heartfelt and thoughtful look into trauma and recovery.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Ben Snyder has a complicated relationship with food.  Right now, there are about ten things that he will actually eat.  It's more than being a picky eater, Ben physically can't eat other foods. This hasn't been a big issue, but now Ben is in Middle School and different kids are starting to notice his habits.  Ben is also running for student government, finds himself liking a girl, dealing with a bully, and finding new friendships.  When a three-day history field trip to a colonial camp, complete with a mandatory colonial menu arises, Ben finds himself in a dilemma.  He doesn't want to be singled out, but his diet requirements put him in a predicament. 
 
Food Fight is a middle grade book showing a very realistic view of AFRID- Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.  Ben was an extremely relatable character and the writing showed an excellent point of view of a sixth grader.  Ben dealt with changing friendships, crushes, bullying and taking on new challenges, all of the transitions that happen in middle school along with his eating disorder.  I appreciated seeing AFRID from both Ben's point of view and his parents’ point of view.  To Ben, this was just how he was, he didn't want to make anyone upset or make anything more difficult, he just wanted to stick to the foods he knew he could eat.  His parents were worried about his health and his social life along with how it affected those around him.   I was surprised that his parents took so long to get an actual diagnosis for Ben's eating and that they didn't make accommodations for the field trip.  In the end, this is a story of Ben finding confidence and comfort with himself and allowing others in. 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 
 

Redwing Blackbird wakes up in with the sunrise to observe his domain in the marshland.  He flies around and sees other birds, bugs, otters and beavers, too.  Redwing hears the songs of other birds and the buzz of insects at noon as well as notices the scents of all the flowers.  As the sun sets, Redwing sees forest families, fish, and lizards.  A full moon welcomes owls and bats as redwing returns to his nest. 

Song of the Redwing is a beautiful ode to the environment of the marshland and wetland.  Written for children, this can definitely be enjoyed by any nature lover.  There are some lesser known words introduced that are good opportunities to introduce new vocabulary for kids.  Written in rhyming verse from the point of view of Redwing, Song of the Redwing brings you into nature and encourages the use of all of your senses to notice the many things going on around you.  The beautiful watercolor paintings are realistic while letting you look up close into the world of wildlife.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Cousins, Ava and Nadeem are being ridiculed by their 5th grade classmate for being Jewish and Muslim. As they are wondering what to do about the issue, their Granny Buena shows them a special button passed down from their ancestors who helped to save Prince Abdur Rahmann. Granny Buena begins to tell them the story of Ester, who aided Prince Abdur Rahmann in escaping ancient Morocco and finding his way to Spain to create a safe haven for Muslims, Jews and Christians. However, before Granny Buena can finish the story, Ava and Nadeem find out firsthand just how Prince Abdur Rahmann made his escape.

The Button Box is a middle grade historical adventure that is a lot of fun and incorporates the heritage of Muslim and Jewish culture. Ava and Nadeem face a common problem that Muslim and Jewish kids often face and come up with a very creative way to solve it once they experience life during Prince Abdur Rahmann's time. I loved the button and the cousin's cat, Sheba as time travel mechanisms and how Ava and Nadeem were able to integrate into ancient Morocco and learn about their history as well as their cultures through experiences in the past. Prince Abdul Rahmann was in fact a real person who helped to usher in the Golden Age for Muslims, Jews and Christians in Spain and I was glad to learn of his story. Ava and Nadeem learn valuable lessons from their journey to the past and are able to apply them to their present day in useful ways once they return. The Button Box is a fast-paced magical story tying together the shared Muslim and Jewish heritage and history.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
​

​It has been almost a year since Rill's father was taken by the Colorado River on a white-water rafting trip.  Rill believes that her father will come back and is determined to stay the same until then.  Upon visiting Camp Kruse, the treehouse that her dad built, Rill finds a girl from her class hiding out.  Perla escaped when her family was being deported.  Rill helps Perla with food, clothes and finding out if her family made it back home.  Rill finds purpose, friendship and an adventure as she helps Perla.  However, Rill soon realizes that even though Perla's family is far away, her father is still alive, and Rill's emotions burst through to the surface.

The River Between Hearts is an emotional middle-grade journey.  Rill is written as a completely believable pre-teen going through grief.  Her relationship with Perla was exactly what she needed at the moment.  Perla's story explored the world of immigration, deportation and the heartbreak it can bring as families are separated.  As Rill and Perla leaned on one another, they were able to find strength in one another and face the truth of their situations to come to acceptance and move on to the next steps.   Fast-paced writing and wonderful perspectives highlight the challenges of growing up, grief, immigration, family dynamics and big feelings in a down-to-earth manner.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Caterpillar and her friend Tadpole want to attend the Masquerade Ball to win the blue ribbon for best disguise.  Caterpillar is concerned that she doesn't have a good disguise, but tadpole reminds her that she looks just like bird poop!  As the Masquerade approaches Caterpillar and Tadpole grow and change, soon Caterpillar feels tired and must nap.  She is worried that she might miss the Masquerade, when Tadpole can't wake her friend, Tadpole sets off to win the ribbon for her.  However, Caterpillar soon has a surprise of her own when she wakes from her long nap.  

Caterpillar's Surprise is a fun story with positive messages about change and body images as well as environmental literacy concepts about camouflage and metamorphosis.  I loved Tadpoles rhyming songs and body positivity.  Caterpillar and Tadpole have a wonderful and encouraging friendship.  The changes in both animals are shown through beautifully drawn cute but realistic illustrations.  The baby pictures that the animals brought to the Masquerade were a wonderful way to highlight additional changes within the animal kingdom.  Overall, a good book for introducing environmental concepts for children ages 2-6. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Lulu the pug lives every dog's dream in New York City with her two adoring people, Bella and Doug.  They take walks, visit museums, see shows and eat at Lulu's favorite restaurant, Joey's pizza.  When Lulu watches Bella and Doug dance, she wants to waltz like them too, but pugs aren't built to dance.  Lulu finds her own doggie dance teacher, but she has to keep practicing.  Instead, Lulu keeps getting sidetracked by pizza.  Lulu has to put in the work in order to show everyone that dogs can dance too.  


Lulu the Unstoppable Dancing Dog is a fun and inspiring story about sticking with it and reaching for your goals.  Lulu is a fun and lovable character. Even though she is a dog, she faces the same trials in learning a new skill as everyone else.  Lulu's determination and passion for learning how to dance shines through.  However, Lulu's story turns out to be extremely relatable as she forgoes practice in favor of pizza.  With amazing illustrations, Lulu seems to dance off the page.  Lulu's message of skill building, determination and practicing to succeed will ring true with readers ages 4-9.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Amber and Missy are both 14 year old girls facing a unique set of challenges as they enter their last year of middle school.  Amber has epilepsy, an invisible medical condition that mostly makes her blank out, be tired all the time and have memory issues.  Lately, however, her seizures have been getting worse, some leading to injury and causing her to miss even more school.  Missy's family moved to town after her brother died fighting in Afghanistan.  The death proved too much for Missy's mother though, and she retreated into her grief while Missy's father moved on and moved away.  Amber and Missy suffer in their loneliness, but soon realize that a true friend may be what they need to help them through this time. 


Being is Better is a heartfelt middle grade novel about the hardships of this difficult part of life and the power of friendship.  Told in alternating points of view between Amber and Missy, the story goes deep into their lives to gain understanding and connection to each of the girls.  Amber's struggles with epilepsy are well written, showing the physical, mental and social tolls of the invisible medical condition.  Missy's family situation is another hidden difficulty that many families silently go through. Missy's mother's depression was written in a way that didn't put the blame on anyone and showed the gravity of the situation.  While the girl's individual stories are compelling, I was waiting for a while for something exciting to happen.  The girls don't even meet until about 70% of the way through the story and finally some magic happens.  It was amazing to see what happened when Missy and Amber began to believe and trust in themselves.  With a major breakthrough near the end of the story, I know there is more to Amber and Missy's journey to come.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Set sail for an island made of books.  Listen to a story with animal friends, have fun and celebrate.  You just have to be still, breathe out, then in again and listen.  

Read Island takes you on a magical journey.  With rhyming prose that flows like a song enchants new readers to the wonders of reading and the worlds within books.  The hand-drawn illustrations have a collage-like quality that use parts of books within the picture and friendly animals that encourage creativity, imagination and whimsy.  Read Island is perfect to share with children ages 2-7 to spark joy in reading .  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.