Books | Page 61 of 86

Ghosts Unveiled!, pitch-perfect, non-fiction scares for ages 9 and up

One of our favorite books from 2019 was Creepy and True Mummies Exposed! Certainly, a major part of my initial curiosity in that book was the fact that I’ve loved mummies, the science of them, cultures that perfected them, and the ghoulish specter that exists inside my imagination of seeing them. The layout and presentation that book was perfect because it blended science, travel, adventure, and imagination into one package that was great for middle school readers and up. Author Kerrie Logan Hollihan dives into the series again with Creepy and True Ghosts Unveiled! It has the same presentation that I loved in the first book but looks at a topic that is difficult to actually prove.

Spooks, ghosts and the content/presentation to engage middle school

World of Wonder Mountains is rocky edu-tainment for ages 5 through 9

“It’s like a poetry book about animals, mountains and the things that live in the mountains”, our 10-year-old said when he read World of Wonder Mountains. Well, to an extent he is correct in that upper-elementary school overview. The first page he turned to was one of the more poetic pages. It’s about the snow lion and spotlights her massive paws as they maw the snowy crags in some of the impossibly high mountains. It could be viewed as poetry. You could also see it as a snippet into what happens in that spot, at that particular moment to that certain animal.

The nexus of poetry/short story and geology

Sounds All Around provides onomatopoeias around the world

Until a couple of years ago, I easily confused a mnemonic device with onomatopoeias. Shortly after doing this I’d flip flop my stance on both of them and reminisce about Johnny Mnemonic, the lovably cheesy film from 1995. Fun fact: that film takes place in 2021. After teaching onomatopoeias to a handful of Chinese students online, as well as incorporating that into my science lessons at school-BAM, I’ll never forget what they are. Sounds All Around takes a global look at these words that sound like what they are, and in turn, has created an entirely new genre of graphic novels.

BOOM! ACHOO! WOOF! they’re not the same in other languages

Lola Benko Treasure Hunter, grounded action for middle school

Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter will feel familiar, but it’s a character and story that is new to you. On the cover, we see a teen-aged-girl who is exploring a giant cavern-esque area with two friends. She’s carrying a headlight with a massive head, like the one that only construction engineers or professional spelunkers would use. The cover’s font could easily be mistaken for entry into the National Treasure film franchise. In addition to that, there are several things within the story that older readers will recognize as influences for the story. However, Lola Benko Treasure Hunter is aimed at readers aged nine through middle school and they might not know or even catch those references.

Lola Benko Treasure Hunter is a middle grade action book that has more of a relationship backbone than its readers might care for.

Middle grade readers will enjoy it, but it might feel familiar too

Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge, DC graphic magic for girls 8-12

Certain books know their core audience and dedicate itself to entertaining them. Granted some siblings or those readers who might be older or younger could stumble on the book, but they’ll be the outliers. Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge is one of those books. If you’re a girl reader who is between eight and twelve then this is your jam. Its compact size, pop culture sensibilities, fast-paced story and age appropriate art make this a go-to book for girls who want in on the graphic novel action.

Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge, an original graphic novel aimed squarely at girls 8-12 with more friendship than power, but speaks to its readers.

Sign-Elementary girls looking for a graphic novel-sign

If You Go With Your Goat to Vote, a happy 411 on voting for kids

Some Christmas music is great in July. Those are the great songs that succeed as being well crafted, played and seasonally timeless without relying on smaltz or stations that have airtime to fill after Thanksgiving. Children’s books that revolve around a certain theme or time of year are like that also. If You Go with Your Goat to Vote shares that in common in that it’s a great book that emerging readers can enjoy any time; even during those periods when people aren’t frothing at the social media mouth about candidate A or B. In other words, it doesn’t have to be an election year for your reader to enjoy this book.

If You Go with Your Goat is a happy, great good-night book about animals, their babies and voting in elections.

Get out the goat-and the vote. This is full non-partisan greatness for ages 3-7

Cat Ninja has the prrrower to be your child’s favorite graphic novel

Someplace between Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Phineas & Ferb and Teen Titans GO! is Cat Ninja. It has the must-read & elementary school watercooler vibe of the first, the heart of the second, and the madcap humor and action of the third. Granted, it could be said that any of those initial titles have a degree of all of those characteristics. We’re merely putting them in the rank that our children have unofficially ranked them. It’s all of those characteristics and more. Cat Ninja is more, because it manages to be familiar, all the while being something that’s entirely original, relevant, and has fabulous colors, but more on that in a moment.

Cat Ninja sits alongside Dog Man, Investigators and Captain Underpants

Fox & Rabbit: Make Believe is elementary confidence and fun

Brothers and sisters don’t just exist in living beings. There are some books that have their perfect pair. It’s those books that are similar, but not identical, and have the right things in common that fans of either book want to see. If your elementary school reader is not hip to Mr. Wolf’s Class they are missing out. It’s an original graphic novel series on Graphix that is entertaining, builds the reader’s confidence, is on a level that they can easily understand, and doesn’t talk down to them. Fox & Rabbit: Make Believe is the second book in this series by Beth Ferry with illustrations by Gergely Dudas and will strike the same chord of interest in those first through third-grade readers.

If your elementary-aged reader is looking for a great read try this