Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
This book is entertaining for ages young and old and is very sweet. It is called…The WordCollector by Peter H. Reynolds! This picture book has been recommended to me by my little sister and she loves the illustrations. I do too. I recommend this book to teachers and parents for read alouds for any age.
I am going to tell you what my family thinks about this book. My sister says “I love everything about this book!” My dad says “It’s a good book!”(Translated out of my dad’s language that means amazeballs!) My mom says “This book is beautiful beyond words!” And I think it definitely deserves a review!
Jerome collects words. Some words catch his interest. Some are multi-syllable while some have only one syllable. Jerome writes these words on tiny scraps of paper and sticks those scraps into the fitting book for the word. For example, the word Peru would go in a book called Geography. But one day Jerome slips and his words get mixed up! After that he sees words in a different way. He makes poems and songs with his words and they delight people.
I love this book because it teaches wonderful lessons. For example the book teaches that small nice words can make people’s day. I also like this book because of its eye catching illustrations. The illustrations are by the author, Peter H. Reynolds, and I think he did a quite lovely job. Happy reading!
If you love the lessons this book teaches, the wonderful illustrations and are just wanting to get another of Peter H. Reynolds books, then I definitely recommend The Dot by him.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
I am going to recommend a book about an amazing girl who went through a lot of hard times and stayed brave. This amazing book is called Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This book is recommended for ages 8-12.
Mia is an immigrant from China and moves to America. She lives in a car for some time while her parents look for jobs. They see an ad in the newspapers saying there is a motel owner looking for an experienced motel manager. The ad says that the owner of a little motel in Anaheim, California is looking for someone to run the place. Mia’s parents jump at the chance and they get hired. They would also get paid a lot of money while doing it! Mia makes amazing friendships with customers and when she thinks nothing can go wrong the owner whose name is Mr. Yao lowers their pay. That means that there isn’t much money they are getting and that is bad. When Mia starts going to school more problems pop up. Like a girl named Lupe. She is Mia’s friend and Mia thinks it is because she told her she lives in a big house and has a golden retriever but none of that is true. It gets even worse when she realizes that the motel owner’s son is in her class. The thing is the son is not exactly nice to her.
One person loses a job because of Mr. Yao and can not pay to stay in Mr. Yao’s motel anymore so Mr. Yao tells him to go. That person is one of Mia’s best friends and Mia hides him inside of the motel. Soon Mia’s immigrant relatives start coming and stay for free. Will Mr. Yao find them and kick them out or will Mia and her family keep the immigrants hidden from him?
There is so much more to this story but you have to read it for yourself.
I love this book because of all the suspense it gave me reading it. So many times I guessed the wrong thing that would happen next. I also love this book because it also really pulled me into the story. My parents could even listen to music and I wouldn’t even hear it! I also had that book with me everywhere I went. My parents almost couldn’t convince me for a bike ride, one of my favorite things! I hope you get as wound up in the book as I did!!
If this book leads you to want to know more of her story then check out the sequel called Three Keys! I have not read it yet but it is definitely on my Need To Read!!!!! list.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
I have again decided to change things up a bit. This time I will be recommending several books by the same author. His name is Roald Dahl. I haven’t read many of his books, but the ones that I have read were truly amazing. They make great read-alouds, too. I recommend the books that I am covering in this review for about ages 7-12.
The first time I heard about this author’s creations was when my first grade teacher read my class Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, probably Roald Dahl’s most famous book. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is about a poor boy named Charlie Bucket who walks past Willy Wonka’s
factory on his way to school. Charlie always stops and sniffs the amazing smells of Wonka’s factory for he only gets one candy bar per year and that is on his birthday. That singular bar he gets on his birthday, he saves by nibbling little by little off each day. When Willy Wonka announces in the newspaper that five, only five, of his Wonka bars have a golden ticket inside that will get five lucky kids into the factory, everybody goes crazy about buying Wonka bars. It seems unlikely for Charlie to get the Golden Ticket but who knows, maybe he will be lucky…
I was very excited when my friend visited and gave me a collection of most of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. She even recommended Matilda which is now one of my favorite books by him. Matilda is about a girl named Matilda who loves to read and is super smart. Matilda’s parents are mean and force her to watch television when she would rather be reading a book, so she puts up a secret policy of her own… When Matilda is finally old enough to go to school she meets her nice teacher Miss Honey and her terrible principal Miss Trunchbull. Matilda is the smartest kid in her class because she reads so many books. Miss Honey is fascinated by Matilda’s knowledge and likes that she does not brag about it.
This book was so good I decided to read it to my four year old sister. Introducing Fantastic Mr Fox! Fantastic Mr Fox is about a father fox and his family. When it gets dark the father fox always carefully slips out of his home to steal some food from three mean farmers. Their names are Bean, Bunce and Boggis and they all run their own type of farm. They are very mean and know that he is stealing their stuff and are furious about it. They make plans to catch him, but none of them have worked so far. Can they do it or will Mr Fox outfox them?
The book that I am about to present to you is one that I read with my friend for a sort of book club. Presenting The Witches! The Witches is about a boy who has a grandma who tells stories about witches. She tells him always to be on the lookout for them because they can kill you and eat you. She tells him a few things that witches always have. First, a real witch is certain to have gloves. Second, a real witch is always bald but wears a wig that usually itches. Third, a real witch has slightly bigger nostrils. Fourth, a real witch has different eyes than normal people because where we have a black dot in the middle of our eye theirs change color all the time. There are more ways to identify a witch, but you need to read the book to find out. The grandma says that there is a Grand High Witch which is basically the queen of all witches. She is the meanest of all the witches and all of the witches are petrified of her. When the boy comes out to climb a tree one time, a strange lady suddenly appears under the tree and tells him to come down. The boy suddenly sees she has all the characteristics of a witch and starts to climb higher. Will the witch get him or will he escape?
This book must be popular among my teachers because after I read it my teacher read it, too. A perfectly magical book called The Magic Finger! The Magic Finger is about a girl who has a finger that shoots some sort of magic when someone makes her mad. Her neighbors have a habit of hunting and the girl doesn’t like them doing it. She thinks that it doesn’t seem right to kill animals just for the fun of it. The girl can’t help it, she puts the magic finger on them all, even the wife that does not hunt. Sorry, but you have to read the book to find out what happens to them.
In case it is not obvious why I like these books, it is because Roald Dahl is a great storyteller and his books are bursting with fantasy and crazy ideas. If you want to learn about the author, I highly recommend a book called Who was Roald Dahl? by True Kelly.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
Hi! Are you searching for a book that makes you sad and happy at the same time? Then The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill would be a good choice. This book has gotten a Newbery Medal. It is recommended for ages 10-14 on Amazon, but I think an eight or nine year old that is good at reading could read it too.
In the woods lives a witch called Xan. She is nice, but the people of the Protectorate think she will bring harm to their town. Every year the Protectorate takes the youngest baby in the town and puts it in a big stone circle in the woods. The Grand Elders (the mayors) never thought there was a witch and thought the baby was going to be eaten by animals. They are not correct because every year Xan comes to the stone circle and takes the baby to a welcoming city called a Free City.
They call the child that Xan brings a Star Child and treat the day she comes like a holiday. Xan feeds the babies starlight while she carries them to a Free City. One time though she accidentally feeds a baby moon light by which she enmagicks her. This is a quote from the book: “There is magic in starlight, of course. This is well known. Moonlight, however. That is a different story. Moonlight is magic. Ask anyone you like.” Xan decides she cannot leave this baby with an ordinary person, so she decides to raise her as her own and names her Luna.
Antain is a boy of the Protectorate and an “Elder in training” when this book starts and grows older. As he grows older he decides not to be an Elder, instead he becomes a well known carpenter. He gets married and this time his wife’s baby is the youngest in the Protectorate and it is getting close to the day they take the baby away from them…This book is told from several different points of view. For example: Xan, the kind witch, Luna, Xan’s child, and a Protectorate mother.
I love this book so much because it teaches that if you haven’t met a person you can’t really say anything about them even if you are pretty sure it’s true. I also like this book because of a dragon that thinks he is really big even though he is the smallest thing ever.
This year before the coronavirus I was walking through our school library and saw this book. I didn’t pay much attention to it. I am kind of sad and kind of glad about that because later in the year I looked at what it was about on Amazon and decided to buy it with my pocket money. It was a great purchase.
I am excited to check out this other book by the same author called The Witch’s Boy. I hope it is as good as The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Enjoy!
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
Hi again, it’s me, Sofia Martinez. Today I am going to write about Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’sLibrary by Chris Grabenstein. I chose to review this book because of the thrill and excitement it gave me reading it. It is for ages 8-12 and a chapter book.
Kyle usually hates libraries and isn’t that interested in the new library that his town is getting until his friend tells him it is being constructed by the world famous game maker Mr. Lemoncello! Guess what, there is a way to get into the library before anyone else! It is for any twelve year old that writes the best essay. Twelve winners will be picked out and get to spend the night at the library. Kyle is one of the winners and meets Mr. Lemoncello. Sorry, but it would be considered a crime to reveal more.
I really like this book because it is one of a kind and you never know what is happening next. It is one of a kind because no book I have ever read made a place into a really fun game. When I say game I mean a kind of board game where the figures are real people and there’s a real setting, even a timer! I hope you find this book as fun as I did.
I came across this book while I was looking through lists of award winning books. It caught my eye because it was in many of the lists.
If you love this book just like I do, be sure to check out the other books in the series (I think the second one is called Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics). Also, there is a movie called Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library on Netflix and probably on other platforms!!! I recommend both, reading the book and watching the movie, because the movie is a bit different from the book.
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Dear readers,
It’s time for another recommendation from me, Sofia Martinez! Today I’ve decided to change things up a bit. Instead of just writing about one book, I’m going to write about my four favorite books in a series called Classic Starts.
First let me tell you a bit about the series. There are about 55 books in the Classic Starts series. I own about thirty of them and have borrowed some from the library. So I know a lot about the series. Classic Starts is a series that abridges classics and puts them in a language that the kids of today understand. If you do not know what classics are they are very well known books. They also have to be old. This book collection is recommended for ages 7-9. The Classic Starts books also have pictures.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
This book is about the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes. The book contains six shortened mysteries. My favorite one is called The Adventure of the Speckled Band. I don’t want to spoil the story so I’ll leave it at that. After reading the abridged version I moved on and started reading the original with my dad. The abridged version is easier to read and they took the real important parts into the story.
The Secret Garden
Mary is a rich girl but then everybody in her house dies of a sickness except for her. So she moves to Mr. Craven’s house. When Mary discovers there is a secret garden she sets out to find it. She meets two boys that help her take care of the garden. One of them is Mr. Craven’s son.
Pollyanna
My third favorite book in the series is Pollyanna. When Pollyanna’s father dies she goes to live with her Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly is harsh to Pollyanna. Pollyanna keeps herself happy by playing a game that her father taught her, the just be glad game.
Little Women
I love this one so much I even watched the play and the movie (before the pandemic). Little Women is about the four March sisters. They are poor but have a kind heart. For example, one Christmas they give their breakfast to a family who couldn’t afford it. They face many challenges.
I love this series because it lets you experience classics that you would usually have to be older to read. It also gives you a good idea of what the original is about. You can also try out many without having to read a million pages to find out if you want to read the original version when you are older.
I have made a chart including most of the books that I’ve read under a few categories. I want to make it easier for you to find which books you might like. Don’t forget there are plenty more in the series.
Adventure
Anne of Green Gables
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Little Women
Pollyanna
The Secret Garden
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Three Musketeers
Robinson Crusoe
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Treasure Island
Moby-Dick
The Swiss Family Robinson
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Gulliver’s Travels
The Call of the Wild
White Fang
The Last of the Mohicans
20,000 Leagues under the Sea
Scary
Dracula
Frankenstein
Kindness
Little Women
Heidi
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Pollyanna
Survival
The Swiss Family Robinson
Robinson Crusoe
Around the World in 80 Days
Magic
Alice in Wonderland & Through the
Looking-Glass
Peter Pan
Pinocchio
Animal
Black Beauty
Anne of Green Gables
Heidi
White Fang
The Call of the Wild
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**
Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Ban This Book Author: Alan Gratz Published: August 29th 2017 by Starscape Books
Hi!
It’s Sofia Martinez again and I just finished reading this amazing book: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz. You definitely would not want to ban Ban This Book. It is for ages 8-12. Ban This Book won a 2020 Nutmeg Book Award in Connecticut. It is a chapter book.
Amy Ann’s favorite book is banned from the library along with others. She decides to make a locker library of all the banned books: the B.B.L.L, the banned books locker library, but when the principal finds out things start to get ugly. For example her favorite librarian gets fired trying to speak up for her. More things happen but I don’t want to be a spoiler.
I really like Ban This Book because it teaches courage. The girl in the book speaks up for her favorite book, something that I would have never done before I read this book. Another reason why I like Ban This Book is because it gives you ideas on what to read next. For example, Fromthe mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg and Matilda by Roald Dahl. The last reason why I like it is because it is very entertaining. I like how it seems real. For example, there are typical arguments with sisters and a bit of sadness and lots of happiness.
A few months ago I was walking in the library and saw Ban This Book on the Nutmeg Book Award shelf and thought it looked nice so I checked it out. Once I got home I changed my mind about it and didn’t want to read it anymore. I put it back in the library bag and started reading some other books, but now I really regret that.
Here are some discussion questions I came up with.
Would you have spoken up for your favorite book?
Would you run away if you had annoying brothers or sisters?
Did you like Ban This Book? Why or why not?
How much do you think Amy Anne likes books?
If you want a book that teaches you something even if you’re a grown up, Ban This Book is perfect. I hope you have tons of fun reading this book!
**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**