Gather ’Round a Book
Wow! It’s been a roller coaster of a year! One thing we can always count on, even during stressful times, is a good book.
As we get ready to greet the new year, The Mini Page takes a look at some fun and inspiring books.
Check them out!
• Author Tia Martina uses verse to draw readers into “When the World
Went Quiet.” This story of wild animals exploring the newly quiet cities and neighborhoods as people stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic is illustrated by Kelly Ulrich.
• “Kids Fight Plastic” offers 52 missions — one for each week of the year! — that kids can jump into to save our planet’s oceans. Written by Martin Dorey and illustrated by Tim Wesson, this guide gives readers “2-minute missions” that could change the planet’s future.
• Author Kayla Miller brings her main character,
Olive, to life in the graphic novel “Act.” When Olive finds out that some kids can’t go on the school field trip, she sets out to change things in a big way.
• Two great authors, James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, worked together on “Becoming Muhammad Ali.” The biography of the boxer called “The
Greatest” is illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile and uses both prose and verse to tell Ali’s life story.
• Have you ever met someone who is a nail polish namer? How about a snake milker? “Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of” by Natalie Labarre is full of crazy and wonderful careers that will make you say, “No way!”
• Author Saadia Faruqi tells the tale of Mimi and Sakina, two girls thrown together for a summer at Mimi’s grandparents’ home in Karachi, Pakistan. “A Thousand Questions” follows the girls as they develop a friendship that helps them both.
• One thing that makes us all different — and all the same — is DNA. In “Grow: Secrets of Our DNA,” author Nicola Davies explains our genetic code with the help of illustrations by Emily Sutton.
• It’s pretty great to be a superhero’s sidekick — but not that great. So Junior Justice decides to make a team of his own in “Super Sidekicks: No Adults Allowed” by Gavin Aung Than. Set in Australia, this graphic novel scores high marks for entertainment.
• History buffs will dive into “Eleanor Makes Her
Mark” by Barbara Kerley.
This story of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt shares her highenergy style and desire to help others, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.
• This year, many have marched and protested for their rights and beliefs. In “Love Is Powerful” by Heather Dean Brewer, a little girl’s experience of marching in the 2017 Women’s March reminds us that even young kids can stand up for their beliefs. Illustrated by Leuyen Pham.
• If you’re a lover of words, check out
“Alphamaniacs” by Paul Fleischman to get your brain waves revved up!
Clever illustrations by
Melissa Sweet round out the good words.