★★★★★ Queso, Just in Time by Ernest Cisneros is a fun and touching novel about 12-year old Queso who travels back in time to 1985 and befriends his then-12 year old father, Pancho. In the present day, Queso's father has passed away and many of Queso's memories of his father are of him being weighted… Continue reading Book Review: Queso, Just in Time by Ernesto Cisneros
Category: Book Review
Book Review: Red River Rose by Carole Lindstrom
★★★ Red River Rose by Carole Lindstrom is a historical fiction and an adventure story set in the 1885. Rose and her family are part of the indigenous Metis community living along the Saskatchewan River in Canada. When the Canadian government wants to push the Metis off of their land to sell to settlers, Rose… Continue reading Book Review: Red River Rose by Carole Lindstrom
Book Review: When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller
★★★★ When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller is a unique, clever, and layered story about three tweens/teens navigating the ups and downs of seventh grade in modern day Seattle during a time when raging wildfires had covered the city in smoke. I will admit that, based on the title and cover art, I thought I… Continue reading Book Review: When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller
Book Review: Each and Every Spark by Claire Swinarski
★★★★★ Each and Every Spark by Claire Swinarski is a great historical fiction novel exploring children's role in the French Resistance during Nazi occupation of France during World War II. It is told through dual timelines: present day Paris where thirteen year old Penny finds a artwork hidden in a wall with a mysterious note;… Continue reading Book Review: Each and Every Spark by Claire Swinarski
Book Review: A Scar Like a River
★★★ CONTENT WARNING: Child sexual assault and abuse A Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff tackles the very difficult and heartbreaking issue of child sexual assault and the accompanying trauma and efforts at healing. This book was only available at my library as an audiobook, so I listened to, rather than read, this one.… Continue reading Book Review: A Scar Like a River
Book Review: The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller
★★★ I loved the beginning of The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller. Luna is a quiet seventh grader who inherits boxes and boxes of books after a classmate passes away. At school, when Luna notices kids who are teased or struggling with an issue, she diagnoses a book from her library for those students.… Continue reading Book Review: The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller
Book Review: Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi
★★★★★ I really enjoyed Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi. Mariam is Iraqi American and Muslim, and she starts sixth grade at a new school - a local Catholic school. Mariam knows that she may be the first Muslim that her classmates and teachers have ever met, and she feels a pressure to represent her entire… Continue reading Book Review: Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi
Book Review: Hattie Mae Begins Again by Sharon G. Flake
★★★ Hattie Mae Begins Again by Sharon G. Flake is a novel-in-verse that takes place in 1938 and is as story about a young girl, Hattie Mae, who leaves her home in rural North Carolina to Philadelphia to attend boarding school - Miss Abigail's School for Exceptional Young Ladies. As soon as Hattie Mae arrives,… Continue reading Book Review: Hattie Mae Begins Again by Sharon G. Flake
Book Review: Birdy by N. West Moss
★★★★ Eleven year old Birdy, and her seven year old brother, Mouse, are orphaned when their mom passes away from cancer. They leave NYC to live with distant, elderly cousins in Upstate New York for six-months while social workers figure out a more permanent living situation for them. While living in this wholly unfamiliar situation,… Continue reading Book Review: Birdy by N. West Moss
Book Recommendation: The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
Middle grade literature loves World War II, and many of the books written about it are incredible. But The Teacher of Nomad Land stands out among the crowd for its unique and under-represented perspective. That is, what was going on in countries not directly involved in the war, but tremendously affected by it - in… Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
Birdie's Bookshelf 