Personal rating of 4 out of 5 stars
Illustrated by Julia Kuo 4 stars Inspired by American folklore and the origin of the Bing cherry, Kuo and Blackburne create an original tall tale that tells a larger-than-life version of the story of Ah Bing. The book wonderfully encapsulates Asian-American identity and the blending of cultures. Includes themes of ingenuity, perseverance, community, discrimination, and…
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4 stars Mia doesn’t feel fully connected to her Jewish identity. She looks different than most of the kids at her Jewish day school (some of whom are quick to point it out) and she feels disconnected from her Muscogee identity. So she decides to visit her father in Oklahoma to learn more about Muscogee…
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Illustrated by Mercè López 4 stars Ritu loves the sun, but her grandmother keeps telling her to come into the shade before her skin gets too dark. This confuses Ritu. Isn’t her skin beautiful? Ritu finally finds a way to tell her grandmother how she feels and show that brown skin is beautiful. Lyrical and…
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Story by Katarina Illustrated by Ryosuke Fuji Translated by Kevin Gifford 4 stars An action-packed volume with cool world building and fun humor. Rakuro (player name Sunraku) loves “trash games”, the more bugs, the better. But when he tries the god-tier Shangri-La Frontier, his whole world changes. Using the skills and experience he’s gained from…
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Illustrated by Eda Kaban 4 stars A fun picture book adaptation of The Guncle. The original novel is still on my TBR but this sweet picture book made me want to get around to reading it soon. After the death of their mother, Maisie and Grant spend the summer with their Uncle Patrick. He does…
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Illustrated by Frenci Sanna 4 stars A sweet story about being yourself. Pete likes many different things, wearing different clothes, and playing with different children. This confuses some people who try to put labels of “boy” or “girl” on Pete, but with parental support, Pete shows the confidence to just be Pete. Nice focus on…
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by Jacqueline Carroll 4 stars Another fun adventure featuring the Trenchcoat Twins. Mary-Kate and Ashley are back at Camp Pom-Pom. This time they’re competing with their squad, the Eagles, in the Cheerlympics against the Pirates from Camp Spirit. With Ashley as captain, they know their routines are great and that they’ve got a good chance…
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4 stars An engaging, rhyming story about a tired farmer and the hunt for her favorite pajamas. The farmer has plenty to do around the farm. She milks the cow, waters the garden, and puts all the animals to bed. But when she can’t find her favorite pair of pajamas, she just can’t seem to…
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by Judy Katschke 4 stars The Trenchcoat Twins are off to Camp Wishing Well, but things are already off to a rocky start. Snacks around camp have gone missing and Mary-Kate is the prime suspect. The twins must gather the clues and catch the real culprit to clear Mary-Kate’s name before she’s sent home. I’ve…
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by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 4 stars The team has made it to Akira’s hometown and are settling in nicely. That is until a group of miscreants with their own bucket list enact their plan to cause chaos and turn everyone into zombies. Now they’ll have to team up…
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