Ms. Stewart's Elementary Book Review Blog - April 14, 2020

Hello Aidan families and students!  

I want to hear what books you are enjoying reading too, so please email me and share your reviews!  We can talk about books via email messages or schedule a Google hangout to chat about them!

Preview: Remy Lai's New Book

Remy Lai’s first book Pie in the Sky (graphic/fiction hybrid, ages 10-13) got lots of praise earlier this school year, including from me and from you Aidan student readers!  Her second book, Fly on the Wall (ages 9-12) comes out in a month (May 12) and is another graphic/fiction mix, and this time the main character Henry is an online comic artist himself!  I can’t wait to read it, and to hear how you like it when you read it!

Book Reviews

The Collectors by Jacqueline West (ages 8-12). An 11-year-old boy Giovanni Markson, or Van for short, encounters some mysterious “collectors” who can see wishes, grab them, and store them in a secret place. One of these is a girl named Pebble and her friend Barnavelt, the squirrel. (Barnavelt is one of the sweetest, most lovable non-human book characters and reminds me of Harry Potter’s Dobby!). Van is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids, and this may be related to why he can see these mysterious beings when other humans can’t. The story also has some “wish eaters” who may be bad and who can grow to be ginormous! There is a really good sequel to The Collectors called A Storm of Wishes, which hopefully also will be available as an e-book on public library websites soon. 

My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder (ages 10-12). For a year, 13-year-old Leah has been living with a sadness that is very hard to bear. Now summer is starting and she has no set plans. She unexpectedly meets Jasper, who is new to the neighborhood Leah has lived in all her life. There’s something about Jasper that feels magical and very comfortable to Leah. Maybe you have experienced that when meeting a new friend! Jasper and Leah have fun together (for example have you ever heard of floating brains? I hadn’t! They are a folded paper magic lantern kind of thing that Leah shows Jasper how to make) but also help each other a lot; it takes Leah awhile to know Jasper well and Jasper’s background is not without sadness as well. Laurel Snyder is an excellent writer, and before you know it, you will be swept up in this dramatic story of friendship and family. If you like Snyder’s writing, you might try Orphan Island after you finish My Jasper June. It is a different type of story - about a group of children and a strange tradition on their island - but the story is just as dramatic and good as My Jasper June. 

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (ages 8-12). During this time when we are home more than usual it can be fun to take authors we like a lot and try books of theirs that we haven’t read yet. I have read many Roald Dahl books (The BFG is one of my favorite books!) and now I am reading Danny the Champion of the World for the first time. The boy Danny is the narrator so the story reads a bit like a diary, and so far I am liking it a lot. Danny and his father are living in an old one-room caravan with a wood-burning stove - very cozy and adventurous. I have a feeling the story is about to get scary though! I will let you know in my next blog!

Happy reading!

Here’s some access-to-books info:

The books I review in this blog are accessible online through at least one of our area public libraries’  Overdrive and Libby app.  

You need a library card to use Overdrive and Libby - if you don’t have one yet you can do it online: 

DC Public Library 

Montgomery County Public Library 

Prince George’s Public Library

Arlington Public Library

Alexandria Public Library

Note that you can join a number of libraries in our area, not just one!  Many of our local libraries offer membership if you live in a nearby jurisdiction - you don’t have to live in their county or city.