Books | Page 17 of 82

Moving Forward, non-fiction illustrated that’s uncomfortable and inspiring

Illustrated books have the capacity to move us emotionally, in addition to making us think. Non-fiction illustrated books are capable of doing that but have the added burden of being a true story. Personally, I think that’s because some students heard that illustrated books were meant exclusively for silly stories about growing up or softly teaching morals. Moving Forward is an illustrated book that does all of those things, except for the silly stories part. Instead of that, it uses action, speed, and adventure that’ll help bring in elementary-aged readers.

Moving Forward is a non-fiction illustrated book that blends, adventure, family, rage, justice and the passage of time into something that fifth-grade students can learn from.

History happened, have kids read about it

Dazzlin’ Dolly, as empowering and entertaining as illustrated books can be

Have you seen the Whitney Houston clip where she was recounting how Kevin Costner sole her on the idea of re-recording I Will Always Love You? Apparently, he really enjoyed country music and had presented the 1974 original song from Dolly Parton to Houston as an option for the movie that the two of them were making. The rest is history. Houston had the biggest song of her career and the first cultural renaissance of Dolly Parton had begun, not that she ever went anywhere. Dazzlin’ Dolly is an illustrated book that provides elementary school audiences with a great overview of her early life.

Dazzlin’ Dolly is an illustrated book looking at the early life of one of pop culture’s most generous and endearing influences, Dolly Parton.

The childhood and tribulations of her early years

The One and Only Sparkella Makes A Plan, more meh with a little STEM

How this end-cap book at Target escaped us in 2022 is a mystery. The One and Only Sparkella Makes A Plan is the sequel to 2021’s New York Times-bestselling book, The One and Only Sparkella. It’s from Channing Tatum with illustrations by Kim Barnes and follows most of the same path as its successful sibling. The curveball in Makes A Plan is that she’s having a sleepover that evening and she wants to build a castle.

The One and Only Sparkella Makes A Plan, aka, Sparkella #2, infuses a little bit of STEM into this celebrity-author powered girl series.

If you know and liked the first one then this is your jam

Naomi Feitelbaum Ends the World, an adventure spin on Golem mythology

Professional wrestling, just like a good mglit book needs an excellent heel. If the evil, bad guy, or source of conflict is not somewhat believable, in addition to being an actual threat, then the build-up is for naught. Iron Man 3 is a great example of that. Naomi Feitelbaum Ends the World is mglit that doesn’t suffer that same fate. It’s a quick-paced, lively romp with a Golem at the center of things.

Naomi Feitelbaum Ends the World is mglit with a Jewish mythological twist about a Golem gone wrong.

A weird little-monster book that’s based in Jewish mythology

Octopuses Have Zero Bones, an instant classic and ‘best of’ any year

Octopuses Have Zero Bones is one of the best books of the year. Granted, it is very early in 2023, but that’s OK because it was technically released in September of 2022. We’re not going to let a little technicality like that get in the way of calling this book an instant classic and a ‘best of’, whichever year you want to put it in. One thing that we ascribe to is treating kids as smart as you want them to be. When our own children were younger we did it that way and it’s the way that I teach my classes, regardless of the grade. Octopuses Have Zero Bones is a counting book, but it’s so much more than just a book that’ll teach counting to toddlers.

Octopuses Have Zero Bones is a counting book like no other. It is that, but it’s so much more, great for ages 5 and way up.

Pick that jaw up off of the floor and jump into this fabulous book

5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories, nuggets of STEM fun for ages 5-7

As we’ve said before, it’s an Ada Twist world, we’re just living in it. For kids of a certain age, see those kids who are between five and seven years old, Ada Twist has been tickling their STEM fancy since 2016. She started out in illustrated books, has branched out into chapter books, a Netflix show, and now 5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories takes the series to bed. The book doesn’t overtly say bedtime stories with Ada Twist. However, the five-minute timeline in the book’s title lets parents know that this is a safe place to read when it’s already ten minutes past where they should’ve been.

5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories is 12 short STEM stories with characters that pre-k and early elementary know and love.

Those pre-k kids know the deal on this one

The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls, real, different, great mglit

When I was teaching 8^th grade ELA I was aghast at how few students read for fun and how much work their context clues needed. Out of the approximately 108 students that I taught for a couple of months, there was one of them that read for fun. That student’s grades reflected that fact and they constantly got strong A’s on their assignments, while paying minimal attention in class. I mention this, albeit in kind of a rant, that there are an almost limitless number of books that will be great for middle school readers.

The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls is a book that will certainly be attractive to upper elementary through middle school audiences. It’s a curiously long title that will intrigue those readers who stand a chance at reading the book. The reason I phrase it like that is that getting middle school students to read, much less read realistic fiction is a seriously challenging task.

The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls is realistic fiction, with a slice of Northern Exposure, that’ll hook mglit fans when they give it a chance.

Left of center realistic fiction for tweens and teens

If Your Babysitter is a Bruja is grin-along imagination play for four and up

At the intersection of soft education, entertainment, and the imagination of four-year-old lays If Your Babysitter is a Bruja. It’s an illustrated book with a Halloween spirit, but can be entertaining any time of the year. Bruja, as those broom-flying people know by its implication is that the book sprinkles in the occasional Spanish word. Really, I haven’t seen ay, caramba used this much since the first couple of seasons of The Simpsons.

If Your Babysitter is a Bruja is a happy tale about a young girl who has a witch for a babysitter, or does she really?

It’s fun….don’t tell them that they’re learning…..