Tag Archives: Self-Confidence

Elem. – The Bionic Boy

Posted on by

Plourde, Lynn. The Bionic Boy. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025. 978-0-593-11137-6. 201 p. $17.99. Grades 3-6.

Eleven-year-old Benji Fadeyushka Ames-Cyr was born without hands and isn’t sure how he feels about changing that. Adopted eight years ago from an orphanage overseas, Benji grew up on superhero stories shared by his dads. He dreams of being brave and extraordinary. Besides his incredibly supportive dads, Benji has his loyal best friend Sam and his spirited younger sister Becka, who has Down syndrome. All of them believe Benji can be a hero. But outside of his family and friends, he prefers to blend in, and his limb difference often makes him the center of unwanted attention. When Benji meets Staff Sergeant Dirk Snyder, a confident quadruple amputee with a bionic prosthetic arm, he begins to imagine a new possibility for himself: becoming the “Bionic Boy.” Still, deciding whether to get prosthetic hands isn’t simple. After a troubling accident involving the family cat, Benji starts to question whether he made the right choice and whether being a hero has more to do with courage than equipment. 

THOUGHTS: This is a warm story about identity, self-confidence, and the power of family and friendship. Written in brief, fast-paced chapters, this novel will resonate with upper-elementary and middle school readers who gravitate toward realistic fiction and stories about everyday courage such as Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, El Deafo by Cece Bell, Real by Carol Cujec, and other uplifting books that center and celebrate children with disabilities.

Realistic Fiction

Elem. – When Auggie Learned to Play Chess

Posted on by

Rusu, Meredith. When Auggie Learned to Play Chess. Illustrated by Stephen Costanza. Anne Schwartz Books, 2025. 978-0-593-71081-4. 48 p. $18.99. Grades K-3.

Shy Auggie is having trouble adjusting to his new home and school. The big hallways at his school make him feel small and unimportant, and he struggles to make new friends. After finding his grandfather’s chessboard, Auggie is excited to learn and play the game with his dad every day after school. When Auggie notices a chessboard in his classroom, he’s eager to use it as a tool to help him make a new friend.

THOUGHTS: This book is half a story about the struggles that come with new environments and adjustment and half a sweet narrative on the special bond between father and son while learning a new skill. New skills, in this case chess, can often transfer to other areas of life such as connecting with a new friend. This would even serve well during the back-to-school season when students’ may feel nervous about classroom relationships in the year ahead. Best for grades 1-3.

Picture Book

MG/YA – Be Yourself: Overcoming Social Anxiety

Posted on by

Mooney, Carla. Be Yourself: Overcoming Social Anxiety. ReferencePoint Press, 2025. 978-1-678-20788-5. $45.26. 64 p. Grades 6-9.

Issued as a single volume, Be Yourself: Overcoming Social Anxiety by Carla Mooney offers a substantial overview of the significance of feeling comfortable socially and the inability to attain that comfort. Illustrated with stock photographs of young people and captions as well as textboxes, this slim book breaks down the crippling effects of social anxiety and provides explanations of different therapeutic approaches and examples of some coping mechanisms. The self-help book uses anecdotal cases of young people who suffer from this mental illness and how they learned to work through their anxiety. The endpages include help references and an index. Many students today will benefit from the information found in this book.

THOUGHTS: In this post-pandemic and social media saturated society, young people will benefit from this short informational text.  I think the sections on social skills and description of group therapy may be able to be implemented into social/emotional lessons. The anecdotes can be shared and discussed.

616.85  Mental Health

Elem. – When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left

Posted on by

Colagiovanni, Marc. When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Orchard Books, 2023. 978-1-338-83118-4. 40 p. $18.99. Grades PreK-3.

In the beginning of this book, nothing is going right for our main character, no matter what they do. So they decide to go left. As the book goes on, the reader can see all the things the main character left behind and how that affects each decision they make moving forward. When they finally get to the end, they discover that their fears, worries, and concerns are smaller and they just need to make sure that they keep an eye on them so they don’t get out of control again. Throughout the book, there is a little bird that follows the main character, which is a nice addition in an otherwise minimalistic style of illustrations.

THOUGHTS: This is a great addition to any elementary school collection, and would be a great read aloud to discuss what to do if things aren’t going right. This would also be great to use with any art lessons about more minimal illustrations, or if you were doing an illustrator study on Peter H. Reynolds.

Picture Book

MG – A Work in Progress

Posted on by

Lerner, Jarrett. A Work in Progress. Aladdin, 2023. 978-1-665-90515-2. $17.99. 41 p. Grades 5-8.

Will was once a happy fourth grader with a large group of friends. Friends he could never imagine losing, fourth grade friends who had sleepovers and promised to one day be college roommates. One day a classmate teased Will about his weight, humiliating him in the hallway in front of the entire grade. With this one word, Will began to see himself differently. By middle school Will is a loner who buries his feelings by eating. Will chooses to draw constantly instead of engaging with others. He sits alone at lunch, avoids crowded hallways, and buries his head in his sketchbook when people try to engage with him. Will’s inner voice tells him he is an unworthy monster that no one will ever understand or want to be friends with. Will is sure that if he can just change his physical appearance then everything will go back to the way it was before that horrible moment so long ago. Long lost friends will return to inviting him for sleepovers, and girls will stop being disgusted by him. Will often sneaks outside at lunchtime to hide behind the auditorium. Here he meets a new student, Markus, who also is avoiding the lunchroom so that he can ride his skateboard. Markus has moved all over the country. This is his eighth new middle school. Markus is confident and kind, but Will has forgotten how to make and be friends with kids his age, and he pushes Markus away. Eventually Will’s unhealthy plan to lose weight catches up with him, and he collapses in the hallway at school. As he recovers, Will opens up to his parents, and accepts help from a therapist. Markus sticks with Will, gently encouraging him to be a friend, ride a skateboard, and to stop trying to change himself for others, but to accept himself. Markus explains that we are all “works in progress” capable of change and growth through accepting help from parents, friends, teachers, and mental health specialists. Will begins to realize that working one day at a time, he can improve his self-image.

THOUGHTS: This is an important, emotionally moving novel. Will’s thought process and the characterization of his inner monster are written in verse with illustrations from his sketchbook. The inner-angst of peer pressure, of overhearing unkind comments, the middle school awkwardness of running into an old friend, all are heartbreakingly real. The narrative cleverly changes to prose when Markus reveals his different, but difficult, backstory. Anyone who has ever struggled with food and body image, confidence, isolation, peer pressure, or bullying will relate to this beautifully written book. Equally significant, this novel shows the direct effect of a single unkind word. A fabulous read aloud that will provide an excellent opportunity for class discussions about the many issues raised in this novel. Publication date: May 2, 2023.

Illustrated Novel in Verse, Realistic Fiction

Elem. – Dress-Up Day

Posted on by

Gomez, Blanca. Dress-Up Day. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022. Unpaged. $17.99 978-1-4197-4410-5. Grades PK-2.

A little girl is excited about the upcoming costume day at school. She plans to wear a rabbit costume that she helped her mother make. But on the day of the costume party, she wakes up sick and must miss school. When her mother suggests she wear the costume the next day, the girl embraces the idea–until she arrives to see inquisitive, staring, possibly mocking faces of other children. The arrival of another student–in costume–“Hugo…had been sick the day before…and he was dressed up as a carrot”–entices the girl out to play. Soon, the other children ask to join, and by the end of the day, “Hugo had become my best friend.” And when, on the next day of school, Hugo and the little girl arrive to find everyone but them wearing hats, another student offers hers, and the fun continues. Gomez’s illustrations convey an innocence and hopefulness of the children, who are of varying skin tones and fashion styles, and who are open to changes. 

THOUGHTS: Share this book as an encouragement to readers to try something new and accept something new as well.  

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

Elem. – When You Take a Step

Posted on by

Murguia, Bethanie Deeney. When You Take a Step. Beach Lane Books, 2022. Unpaged. $18.99 978-1-534-47367-6. Grades K-2.

This book opens with a question, “What happens when you take a step?” then offers a variety of answers, each illustrated appropriately with various children stepping in different ways.  The words give a sense of optimism and openness to the steps one might take. “You share a path. You share a rhythm. You gather courage and try again.”  The black and white illustrations are a clever backdrop for the bright red shoes of the characters. There are links to the past and to the future, “and you make the world better/ when you take a step” and on the last page spread, the color pink infuses the black and white parade scene. 

THOUGHTS: A quiet book to encourage readers that the next step is worth taking, and good things will come as you keep trying.    

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD

Elem. – Out On a Limb

Posted on by

Morris, Jordan. Out On a Limb. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022. Unpaged. 978-1-419-75365-7. $18.99. Grades K-2.

Lulu has a broken leg and is enjoying the gifts and attention she has received. She is learning how to do some things in a new way, like taking a bath, walking with crutches and putting on clothes over her bright yellow cast. At school, friends want to hear all the details and happily sign her cast. After a while, wearing a cast does not seem so exciting, but soon it is time for Lulu and her toy bear to have theirs removed. Instead of feeling happy, the girl worries that she will hurt her leg again and stays inside to keep it safe. Still tentative, she allows her grandfather to take her outside, but only in a wagon. A parallel story about a missing letter that begins on the front endpapers meshes with the main story and leads to a satisfying solution to Lulu’s predicament. The pictures by Charlie Mylie are rendered in graphite on hot press paper, and the black and yellow color scheme focuses attention on the main character. The artist cleverly illustrates Lulu’s need to protect her leg when he draws her wearing a yellow rain boot where the cast once was.

THOUGHTS: Although the parallel story is a bit far fetched, this book’s message about having the courage to face your fears rings true. Suitable for elementary collections.

Picture Book          Denise Medwick, Retired, PSLA Member

Elem. – Eyes that Speak to the Stars

Posted on by

Ho, Joanna. Eyes that Speak to the Stars. Illustrated by Dung Ho. Harper Collins Childrens, 2022.  978-0-063-05775-3. Unpaged. $18.99.  Grades K-3.

By the same author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, Eyes that Speak to the Stars follows a young boy whose friends point out that his eyes are different that theirs, and the family members:  Baba, Agong, and Di-Di who help him embrace this difference and realize that his eyes reflect those he loves. The use of a father, grandfather, and younger brother makes the book multi-generational in words and illustrations and both celebrate the roots and loves shared by the book’s family. Dung Ho’s realistic illustrations are highly accessible to the young audience.  

THOUGHTS: I highly recommend this book. Its illustrations are accessible and beautifully rendered, celebrating a contemporary boy and his family roots. The writing presents strong, positive, and loving male characters to the audience with a rhythm that encourages re-reading and opens discussion between readers.  

Picture Book          Hannah J. Thomas, Central Bucks SD

Realistic Fiction, Diversity, Self-Acceptance, APPI, Imigration, Family, Tradition.

Elem. – Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrate the Power of You

Posted on by

Kamanda, Ali, and Jorge Redmond. Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrate the Power of You. Sourcebooks, 2022. 978-1-728-25064-9. 32 p. $17.99. Grades K-2. 

Black Boy, Black Boy is a picture book that showcases many famous inspirational men in Black history. Some of them are ones the reader might be familiar with and some are a little lesser known. This book encourages black boys to dream big and become whoever they want to be. At the end of the book, there are short paragraph biographies about each person who is featured in the book. The illustrations are gorgeously done by Ken Daley who has done many other pictures.

THOUGHTS: This book is a must purchase for any elementary or public library collection. This book introduces the reader to famous people they might not be familiar with which makes this book a great starting off point for doing some further reading.

Picture Book            Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy