Abrams books | Page 5 of 11

The Woman Who Split the Atom, an easy top 10 mglit for 2022

The Woman Who Split the Atom is a fascinating, entertaining, non-fiction book that dares you not to enjoy it. That’s a big claim, especially when you consider that the key group that the book is going after are those middle school, mglit readers who can be notoriously fickle. Now, factor in that the book is the true story about a scientist whose groundbreaking work as a physicist changed the world. Oh, and this physicist is a Jewish woman who you probably haven’t heard of who did the bulk of her research in Germany in the early 20^th century. With all of that going against it, the book tells the story of Lise Meitner in a way that even the most reluctant middle school reader will eagerly turn the pages to see what happens next.

The Woman Who Split the Atom, the true story of Lise Meitner is presented and constructed in an irresistible way for readers aged 10 and up.

Stop, collaborate and read this book-it is incredible for ages 10 and up

The Prisoner of Shiverstone, old/new and completely awesome

There is something familiar about The Prisoner of Shiverstone. It has a character or two that will remind you of others that you’ve read, or possibly some of the more creative movies that you’ve seen. Yes, Shiverstone seems like something that you know. However, when all of the elements come into play it forms a unique, weird, creative gem of an mglit graphic novel that dances with different genres and one in which future entries would be welcome.

The Prisoner of Shiverstone is an all-age graphic novel that’s familiar, but utterly original for ages 10 and up.

All age graphic novel with an old soul, but 100% modern too

Overground Railroad for young adults, history for middle school and up

Overground Railroad is a book that looks at how black people traveled from the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s. In my mind’s eye that’s the way, I described Overground Railroad, the Green Book, and the Roots of Black Travel in America to myself. It felt odd when I stated it that way, but that’s because I hadn’t heard about the Green Book and I was thinking about the topic from my modern-day perspective. It’s also worth noting that this is the Overground Railroad version that’s been adapted for young adults. In 2020 a book with the same title, by the same author came out, but that was geared for an older audience.

Overground Railroad is historical, non-fiction that looks at the Green Book and its influence in commerce for black Americans from the 1930s through the 1960s.

A non-fiction slice that most people haven’t heard

Aaron Slater, Illustrator a picture book that’s wise beyond its years

I’m a very punctual person, but I was really late to the illustrated book party that Andrea Beaty and David Roberts have been putting on. Granted, I have seen them because it is impossible to not see one of their books in a lower to mid-elementary classroom or in their school library. The Questioneers book series’ iconic use of graph paper on their cover images makes it clear that these are illustrated books are kept close to the heart of STEM. Aaron Slater, Illustrator follows the previous book’s blueprints. It has rhyming pages, lovingly detailed art, and has a story that aims high with its stem-tastic appeal that’s disguised as an illustrated book

Aaron Slater, Illustrator is in the Questioners series and is a picture book that’s wise beyond its years.

Better late than never to discover this illustrated series that exceeds from any angle

What’s Up Construction Truck? melds the impossible into a board book

What’s Up Construction Truck? is a board book that flies in the face of expectations. It is a board book. It is an interactive/pop-up book to an extent. It’s the smart, buildable board book that you wish that you had when you were a kid. It truly is a great time to be alive, but it didn’t start out this way. When we first received What’s Up Construction Truck? it scared me because of its implied simplicity. I just want a board book, not a puzzle that will embarrass me in front of my 12-year-old, I thought. So, I gave the book to him and let him put it together.

What’s Up Construction Truck? is from the pop-up genius of Matthew Reinhart, this time creating a 3-D bulldozer from the pages of a board book.

You can do this. It’s simpler than it looks and your kids will love it

Pixels Of You, a very slow burn, hazy manga-esque graphic novel

Pixels Of You, I love that song from The Cure. It’s off of Disintegration, which is easily one of the best LPs, CDs or downloads that you’ll ever run across. D’oh, that song is actually Pictures Of You, my bust. Pixels Of You is a graphic novel that’s aimed at upper middle school futurist fiction readers who really enjoy AI, cybernetically infused humans, and how those robot/people or people/robots fit in with the greater society. It’s also helpful if those readers are girls or those dudes who are into fashion or photography. Readers will further enjoy Pixels Of You if they enjoy conspiracy theories, and statements that could be facts, but could also be confused with stark chapter announcements.

Pixels Of You is a slow burn graphic novel with a manga vibe that’s great to look at, but has underdeveloped characters.

The art is striking, the story, really, really takes its time

Quackenstein Hatches A Family, now in groovy 8 x 8 size

From the perspective of a bibliophile, Quackenstein Hatches A Family is one of those illustrated books that you’ll discover in K or early elementary classrooms that’s been read in brutal fashion. The spine is cracked in several locations. Multiple pages are dog-eared. The front cover has a dozen (or more) crayon scribbles on it. It’s also one of those books that young readers will seek out and immerse themselves in during silent read time.

Quackenstein Hatches A Family, now available in 8 x 8 format and a lower price-with the same go-to read that ages 4 and up love.

Even if you don’t have kids between 4-8 you’ll want to read it

A Man Called Horse, makes pre-Civil War Seminole history approachable

Even when you’re finished attending school, you’re never done learning. A Man Called Horse is non-fiction proof to that for us, as well as, most people who will read the book. Despite having lived in Florida for half a decade I never knew anything about the Seminole. It’s very likely that resident Floridians know the basics about the Seminole Indians. However, I had no idea of the complex history that the region had in the early 1800s. What’s impressive about A Man Called Horse is how simple and concise author Glennette Tilley Turner makes the material.

A Man Called Horse is about John Horse, a Black Seminole in the pre-Civil War era, his tumultuous life and the chaotic times then.

Non-fiction on an era most middle school students know nothing about