This was a great story of coming-of-age. Berg is a giant without a family. He just wants to find a friend, a place where he can be accepted.
The story takes the reader on a Berg’s journey, and while it’s a bit heartbreaking, I think it’s also uplifting and moving. The story is fantastic, and I think it truly speaks to how children and adults should be treating each other at all times.
Continue reading “The Legend of the Dream Giants by Dustin Hansen”
This is a really great book for little ones that are just starting out reading chapter books! It’s 36 pages, and with a great story, it’s an easy read!
Addie and Reese become friends at a family camp where both of their families are vacationing. As the summer comes to a close, they want to make sure they stay in touch, so the Pen Pal Gals are formed!
Continue reading “Pen Pal Gals: Friends Forever by Julie Thiessen”
This book is a wonderful learning book for middle grade readers! It’s an easy-to-read chapter book that tells a story and teaches the dangers of our connected electronics.
Alicia and her friends love to play Tully Town, an online game where they earn game money to buy outfits and items for their characters and their homes. When they decide to throw a Tully Town Halloween party at Cathy’s house, Cathy joins a different site to get free Tully Town money. To do so, she provides her login, and soon Cathy can’t access her Tully Town account.
Continue reading “Alicia Connected: Tricked With Treats by Derek Fisher”
Awesome Dog 5000 vs. The Kitty-Cat Cyber Squad is the third book in the Awesome Dog 5000 series. This is a really fun book for a middle-grade reader! It’s full of adventure and lots of situations that will make readers laugh!
This is a graphic novel, so it has a mixture of text and illustrations to help tell the story. The illustrations are great, and are, truly, a lot of fun!
Continue reading “Awesome Dog 5000 vs. The Kitty-Cat Cyber Squad by Justin Dean”
This story is full of fun, laughs, dogs, and an evil shoe villain…what more could a middle-grade reader ask for?
Told through a narrator that grabs your interest right from the start, this is a book that is hard to put down. It’s light-hearted, but still managed to hit on topics of importance. I really enjoyed that this is a chapter book, but had create illustrations throughout the pages to help support the story.
Continue reading “Shoe Wars by Liz Pichon”
As a child, I had allergies to every kind of animal, so my heart went out to Maggie in this book! It’s hard to be a kid and not be able to get a pet when you want one so bad!
I really enjoyed that this story hits on multiple situations that young readers deal with in every day life. There is friendship and fights, new siblings, and of course, our pet drama and allergies. In graphic novel format, this story flew by! This was a well-written, wonderful book, and readers will really connect with Maggie and her story!
Continue reading “Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd”
What a fun fantasy story for middle-grade readers! I really enjoyed the 🐉dragon 😂. I haven’t read a ton of books with dragons in them, so I really liked this!
There are some great themes within the story that will resonate with many readers. Family is an important element throughout the story. I really enjoyed that the family we meet are close relatives as well as ones further along in the family tree. It’s nice to show that a family can consist of a variety of blood relatives as well as strong friends.
Continue reading “The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott”
This is an absolutely lovely story! Sisters separated and coming back together after years apart is a story that I always love. I enjoy the secrets and the discoveries made by the characters!
The characters in this book are not only separated sisters but also magical! I loved this element of the story! I think that young readers that enjoy fantasy will really get into this book. There is an evil sorcerer that makes a great villain, and someone that readers will enjoy rooting against.
Continue reading “Twincesses by Tara Lala”
If you like magic, friends, excitement, and adventure, this is the perfect series for you or your middle-grade reader! I found this book to be absolutely captivating!
This is the first book that I have read in The Magic Misfits series, and I was SO appreciative that the book lends itself to someone jumping into the series! There’s a “Stop! Halt! Who Goes There!” at the beginning that wonderfully catches a reader up on who the characters are in the book. I loved that!
Continue reading “The Magic Misfits: The Fourth Suit by Neil Patrick Harris”
PINTO! is the only horse to complete a 1912 – 1915 horseback journey to visit all forty-eight state capitols with the “Overland Westerners”. This book takes that real-life event and tells it through the eyes of Pinto. I really enjoyed M.J. Evan’s choice to make the horse the narrator of this story. It did create a fictionalized feel to the story, however, it was obvious that she had worked hard to research and provide real information surrounding this historic event.
Continue reading “PINTO! by M.J. Evans”
What I Loved:
This book was stunning. Absolutely, wonderfully fabulous! I love that Jess Redman has brought such a real, relatable character to our children’s fictional world. Alma, our main character is experiencing panic attacks and anxiety, and I thought that Redman did an excellent job at bringing this very real situation to life through her words.
How I Felt:
Alma is a 12-year-old girl that any middle-age child can relate to. She’s just been uprooted from the home she loves to a new, unfamiliar town with her family. This new place is not her home, and she doesn’t know what to do. She begins to have panic attacks and anxiety due to the stress of the move, and her family isn’t sure what to do. Alma ends up in the Astronomy club with some new friends and soon discovers they are a bit more than just a club.
Continue reading “Quintessence by Jess Redman”
What I Loved:
I loved the amazing connection between Hunter and his horse. I felt deeply connected to their bond, and I think it’s something horse-lovers are going to absolutely love as well!
How I Felt:
In the Heart of a Mustang introduces us to a young boy, Hunter, who has just found out that everything he knew about his father was a lie. Instead of his father being a soldier who died for his country, he is a convicted felon. Hunter is devastated by the lies, and at the shattering of a figure he deeply respected and looked up to. Heading to the Promise Ranch to find peace, Hunter encounters a horse that can help him mend what has been so deeply broken.
Continue reading “In the Heart of a Mustang by M.J. Evans”
She Just Loves Books 