Book Reviews – Kids

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt 2015

September 12, 2016

My favorite book of the summer or maybe even the year. A story about a “bad boy” abandoned, abused and a father. At 14 he is in foster care and has a daughter he has . . . read more »

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar 2016

September 12, 2016

This book didn’t work for me. It was ambitious in scope and included many themes that I found engaging but the characters were simply not convincing enough to make it work. I felt I should . . . read more »

Backlash by Susan Darer Littman 2015, Indigo Books

September 12, 2016

This was a disturbing book. I admit to doing some eye rolling at first but by the end I was thinking that every parent should read it. It may be the  personal story needed to convince . . . read more »

Rags – Hero Dog of WWI by Margot Theis Raven Illustrated by Petra Brown 2014 Sleeping Bear Press

September 29, 2015

Picture Book As we mark the centenary of the start of the World War I, this fantastic true dog story will also teach a bit of history. Rags, a Parisien stray, was befriended  by a . . . read more »

The Tortoise & The Hare by Jerry Pinkney 2013 Little, Brown and Company

September 29, 2015

Picture Book Fans of Pinkney’s  Caldecott Medal – winning The Lion and The Mouse  will be equally enchanted by his retelling of another of Aesop’s fables, The Tortoise and The Hare.  Pinkney’s  storytelling is through . . . read more »

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead Illustrated by Erin E. Stead 2010 – Roaring Brook Press

September 29, 2015

Picture Book This delightful story about friendship won The Caldecott Medal with good reason. Amos is a punctual zookeeper and thoughtful friend to the animals. He recognizes the animals’ different needs and is supportive. For . . . read more »

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai – Harper Collins – 2011

September 29, 2015

This compelling novel in verse begins in Vietnam during the war in 1975. Ten-year-old Ha and her older brothers and mother are living in Saigon, waiting for the return of the children’s father. Even as . . . read more »

Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly Illustrations by Lisa Brown Roaring Brook Press 2014

September 29, 2015

This fantastic book manages to instruct on so many different levels. It is the best book about divorce for younger children that I have come across. Children’s feelings are predominant through the entire picture book, . . . read more »

Rain Reign by Ann Martin 2014

September 28, 2015

The story takes us inside the heart and mind of a great kid named Rose (rows) who has high functioning Autism. Rose has no Mom, a dysfunctional depressed Dad, and an Uncle who cares. She . . . read more »

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper 2004?

September 28, 2015

This is such a tough book…very well told but devastating. Do kids really have to read this stuff? Yes…because it’s the world we live in? Because maybe it will prepare them…thus prevent a tragedy? I . . . read more »