Related Posts
Our Blue Planet
Written by Leisa Stewrat-Sharpe
Illustrated by Emily Dove
This is incredibly rich in content, giving a brief synopsis of the underwater world: the creatures; their habits; their purpose; and their power. David Attenborough begins the journey with a thoughtful foreword and ends it with a challenge to all of the human race.
This is incredibly rich in content, giving a brief synopsis of the underwater world: the creatures; their habits; their purpose; and their power. David Attenborough begins the journey with a thoughtful foreword and ends it with a challenge to all of the human race.
It is a book to be read in sections so that the amazing information can be taken and expanded upon through
research. Children will be fascinated by all that goes on in earth’s deepest, darkest places. When we are amazed and in awe, we tend to be motivated to learn and to take action.
This book contains stories from BBC’s Blue Planet II
The book ends with some simple things that we can do to protect and preserve our planet.
The book ends with some simple things that we can do to protect and preserve our planet.
• Power Down: reduce energy use
• The Lungs of Our Planet: plant more trees
• Become a Sea-Life Spotter: gather valuable information for scientists
• Plastic Is Not Fantastic: don’t use single-use plastic
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: reduce plastic waste; repair to reuse clothing or donate it to a charity for others to reuse; recycle cardboard; compost vegetable or fruit peelings
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: reduce plastic waste; repair to reuse clothing or donate it to a charity for others to reuse; recycle cardboard; compost vegetable or fruit peelings
This is an amazing book that can be used with children of all ages with caring adult guidance and encouragement.
I was fortunate to travel the Columbia River in Washington State in late summer 2024. While on the cruise we learned a great deal about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Sacagawea. National Geographic Kids publishes many wonderful readers for children at different reading levels. I recommend any books in their reading series. This book is written for children who are fluent readers. It is set up with Grab a Book Book reviews by Lorna
I was fortunate to travel the Columbia River in Washington State in late summer 2024. While on the cruise we learned a great deal about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Sacagawea. National Geographic Kids publishes many wonderful readers for children at different reading levels. I recommend any books in their reading series. This book is written for children who are fluent readers. It is set up with Grab a Book Book reviews by Lorna
Sacagawea
by KitsonJazynka
I was fortunate to travel the Columbia River in Washington State in late summer 2024. While on the cruise we learned a great deal about the Lewis and Clark expedition and Sacagawea. National Geographic Kids publishes many wonderful readers for children at different reading levels. I recommend any books in their reading series. This book is written for children who are fluent readers. It is set up with interesting information and illustrations, as well as with vocabulary that may be new to some readers. The new words are defined after they are used in context and include a pronunciation guide. At the back of the book is a glossary, an index, and a quick quiz.
I learned interesting and factual information about Sacagawea’s life, her experiences on the journey, and her important contributions to the success of the Corps of Discovery. It is an engaging book for young readers in the elementary years.
Seaman’s Journal: On the Trail with Lewis and Clark & Illustrated by Patricia Reeder Eubank
As I took my first glances through the pages I thought, “Wow! Eye-catching illustrations!” They are colorful, realistic, and give readers almost as much information as the text.
Seaman was a Newfoundland dog, owned by Captain Meriwether Lewis. Seaman traveled with Captain Lewis
and the Corps of Discovery across what is now the United States. The author chose to write this book as if Seaman was writing.
The events in this story are based on Lewis’s journal. It is a captivating account of the 8,000-mile journey across America to the Pacific Ocean and back from a dog’s eye view! Children from 5 to 10 years old will not only enjoy it but will learn a great deal about this historic adventure.
Something, Someday
Written by Amanda Gorman, Presidential Inaugural Poet 2016
Illustrated by Christian Robinson
Amanda Gorman once again has written a poem for children that is full of determination, hope, and friendship. The essence of this piece is about how to make a difference in our world. According to her poem, the keys are to have a vision of how it might work, the need to keep working even in small increments, keep hope in your heart, and others will gather around as friends and helpers with the same vision. What I imagined as I read this
book is another project that I and others are working on, unrelated to cleaning up our world (recycling, repurposing, reusing), and I thought these same principles could be applied to many different ideas, projects, and plans. It’s so simple and yet profound.
The illustrations are reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats’s work. Very nicely done, including diversity in ages, races, and physical abilities, and shown in an urban environment.
I would recommend this book for children ages 4-8 years old. I would also recommend that parents, caregivers, or classroom teachers read this book to a child or children. Then explore together what possibilities there are, or might be, in life for making sometimes seemingly impossible dreams into reality.
Emmy in the Key of Code
Written by Aime Lucida
“A definite book to teach you about code, life, and the essence of computer programming.”
I am 11 years old, and I love this book. I read it twice! It taught me about coding and how to handle life. Emmy in the Key of Code is a realistic fiction book about a twelve-year-old girl who needs to make music to save her life.
Emmy is a 6th grader and is the protagonist of the story. She faces lots of challenges that are outside her comfort zone. Emmy goes into a new school where she meets Abigail who helps Emmy find the way to make music with her new life of coding. Abigail is Emmy’s best friend and faces the challenge of making her own decisions while helping others. Ms. Delaney is Emmy’s computer teacher and teaches Java and binary code. In the book, Emmy’s first computer program was Hello World. Hello, World is the first code new programmers use to get the hang of coding with any computer language. Francis is the antagonist of Emmy and makes her feel like an outsider of coding; however, girls were the first computer scientists.
In this book, you get to meet Jeopardy, who is Emmy’s loved golden retriever. One of my favorite lines from the book is when Emmy made music with her computer coding: “Public, Static, Void, Main, String, Bracket, Bracket, Args!” which are the building blocks of Java coding.
What makes this book interesting to me is that Aimee Lucido balanced the antagonist’s moves and the protagonist’s moves. Lucido wrote this book uniquely by writing words in a whole
new way. For example, she scattered the words all over the page. Emmy in the Key of Code is a book I would read over and over again. A perfect book for people interested in coding.
Reviewed by Jayden Allsop, Trinidad, NewGate Global Campus, 7th grade.
Wildwood
Written by Colin Meloy
In Colin Meloy’s fantasy adventure novel Wildwood (the first book in a trilogy), the story follows two seventh graders on their journey through a magical forest to rescue a baby who has been kidnapped by crows. Along the way, they are caught in a deeper plot of an age-old conflict that, if left to play out, could lead to a disastrous ending for everyone involved.
Leading an ordinary life in Portland, Oregon, twelve-year-old Prue Mckeel lives with her parents and baby brother, Mac. She is a skilled artist who is intelligent, courageous, and a true warrior that has been warned of one
thing since she was young: Never venture into the Impassable Wilderness. One day in the park, she is looking after Mac, when suddenly a “murder” of crows swoops down and carries him into, you guessed it, the dreadful Impassable Wilderness. Determined to find her brother and bring him home, she braves the journey with her classmate Curtis Mehlberg, encountering fantastical animals and a civilization that has been hidden for years.
Wildwood is a coming-of-age tale full of magic, danger, suspense, and wonder. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy book, but more specifically ages 10-13, as I feel they will be able to connect and relate much better with our two protagonists.
Some things I enjoyed about this book are the beautiful, detailed illustrations done by Carson Ellis that are sprinkled throughout the story. These especially help if you have trouble with visual imagery or simply want the author’s perspective about what is happening. Another thing I enjoyed is the writing style. It is clear and easy to understand, while still holding detail and depth. This is a bit of a longer book, spanning around 540 pages, but it is worth the read as it transports you into the exciting world of Wildwood.
I rate this book 5 stars.
Reviewed by Nadia Chance, grade 9, age 14, student of NewGate Global Campus
