Elementary School (K-5)

Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai, audio edition Harper Collins Audio, 2015 read by Lulu Lam

Let’s face it; some kids prefer to read non-fiction. These are the kids who are fascinated with almanacs and world records books. If you’ve got one of these kids in your house, check out the new DK findout! non-fiction series for kids. Aimed at ages eight to twelve, the series titles cover high-interest topics and each installment includes quizzes, photographs, illustrations, and sidebars with expanded explanations, fast facts and interviews with experts.

Going back over time, I calculate that I've read and written about at least six different cat comics or children's graphic novel series on MADreads.  This does not include a childhood spent reading Garfield.  This does not include my recent (personal) purchasing and reading of the new "Grumpy Cat/Garfield" comic series.  Who knew that Grumpy Cat and Garfield knew each other?!?!?  It's an amazing world!!  I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's a wealth of this kind of material out there and I celebrate it.  All of it.

Have you ever looked a group picture and wondered what was happening as the shot was captured? Well, Roxane Orgill’s Jazz Day does just that, and more. The photograph Harlem 1958 is now famous for picturing 57 jazz musicians in Harlem on August 12, 1958. Photographer Art Kane called for any and all jazz musicians to gather for the picture and Jazz Day places you in the midst of it all through 21 poems.

All I can say is, wow. Somehow we make it through elementary and middle school friendships. It's not easy. It's not nice. It's not quickly forgotten. And it doesn't seem to get any easier for subsequent generations. Why is that?

Newsprints by Ru Xu features girls as newsboys, strained race relations and a serious look at robot civil rights in what I would describe as a steampunk variation on Annie! The story is beautifully drawn with complicated gender roles and a somewhat mysterious locale and setting.

In Be Quiet! Rupert, a mouse, wants to create his very own wordless book. His friends are game, but unfortunately, they won't stop talking about it, filling the book with more and more words and making Rupert more and more frustrated. This book is hilarious, introduces some wonderful vocabulary, and takes advantage of every part of the book, from the cover to the endpapers. It's perfect for elementary school-aged children.

This book gave me a glimpse of new and different experiences - while also being very relate-able. It brought up topics that most teens experience - issues of friendship and homework - which helped me further connect to the story and drew me in. I also enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t annoyingly predictable. You didn’t always know what was coming! Other books by Cynthia Kadohata include Outside Beauty, The Floating World, A Million Shades of Gray, and many more.

Written by Victoria Lenius an eighth grade Girl Scout.

The Owl Diaries young reader series by Rebecca Elliot is officially the nicest and the cutest. Eva Wingdale lives with her owl family in Treetopolis. Eva's best friend is Lucy Beakman and her frenemy is Sue Clawson. The level of clever owl and bird word play in this series is spectacular. But what's really notable is the recognition and practice of thoughtfulness throughout all of the stories.