When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

Miranda is in sixth grade living in NYC and the year is 1978. Sal, Miranda’s best friend, has stopped talking to her and she doesn’t know why. When she starts to receive strange notes, her life gets even more complicated. These notes predict the future with accuracy and one of them has an alarming prediction that someone is going to die. This middle-school novel is a combination of genres, historical fiction, mystery, time travel and friendship. The mystery keeps your reading, the historical portrayal of the 1970’s is informative and the friendship among the characters is heartwarming. I will be recommending the book to my grandchildren.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2009	Profanity: No
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books	Violence: Mild
Age Level: 10-12 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 4.5	Mature Themes: Homelessness,
Pages: 199	Bullying
Stars: 5 Awards: 2010 Newbery Medal

Paperboy by Vince Vawter 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

The year is 1959 and an eleven-year-old boy called Little Man is living in segregated Memphis. His best friend has asked him to take over his paper route for the month of July. Little Man agrees to the job but is worried about having to talk to the customers, when he collects the weekly payment. He has a stutter that makes it difficult to communicate with people. Little Man not only has to interact with the customers on the route but the adult bully in the neighborhood is stealing from him.

There are a lot of serious and complicated concepts in the book, domestic violence, bullying, segregation, and brutality. Even with all these difficulties the book is heartwarming, and the drama keeps the reader engaged. For those readers who want to know what it was like for their grandparents growing up in the 50’s this book is a great snapshot of that time in America.

 

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2013	Profanity: No
Publisher: Delacorte	Violence: Knife Fight
Age Level: 10-12 years	Sexual Content: Mild
AR Level: 5.1	Mature Themes: Racism,
Pages: 224	Domestic Violence, Bullying
Stars: 5 Awards: 2014 Newbery Honor Series: 3 Books

The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock 🟊🟊🟊🟊

“The Noisy Paint Box” is the story of Vasya Kandinsky, one of the first painters of abstract art. Vasya was a very “proper Russian boy” but when his aunt gave him a paint box a whole new world opened up to him. When he painted, he heard noises, then the more he painted it turned into an orchestra. As an adult Vasya tried to conform to Russian society and he becomes a lawyer, but one night he goes to the opera, and again sees the music as art. Not able to stop himself from doing the one thing he truly loved, he quits his job and moves to Munich to paint. Buy this book for the artist in your family. They will appreciate Vasya’s nonconformist approach to art.

Published In: 2014
Publisher: Knopf
Age Level: 4-8 years
AR Level: 4.4
Pages: 36
Stars: 4
Awards: 2015 Caldecott Honor

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

A beautiful picture book about a boy and his grandfather. The grandson describes the life of his grandfather by both words and by the shapes of topiary trees illustrated in the book. The grandfather was a horticulturist, and his memories are told through his garden. My granddaughter was OK with the book but did not ask for it again. I liked it more than she did, so it got a five-star rating from me and a four from her.

Published In: 2011
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Age Level: 3-7 years
AR Level: 2.5
Pages: 36
Stars: 5
Awards: 2012 Caldecott Honor

Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

It is summer and the whole world is locked down because of a deadly virus. A young boy, Clay, spends his days in the woods behind his house. Away from his pesky sisters and his parents worries. The woods are the same place that the Under the Mountain people go hunting with their dogs. When one of the dogs is separated from the pack Clay finds her and of course takes her home. The dog becomes part of the family after they try to find its owner. The dog has a very ornate collar with its name on it, Elphinore. Elphinore takes Clay to magical places in the woods that Clay never knew existed or could have found without her. But as with all magic, danger is right around the corner. 

The adventures that Clay and Elphinore go on are thrilling and captivating. I was enthralled with the book from the beginning. This fantasy story is perfect for middle-schoolers. The book has similarities to other fantasy stories, but its updated version will be more relatable to today’s readers. This is one I will be getting for the Grandchildren.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2023	Profanity: No
Publisher: Candlewick Press	Violence: Mild
Age Level: 8-12 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 4.8	Mature Themes: Animal
Pages: 229	Cruelty
Stars: 5 Awards: 2024 Newbery Honor

Inspector Flytrap: The President's Mane Is Missing by Tom Angleberger 🟊🟊🟊🟊

Inspector Flytrap solves BIG DEAL mysteries, and he has decided to also take on THRILLING mysteries to become the World’s Greatest Detective. This is the second book in a series of three about Inspector Flytrap and his assistant Nina the Goat. In this mystery the President’s of the Unites States, who is a horse, mane is missing from his statue. Can the Inspector and his assistant solve the mystery?

The story is very silly but perfect for the beginner readers of chapter books, especially boys. The print is big and with graphics on nearly every page making the book easy to read. The series may not win any awards, but elementary school kids will love the ridiculous humor.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2016	Profanity: No
Publisher: Amulet Books	Violence: No
Age Level: 5-8 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 3.8	Mature Themes: No
Pages: 99
Stars: 4

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga 🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊

Jude and her mother have left their turbulent country of Syria for America. They leave behind her father and beloved brother. Jude’s Uncle has taken them in, to live in his very American home in Cincinnati. Warga does a beautiful job of expressing the difficulties of being a new immigrant in America. She not only expresses the cultural differences but also the racial prejudice that many immigrants experience. The book is written in verse and flows seamlessly. A great book to expose middle-school students to the realities of being an immigrant in this county.

Relevant Information	Content Review
Published In: 2019	Profanity: No
Publisher: Balzer & Bray	Violence: War
Age Level: 9-12 years	Sexual Content: No
AR Level: 5.3	Mature Themes: Hatred to
Pages: 342	Immigrants
Stars: 5 Awards: 2020 Newbery Honor