jess
Tender, beautiful story of what it means to be family. Heartbreaking and sweet.
The magical realism of Simonopio lends wonder.
We have the same cast of characters as Spy School (mostly) and this is the summer after Ben goes to spy school.
I was annoyed at the constant poking at science and nerds as a bad thing, and I had trouble with the stated ages. How is Ben 12? The 12 year old thing is not right - he and his friends constantly engage in behaviors of older teenagers...even if they are not being super mature. The 12 year old thing is NOT made better by how often we are reminded of it.
There is some real cringe violence in this book - one kid takes another kid's tooth out (AND GIFTS IT!!).
The pacing of these books is pretty good, and the characters are not completely flat. But, I don't get the jarring parts.
This book is not on my recommend list, but I will probably catch myself reading the next one.
Cute story with science / but also confusing because of the way the characters were part of the science.
Saunders gives us so much to think about - I felt like I was really in a writing class.
I liked this story, but my overall opinion on the series is that the subject is too dark and the violence too much for the apparent target audience of middle school students. The second book even introduces a villain that kills his own friend for sport around that tender age. The first book is fun if a little dark, but it just feels too much. Unfortunately so, because the characters have a lot of potential and it is nice to see both a male and female hero work together.
I didn't remember this story except the major theme (from a youth reading of it).
It is terrifying. Also, I did not like it. Useful thought exercise, sure, but I did not like being in his head.
After the first book, the setting and characters start out as a bit of a surprise in this one. The characters seem just as confused as the readers, so it's fun. A. few new characters extend the cast and our familiar characters get a little more experience and depth.
The adventures continue, and it is an exciting and dangerous ride. How will the kids outsmart the bad guy(s) this time? What will the repercussions be?
I add a bit of caution to my recommendation- turns out that no one in this series is who they saw they are. Kids with trust issues may find it unsettling.
What a dense and insightful book. I am truly sad that I did not read this book about 8 years ago when we were first struggling with disillusionment about the school system. The book walks you through twelve years of classical education, including detailed source material suggestions and schedules. It does not tell you how to test or how to go through the material, but that was never the intent of this book. A wonderful resource?
What a delight. This short book introduces computational thinking concepts, coding vocabulary, and fun characters. I'd recommend reading the story with elementary age kids (boys and girls).
The best part is all of the activities in the back. Ignore the cutesy art and whimsy - these activities are good for all ages - little kids, middle grades, teens, and grown ups. Savvy parents can use the activities in the back of the book for inspiration as a way to turn any activity or conversation into a way to solidify computational and creative problem solving (not that EVERY activity should go that direction).
Another adventure with Artemis and his trusty bodyguard/servant, Butler. Artemis is scheming again, but along the way, he ends up part of another fairy LEP project and might have a chance to save his father.
There are some real gems in this story as we get to know the main characters better (they have time to become a little more complex) and minor characters from the first story gain more color and larger roles.
Just like the first book in the series, I'd recommend this to all readers at this lexile.
Things are not what they seem. All seems well, or what might be called well, for the characters we have grown to love over the series. Things quickly change, and we are off on a new adventure with our good friends, mystery, and danger.
What has Artemis done AND What will Artemis do without the fairy folk? Readers must find out. There is some sadness in this story, but redemption is in the air. You don't want to miss a minute of the action.
This book provides a thorough overview of food allergies. The author uses case studies to show how food allergies present differently in different people. He also describes other allergies that might present the same symptoms.
I was turned off by the perspective that mild allergic responses, such as skin rashes, should be medicated instead of avoiding a known allergen. This seems absurd to me. The author argues that if the allergic reaction appears mild, there is no reason to exclude a whole food and present nutritional issues. I counter that we, collectively, exclude whole kinds of foods (ancient grains, anyone?) regularly - on non-allergic diets just based on culture. Except for that silly (and potentially dangerous) notion, I liked the book.
Imagine you are 12 years old and there is a threat of nuclear war over your head. That was reality for a lot of 5/6th graders in the early 60s as the Cuban Missile Crisis loomed.
Strasser gives us a view into what might have happened on one block if only one family had built a bomb shelter. The kids will be kids chapters flashbacks may be confusing to some for timeline reasons, but from a reading perspective, they are interesting and really ground us in the time and with our characters.
The dialogue, characters, and plot are all in line, but I felt like this book was a little too scary. The big injury is needed to motivate discussions of worthiness and race that the book also tries to touch on, but I don't know that it needed to be what it was. I'm not sure what kids would make of that.
Kids reading this book likely have lots of questions - or should be prompted because there are some talkable topics: bullying, stealing, sex, alcohol, racism, ableism...along with nuclear war.
This one was short and unexpected. I enjoyed reading it. The characters are surprising in some ways and ordinary in others. It is plausible, and my boys got caught up in the story quickly.
Short, intense, honest, and helpful. I heard Rand in an interview - I think maybe on Indie Hackers (aside, great podcast). The book has been in my to read for sometime. Essentially, I see this narrative as a salve for those in the thick of starting up. It is a reminder of what you need to do, stand to lose or gain, and one path through. Ultimately, it seems a lot of what Rand has to say must still be pushed and struggled through...and not just chosen from a book.
Good luck, fellow founders!
Not my favorite in Discworld. The characters were still great, and the world still curious, but the plot arc was too straight. Worth the read if you are already following Moist Von Lipvig's adventures.
Read this book!
There is so much to love here. The very real personal story of the founder, the examples of great achievements in the past, the short and relatable but real history lessons, the playful introductions to different applications of code. The target audience is middle to high school age girls - I'm not sure they will pick it up unless they are already interested in coding...hiding like it does with the Dewey Decimal System over there by all the other learn to code books. Adults may need to make this book visible and accessible to the kids who most benefit from it - kids who do not think they are good at math or science.
The book invites readers to continue with an interactive book online (at a simple url) and a fiction series. Code newbies who don't understand what the instructors are saying in those bootcamps or youtube videos can pick up the basics in this book - everything from wire framing to D.R.Y. to algorithms.
The ONLY thing that frustrates me about this book is that it is so very overtly for girls - not that it is bad to reach out to this group but because the concepts and true girl power history could be useful for boys and adults, too.
I will keep recommending this book. It is fantastic. If you are interested in code, read it for an easy introduction. If you are already knocking out projects or an active programmer, read it to have a way to talk to other people who are curious about coding.
This is a heartfelt story of a mom just trying to do her best. It's raw and relatable. Our POV is a single mom just barely scraping by. Every disappointment expressed by her daughter, who is her whole world, hits you like a punch.
For most of the book, I was pretty sure it would end poorly for our POV character and her daughter. No prince swoops in to save them, no rich uncle appears, no unicorn arrives. Well, a better off uncle does appear, but the mom chooses to struggle and scrape by because she sees that the kindness they offer really is a different kind of prison and not what she wants. What happens, then? Well, she is still making it work, somehow, by getting up every day and trying. And, I think they will be alright. There's a huge surprise in the last sentence of the book!
Audiobook well narrated (not an option on editions)
I thoroughly enjoyed the tons and the author's ability to weave in history and science. Think what you will about the Internet–this book is worth the few hours it takes to read.
I have reserved appreciation for this book. At first, I struggled with the presentation format - a chapter in sequential-ish order following the Tudor history (and related) followed by a chapter of “Background”. About 1/3 of the way in, I resolved to pretend I was reading three books in parallel: one on the Tudors, one on shifting European powers of the 15th to 16th centuries, and one about the explosion of protestant religions. I understand, at some level, that the three stories are intertwined, but this was a particularly frustrating part of the book.
Given those challenges, this book is interesting and brings to life characters whose actions still reverberate today. The majority of the text focuses on Henry VIII, who we learn was a seriously messed up character with strong, albeit shifting, religious views. We can see in the shifts of Henry VIII's England the strong advocation for separation of church and state by the settlers in America; the tremendous shift from religious and community life to life controlled by government; and the impact different kinds of “right hand” men can have on the influence of councils and parliaments. The rest of the text briefly covers the beginning of the Tudor era with Henry VII - who really seems not so bad a leader, if somewhat greedy. The tumultuous time after the death of Henry VIII, through his children Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.
The children all have their own brand of personally favored “Crown Religion” (I don't think this phrase is used in the text, but makes more sense than trying to call any of these leaders “Catholic” or “Protestant” when their views were individual). Each of the children, like Henry VIII before them, uses the power bestowed upon the crown to met out harsh punishments for “those who are not us.” That anyone had any true religious zeal after the Tudor era in England is surprising to me. The stories of the supporting cast: Chancellors, nobles, secretaries...are also woven in - these characters, even more than some of the Tudors, drive the nature of the government and the experience of everyday English people. I truly appreciated how this text brought them out of obscurity, where plausible, alongside the crown.
Much is still not known, I admire G.J. Meyer for frankness when we simply do not know what happened or what the origins were for a particular character or action. I'd recommend folks who are interested in English, Christian, or background for American history to read this book for another perspective to more popular (shorter) tales of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. However, I'd not strongly recommend it. Despite the author stating that this text was “for the masses” and not for scholars, the narrative is not written in simple language, and shifts between time and place are not easy to follow. In only one place (with two men of the same last name) did the author deign to come up with clear shorthand (using their houses, rather than names) to attempt to avoid confusion. However, the multitude of people with similar first names, ruling or heir to completely different lands, are not given equal clarity. This can be helped, a little, with notes. I would not recommend this book to budding historians less than maybe 10th grade, exceptions may be warranted for highly precocious AND extraordinarily interested middle grader. The book is certainly PG.
A cute story about the power of imagination and curiosity.
This story will delight elementary students on up. The challenges are unique to the world but are also timeless. There are so many opportunities for discussion - on the value of science, libraries, sharing, etc.
Notes: strong young female protagonist, hardship, poorly behaving civic leaders
A broad array of fermented foods - some of which I had never considered making. I love this book's real world tone, witty insights, and simple recipes.