Theme – Unleashing Readers

As You Wish by Nashae Jones

February 4, 2025 by Kellee

As You Wish
Author: Nashae Jones
Published January 7th, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Summary: A girl learns the hard way to be careful what she wishes for in this sweet and funny middle grade rom-com featuring a chaos-loving West African trickster god.

Birdie has big plans for eighth grade. This is the year that she gets a boyfriend, and since she and her best friend, Deve, do everything together, it makes sense that Deve will get a girlfriend. This is the kind of math Birdie doesn’t find intimidating—it’s Eighth Grade 101. (Birdie + Boyfriend) + (Deve + Girlfriend) = Normal Eighth Grade Experience. And normal is something Birdie craves, especially with a mom as overprotective as hers.

She doesn’t expect Deve to be so against her plan, or for their fight to blow up in her face. So when the West African god Anansi appears to her, claiming to be able to make everything right again, Birdie pushes past her skepticism and makes a wish for the whole mess to go away. But with a trickster god, your wish is bound to come true in a way you never imagined.

Before long, Birdie regrets her rash words…especially when she realizes what’s really going on with her and Deve. With her reality upended, can Birdie figure out how to undo her wish?

Praise:

“This fun, middle-grade offering reminds readers that what you wish for is sometimes already there.” – Booklist

“A delightful exploration of friendship, mental health, and first love with a touch of magic.” – Kirkus Reviews

About the Author: Nashae Jones is a kid lit writer because at an early age she learned what the magic of books could do for a developing mind. She always dreamed of creating worlds that would stay for a reader long after they put down their books. Nashae is also an educator and book reviewer (kid books, of course). She lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, son, escape artist Husky, and two black cats that Nashae is convinced are reincarnations of Pinky and the Brain. You can find her on X @Jones_Nashae.

Review: This middle school rom com takes a well known romance trope (granting wishes/alternate world) and throws it into 8th grade making for a funny yet heartfelt read where you can’t help but root for Birdie and Deve’s happiness.

As a middle school librarian, I am always so happy to find a romance novel about middle schoolers because my students are chomping at the bit for romance books and often reach for books for older readers, but I know not all of them are developmentally ready for those books–this is another book in my arsenal to recommend to my romance-loving, middle grade-reading students.

Educators’ Tools for Navigation: Inclusion of mythology is a big hit with reader, and I loved the inclusion of Anansi in this story. This is a great way to throw in some African folklore disguised within a romance book.

Also, the wishes definitely give time to talk about cause and effect, specifically looking at social consequences of kids’ behaviors on others.

Oh, and theme! This book has such a perfect ending to talk theme!

Discussion Questions:

What would you wish for?
How did each of Birdie’s wishes mess with her world?
- How could she have worded the wishes differently?
What were signs that Deve was giving Birdie right at the beginning of the book?
What is the worst thing that Birdie did throughout the book? What did this teach her?

Flagged Passages: I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend. Visit the book’s publisher page to hear a preview of the audiobook.

Read This If You Love: Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn K. Springfield, Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, Pippa Park series by Erin Yun, Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang, Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbalia

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

Educators’ Guide for The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by Júlia Sardà

December 10, 2024 by Kellee

The Hotel Balzaar
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Júlia Sardà
Published: October 1st, 2024 by Candlewick Press

Summary: In a wise and magical follow-up to The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo revisits the land of Norendy, where tales swirl within tales—and every moment is a story in the making.

At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta’s mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly—like a little mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel’s wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story—in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales? Book two in a trio of novellas bound by place and mood—with elegant line art by Júlia Sardà—The Hotel Balzaar masterfully juggles yearning and belief, shining light into every dark corner.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Candlewick:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For:

Bound to Dream: An Immigrant Story by Charles Ghigna, Illustrated by Anna Forlati

November 5, 2024 by Kellee

Bound to Dream: An Immigrant Story
Author: Charles Ghigna
Illustrator: Anna Forlati
Published September 28th, 2024 by Schiffer Kids

Summary: A heartwarming picture book about Carlo, a young Italian immigrant in 1800s New York City, that celebrates books and family as it instills the values of heritage, perseverance, and the love of learning.

Transcending borders and generations, Bound to Dream: An Immigrant Story follows Carlo as he leaves his home in Italy and travels far away to New York City to create a new life. Carlo finds a job as a bookbinder and learns the skills of the trade, cultivating a love of books, words, and stories that he passes to future generations.

Featuring stunning, atmospheric illustrations depicting Carlo’s immigrant journey, this picture book is based on the experiences of the author’s great-grandfather. The uplifting true story inspires children ages four to eight to learn about their family history and how it shapes and lives on in them today.

About the Creators:

Charles Ghigna—Father Goose® is the author of more than 100 books, including The Father Goose Treasury of Poetry, The Magic Box, A Poem Is a Firefly, Love Is Everything, and Fetch, Cat. Fetch! He has written more than 5,000 poems for children and adults. He was born in New York City and has lived in Homewood, Alabama, for the past 50 years. Visit his website at FatherGoose.com.

Anna Forlati has illustrated several books, and her work has appeared in many international exhibitions. She is a collaborator with the Onus Radio Magica Foundation. Her book My Dad, My Rock received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Anna was born in Padua, Italy. She received her degree in contemporary art and a degree in film history at the IUAV University in Venice.

Review & Educators’ Tools for Navigation: This story of resiliency and the love of literacy transcends time and place. Carlo comes to a new land, and although he is faced with hard times, he finds something he loves and puts his heart and work into that thing. This book is truly a story about how books can change lives. Oh, and make sure to look for how color is added into the illustrations when speaking about book

As a historical fiction picture book based on the author’s great grandfather’s story, Bound to Dream is a great inclusion when talking about immigration into America, America in the early 1800s, or family history. (My son also just did a passion project on the history of books, and this would have been a great resource for that also!)

Discussion Questions:

What character traits did Carlo display throughout the book?
How did Carlo’s love of books help him in his life?
How did the illustrator share the magic Carlo felt when reading with the reader?
How did the author learn this story if he never met his great grandfather?
What lessons can you take away from this story?
Why do you think the author chose to tell this story?
How does the title of the book connect with the story?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Picture books about the power of books, Picture books about immigration

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Schiffer Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

I, Too, Am Here by Morgan Christie, Illustrated by Marley Berot

October 8, 2024 by Kellee

I, Too, Am Here
Author: Morgan Christie
Illustrator: Marley Berot
Published September 10th, 2024 by Second Story Press

Summary: The street a young girl lives on is made up of families from all over the world. Her family shares with her their stories of journey and struggle. Her own story begins here in this country, but she is sometimes made to feel she does not belong. She listens to her family’s voices. They tell her she will soar, they tell her she is beautiful. She listens and she says I, too, am here.

A multigenerational story of immigration, racism, and what it truly means to belong. Inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too.”

About the Author:

Morgan Christie is the author of four poetry chapbooks, a short story collection, and a collection of essays. She has won the Arc Poetry Poem of the Year Contest, the Prairie Fire Fiction Prize, the Digging Press Chapbook Series Prize, and the Howling Bird Press Nonfiction Book Award. ‘I, Too, Am Here’ is her second picture book and she continues to work towards affecting change through reading and writing. Morgan is based out of Toronto.

Marley Berot is an illustrator with over ten years of combined personal and professional experience. Her portfolio includes cover art for Neuron, graphic design work for the Toronto International Film Festival, logo design, and book illustration. She runs her own online store called MarleysApothecary.com. Marley is very passionate about her work as an artist, and this can be seen in every piece she creates. She lives in the Toronto area.

Review: The author shares that, “In reading this story, she hopes young readers will learn to see the ways our words and actions can affect others,” and I truly believe they will. I don’t know how anyone could argue that the beautiful family in the story should have anything but happiness. I also love that the author “drew inspiration from Hughes’s poem to write this book because she wanted to remind everyone who’s been told or made to feel otherwise how much joy and wonder they bring to the people and places around them,” and this is a message that all young people, all PEOPLE, should hear loud and clear, which this picture book delivers in words and art.

Tools for Navigation: This picture book can be read along side Langston Hughes’s “I, Too” poem to look for similarities, how it was influenced, the themes of both, etc.

Discussion Questions:

Why does the narrator not understand the racism that his family faced?
What character traits would you use to define each of the characters in the story?
What should you do if you hear someone being racist (or prejudice in another way) towards a peer?
How does the history of slavery and the Jim Crow south still affect America today?
How was the book inspired by Langston Hughes?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Picture books about multigenerational families, anti-racism, immigration, Black history, poetry

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Nicole Banholzer PR for providing a copy for review!**

The Light of Home: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Belonging by Diana Farid, Illustrated by Hoda Hadadi

October 1, 2024 by Kellee

The Light of Home: A Story of Family, Creativity, and Belonging
Author: Diana Farid
Illustrator: Hoda Hadadi
Published September 17th, 2024 by Orchard Books

Summary: A universal story about displacement, migration, and the many ways we find home, from the talented author-illustrator team of Diana Farid and Hoda Hadadi.

Nur has always loved her home by the sea, where water glimmers along a straight horizon.

But when Nur and her family are forced to leave, they begin a long journey to an unfamiliar place. Here the horizon curves and twists, and the moonlight no longer glitters across the water. For Nur, nothing in this new place feels like home.

Then one day, Nur’s mother brings her a new set of paintbrushes. Nur’s brushstrokes help her connect the place she’s lost to this new horizon, and she finds home again through her own creativity and heart.

The Light of Home will resonate with anyone who has ever had to leave a place they’ve loved.

From author, poet, and physician Diana Farid and artist Hoda Hadadi comes this introspective story about belonging and the power of creativity. For readers of Yuyi Morales’ Dreamers and Yamile Saied Mendez and Jaime Kim’s Where Are You From?

About the Creators:

Diana Farid is an award-winning author and poet. Her picture book, When You Breathe, was a National Council of Teachers of English Notable poetry book. Her novel in verse, Wave, was the 2022 Cybils Award winner for poetry novel and a School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book. She is also a physician and associate professor of medicine at Stanford University. To learn more, visit dianafarid.com.

Hoda Hadadi is a children’s books illustrator living and working in Tehran, Iran. She has illustrated more than forty books for children and has won numerous international prizes, including the New Horizons Bologna Ragazzi Award and the Grand Prix of Belgrade.

Instagram
Diana Farid: @_artelixir
Hoda Hadadi: @hodahadadi_artpage
Orchard Books/Scholastic: @scholastic
Blue Slip Media: @blue_slip_media

Facebook
Diana Farid: N/A
Hoda Hadadi: Hoda Hadadi
Orchard Books/Scholastic: Scholastic
Blue Slip Media: Blue Slip Media

Twitter/X:
Diana Farid: @_artelixir
Hoda Hadadi: @hoda_hadadi
Orchard Books/Scholastic: @Scholastic
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch

LinkedIn:
Diana F

Review: Farid’s picture book puts the reader right in the middle of a family’s flee as refugees from their home and all their possessions. With the introduction of the characters’ lives and loves starting the book, the reader will feel the sadness and longing that Nur feels. It helps the reader feel the urgency and the fear. It helps build empathy for those put in the situation of being displaced.

But that is only one important aspect of the book. The book also highlights the importance and therapeutic properties of art, which is proven and so powerful. Nur uses art to help heal her feeling of loss and being lost.

Farid and Hadadi were the perfect duo for this book because Farid’s lyrical text blends beautifully with Hadadi’s collages to create a beauty of a picture book.

Discussion Questions:

Before Nur’s family must flee, how did Nur and her family feel about their home?
What are some reasons why families may be displaced?
Why is it so hard for Nur to adjust to her new home?
How is Nur’s new home different than her home by the sea?
How does Nur work through her emotions?
What are some ways that help you work through big emotions?
What figurative language does the author use? How does it add to the imagery of the story?
How do the illustrations add to the story?
Why do you think the author wrote Nur’s story?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Picture books that take on big issues in an approachable way

Recommended For:

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

Stay Angry, Little Girl Inspired by Madeleine L’Engle, Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan

August 6, 2024 by Kellee

Stay Angry, Little Girl
Inspired by: Madeleine L’Engle
Illustrator: Michelle Jing Chan
Published August 6th, 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) / Macmillan

Summary: An empowering message inspired by a beloved quote from Madeleine L’Engle’s enduring classic A Wrinkle in Time.

“Stay angry, little Meg,” Mrs. Whatsit whispered. “You will need all your anger now.”

This picture book encourages girls everywhere to proudly share their ideas and emotions, even if those traits will be met with resistance. Because being brave, sensitive, stubborn, curious, loud, kind, and playful helps them build strength and stay true to themselves.

Michelle Jing Chan’s bright artwork welcomes girls of all backgrounds to use these important affirmations.

“[This book] gives girls a full-throated endorsement to be true to themselves… Empowering.” —Kirkus

About the Creator: Michelle Jing Chan is a queer Chinese American illustrator who grew up in Colorado and lives in the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by nature, cultural folklore, and fantasy, Michelle aspires to illustrate diverse, empowering stories her younger self would have loved. When she’s not drawing, she can be found attempting new recipes, reading, or watching spooky TV shows.

Review: This book takes everything that misogynists pin on little girls as negative and shows how they are powerful traits that make us better people. As a woman who was told as a young child that she was too big, physically, emotionally, and vocally, I give this book a standing ovation because there are so many girls who are told not to be angry or kind or curious or loud or stubborn or… or… or… This book truly illustrates that these traits can be the superpower within us to be a better person or to make the world a better place. What makes the book even more powerful is the illustrations because they take very scarce text and show the how and why all while including characters that will connect with every reader.

Tools for Navigation: Read this book aloud and have it lead to amazing conversations to help end misogynistic thoughts!

Also, free coloring sheets can be downloaded here (provided by the illustrator)!

Discussion Questions:

What is a trait that you have been told is negative about you? How is this trait something that makes you a better you?
Think of a trait that is often seen as negative. How can this trait be reframed to be positive?
What do you think the author’s purpose was in creating this book? The theme of the book?
How can someone being told that something about them is “bad” affect them over time?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Affirmations, Girl Power books, Any reminder to be true to yourself

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Nicole Banholzer PR for providing a copy for review!**

Discussion Guide for The Lilies by Quinn Diacon-Furtado

June 18, 2024 by Kellee

The Lilies
Author: Quinn Diacon-Furtado
Published: April 30th, 2024 by HarperTeen

Summary: One of Us Is Lying meets A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder in this don’t-dare-to-look-away dark academia thriller that explores how secrets can rot an institution–and the people who uphold it–from the inside out.

Everyone wants to be a Lily.

At Archwell Academy, it’s the ticket to a successful future. But like every secret society, there is something much darker beneath the surface … sometimes girls disappear.

When four Archwell students find themselves trapped in a time loop, they must relive their worst memories, untangling the Lilies’ moldering roots and unraveling the secrets at the core of their school … before they destroy their futures forever.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the discussion guide I created for Cake Creative:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: