Ms. Bixby's Last Day

Ms. Bixby's Last Day
John David Anderson

My rating: ★★★★

ISBN: 978-0062338174
Publisher: Walden Pond Press
Date of publication: June 21, 2016
Age: Grades 5 - 8
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Format: library ebook

Themes: teacher/student relationship, cancer, friendship, family life, school, talents

There are all kinds of teachers. Caffeine addicts, noobs, drones, oldies...but every once in a while, there's a good one. Ms. Bixby is beyond good. For Brand, Topher, and Steve, she makes learning worthwhile, in school and in life. With her pink-striped hair, she's one of a kind. So when Ms. Bixby announces suddenly that she cannot finish the school year due to illness, the three boys take it upon themselves to give her the last day she deserves. The plan is risky—dangerous and illegal, even—but they're determined. Through the three very different stories they tell, we begin to understand what Ms. Bixby means to each of them—and what the three of them mean to each other.

This. I laughed, I cried, I celebrated, I mourned. Yes, this is one of those books. Anderson has done a fabulous job. On the one hand, he nailed boy's middle-school humor. I laughed a lot—booger scenes, girl cooties, big sister problems, and more. Great for the target audience! But man, it's still got a heavy dose of sad. And yes, Anderson does an expert job of interweaving the two, but I still didn't like the sad. (Why could none of the boys have a good home/family life? Why was the plan they carried out have to be fraught with so much failure? Gah!). I understand the need for the contrast, and it definitely added amazing depth to the story and characters, but my personal reaction was one too many sighs.

But! That's really my personal reaction. Honestly, the writing, the characters, the story are so well done. The characters! Man, reading from each of the three boys' perspective reveals a lot, including (but not limited to) helicopter parents, absent parents, depressed parent, amazing talents, insecurities galore, imagination, happiness, sadness, and just a hint of LGBT exploration. These guys were well done.

In the end, I reminisced about my great teachers, mourned the cruelty of cancer, and sighed a sad sigh among the laughs. Good for old and young alike, give it a try!

Readalikes include Fish in a Tree and Wonder.

Find it at your library or on Amazon

Nobody Likes a Goblin

Nobody Likes a Goblin
Written and illustrated by Ben Hatke

My rating: ★★★½

ISBN: 978-1626720817
Publisher: First Second
Date of publication: June 7, 2016
Age: 4 - 8 years
Genre: Fantasy
Format: library book

Themes: goblins, fantasy adventure, friendship, treasure

Goblin cheerily lives in a cosy, rat-infested dungeon with his only friend, Skeleton. Every day, Goblin and Skeleton play with the treasure in their dungeon. But one day, a gang of "heroic" adventurers bursts in. These marauders trash the place, steal all the treasure, and make off with Skeleton―leaving Goblin all alone! It's up to Goblin to save the day. But first he's going to have to leave the dungeon and find out how the rest of the world feels about goblins.

I have to say: when I want to introduce my children to the awesome nerdy world of high fantasy, this will be the book I'll read. A perfectly hilarious homage to the D&D-Tolkien-RPG-fantasy culture, it's pretty obvious that this will be a favorite among us geekier adults. Hatke just got the characters and art down perfectly. Oh man, the illustrations! Besides caricature-ing the classic fantasy roles, the emotions and actions of the little (yes, and slightly cute) goblin give needed support to the simple storyline. They're fantastically done.

In the end, however, the story itself isn't my favorite. The jokes fell a bit flat, the pacing was just slightly off (he finds Skeleton pretty quickly and easily, after only a couple bad run-ins), and while it's great Goblin finds some friends, why did he say he was king? Feels a bit like a lie. Honestly, it's just a great nerdy book and I'd still recommend it to the right people. I just really appreciate the fact that it's a true fantasy picture book―let's get our kids introduced the good stuff!

Find it at your library or on Amazon

Flowchart: Animal Books for 2nd-4th Graders

Phew, this was totally supposed to go up on Friday and I just kept adding more and more books! There's a lot of good stuff out there, which ended up surprising me a little bit because this is the age group that I often have the hardest time finding books to recommend. I've always felt it got a little lost in the shuffle between easy readers/early chapter books and middle grade fiction.

But! Without further ado, a flowchart of animal-themed books for kids aged 8 - 11 years.

These books are all chapter books, all have some illustrations/photos in them, and are great stories. Some I'd still double check what would be good for the right age (one might lend itself better to the 11-year-old than the 8-year-old). Some are classic, some are brand new. There's something for everyone, for sure.

Also, I have a link to download the printable poster: a pdf on Google Drive. It's sized 11" x 42" so you could, technically, print it on five landscape-oriented letter-sized pages. In any case, it's nice to have as a reference when recommending books!

Here's a full list of what's on the flowchart:

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor

Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor
(Frank Einstein #1)
Written by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Brian Biggs

My rating: ★★★½

ISBN: 978-1419712180
Publisher: Harry N Abrams
Date of publication: August 19, 2014
Age: Grades 3 - 5
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: library book

Themes: robots, inventions, scientific method, humor, friendship

Kid-genius and inventor Frank Einstein loves figuring out how the world works by creating household contraptions that are part science, part imagination, and definitely unusual. This time, an uneventful experiment in his garage-lab, a lightning storm, and a flash of electricity bring Frank’s inventions—the robots Klink and Klank—to life! Not exactly the ideal lab partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt to perfect his antimatter motor invention...until Frank’s archnemesis, T. Edison, steals Klink and Klank for his evil doomsday plan!

There is so much to appreciate about this book—educational and humorous, first and foremost. Klink and Klank are perfect comic relief to Frank's thoroughly scientific observations and plans. The book examines six different aspects of scientific study (starting, of course, with matter), discusses experimentation, breaks down the scientific method, and still makes time for cow-fart jokes, Captain Underpants, and a lovable HugMeMonkey. (Not necessarily my brand of humor, but I know lots of kids will love it).

But beyond humor and science, the actual aspects of the book are still great, too. The illustrations have just enough cartoon-ish aspect to keep things light and fun, while still including the occasional plan breakdown and scientific figure. The characters are pretty great—I love the relationship Frank has with this grandpa, and with his best friend Watson. However, some complaints... T. Edison. He just seems to be the token bad guy for no particular reason; hopefully the later books will delve deeper into his character. Also, I wish Frank's parents weren't portrayed as foolish or ignorant.

In the end, this is a great chapter book to get kids confident about reading, excited about science, and laughing to themselves. Recommended for sure.

Find it at your library or on Amazon