Big Girl Small

Big Girl Small

Written by: Rachel DeWoskin

Published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Reading Level: Ages 14 and up

Big Girl Small is an Alex Award winner.  The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It really made me laugh.  Judy Lohden was a really funny character with her sarcastic remarks.  Judy is sixteen years old  and she is very talented and wants to be famous one day.  She has an awesome singing voice that can quiet a room in an instance.  She makes it into Darcy Academy which is a school especially for the arts.  In the beginning of the book, we see that she is hiding out somewhere.  Why though?  Well did I mention that Judy is only 3 ft nine in tall?  This story takes place during Judy’s junior year of high school and her first year at Darcy High.  In reading this book, it does take a while to find out why exactly it is that Judy is hiding out and what it is she did to cause such a scandal that she has to hide out, but in the end it makes perfect sense.  I feel that any teenager will be able to relate to Judy once they stop thinking about how she only almost 4ft tall.  Judy’s attitude is the perfect epitome of a teenage girl.  Things seem to go surprisingly well for Judy during her first few months at her new school.  She makes friends with other girls who are considered outsiders.  Molly who is one of the few African Americans at the school, Sarah who is a somewhat a Goth and has dark black hair and piercings.  In order to find out why exactly it is that Judy is hiding out in the motel with everyone from the press to her parents looking for her you really need to read the book.  I would love to tell you, because it makes for one good story but I really do not want to ruin the whole book for you.  I guarantee you will not regret reading this book.

Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again

Written by: Thanhha Lai

Published by: HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Reading Level: Ages 8 and up

Inside Out and Back Again is a Newberry Honor Book Award Winner. The Newberry Award Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This book is a novel told in verse.  I like that this book is told in verse because this can help children understand that poems don’t have to be about rhyming.  This book also fits the month of April because April is the month of poetry.  I can see teachers reading this book with their class during the month of April to help their students understand poetry better.  This book is the touching story of a girl’s year of change, grief, dreams, and healing as she travels from one country to another.  Ha is practically changing lives when she has to flee with her mother and three brothers from Saigon to the United States.  This story takes place from the height of the Vietnam War.  Ha’s father has been missing for nine years during this war, and in time everything is getting worse. Her family knows it is best for them to flee but they don’t want to in hopes that Ha’s father is still alive and will come to find them eventually.  How will he be able to find them if they no longer live in their home? When her family finally flees from Saigon they travel by boat and eventually end up in Florida, and then they finally end up in Alabama with sponsors.  This is where Ha ends up staying.  She ends up in a school where all her classmates are mean to her, and she ends up eating lunch in the bathroom.  Many readers will enjoy reading Ha’s tale told in verse of her struggles to fit into this new culture where she is supposedly safe but tormented constantly until she finally decides to get back at the bully’s who have been making her life difficult.  Ii really enjoyed this story.  I found it funny and sad at the same time.  Ha had so many things to overcome and you know her life could not have been easy.  I recommend this book to anyone who would be interested in reading it and I also see this book as being a perfect read in the classroom after learning about the Vietnam War.

Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up

Written by: Daniel Handler

Art by: Maira Kalman

Published by: Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group

Reading Level: Ages 15 and up

Why We Broke Up is a Printz Honor Book award recipient.  This book is about a girl named Min, short for Minerva who is breaking up with her now ex boyfriend Ed.  The book is all told in a letter form.  What the readers are reading is what Min is writing to Ed explaining why they broke up.  She has gathered a box full of all of Ed’s things, or things that remind her of Ed that she does not want anymore.  Then she calls her friend Al who is going to take her to drop off the box along with the letter she is currently writing.  In the letter she is writing Min is taking out one item at a time out of the box she is taking back to Ed, and explaining where she got it, the events that took place when she got it, why she doesn’t want it anymore, and most importantly why they broke up.  Throughout the letter Min tells Ed exactly why it is they broke up.   Within the book there are illustrations of all the items that Min is returning.  I loved the drawings that were in the books.  They made the book that much better.  It helped me visualize better what it was that she was returning.  I also loved the page type that was used.  It was very glossy and nice.  This book is perfect for teen girls to read.  I feel that most of them will be able to relate to this story.  Especially the girls who have gone out with a guy who is completely wrong for them and nothing like them.  This book has many topics that teenagers will be able to relate to.  Some topics include, love, heartbreak, relationships, friendships, sex for the first time, and more.  Although some boys may like this book, I see girls enjoying it more.  I would only recommend this book for high school students and anyone older. 

Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller (English and Spanish Edition)

Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller (English and Spanish Edition)

Written by: Xavier Garza  

Published by: Cinco Puntos Press.

Reading Level: Ages 8 and up

This book has been awarded the Pura Belpre (Author) Honor Award.

When I first picked up this book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it because I am not really into Lucha Libre, or wrestling.  However, I found myself getting really into the book.  It is an easy read, and is actually smaller than it looks since it is in both English and Spanish.  When I first opened the book, I was really confused because I only saw the Spanish language part.  Then I finally decided to look to the left side of the book and there was the English.  This book would be a perfect read for boys.  It has the perfect amount of wrestling action and not to mention a boy as the main characters.  I feel that many boys who read this will be able to relate to Max.  Girls will also like this book because in it, there are girl lucha libre wrestlers as well.  In this book, Maximilian has a hero.  His hero is the Guardian Angel who is the best lucha libre wrestler out there.  There is no better wrestler.  Lucha libre is a famous Mexican sport much like American wrestling except that they wear masks and know one knows their true identity unless they get unmasked.  One day while watching the Guardian Angel, Max gets to actually meet him.  He also learns the true identity of the Guardian Angel.  This ends up changing his world a little bit.  In order to know who exactly the Guardian Angel is, you need to read this book.  I also found this book perfect for English language learners and Spanish language learners.  With the translations on the next page, the reader will be able to translate, and learn new words.  On the start of every chapter, there is a black and white illustrations.  I liked that this book included some illustrations.  It made the book more interesting and I feel that it will draw in younger readers.  I recommend this book to any reader interested in wrestling, or who would like to learn English or Spanish.

See Me Run

See Me Run
Written and illustrated by: Paul Meisel
Published by: Holiday House
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up


See Me Run is a Geisel Honor Book.  In this book there is a dog who wants you to see him run!  He also wants you to see him play in the mud.  After playing in the mud he wants you to see him rinse off in the water.  He also wants you to see him dig!  When he digs, what do you think he will find?  The pictures in this book are bound to captivate anyone who reads it.  Even children who can't yet read will love flipping through the pages of this book.  This book is good for beginning readers.  The text is very minimal and an easy read with small words.  The illustrations capture the traits of a dog.  All the different dogs in the pictures are really cute.  This book will most likely have children either wanting a dog, or wishing they were a dog. 

A Ball For Daisy

A Ball For Daisy 
Illustrated and written by: Chris Raschka
Published by: Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up

A Ball for Daisy is the winner of the Randolph Caldecott Award.  The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

A Ball for Daisy is a book that is told in only pictures.  There are no words.  It is one of those books where you make up the words yourself as you read it.  In this book Daisy is a dog who loves her ball.  She sleeps with it, and plays with it.  Anyone who looks at the pictures can tell the love Daisy has for her ball.  One day while playing with the ball, it pops.  Poor Daisy gets really sad.  I loved the illustrations in this book.  They were really interesting.  The illustrations look as if they are done by water colors.  They are very different from any other illustrations I have seen.  Chris Raschka brings a unique quality into his book.  Anyone who reads this book will love it.  It sends a good message about love and loss.  Any child who has had a toy break will understand what Daisy is going through.  

I Broke My Trunk!

I Broke My Trunk!
Written and illustrated by: Mo Willems
Published by: Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up


I Broke My Trunk! is a Geisel Honor Book.  I found this story to be really funny.  I really enjoyed this book.  This book is part of the an Elephant and Piggie series.  In this book Piggie hasn't seen Gerald the Elephant.  When he does see him, he finds out that Gerald has broken his trunk.  When he asks how it happened, Gerald tell him it is a long story.  Piggie still wants to hear it and Gerald tells it.  When I finished the book, I was laughing.  I thought how Gerald broke his trunk was really funny.  The ending is even funnier.  Hopefully this book will make every child and adult laugh.  The pictures in this book are also really good.  I enjoyed how the pictures didn't take up the whole page yet still captured me.  I also liked how the text is organized into comment bubbles.  This book is perfect for the beginning reader and even an experienced reader.