by Cynthia Levinson Illustrated by Mirelle Ortega 4 stars A powerful fictionalized account that tells the story of Plyler v. Doe, which mandated free public school education for all US residents regardless of immigration status. This nonfiction picture book follows Alfredo Lopez who loves school where he can learn and see his friends. But one…
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Illustrated by Kat Fajardo 5 stars Another wonderful volume in The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class series. The third book follows Poppy Song, who loves baking and spending time with her grandmother. Poppy can’t wait for her grandmother, Po Po, to be the Valued Visitor in Mrs. Z’s class. But when Po Po starts acting…
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3 stars A cute comic-style picture book about a unicorn that longs to be a special agent. The artwork was really cute. I loved the color palette. The story itself was fine. Unicorn is a real jerk for most of the book, but kind of learns a lesson at the end. There is some nice…
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Illustrated by Kat Fajardo 4 stars After his mom gives a presentation to his class about starting your own business, Rohan is inspired to create a new pet-sitting business to raise funds for the school garden. The only problem? He doesn’t have much experience with pets and if he’s honest… they make him a little…
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Illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro 4 stars A humorous picture book that explores the unique names we give certain dishes. Magaly loves her abuela’s cooking, but when she learns they’ll be eatin ropa vieja for dinner, she starts hiding her “old clothes” so they don’t end up in the pot. Delightful humor. Bright, warm illustrations….
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Illustrated by Omar Lozano 2 stars In this follow-up to the original Chicken Little story, Chicken Little has become a serious scientist helping to establish a colony on the moon. But when her calculations show the oxygen levels are decreasing, she must prove to her shipmates that she isn’t mistaken this time. An odd little…
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Illustrated by Yehudi Mercado 2 stars This series is popular at my library so I figured I’d give it a try. I really thought I’d like this one. Cats, humor, and graphic novels are kind of my go-tos. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just could not get in to this…
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by Chris Singleton and Ryan G. Van Cleave Illustrated by Adriana Pérez Perales 4 stars Such a cool series! Explore the life of Mae Jemison from childhood through years of education, research, and humanitarian efforts to her career as an astronaut and her work after space. Well-written and filled with interesting facts. Wonderful black-and-white illustrations…
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Illustrated by Kat Fajardo 5 stars A fun concept for a book series. Each one follows a different student in Mrs. Z’s third grade class. The first book follows Emma McKenna. She’s excited to start at Curiosity Academy, but making new friends is harder than she expected. Not to mention, her ex-best-friend-turned-enemy is in the…
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by Belen Medina Illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro 4 stars A beautifully illustrated biography of Lorena Ramírez, a Rarámuri ultramarathon runner. Through lyrical text, the story follows her on a sixty-mile run, providing information about her attire, her childhood, and her way of life in Chihuahua, Mexico. The illustrations are lovely. Beautiful use of color. All…
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