Non-fiction book review - Children of the Past

Children of the Past by Lois Miner Huey

Most archaeology books we read do a great job of exploring every day life in a given society. The children get a brief mention, at best. So it was very cool to read about the hard evidence we have of the roles children played in those societies - the art and tools we know for certain they produced, the jobs they did. As an adult I found all of it very exciting and fascinating. I doubt a kid will feel the same. It's heavy in text and surprisingly dense with only a few photos and side bars. A good choice for a kid with an archaeology fascination, not so much for the general youth population.

Book review - Amina's Voice

Title: Amina's Voice
Author: Hena Khan
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
                      Hundred Precent by Karen Romano Young
Rating:

plenty of content but  brief

Summary (provided by publisher): A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family’s vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community in this sweet and moving middle grade novel from the award-winning author of It’s Ramadan, Curious George and Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns.
Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.” Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized.
Amina’s Voice brings to life the joys and challenges of a young Pakistani American and highlights the many ways in which one girl’s voice can help bring a diverse community together to love and support each other.

My opinion: Amina's Voice takes on some pretty big topics in a fairly short novel. That's admirable but it tends to feel oversimplified. Nothing is explored in any real depth. Changing friendships, stage fright, increasing responsibility, culture clash, and hate crimes all just get a surface exploration. All of these topics are deftly handled with realistic, likeable characters. There was simply a lot of missed opportunity to dig deeper, to explore motivations and repercussions. A decent read to introduce topics.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Harry Potter bracelets

I ordered a Harry Potter bracelet online. It was reasonably priced and I figured if it didn't look good when I got it, I could scavenge the pendants for another project. It arrived looking pretty much like the picture on Amazon. The problem? It didn't fit. It was too loose and too bulky for my wrists. But I liked the individual elements.

Luckily, I keep a small stash of jewelry findings. It was a quick job to cut the cords on the original and attach new clasps. So now I have 3 bracelets that fit nearly perfectly and don't overwhelm my wrist. Not bad for a $3 purchase.

The bracelet as shipped

My new bracelets

Non-fiction book review - Superman Science

Superman Science by Agniezka Biskup and Tammy Enz

Pop culture characters are a decent way to engage reluctant readers in non-fiction topics. It's easier to get a kid to consider all of the elements that go into flight, both by animals and humans, if you can compare it to how Superman flies. While there isn't a great deal of detail in this book, it does give the reader quick tastes of science in a wide variety of topics, hopefully enough to intrigue them and cause them to read a more in depth book on one of the specific topics. In addition to the wide variety of topics represented, there are a lot of images and the pages are designed in such away to move the eye along.

Book review - Star Scouts

Title: Star Scouts
Author: Mike Lawrence
Genre: sci-fi
Similar books: Earthling by Mark Fearing
                     SPHDZ by Jon Scieszka
Rating:

a fun variation on a middle grade standard

Summary (provided by publisher): Avani is the new kid in town, and she’s not happy about it. Everyone in school thinks she’s weird, especially the girls in her Flower Scouts troop. Is it so weird to think scouting should be about fun and adventure, not about makeovers and boys, boys, boys?
But everything changes when Avani is “accidentally” abducted by a spunky alien named Mabel. Mabel is a scout too—a Star Scout. Collecting alien specimens (like Avani) goes with the territory, along with teleportation and jetpack racing. Avani might be weird, but in the Star Scouts she fits right in. If she can just survive Camp Andromeda, and keep her dad from discovering that she’s left planet Earth, she’s in for the adventure of a lifetime.

My opinion: Once you look beyond the surface, this is pretty standard middle grade fare. Being the new kid, coping with bullies, trying to find your strengths; these are all common topics for this age group. Setting the bulk of the plot in outer space is novel and lends a sort of universality to the plot. Avani is a solid character and her new troop is charming. The illustrations are appealing. The panels are detailed and complex without becoming busy.

More Information: Star Scouts releases March 21.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

King of the Jungle

Have you ever painted those little plaster figures that come in a six pack at the craft store? There is something oddly satisfying about them. I've had this little lion knocking around my craft room for a while now and this weekend seemed like the right time to finish him off.

Book review - Jack and the Geniuses at the Bottom of the World

Title: Jack and the Geniuses at the Bottom of the World
Author: Bill Nye and Gregory Mone
Genre: mystery/adventure
Similar books: Waylon! One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker
                     Framed! by James Ponti
Rating:

clever

Summary(provided by publisher): In the series opener, Jack and the Geniuses: At The Bottom of The World, readers meet Jack and his foster siblings, Ava and Matt, who are orphans. But they’re not your typical kind of orphans—they’re geniuses. Well, Ava and Matt are, which sometimes makes life difficult for twelve-year-old Jack. Ava speaks multiple languages and builds robots for fun, and Matt is into astronomy and a whiz at math. As for Jack, it’s hard to stand out when he’s surrounded by geniuses all the time.
When the kids try to spy on Dr. Hank Witherspoon, one of the world’s leading scientists, they end up working for him in his incredible laboratory. Soon, Hank and the kids travel to Antarctica for a prestigious science competition, but they find that all is not as it seems: A fellow scientist has gone missing, and so has any trace of her research. Could someone be trying to use her findings to win the contest? It’s up to Jack, Ava, and Matt to find the missing scientist and discover who’s behind it all—before it’s too late.
Integrating real science facts with humor and suspense, and featuring an ensemble cast of loveable boy and girl characters, this uniquely engaging series is an irresistible chemical reaction for middle-grade readers. With easy-to-read language presented in a fun, motivating, and accessible way, this series opener is a great book for both inquisitive kids and reluctant readers. The book also includes information about the science discussed and used to solve the mystery, as well as a cool science project about density that kids can do at home or in the classroom.

My opinion: The cast of characters in this novel, while not particularly complex, is charming. Each character has a strength and a weakness that affects the plot. The pacing is solid. The scientific explanations are, in large part, well integrated into the narration. They flow naturally as the plot progresses, not pulling us out of the moment. There are a few weaknesses. There is a fair amount of unnecessary gross-out humor. And I was a little troubled by the way the other characters, even his de facto family, undervalued Jack. He seems to accept doing all of the grunt work as a natural result of being less smart than the others, as if he has less value for anything other than manual labor. I am hopeful, though,  that his position will strengthen as the series progresses. All in all, this is a solid start to a solidly entertaining and sneakily educational series.

More information: Jack and the Geniuses at the Bottom of the World releases April 4.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.