Book Review: The Button Box by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams

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Ava is Jewish and Nadeem is Muslim. They’re also cousins who live in a loving, interfaith extended family. When Nadeem is bullied at school, Ava jumps in to defend him. But her own friends advise her to avoid the bullies by staying away from Nadeem, something she won’t do.

The children bring their troubles to their grandmother, Granny Buena, who shows them a special button box handed down for generations in their family. She begins to tell them the story of a Jewish ancestor who helped a Muslim leader. But Granny Buena decides to take a rest before she finishes the story. The curious cousins investigate on their own and find themselves in a time-travel adventure.

The Button Box by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams is a page-turning historical fiction story that will have young readers cheering for Ava and Nadeem as they unravel the mystery of their family’s past. Their unique outlook, coming from two different religious backgrounds, helps them navigate an unfamiliar world.

I recommend The Button Box for readers aged 8 to 10 who like adventure, time-travel, a little bit of mystery, and the wisdom of grandmas.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Epic Mentor Guide by Illana Raia

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What if girls could get advice from some of the most experienced and respected women working in their fields in the U.S. today? The Epic Mentor Guide: Insider Advice For Girls Eyeing the Workforce From 180 Boss Women Who Know by Illana Raia provides just that, with insights, words of wisdom, actionable recommendations and more for girls who wonder how they can prepare for the working world.

The women who answer questions are not necessarily widely known, but they are all standouts in their fields. They work in sports, journalism, tech companies, fast food, investment firms, nonprofits and more. Each person is asked a question and they respond.

For instance, Michele Ghee, the CEO of Ebony and Jet, was asked, “What’s the first thing we should do before asking someone to be our mentor?” She responded, “Offer to be of service before you ask for anything. That’s how you build lasting relationships.”

Ashley Lynn Priore, founder of The Queen’s Gambit, answered a question about how chess strategies are useful in the work world with this quote: “The strategies we lean in chess don’t only teach us how to solve problems, but they teach us how to find problems, come up with various solutions to move forward, and decide where to go next effectively and quickly….It’s all about life skills!”

With nearly 200 boss women quoted, The Epic Mentor Guide is sure to be inspiring and thought provoking no matter where a girl’s interests lie. I recommend it for readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Dear Student by Elly Swartz

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Dear Student by Elly Swartz opens on Autumn’s first day of sixth grade. Even though her dad has left their home for a two-year stint in the Peace Corps, he still offers her a suggestion: get involved in one thing. Autumn believes that one thing may be Dear Student, the advice column of their school newspaper. She’s always been told she gives good advice. And since the author is anonymous, she won’t have to worry about kids thinking what she says is weird.

But Autumn also has a lot to worry about. Her best friend moved across the country over the summer, and to save money, the family left their home for an apartment above her mom’s veterinarian business.

If that upheaval isn’t enough, she’s navigating how to be friends with two new kids who don’t get along with each other. She wants to help them both, but figuring out how to do that while remaining true to herself is complicated. In the end, Autumn realizes that even if she can’t solve everyone’s problems, she can be honest and authentic about her own feelings.

Young readers will cheer for Autumn as she works to find her voice and gain confidence in herself. I recommend Dear Student for readers aged 9 to 12.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The River Between Hearts by Heather Mateus Sappenfield

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The River Between Hearts by Heather Mateus Sappenfield starts on the first day of summer after fourth grade, when Rill Kruse follows her cat Clifford into the woods and to the family tree house. The one her dad helped build and the family was happy in. But then her dad left to go kayaking just over a year ago and didn’t come back. Rill hasn’t been to Fort Kruse, as they call it, since. But when she climbs the ladder this time and opens the trap door, she finds a girl inside.

Rill recognizes Perla from school, remembers her being bullied. Slowly, as she earns the girl’s trust, she finds out that Perla’s family has been taken into custody by immigration agents and Perla has nowhere to go. Rill decides to bring her food and let her stay in the tree house out of sight.

As the two become friends, Rill discovers more about the families who come from Mexico to work in her town than she ever knew. She also is finally able to face the truth about what happened to her dad and find a way to move forward despite her grief.

Rill’s story is moving and thoughtful, touching on issues of loss, family, friendship, and more. I highly recommend it for readers aged 9 to 12.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Turtle: Overcoming Hurdles Female Athletes Face Through The Power of Reading

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Guest post by Pamela Jouan-Goldman and Julia Goldman

Pamela Jouan-Goldman and Julia Goldman photo

What started as a pandemic project morphed into something more for my daughter and I, inspired by her own journey as an athlete. As a mother of a 12-year old who has been running since she was five, it’s easy to see how we collected so many stories about running, meets, coaches, and team interactions over the past seven years. Rolling them into TURTLE, a Middle Grade fiction sports book and the first in the Run Like A Girl series, was a wonderful exercise in memory-gathering and organizing. The result is a story about a fifth-grader who moves to the Lowcountry and after some social drama finds herself part of a competitive running club. As Emma Jackson pushes herself to discover who she is and what she is made of, the power of team sports becomes obvious.  

The sad reality is that by the age of 14, girls traditionally drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys (Women’s Sports Foundation). As their bodies change, their attention pulled in many directions, and their minds challenged, it’s easy to see how it happens. The Run Like A Girl series is a challenge to all female athletes to stick with it. With a subtle girl power theme that gets bolder as the Run Like A Girl series progresses, TURTLE takes a first step to address the stigma of girls in sports by first planting a seed about what team running can offer them: confidence, leadership, community, purpose, self-discipline and a realization that running like a girl is something to aspire to.

Because we owe a lot to the running community, TURTLE was also a way to give back. Starting with our own local running club, Mount Pleasant Track Club, we started to use book sales to raise money for female athletes to fund travel expenditures to high-profile meets. Next we turned to other female-empowering organizations such as Girls on The Run to raise awareness and money. We are currently in the process of reaching out to track and running clubs around the country with a similar plan. Writing a book never felt so right as we stick to the mantra: inspiring young runners to read and young readers to run.

You can find Turtle on amazon. For more information about Pamela Jouan-Goldman and Julia Goldman, go to runlikeagirlbooks.com

Book Review: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round by Kathlyn J. Kirkwood

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Every January governments, workplaces, and people around the U.S. pause to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy. But the national holiday that falls on or near his birthday each year didn’t simply arise on its own in the years after King’s death. Instead it took dedicated work by a legion of people who were determined that this man would be honored and remembered for his accomplishments.

One of those people, Kathlyn J. Kirkwood, has written a memoir in verse about her own experience with activism starting in childhood and how she came to fight for a holiday in King’s name. Called Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round, the book is punctuated with illustrations, photos, and historic documents.

Kathlyn’s story starts in 1968 in Memphis, Tennesse, when she was a senior in high school. She tells about the events leading to King’s assassination and her participation in the Freedom Train, which was part of the Poor People’s Campaign. In words simple and profound, she captures the feeling of the times and how people can come together to change hearts and minds around an important issue.

The back of the book contains a glossary and also a brief civics lesson, with a graphic depiction of how a bill becomes law. I recommend Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round for readers aged 10 to 13.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Puzzle Odyssey by Helen Friel & Ian Friel

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Puzzle Odyssey, An Epic Maze Adventure by Helen Friel & Ian Friel introduces young readers to Homer’s classic tale of Odysseus’s long journey home after the Trojan War.

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The authors provide a synopsis of the story, told a few adventures at a time. Then readers are faced with several mazes and puzzles that challenge their skills of observation while illustrating something from the tale.

For instance, following the section titled, “Story Part I: Lotus, Sheep, and Cannibals,” that describes Odysseus’s encouters with the Lotus Eaters, readers are asked to navigate a field filled with flowers. Instructions tell them which way they can move through the field while avoiding lotus flowers to get back to the ship. Illustrations from Jesús Sotés are beautifully drawn, and part of the appeal of going through the challenges.

A cast of characters at the beginning helps keep the story flowing. Also, a note at the end talks about Homer and what historians believe about him and his books, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Puzzle Odyssey is a great way to get kids interested in the historical books and have fun while they learn. I recommend it for ages 9 to 13.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Nom Nom Nom by Jeffrey Burton

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Nom Nom Nom: A Yummy Book With Flaps by Jeffrey Burton is a whimsical little board book that poses questions to kids about what certain animals may like to eat. The choices are often funny, and it can prompt kids to talk about what they do and don’t like to eat. Here’s an example from the book:

“Little Shark has an empty stomach. What does he want to eat? Fish sticks with ketchup, or pizza and tacos, or cheese-covered jellyfish spicy baked nachos? Which would you choose?”

Each two-page spread features a different animal with foods on one page and a pull-up flap illustration of the animal on the other page. Inside the animal’s mouth are the words Nom Nom Nom. The repetition is attention-getting, and the words can prompt fun conversations about all kinds of foods and eating.

Illustrations by Sarah Hwang are colorful and cute.

The author provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

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