About This Book:
Thirteen-year-old Julia would much rather work with horses at the rescue barn than worry about things like dating and makeup. But when her BFF meets a boy at camp, Julia’s determined not to get left behind. After a makeover from her older sister, she posts a picture of herself online and gets a comment from Tyler―a seemingly nice kid who lives across town. As they DM more and more, Julia’s sure that Tyler understands her in a way her family never has. Even better, their relationship earns her tons of attention at school.
Then Julia finds out Tyler’s true plan, and her world is turned upside down. She fiercely guards her secret, but could her silence allow her friends to fall into the same trap?
*Review Contributed by Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer*
‘It Happened on Saturday’ by Sydney Dunlap is the story of Julia, an eighth grader who feels distanced from her parents and best friend and tries to find something to make her happy in the midst of her feelings of neglect. When her sister gives her a makeover and Julia posts the photo, she feels good about the likes it gets, and then a boy, Tyler, contacts her. Even though she doesn’t know him, and she even knows to think better of texting with him, she gives in to temptation and starts doing so. Her seemingly mundane life then turns exciting as she continues texting with him and soon finds herself meeting up with him. Of course, she’s careful, only meeting with him at the mall and not going anywhere with him in his car once he tells her he’s 16 and can drive. But she also doesn’t tell her parents about him, and what she tells her friends is how great he is and how wonderful her dates have been going. When she lets her guard down one day, she finds out that Tyler isn’t who he said he is and he leaves her behind with another man, a trafficker.
Even though Julia escapes before she can be taken away from all she knows and sent to a life of who knows what horribleness might await her, she still finds herself locked in a prison of her thoughts, grappling with what she should have done, and what she has to do now. She wants to protect herself, to keep her secret from others. It isn’t long before she realizes that this might be harmful to her friends or other kids like her. Life is not all black and white. What happened to Julia isn’t an isolated incident. It can happen to anyone, and when her friends start wanting to imitate what she did so they can maybe meet a cute guy online as well, she struggles with what to do to protect them while still trying to maintain her secret.
This book sheds light on the terrors of what can happen to young children if they are not as careful as they need to be, and Julia herself was more careful than most would be, especially in the circumstances she endured leading up to her escape. The importance of understanding the themes and intricacies of this book is paramount to safety, security, and ensuring that this doesn’t happen to anyone again. The back of the book has questions, answers, and a discussion guide based on the characters and themes of the book that will have readers thinking long after they put down the novel.
Good Points
The importance of understanding the themes and intricacies of this book is paramount to safety, security, and ensuring that this doesn’t happen to anyone again. The back of the book has questions, answers, and a discussion guide based on the characters and themes of the book that will have readers thinking long after they put down the novel.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book HERE!*
Bustling Cities of the World
About This Book:
From the rain-soaked streets of London to the blooming cherry blossoms of Kyoto and the sun-scorched alleys of Cairo, this captivating book takes kids on a globe-trotting journey through the world’s most picturesque cities.
It features more than 1,000 individual watercolor illustrations of 30 cities, including 5 cities from the USA:
- New York
- San Francisco
- Miami
- New Orleans
- Santa Fe
*Review Contributed By Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer*
Travel Fun
“Bustling Cities of the World” by Magdalena Konecna and Jana Sedlackova not only has beautiful illustrations, but a useful map at the beginning of the book to show all of the various spots that will be traveled to within its pages. From New York to Paris, Jerusalem to Sydney, Barcelona to Bangkok, Mexico City to Miami, Prague to Beijing, Berlin to Cairo, there are tons of words and illustrations that grace the pages to give readers a more thorough appreciation of everything the cities have to offer. Each city also has a paragraph that is shared about the location and things to see in each place.
The wide variety of places available on the map, along with landmarks, items found there, foods to eat, and more make the book a must-read for anyone interested in travel.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book Here*
You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community
About This Book:
Coauthored by one of the grandsons of Mahatma Gandhi, this gentle guide to cultivating peace will find a welcome place at home and in classrooms.
Peace is you. Peace is me.
Peace is the great big WE of community.
Where can we find peace? It shows in the way we walk, stand, or form a circle. It can be found when we play or dig in the garden, speak up or ask for help, or sit still and listen to the silence. Whether we’re learning, taking turns, or getting past hurt feelings and misunderstandings, peace is always there, as long as we look at one another, ready to discover. Drawing on the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi and educator Maria Montessori, coauthors Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus offer an inviting primer brought to life through the warm, wondrous illustrations of Colombian artist Andrés Landazábal. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If we are to teach real peace in this world . . . we shall have to begin with children.” You, Me, We does just that, as it celebrates the peace that can be found in us all.
*Review Contributed By Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer*
Peace Through Community
You, Me, We: A Celebration of Peace and Community” by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus, illustrated by Andres Landazabal, starts off with a simple question: “Where do we find peace?” The book goes on to share a variety of ways that peace can be found, all dependent on the person and the situation at hand. A common thread, however, lies in the idea that peace is found anywhere and everywhere, and is best brought out in the form of community. When we work together, ask questions, learn from each other, and deal with conflict as constructively as possible, we build community, and by extension, a more peaceful world in which the people of that community can live and thrive.
The illustrations are warm and colorful, showing diversity in many forms, including age, race, and more. The book continues to build on the theme that peace comes in many forms. Readers only have to look within themselves to find that which inspires and motivates them to be more peaceful beings who shape their understanding of who they are through peace-building techniques.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book Here*
Where’s Waldo: A-maze-ing Journeys
About This Book:
A-maze-ing! Follow Waldo on a journey through impossibly intricate mazes—with enough twists and turns to make you giddy.
Join Waldo on his most labyrinthine vacation ever, where every place he visits is a mind-boggling maze! Head to the airport andtrace your finger along the paths to plot a route from start to finish. Blast off to an awesome space center, where the mission is following rocket trails to find one that reaches all the way to the orange moon. Line up to explore a cave, elaborate gardens, a museum, a film studio, a candy factory . . . even a disco where you can strut your stuff across the dance floor. More than fifty routes to tackle! And when you reach the end of the book, you’re not done yet—you’ll find checklists with over one hundred more things to search for throughout. Good thing the fun is always in the journey, because reaching your destination will take all the wits you can muster!
*Review Contributed By Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer*
Engrossing and Brain Teasing
Where’s Waldo? A-Maze-ing Journeys” by Martin Handford is yet another addition to the many wonderful “Where’s Waldo?” books that already exist. Searching for Waldo, his friends, and the many other items hidden throughout the pages will keep readers engaged and occupied for quite a while. The short descriptions that lead into each illustration set the stage for what you might find. From an airport to a museum, garden, sweet factory, film studio, disco, and more, there is something for everyone. The final two pages of the book list even more items that each page has for readers to find.
Any reader who is looking for a brain teasing, mind bending, thoroughly engrossing time, look no further than Handford’s “Waldo” books.
*Find More Info & Buy This Book Here*
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh
About This Book:
From #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems comes a new holiday classic.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—for driving a sleigh! ’Tis also the season—for driving a sleigh! Oh, and joy to the—driving a sleigh! The Pigeon has made a list and checked it once. Can his holiday dream come true? Or will The Pigeon be left out in the cold?
You’ll share some HO-HO-HOs and HA-HA-HAs finding out in three-time Caldecott Honoree Mo Willems’ ninth Pigeon book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!
*Review Contributed By Beth Rodgers, Staff Reviewer*
Engaging and Expressive
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh!” by Mo Willems is a fitting addition to the pigeon’s adventures in his many books. In this particular book, the pigeon is dead set on driving Santa’s sleigh, but Santa doesn’t want it touched. The illustrations are endearing and comical as the pigeon tries to convince readers that he is more than capable of driving the sleigh. After all, he wants to be in the holiday spirit, so he butters readers up with kind words, but they don’t get him anywhere fast. He has a whole lot of things he says to make readers want to give in, but his upset becomes stronger and stronger when he doesn’t get his way. When he realizes that driving the sleigh isn’t as easy as it looks and there’s even some weird smell to boot, the story takes a surprising turn that even the pigeon probably didn’t expect when he became so adamant about taking the sleigh for a spin.
Mo Willems always makes his stories engaging, expressive, and downright funny! Kids and adults alike will be awed by how they become immersed in the ease of reading this and his other stories again and again!
*Find More Info & Buy This Book Here*
We would like to take a moment to thank all the wonderful authors, publishers, and publicists out there who have so graciously sent these books to our review staff. We would also like to thank all our YABC community members who visit our site each day.
