Tag Archives: Clubs

Elem. – It’s a Sign!

Posted on by
Reply

Pumphrey, Jarrett, and Jerome Pumphrey. It’s a Sign! Hyperion Books for Children, 2022. 978-1-368-07584-8. $10.99. Grades K-2.

One, Two, Kat, and Four are starting a club together and they are making a sign for the club! Each club member is really good at doing something for their club. One can fold paper into hats, Two can write words, Kat can write longer words, and Four knows the exact thing to write! If only they could think of a name for their club, everything would be perfect.

THOUGHTS: Another great Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Book! Following the traditional format of this ‘series,’ young readers will giggle as they try to figure out what these four members will name their club.

Picture Book Rachel Burkhouse, Otto-Eldred SD

YA – Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets

Posted on by
Reply

Ichaso, Chelsea. Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets. Sourcebooks, 2022. 978-1-728-25597-2. 328 p. $10.99. Grades 7-12.

Savannah has been consumed by guilt ever since her younger sister, Piper, fell – or jumped – off a popular scenic overlook on a nearby mountain. Savannah believes a fight the girls had is responsible for the accident that left her sister in a coma. Until she borrows a sweater from her sister’s school locker and finds a note from the Survival Club, luring Piper up to the mountain the day of her fall. Savannah never did understand why her brilliant, non-athletic sister signed up for the hard-core hiking club in high school, but now she has a place to begin unraveling what happened to her sister. Joining the club herself, Savannah heads up the mountain with the group for a weekend camping trip, determined to unearth who was out to get Piper, and why. But it won’t be easy, when everyone, from the club’s faculty advisor, to each member, including Savannah’s boyfriend, has secrets to hide, and framing each other for Piper’s fall becomes the weekend activity. As Savannah probes each of the club members, the backstory of the sisters’ last days also unfolds, revealing deep sibling rivalry as well as Savannah’s frustrating relationship with her parents. Suspense is high until the last pages, proving a satisfying conclusion to the book. Many of the characters, including Piper and Savannah, are white, while Grant, Savannah’s boyfriend, has brown skin, and another character presents Latina.

THOUGHTS: This is a solid, highly entertaining middle school and up mystery in the vein of Karen M. McManus. The mystery, along with the high school drama, should make this a popular book. 

Mystery          Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

Elem./MG – Kristy and the Snobs

Posted on by
Reply

Chau, Chen. Kristy and the Snobs (The Baby-Sitters Club). Graphix, 2021. 978-1-713-77076-3. 158 p. $19.16. Grades 3-6. 

The tenth installment of graphic novel adaptations in Ann M. Martin’s original series sees Kristy adjusting to life across town in her new stepfather’s fancy neighborhood. Family life is going fine, but Kristy’s not thrilled with her new surroundings: the neighborhood kids are snobby, and everything about them is fancy, from their clothes to their schools to their purebred, expensive pets. Kristy and the BSC start to get baby-sitting jobs in the neighborhood, and while they work their magic on the kids, it’s harder for Kristy to make progress with Shannon Kilbourne, another eighth grader in the neighborhood. Kristy thinks Shannon is a total snob! After some baby-sitting misadventures, Kristy realizes that Shannon is jealous and misses her old baby-sitting jobs and kids. The two finally see eye to eye and the BSC invites Shannon to be an association member of the club. Meanwhile, Kristy’s trusty old dog Louie is showing his age, and his health progressively declines through the story. The family makes the tough decision to put Louie to sleep, and Kristy and her little brother David Michael have an especially tough time with the loss. Shannon and her Bernese Mountain Dog Astrid help ease the family’s sadness by giving them a new puppy to love and honor in Louie’s memory. Chen Chau’s adaptation is excellent. While pacing is a bit choppy, the art is lovely and will evoke big emotions in readers who feel Kristy’s sadness in a major way. 

THOUGHTS: Chan Chau brings the best Baby-Sitters Club since Raina Telgemeier’s four series beginners. Grab the tissues for this one! 

Graphic Novel          Lindsey Long, Lower Dauphin SD

MG – The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the New Girl

Posted on by
Reply

Epstein, Gabriela. The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the New Girl. Graphix, 2021. 978-1-338-30458-9. 165p. $24.99. Grades 5-8.

In the ninth volume of the Baby-Sitters Club, Claudia and the crew are back to setting up babysitting jobs and meeting at Claudia’s house. When a new student named Ashley arrives, Claudia is instantly intrigued with her blue hair, eclectic style, piercings, and outstanding art. Ashley is an amazing artist, even better than Claudia! But when Ashley starts paying attention to Claudia and complimenting her artistic abilities, Claudia starts spending more time with Ashley than with her friends. Claudia starts to forget her responsibilities to the club and ends up turning into someone even she hardly recognizes. As with other titles in the series, the Baby-Sitters Club comes together to support one another and help Claudia realize that you can balance art and the club while making new friends.

THOUGHTS: The 9th volume in the graphic novel of the Baby-Sitters Club does not disappoint! The story is relatable to anyone who has wanted to befriend a new student at school. Another hit!

Graphic Novel            Jillian Gasper, Northwestern Lehigh Middle School

Elem./MG – Logan Likes Mary Anne! (The Baby-Sitters Club)

Posted on by
Reply

Galligan, Gale. Logan Likes Mary Anne! (The Baby-Sitters Club). Graphix, 2020. 978-1-338-30455-8. $24.99. 164 p. Grades 3-6. 

It’s time to start eighth grade, and Mary Anne is excited but nervous. The BSC is busier than ever, Mary Anne just might get up the nerve to ask her father for a kitten, and school is going well…enter Logan Bruno, the movie star look-alike new kid from Louisville. He’s fun, cute, and loves kids! When the BSC sends Logan and Mary Anne on a baby-sitting job together, they hit it off and Mary Anne and Logan start hanging out more often, including going to a big dance together. After some embarrassing moments and misunderstandings, Mary Anne and Logan’s relationship blossoms. Other highlights: Jessi Ramsey makes her first appearance in Stoneybrook, Mary Anne adopts kitten Tigger with her father’s blessing, and Jessi and Logan become BSC members. While I favor Raina Telgemeier’s illustration style over Gale Galligan’s, Galligan adapted Ann M. Martin’s chapter book well and gave the story and characters some great updating. Also, while the original Logan was blonde and blue-eyed, Galligan’s Logan is Black, adding a welcome and realistic diversity to the BSC.

THOUGHTS: A solid addition to a very popular series.

Graphic Novel                Lindsey Long, Lower Dauphin SD