Teens and Questions of Faith: American Born Chinese

Title: American Born Chinese Author: Gene Luen Yang Illustrator: Color by Lark Pien Publisher: First Second ISBN: 1596431520; 240 pages Audience: Ages 12 and up Summary: American Born Chinese tells three separate stories: The Monkey King, of Chinese legend, wants to be accepted in the Heavenly Council as a deity; Jin Wang, an American born Chinese [...]

Oggie Cooder

Name of Book:  Oggie Cooder Author: Sarah Weeks Publisher: Scholastic ISBN: 9780439927949 Audience: Ages 8 – 12 Summary: Oggie Cooder is the class weirdo. Donnica Perfecto is his chief nemesis. She wants to win a talent show audition and thinks Oggie’s carving of cheese into shapes is the best way to win. But it is [...]

One Special Me: A Book Celebrating How God Made Us Special

Name of Book:  One Special Me: A Book Celebrating How God Makes Us Special Author:  Allia Zobel Nolan Illustrator:  Pauline Siewert Publisher:  Thomas Nelson Audience:  Ages 3 and up Summary:  This children’s book shares the story of several children from different racial backgrounds that all have different physical features. They each take turns sharing one [...]

Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls

Name of Book:  Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls Editor:  Betsy Franco Photography:  Nina Nickles Publisher:  Candlewick Press ISBN: 0-978-0-7636-1035-7 Audience:  14 and up. Contains strong language and sexual imagery. Summary:  Betsy Franco was inspired by a conversation with a teenage friend who expressed feelings that Betsy remembered in [...]

Yellow and Pink

Name of Book: Yellow and Pink Author: William Steig Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN:  9-780374-386719 Audience: Written for ages 4-8.  This review suggests the book’s applicability to both young and mature audiences. Summary:  Two wooden figures, one pink and the other yellow, lying in the sun discover each other and begin a conversation to [...]

Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx

Name of Book: Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx Author: Jonah Winter Illustrator: Edel Rodriguez Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Audience: Ages 4-10 Summary: Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge grows in the Bronx is the life story of Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor’s rise from her very humble beginnings, living in the projects [...]

Elizabeth Leads the Way

Name of Book: Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote Author: Tanya Lee Stone Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon Publisher: Henry Holt and Company Audience: Ages 4 – 10 Summary: This is the remarkable story of a remarkable woman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  From a very young age Elizabeth felt strongly that ALL [...]

The Color of Me

Name of Book:  The Color of Me Author:  Linda L. McDunn Illustrator: Barbara Knutson Publisher:  Liturgical Press Audience: Ages 5-8 Summary: The author uses the story of creation in Genesis to begin this book.  Very descriptive language is used and along with the illustrations helps the reader to understand the many things that God created. [...]

Black is Brown is Tan

Name of Book: Black is Brown is Tan Author: Arnold Adoff Illustrator:  Emily Arnold McCully Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher Audience: Ages 5 -8 Summary: A poetic story about the everyday life in a racially mixed family. Literary elements at work in the story: The story takes place in the family’s home and is told from [...]

The Giver

Name of Book :  The Giver Author:  Lois Lowry Publisher:  Laurel-Leaf Books Audience:  Ages 11 and up Summary:  Jonas and his family live in a perfect society where no one feels emotions or has to think for themselves. Each member of the community has a role which is assigned to him or her when he [...]