Echo

By:  Pam Munoz Ryan

Genre: Children’s Historical Fiction

Pages: 587

Published: 2015

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: G

Compare to:

Dash, Kirby Larson

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

Wonder, RJ Palacio

In a nutshell:

The stories of 3 children in different parts of the world during WWII, bound together by a harmonica with mystical properties.

What you may enjoy:

This book is both moving and informative. The characters are well developed, relatable, and likable. The writing is well done. The story is enjoyable for all ages, although it’s a young target audience.

What you may NOT enjoy:

There are a few slow moving parts through the book. If you don’t like stories of 10-12 year old children, then you may not like this.

Warnings:

Violence and Graphic Images:

Boy is injured from being bullied; boy falls from a high ledge; man loses fingers in war; man shot in the leg and chest.

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Coraline

By:  Neil Gaiman

Genre: Children’s Dark Fairy Tale

Pages: 162

Published: 2006

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: G

Compare to:

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship, Chris Priestly

The Changling. Terri Windling

A Tale Dark and Grimm, Adam Gidwitz

In a nutshell:

After Coraline finds another dimension, her “other mother” is determined to keep Coraline there forever. The only way Coraline can return home is to find and rescue her parents.

What you may enjoy:

Coraline is a fun and clever character. It’s a good level of creepy/scary for kids without causing nightmares. It is a beautifully written creation.

What you may NOT enjoy:

The book starts of kind of slow. The story is creepy in a weird way. There are quite a few unanswered questions.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Rat’s head severed from its body; severed hand creeps around a house

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Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra

By: David A. Adler

Illustrator: Edward Miller

Genre: Children’s, educational

Pages: 32

Published: 2011

In a nutshell:

This book uses a haunted Halloween theme to teach basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Compare to:

Math Curse, Jon Scieszka

Eat Your Science Homework, Ann McCallum

How Full is Your Bucket? Tom Rath

What you may enjoy:

This is very simplified math that is illustrated and charted. It also gives examples of both word problems and equations. There is even a suggested object lesson at the end of the book.

What you may NOT enjoy:

The problems and answers are on the same page, which doesn’t give children a chance to solve it for themselves. The questions are too simple for children with any bit of algebraic knowledge.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Comic illustrations of skeletons

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