Tag Archives: School

MG/YA – The Love Report

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BéKa. The Love Report. Illustrated by Maya. Hippo Park, 2023. 978-1-545-81127-6. 192 p. $12.99. Grades 7-10.

Besties Grace and Lola have a lot of questions about dating, love, and romance. Why do all the boys at school like this one particular popular girl? What is going on with love and the goth girl? And the boys… well, there are a lot of questions about romance and the boys at school. The girls decide to write a love report filled with questions and answers following their love study. The girls will discover more about love, their friendship, and themselves as they ask questions and find answers.

THOUGHTS: A love report of self-discovery and worth. Middle School readers will relate to this book as they begin their own discoveries of love and relationships.

Graphic Novel

Elem. – Salat in Secret

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Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah. Salat in Secret. Illustrated by Hatem Aly. Random House Studio, 2023. 978-1-894-84809-3. $18.99. 40 p. Grades K-3.

On Muhammad’s seventh birthday his father gives him a salat (prayer) rug. Muhammad is proud to be old enough to pray five times a day. He prepares for his evening prayers feeling very grown up and mature. In the morning he is happy to pray, but is worried about what mid-day will bring. Will he find a place to pray at school? Muhammad hopes to find a secret place but is unsure how to ask for privacy. Daddy drives an ice cream truck and takes breaks during the day to pray very openly. Sometimes people on the busy streets jeer at Daddy, but he is always brave. Muhammad tucks his salat into his backpack, determined to find a place where no one will see him praying. At school Muhammad realizes the coat room might be a place to pray in private. He attempts to ask his kind teacher, but Muhammad gets too nervous as he remembers how people sometimes treat his father when he prays in public. Muhammad is determined to find another appropriate, but secret, place.The bathroom does not seem like a good choice, so Muhammad decides to bring the rug to recess. He quickly finds that it is hard to play soccer with his salat rolled under his jacket. The coat room really seems like the best option. After recess Muhammad lingers as his classmates enter their classroom. Muhammad places his salat on the coat room floor and rushes to finish his prayers, but he is interrupted by a concerned classmate. Embarrassed, Muhammad rolls his rug and returns to class. On the way home he decides he will pray for bravery. After school Muhammad joins Daddy in the ice cream truck. As the sun sets, Daddy unrolls his salat on the sidewalk and begins his evening prayers. A woman walking by stops and glares, attracting police officers. Daddy does not interrupt his prayers. Muhammad takes his own salat and bravely joins Daddy in prayer on the sidewalk. Muhammad sees Daddy’s hands tremble and realizes how brave Daddy truly is. The next day at school Muhammad nervously approaches his teacher and asks for help in finding a place to pray. He has learned that being scared sometimes comes with being brave. 

THOUGHTS: This is a beautiful picture book with many themes to explore about acceptance, bravery, and love. Hatem Aly’s illustrations are absolutely endearing. A wonderful read-aloud.

Picture Book

Elem. – I’m From

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Gray, Jr, Gary R. I’m From. Illustrated by Oge Mora. Balzer + Bray, 2023. 978-0-063-08996-9. 32 p. $19.99. Grades K-3.

A boy starts his day as many kids across America do, with breakfast and getting ready for school. A ride on the bus and a, “you better hurry up” from his dad. I’m from doesn’t mean a location, but more of an answer to who am I? What makes me, me? The boy encounters racial comments at school that make him visibly uncomfortable, but he moves on with his day as any child would. All of the small moments of his day are depicted with Mora’s illustrations in her characteristic collage layered with various paint mediums.  

THOUGHTS: A must purchase, as much for the story as for the illustrations. Would be a perfect title to include in an illustrator study of Oge Mora.  Could also be used to introduce a unit on memoirs or personal narratives.

Picture Book 

Elem. – Dear Rosie

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Boehman, Meghan, and Rachael Briner. Dear Rosie. Alfred A. Knopf. 2023. 978-0-593-57186-6. $20.99. Grades 3-6.

Millie has an amazing friend group: Millie, Rosie, Gabby, Florence, and Claire. Sadly, Rosie passed away in a car accident and everything changed. All four girls have had their world completely rocked by grief over the loss of their friend. As each girl struggles with their grief over the loss of their friend, their friendship also becomes rocky. Together, the girls begin to heal and learn how to cope with loss and change in different ways.

THOUGHTS: A heartbreaking story of grief, friendship, and overcoming hardships. This story will touch the hearts of readers, many of whom may have dealt with their own loss and grief.

Graphic Novel

Elem. – The Brilliant Ms. Bangle

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Devins, Cara. The Brilliant Ms. Bangle. Feiwel and Friends, 2023. 978-1-250-24770-4. $18.99. 32 p. Grades K-3.

On the first day of school the students of Bedford Elementary excitedly enter the building. They are eager to share their summer adventures with each other and to get the new school year started. Principal Lyle announces that Ms. Stack moved over the summer and there is a new school librarian. The students are distraught. They loved Ms. Stack and are sure that no one could ever be as kind or as much fun as she was. The students band together to form a plan to scare the new librarian away so that Ms. Stack will return. When the class gets to the library they meet the new librarian, Ms. Bangle. She is very different from Ms. Stack. She is funny, loud, and energetic. She is nothing like Ms. Stack. Some of the students have to resist laughing at Ms. Bangle’s jokes, but the class stands firm in their resolve to stick to the plan. As Ms. Bangle begins class, the students refuse to answer her questions. She tries to begin a read aloud, but one brave student interrupts and explains that the class loves Ms. Stack and wants her back. Ms. Bangle wisely understands that she cannot ever replace a beloved librarian, so she says she didn’t really want to read to them anyway and has some other things to take care of. She offers to stop teaching if the students will do some library tasks for her. Ms. Bangle asks the class to shelve books, catalog new books, review lesson plans, and take some empty boxes to the basement. The students agree and quickly get to work. Ms. Bangle sits down to call a friend and hem some pants. The children soon discover that being a librarian is a complex job. The book truck is heavy, and book sorting is tedious. Confused by standards, objectives, and frameworks (and deeply scared to go to the basement), the students eventually realize they would much rather read with Ms. Bangle. Ms. Bangle happily grabs a book, and the class settles in to listen to a fabulous read aloud. 

THOUGHTS: This title is a must have for new school librarians replacing a much loved librarian who has retired or moved away. K-Fai Steel’s amusing illustrations highlight the many emotions the loyal students go through as they meet their new librarian. Delightful and funny, but very realistic, one can’t help but cheer for clever Ms. Bangle who manages to simultaneously emphasize the many jobs of school librarians while also charming her new students into giving her a fair chance. 

Picture Book

Elem. – Mr. S

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Arnaldo, Monica. Mr. S. Katherine Tegan Books, 2023. 978-0-063-00395-8. $19.99. 40 p. Grades K-3.

As the kids in Room 2B enter their classroom on the first day of school, they become aware that something is missing. There is no teacher present. The chalkboard has the words “Mr. S” written on it. There is a sandwich on the desk with a steaming cup of coffee, but no sign of a teacher anywhere. Half the class is excited, the other half is scared. The class is on the brink of chaos when a ruler falls to the ground startling everyone. Who could have dropped it? Amazingly that sandwich on the desk is somewhat life-like with its olive-eyes and tongue shaped lunch meat slipping out between the slices of bread. Could the sandwich possibly be the teacher? Half the class is convinced it is, half isn’t sure… but one student points to the clue on the board. The sandwich must be Mr. S. And so the students of Room 2B get to work. As they progress through their school day, a whole second story is happening on the other side of the classroom window. Though never mentioned in the text or noticed by the busy class, a car has been hit by a tree in a storm. A distressed man in a suit and tie attempts to rescue the car, but the car gets hit by lightning, and starts on fire. The oblivious students inside continue on with art class, music class, and story time all under the tutelage of their sandwich-teacher. The fire department arrives to put out the flames, but the students inside miss the entire event. When the door to Room 2B bursts open, the students are startled to see a smoky and soaking-wet man in a suit enter and announce that he is… Mr. Spencer… their principal. Mr. Spencer introduces the confused students to their teacher Mr. S. who is indeed a sandwich. The children are delighted to see that they were right all along.

THOUGHTS: This is a hysterical beginning of the school year read aloud and a great way to introduce early elementary students to mystery books. Full of clever visual clues and amusing classroom antics, the story happening outside the window is never mentioned in the text, but keen readers will believe they are seeing clues that will help to solve the mystery.  

Picture Book 

Elem. – Like Lava In My Veins

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Barnes, Derrick. Like Lava In My Veins. Illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough & Adriano Lucas. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. 978-0-525-51874-7. $18.99. unpaged. Grades K-3.

Bobby Beacon is a new student at the Academy for Kids with Awesome Abilities where he is going to learn to control the lava flowing through his veins. It’s about time, too. The other day, he got angry that the school bus driver would not stop to let him on even though he saw Bobby standing there. What happened next involved a tidal wave of molten lava and a startled bus driver. Bobby does not get along with his new classroom teacher who threatens to send him to the Institute for Supervillains. But then Bobby is transferred to a different teacher who teaches him how to control his anger (and his lava) with deep breathing and counting. Bobby starts taking pride in his school and even makes new friends. But during an assembly, Headmaster Chaos from the Institute for Supervillains arrives by busting through the wall. The headmaster has heard about Bobby’s powers, and he has come to kidnap him and bring him to his institute. Bobby has to safely harness his powers to save himself and his classmates from the villains.

THOUGHTS: The old school comic book-like illustrations are bold and eye-catching, enhancing the action-packed storyline. This book has the potential to empower the voices of Black readers and is a must-have for elementary libraries.

Picture Book

MG – Picture Day

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Sax, Sarah. Picture Day. Alfred A. Knopf. 2023. 978-0-593-30687-1. 283 p. $13.99. Grades 3-7.

It’s picture day at Brinkley Middle School! Olivia “Viv” Sullivan is determined not to fade into the background in the hand knitted cardigan and boring braid that her mother wants her to wear. She wants a look that’s cool, bold, and true to herself – while also setting her apart from the many other Olivias in her grade. After all, that’s what Viv’s favorite influencer, Quinn Sparks, would recommend! To that end, Viv chops off her braid in the school bathroom. She’s finally ready for her close up (and quite pleased with her new look), but her mom is apoplectic and whisks her off to the salon for a stylist to repair the DIY chop. With newfound confidence, Viv realizes that she has a knack for helping other students stand out from the crowd, from a new Conservation Club promotion to a Halloween Dance proposal. Along the way, though, she neglects her two best friends and their preparations for the upcoming Tengu Con. In helping others to solve their problems, Viv creates some of her own, and must figure out her true priorities to move forward. Sarah Sax’s energetic, digitally created artwork in a variety of panel layouts keeps the pace rolling briskly along, and a wonderfully diverse group of characters is represented.

THOUGHTS: With elements of influencer culture, individuality, and friendship, Picture Day has something for almost everyone!

Graphic Novel

Elem. – The Together Tree

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Saeed, Aisha. The Together Tree. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Salaam Reads, 2023. 978-1-534-46296. $18.99. 40 p. Grades K-3.

On his first day in his new school, Rumi was nervous and sad. He had just moved across the country and was joining his new class midway through the year. Being the new kid is hard, and Rumi had trouble fitting in. At recess he was often seen twirling a stick under a tree at the edge of the playground. Classmates were not kind to Rumi, making fun of his brightly colored shoes. Rumi had colored the shoes with his friends back in San Francisco. Rumi longed to return to his old school and ached with loneliness. One day in music class Asher threw a balled up piece of paper at Rumi as the other students snickered. The next day at recess Asher threw a rock at Rumi, scraping his leg. As blood dripped from his leg, a tear dripped from his eyes. The playground was silent. Han bravely stood up and asked Rumi to play with him. Han discovered that Rumi had not been twirling a stick beneath the tree, but had been drawing a fantastical mural in the dirt. Dragons, castles, mermaids, and ornate birds filled the ground beneath the tree at the edge of the playground. Han joined Rumi under the tree the next day and added to the drawing. Other curious students wandered over and marveled at the pictures in the dirt. One by one the students joined in and collaborated on the work of art. Everyone was enjoying this new activity except Asher, who remained inside playing alone. Rumi gently approached Asher and asked him to join the class under the together tree.

THOUGHTS: This is a very simple but moving picture book with a gentle message. The illustrations by LeUyen Pham are glorious. The author’s note at the end explains this book was created after her son faced bullying in Kindergarten. A wonderful elementary school addition with a powerful message.

Picture Book 

Elem. – Palace of Books

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Polacco, Patricia. Palace of Books. A Paula Wiseman Book, 2023. 978-1-5344-5131-5. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-3.

Palace of Books follows Patricia Polacco’s journey moving from Indiana to Battle Creek, Michigan and how she discovered her local public library. It is also the story of how she discovered John James Audubon and how her love of drawing birds really flourished and grew into a bird club that started at the school she attended and continued for over 60 years. The illustrations are very classic Patricia Polacco and encourage the reader to go back through the book multiple times. There is an author note at the end of the book, which really brings the whole story into perspective and gives the reader more insight.

THOUGHTS: Patricia Polacco books should automatically be added to every elementary collection, and this one is no different. I highly recommend adding this book to your collection.

Picture Book