Sofia is an 9-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
I have just come across this amazing book in the library and it is called The Crayon Man: the True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow! I read it the first time to my four-year-old sister, and we love it! I bet you would love it too. This book is recommended for ages 6-9 on Amazon but I think it is great for any age.
Edwin was an inventor in the late 1800’s. He loved colors and was the actual inventor of the Crayola crayon! This book talks about how he worked on his invention to make it perfect. His wife encouraged him and actually came up with the name! He had made gray, white and really black crayons but his wife and family kept telling him what he could do to make them better and one major idea was to make them in different colors. At the end the book even shows how Crayola Crayons are made today and lists different steps with photographs!
I love this book because of its beautiful illustrations. They bring amazing colors into the picture and really make me feel like I am there. Another reason I love this book is because it makes great read-alouds!!! When I read this to my preschool sister who is four she said “This book is amazing!” Another great thing about this book is that it is good for questions. For example, you can ask your students or children to name the colors in the Crayola crayon package or you can just enjoy reading it through and ask a question like “Who was your favorite character and why?” or something like “How do you think Edwin felt when he ran home to his wife with his new invention?”. One last reason why I love this book is you can make tons of crafts out of it! For example, I told my sister to draw a few things out of the book using crayons. Here is the final product!
**Thanks so much to Sofia for this awesome post! Victoria, your drawing ROCKS! We loved having you this week, too!**
Sofia is an 9-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia shares her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
If you are a dragon lover like my friend who recommended this book to me or love a kindhearted tale this would be your book: Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi! This book is recommended for ages 8-12.
Kenny is a little rabbit who always has his head stuck in a book. One day, Kenny’s father rushes into the kitchen all out of breath. He tells his family to move out straight away but the Mom sits him down for dinner and then tells him to explain. The father says that a Dragon lives on the hill next to their farm and Kenny, the bookworm, obviously wants to see the dragon. The mom protests but the father says he can go but he has to be careful. Kenny quickly goes upstairs and covers himself in pots and pans like a knight and takes a benastary (a book of beasts) with him. Once Kenny gets up on the hill and sees the dragon he gets very scared. Once Kenny meets the dragon he becomes best friends with him. Kenny’s parents think that they should meet the dragon, whose name is Grahame, so they go over to Grahame’s house and have a cup of tea. Later Kenny goes to the village to meet his friend George who lends him books. Kenny discovers that George is assigned to kill Grahame! Will Kenny be able to explain to George that this monstrous but kind beast is his friend before it is too late?
I love this book so much because of its kindness and how it proves the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It warms my heart when I see how the two companions work together to stop Grahame (the dragon) from getting hurt. I also love this book because of the cute pencil drawings and the great words that express the story. For example, this is how the book starts: ”Many years ago . . . Hold on, I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking a book about a dragon should start with “Once upon a time.” But this one doesn’t because frankly, I don’t really know what “Once upon a time” means.” Ha ha ha by now you must be laughing! Now you can see how the whole book is told in an exciting way. I hope this book captures your heart and your imagination. Either way HAVE FUN!!!
Discussion questions
If you were Kenny would you go up to a mountain that your father tells you has a dragon in it?
When Kenny decides to help his friend Grahame do you think that was the right thing to do? Why?
Which character is like you the most? What do you have in common?
Which of Kenny’s actions surprised you and why did they surprise you?
If this book got the action in you going or you just liked it then be sure to check out The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi. I have not read it yet but have watched the movie twice and can’t wait to get my hands on that book!
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
If you are looking for two books about kindness and bravery then these books would be those books. Drumroll please… The One and Only Ivan and the sequel The One and Only Bob by Kathrine Applegate!!! These books are totally recommended for read aloud! If you want any of these books for read aloud I would say they are appropriate for second grade and above. These books are recommended for ages 8-12 if you read them yourself.
The One and Only Ivan
Ivan is a big and kind gorilla. He lives at a mall owned by a person called Mack. Mack makes shows to attract more people to his mall and Ivan and some of his friends are in it. Ivan makes some friends at the mall like an old circus elephant named Stella, Julia who is Mack’s daughter and later on a young elephant named Ruby who was taken away from her family when she was very young. They are trapped in big cages made of glass so the people can see the animals when they walk past the cages. Mack is very harsh when the animals don’t follow his directions and sometimes he even takes out a whip! Will Ivan and his friends be able to escape Mack’s mall without being harmed?
The One and Only Bob
Bob is a dog. He got taken away from his mom when he was little. He got dropped off in the road and became a street dog searching through garbage cans for as much food as he could find. When Bob meets Ivan in the first book they become best buddies and they also become friends with Ruby, the elephant that lives at the mall with Ivan. As you will know if you have read The One and Only Ivan Bob eventually goes to stay with Julia, Mack’s daughter. Bob visits his friends every day. But one time there is a big storm and Julia loses Bob in the middle of a monstrous flood! Will he make it out alive?
I love both of these books because they really make me feel like I am actually there and witnessing the event, like all good books do. I also love these books because they are a bit silly because the stories are told from an animal’s point of view. The animals say a lot of weird things about us because they don’t really understand our ways. For example, the book says “I have learned to understand human words over the years, but understanding human speech is not the same as understanding humans. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.” I am sure any reader would have fun with this so ENJOY!!!
If you loved these books then you might want to read Crenshaw By Katharine Applegate. Crenshaw is a cat. I have not read it yet but it sounds very interesting!
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
This book is entertaining for ages young and old and is very sweet. It is called…The WordCollector by Peter H. Reynolds! This picture book has been recommended to me by my little sister and she loves the illustrations. I do too. I recommend this book to teachers and parents for read alouds for any age.
I am going to tell you what my family thinks about this book. My sister says “I love everything about this book!” My dad says “It’s a good book!”(Translated out of my dad’s language that means amazeballs!) My mom says “This book is beautiful beyond words!” And I think it definitely deserves a review!
Jerome collects words. Some words catch his interest. Some are multi-syllable while some have only one syllable. Jerome writes these words on tiny scraps of paper and sticks those scraps into the fitting book for the word. For example, the word Peru would go in a book called Geography. But one day Jerome slips and his words get mixed up! After that he sees words in a different way. He makes poems and songs with his words and they delight people.
I love this book because it teaches wonderful lessons. For example the book teaches that small nice words can make people’s day. I also like this book because of its eye catching illustrations. The illustrations are by the author, Peter H. Reynolds, and I think he did a quite lovely job. Happy reading!
If you love the lessons this book teaches, the wonderful illustrations and are just wanting to get another of Peter H. Reynolds books, then I definitely recommend The Dot by him.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
I am going to recommend a book about an amazing girl who went through a lot of hard times and stayed brave. This amazing book is called Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This book is recommended for ages 8-12.
Mia is an immigrant from China and moves to America. She lives in a car for some time while her parents look for jobs. They see an ad in the newspapers saying there is a motel owner looking for an experienced motel manager. The ad says that the owner of a little motel in Anaheim, California is looking for someone to run the place. Mia’s parents jump at the chance and they get hired. They would also get paid a lot of money while doing it! Mia makes amazing friendships with customers and when she thinks nothing can go wrong the owner whose name is Mr. Yao lowers their pay. That means that there isn’t much money they are getting and that is bad. When Mia starts going to school more problems pop up. Like a girl named Lupe. She is Mia’s friend and Mia thinks it is because she told her she lives in a big house and has a golden retriever but none of that is true. It gets even worse when she realizes that the motel owner’s son is in her class. The thing is the son is not exactly nice to her.
One person loses a job because of Mr. Yao and can not pay to stay in Mr. Yao’s motel anymore so Mr. Yao tells him to go. That person is one of Mia’s best friends and Mia hides him inside of the motel. Soon Mia’s immigrant relatives start coming and stay for free. Will Mr. Yao find them and kick them out or will Mia and her family keep the immigrants hidden from him?
There is so much more to this story but you have to read it for yourself.
I love this book because of all the suspense it gave me reading it. So many times I guessed the wrong thing that would happen next. I also love this book because it also really pulled me into the story. My parents could even listen to music and I wouldn’t even hear it! I also had that book with me everywhere I went. My parents almost couldn’t convince me for a bike ride, one of my favorite things! I hope you get as wound up in the book as I did!!
If this book leads you to want to know more of her story then check out the sequel called Three Keys! I have not read it yet but it is definitely on my Need To Read!!!!! list.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
I have again decided to change things up a bit. This time I will be recommending several books by the same author. His name is Roald Dahl. I haven’t read many of his books, but the ones that I have read were truly amazing. They make great read-alouds, too. I recommend the books that I am covering in this review for about ages 7-12.
The first time I heard about this author’s creations was when my first grade teacher read my class Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, probably Roald Dahl’s most famous book. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about a poor boy named Charlie Bucket who walks past Willy Wonka’s
factory on his way to school. Charlie always stops and sniffs the amazing smells of Wonka’s factory for he only gets one candy bar per year and that is on his birthday. That singular bar he gets on his birthday, he saves by nibbling little by little off each day. When Willy Wonka announces in the newspaper that five, only five, of his Wonka bars have a golden ticket inside that will get five lucky kids into the factory, everybody goes crazy about buying Wonka bars. It seems unlikely for Charlie to get the Golden Ticket but who knows, maybe he will be lucky…
I was very excited when my friend visited and gave me a collection of most of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. She even recommended Matilda which is now one of my favorite books by him. Matilda is about a girl named Matilda who loves to read and is super smart. Matilda’s parents are mean and force her to watch television when she would rather be reading a book, so she puts up a secret policy of her own… When Matilda is finally old enough to go to school she meets her nice teacher Miss Honey and her terrible principal Miss Trunchbull. Matilda is the smartest kid in her class because she reads so many books. Miss Honey is fascinated by Matilda’s knowledge and likes that she does not brag about it.
This book was so good I decided to read it to my four year old sister. Introducing Fantastic Mr Fox! Fantastic Mr Fox is about a father fox and his family. When it gets dark the father fox always carefully slips out of his home to steal some food from three mean farmers. Their names are Bean, Bunce and Boggis and they all run their own type of farm. They are very mean and know that he is stealing their stuff and are furious about it. They make plans to catch him, but none of them have worked so far. Can they do it or will Mr Fox outfox them?
The book that I am about to present to you is one that I read with my friend for a sort of book club. Presenting The Witches! The Witches is about a boy who has a grandma who tells stories about witches. She tells him always to be on the lookout for them because they can kill you and eat you. She tells him a few things that witches always have. First, a real witch is certain to have gloves. Second, a real witch is always bald but wears a wig that usually itches. Third, a real witch has slightly bigger nostrils. Fourth, a real witch has different eyes than normal people because where we have a black dot in the middle of our eye theirs change color all the time. There are more ways to identify a witch, but you need to read the book to find out. The grandma says that there is a Grand High Witch which is basically the queen of all witches. She is the meanest of all the witches and all of the witches are petrified of her. When the boy comes out to climb a tree one time, a strange lady suddenly appears under the tree and tells him to come down. The boy suddenly sees she has all the characteristics of a witch and starts to climb higher. Will the witch get him or will he escape?
This book must be popular among my teachers because after I read it my teacher read it, too. A perfectly magical book called The Magic Finger! The Magic Finger is about a girl who has a finger that shoots some sort of magic when someone makes her mad. Her neighbors have a habit of hunting and the girl doesn’t like them doing it. She thinks that it doesn’t seem right to kill animals just for the fun of it. The girl can’t help it, she puts the magic finger on them all, even the wife that does not hunt. Sorry, but you have to read the book to find out what happens to them.
In case it is not obvious why I like these books, it is because Roald Dahl is a great storyteller and his books are bursting with fantasy and crazy ideas. If you want to learn about the author, I highly recommend a book called Who was Roald Dahl? by True Kelly.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
Hi! Are you searching for a book that makes you sad and happy at the same time? Then The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill would be a good choice. This book has gotten a Newbery Medal. It is recommended for ages 10-14 on Amazon, but I think an eight or nine year old that is good at reading could read it too.
In the woods lives a witch called Xan. She is nice, but the people of the Protectorate think she will bring harm to their town. Every year the Protectorate takes the youngest baby in the town and puts it in a big stone circle in the woods. The Grand Elders (the mayors) never thought there was a witch and thought the baby was going to be eaten by animals. They are not correct because every year Xan comes to the stone circle and takes the baby to a welcoming city called a Free City.
They call the child that Xan brings a Star Child and treat the day she comes like a holiday. Xan feeds the babies starlight while she carries them to a Free City. One time though she accidentally feeds a baby moon light by which she enmagicks her. This is a quote from the book: “There is magic in starlight, of course. This is well known. Moonlight, however. That is a different story. Moonlight is magic. Ask anyone you like.” Xan decides she cannot leave this baby with an ordinary person, so she decides to raise her as her own and names her Luna.
Antain is a boy of the Protectorate and an “Elder in training” when this book starts and grows older. As he grows older he decides not to be an Elder, instead he becomes a well known carpenter. He gets married and this time his wife’s baby is the youngest in the Protectorate and it is getting close to the day they take the baby away from them…This book is told from several different points of view. For example: Xan, the kind witch, Luna, Xan’s child, and a Protectorate mother.
I love this book so much because it teaches that if you haven’t met a person you can’t really say anything about them even if you are pretty sure it’s true. I also like this book because of a dragon that thinks he is really big even though he is the smallest thing ever.
This year before the coronavirus I was walking through our school library and saw this book. I didn’t pay much attention to it. I am kind of sad and kind of glad about that because later in the year I looked at what it was about on Amazon and decided to buy it with my pocket money. It was a great purchase.
I am excited to check out this other book by the same author called The Witch’s Boy. I hope it is as good as The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Enjoy!
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
