Kyle’s Little Sister Author & Illustrator: BonHyung Jeong
Published June 22nd, 2021 by JY
Summary: My name is Grace, not “Kyle’s little sister!”
Having a good-looking, friendly, outgoing older brother sucks—especially when you’re the total opposite, someone who likes staying home and playing video games. Your parents like him better (even if they deny it!), and everyone calls you “Kyle’s little sister” while looking disappointed that you’re not more like him. I was really hoping I’d get to go to a different middle school, but no such luck. At least I have my friends…until he finds a way to ruin that, too…! Argh! What do I have to do to get out of his shadow?!
About the Author: BonHyung Jeong (Bon) studied Cartooning at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and Kyle’s Little Sister is her debut graphic novel, made possible with the help of numerous people. She hopes to make connections with others through relatable stories. Currently living in Korea, she’s always busy playing console games – exactly like someone in the book!
Review:As an oldest child, I never knew what it was like to be compared to a sibling in the same way Kyle and Grace are compared, but I definitely empathize with Grace’s feelings of being compared to a more successful sibling! Although many reviews said Grace seemed like a brat, I didn’t see it like that. I saw it as someone who just truly wants her own identity and to be valued for what she is not what she isn’t (Kyle). This is tough in middle school in general much less when you feel overshadowed by someone else. It definitely made me think about how I react when I teach a sibling of a past student!
I found the crushes and friendship drama all very realistic to middle school, especially 6th grade as kids figure out who they are as adolescents. I also enjoyed that the book did not show middle school as this daunting thing you should fear–Grace was excited to start middle school! Too often just the starting of middle school is blamed for drama, but this book focused more on friends who may be a bit different figuring out how to remain friends despite the differences.
This is a graphic novel that will find love with fans of Raina Telgemeier, Svetlana Chmakova, and Terri Libenson, so it is definitely worth adding to your collection. However, I do want to share that there was one real part that I hope kids reflect on instead of do what Grace does: When she stops being friends with Amy, her new “friend” starts ohysiclly and mentally bullying her, and Grace does nothing. I think Jeong did a good job showing why she did nothing, but I also hope that watching this bullying will make readers want to stand up to a bully the next time they see one!
Discussion Questions:
What should Grace have done when Cam started picking on Amy?
Why is Grace so resentful of her brother? Are there incidences in the book that make you empathize for her resentment? How does Grace feel like Kyle’s shadow at home? At school?
Why does Amy yell what she does when she fights with Grace?
Why is what Amy was doing to Jay inappropriate?
How is Cam’s relationship with Grace another type of bullying?
Why does Kyle stand up for Grace even though he says she’s annoying?
How is Grace’s mental health affected as she questions her identity?
How did the author use illustration and color to portray mood?
Flagged Passages:
Read This If You Love: Middle school friend and family drama graphic novels
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Casey at Media Masters Publicity and JY of Yen Press for providing a copy for review!**
Sofia is a 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,
Introducing the best book ever: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart! This is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it! This is a very adventurous and funny book. The writer has a wonderful writing style but some of the words are difficult to understand, and you need an advanced vocabulary to follow this book. I had to look up a few words in my dictionary while reading this. This book is recommended for ages 9-12.
Reynie is an orphan. He gets a tutor for school because he has already finished all of the orphanage’s high school curriculum. Reynie likes to read the newspaper. One day an ad in the newspaper calls for gifted children searching for special opportunities. It is a weird ad because it sounds like it is being written directly to children. Reynie thinks this is odd because almost no children read newspapers. To get the special opportunities Reynie has to take a test. There are many time slots available on the weekend so Reynie and his tutor, Miss Perumal, sign him up for the first session of the test. After Reynie arrives the next morning he only has to wait a few minutes. Just after he finishes the first test the test administrator tells him the test is over. When the test administrator calls the names of the people who passed the test Reynie is startled that he is the only one in that room who did. On his way to the second test he sees a girl who drops her pencil into a sewer grate. He thinks it is weird and when he helps her she offers him the answer key. Reynie declines and passes the test without her help. Much to his surprise the girl with the answer key does NOT pass! On his way to the third test he meets another kid named Sticky. He is a super fast reader and everything that he reads sticks in his head. They talk while they wait for the test and Sticky says someone in his test ALSO dropped her pencil! They are very surprised and become even more scared when a third kid enters the room and also had a kid drop her pencil and offer her the answer key. The girl who just entered is called Kate. She is very tall and always carries a bucket with her.
When they finally pass the third and fourth test they eat. They meet a new girl whose name is Constance, she is really small. Then they meet a mysterious man called Mr. Benedict. He tells them about mysterious messages that are being sent to confuse people’s minds. Mr. Benedict tells them that a man named Ledroptha Curtain is behind the messages. He also tells them that Mr. Curtain runs an institute and that he will send them there to go undercover so they can stop the messages. Follow Reynie on the rest of his exciting journey and help him save the world! Also, figure out if Mr. Benedict is to be trusted!
The many laughs this book gave me was only one of the amazing things about this book. This book was very fun to read and as more awkward characters joined the story it became even more hilarious! I do not know if I would consider this book realistic fiction even though I am pretty sure this could happen in real life. The characters are very clever, they even used Morse code to save the day! This is one of the best books I have ever read for sure, and I highly recommend it!
Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! Author: Maggie P. Chang Published: June 29, 2021 by Simon Spotlight
Summary: Meet spunky, funny, and friendly Geraldine Pu as she takes on a bully and makes a new friend in this first book in a new Level 3 Ready-to-Read Graphics series!
Geraldine Pu’s favorite part of school is lunch. She loves her lunch box, which she calls Biandang. She can’t wait to see what her grandmother, Amah, has packed inside it each day. Then one day, Geraldine gets stinky tofu…and an unexpected surprise. What will she do?
Ready-to-Read Graphics books give readers the perfect introduction to the graphic novel format with easy-to-follow panels, speech bubbles with accessible vocabulary, and sequential storytelling that is spot-on for beginning readers. There’s even a how-to guide for reading graphic novels at the beginning of each book.
Review: The highest form of praise: My 4-year-old son wanted to read this book again two nights in a row. We went camping on the third night, and he was allowed to pick one book to bring, and he picked this one. He really liked learning about all of the different foods, and he liked discussing bullying. The book is structured like a graphic novel, which is a really clever way to structure an early reader. All of the pictures really appealed to him, and he loved reading the progression of the story. The book is divided into chapters, but we read it from start to finish each night.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Reading this entire book in one sitting will be difficult for an early reader, so my son and I structured it that he read all of the left pages and I read all of the right pages. The next night, he wanted to switch. The third night, he read the entire thing by himself. Readers could also take it chapter by chapter (a chapter or two each night). This book offers great discussions about our practices that seem “different” than those of our peers and how these make us uniquely wonderful. It is also a great book to teach about bullying. I love how the lunch box is personified! It made the book even more fun to read! Those who know me know that I don’t like reading levels. In our house, we read books at all levels, and I just support as needed. That said, this book would be great in the early elementary school grades. Don’t limit it just there, though. My 4-year-old really enjoyed it!
Discussion Questions:
How does Geraldine feel about the different foods she eats at lunch? How does this change?
How does Biandang feel? How does he act as a support?
What changes Geraldine’s mind at the end of the story?
How can you celebrate your own friends’ lunches, no matter how different they may seem?
Flagged Spread:
Read This If You Love: Graphic novels, books about feeling different, books about family
**Thank you, Cassie, from Simon and Schuster, for sending a copy for review!**
Charming as a Verb
Author: Ben Philippe
Published October 13, 2020 by Balzer + Bray
Summary:Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.
There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.
Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . .
This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.
Review: This is one of the best examples of characterization that I’ve read in a book. I fell in love with so many characters (even minor ones!), which drew me into the story even more. Henri reminds me of some of my favorite students that I’ve had. He’s charming, driven, and likable. There’s a lot that happens in this book that I don’t want to spoil—but I should write that it teaches an incredibly powerful lesson. There’s one scene that made my stomach do flips, and I will think of that scene often. This would be a great text to use to explore concepts of ethics. It also offers a lot of insight about the college prep experiences for teens. I highly recommend this book to readers. It’s a powerful story and one that will stick with me.
Discussion Questions:
How does the characterization of the text add to the story? Who were your favorite characters, and why?
Which minor characters really stand out to you? How does the author make them so noteworthy?
What did you learn from this book?
What does this book teach us about ethics? About humanity?
Flagged Passage:
“There’s no use complaining about it and wishing the world was different. This isn’t how we change things for ourselves.”
Read this if You Loved: Love is a Revolutionby Renée Watson; The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe; I Crawl Through It by A.S. King
Pippa Park Raises Her Game Author: Erin Yun
Published February 4th, 2020 by Fabled Film Press
Summary: Life is full of great expectations for Korean American Pippa Park. It seems like everyone, from her family to the other kids at school, has a plan for how her life should look. So when Pippa gets a mysterious basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself by following the “Rules of Cool.”
At Lakeview, Pippa juggles old and new friends, an unrequited crush, and the pressure to perform academically and athletically while keeping her past and her family’s laundromat a secret from her elite new classmates. But when Pippa begins to receive a string of hateful, anonymous messages via social media, her carefully built persona is threatened.
As things begin to spiral out of control, Pippa discovers the real reason she was admitted to Lakeview and wonders if she can keep her old and new lives separate, or if she should even try.
A Contemporary Reimagining of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for Middle Graders
About the Author: Erin Yun grew up in Frisco, Texas. She received her BFA in English from New York University and served as president of its policy debate team. This experience came in handy when she became the debate consultant for the Tony-nominated Best Play on Broadway―What the Constitution Means to Me. Erin is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and has written reviews and articles for BookBrowse. She developed her author program, an interactive writing workshop, which she has conducted in person and virtually at schools, libraries, and bookstores. She currently lives in New York City, and yes―she used to play basketball as a middle grader!
She’s obsessed with personality quizzes and takes them for her characters.
She is half Korean, and half Polish/Germanic.
Her favorite foods include: kimchi-jjigae, cherry ice cream, and walnut cakes filled with red bean.
She ran a bubblegum-selling business in middle school until it was shut down.
Her family lore says that her grandfather lost part of his farm in a game of Go-Stop.
She likes creating scavenger hunts in which participants dress like secret agents and follow clues.
Her favorite places in the world include Seoul, London, and Tokyo.
She was president of the New York University policy debate team.
Her family dogs, Belle and Yoko, both bark incredibly loudly despite being foolishly tiny.
She lives in New York City, but folks can tell she grew up in Texas by how often she says ya’ll.
Review:Okay, okay, I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but this cover was yelling READ ME to me, and I am so glad that I finally had the chance to and now share it with you all!
There is so much good happening in this book!
First, I love a good retelling! It brings a classical tale and its themes to a modern era.
Second, so many readers are going to connect with Pippa either because they understand what it is like to go to a new school or to fit in with a cool crowd or to have people not understand how important something is to you.
Third, there is so much to discuss with the book! You’ll see below in the discussion questions that in addition to connecting it with Great Expectations, there are opportunities to discuss family, the American Dream, culture, empathy, friendship, and more!
Fourth, I loved how complex the characters and situations were. Pippa is our protagonist but anything but perfect. Mina, Pippa’s sister, is so strict and seems heartless, but there is more there. Eliot is so cold, but there is a whole story there. And more! Such truth in the characterization of these middle schoolers and secondary characters.
Author Guest Post: Visit our Author Guest Post by Erin Yun as she shares five classics reimagined as middle grade novels.
Also, in her latest blog, Erin opened up on why she wrote this Korean American story for kids and how the recent #AAPI conversation about the lack of diverse Asian voices mirrors her own experience as a young reader. Read the blog here.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: At Pippa Park.com, there are so many wonderful resources to help use this book in classrooms!
The Tween Book Club Activity Kit includes the discussion questions below, word games, writing prompts, language arts guide, virtual author visit program, and an escape room activity! (The Common Core Language Arts Guide, Escape Room Activity, and Author Program Worksheet can also be downloaded separately.)
From the back matter (some aspects of the questions removed because of spoilers)
Pippa isn’t an orphan, but at times she feels like one. Describe Pippa’s relationship with Mina, her older sister. Why is Mina so tough on Pippa? Discuss whether Mina resents taking care of Pippa. How is Jung-Hwa, Mina’s husband, a father figure to Pippa? How does he make Pippa feel better after she has a fight with Mina?
What is the definition of family? Explain why Pippa’s mother had to return to Korea. How are Mina and Jung-Hwa realizing the American Dream? Discuss how Pippa’s family situation is similar to that of new American’s throughout our nation. How are many of them separated from their loved ones? Discuss why it’s important to celebrate all types of families.
Pippa says, “At Lakeview I could be anyone, as long as they didn’t find out the truth about me.” What doesn’t she want the kids at Lakeview to know about her? What does she do to keep her home life private? What does Pippa think would happen if the girls found out the truth about her?
How does trying to fit in cause Pippa Pippa to lose her sense of self? Why is she ashamed of her family and the way they live?
Pippa’s best friend at Victoria Middle School is Buddy Johnson. Think about how she betrays him.
Why does Pippa think that Eliot’s life is more messed up than hers? How does knowing about his family make her better understand Eliot?
Olive Giordana is the student ambassador that shows Pippa around the school. How does Olive’s desire to be popular affect her judgement?
Discuss what Jung-Hwa means when he says, “The lower you fall, the more room you have to rise.” What is Pippa’s lowest point? How do you know that she is about to rise? Have you ever felt that way?
Pippa’s family celebrates Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving Day. Learn more about the traditions associated with this holiday on the Internet. Describe and discuss the holiday and the food that is prepared. What cultural holidays does your family celebrate? Is there anything special that you eat?
Pippa Park Raises Her Game is a contemporary reimagining of Great Expectations. Use books or the Internet to find out about the main characters in Great Expectations. What is each character’s counterpart in Pippa Park Raises Her Game? List the characters side by side and as a group apply two or three adjectives that best describe each of them.
Think about all that has happened to Pippa. Then consider the following quote from Great Expectations: “And it was not until I began to think, that I began fully to know how wrecked I was, and how the ship in which I had sailed was gone to pieces.” What is the metaphorical ship that Pippa sails? at what point does Pippa realized “how wrecked” her life is? How does she turn her life around once she begins “thinking”?
If you were to pick on character from Pippa Park Raises Her Game who is most like you, who would it be and why? Who is most unlike you and why? Which character from the book would you want as your friend and why?
Flagged Passages: “Chapter One: The Strange Encounter
I was the only person in the park.
Tucking a damp strand of hair back behind one ear, I surveyed the abandoned slides and empty benches. It was just past six p.m. on a Friday, but it looked like nobody else wanted to be out in the rain. As I strode briskly forward, icy wind numbed the tips of my fingers, making me clutch my basketball tighter. Even though we hadn’t officially left summer behind, the cold front that had settle over Victoria, Massachusetts, did show any signs of leaving.
So … empty court. Lousy weather. And things at home were just as dismal.
My older sister, Mina, had just grilled me for nearly an hour after finding out about the ‘unacceptable’ grade I had received on my latest algebra quiz. When she finally finished, I stormed out of the apartment, making sure to grab my basketball and water bottle; I planned on being gone awhile. Now I kind of wish I had taken a warmer jacket, too. Or at least a hat. But rain or shine, I wasn’t ready to go home yet.”
Read This If You Love: Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen by Sarah Kapit; Bouncing Back by Scott Ostler; Kiki and Jacque by Susan Ross; It Doesn’t Take a Genius by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich; Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
Recommended For:
**Thank you to Dienesa at Fabled Films for providing a copy for review!!**
Furia Author: Yamile Saied Méndez
Published: September 15, 2020 by Algonquin
Summary: An #ownvoices contemporary YA set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.
In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.
At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.
On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.
But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.
But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love.
With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American.”
Ricki’s Review: I lost a lot of sleep reading this book. I could not stop reading! Camila’s voice was so strong that I was really drawn to her story. I am not a particularly athletic person, yet I loved reading about the soccer within this book. It is set in Argentina, which offered a perspective of the country. It made me want to visit Argentina. There are many rich themes in this text that make it very teachable—in particular, it offers depictions of domestic abuse, sexism, and strength. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I would love to use this book with a translanguaging lens of analysis. It would also be interesting to look at feminist theory as a theoretical framing of the text. But it isn’t about me–instead, I’d ask students what they find interesting in the text and what they want to learn more about. This allows for a freedom of curiosity to explore topics of interest from the text (and there are many!).
Discussion Questions:
How do gender roles differ related to soccer in Argentina, according to Camila’s perspective?
What is the role of family in the text?
What does Camila’s mother teach readers? Her brother? Her best friend?
Do you think Camila makes the right choices regarding her future? Why or why not?
Flagged Passage: “Our family was stuck in a cosmic hamster wheel of toxic love, making the same mistakes, saying the same words, being hurt in the same ways generation after generation. I didn’t want to keep playing a role in this tragedy of errors.”
Read This Book If You Loved: Love in English by Maria E. Andreu; Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos, Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok; YA Books with Sports
Aven Green, Sleuthing Machine Author: Dusti Bowling
Illustrator: Gina Perry
Published April 13th, 2021 by Sterling Children’s Books
Summary: Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a whole month—cracking such cases as The Mystery of the Cranky Mom. But can this perceptive detective solve two cases at the same time? First her teacher’s lunch bag disappears. Then Aven’s great-grandma’s dog goes missing. Fortunately, since Aven was born without arms, all the “arm” cells went to her super-powered brain instead. (That’s her theory.) This hilarious chapter book showcases a new side to Dusti Bowling’s unforgettable protagonist.
About the Creators:
DUSTI BOWLING is the award-winning, bestselling author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, 24 Hours in Nowhere, The Canyon’s Edge, and the forthcoming Across the Desert and Aven Green chapter book series. Dusti currently lives in New River, Arizona with her husband, three daughters, a dozen tarantulas, a gopher snake named Burrito, a king snake name Death Noodle, and a cockatiel named Gandalf the Grey.
Gina Perry graduated from Syracuse University, worked as a compositor in animation, then an art director for a stationery manufacturer, before discovering her true passion—writing and illustrating children’s books. She lives with her family in NH.
Praise:
“[Bowling] infuses her writing with humor and empathy.” —School Library Journal (starred)
“A fun series opener with a feisty protagonist who’ll keep readers on their toes.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Unapologetically smart and refreshingly confident in her abilities, this super-sleuth extraordinaire is a joy to tag along with.” —Booklist
“Aven’s candid voice ensures that this chapter book series starter will draw a young audience.” —Publishers Weekly
Review:I am so happy that Aven is now starring in chapter books. Her voice is one of my favorites in middle grade literature because it is full of truth and humor. Her voice is just as strong in this chapter book as it was in Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, just a bit younger.
In addition to Aven’s voice, the story is a compelling one! I’m a fan of mysteries, and this is a fun kid lit mystery. Also, the cast of characters are wonderful! I am a huge fan of Aven’s friends.
And I cannot wait until August when Aven Green, Baking Machine comes out!
Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I would love to see Aven Green read in classrooms! It would be such a fun book to read together as a class! The class could even keep track of all of the clues and see if they can figure out the mystery!
There are also opportunities in the book to talk about acronyms and word play!
Discussion Questions:
How did Aven keep track of her clues?
What type of materials does Aven need to be a good detective?
How did Aven help Sujata with acclimating with the new school?
What are your slumber party traditions?
What is a time you have heard a word incorrectly like Emily heard hen droids?
Have you ever lost something? How did you work to find it?
