Happy Birthday to The Expets

Try as I might, sometimes books slip through the cracks. Tatulli is the author of my favorite graphic novel of all time, Short and Skinny, and also pens the highly addictive and clever Lio, which I have added to my twice a month trip to Go Comics, along with Big Nate and Frazz, which my local paper no longer carries. I feel bad that I didn't get to read and review this for so long, but I wish the book a very happy first birthday, and can't wait for the sequel. My  mother would have been 91 today, so that's a nice connection. 

Tatulli, Mark. The Expets (#1)
April 30, 2024 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Bosco, who normally lives a quiet canine life, manages to thwart two bumbling criminals with his stanky breath, and before he knows it is summoned to the lair of the Incredible Mr. Turtle to become an Expet, along with Laser-Eye Kitty, Ginormous Gerbil, and Wonder Guppy. Not thrilled that his super hero name will be Stanky Dog, especially since he also possesses super stretchy legs, he returns home to Larry the Lizard, to resume his quiet life with his dog toy in the shape of a cat. When his Expet collar summons him, he tries to ignore it, but when he realizes he needs to help save kittens, he reluctantly accepts his assignment. The evil Captain Calamari, who is in thrall to an evil Skunk and aided by the thieves Ambrose and Winston, has sequestered millions of cats on the moon. The cats are looking for the ancient Collar of Power of Kitty KahKah, about which the Skunk learned after his friendship with Mr. Turtle ended and Skunk lived in an abandoned library, reading all the books. Bosco finds it hard to rescue the kittens, since his Super Stank doesn't work in zero gravity, but by cleverly utilizing his dog toy shaped like a cat, he manages to persevere. While it seems he has managed to thwart the thieves, a lone kitten on the moon finds the collar, and someone close to Bosco is not the ally he believes. 

While there is plenty of action on each pages, quirky characters galore, and a reluctant hero with an unfortunate moniker (middle school readers will LOVE that his name is Stanky Dog!), there is also a well developed and easy to follow plot, which I appreciated very much. There are even some twists, and I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel. 

I might be imagining it, but I sensed allusions to Wanda Gag's 1928 Millions of Cats, which added an even better layer of cleverness. The collar of Kitty KahKah is an excellent inclusion for a hero's quest, Ginormous Gerbil might be MY new super hero name, and having Skunk as the villain, with a backstory pitting him against Mr. Turtle, makes perfect sense, but having a lone kitten suriviving on the moon was a master stroke! 

Tatulli's exuberant style nicely supports this underdog super hero tale, which has a much better plot, and character development than comparable titles like Pilkey's Dog Man, Angelberger's The Two Headed Chicken, or Barnett and Harris' The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. It also helps that there are plenty of jokes that may go over the heads of younger readers, but will endlessly amuse middle school ones. I am all for learning more about the Simon and Schuster Comics Universe and how it compares to Marvel and D.C.
 

Fantasy Round Up

Araujo, Mia. Afia in the Land of Wonders
April 15, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Afia lives with her parents, who are crystal merchants, and her twin sister in the city of Dafra, in West Africa. When children come of age in their community, they have an initiation rite, and are introduced to their inherited trade. Afia and Aya go to the market to purchase jewelry for the event, and Afia, who is balking at spending the rest of her life in Dafra, meets a young carver who offers to take her away to a land of wonders if she meets him at midnight. She doesn't, but after an unpleasant evening with her parents, she runs away from the initiation ceremony. She finds the young man, Bakame, in the woods, which is usually off limits. He takes her on a perilous journey to Queen Ukiwa and introduces her to a life of unparalleled luxury. This comes at a price, Afia finds out, and when she uncovers the cruelty of the queen and the cost of the lifestyle, she runs away and begins a treacherous journey back to her family in Dafra. 

It took me about a third of the book to realize that this was a reimagining of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland; when Afia is offered a cake that says "Eat Me"! There are a lot of parallels after that, with a Cheshire cat type character, Ojike, a teaparty, and the Queen saying "Off with their heads!"

The real draw of this book, which the author spent many years writing and illustrating, are the gorgeous pictures. This is set in a West African kingdom, and draws from 10th-16th century history and folklore. I can see this being popular with fans of Diane Zahler's or E.D. Baker's work, but feels much more like a classic such as D'Aulaire's Greek Myths or Napoli's Treasury of Norse Mythology. I just wish this had been around ten years ago, when different versions of Cinderella were taught in the 7th grade, and the 6th grade did a huge world folklore unit. 

Clark, P. Djèlí. Abeni’s Song #2 Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold 

April 29, 2025 by Starscape

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was sort of like Cashore's Graceling or other Young Adult titles that have titles like The Court of Sorrows and Swallows or Mansions of Might and Magic, where the heroine fights against the odds to save her world, but with African culture that we've seen in Okogwu's Oneyka and the Academy of the Sun. I liked it, but the cover looks so much younger than the text. This is the sequel to Abeni's Song. 

From the publisher:

The action-packed sequel to P. Djèlí Clark's astonishing middle grade debut, Abeni's Song.

 
After rescuing the Children of Night, Abeni and her friends are in search of the elder spirits—who they hope can protect Asha. But before the group can reach their destination, they’re captured and held prisoner by the Kingdom of the Gold Spinners, whose magics manipulate gold to build and achieve wonders. To secure their freedom, the companions make an agreement to retrieve the kingdom’s sacred and mystical Golden Throne, the very soul of their people—said to be hidden in a lost city beneath the sands and guarded by a terrible dragon. For Abeni, the quest for the throne becomes a race against time—the only means to assure she and her friends do not suffer the fate of being turned into living statues of gold forever.

But there are other dangers.

The Witch Priest has learned of Asha’s existence and has sent his forces to find her. Leading this search is a mortal teenage girl, who the Witch Priest has adopted almost as a daughter. With a pack of minions including the frightening Bat Riders and new villains like the coldhearted Huntsman and his three monstrous hounds, she sets out after Abeni and her friends—driven by a determination to prove her own strength and worth, to both her unforgiving “father” and herself.

Abeni will find herself facing these new challenges as she seeks to bring back the Golden Throne, evade the Witch Priest’s hunters, and fulfill her own quest to find the disappeared people of her village.

MMGM- How to Tell a True Story and The Trouble With Heroes

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Springstubb, Tricia. How to Tell a True Story   

April 1, 2025 by Margaret Ferguson Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Amber Price’s family struggles a little. Her mother sells crafts online, and her father is a hospital technician. The family has recently bought a house, which is a little run down, but in a neighborhood that includes a library, school, thrift shop, and bakery within walking distance. Amber gets along well with her exuberant younger sister, Clancy, but her older brother Gage is becoming increasingly distant. She has two best friends, Mariah and Lottie, and there are the usual problems with them. When Gage claims that he is out at the library studying (which Amber suspects is a lie), Amber goes up to his attic room to wait for him. She falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she can smell smoke, and the floor of the bedroom is hot. Her mother calls for her, but it is Gage who makes his way upstairs and carries her out of the burning building. Amber doesn’t have many injuries, but Gabe has some severe burns. The community rallies around the family, and when Amber is released from the hospital, her Aunt Nor takes the family in while the father stays in a hotel. There is a lot of tension between the parents, so Amber knows something is wrong. The family didn’t have great insurance on the house, and there’s an ongoing investigation into the start of the blaze. Amber’s friends want to talk about the fire, and Mariah is always giving her clothing that doesn’t quite fit. When the school’s Confetti Club wants to make the family a project and raise $7,000 for them, Amber is conflicted. Her father doesn’t want charity, but she does want to reward Gage for saving her. As the fundraiser continues, Amber finds out some secrets about Gage that imperil the Price of Kindness event. When should family secrets be kept, and when must they be told?
Strengths: More middle grade readers have lives like Amber’s than we see depicted in books. The family struggles financially, but are making things work. They don’t have the reserves to deal with something like a fire. Aunt Nor willingly takes the family in, and has such an active and messy household; that level of support was encouraging to see. While her family always makes sure she is okay, Amber seems very autonomous. She takes the bus to many places on her own, and has to deal with a lot of input at school. Her teachers are also good about checking on her, and I loved the gruff math teacher who provides her with a new book and tells her that she can find solace in math. The friend dynamics are so realistic that they are painful; when Amber isn’t “properly” grateful about the fund raiser, her friends feel hurt. Ouch. I don’t want to spoil the plot and discuss what happens with Gage, but it also seems very true to life. An intriguing book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Weaknesses: While Amber’s middle school voice is spot on, the writing took a turn into Young Adult levels of angst towards the end, which slowed down the story a bit for me. At 304 pages, this is on the longer side of what I can get my students to read, especially since the cover is not as appealing as it could be. Some of the names were overly quirky, which is not something I enjoy personally. (Aunt Nor and Uncle Neither have two sets of twins, Bert and Ernie and Bacon and Eggs.)
What I really think: Springstubb crafts the most appealing neighborhoods ever, whether in this book, the more Young Adult Every Single Second,  or the younger What Happened on Fox Street or Cody series. This is a great choice for fans of No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam or Kate in Between by Swinarski.

Messner, Kate. The Trouble with Heroes

April 29, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

During the Pandemic, Finn Connelly and his mother moved from the Bronx, where his father worked as a fire fighter, to live with his Gram, who runs a small chocolate shop, in the Adirondacks. His father passed away in the city shortly afterwards, and Finn has struggled with his reactions to this loss. He's failing in school, and is caught on camera vandalizing the headstone of Edna Grace Thomas after he was unsuccessful in kicking his father's headstone. Thomas was a big supporter of the 46ers, people who try to hike all 46 peaks in the Adirondack Mountains. Her daughter, Kelly, understands that the family can't pay the money to replace the stone, and agrees to a restorative justice program. Finn must hike the 46 peaks over the summer, and members of the 46ers club will chaperone him. This will also give him credit for his missing phys ed work, and his language arts teacher wants him to write 20 poems on the topic of "Heroes", so Finn keeps this account of his summer experiences in verse. He is very conflicted about his father's death because his father coped with his PTSD from saving people during the 9/11 attacks by drinking and working too much, rather than spending time with his family. In between going on hikes with "Cow Nanny" Annie, who runs a farm and has lots of grandchildren, "Nerd Nanny" Sam, who is a middle school counselor, and "Coach Nanny", who was his father's wrestling coach in high school, Sam delves into his father's behavior and thinks about whether or not his father's depression might have led him to take drastic action, since his mother hasn't really told him his father's cause of death. Finn likes to bake, so creates different cookies (mostly chocolate chip based) to commemorate the different climbs, even though his father didn't exactly approve of his baking. The climbs are hard, but Finn starts to appreciate the value of being in the wilderness. After discovering his father's ashes as well as the fact that his father tried to climb all 46 peaks but died before he could finish the final 6, Finn takes small amounts of ashed with him on climbs to scatter. There are other stresses in his life, like the fact that the chocolate shop may have to close. On the final trip, Finn is particularly angry, and makes some poor choices that endanger him and Seymour, Thomas' dog whom he is required to take on most of the hikes. Will he be able to survive, and be able to better cope with the difficult situations in his life after becoming a 46er?

Strengths: I'm a huge fan of Messner's 2010 The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, 2011 Sugar and Ice and 2012 Eye of the Storm, which was absolutely prophetic. As a former middle school language arts teacher, she knows all about poetry assignments, and according to her author's note, has also climbed the same 46 peaks required of Finn. This story is extremely well constructed, with lots of clever pieces tying the characters together and the theme of heroism being explored in a realistic way. The verse format is better done than most middle grade novels in verse I've read recently, and the sonnet is exquisite. I sort of wish the whole book had been in sonnets, ala Vikram Sheth's 1986 The Golden Gate, but that would take years to write! The tie ins to 9/11 and the local scenery are perfect, and there are even some photographs of the scenery. This is a great novel to explore character growth. There are also cookie recipes included, and I came very close to making the chocolate chip ones with pretzels, since I had some on hand. 

Weaknesses: This would be more popular with actual tweens if there were less about dealing with the grief over his father and writing poetry, but these inclusions will  make it wildly popular with teachers and librarians. I'm also not convinced that Finn's cookies could save the chocolate shop, but it was a much needed upbeat inclusion. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Hashimoto's The Trail or Downing's Just Keep Walking. 

Rabbit, Rabbit and Ollie In Between

Butler, Dori Hillestad. Rabbit, Rabbit
April 15, 2025 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

To celebrate their grandmother and grandfather's fiftieth wedding anniversary in 2019, Alice's family comes from Seattle to Homestead, Minnesota. Alice and her cousin, Bethany, haven't seen each other for seven years; forever, when one is twelve. They know that something occurred to make their mothers, Caroline and Elizabeth, stop speaking, but they can't find out why. The families are very different, and the tension is immediate. Alice, whose mother is an OB GYN  and whose father's sister is married to a woman and having a baby through artificial insemination, has green hair and plays roller derby. Bethany, whose mother helps her parents run the local gas station and diner, and whose father has moved to Minneapolis after the divorce, tries to follow her family's strict Missouri Synod Lutheran church teachings while secretly reading books with LGBTQIA+ characters. Alice and Bee (a name Bethany likes more than the one she shares with her grandmother) hit it off, but their mothers fight once again. Alice returns to Seattle, but the cousins text. They make plans to have Bee visit with her grandmother in the summer, but then the COVID pandemic hits, and this makes the trip impossible for several very sad reasons. The racial justice protests following the George Floyd murder complicate dynamics as well. The cousins manage to figure out the family dynamics, and Bee is glad of her cousin's support when she comes out as gay, which doesn't go over well with her Minnesota family. 
 

There are a lot of issues to unpack in this book. It's a very interesting look at the COVID pandemic, and I appreciated that it happened after the book was well underway, so it was easy to see how the changes impacted the characters. It was nice to see the cousins reconnect after so many years. The reason why the sisters stopped speaking seemed unreasonable to me, but I also understand that sometimes family doesn't get along, and there is no way to get past philosophical disagreements; a significant portion of my family is Missouri Synod Lutheran while I am not, and sometimes you have to not have certain discussions. While this book was suitable for middle school, it had a young adult level of angst and plot.

In the E ARC, there were a lot of odd symbols in place of words, arrows and such. There was no note that I could find anywhere explaining these, and it was rather annoying. I'd love to know what these were; I'm sure I'm missing something because I didn't understand them. 

Callans, Jesse. Ollie In Between

April 8, 2025 by Feiwel & Friends

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Olive (who ONLY wants to be called Ollie, thank you very much) is having a hard time in middle school. Friendships with both Calliope (Cal) and Nate are hard, because Ollie doesn't get excited about fashion or crushes on boys enough for Cal and her new friend Nora, and Nate's friends are giving him a hard time about the fact that Ollie plays hockey with them. Things are difficult at home as well; Ollie's mother, who moved to the US from Iran, married Ollie's father, and didn't have contact with her family, has died, and Ollie and her older sister Lila are trying to get by. After a sex Ed assignment to discuss what it means to be a woman, Ollie, who already is having trouble accepting the changes that puberty brings, struggles even more with identity and social preconceptions. When Dina discusses some of the issues that come up in class and invites Ollie to join a Queer Book Club, this helps, as does reading books like Gino's Melissa. Of course, parents in the school complain about the book club, and even about sex ed class and the fact that gender identities are even discussed. Eventually, Ollie gets a haircut and informs Dad and grandparents about the new identity being adopted, and even though there are some problems, progress is made.

The author's notes says that this story was inspired in part by Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, and that makes sense. This is much more like Gino's Melissa, Hennessey's The Other Boy, or Polonsky's Gracefully Grayson in that it is more about realizing and working to accept a gender identity than anything else. There is the sub plot about Ollie dealing with the mother's death, but there isn't much in the book that stands out, other than Ollie's realization of identity. It seemed odd that a school would have a sex ed class that was divided by gender; my school has not had a dedicated sex ed class since I started in 2002, and the units in science and health are certainly delivered to everyone. Even though the teacher is older, it seemed unusual that she would assign the sorts of projects that she did. I'd like to see more books like Bunker's Zenobia July and Gephart's Lily and Dunkin where gender identity is just part of a character's story, and not the entire focus of the book, but this will be a big hit with readers who enjoyed Lukoff's Different Kinds of Fruit, Sass' Ellen Between the Lines, Palmer's Camp Prodigy, and Riley's Jude Saves the World.

Basketball titles!

Chu, Kyle Casey. The Queen Bees of Tybee County
April 15, 2025 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Derrick Chan and his friend JJ have a fantastic basketball season, and their team wins the local championship for their Bayard, Georgia area. The two friends have an awesome summer planned, but Derrick’s father’s work throws a wrench into this. Instead of going to basketball camp and hanging out with JJ, he will be going to the country to stay with his grandmother, Claudia, whom he hasn’t seen since his mother passed away from breast cancer when he was six. His father is reluctant to spend any time with Claudia, and Derrick is curious as to why. Claudia is nothing like he expected a grandmother to be; she is in charge of the junior Queen Bee pageant, does alterations of gowns, and has young friends like Ro and Giles, whom she feeds guacamole and her fantastic Chinese cooking. Derrick feels oddly at home in the pageant scene, and even gets dragged into some of the dances when a contestant has an appointment. He also is enthralled with the clothing, and makes a design decision on Ro’s gown that even she “doesn’t hate”. Ro would rather be skateboarding or participating in roller derby than the pageant, but she doesn’t have a choice. Her best friend, Giles, is a photographer, and when Derrick finds out that Giles is gay, handles it badly, saying that he’s never met anyone who is gay before. Giles assures him that he HAS, and Derrick starts to examine his own feelings, especially for JJ. The two have a moment when JJ visits on his way to camp, further confusing Derrick. After some heart to heart conversations with Claudia, he decides to be his authentic self and participate in the junior Queen Bee competition, in drag, as Bee Daring. He finds out that the rift between his father and grandmother was caused by his interests in clothing, so when his father arrives early and is going to see the pageant, Derrick panics. What is the price for being your true self? Will his father, and JJ, ever understand?

This was an engaging middle school novel, written by one of the founders of Drag Queen story times, Panda Dulce. Readers who enjoy drag queen themed novels like Howard’s Middle School's a Drag, You Better Werk or Zaczek’s Martin McLean, Middle School Queen are the most obvious choices to recommend this to, but it will also do well with those who are looking for nuanced representations of boys who are looking into first queer romances, like Lucas’ Thanks a Lot, Universe, Leali’s Civil War of Amos Abernathy or The Trouble with Triangles, or Penny’s Green Eyes and Ham.

Wetzel, Dan. Epic Athletes: Caitlin Clark

May 6, 2025 by Henry Holt and Co.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Just as he did in Kevin Durrant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, Wetzel does an outstanding job at delving into the history of this extraordinary young player who has captured the public's interest. Starting from a young age, Clark was encouraged to do multiple sports, including soccer, by her supportive parents who thought it was better to not specialize in one sport. Basketball seemed to click best, and Clark certainly excelled in high school and college, and is now playing with the Indiana Fever team of the WNBA. Information is factual and balanced, and there is even a very brief mention of the momentary drama with player Angel Reese. Family photos are included. 

I bought several of these Wetzel titles even though my collection development policy for biographies is generally to wait until the person depicted has passed away. This was motivated by the 1980s biography of Michael Jackson that I weeded from the shelves. Since several of the players were at the end of their careers, it felt like they were reasonable purchases that wouldn't date too badly. Some of the titles have circulated better than others. Since Clark is just beginning her career, and I haven't had any students express interest in her (I had dozens of girls begging for Taylor Swift bios, so I buckled), I may not purchase this. If I were in a larger school or public library, this would be an excellent addition. 

Adventure Titles!

Lerangis, Peter. Beasties
April 22, 2025 by HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Riley Trent, who has a massive number of severe allergies, is on a field trip in New York City to the American Museum of Natural History with his twin sister, Kate. He is constantly bothered by Dylan, whose parents are tenants of the posh Fifth Avenue building where Riley’s parents are managers, and when Dylan puts oak blossoms in Riley’s backpack, there is a chase that ends in a tent with a sign that says “Do not enter”. Dylan disappears, and before we know it, Riley and his classmates are turned into animals. They eventually discover that the culprit is a historic piece of poop, and set off to uncover the mystery. Sarah is turned into a parrot and taken to the zoo, so the group heads there to rescue her. Once they break her out, they try to get her to talk to Dylan and Riley’s parents at the apartment building, but the parents chase off the “beasties”. They head back to the zoo, and get a tip to talk to “Uncle Chester”, a coyote who holds the key to the antidote. This involves a mystery, and the children have to find the Proteus 2 asteroid as an antidote. At the end of the book, the children are approached to be elite spies, using their shape shifting abilities. There are a large number of endnotes; in the e arc, these were clickable, but it looks like the print version might require turning to the back to read these.

This reminded me a little of The Forgotten Five #1 Map of Flames by Lisa McMann or even London’s The Wild Ones, with the children’s escapades across the city while trying to function as a rat, raccoon, parrot, etc. This had a lot of adventure and humor, with the interplanetary poop being the catalyst for the transformation. There’s a bit of character development, with the over-the-top spoiled rich kid Dylan becoming a little more pleasant. Lerangis has a tendency to do shorter (often three book) series like Max Tilt: Fire in the Depths, Throwback, and Seven Wonders, so I imagine that we will soon find out more about the Beasties.

Richards, Natalie. Survive this Safari
April 8, 2025 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Lucy Spagnola is excited to receive an invitation to the Wildlands Safari Escape Challenge, but is leery of attending because her last visit ended badly, with her freaking out on an observation platform. Her sister Alex is an intern at the site, and encourages her to go, because there were very few students asked. The competition pits the middle school age students against the interns, competing for a spot in the intern program, which Lucy still really wants despite her fears. Lucy feels inadequate, and often compares herself to her sister or mother. Along with Adam, Amelia, Isaac, Emma, and Amelia, Lucy sets off to compete in the escape room style competition, with lots of puzzles. There are even notes reminding readers to grab a pencil and paper to work on cryptograms, anagrams, crossword, and other puzzles. While traveling around the Wildlands looking for clues, the children start to realize that Tabora, an elephant calf, has been separated from her mother and appears to be chased by men from the neighboring Happy Time Farms. Will Lucy be able to overcome her anxiety in order to work with the other competitors to solve the puzzles and save the calf? There are many footnotes explaining a variety of topics.

Richards, who also wrote 15 Secrets to Survival (2023), does a good job at portraying outdoor adventures, and Lucy’s anxiety is very on point with current trends. I was enthralled at the setting; since Richards is from Ohio, I’m convinced that the Wildlands is modeled on The Wilds, a nature preserve for large animals that opened in Muskingum County in 1994 (https://www.thewilds.org/). I took my children there years ago, and it is a fascinating place. Since I’m not a fan of puzzles, I found that the huge number slowed down the story for me, but readers who like books like Grabenstein’s Mr. Lemoncello’s Library or Currie’s The Mystery of the Locked Rooms will love this one.

Opal Watson: Private Eye

Thurman, Brittany J. Opal Watson: Private Eye
April 15, 2025 by Storytide (HarperCollins)
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

After visiting her grandmother, Meme, in New Orleans, Opal returns to her home in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago before the start of 7th grade. Her father is the superintendent of their apartment building, the Crescent, which is undergoing extensive renovations, and her mother is an app developer. While she was gone, Opal heard from her friend, Madison Ling, that there were odd noises behind the bathroom in Madison's apartment. Opal has been spending the last three years solving small mysteries for friends and family, so she jumps right on the case. There are plenty of things going on at the Crescent; the owner, Mr. Vaughn, is trying to hold developers who want to tear the building down at bay, the contractor, Mr. Devlin (whom Mr. Watson found through a pop-up ad on the internet), is dragging his heels on work, and there is a woman named Mrs. Carlowe who is hanging around the building and seems to be up to no good. When Opal's school, L. Hansberry Middle School, has a meet and greet the week before school, Opal attends. Her teacher, Ms. Downey, tells the students that they will be partnered up to work on a video project on a historical event that happened in the 20th century. Opal gets off to a rocky start with new student Ivy, but the two start to investigate the Great Migration. It has some ties to the Crescent, and with everything going on in the building, Opal's investigation turns up some surprising information. Even though she has one set of blueprints from 1965, she finds another from 1905 that seems to hide a secret. Will she be able to contact the right people in order to save her beloved building from being torn down?
Strengths: We learn early on that Opal uses a cane and has some vision issues, and it's great that while this is discussed, it isn't the main focus of the story. We learn quite some way into the story that she suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, and needs some accomodations in low light, and also has taken Orientation and Mobility classes. The Crescent is a great setting, and there is a lot of really interesting Chicago history that is discussed, including Robert Abbott and The Chicago Defender newspaper. The Great Migration is a great topic for middle school students to research, especially those who live in Chicago. I liked Ivy and Opal's somewhat fraught relationship, as well as the great support system and friends that Opal has. 
Weaknesses: This almost felt like the second book in a series, and there were a lot of characters to keep straight. There were also some things that didn't seem like they would happen in real life. The father gets a contractor from a pop up ad? No wonder he was sketchy. Also, I can't see a teacher assigning a project before the first day of school; not all students are able to come to meet and greets. 
What I really think: This reminded me a bit of Winston's Wednesday and Woof series, where Wednesday, who deals with arthritis, and her dog (Opal has a cat, Bebe) solve similar mysteries, or of McDunn's Trouble at the Tangerine, where characters are also trying to save a historic apartment building. 

Don't Cause Trouble

Chung, Aree. Don't Cause Trouble.  

April 22, 2025 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR

E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

Ming Lee is the child of immigrants from China, and has trouble navigating school because of the differences in his upbringing, including the fact that his parents are so competitive about saving money that his mother cuts his hair at home. He has to deal with a lot of negative comments at school, but when middle school starts, does make two good friends, Vikrum and Marcus. While Ming's concerns center around things like saving up for Air Elevate shoes. His parents, however, are dealing with bigger issues, like the father's long lost brother contacting the family and needing money. The mother, who trained as a nurse but can only find work cleaning, is a devout church goer, and insists it is better to give money to the church, believing that "God will provide". Even though his parents are insistent that he concentrate on his school work, Ming manages to talk them in to letter him have a sleepover with his friends, and to go trick or treating on Halloween. He gets a lot of candy, and tries to sell some of it to classmates in order to earn money for the shoes he wants. Motivated by a shirt that he sees advertised that all of his classmates are wearing, Ming comes up with a plan to steal three of them from the mall. This lands him, as well as Vikrum and Marcus, in very big trouble, and his friendships are in jeopardy. He and his mother start a small business selling egg rolls that is surprisingly successful, and he also helps her clean as a way to apologize for his brief foray into criminal activities. His friends are eventually allowed to hang out with him again, and Ming starts to feel confident enough that he plans to try out for the school basketball team.
Strengths: Visually, this was a bit different from other graphic novels I've read, which was a nice change. Raina Telgemaier is great, but this doesn't mean that every graphic novel has to look like her work. It was interesting to see typical tween activity through the lens of Ming's parents, who weren't entirely sold on activities like Halloween or sleepovers. The brief discussion of shoplifting was interesting, and is a topic rarely discussed in middle grade literature, although I'm sure occurs more often than we realize. Ming's positive attitude and efforts to try to better his own situation were good to see.
Weaknesses: I couldn't quite tell when this was set; Ming's plaid pants and striped t shirt made me think it was set in the 1970s, when this was a frequent, if questionable, sartorial choice, but it seemed more like the 1990s. I'm still not understanding the hatred for thrift stores; I haven't really shopped anywhere else for thirty years.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like graphic novel style memoirs (although this is a fictionalized account) about the immigrant experience like LaMotte and Ann Xu's Measuring Up, Ray Xu's Alterations or Martin's MexiKid.

Speculative Fiction Round Up

My readers have really changed over the last fifteen years, but they must be the only middle grade readers who aren't consuming a lot of fantasty. There are so many fantastic titles out there, but I'm buying fewer and fewer, especially since my students also have lost their desire to read series. Here are a few April releases that certainly had a lot to recommend them, but I probably won't purchase for lack of interest. 

Chadda, Sarwat. Storm Singer.

April 15, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nargis, who can command the elements, lives with her Baba after the deaths of her parents, purportedly at the hands of thieves. When she runs afoul of Pandit, who has her best friend Arjuna sold into his service, she is exiled, and has a lot of adventures with Mistral, who is a member of the eagle Garuda, who tax the residents and take their food. I loved Chadda's City of the Plague God series, but I have several action and adventure series with connection to Indian folklore and legend that I can't get my readers to check out. 

From the publisher:

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief meets One Thousand and One Nights in this thrilling middle grade fantasy from Rick Riordan Presents author Sarwat Chadda about a girl with the magical power to control the elements with her song.

In a land ruled by fierce winged warriors known as eagle garudas, twelve-year-old Nargis is just a poor, lowly human, a Worm who hates the garudas that killed her parents. But even though she can’t fly—and her childhood attempt left her walking with a crutch—she is far from powerless. Nargis is a spirit able to coax small bits of wind, water, fire, and earth to do her bidding through song…well, sometimes.

When Nargis loses control of her power in a high-stakes kite fight, she is exiled. Cast into the desert, she discovers Mistral, an injured boy who turns out to be an eagle garuda, the prince of her enemies! He’s on a mission to take back his throne from a terrible vulture garuda. In spite of their mutual distrust, the two have no choice but to forge an unlikely alliance if they want to escape the desert alive.

Marsh, Katherine.  The Gods' Revenge.

April 22, 2025 by Storytide (HarperCollins)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

As a former Latin teacher, I enjoyed Medusa, the first book in the series, and like the idea of another boarding school for the offspring of mythological monsters (and I especially liked Ava), I can't even get my students to read The Lightning Thief. I have a lot of other Greek and Roman mythology based novels, so will sadly pass on this one.

From the Publisher:

The second book in National Book Award finalist Katherine Marsh's Myth of Monsters series finds Ava and her friends up against their least-expected foe yet.

Ava Baldwin is ready for her second year at the Accademia del Forte. Now that she knows that her fellow classmates, descendants of the so-called Greek monsters, have been lied to by the Olympians, she’s ready to help them uncover their ancestors’ true stories—if only she can stay out of the way of the new headmaster, Perseus.

But laying low is easier said than done, especially when Perseus seems intent on trolling Ava, making it impossible to control her anger.

When Perseus banishes one of her friends, Ava must lead a rescue party on a whirlwind adventure from the Stygian Marsh of the underworld to the ice caves of Mount Etna with Ares and the spirits of violent death in hot pursuit. But the gods won’t be tricked so easily this time...

Cheney, Yarrow and Cheney, Carrie.  Superworld #2: Destructo World

April 22, 2025 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Netgalley

I somehow completely missed Superworld: Save Noah, so didn't realize right away that this was a sequel. It's done in a fascinating format; sort of like if Brian Selznik (Wonderstruck, The Marvels) used a more Pixar Inside Out style to illustrate a fantasy adventure title like Boniface's 2006 The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. There were a lot of books where the heroes had disappeared and characters had to decide to leave their evil pasts behind a few years ago, but as much as I love Bacon's Joshua Dread, Kraatz's The Cloak Society, or King's The Vindico, they don't circulate. This one might, with the copious illustrations. I might have to hunt down a print copy of the first book to see how hefty it is. 

From the publisher:

After supervillains take over Superworld—ahem, Destructo World, it’s up to Noah, the only normal kid around, to save the day...again. Binge-read this mega-charged duology, with a movie-blockbuster feeling that keeps the art-filled pages flying.

As the only normal person surrounded by superheroes, Noah never thought anything could be WORSE than Superworld. Well, turns out he was wrong. Because after everyone’s favorite superhero team did NOT succeed at saving the world, SUPERWORLD is now DESTRUCTO WORLD, and its new evil mega-dude is turning superheroes into super-powered bunnies and other cuddly creatures. Sure, it’s cute, but it’s not quite what Noah was imagining when he was trying to save the world. And Destructo has more evil up his metal-mech suit sleeve…so unless the Z team reunites for one more battle, it might just be game over....

MMGM- Mysteries, and Earth Day

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Messner, Kate and Greenwood, Justin (illustrator)

History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment

March 11, 2025 by Random House Books for Young Readers

Copy provided by the Publisher 

This tenth book in Messner's History Smashers series discusses the history, complications, and ramifications of my second favorite holiday (after Groundhogs' Day!)- Earth Day! I have very vague memories of the buzz surrounding the first celebration in 1970, but I definitely remember the twentieth anniversary and the renewed emphasis on recycling and environmental issues that resulted. I still have a "Save a Tree" tote bag I use... it's just like one on display in the Smithsonian! 

That is all surface interest, however, and Messner takes readers on a complicated, deep dive into the evolution of the ecological movement in the world and the US. Using a mix of comic strips, photographs, and text, a lot of historical events are depicted that show why protections for the environment needed to be put in place. From the time of Benjamin Franklin and the devastation of the beaver population in order to create popular hats, to a great illustrated overview of Rachel Carson's work against DDT, to short biographies of current leaders in the environmental movement like Hoesung Lee, Vanessa Nakate, and Greta Thunberg, this book is packed with information. 

Like other History Smasher books, there is an emphasis on how disproportionately communities of color are affected by environmental problems. This is information that is often left out of traditional textbooks, so is a welcome addition. 

The celebration of the first Earth Day isn't covered until halfway through the book, but the scene is well set for understanding its importance. I grew up fairly close to the Cuyahoga River, but even I learned a bit more about the fire that became a rallying cry for the movement. It's sad that even after the movement started, there were incidents like Love Canal, Three Mile Island, and the Exxon Valdez. The after effects, and the continued problems with the environment, are fully explored. The timeline at the end of the book is very helpful. 

It amazes me that many of my students don't have any interest in the environment. It's hard to get them to pick up books like Beer's Kids vs. Plastic and Bell's You Can Change the World: The Kids' Guide to a Better Planet. This popular series will be a great nonfiction companion to the growing pile of middle grade about climate activism and climate anxiety like Dee's Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, Firestone's The First Rule of Climate Club, Frank's Global Warning, and Dimopoulos' Turn the Tide. 

King, Wesley. Benny on the Case
April 15, 2025 by Beach Lane Books (Simon and Schuster)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Benny is an eleven-year-old who lives in St. George's Bay, Newfoundland, where his mother runs the Starflower by the Sea retirement home. He's been in special education his whole life, since he has Mosaic Down Syndrome. This means that while he has the physical features similar to others with this genetic condition, he doesn't have the health problems or cognitive delays. His teacher, Mr. Keane, has decided that it's time for Benny to be "reintegrated"; what we would term "mainstreamed" in the US. The day that he is to start, there is a lot happening; a nursing home resident has jewelry stolen, and one of the resident's granddaughter's, Salma, has moved from Seattle and is also starting school. The kids in their class aren't too well versed in dealing with others who might be different, and Mark and Ashlin are especially mean to the two, who become friends. Salma, whose father is from Tunisia, stands out in the primarily white Newfoundland community, and Benny is often treated like he is very young; Mark calls him "slow". When the fate of the Starflower, and of his best friend, 86 year old Mr. Tom, hinges on solving the mystery of the rash of thefts and a complicated scam involving retirement homes in the area (in which Ashlin's father is a major player), Benny and Salma step up to investigate. Benny's mother is struggling to keep the home open, especially since she is running it alone after the death of Benny's father four years previously, and Mr. Tom's health is rapidly failing. Will Benny and Salma be able to figure out the threats to the Starflower before it's too late? 
Strengths: This started with a description of "Newfoundlander speak" which was rather charming, and Benny had a great voice. I was instantly drawn into the story because of the feeling of community and wanted to know more about daily life there. The idea of a small, family run retirement home is intriguing, and I can't imagine how difficult a place like that would be to run. Mr. Tom and the other residents are not as key to the plot as they are to stories like Forman's Not Nothing or Van Draanen's The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones, but I still love to see tweens interact with older people, even if this leads to sad endings. The combination of the elements made for an interesting in unique story that I really enjoyed. 
Weaknesses: While I loved that the mystery was deeper than just items going missing from the residents, I wonder how lucrative it would be to take over retirement homes in Newfoundland. It really wasn't necessary to kill off the father. I would love to see another book set in this location with a lot more details about what life is like in Newfoundland, maybe involving smash ball, a sort of soccer with bodychecking! 
What I really think: Usually, the only characters in middle grade stories with Down Syndrome are siblings (Charlie in Cochrane's Breaking into Sunlight, Sarah in Oppel's Inkling, Izzie in Choldenko's One-Third Nerd, Charlie in Cartaya's Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, Squirrel,  in Hart's Daisy Wormwood Changes the World, Benny and Tessie in Dallas' Somewhere to Call Home), although Darby in Cotterill's A Storm of Strawberries is a main character. It's quite interesting to see a main character with this condition, but it was the Newfoundland setting and the mysteries at the Starflower that really sold this one to me. Mystery lovers will applaud Salma and Benny's investigative skills while marveling at a school without a basketball hoop! 

Salerni, Dianne K.  , Schu, Matt (illus.).The Tontine Caper

April 22, 2025 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss

In 1901, Nicodemus Lombardi finds himself working for Gunther Hogg at his Precipe Inn in the Poconos after the death of his grandfather, Nonno. Nonno was a painter who died suddenly, and since Nico’s parents had perished when he was younger, Gunther claims that he is owed money, and puts Nico to work, along with his daughter, Agnetha. The inn struggles, since there are only five rooms, so when lawyer Arnold Hawes convenes a group of investors wishing to dissolve a tontine, there is a lot of work to do. The tontine, an investment scheme, involves shares in the Carbon County coal mine. There are only three remaining survivors, which means that the investment can be divided and distributed, although there has to be a vote to see if members would rather wait until there is only one survivor who would get the entire sum. The elderly Beuregard Ames and his granddaughter Beatrice arrive, followed by Diana Von Tropp and her two sons and the Deetlebaum family with Lottie and her mother, grandmother. The lawyer is late in arriving, so we see the different schemes of those hoping to profit. Nico serves all of the guests, appreciating the ones who aren’t cruel to him, as Gunther is, and is making plans to break free of his servitude, feeling (rightly so) that he will never be able to repay his debt. With so many people trying to get the money, and so much drama, who will finally get the fortune from the tontine?
Strengths: I always enjoy learning things I don’t know, and the idea of a tontine (which has been effectively illegal in the US since about 1906) is an intriguing one. I’m also a fan of English manor house mysteries a la Agatha Christie, so setting this story at a small inn in the Pocono Mountains (which I’ve always wanted to visit), was an intriguing choice. There is an art related mystery that leads to a very satisfying conclusion, but which I don’t want to spoil. Nico’s situation is one that more children in the early 1900s would have experienced, similar to the orphaned Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery, 1908) or Understood Betsy (Fisher, 1916). The characters are quirky and interesting, and Schu’s illustrations are fantastic. I’d love to see more illustrations scattered through middle grade books, reminiscent of Joe and Beth Krush’s or Hilary Knight’s mid century work.
Weaknesses: My bloodthirsty students are more interested in gruesome murder mysteries than ones that involve cons or scams, and when this was compared to Knives Out, I sort of hoped for a cozy style murder. (Nico does suspect that his grandfather was killed.)
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like mysteries like Guterson’s Winterhouse or Eagle’s The Pear Affair. This author's Eleanor, Alice and the Roosevelt Ghosts and The Carrefour Curse are also good mystery choices. 

Spikol, Susie and Metallinou, Renia  (illustrator).

Forest Magic for Kids: How to find Fairies, Make a Secret Fort, and Cook Up an Elfin Picnic.
April 1, 2025 by Gibbs Smith
Copy provided by Media Masters Publicity

Want to encourage children to spend more time outdoors exercising their imagination? Do you suspect, like the author, that fairies and magical creatures might be real? This manual on exploring the natural world and its fantastical possibilities is for you.

My students have very poor imaginations these days, so need a helping hand to cultivate a more inquisitive nature and apply this curiosity to all of the possibilities in the world. Going outside and really looking at the world around them would be a great place to start. Starting with a list of essential equipment like a journal, flashlight, and magnifying glass, this book walks young readers through the steps they need to take to become more observant about the world around them, more attuned to natural surroundings, and more aware of tiny creatures that are often overlooked.

In order to develop these skills, there are lots of activities and craft projects. From creating a DIY observation notebook to making mushroom spore prints, there are a huge number of unusual and innovative projects that utilize materials found in nature. The instructions, which include lists of easily obtainable items, are clear, but also have room for a variety of interpretations. I was particularly intrigued by the recipes for making various sorts of glitter and fairy dust out of rocks and chalk, as well as the standard "potions" out of leaves and twigs that used to be hard wired into the repertoire of children of my generation!

Metallinou's artwork is delightful, and reinforces the feeling of whimsy. While believing in fairies and magical creatures starts at a very young age, this book has a fair amount of text, so is better suited for older children, or for supervised use with younger ones. Readers who can't get enough of imaginative activity books like Halligan's Sunday Funday, Brunelle's Turn This Book in to A Bird Feeder or Storey Publishing's Backpack Explorer books will enjoy preparing the activities in Forest Magic for Kids and spending time lying on their stomachs on the grass, looking for tiny creatures and imagining all of the magical possibilities.

On Again, Awkward Again

Kelly, Erin Entrada and Mbalia, Kwame. On Again, Awkward Again
April 15, 2025 by Amulet Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Pacy, who lives in a cozy apartment with her aunt and mother who work in an Asian market, is obsessed with Star Trek and is rather klutzy. Her friend Brigida despairs of her; she's forever doing things like telling her French teacher she should be able to pick "Jean-Luc" as a name because "gender is a spectrum" and bashing her lip on the water fountain. Cecil is worried about starting high school because he has frequent bouts of IBS and is given a hard time up his upcycled wardrobe, although he has his best friend Robbie who has his back. When Pacy and Cecil meet in the nurse's office, both teens are intrigued, but clueless as to how to talk to someone they have a crush on. Both end up on the decorating committee for the freshman formal, and do indeed hit it off. Pacy is concerned when her pretty and socially NOT awkward sister Gigi talks to Cecil, but when Pacy and Cecil end up in the principal's office after Pacy pulls the fire alarm (she really thought there was a fire!), the two have a good excuse to spend time together as they work to find a new venue for the dance. The course of true love never runs smooth, and these two have more challenges than most. Cecil has not one but two allergic reactions; after the first, Pacy calls his father, and ends up seeing his family's unusual bed and breakfast. Because this is a Young Adult book, the two have a misunderstanding that leads to them breaking up, but because they are so singularly suited to each other, it's not a spoiler to reveal that they do end the book together. 

Strengths: I'm a huge fan of young adult books that can be read by middle school students without them learning a lot of health class information they might not already know, and this was one of those books. Pacy and Cecil are engaging, geeky characters who are fairly comfortable in their own skin until they start to doubt that someone can be attracted to them. That's an emotion that is not confined just to Geek Americans! This is a fun romp, silly at times, but blissfully free of Serious Issues. I imagine that it was great fun for Kelly and Mbalia to write together. 

Weaknesses: Pacy and Cecil definitely seem more like 1990s teens than 2024 teens. The flavors of essential geekdom are constantly changing, and I haven't seen a student who cares about Star Trek in at least four years. 
What I really think: This is a bit of a departure for both of these authors, and it was fun to see what they created together. Readers who want books about awkward high school romantic experiences, like Lubar's Let Sleeping Freshman Lie and Quatch's Not Here to Be Liked will enjoy this sweet geek fest. 

Picture books by middle grade authors

LaRocca, Rajani and Alam, Nadia (illus.) Mauntie and Me

November 12, 2024 by Candlewick Press 

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Priya is the youngest in her family, so when the relatives all gather at her house, her cousins often leave her out. Luckily, her Mauntie (MY auntie) is also the youngest, and is willing to spend time with her, sharing special snacks and braiding her hair. When Aditi, a cousin who is just a year older than Priya, comes for a visit, she also wants to hang out with Mauntie, even using Priya's special name, Priya puts up with Aditi helping braid her hair, winning all of the games, and knowing the answers to Mauntie's riddles, but when she tells them that she is moving back to the area, Priya is NOT happy. Mauntie offers to spend a special day alone with Priya and asks her a riddle: "What grows when you share it?" Priya enjoys having Mauntie to herself, but finds that she misses Aditi a little bit. The answer to the riddle is, of course, love, and Priya finds that she enjoys spending time with her aunt AND cousin once she gets used to the idea.

Change is hard for young children, and giving up a comfortable relationship can be especially challenging. Aditi is a year older, so better at games and riddles, which Priya resents a little bit. Mauntie explains that she spent quite a bit of time with Aditi before her family moved away, which makes Priya the one who is a bit of an interloper, and that, combined with Priya's growing affection for her cousin, makes the change a bit easier.

Alam's illustrations are packed with fantastic details, and it's fun to watch the family grilling out and packing into the house. This makes the moments that Priya shares just with her auntie even more special. They spend time in Priya's bedroom, hide under the dining room table, and share moments of quiet that are hard to find. The cover is especially fun, with the photographs of the two together over a number of years.

My mother had eight brothers and sisters, so there were lots of cousins at our family gatherings. I was one of the youngest, but so was my mother, and I was always specifically told NOT to bother my aunts! Many children crave adult input from someone who is not their parents, and since Mauntie seems to be college aged, I am not surprised that both Priya and Aditi are drawn to her. Celebrate the special role that aunts have in the lives on their young nieces with this book, along with James and Brown's Auntie Loves You, Coyle and MacPherson's Thank You Aunt Tallulah!, and Liu and Ansori's Auntie Always Loves You!

Hiranandani, Veera and Alam, Nadia (illus.) Many Things at Once

January 28, 2025 by Random House Studio

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Alam loves the story of her family. Her mother's grandfather came to the US from Poland, and her father's family had to leave Pakistan during the Partition. She thinks it is interesting to be both Jewis and Hindu, but sometimes she struggles. Her cousins might know more of other languages than she does, and she sometimes doesn't feel enough like either of her parents. She has some friends whose family backgrounds have a variety of components, which helps, and her parents are understanding, and tell her it's okay to feel "many things at once".

Nadia Alam's illustrations capture what makes each side of the family special. I especially loved the recreated photographs that accompany the family history; it was a missed opportunity to not include a photo of the author's family when she was about six years old, so that young readers could see her when she was about their age.

While there is a lot of philosophy about identity, this story is, at its heart, about loving and honoring relatives who came before us, and being grateful that they were able to escape difficult circumstances and make it to the US to meet people from a wide array of backgrounds. I'm not surprised that Hiranandani's family is from New York; my family roots are all in the Midwest, and I am a much more homogeneous, Western European blend of English and German!

We've come a long way since Maclear's 2010 Spork, which was a more abstract treatment of a multiracial family. Add Many Things at Once to a list to help children understand that they don't have to be just one thing that includes Mawhinney and Poh's Lulu the One and Only, Davol's Black, White, Just Right! Woodson and Blackall's Pecan Pie Baby, and Benjamin's My Two Grandads. Hiranandani's middle grade fiction The Whole Story of Half a Girl and How to Find What You're Not Looking For also draw from her experiences with identity and are great for older readers.

Weatherford, Carole Boston, Weatherford, Jeffrey Boston, and Martinez, Ernel (illus.) Rap It Up! 

March 18, 2025 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central 

This exuberant picture book, with it's smooth rhyming couplets, is a shout out to the joy of hip hop creation. A young rapper, who claims to have practically born with a mic in his hand, gives detailed instruction on how to write the poetry that turns into fly hip hop songs. Many types of literary devices are showcased and explained, and there is even a handy glossary at the end of the book for readers who forget what they are. Jeffrey Boston Weatherford's note at the end explains his love of the genre and his devotion to spreading the word to young performers.

Martinez's illustrations are brightly colored and full of delightful details that support the text and make this book even more engaging. There are a lot of pages that employ a graffiti style, and there are lots of words in a variety of colors on the page.

Language arts teacher will appreciate the spirited but also gently didactic tone; this is really a great instruction manual for writing. It even includes prompts to grab a pencil and paper, and talks about different types of figurative language. It even mentions near rhyme, although that line employs a perfect match.

Readers who got down to Boogie Boogie, Y'all by Esperanza, Breaking to the Beat! by Acevedo, Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be by Bridges and Person, Darryl's Dream by McDaniels and Hip-Hop Lollipop by Montanari will enjoy this poetic tribute to the process of writing rap.

Poetry Friday- Lifeboat 5

Hood, Susan. Lifeboat 5 (Companion to Lifeboat 12, 2018)
October 8, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Bess Walden, who is fifteen, and her brother Lewis, who is 10, are sent out of East London by their parents during the Blitz. After a brief stay in an orphanage, they are lucky enough to get passage on the SS City of Benares. Bess meet another girl, Beth, who is also a bit heavier and has had trouble making friends, as Bess has. They become close friends, and spend time together on the very fancy ship, although each girl has a couple of younger roommates to help take care of. Bess is concerned because her brother is with boys on the ship, and she can't watch him as closely as she would like, although he seems to be in good hands with Ken, an older boy (whose story is told in Lifeboat 12), and chaperone Michael Rennie. Aside from a bout of seasickness, Bess and Beth are generally doing well until the ship is torpedoed in the middle of the night. Trying to escape with their roommates, they find that the stairs have collapsed, and Bess is frantic to be separated from Louis. The girls manage to get into a lifeboat, but it capsizes. The water is freezing, and all around them people perish, including Michael Rennie, who had managed to save many of the boys in his care. The girls encourage each other to hold on, and are eventually rescued by a British ship. Bess is reunited with her brother after he sees he green bathrobe hanging up. There is some additional information about various aspects of the ship, including the lack of information that remains about the Indian Lascars who were working on the ship and perished. 

The characters in the book are based on real people who were involved in the historical event. Heiligman's 2019 Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship" is great nonfiction coverage of the SS City of Benares, and would make a great companion for both of Hood's books. The little boy in the red silk life jacket that his mother had custom made for him so that he would wear it all of the time appears in both the fiction and nonfiction accounts. 

The verse format is what sets this book apart from other novels set during this time period, and Hood employs several different formats, which are described in the back of the book. The alphabet poem written from the sea's perspective is especially effective; there is something haunting about the list of all of the items that are consigned to the deep. 

Readers who want the pairing of World War II and verse format will want to pick up Hood's Lifeboat 12 (which doesn't necessarily need to be read first) or her 2022 Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis, and would be well advised to seek out Borden's His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg: Courage, Rescue and Mystery During World War II (2012) or LeZotte's T4: A Novel in Verse (2008).