Simon & Schuster | Page 3 of 10

Spy School Project X, marks the spot on go-to, mglit

Mglit is an abbreviation for middle-grade fiction. However, there are many instances where an mglit book can also be perfect for upper-elementary school readers. It’s kind of like the colloquial definition of art, it varies and can depend on who is viewing it. By any definition, Spy School is one of the go-to, must-read book series for the aforementioned groups. Spy School Project X is the tenth book in that series and, while it does show signs of maturity, it doesn’t show signs of decreasing quality or tired characters.

Spy School Project X is the tenth book in this fabulous mglit series, yet is as spry, fast and fun as it started. They are go-to books for ages eight and up.

To change, evolve and still maintain excellence-this does that

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, too focused on sequels to be enjoyable

I taught ESL to Chinese students for two years. This is important because it introduced me to more Chinese myths than the average middle-grade reader. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao has the goal of building a book series that’s aimed at middle school readers.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor has lots of potential, but puts too many cooks in the kitchen and fails to keep its eyes on the prize.

One great book, is better than trying to build a world

Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra, mglit as great as it gets

Soooooo good. We’ll just cut to the chase on Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra and say that this book all but reads itself due to it being so entertaining. It’s one of those middle school books that upper elementary kids can read, and that their parents will borrow from them-and find it just as entertaining. Curse of Cleopatra, much like the first book in the Charlie Thorne series, is so much fun to read that you’ll wish that you hadn’t read it so that you can read it again the first time. So what is this book that had me and our 12 YO raving about?

Charlie Thorne and the Curse of the Cleopatra is the third entry in this consistently enthralling series for grades four and up (way up)

This series.

A Dinosaur Named Ruth, old soul, patient story telling with charm

I wanted more. That is not something that you think to yourself after many books. A Dinosaur Named Ruth brings up that thought as soon as you read the last word on the final two pages that show a young girl, and a dinosaur, looking wistfully into the prairie. It’s also not the story that you know. The dinosaur was called Sue, wasn’t it? Well, a dinosaur was called that, however, this story has more numerous subjects, and one that plays out in a more patient manner. It’s also worth noting that Ruth (the dinosaur) was discovered by its more famous T-Rex dinosaur who was found just down the road.

A Dinosaur Named Ruth is the story that you think that you know, but instead is patient tale about knowing what you have.

A dino tale that elementary, illustrated book fans haven’t heard

Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science, unexpected power in poetry

Imagine that you love pizza. Granted that’s not a stretch for most people, but let’s establish the fact that you love pizza. Now, you’re given something that has all of the ingredients of pizza, but it’s not circular or square, it’s a rhombus or some other rogue shape that shakes up your otherwise perfect pizza senses. You eat this oddly shaped thing and it tastes great. Then you find out that the crust is made of cauliflower, but it’s great so you keep on eating it. At the end of the pizza, you’re rethinking shapes that previously couldn’t possibly be that greasy wheel that you love so much and are thinking of different shaped food that you could enjoy.

Hidden Powers is the most unlikely of books, one full of narrative poems that add up to a fascinating, non-fiction STEM story.

Pardon us while we ramble-but this excellnet book defies description

Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, an illustrated avian book that charms and educates

Can you believe people still wear fur coats? That’s what some people think. However, let’s take that idea, go back more than 100 years and imagine that real fur coats, as well as, other apparel, are the norm. Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers, The Woman Who Saved Millions of Birds examines that time when millions of birds were killed annually for the purpose of brightly colored feathers. Those feathers were then used to accessorize women’s hats. This was a time when garden parties and the women who attended them were all the rage.

Harriet’s Ruffled Feathers is the story of how the Audubon Society came to be, via a woman who realized that the plumes in her hat came with a birdly price.

You’d have to be a bird brain not to dig this book

Lia Park and the Missing Jewel, rippingly shreds the opening to this series

Librarians realize when book trends jump the shark. Too many books are made that are too similar, that are too closely related in too short of a time period. Sometimes that window is mercifully short, other times it wears out its welcome. Books on teen vampires, diversity and post-apocalyptic thrillers with a plucky cast of upstarts come to mind as recent trends that flooded libraries with too much of that content. There are times though when a publishing void is filled with just the right amount of books that previously weren’t represented enough. This can be a tricky thing because savvy young readers know when requisite categories are simply being checked off or were ordered en masse because publishers wanted a book that had this or that. Lia Park and the Missing Jewel is not a book that fits into any of those categories. I have to state it like that because one might put the book in league with others if they simply gloss over its plot.

Lia Park and the Missing Jewel is the first book in a new series that combines familiar elements, but adds a great heel, real tension and more for a great act.

if you’re looking for a ground floor entry into a great series-this is your sign

Hardcourt, the sweet spot of making kids want to read with art and sports

“Do you know Trae Young?” I get that a lot at school. And no, elementary school students- a person with an uncommon first name does not necessarily know all other people with that same name. However, the fact that most any kid in an elementary school knows that sports figure speaks leagues about the popularity of the NBA. Hardcourt is by Fred Bowen with illustrations by James E. Ransome. They’re the same duo that produced Gridiron, an oversized book that’s this one’s sibling in the best of all possible ways.

Hardcourt is a must-own for any elementary age fan of basketball. It’s approachable and tells stories from the first 75 years of the game that will hook readers eight and up.

Smart, approachable, and one that grades 4 and up want to drive into