Student Voices: Book Recommendations from Ava G., Ana T., Aaron D., 8th Graders, & Shantal G., 7th Grader

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Book Recommendations

Top 8 Reads by Ava G., 2022-23 8th grader

17-year-old Avery inherits billions from an old man that she has never met. This series has been my favorite YA series i have ever read. First of all, the mysteries and riddles are totally not predictable and the romance is AMAZING. Also all the characters are so well-written (my favorite is Max), especially their character development.

Two high school boys meet, they both have feelings for each other but are too scared to say anything. . I loved this series because it’s so adorable! The character development that goes on with the main character and the side characters are realistic and heartwarming. This  definitely deserves to be in my top 8 reads.

Kids around the world get recruited into MI6 into a secret project to save the world. Together… they are City Spies.  I love this series! It was an amazing read and I love all the characters. The twists were really good and the action was great. I would highly recommend it!

A boy and a girl who have totally different lifestyles meet. One on a mission to kill the other, the other just wanting to keep his family safe. But they may not be as different as they think. This series is AMAZING. The twists, the romance, and the characters are all so excellent ! I loved the entire series, and I would totally recommend this series.

Pip is about to graduate high school but for her end-of-the-year project, she investigates a case that closed 5 years ago.In the process, she finds out something that might change the case forever. This book is so good! The amount of twists and turns this series has is crazy! The development of the mystery is extremely well written. I loved this book,  I would recommend it to fellow mystery lovers a million times over.

Christine meets her new neighbors, Moon and her family. Christine is unsure about Moon because Moon is different from the other kids. Maybe Moon is more than meets the eye. The book is so adorable and the character development is amazing. I loved how it talked about how differences aren’t a bad thing. This book was honestly so heartwarming.

Kid randomly gets invited to attend a spy school that trains kids for a future in the CIA but why would they pick him out of all the others that were probably way better than him. This is a great series too! I like how the stories all connect in some way or another. The characters are also amazing.

Allie releases a new app and she finally has a chance to win a coding competition with it, but a glitch might ruin it all… The plot of this book is so good! The pace was really good and the characters were so well written. So I would totally recommend this book and its sequel.

Books to Get out of a Reading Slump by Ana T., 2022-23 8th grader

This book follows the story of Anna, who is from Atlanta. When Anna enters her senior year of high school, she is unexpectedly sent to a boarding school in Paris. Anna is not thrilled at all to be leaving behind her high school, her best friend and this boy who’s she’s had a crush on for the longest time.

This book is perfect for getting out of a reading slump because it is fast-paced and entertaining. You may get scared by the number of pages but once you read it, it’s such a quick read and a great rom-com when you read it it feels like you’re watching a movie.

This book follows the story of sixteen-year-old girl Belly Conklin, who spends every summer with her mother and brother at her mom’s best friend’s beach house. But this summer Belly is all grown up and is excited to go back to the beach where her longtime crush Conrad aka Susanna’s son is there along with his brother Jeremiah. 

This is one of my favorite trilogies. It’s such a quick read and a great summer read. This is the type of book that once you  start reading you can stop and you’re imagining yourself in the book.

Princess Alosa, daughter of the pirate king, intentionally gets herself kidnapped by pirates aboard the Night Farer. While she’s their “prisoner,” Alosa uses her extra time to explore the Night Farer searching for a missing piece of an ancient map. But first-mate Riden isn’t making things easy for Alosa. He seems to understand her better than most, and he quickly suspects Alosa may be more than she appears.

This is such a good fast-paced read it’s an enemies-to-lovers trope which is great for those who like that! But besides that, it’s just such a great book to get back your love for reading.

When 17-year-old Lina loses her mom to cancer, she honors her mom’s dying wish that she spend a summer in Tuscany. Lina travels halfway around the world to meet and stay with her mother’s friend, Howard, who is the caretaker of an American WWII cemetery just outside Florence.

Love a Gelato is one of my favorite summer books it’s such a fun an amazing book it’s like watching a movie because you get so in the book that you actually forget you’re reading.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself and that was everyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town and people are still scared. But something is telling her there was more that happened that day…

Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a great thriller book for people who like mystery and suspense. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s such an entertaining and fast-paced book, and I love the huge plot twist it has!

Top 5 Books I Read This Year by Aaron D., 2022-23 8th grader

This is the first book in the Young Elites trilogy and introduces the protagonist and also antagonist, Adelina Amouteru, a girl who was affected by the blood fever when she was little and was given the special power of illusions. She lives in a world where she and other people who were affected by the blood fever are hated because of their powers. She is then founded by the Dagger Society, a group of young elites that were also affected by the blood fever and are out to overthrow the king of Kennetra to give people who were affected by the blood fever the good treatment they deserved. She is invited into it and throughout the book she goes through all sorts of problems and hardships with the group and meets enemies and friends along the way, making the book very interesting and unpredictable. This book is filled with all sorts of twists and turns and is perfect for people who love fantasy and a bit of romance.

This is the second book in the Young Elites trilogy and continues the story of Adelina Amouteru, a girl who has the power to control illusions. She is out for vengeance after getting kicked out of the Dagger Society and is aiming for the crown of Kennetra. She created her own society of elites to help her called the Rose Society and goes through all sorts of hardships to get what she wants. The characters are all unique and have very interesting backstories that will surely make you fall in love with them. This book is filled with all kinds of twists and turns and has a very unique and interesting plot that makes it unpredictable and a very good read and is perfect for people who love fantasy and a bit of romance.

This is the second book of the Legend series and continues the story of June and Day where they are now on a mission to rescue Day’s brother, Eden, from the Republic. On their mission, they made the decision to go to the Patriots for help, but in order for them to help them they made a deal with June and Day to have them help them assassinate the elector of the Republic to make a change in the nation for the greater good. In exchange, the Patriots will agree to help them rescue Eden from the Republic. Both sides agree and they carry out the mission together with a plan, but throughout the book, some unexpected things happen that make the plan not go the way they planned. This book is perfect for people who love dystopian fiction and romance that is filled with twists and turns that make it a very good read.

This is the first book in the Magisterium series and introduces the character, Callum Hunt, a boy whose father hates magic and the Magisterium, the magic school he went to, because of a dark past there with terrible memories. Even though Callum’s father hates the Magisterium and magic, Callum was still admitted into it and went. There Callum met a lot of friends, but also people he didn’t like, and started learning magic with his friends. As he continues through the school year and feels more acquainted with it some unexpected things happen that completely change Callum’s life and reveal that he isn’t who he really thinks he is. This book is full of unexpected twists and turns that make it very interesting to read and is perfect for people who like to read fantasy books. 

This book introduces the protagonist, Katrina, a girl who changes her name constantly and doesn’t know anything about her past besides that she is part of the Witness Protection Program. She and her parents are constantly on the run from the people who want her and her family dead because of her dad’s secret past, but when her location was accidentally leaked her mom got kidnapped and her dad mysteriously disappeared. Now she is on an unexpected rescue mission to save her parents, and along the way she meets Parker, a young computer hacking genius, who decides to help her, and together they go and meet Agent X, a mysterious guy that is allegedly an ally to Katrina’s parents who can help her save them. As they continue on the mission and get closer to her saving her parents she uncovers some dark secrets about her and her past that change everything. This book is filled with unexpected twists and turns that make it a great book and is perfect for people who love a good mystery and thriller book.

Favorite Reads This Year by Shantal G., 2022-23 7th grader

This book is so relatable. It’s about a girl that goes to Honduras with their mom, dad and two sisters to visit their other family. There’s not much internet though, so it means no phone or communication through the phone. Sue’s mother wants to make a party for her for her quinces, but Sue doesn’t want that. It’s very entertaining to read this book and a lot of Hispanic readers will relate (including me).

I loved this book so much I took the time to read it in both English and Spanish and it was great! Twelve-year-old Malú violates the school’s dress code with her punk-rock look and disappoints her mom. Her dad, who lives really far away, says that everything will get better for her if she follows the first rule of punk, which is to be herself. Malú loves rock music and starts her own band and finally feels like she belongs somewhere and she will do anything to keep her rock band and stand up for herself.

This book is very entertaining. It is about a teenage Hispanic girl that lives in Chicago and is discovering herself, her family, and her culture. I won’t say more about it because I don’t want to spoil the whole book.

This book is about a girl named Callie who loves the theater. Even though she can’t wait to be in the musical Moon Over the Mississippi to be performed at her high school, she sings terribly. But when the students of the drama club offer her a position as a set designer, she doesn’t hesitate to accept. Her mission will be to create sets worthy of Broadway, but she doesn’t know anything about carpentry. To top it off, when two cute brothers enter the scene, things get even more complicated

This is my favorite book ever; it is so fun to read the different characters point of view. This book is about five very different kids who have to try and get along so they can complete the school community services and at the end they have more things in common than they thought. All of the characters are Hispanic and the characters speak Spanish in some situations.

Thank you so much to my students for their recommendations!

Cat Jokes vs. Dog Jokes: A Read-From-Both-Sides Comic Book by David Lewman, Illustrated by John McNamee

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Cat Jokes vs. Dog Jokes: A Read-From-Both-Sides Comic Book
Author: David Lewman
Illustrator: John McNamee
Published: June 20, 2023 by Workman Publishing

Summary: In this silly, comic-style joke collection for kids, one side is packed with cartoons of dog jokes told by cats, and the other side stuffed with cat jokes told by dogs—for more than 200 jokes in all!

There are few rivalries across history that are quite as formidable as CATS vs. DOGS. In this fully illustrated joke book, they go head-to-head—with a twist or two that may give you…paws. Presented in tête-bêche format (read-from-both-sides), the first half of the book consists of cat jokes told by a recurring cast of dogs—What do you call an insect in a cat’s bathroom? A litterbug! But, flip the book over to start from the other side, and it becomes a book of dog jokes told by What’s the difference between kibble and a heavy mist? One is dog food, and the other is fog, dude! In the middle spread, the casts of cartoon dogs and cats come together for a midbook finale of, believe it or not, shared giggles, snorts, and guffaws. The comic-book-style illustrations throughout offer added layers of humor, funny visuals, and wisecracking characters who don’t just tell the jokes, but comment on and react to them, too.

Review: This book has been the center of our household, and although I always donate the books I receive for review to the local schools—it is going to take a lot of effort to pry this out of my kids’ hands! Not a day has gone by in the last several weeks that I haven’t heard a dog or a cat joke. My kids love the rivalry between the dog and the cat in this book. I asked my first grader which jokes were the funniest, and he said, “The cat jokes!” I was shocked because he loves dogs and asked him why he liked the cat jokes more. He replied, “Because the dog is telling the cat jokes, and he is so funny!” I recommend this book for classrooms—it will pull in all kinds of readers, and they won’t even realize the great vocabulary that they are gaining!

Teaching Tools for Navigation: I would use this book as a way to inspire conversations about writing for humor. Students could also create their own tête-bêche (read-from-both-sides) books!

Discussion Questions: 

  • Which jokes really resonated with you? What type of humor did they use?
  • Do you think the dog or the cat is funnier? What kinds of humor do each of them use?
  • What other funny jokes do you know?

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Read This If You Love: Humor; Jokes, Animals

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**Thank you to Ivanka at Workman for sending a copy of this book for an honest review!**

Student Voices: Book Recommendations from Laura L., Anna Liz R., Mai B., & Brielle P., 8th Graders

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Book Recommendations from 2022-23 8th Graders

“Books I Would Love to Live In” by Laura L., 2022-23 8th grader

This book is about Belly who every summer goes to her mom’s best friend beach house. Every summer she’s excited to be there and see everyone, but especially to see Conrad Fisher, the older son of her mom’s best friends.

I would love to live in this book because every summer Belly goes every summer to a beach house, and it seems fun to have something to look forward to every summer. I would also like to meet the characters, especially Belly because she seems like a great friend and fun to hang out with.

This book series is about the boy who lived, Harry Potter, every year since he was 11 where he was sent to magic school, but he also has fight for his life and run away from Voldemort.

Who wouldn’t want to live there? You go to a magic school every year and learn spells and see something interesting every day. I would also like to be friends with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and especially Luna. And if I get to live in the book I would get to see the whole school and see the Ravenclaw dorms.

This book is about Jenny, a girl who plays violin. One day her mom tells her they have to live in Korea for a time because her grandma is sick, and she starts attending a school of arts. 

I would like to live in this book because the school of the main character seems interesting and fun–it’s a school of art and can choose very different types of art. Plus , it is in South Korea because I’m really interested in their culture, and I might get to know the country and get to know the South Korean culture. Also, in the school there are celebrities, so I can meet them.

This book is about Mia who gets into summer ballet summer camp. Originally, her mind is only focused on ballet until she meets a boy and gets distracted.

This book was fun! If I danced ballet, I would like to live in this book. This book is about a girl that goes to summer camp in France. Apart from doing ballet in France, I would like to get to know the country. Like go to the museums, see the Eifel tower, meet new people and eat the food. I would also like to see the Eifel tower at night 

After her mom died, Lina goes to Florence to make her mom’s wishes come true. When she arrives at Florence she meets a man who now she thinks is her dad, but also meets new people and new love.

The whole time I read the book I was like, “I want to go there!” After reading this book, I was interested in going to Florence and seeing the city.

“Books I Read That Were Out of my Comfort Zone and Ended Up Being Some of my Favorites” by Anna Liz R., 2022-23 8th grader

At first, I was completely scared to read this book. Not because of the storyline, but only because of it being a classic old book, with big, complex words that I would not understand. It was on my bookshelf, waiting to be picked up. However, one day, after wanting something completely different from what I was reading (romance books), I decided to pick this one. If you read this book, you would know that this book starts with letters a man wrote from an expedition to his sister, and just by that I was so invested. I wanted to know how Frankenstein’s life escalated, and his motives. This book for me was written so well, and I loved every second of it. And before I knew it, I was done with this book in about a day. 

This book is so talked about on BookTok, so many varying reviews where people would absolutely love this book, or hate it. Not to mention the books get progressively big in terms of pages, and so you are committing to that when you start reading this series.  However, one day I was in a big need of a fantasy world, something with two opposing worlds, where it takes one person to change it all, and with a romance subplot. So of course, ACOTAR was the chosen one for me. I loved this book, it was definitely the book I was looking for. Without hesitation I needed to pick up the second book (A Court of Mist and Fury) which was even better. Cannot wait to continue the series! 

I never read a book that is 200-300 pages long divided in stanzas. And honestly I never thought I would. Yes, I do love poems, but they usually last a few pages. Now this book does not have rhyming words, or any complex hidden meaning. The word choices, the plot, the setting, literally just like any fiction chapter book, except the stanzas. I thought that was weird at first, I mean it’s not very common for me, but I was definitely willing to try it. As soon as I read the first page, I knew I had to continue. The meaning of this book was amazing. The character development, family hardships, friends standing up for you. I loved it, and I’m sure many people did too.

I definitely wouldn’t call myself the biggest graphic novel fan out there. For me, I prefer words rather than illustrations because then I get to picture the story myself, and that’s where I get to be creative. But due to the author’s visit at our school, I wanted to read more of her books, and so I decided to pick up this one. As I was reading, I loved the characters’ representation, how they have their own home problems, their difficulties in being familiar with the place and the language. The characters were so diverse! And not to mention the amazing ending that made me so happy! 🙂 

When I read romance, I usually go for enemies to lovers. It’s just so amazing, and something I would never get tired of. But this book is a cutesy romance…so why did I read it since it’s not my cup of tea? Well, besides the title/main character having the same first name as me, and it taking place in Paris, I wanted to read something different. I wanted to discover the new concept of falling in love in a different way, not just daggers-pointed-to-the-throat type of enemies to lovers. If it was me last year, I would not believe I read this book. However, I’m certainly glad I did! The setting of Paris was described so well, and you see the main character discovering Paris while being new to the school and language, new to everything basically, all without her parents. And her slowly falling for Etienne St. Clair. This book overall was so sweet and amazing, and I loved it!

“Books I Could Talk About for Hours” by Mai B., 2022-23 8th grader

This book talks about the story of Morgan, a girl who has a complicated relationship with her friends and family, as she is hiding lots of stuff from them. She meets a mysterious girl, who saved her from drowning, eventually they become closer and everything starts to change for Morgan. 

I’m so passionate about this book that I could talk about it for hours. I love the story so much and I find it kinda relatable. I love the characters and the way they develop their relationship with each other. I find the ending very sweet and even a little sad. What makes me the most passionate about the book is the story and how I find it relatable. 

This book talks about Lucia, a girl who lives happily in Cuba with her family. She’s caught up in a communist revolution and forced to immigrate to Nebraska, where everything changes for her, in both positive and negative ways. 

I find this book very relatable, as an immigrant. I loved the way the book developed and how it accurately portrayed the experiences of an immigrant, especially one that has to see their own country be ruined by its own people. I loved the ending and I don’t think it could’ve ended better, I absolutely adore it.

This book shows the story of Link, Hyrule’s famous hero, who’s looking for his dear friend, Navi. As he’s traveling on his horse, he is attacked by Skull kid who steals his ocarina and creates chaos upon Termina. Link has to get Majora’s mask back from Skull kid and save the town.

I love this book so much, the ending is perfect and the characters are very likable. Their personalities, backstories and the way they show it is something I love about this book. I love the art style too; it’s very cute. In my opinion, it shows what happened very well.

This book talks about the story of Giorno Giovanna, a young boy who joins the mafia so he can stop the dealing of drugs to minors. He enters a gang where he makes friends and is assigned an important mission, which he’s going to take advantage of and try to kill the headmaster.

This manga is honestly one of my favorites, but I specifically love part 5. I adore the characters and the way the story is narrated and developed, it honestly has a special place in my heart. The ending made me cry so much, and I still loved it.

This book talks about the story of Shoko and Shoya, two high-schoolers who have been bullied and caused them to have issues with themselves. They become friends, even after not having a great relationship as kids. And help each other be better, see things differently and change the way they think. It helps them have better relationships and react to things better.

I like this book so much because of the way it shows how social anxiety and self esteem issues can affect your relationships and the way you react to others, it’s a really sweet story too and I like the way the characters are shown. It made me cry a little, but it’s still really good. I also like how it realistically shows how having a disability can affect the ways others see you, and how different people can react to a disability. 

“Summer Recommendations” by Brielle P., 2022-23 8th grader

This series is perfect for summer. It has exciting romance and is overall a perfect summer book.

This book is perfect for that Outer Banks vibe this summer. It reminds so much of Outer Banks if it was in the keys.

The reason I added this book is because it gives me such summer vibes, even though the book isn’t by the ocean, it’s just the layout and colors of the book give me summer serotonin.

This book is perfect for the summer, reading by the beach or pool!

If you want to read a summer romance, this is the one for you.

This is sad, but it’s also heart warming.

This book is amazing–it shows the hardships of her life and what she wants to be/do.

This is such a cute summer book; you will love it!

This book follows four women and their POVs for their summer. It is really interesting and a nice light read.

Thank you so much to my student voices today and their book recommendations!

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

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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.

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Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

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Gender Queer
Author: Maia Kobabe
Published: May 28, 2019 by Oni Press

Goodreads Summary: In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

Ricki’s Review: It has taken me a long time to acquire this book. I was on hold for ONE copy that the library had, and there were 126 people ahead of me. That’s the joy in public banning of books—they sell really well. I am always glad that the authors are making money off of the ridiculousness of book banning. Not surprisingly, the book is banned because it is a powerful story. Kobabe beautifully depicts eir memoir in a way that captivates readers. I am better for having read this book. It allowed me to feel as if I was living Kobabe’s story alongside em. 

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation:
PEN America’s Report
ALA’s Statistics
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Council of Teachers of English’s Intellectual Freedom Center

Discussion Questions: 

  • How did this memoir make you feel? What did you learn?
  • What is the role of gender in the book?
  • How do the images enhance your understanding of the story?
  • Why might people ban the book?

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Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao

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Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American
Author: Laura Gao
Published: March 8, 2022 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Summary: After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars–at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name.

In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter.

Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.

Ricki’s Review: I read this book last year and immediately knew I wanted to use it in my class. It fit into so many topics that we discuss in class, and it is a powerful memoir. Gao offers a nuanced look at discrimination, specifically against Wuhanese Americans related to COVID-19, and she also offers insight into issues that many immigrants face in the US. I love the book description that she is trying to figure out “why girls make her heart flutter.” Gao’s sexuality is a part of the book, but it isn’t the plot driver. This normalization is important in literature, and I think readers expect that when a character is LGBTQ, it will be the main focus of the text. Instead, Gao’s life—told with a great level of humor, even when topics are tough—is depicted through images and words in a way that will connect with readers.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be interesting to have students depict the themes of this book visually.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What are some of the themes of this text?
  • How does Gao integrate images and words to tell her story?
  • What aspects of this book connected with you?
  • What did you learn about discrimination related to Wuhanese Americans?

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Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

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Global
Authors: Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Illustrator: Giovanni Rigano
Publishing April 11, 2023 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

Summary: Time is running out for Sami and Yuki. Sami and his grandfather live in a village along the Indian Ocean. They earn their living by fishing. But the ocean is rising and each day they bring back fewer and fewer fish. Yuki lives in the far north of Canada where warming temperature are melting the ice. Polar bears have less food to hunt and are wandering into town looking for something to eat. Yuki is determined to do something to help the bears.

Extras:

    • Four pages, written in graphic novel format, that summarize the history of global warming and the climate change movement
    • An author letter
    • Character sketches

Plot Synopsis as put by the authors: 

Book Trailer:

About the Creators:

Eoin Colfer is the author of Illegal as well as the internationally bestselling Artemis Fowl series. Eoin lives in Ireland with his family. Learn more at eoincolfer.com

Andrew Donkin is the author of more than sixty books and graphic novels for children and adults. He lives in London. Learn more at andrewdonkin.co.uk.

Giovanni Rigano is an artist and illustrator who has illustrated many graphic novels, including the Artemis Fowl series, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Illegal. He lives in Como, Italy.

Review: Just like in Illegal, Colfer, Donkin, and Rigano do a beautiful job putting a narrative to a crisis to make it more accessible to children who may not understand how something so big is affecting their life and their world.

In Global, the two stories that are told are half a world apart but are tied in the young people who are willing to fight to make the world a better place amidst what many would find truly unlivable and treacherous times.

These three creators obviously have a mission that they have taken on in spreading information to young minds about about “man-made disaster(s) that most impact vulnerable children who had no hand in causing it,” and they do it so well. I look forward to their next collaboration.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would be a great text to read in conjunction with the teaching of climate change because it gives a face and story outside of science to the problems our world is facing. Students could also write their own story in the vein of Global (see below in discussion questions) to connect the science to their life.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How do the two stories told in Global relate to each other? Why would the authors choose to tell these two specific stories?
  • How do the authors tell the story of climate change without writing a informational nonfiction book?
  • What did you learn about the two settings that you didn’t know before?
  • How is climate change affecting your home? If there was a story like Global about you and your home, what would it be about?

Read This If You Love: Illegal by the same trio of creators, learning about plights faced in our world, graphic novels about serious topics

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**Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing a copy of the book to review!**