King Louie's Shoes

Steinberg, D (2017). King Louie's Shoes.Beach Lane Books. 40 pages, Ages 3-8
Children's Fiction ISBN: 978-1-4814-2657-2

This book is about King Louie the 14th. We learn about how King Louie was a very short man, always trying to become taller. King Louie does the most ridiculous things to become taller such as wearing a tall wig and wearing tall shoes. All of these plans turn out not to work when King Louie learns a lesson on what really matters to his people.

At first sight, I knew this book would be really funny. My first impression was true, this book has good humor that will definitely make students laugh. I would definitely recommend this book for the classroom because of its upbeat storyline and its historical background. I’m not too sure about King Louie Making wigs or wearing high shoes, but I am sure that the historical description of France is accurate. It also includes fun facts in the back that will teach even more historical background. I would suggest this to lower levels such as 3rd grade and lower.

Reviewed By Elaina Berry

Living in...South Korea by Chloe Perkins

Perkins, C. (2017). Living in...South Korea. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster

32 pages, Grades K-2, Nonfiction, ISBN 978-1534401433

Relevant, published right before the 2018 Winter Olympics being held in South Korea. A simple introduction about the Country of South Korea is like and how it came to be as told through the eyes of a young elementary age school boy. Facts and brief history are shared as the reader follows Min'jun through things he and his family do regularly. the Olympics are coming and they plan to attend the snowboarding competition.

The book contains just enough facts for the intended age level. The story is engaging. It is relevant because South Korea is hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics, so this book provides some interesting facts about South Korea and about typical things children do there. I enjoyed it. I think it makes a good read for children at this time when South Korea is a current topic in the news. 

Reviewed by Angela C LeSuer

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Walking with Miss Millie

Bundy, T. (2017). Walking with Miss Millie. New York, NY: Penguin Random House LLC. 240 Pages, Grade 5-6, Fiction/Novel, ISBN 978-0399544569

Eleven-year-old Alice just moved Rainbow, Georgia with her mother and brother and she is not happy about it. She is refusing to make friends and make it feel like home because all she wants is to be a whole family again with her father, who abandoned them. She gets in trouble one day and to make up for it, she walks her elderly neighbor’s, Miss Millie’s, dog. The three of them go on daily walks and they form an unlikely friendship. Alice shares with Miss Millie about her father’s abandonment, while Miss Millie opens Alice’s eyes to the problems of racism and segregation and how it has affected her entire family.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I feel as if it is a story that older children will enjoy and also touches on sensitive subjects that they may have never had to think about. The problems mentioned in this book are things that their classmates may be going through, but they have no idea. It talks about real-world problems which I believe is very important for children to understand. It also teaches them that they can form friendships with people that they never thought they could. All they have to do is take the time to talk and listen.

Reviewed by Hannah K.

Feather

Coureon, R. (2017). Feather. New York: Enchanted Lion Books.

32 pages, Age 6-10, Picture Book, ISBN 978-1-59270-210-7

A little girl named Paulina likes to play the piano. She is the smallest and only girl in her family and everyone calls her Feather. They fought each other and Feather always lost. So, she always had to do chores like laundry and ironing, then she could not play the piano, her favorite enjoyment. But, after beginning boxing, she became stronger and stronger. She beat her bothers and needed to do less chores. After she won a match, she stopped boxing. Instead, she plays the piano. When people ask her why she does not do boxing any more, she says, “Fists should be opened and fingers should fly.”

I liked the last part where she says, “Fists should be opened and fingers should fly.” I thought it was kind of sad that she stopped boxing because she became strong and beat a tough opponent. But, playing the piano has been her favorite thing to do, and it is beautiful that she fills her apartment with melodious sounds. In addition, this book makes me think about families. I briefly thought how family members are involved in our lives. Their personalities, actions, and words shape our lives. This book seems simple to read, but contains very sensitive and beautiful insights.

Yuki Konno

Jelly, Garbage+Toys

Muniz, V. (2017). Jelly, garbage+toys. 115 West 18th Street, New York, New York: ABRAMS the Art of Books. 63 pages, Picture/Nonfiction/Arts, ISBN 978-1-4197-2575-3

Jelly, Garbage+Toys! It is obvious in the title of the book that some of the arts are literally from garbage. Muniz was born in Brazil, and he mentioned at the last part of the book that he never thought he would be an artist because his family were a "working class" in his own words. The book exhibits peculiar artworks that were made out of things that people set off as garbage, or things that people don't use anymore. You will find several artworks that were made from basic trash to artworks that were made possible because of technology and science. It is impressive how he works with scientists to build artwork, and the hard work that they put on to showcase the result.


This art book conceptualized by Vik Muniz is fascinating. Although I am not sure if I would want to use this book for teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten however, it is a great art book for grade level 4-6 maybe. I say this just because the materials for Muniz's arts are not very common for young children. For example, the Mona Lisa artwork he did that was made from peanut butter and Jelly. I also like the fact that Muniz is not one of those academically smart guys in school, but he managed to become successful and achieved his great potential by maximizing the skill that he is good at. I think it is a good principle to teach kids that they should not get discouraged if they are not doing great on some certain things that their friends, or their family expects them to be instead they should keep doing what they feel they are good at and find ways to maximize that talent and skills that they are given.

Reviewed by: Farah E.

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

Alexander, K with Colderly, C. & Wentworth, M. (2017). Out of Wonder Poems Celebrating Poets. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

50 pages, Grades 3-9, Picture Book/Poetry, ISBN 978-0763680947

Out of Wonder is a wonderful collection of poems written by the authors to celebrate 20 poets from around the world.  The creators carefully crafted each poem in the style of the poet they are celebrating and sometimes about a similar topic. Famous poets being celebrated include: e.e.cummings, Rumi, Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson. Six informational pages of Biographies, of the celebrated authors, are listed in the appendix. The illustrations use mixed media to inspire the artist within us.

One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost.  Marjory Wentworth wrote the poem In Every Season to celebrate Frost.   She used the same landscape topics he wrote about. Her poem is fine but does not have the same flow as Frost’s style.I still enjoyed it.  Some of the poems brought tears to my eyes.  They were personal and beautiful.  I also enjoyed refreshing my knowledge about these poets by reading the biographies. I may even write a poem soon, or at least share one of these with my family.

Reviewed by Angela C LeSuer

Newton's Rainbow: The Revolutionary Discoveries of a Young Scientist.

Lasky, K. (2017). Newton’s Rainbow: The Revolutionary Discoveries of a Young Scientist. New York: Macmillan Publishing Group.

52 Pages, Age 6-10, Biography, 9780374355135

This story is about the famous Scientist known as Isaac Newton. It talks about his life from when he was born. He was a tiny baby but grew up to be a very smart boy. He loves to observe and experiment things on his imagination that he was curious about. Isaac’s mother was not supportive of him going to school but through his curiosity Isaac never stop. He made it to college and he discover so many things including the Rainbow, Gravity and how light travels. Isaac Newton Graduate from Trinity College and became a scholar. He lived to the age of 84.

I like this book because it starts from the very beginning of the main character’s life. Student likes to know about the characters when they were young. I like the bibliography at the end of the book because if the reader want to do research it would be useful to use bibliography. I love the style of the illustrations which is simple for the students to understand. This book also present a very wonderful theme for every student to learn from. Never give up because anything is possible.

Reviewed by Ola.