Classroom Library Buy – Page 11

Rivka’s Presents by Laurie Wallmark, Illustrated by Adelina Lirius

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 by Kellee

Rivka’s Presents
Author: Laurie Wallmark
Illustrator: Adelina Lirius
Published July 11th, 2023 by Random House Studio

Summary: In this heartwarming story about the importance of community, a little Jewish girl living on the Lower East Side during the flu pandemic of 1918 can’t start school because her father is sick, so she makes a trade with her neighbors: chores for lessons.

It’s 1918 on the Lower East Side of New York City, and Rivka is excited to start school. But when her papa gets sick with the flu, her mama has to go to work at the shirtwaist factory and Rivka needs to stay home and take care of her little sister. But Rivka figures out a way to learn anyway: she trades chores with the grocer, the tailor, and an elderly neighbor for lessons. As the seasons change, Rivka finds she can count pennies for the iceman and read the labels on jars of preserve. And one day, Papa is no longer sick, and Rivka can finally start school! Full kindness and love for your neighbors, here is a story that introduces life on the Lower East Side for a Jewish family during the flu pandemic of 1918.

Praise:

★ ”Simply told but unexpectedly moving, the narrative honors generations of immigrant families and communities that have done their best to educate their children despite language barriers and poverty.” —Booklist, starred review

“A unique book that would be a great asset to collections.” —School Library Journal

“This tale will be at home in any discussions about American immigration and young people pursuing education despite barriers, as well as those focused more specifically on Jewish immigrants in this period.” —The Bulletin

About the Creators:

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM. Her titles include Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars; Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, which received four starred reviews and a Cook Prize Honor; Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code; Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, a Crystal Kite Winner and Cook Prize Honor recipient; and others. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. You can find Laurie online at www.lauriewallmark.com.
On Twitter: @lauriewallmark
Facebook: @lauriewallmarkauthor
Instagram: @lauriewallmark

Adelina Lirius is an illustrator based in Stockholm, Sweden. She loves painting imaginary scenes, portraying nature, and depicting the different cultures she grew up with. Adelina is the illustrator of a picture book adaptation of The Secret Garden; The Fort by Laura Perdew; and I, Too, Am Mozart by Audrey Ades, which received a starred review from School Library Journal. Visit her on Instagram @adalinaillustration.

Review: This story of resiliency shows what those hungry for learning will do to make sure they can fill their brains with the knowledge they seek. Rivka finds herself unable to go to school because her father is ill with the 1918 influenza, so she is in charge of her younger sibling. But Rivka searches for a way to help out and to learn–she does this by trading her time and chores for knowledge. Through connections with community members, she learns her letters, arithmetic, and civics. All of these teachers help build the foundation for Rivka’s education!

I loved the combination of the emotional narrative and the realistic and sweet illustrations. It, like Booklist states, is unexpectedly moving because Rivka’s story travels from the pages right into the reader’s heart.

Teaching Tools for Navigation & Discussion Questions: Utilize this author-provided curriculum guide for teaching tools and discussion questions!

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Historical fiction picture books, Picture books about the love of learning

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!!**

Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide: Conjure Island by Eden Royce

June 27, 2023 by Kellee

Conjure Island
Author: Eden Royce
Published June 27th, 2023 by Walden Pond Press

Summary: If you ask Delphinia Baker, she’d tell you she has all the family she needs. Sure, her mom passed away when she was young, her dad is often away on deployment, and she’s had to move so much that she’s never had close friends. But even though Del has never had anyone she can call her people, she has always had her grandmother—and for Del and Gramma, best friends since forever, that’s enough. Besides, having no roots just makes it that much easier when you have to move again.

All of that changes, though, when Gramma falls ill and Del is sent to stay with her great-grandmother. Del has never even heard of Nana Rose, and she has no interest in spending the summer with a stranger on an unbearably hot island off the South Carolina coast. And when Nana Rose starts talking about the school she runs dedicated to their family’s traditions—something called “conjure magic”—Del knows she’s in for a weird, awkward summer.

That is, until the magic turns out to be real.

Soon, Del is surrounded by teachers who call themselves witches, kids with strange abilities, creatures and ghosts who can speak to her. She has a hundred questions, but one more than any other: Why didn’t Gramma ever tell her about her family, the island, this magic? As Del sets out to find answers and to find her place in a world she never knew existed, she also discovers a shadowy presence on the island—and comes to believe that it all might be connected.

Eden Royce, the acclaimed author of Root Magic, returns to the folklore of Gullah Geechee culture to weave an enchanting tale of magic, mystery, and belonging.

About the Author: Eden Royce is a writer from Charleston, SC, now living in the Garden of England. She is a Shirley Jackson Award finalist for her short fiction for adults. Her debut novel, Root Magic, was a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, an ALA Notable Children’s Book, a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner, and a Nebula Award Finalist for outstanding children’s literature. Find her online at edenroyce.com.

Review: I just loved this book. Everything about it: the characters, the academy, the magic, the history.

First, Del is a ball of light. Royce does a phenomenal job making Del a whole and complete person who feels all of the feels and just embodies all of the emotions of a person of her age.

Second, our main secondary characters are just such great support and are fleshed out so well. Every character is full of heart and flaws and spirit (sometimes they ARE a spirit).

Third, the academy and the magic. Royce sure knows how to build a world and pull the reader into it. This academy is first full of magic but is also full of history and culture and community. And the conjure Royce introduced is very detailed and unique to other magics found in books.

And these are just three things I loved within the book; I could keep going. Fantasy readers, specifically magical school fans, are going to adore this new book (series???).

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation & Discussion Questions:

Flagged Passages: One of the triplets spoke up. “If we can’t do things the same ways they did back then, why bother learning about them?”

“Good question, Taye,” the sorcell replied. How could he tell them apart? Del wondered. “Three reasons. First, if you don’t learn the origins of magic, you will strip away our people’s influence. Our people created this magic, and we should remember that. Those who are only interested in conjure because they think it’s new or fun or cool will learn only the piece of it they like. Remember, this is an old magic born of community, and of the need to protect themselves, educate our people, and survive in a harsh world.”

“Hey, that’s the motto!” said a boy on the other side of Fino, whose name she hadn’t caught at breakfast.

“So it is, Jerome,” Sorcell Harus said. “That is why we display it so prominently. Second: We aren’t perfect. Learning ancient ways doesn’t just mean learning about our ancestors’ successes–it also means learning about their mistakes. Which will help you avoid repeating them. We all want to avoid that, don’t we?”

Murmurs of agreement from the class, including Del.

“And third, learning your history helps you learn about yourself…” (Chapter 11)

Read This If You Love: The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton, Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas, How to Heal a Gryphon by Meg Cannistra, Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Recommended For:

Make sure to visit the rest of the blog tour!

June 27 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub
June 27 Unleashing Readers @unleashreaders
June 27 Helping Kids Rise @helpingkidsrise
June 28 Charlotte’s Library @charlotteslibrary
June 28  StoryMamas @storymamas
June 29  LitCoachLou @litcoachlou
June 29  A Library Mama @librarymama
June 29  Teachers Who Read @teachers_read

**Thank you to Walden Pond Press for providing a copy for review!!**

Peaceful Me and Angry Me by Sandra V. Feder, Illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell

June 20, 2023 by Kellee

Peaceful Me & Angry Me
Author: Sandra V. Feder
Illustrator: Rahele Jomepour Bell
Published May 2nd, 2023 & May 1st, 2022 by Groundwood Books

Peaceful Me Summary: A young child tells us about the different times when he feels peaceful, as well as how he copes when he needs to find a peaceful state again.

Acclaimed picture-book creators Sandra V. Feder and Rahele Jomepour Bell have teamed up once again to create a thoughtful and beautifully illustrated exploration of peacefulness.

“I like feeling peaceful,” the young narrator tells us, then describes the times when he is filled with this emotion. When he is playing with a friend, he feels “free peaceful”; when he is having family dinner, “yummy peaceful”; when he is outside gazing up at the sky, “fluffy clouds peaceful”. But, of course, he doesn’t always feel peaceful, and we hear about his strategies for coping during those times, such as taking deep breaths, imagining his favorite things, and finding a quiet refuge or a hug.

Peaceful Me is the perfect companion to Angry Me — together, they encourage readers to let anger come and go, while inviting peace to come and stay.

Angry Me Summary: A young child tells us what makes her angry and how she tries to let the anger come and go. An artful starting point for conversations about strong feelings.

“I get angry,” says a little girl, looking fiercely in the mirror. Sometimes she gets angry when someone is mean and tries to take her toy away, when it feels unfair that there’s not enough time to go swimming, when she’s tired and just wants to go home, or when the kids at school leave her out, hurting her feelings.

When she’s angry, she tries to remember to use her words — even though that doesn’t always work. Sometimes she can’t find the right words, or the words don’t come out the way she intends. But sometimes words do help, and when her anger melts away a new feeling can blossom.

Sandra Feder’s cleverly constructed text presents different situations in which a child might feel angry, creating a nuanced look at anger and its many underlying emotions. Rahele Jomepour Bell’s illustrations show a loveable, angry little girl, brimming with personality, who learns how to express herself as she moves through her feelings.

Praise for Angry Me:

“A valuable tool for teaching children the important skill of recognizing and naming feelings.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A fresh addition to teeming ‘anger management’ shelves.” —Booklist

“Artfully captures the nuances of anger. STARRED REVIEW” —Shelf Awareness

“An effective springboard for discussing a topic that may be hard for young children to verbalize.” —School Library Connection

About the Creators:

SANDRA V. FEDER is the author of three acclaimed picture books: Angry Me, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell; Bitter and Sweet, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker, a PJ Library selection; and The Moon Inside, illustrated by Aimée Sicuro, which has been translated into multiple languages. She has also written the Daisy series of early chapter books, illustrated by Susan Mitchell. Sandra lives in California.

RAHELE JOMEPOUR BELL’s charming illustrations have appeared in Angry Me by Sandra V. Feder, The Treasure Box by Dave J. Keane and Our Favorite Day of the Year by A. E. Ali (Kirkus Best Picture Books of the Year), among others. She has also published seven picture books in Iran and has received a number of awards and honors for her work.

Review: These are such important books! Children become better adults when they can learn to name and deal with the actual feelings they are feeling, and these texts start this process. These books would be perfect to use at the beginning of the year to talk about emotional regulation and how conflicts will be resolved in the classroom. I also think that parents will benefit from these texts to discussion emotions, as will therapists and counselors. They are so multifaceted!

What made these books even more special were the way that the text does one purpose and then the illustrations add a whole other element to the book. I would love to see these books used not only with a social emotional learning purpose, but also use the illustrations to tie in narrative and creative writing elements. Students can take what they learn in the illustrations and write a whole other story!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation (from the publisher):

Key Text Features:
- explanation
- illustrations
- vignettes
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

Discussion Questions:

When do you feel peaceful? Angry?
What is your favorite time you feel peaceful?
How do you deal with feeling angry? What can you do to turn from angry to peaceful?
Is it better to talk about your feelings or hold them in?
How does talking about your feelings help you process?
How do the illustrations of Peaceful Me and Angry Me help you with understanding the book better? How do they support the message of the book(s)?
What is the main theme of Peaceful Me? Angry Me?

Flagged Passages:

Peaceful Me

Angry Me

Read This If You Love: Jory John’s & Pete Oswald’s Food Group Books; Sunny and Oswaldo by Nicole Melleby, Illustrated by Alexandra Colombo; Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza, Illustrated by Sophie Miller; I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano & Molly Idle, Illustrated by Juana Martinez Neal; In the Blue by Erin Hourigan; Harold the Iceberg Melts Down by Lisa Wyzlic, Illustrated by Rebecca Syracus

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Nicole Banholzer PR for providing copies for review!**

Educators’ Guide for A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

June 13, 2023 by Kellee

A Match Made in Mehendi
Author: Nandini Bajpai
Published: September 10th, 2019 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole-matchmakers-with a rich history for helping parents find good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.”

But Simi is an artist, and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with relationships, helicopter parents, and family drama. That is, until she realizes this might be just the thing to improve her and her best friend Noah’s social status. Armed with her family’s ancient guide to finding love, Simi starts a matchmaking service-via an app, of course.

But when she helps connect a wallflower of a girl with the star of the boys’ soccer team, she turns the high school hierarchy topsy-turvy, soon making herself public enemy number one.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Cake Creative Kitchen:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about A Match Made in Mehendi by visiting Cake Creative Kitchen’s Library.

Recommended For:

Discussion Guide for Merci Suárez Plays it Cool by Meg Medina

June 6, 2023 by Kellee

Merci Suárez Plays it Cool
Author: Meg Medina
Published: September 13th, 2022 by Candlewick Press

Summary: In a satisfying finale to her trilogy, Newbery Medalist Meg Medina follows Merci Suárez into an eighth-grade year full of changes—evolving friendships, new responsibilities, and heartbreaking loss.

For Merci Suárez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It’s a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always traveling to fun places and buying new clothes. But then Avery starts talking to Merci more, and not just as a teammate. Does this mean they’re friends? Merci wants to play it cool, but with Edna always in her business, it’s only a matter of time before Merci has to decide where her loyalty stands. Whether Merci is facing school drama or changing family dynamics, readers will empathize as she discovers who she can count on—and what can change in an instant—in Meg Medina’s heartfelt conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Medal–winning novel.

Discussion Questions:

After writing the educators’ guide for Merci Suárez Changes Gears, I was so happy that Candlewick returned and asked me to create this discussion guide for the finale of the trilogy. Please view and enjoy the guide I created:

You can also access the discussion guide here.

You can learn more about Merci Suárez Plays it Cool on Candlewick’s page.

Recommended For:

Educators’ Guide for Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

May 30, 2023 by Kellee

The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories (Fox + Chick #2)
Author and Illustrator: Sergio Ruzzier
Published: March 5th, 2019

Summary: Opposite personalities attract for these two unlikely friends: In the second book of this lauded series, Fox and Chick are off on three new adventures involving a boat ride, a mysterious box, and an early morning trip to see the sunrise. Despite the antics ensuing from their different personalities, the contradictory duo always manages to have fun together.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the teachers’ guide I created for Chronicle Books for The Quiet Boat Ride:

You can also access the teaching guide here.

You can learn more about The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories on Chronicle’s page.

Recommended For:

What About Philosophy? An Illustrated Q&A Book for Kids by Guénaēlle Boulet and Anne-Sophie Chilard, Illustrated by Pascal Lemaître

May 23, 2023 by Kellee

What About Philosophy? An Illustrated Q&A Book for Kids
Author: Guénaēlle Boulet and Anne-Sophie Chilard
Illustrator: Pascal Lemaître
Philosophical Consultants: Oscar Brenifier and Jean-Charles Pettier
Published May 9th, 2023 by Twirl Books

Summary: What is money for? Why are there wars? Should we always be nice? Curious kids have lots of questions about the world they live in and the feelings they have. They will explore answers to these questions and many more in this exceptional illustrated Q&A book. Questions about how to think about freedom, jealousy, and going to school, among others, are answered in a fun, kid-friendly way and accompanied by quirky cartoon illustrations that will entertain readers and help them talk about big life questions.

80 pages of real-life questions and answers for kids ages 7 and up
Fun illustrations that engage readers
Content reviewed by philosophy advisers and sensitivity reader What About: Philosophy is a Q&A book that offers easy-to-understand answers to challenging life questions!
Great family and classroom read-aloud book
Nonfiction books for kids
Educational books for elementary school students

About the Creators:

Anne-Sophie Chilard is the editor-in-chief of the children’s magazine J’aime lire. She is the co-author of several books of activities and recipes for children, and lives in Paris.

Jean-Charles Pettier taught philosophy in high school, and is now a doctoral candidate in philosophy. He introduces the subject to young children through a column in the children’s magazine, Pomme d’api, He lives near Paris.

Pascal Lemaitre is the illustrator of the numerous children’s books, including the bestselling picture books, Come with Me, Do Not Open This Book!, and many more. During the year, he splits his time between Brussels, Belgium, and Brooklyn, New York.

Review: There are many questions in life that kids ask and adults may not know how to answer. This book is the answer! It explains so much to the reader while still leaving the reader to have opinions of their own. You can tell, based on its push for metacognition and deeper thinking, that it was definitely based in philosophy. While the authors and illustrator make the book engaging and fun, but the information within the book is truly thought provoking and will help kids work through some of the truly tough questions.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation & Discussion Questions: I think educators will definitely add this to their read aloud rotation in later elementary classes. They can do a different section each time which will lead to wonderful classroom discussions! I mean, each section is its own discussion question!

Flagged Passages:

Note to Readers:

Why do we exist? What is love? Why is there war? These kinds of big life questions are what philosophy is all about. Curious people young and old have always wondered why the world is the way it is. Yet these philosophical questions rarely have one simple answer.

The purpose of this book is to help guide you as you think about the many possible answers to life’s big questions. The ideas explored here were inspired by classroom discussions and consultation with philosophers Oscar Brenifier and Jean-Charles Pettier. The fun, accessible text and whimsical illustrations are your key to discovering how to think for yourself and form your own opinions.

Enjoy!

Read This If You Love: Q&A Books, Philosophy

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**