Post-It Note Reviews: Books for younger readers featuring eagle trainers, role-playing gamers, Slayers, and more

Now that I work in an elementary library, I’m reading a lot more titles for younger readers. It’s been super interesting to me to see what the students (grades K-5) check out. I’ve spent so long completely in the world of YA and am glad for an opportunity to work with younger readers and to read all of the great picture books, chapter books, and middle grade books I’ve missed out on!

Post-It Note reviews are a great way to display books in your library or classroom, a way to let kids recommend their favorite titles without having to get up in front of everyone and do a book talk, and an easy way to offer a more personal recommendation than just the flap copy offers.

All summaries are from the publishers. Transcription of Post-it note review under the summary.

Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow

An exquisitely written, uplifting middle grade debut by acclaimed author, Erin Bow, about a young girl who defies her family’s expectations in order to save her brother and become an eagle hunter, perfect for fans of PAX.
It goes against all tradition for Aisulu to train an eagle, for among the Kazakh nomads, only men can fly them. But everything changes when Aisulu discovers that her brother, Serik, has been concealing a bad limp that risks not just his future as the family’s leader, but his life too.

When her parents leave to seek a cure for Serik in a distant hospital, Aisulu finds herself living with her intimidating uncle and strange auntie—and secretly caring for an orphaned baby eagle. To save her brother and keep her family from having to leave their nomadic life behind forever, Aisulu must earn her eagle’s trust and fight for her right to soar.  Along the way, she discovers that family are people who choose each other, home is a place you build, and hope is a thing with feathers.

Erin Bow’s lyrical middle grade debut is perfect for fans of original animal-friendship stories like Pax and Because of Winn Dixie.

(POST-IT SAYS: A sure hit for readers who like touching, powerful stories about animals. Aisulu is a great character. Can’t speak to the Kazakh rep, but it seems well-researched. Lovely writing. Ages 9-12)

The Game Masters of Garden Place by Denis Markell

A quirky Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventure that will appeal to gamers and readers of the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series.

What if your favorite fantasy game characters showed up on your doorstep IRL?

Sixth graders Ralph, Jojo, Noel, Persephone, and Cammi are hooked on fantasy tabletop role-playing games. When they somehow manage to summon their characters to Ralph’s house, things take a truly magical turn!

The five are soon racing around town on a wild adventure that tests their both their RPG skills and their friendship. Will Ralph and crew be able to keep their characters out of trouble? Trying to convince a sticky-fingered halfling rogue not to pickpocket or a six-foot-five barbarian woman that you don’t always have to solve conflicts with a two-handed broadsword is hard enough. How will they ever send the adventurers back to their mystical realm?

(POST-IT SAYS: D&D fans will gobble this up. Others may find the plot disjointed with too much of the game fantasy and not enough of the “real stuff.” Still—a fun, unique adventure. Ages 9-13)

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce, Debbie Levy

In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated schools violated the U.S. Constitution. This decision, Brown v. Board of Education, was a big deal–but Supreme Court rulings do not enforce themselves. If Brown‘s promise of change was to become reality, people had to take action.

And so, in the small town of Clinton, Tennessee, twelve African American high school students stepped up. You probably haven’t heard of the Clinton 12–but what they did in 1956 (a year before the Little Rock 9, four years before Ruby Bridges) was front-page news all over the nation. My co-author, Jo Ann Allen Boyce, was one of the Clinton 12, and we have worked together to tell her story. Like my book The Year of Goodbyes, this is nonfiction in verse, with primary archival materials and additional backmatter features. (Summary from Debbie Levy’s website)

(POST-IT SAYS: Nonfiction in verse that’s immensely readable. Powerful history that’s easy to connect to things today. Primary docs of news stories and quotes lend to the power. Strong voice, important history. Ages 10-12)

Geeky Fab 5 vol. 1: It’s Not Rocket Science

Lucy Monroe’s first day at Earhart Elementary is one for the yearbook: By recess she has launched herself off the rusty monkey bars and ended up face down onto the blacktop. The principal closes the rickety playground, and now the whole school is mad! What’s a new girl to do? Create a band of geeky friends to build a cool new playground together! Easy, right?

Join Lucy, the gang, Hubble the snarky kitty, and their TV reporter buddy, Suzy Pundergast, to find out if they can prove the meanies wrong because when girls stick together, anything is possible!

(POST-IT SAYS: Though at times the dialogue feels forced/not authentic, this is a fun (and fun to look at) read about a diverse group of girls with STEM interests. Hooray, geek girls! Ages 7-10)

Wedgie & Gizmo vs. the Great Outdoors by Suzanne Selfors, Barbara Fisinger (Illustrator)

Fans of Stick Dog and My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish will LOL when rival pets Wedgie and Gizmo brave their first family camping trip in book three of bestselling author Suzanne Selfors’s hilarious illustrated series.

Wedgie and Gizmo’s humans are taking their first family vacation—to a campground by a lake! And their pets are too destructive to stay home alone. Wedgie the corgi is super-excited. He can’t wait to chase squirrels and poop in the woods!

But Gizmo, the evil genius guinea pig, has no time for games. He must convince the forest critters to join his Evil Horde and help him take over the world—one tent at a time.

Muh-hah-hah!

(POST-IT SAYS: HILARIOUS! This is the third book in this fun series. Wedgie and Gizmo are wonderful narrators with distinctive voices. Use this series as a read aloud. Ages 7-10)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New School Nightmare by Carolyn Nowak (Artist)

An exciting and hilarious new middle grade story for anyone who likes (or doesn’t like) vampires! 

Buffy Summers is just like any other student…except for the part where she’s also a secret vampire slayer. In every generation, one girl is granted great strength to stand against the forces of darkness. Of course, power doesn’t matter when it comes to eating lunch alone, getting picked on by the popular kids, or having way too much homework.

Luckily, Buffy finds her way with a can-do attitude, a weird Watcher, and new besties, Sarafina and Alvaro–who might just have powers of their own. But will any of it be enough to turn the tide when an army of villainous vampires invade town? Can Buffy save herself, let alone the world?

Like Star Wars: Jedi Academy and DC Comics’s Secret Hero Society, this action-packed and fun-filled story is told through comics, journal entries, class notes, doodles, text messages, and other in-world artifacts.

(POST-IT SAYS: If you can divorce this from everything actually BUFFY, this is a cute introduction to a 12-year-old Slayer. The writing isn’t great but the concept of a Slayer, witch, and a werewolf teaming up, along with the varied format, may draw readers in. Ages 8-12)

My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver

In a racially polarized classroom in 1970 Alabama, Lu’s talent for running track makes her a new best friend — and tests her mettle as she navigates the school’s social cliques.

Miss Garrett’s classroom is like every other at our school. White kids sit on one side and black kids on the other. I’m one of the few middle-rowers who split the difference.

Sixth-grader Lu Olivera just wants to keep her head down and get along with everyone in her class. Trouble is, Lu’s old friends have been changing lately — acting boy crazy and making snide remarks about Lu’s newfound talent for running track. Lu’s secret hope for a new friend is fellow runner Belinda Gresham, but in 1970 Red Grove, Alabama, blacks and whites don’t mix. As segregationist ex-governor George Wallace ramps up his campaign against the current governor, Albert Brewer, growing tensions in the state — and in the classroom — mean that Lu can’t stay neutral about the racial divide at school. Will she find the gumption to stand up for what’s right and to choose friends who do the same?

(POST-IT SAYS: Tensions run high in 1970 Alabama in this first year of integrated schools. A very political look at how race affects schools, friendships, and families. Moving, important historical fiction. Ages 8-12)

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