Books | Page 75 of 86

Hilo All The Pieces Fit nails the ending to this graphic novel series

I just asked our 10 year-old what he likes about the Hilo graphic novel series by Judd Winick. He gave me a series of one-word answers, like: action, funny, humor and then he said action again. He hasn’t really embraced his descriptive powers yet, so I’ll fill in the blanks. Hilo is one of the best graphic novel series of books out there for upper elementary school students through middle school. Personally, it’s one of our favorite series of books or graphic novels that has a continuous narrative. While Hilo All The Pieces Fit, seems like an ending, it might not be.

Hilo is a perfect graphic novel series and this entry perfectly ends this chapter

Everest, illustrated book/large graphic novel excellence

Educational illustrated books get a bad rap. When readers get to a certain age they feel that books with too many pictures are babyish. The exceptions to those books are graphic novels, which are more mature in their eyes. Everest, The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Nogay is an illustrated book in name only. In reality, the content, intelligence, details, information and length put this more in league with a graphic novel, albeit one that’s bigger in size than a standard comic book.

Everest is a blend of illustrated book and graphic novel that will captivate you

The Only Woman In The Photo is the most famous woman you don’t know

The Only Woman In The Photo is a book title that really baits the hook. Why was she the only woman in the photo? In this #MeToo era it conjures up all manner of scheming or wily characters that are lurking in or out of the picture frame. In reality, The Only Woman In The Photo has a much larger and impactful scope. This is the story of Frances Perkins, a woman whose work we come across daily due to the time she spent working in the White House.

Frances Perkins isn’t a household name, but millions are impacted by her work everyday

Spies, Lies and Disguise presents WW II in a way perfect for middle school

I firmly believe that kids honestly want to learn. So far as the content, there are those things that they need to learn and those things that they want to learn. In middle school when kids start to earnestly learn about WW II they’re faced with the quandary of studying a horrifying period of human history, yet actually wanting to do it. Teaching or educating kids about this period of time is tricky too because there are so many angles that an author could approach it. Spies, Lies and Disguise, The Daring Tricks and Deeds That Won World War II by Jennifer Swanson with illustrations by Kevin O’Malley is an excellent supplemental text to those kids who already know the basics of WW II and want to learn more.

If your middle grade student is tough to embrace history, check this out

Machines In Motion, pointed vehicle history with great art

Imagine that Billy from The Family Circus was all grown up and has become an engineer. From time to time he still reverts back to his habit of drawing where he’s visited around the neighborhood. Machines In Motion, by Tom Jackson with illustrations by Chris Mould has moments that will remind cartoon fans of his exploits, but at a much more educational level. Think of a vehicle that moves people and it’s covered in this book to some extent. It’s a big, over sized book that will grab upper elementary through middle school readers by the hand and make them want to learn about transportation.

Entertaining education about machines and technology at its finest

Lola Dutch! I Love You So Much, #3 in a must-read series for 3-7

Oh, Lola Dutch, you are too much. If you’ve got a kid who is between three and seven this series of books needs to be on your radar. Lola Dutch!, I Love You So Much is the third book in this series by Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright. These books will skew a little more for girls than boys, but that’s only because Lola is a girl who wears a tutu. When our son was six he laughed along with us as we read Lola Dutch, the first book in series to him. He’s old enough to where he can read them by himself, laughing as he looks at the art.

Lola Dutch I Love You So Much is the third book in this imaginative and art heavy series about a young girl and the power of pretend play.

This book series is imaginative play and rhyming at it’s cutest

Rise Up, Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories review

Some parents will have their guard up given the title to this book, Rise Up, Ordinary Kids With Extraordinary Stories. The title might lead some parents to think that it’s just a book about Generation Z kids who are better at grabbing headlines than solving things or actually doing something worth mentioning. However, readers of any age will be pleased to know that this is a book that spans the globe and covers many generations of special things or accomplishments that those under 23 have achieved.

Short storytelling and sharp graphics make this book pop

A Voice Named Aretha, an early elementary aged Queen of Soul primer

What’s great about A Voice Named Aretha is that most people will discover something new about the Queen of Soul from reading this book. Aretha is Aretha Franklin and A Voice Named Aretha is an illustrated book that’s about the talent that she was. One thing that this children’s illustrated book taught me was that her home often had luminaries in music and civil rights popping by to visit. Her father was a preacher in Detroit and it wasn’t uncommon for Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to stop in, as you do.

RESPECT indeed, this gives ages 4-9 a grand overview into the Queen of Soul