Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

5 stars A fantastic book about book bans and using your voice to speak up for what you believe in. “It wasn’t just good books that shouldn’t be hidden away. It was all books. Any books. It didn’t matter what they were about, or whether I liked them, or Mrs. Spencer liked them, or the…

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Family Found: A Queer Friendsgiving Celebration

by Joanna McClintick Illustrated by Keisha Morris 4 stars A lovely story of food, reminiscing, and bringing people together. A child wonders how their chosen family’s Friendsgiving tradition got started, asking different members of the family. They all think they had a part in starting the tradition, but by the end they recognize that the…

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Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis

5 stars An adorable little story about making new friends and being brave enough to be yourself. Little Ghost and his mother have been haunting their home for hundreds of years, but in all that time Little Ghost hasn’t made a single friend. He’s nervous he’ll scare everyone away. But when a new family moves…

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Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes

4 stars A fantastic story about a young girl making her way through life in Reconstruction-era Louisiana. Though slavery in America has ended, ten-year old orphan, Sugar, is still stuck on the River Road Plantation working the sugarcane fields. All she wants to do is have fun, but she’s the only kid left on the…

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Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks

Illustrated by Faith Ringgold 4 stars A nice collection of poetry focused on the lives of children in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. The book includes a variety of themes expressed with different rhythms and rhymes. It covers relatable topics of friendship, moving to a new place, making new friends, dealing with illness, death of…

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 11

by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 2.5 stars This volume was such a mixed bag. We wrap up the pilgrimage through Shikoku with some villainous interference, which was well-paced and interesting. Then the crew stumbles across a yacht filed with horny survivors and it goes exactly the way you’d expect….

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 10

by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars Another fantastic volume. In this one we get the epic conclusion of “Millionaire of the Dead”, a visit to a Gion teahouse to visit the maiko, and the start of Bea’s Bucket List item, “Be a Shikoku pilgrim”. I enjoyed the variety…

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Me and My Fear by Frenci Sanna

5 stars A beautiful story of a child whose fear keeps her from connecting with others after moving to a new country. This is such a great metaphor for fear. At the beginning, the girl sees her Fear as a friend who keeps her safe, but after big changes, Fear becomes too overprotective, preventing her…

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 9

by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars Another fun volume. In this one the team travels to Osaka, encounters a new style of zombie, meets up with an old friend, and attempts to run their own bar. I love these characters so much. They’ve really grown on me. And…

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Vol. 8

by Haro Aso Illustrated by Kotaro Takata Translated by Nova Skipper 5 stars Another fun volume in the series with some surprising turns. Continuing through their bucket list, the gang goes on a sake drinking spree and looks for an undiscovered dinosaur fossil in this fast-paced volume with plenty of antics, new friends, and surprising…

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