Elementary 7+
BENJAMIN BEAR IN FUZZY THINKING
By Chris Wilson Editor-in-Geek REVIEW Benjamin is a fuzzy little bear with fuzzy little friends. His adventures in life are simple and kind and quite amusing. The 27 short stories of Benjamin are designed for young hands and young readers to enjoy without being overpowered as each story is made up on 4-6 panels and only one page.
THE SHARK KING
By Tegan Conner Staff Writer STORY REVIEW A young woman named Kalei is out searching for food one day somewhere in Hawaii. A great wave comes up and washes her into the ocean. A mysterious stranger whom she falls in love with rescues her. Together, they have a child. Just a day before the child is born, Kalei discovers the man she loves is really the Shark King.
THE FLYING BEAVER BROTHERS AND THE FISHY BUSINESS
By Tegan Conner Staff Writer STORY REVIEW When Ace and Bub wind up in a tree thanks to their new penguin friends, they make an awful discovery: a volcano is on their island. They are pretty sure it wasn’t there the day before; so, they decide to investigate. What they find are literally fish out of water (wearing a water suit of sorts), harvesting trees, polluting the island, all in the name of a tiny product called “Fish Stixs.”
AMERICUS
By Adrian Neibauer Staff Writer STORY REVIEW Neil Barton is your typical thirteen-year-old: he’s unsure of himself, awkward, shy, and spends most of his time alone with his nose in a book. AMERICUS, written by MK Reed and illustrated by Jonathan Hill, is a coming of age story set in a small town in Anytown, USA. Neil, our main character, uses the local library in his small home town of Americus as a safe-haven to the discomfort of junior high school. There, he and the young librarian introduce us to the fantasy world of Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, the Huntress […] Read More
HOW THE LEOPARD GOT HIS SPOTS
By Kevin Hodgson Staff Writer STORY SUMMARY Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories have long held a hallowed place in literature in lower elementary classrooms. The stories of how animals came to be often give way to students’ own creative explanations of the world. A new series of graphic versions of the Kipling classics by Stone Arch Press revives that tradition in wonderful style, full of humor and insights.
ZEBRAFISH
By Kevin Hodgson Staff Writer STORY SUMMARY Rock and roll, plus some scientific inquiry and a splash of civic action, are at the center of ZEBRAFISH, written by Sharon Emerson. The story revolves around a girl, Vita, who wants to put together a band and put on a concert to raise money for a worthy cause. Eventually, she pinpoints Leukemia as the cause worth rocking for because one of her friends has secretly been battling it, and Vita enlists some new friends to join her. The goal? Raise enough money from a concert to purchase a machine for the hospital […] Read More