Unleashing Readers

Student Voices: Book Recommendations from Laura L., Anna Liz R., Mai B., & Brielle P., 8th Graders

August 12, 2023July 21, 2023 by Kellee

Book Recommendations from 2022-23 8th Graders

“Books I Would Love to Live In” by Laura L., 2022-23 8th grader

This book is about Belly who every summer goes to her mom’s best friend beach house. Every summer she’s excited to be there and see everyone, but especially to see Conrad Fisher, the older son of her mom’s best friends.

I would love to live in this book because every summer Belly goes every summer to a beach house, and it seems fun to have something to look forward to every summer. I would also like to meet the characters, especially Belly because she seems like a great friend and fun to hang out with.

This book series is about the boy who lived, Harry Potter, every year since he was 11 where he was sent to magic school, but he also has fight for his life and run away from Voldemort.

Who wouldn’t want to live there? You go to a magic school every year and learn spells and see something interesting every day. I would also like to be friends with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and especially Luna. And if I get to live in the book I would get to see the whole school and see the Ravenclaw dorms.

This book is about Jenny, a girl who plays violin. One day her mom tells her they have to live in Korea for a time because her grandma is sick, and she starts attending a school of arts.

I would like to live in this book because the school of the main character seems interesting and fun–it’s a school of art and can choose very different types of art. Plus , it is in South Korea because I’m really interested in their culture, and I might get to know the country and get to know the South Korean culture. Also, in the school there are celebrities, so I can meet them.

This book is about Mia who gets into summer ballet summer camp. Originally, her mind is only focused on ballet until she meets a boy and gets distracted.

This book was fun! If I danced ballet, I would like to live in this book. This book is about a girl that goes to summer camp in France. Apart from doing ballet in France, I would like to get to know the country. Like go to the museums, see the Eifel tower, meet new people and eat the food. I would also like to see the Eifel tower at night

After her mom died, Lina goes to Florence to make her mom’s wishes come true. When she arrives at Florence she meets a man who now she thinks is her dad, but also meets new people and new love.

The whole time I read the book I was like, “I want to go there!” After reading this book, I was interested in going to Florence and seeing the city.

“Books I Read That Were Out of my Comfort Zone and Ended Up Being Some of my Favorites” by Anna Liz R., 2022-23 8th grader

At first, I was completely scared to read this book. Not because of the storyline, but only because of it being a classic old book, with big, complex words that I would not understand. It was on my bookshelf, waiting to be picked up. However, one day, after wanting something completely different from what I was reading (romance books), I decided to pick this one. If you read this book, you would know that this book starts with letters a man wrote from an expedition to his sister, and just by that I was so invested. I wanted to know how Frankenstein’s life escalated, and his motives. This book for me was written so well, and I loved every second of it. And before I knew it, I was done with this book in about a day.

This book is so talked about on BookTok, so many varying reviews where people would absolutely love this book, or hate it. Not to mention the books get progressively big in terms of pages, and so you are committing to that when you start reading this series. However, one day I was in a big need of a fantasy world, something with two opposing worlds, where it takes one person to change it all, and with a romance subplot. So of course, ACOTAR was the chosen one for me. I loved this book, it was definitely the book I was looking for. Without hesitation I needed to pick up the second book (A Court of Mist and Fury) which was even better. Cannot wait to continue the series!

I never read a book that is 200-300 pages long divided in stanzas. And honestly I never thought I would. Yes, I do love poems, but they usually last a few pages. Now this book does not have rhyming words, or any complex hidden meaning. The word choices, the plot, the setting, literally just like any fiction chapter book, except the stanzas. I thought that was weird at first, I mean it’s not very common for me, but I was definitely willing to try it. As soon as I read the first page, I knew I had to continue. The meaning of this book was amazing. The character development, family hardships, friends standing up for you. I loved it, and I’m sure many people did too.

I definitely wouldn’t call myself the biggest graphic novel fan out there. For me, I prefer words rather than illustrations because then I get to picture the story myself, and that’s where I get to be creative. But due to the author’s visit at our school, I wanted to read more of her books, and so I decided to pick up this one. As I was reading, I loved the characters’ representation, how they have their own home problems, their difficulties in being familiar with the place and the language. The characters were so diverse! And not to mention the amazing ending that made me so happy! 🙂

When I read romance, I usually go for enemies to lovers. It’s just so amazing, and something I would never get tired of. But this book is a cutesy romance…so why did I read it since it’s not my cup of tea? Well, besides the title/main character having the same first name as me, and it taking place in Paris, I wanted to read something different. I wanted to discover the new concept of falling in love in a different way, not just daggers-pointed-to-the-throat type of enemies to lovers. If it was me last year, I would not believe I read this book. However, I’m certainly glad I did! The setting of Paris was described so well, and you see the main character discovering Paris while being new to the school and language, new to everything basically, all without her parents. And her slowly falling for Etienne St. Clair. This book overall was so sweet and amazing, and I loved it!

“Books I Could Talk About for Hours” by Mai B., 2022-23 8th grader

This book talks about the story of Morgan, a girl who has a complicated relationship with her friends and family, as she is hiding lots of stuff from them. She meets a mysterious girl, who saved her from drowning, eventually they become closer and everything starts to change for Morgan.

I’m so passionate about this book that I could talk about it for hours. I love the story so much and I find it kinda relatable. I love the characters and the way they develop their relationship with each other. I find the ending very sweet and even a little sad. What makes me the most passionate about the book is the story and how I find it relatable.

This book talks about Lucia, a girl who lives happily in Cuba with her family. She’s caught up in a communist revolution and forced to immigrate to Nebraska, where everything changes for her, in both positive and negative ways.

I find this book very relatable, as an immigrant. I loved the way the book developed and how it accurately portrayed the experiences of an immigrant, especially one that has to see their own country be ruined by its own people. I loved the ending and I don’t think it could’ve ended better, I absolutely adore it.

This book shows the story of Link, Hyrule’s famous hero, who’s looking for his dear friend, Navi. As he’s traveling on his horse, he is attacked by Skull kid who steals his ocarina and creates chaos upon Termina. Link has to get Majora’s mask back from Skull kid and save the town.

I love this book so much, the ending is perfect and the characters are very likable. Their personalities, backstories and the way they show it is something I love about this book. I love the art style too; it’s very cute. In my opinion, it shows what happened very well.

This book talks about the story of Giorno Giovanna, a young boy who joins the mafia so he can stop the dealing of drugs to minors. He enters a gang where he makes friends and is assigned an important mission, which he’s going to take advantage of and try to kill the headmaster.

This manga is honestly one of my favorites, but I specifically love part 5. I adore the characters and the way the story is narrated and developed, it honestly has a special place in my heart. The ending made me cry so much, and I still loved it.

This book talks about the story of Shoko and Shoya, two high-schoolers who have been bullied and caused them to have issues with themselves. They become friends, even after not having a great relationship as kids. And help each other be better, see things differently and change the way they think. It helps them have better relationships and react to things better.

I like this book so much because of the way it shows how social anxiety and self esteem issues can affect your relationships and the way you react to others, it’s a really sweet story too and I like the way the characters are shown. It made me cry a little, but it’s still really good. I also like how it realistically shows how having a disability can affect the ways others see you, and how different people can react to a disability.

“Summer Recommendations” by Brielle P., 2022-23 8th grader

This series is perfect for summer. It has exciting romance and is overall a perfect summer book.

This book is perfect for that Outer Banks vibe this summer. It reminds so much of Outer Banks if it was in the keys.

The reason I added this book is because it gives me such summer vibes, even though the book isn’t by the ocean, it’s just the layout and colors of the book give me summer serotonin.

This book is perfect for the summer, reading by the beach or pool!

If you want to read a summer romance, this is the one for you.

This is sad, but it’s also heart warming.

This book is amazing–it shows the hardships of her life and what she wants to be/do.

This is such a cute summer book; you will love it!

This book follows four women and their POVs for their summer. It is really interesting and a nice light read.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their book recommendations!

Rivka’s Presents by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Adelina Lirius

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 by Kellee

Rivka’s Presents
Author: Laurie Wallmark
Illustrator: Adelina Lirius
Published July 11th, 2023 by Random House Studio

Summary: In this heartwarming story about the importance of community, a little Jewish girl living on the Lower East Side during the flu pandemic of 1918 can’t start school because her father is sick, so she makes a trade with her neighbors: chores for lessons.

It’s 1918 on the Lower East Side of New York City, and Rivka is excited to start school. But when her papa gets sick with the flu, her mama has to go to work at the shirtwaist factory and Rivka needs to stay home and take care of her little sister. But Rivka figures out a way to learn anyway: she trades chores with the grocer, the tailor, and an elderly neighbor for lessons. As the seasons change, Rivka finds she can count pennies for the iceman and read the labels on jars of preserve. And one day, Papa is no longer sick, and Rivka can finally start school! Full kindness and love for your neighbors, here is a story that introduces life on the Lower East Side for a Jewish family during the flu pandemic of 1918.

Praise:

★ ”Simply told but unexpectedly moving, the narrative honors generations of immigrant families and communities that have done their best to educate their children despite language barriers and poverty.” —Booklist, starred review

“A unique book that would be a great asset to collections.” —School Library Journal

“This tale will be at home in any discussions about American immigration and young people pursuing education despite barriers, as well as those focused more specifically on Jewish immigrants in this period.” —The Bulletin

About the Creators:

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM. Her titles include Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars; Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, which received four starred reviews and a Cook Prize Honor; Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code; Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, a Crystal Kite Winner and Cook Prize Honor recipient; and others. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. You can find Laurie online at www.lauriewallmark.com.
On Twitter: @lauriewallmark
Facebook: @lauriewallmarkauthor
Instagram: @lauriewallmark

Adelina Lirius is an illustrator based in Stockholm, Sweden. She loves painting imaginary scenes, portraying nature, and depicting the different cultures she grew up with. Adelina is the illustrator of a picture book adaptation of The Secret Garden; The Fort by Laura Perdew; and I, Too, Am Mozart by Audrey Ades, which received a starred review from School Library Journal. Visit her on Instagram @adalinaillustration.

Review: This story of resiliency shows what those hungry for learning will do to make sure they can fill their brains with the knowledge they seek. Rivka finds herself unable to go to school because her father is ill with the 1918 influenza, so she is in charge of her younger sibling. But Rivka searches for a way to help out and to learn–she does this by trading her time and chores for knowledge. Through connections with community members, she learns her letters, arithmetic, and civics. All of these teachers help build the foundation for Rivka’s education!

I loved the combination of the emotional narrative and the realistic and sweet illustrations. It, like Booklist states, is unexpectedly moving because Rivka’s story travels from the pages right into the reader’s heart.

Teaching Tools for Navigation & Discussion Questions: Utilize this author-provided curriculum guide for teaching tools and discussion questions!

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Historical fiction picture books, Picture books about the love of learning

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!!**

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/17/23

July 22, 2023July 17, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Middle Graders are Unpredictable–and the Characters we Create for Them Should be, too!” by Linda B. Davis, Author of Food Fight

Kellee

It’s my week off, but I will see you next week! To see what I’ve been reading, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

Picture Books

My kids and I were excited to read Simon and the Better Bone by Corey R. Tabor. It’s a cute pup story about a dog who mistakes his reflection for another dog. We also really enjoyed The Digger and the Butterfly by Joseph Kuefler. This is a sweet story for vehicle lovers, especially, but I think everyone will enjoy its charm. We also enjoyed Spark, Shine, Glow!: What a Light Show by Lola M. Shaefer, Illustrated by James Yang. This one is great for teaching STEM concepts in the classroom!

Middle Grade

I am a sucker for Hansel and Gretel stories, so I wasn’t surprised that I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti’s version. I liked that Gaiman drew from Mattotti’s existing artwork. This one is dark, but it was nice to read an extended version of the story that felt true, in many ways, to the original.

My three kids have been sucked into Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and they loved The Bad Beginning. We had to (immediately) check out book two, of course.

Adult

I loved Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. It’s very well-written, and the characters felt so real to me. I was really sad when this book ended because I didn’t want to let the characters go.

Ricki

I am listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and rereading Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young for a manuscript that I’m writing!

Tuesday: Rivka’s Presents, by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Adelina Lirius

Friday: Students’ Voices: Book Recommendations from Kellee’s Students

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Unpacking the Layers of Meaning Hidden within a Picture Book” by Carin Berger, Author of In the Night Garden

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Author Guest Post: “Middle Graders are Unpredictable–and the Characters we Create for Them Should be, too!” by Linda B. Davis, Author of Food Fight

July 16, 2023 by Kellee

“Middle Graders are Unpredictable–and the Characters we Create for Them Should be, too!”

As adults, we understand that an individual’s personality cannot be defined with one word. People are complicated and inconsistent—that’s what makes us interesting. Our neighbor yells at the kids who play on his lawn but later gushes over puppies and kittens. A happy-go-lucky waitress cries in the walk-in refrigerator where no one will notice. Kids can sometimes have difficulties recognizing and understanding these inconsistencies in themselves and others.

Recent research has shown that helping children become more aware of their own multifaceted identities and the ability to see themselves from multiple angles can promote flexible thinking and improve problem solving (Gaither, et al). Their findings suggest that learning to see ourselves from many perspectives helps to reduce rigid thinking, which can potentially promote open-mindedness and inclusiveness in a diverse society.

A quick glance at my debut middle grade novel, Food Fight, might suggest that several characters risk being reduced to stereotypes—a quirky loner, a social-climber, a pushy father, and a bully and the kid he is targeting. However, my intention was to create nuanced characters who behave inconsistently and a main character whose conflicting feelings and observations about himself, his parents, and his peers cause him great distress.

Food Fight is the story of eleven-year-old Ben Snyder who is starting middle school. Things go sideways for him right away because his extreme picky eating, which no one has been too concerned with in the past, is suddenly drawing a lot of attention—from his old friends, his weird lab partner, the girl he’s crushing on, and a bully. Before he knows it, Ben finds himself in social free fall, sliding toward the bottom of the middle school food chain. And if that’s not bad enough, he’s facing an upcoming class trip featuring three days and two nights of authentic colonial living—and authentic colonial food that Ben cannot eat.

In preparation for the trip, Ben sees a therapist who suggests that Ben may actually have an eating disorder called ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). ARFID, a relatively new diagnosis, is often characterized as extreme picky eating, but the reality is actually quite serious and can cause significant medical, social, and self-esteem issues. It is described as a lack of interest in eating and/or a complete avoidance of eating particular foods based on sensory characteristics including texture, smell, and color. ARFID is often associated with other sensory disturbances, fears of choking or vomiting, and neurodivergence (although neurotypical kids and adults may also have ARFID).

People living with this condition generally say that most foods don’t seem like something they could even put in their mouth, let alone eat, which results in very restrictive diets limited to foods that feel “safe”—often processed or fast foods, which taste the same every time. And although the clinical definitions are descriptive and accurate, they often do not adequately convey the sheer psychological terror involved with ARFID—some call it a food phobia. People with ARFID do not limit themselves to foods they choose to eat—but to the only foods they can eat.

Although ARFID is a relatively rare condition, estimated to affect between three and five percent of kids, the types of obstacles it presents are universal in the world of middle graders as they confront the age-old question of How do I fit in? The bodies and minds of early adolescents are developing more rapidly than during any other stage of human development except between birth and age two. Even without significant medical or mental health issues, middle schoolers are navigating momentous social and academic challenges as well as shifting power dynamics in relationships with peers and parents—and their feelings and strategies for coping are nuanced and evolving, too.

It would be tempting to portray Ben’s bully as unilaterally bad, but he’s not. Other kids actually find him hilarious, and Ben watches on with surprise as the bully walks away from an opportunity to take revenge on another boy. Ben’s quirky lab partner carries herself with an arrogance that pushes others away, but she is loyal to Ben in ways that his own best friends are not. Ben’s father uses friendly language to shame him about his eating. Ben’s best buddy is intent on building up his own popularity but in the process has forgotten how to be a friend. And Ben himself, who could be easily portrayed as a great kid facing unfair circumstances, makes several bad decisions including lying, breaking rules, and responding to an accusation impulsively.

In a 2019 interview, Mayra Cruz, principal of a public school in Washington, DC, described middle schoolers as “consistently inconsistent” (Wong, 2019). It seems fitting that the characters in the fiction they read should be, too.

Sarah E. Gaither, Samantha P. Fan, Katherine D. Kinzler. Thinking about multiple identities boosts children’s flexible thinking. Developmental Science, 2019: DOI:10.111/desc.12871
Wong, A. Why is Middle School So Hard for So Many People? The Atlantic, October 7, 2019.

Published June 27th, 2023 by Fitzroy Books/Regal House

About the Book: Food Fight is the story of an overnight class trip that becomes a survival mission for an eleven-year-old boy who is learning that his super picky eating is actually an eating disorder called ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder).

Smart and athletic, Ben Snyder is ready to start middle school. But his super picky eating, which has never been a big deal before, is about to take him down. Suddenly everybody’s on his case about what he’s eating and what he’s not—his old friends, his new friends, his weird lab partner, the girl he’s crushing on, and a bully—and Ben finds himself in a social free fall, sliding toward the bottom of the middle school food chain.

Even worse, there’s an upcoming three-day class trip to a colonial farm. Knowing there’s no way he can handle the gag-worthy menu, Ben plans for the trip like a survival mission. Armed with new information about his eating habits, he sets out with three tactical goals: impress the girl, outsmart the bully, and avoid every single meal. But when things go sideways and epic hunger threatens to push him over the edge, Ben must decide how far he will go to fit in and if he has the courage to stand out.

About the Author: Linda B. Davis has always been curious about why we do the things we do. As a social worker in a community mental health setting, Linda became passionate about the need for accurate and accessible mental health information in children’s literature. She is a member of SCBWI and active in the Chicago writing community. She enjoys traveling, gardening, and buying more books than she can possibly read. Food Fight is her first novel.

Thank you, Linda, for honoring the complexity of middle graders!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/10/23

July 17, 2023July 10, 2023 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

We took some time off from blogging for a summer vacation, but we are back this week with some posts!

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Middle Graders are Unpredictable–and the Characters we Create for Them Should be, too!” by Linda B. Davis, Author of Food Fight

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 7/3/23

July 3, 2023 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide: Conjure Island by Eden Royce

Friday: Student Voices: “AI: The Flaw in Sci-Fi Books” by Derrick T., 8th Grade

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

We’re taking our summer vacation from the blog this week and next! See you on July 13th with our next review 🙂

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Student Voices: “AI: The Flaw in Sci-Fi Books” by Derrick T., 8th grade

June 30, 2023 by Kellee

“AI: The Flaw in Sci-Fi Books, How AI Can Solve Most Problems Presented in Sci-Fi Books and Why It Isn’t Utilized by Derrick T., 2022-23 8th grader

AI, also known as Artificial Intelligence, is rapidly developing as our grasp of technology expands. Due to the ever increasing complexity of AI, all books that reference technology in the future without an intellectual apocalypse should have a prevalent AI component.

One main point of the Sci-fi genre is to examine potential futuristic outcomes of current situations. Unless our society has a rapid decline in technological progress, any accurate future will have AI. Let’s take a look at sci-fi series that have advanced enough technology that they should have fairly advanced AI but don’t, and how they could use that AI to solve some of their problems. Note that some of these may contain light spoilers.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

While most dystopia series would have an out for including AI, the series Hunger Games would not. Even though the government falls, technology doesn’t, so this series should have AI. In the Hunger Games world the capitol should have AI and that should have a better way to control than to suppress since all examples of oppression have eventually led to rebellion.

It’s also possible that District 3 would have AI since they are a technology developing district. Officially they are more of a production district than a research district, but we aren’t given much insight into the research process. But in the event they had AI they could use it to tactically weaken the Capitol to the point of its collapse.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

While this series is typically categorized as fantasy, it does have many sci-fi elements, and since Fairy technology is described as being over 50 years ahead of humanity, meaning it would have AI, I am adding it to this list. The main problem in the first series is that fairies cannot enter Fowl Manor, so they take risky actions to free Holly. An AI could clearly identify the weakness in Artemis’s strategy, like remotely accessed machines, and exploited them, meaning he would be mind wiped and the rest of the series could not have happened.

Insignia by S. J. Kincaid

This series has a more obvious weakness when it comes to AI. The reason for the neural processors is to control space robots faster in the war. If the problem is the speed, why would you not cut humans out of the picture entirely and just have AI control the robots and fight the battles in space?

In the examples above, AI is not used for a variety of reasons. First of all, these series were written before this recent expansion of AI, with the most recent being written in 2012, so these authors didn’t know nearly as much about AI as we do now. Secondly, it is very difficult to write about AI without two major problems: robots and AI generally lack character development, and it is very difficult to create a reason why an AI with access to the sum of human knowledge can’t solve a problem a human can, meaning it is very hard to mix AI and human characters.

It is possible though, so let’s look to an example of a series that does this very well:

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Scythe is one of my favorite series for it’s use of AI. The Thunderhead (the AI in Scythe) is a perfect way to get out of the problems with AI. The AI itself has character development, and there are very clear reasons why it cannot get involved or act on the problems in the book (the separation of Scythe and State). In addition, the final solution has two reasons why the AI couldn’t have thought of it (I won’t list for spoiler reasons).

In conclusion, AI in both sci-fi literature and real life is continuing to move towards the future, so even as technology makes this post outdated, humanity and our ideas of the future are advancing towards a brighter era.

Thank you so much to Derrick for sharing his analysis of science fiction!