Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Book Review: Save Me a Seat

SAVE ME A SEAT by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan tells the story of a recent immigrant trying to survive his new American public school.
When Ravi Suryanarayanan moves from India to America, he expects a smooth transition. After all, he’s an excellent student, good at sports, and speaks English. However, classmate Dillon Samreen plans to add Ravi to his torture list along with another student named Joe Sylvester that he’s already bullying. As the story evolves, Ravi and Joe form a unlikely friendship that is often poignant and sometimes humorous.
Told through alternating first-person narratives featuring Ravi and his classmate Joe, middle grade readers will enjoy the real-world school situations and empathize with the plight of both Ravi and Joe.
From sitting alone in the lunchroom to dealing with mispronounced names, librarians will find that many children can relate to the characters in this school story. The addition of the glossaries and recipes at the end of the book make this title particularly effective for classroom reading activities.
To learn more about the authors go to http://sarahweeks.com/ andhttps://twitter.com/gitavarad1.
Published by Scholastic on April 26, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: Waylon! One Awesome Thing

WAYLON! ONE AWESOME THING by Sara Pennypacker is the first book in a new chapter series featuring a fourth grader with a passion for science.
A spin-off from the popular Clementine books, this series focuses on the friends and family of a science-loving boy named Waylon Zakowski. While Waylon wants to keep his class together, others want to pigeonhole friends into cliques. Waylon looks for a way to bring the diverse class together.
Librarians will find the balance of charm and humor just right for chapter book readers. Fans of Sara Pennypacker will be thrilled to find another series to explore. Teachers will find this intelligent, quiet, and thoughtful male lead character refreshing.
To learn more about the author, go to http://www.sarapennypacker.com/.
Published by Disney-Hyperion on April 5, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.