The Best Worst Campout Ever by Joe Cepeda - ADVISABLE

The Best Worst Campout Ever by Joe Cepeda. 35 pages. EARLY READER. Holiday House, 2023. $15. 9780823453948

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

An elementary aged boy and his father are starting their summer with a camping trip. When they find out that their campground is full, they need to find another place to camp. The site they find is not what they expected. Will their trip be ruined if it doesn't go exactly as planned?

Part of the I Like to Read Comics series. It is laid out like a graphic novel. The bright pictures and comic book layout will definitely keep a young reader's attention. The father and son are presumably white.

Tracie, Elementary School LIbrarian 

Words Are Magic! by Zaila Avant-garde and Felicia Whaley

Words Are Magic! (Step into Reading) by Zaila Avant-garde, illustrated by Felicia Whaley. 32 pages. EARLY READER. (leveled readers). Random House Books for Young Readers, 2024. $6. 9780593571675

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

This leveled reader was written by a winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A young girl loves words! She thinks they are magic! There are so many things you can do with words. You can sing them, shout them, draw them, and even build with them.

This is a Step 1 leveled reader. The sentences are repetitive and great for early readers. I liked that this book was written by a National Spelling Bee winner. You could tell that the girl in the book loved words and playing with them. It shows young kids how fun word play can be. The young girl protagonist is African American.

Reviewer: A. Criswell, English Language Arts teacher

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell - ADVISABLE

Impossible Creatures (Impossible Creatures #1) by Katherine Rundell, 334 pages. Knopf Books (Random House), 2024. $20.

Language: PG (4 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

APPEAL TO: MANY

When his dad has to go on a work trip, Christopher ends up visiting his grandfather in Scotland until his father returns. Christopher is finally entrusted with the family legacy from his mother’s side and is immediately called upon to fulfill his duties. The invisible islands keeping every mythical creature safe from humankind is losing magic, and Mal needs Christopher’s help to save it all.

Heartfelt in every way—from laughter to tears—readers are caught up in the magical quest to save the Archipelago with Christopher and Mal. No obstacle will stand in their way as they push forward to their goal one step at a time. Also, the illustrations are beautifully done, bringing both familiar and unfamiliar mythical creatures to life.

Christopher is British, Mal is described as having “olive” skin, and Irian is described as having “brown” skin. The mature content rating is for alcohol use. The violence rating is for blood, assault, fantasy violence, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen 

The Totally Not Boring Book of Feelings by Jolie Taylor - ADVISABLE

The Totally Not Boring Book of Feelings by Jolie Taylor, 128 pages. POETRY. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2024. $23.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Part illustrated poetry and part rhyming graphic novel, this fun collection of poems is all about emotions. Taylor addresses everything from sadness and anger to adventurous and sentimental with scenarios involving sibling conflicts, dragons, monkeys, piles of garbage, and more!

Every page brings a new surprise and elicits complementing emotions from the readers out of empathy and enjoyment. I love that all of the text rhymes, including in the intro, outro, and even the bio blurbs at the back of the book.

Characters of various skin types are depicted.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen