Just Jaime by Terri Libenson Graphic Novel Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) It’s the last day of seventh grade and Jaime should be celebrating, but she’s got something on her mind. It has to do with the way her group of friends has been treating her all year – cutting her down, leaving her out, teasing her, and ignoring her. She decides to confront her best friend, Maya, and find … Read more
Tales from a Not-S0-Talented Pop Star Dork Diaries #3 by Rachel Renee Russell Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) I like all of the Dork Diaries books because there is a different message in each of them. My favorite one is #3 because Nikki and her friends form a band for a contest and they have lots of different scenarios and adventures. Review #2 * * * * … Read more
Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life Dork Diaries #1 by Rachel Renee Russell Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * Stars (Just ok) Dork Diaries are about a girl named Nikki who writes a diary about her everyday life. She just moved to a new school. She really doesn’t fit in, but later she meets two new girls, Chloe and Zoey who later become her best friends. I personally did not enjoy these books, they were much … Read more
Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Emmie is a 7th grader and despite her amazing art skills, she’s basically invisible to her peers. She’s not bullied or picked on, but she’s certainly not popular either. She has one good friend (Brianna), but they don’t have many classes together, so Emmie spends most of her school days feeling alone and somewhat anxious. One day at lunch Emmie … Read more
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul Wimpy Kid #9 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Greg Heffley’s mom has the brilliant idea of taking an educational family road trip after she reads about it in a glossy issue of “Family Frolic” – her favorite magazine. It’s pretty much a disaster from start to finish. The Heffleys have crammed everyone and everything into their van and … Read more
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck Wimpy Kid #8 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Greg Heffley’s best friend, Rowley, has a girlfriend (Abigail), with whom he is spending all of his time, and Greg desperately needs to make some new friends. The prospects are pretty bleak, though, and Greg is hoping that the happy couple breaks up before it’s too late and he becomes some … Read more
Star Wars: Jedi Academy Jedi Academy #1 by Jeffrey Brown Illustrated Fiction Graphic Novel Science Fiction * * * Stars (Pretty good) Roan lives on Tatooine. He likes drawing comics and is looking forward to going to Pilot School. But his hopes are dashed when he learns that his application to Pilot School has been rejected – what now? Will he have to stay on Tatooine and be a farmer? He doesn’t exactly have a … Read more
Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Strauss Historical Fiction Ruth and her family take a trip in the 1950’s from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother. Traveling out of the city and seeing the hills and trees appear and the streets and buildings disappear are something new for Ruth. Along the way Ruth sees, for the first time in her life, that others are not always friendly to those … Read more
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1 by Jeff Kinney Funny Illustrated Fiction Realistic Fiction Review #1 * * * Stars (Pretty good) The author did a pretty good job describing the plot by describing the mood and scenery. I like how the author gave every character their own attitude and way of acting. The author’s art work helped me to visualize what happened in the story. I … Read more
How to Scratch a Wombat by Jackie French Juvenile Nonfiction (Grades 4-6) * * * * * Stars (Amazing!) Jackie French has been living among wombats in the near-wilds of Australia for over 30 years. She’s made friends with her neighborhood wombats and has cared for orphaned and injured wombats. Wombats are curious creatures, marsupials, which like to dig. They experience the world primarily through their large nostrils and have a highly evolved sense of … Read more