Books | Page 70 of 82

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales Major Impossible gives explorers their due

Major Impossible is the ninth book in the bestselling series by Nathan Hale. Each book in this series takes a look at a real historical figure. Some of them you’ve heard of, whereas others aren’t as well known. Major Impossible falls in the lesser known category for us. It’s about John Wesley Powell, an explorer who fought in the Civil War and went on to lead the Colorado River Exploring Expedition in 1869. If you’re familiar with Hale’s storytelling you will love this book. If this is your first Nathan Hale book it’s one that will entertain you, educate you, make you squirm on a couple instances and make you curious about the rest of his subjects.

Nathan Hale’s go-to series for middle school explores The colorado river

Why We Love Star Wars, Chicken Soup for the Jedi soul

The fans. The fans have spoken. The fans approve or don’t approve, fandom is the backbone to many book or movie franchises and their future. Star Wars has certainly seen its share of movement. Some of its films weren’t received well, it was bought by Disney and then some of its films weren’t received well. The Star Wars fandom has its camps of die hard supporters and detractors. Ken Napzok is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on Star Wars and has written Why We Love Star Wars, The Great Moments That Built A Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Why We Love Star Wars, a reverent, deep dive into the Force

One More Hug, feelings of déjà vu-both good and bad

One More Hug is a children’s illustrated book by Megan Alexander with illustrations by Hiroe Nakata. It tells the story that most parents have when they look at their child and can see them grow up right before their eyes. One moment you’re assuring them that the wind blowing outside is nothing to worry about and then before you know it you’re watching them drive off down the street on the way to college. This is a feeling that parents see in their mind’s eye or when they’re looking back at photographs that seem like they were taken yesterday.

One More Hug. cute premise, but nothing you haven’t seen before

Chirp, middle grade life & mystery, with a side dose of serious

Chirp is from author Kate Messner. She’s someone who your middle school student knows, who is probably chastising you for not buying this book or getting it from the library yet. For us, Chirp is a great representation of why middle school audiences love Messner’s books. They look at the life of an early teenager from a fun angle, but also address some of the serious things that might be going on in their life.

Crickets, growing up, friends and confronting the uncomfortable

Orchestra, a love letter to the symphonic for elementary school

Orchestra is a massive, over sized book by Avalon Nuovo with illustrations by David Doran. This is a richly illustrated book that feels at home in any elementary school library, classroom or wherever music is a language that’s practiced. My knowledge on orchestra is limited and that’s being kind. However, I’m a huge fan of books by Flying Eye Books. They produce high quality books that stretch the imagination or have one of their toes in the STEM pool.

A must for the music curious, with great art and thorough elementary aged info

Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw, upper elementary go-to fiction

The presentation is one of the first things that elementary aged readers will notice about Diary of a 5^th Grade Outlaw by Gina Loveless and Andrea Bell. It’s much more of a rectangular prism than other books. This allows smaller hands to easily grasp the hardback book and look at its cover. From there those readers will see the rough notebook like appearance to the book and might erroneously presume that it’s cut from the same cloth as Wimpy Kid. It’s not and once you open up the book you’ll see that Diary of a 5^th Grade Outlaw is exactly what some kids need in order to become better readers.

Its text, layout and subject are perfect for mid-elementary ages

Counting The Stars, the illustrated story of math pioneer Katherine Johnson

Books like Counting The Stars don’t get the respect or attention that they deserve. They’re illustrated books at a middle elementary school reading level, but might be intimidating to some readers in that age group. Normally an illustrated book has the impression of it being geared as one that’s simple to read and expresses easy concepts. Counting The Stars does that, but it does so with more advanced paragraphs and introduces children to Katherine Johnson. She’s the NASA mathematician who many people (including myself) were first introduced to via the film Hidden Figures.

This is a great story to teach elementary aged readers for many reasons

Pokko and the Drum is a new classic illustrated book

Sometimes we miss the boat. Pokko and the Drum is one of those books. Released in 2019 and having been placed in many Top 10 Children’s Books we can testify that it fully merits any praise that it received. From the fully encompassing art on the pages to the simple messaging and presentation of the story, it’s a book that any parent and child can understand and appreciate.

Pokko And the Drum is an illustrated book kids will be reading generations from now