Post-It Note Reviews: Quick looks at new books!

June’s post-it review roundup is of 6 books recent books.

All descriptions from the publishers. Transcriptions of post-it note reviews after each description.

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E. F. Barone (ISBN-13: 9781250881656 Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) Publication date: 05/14/2024, Ages 10-14)

Mountain of Fire is the narrative nonfiction account of the violent volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, the story of the people who died, those who survived, and the heroes who fought to raise an alarm.

For weeks, the ground around Mount St. Helens shuddered like a dynamite keg ready to explode. There were legends of previous eruptions: violent fire, treacherous floods, and heat that had scoured the area. But the shaking and swelling was unlike any volcanic activity ever seen before. Day and night, scientists tried to piece together the mountain’s clues—yet nothing could prepare them for the destruction to come.

The long-dormant volcano seethed away, boiling rock far below the surface. Washington’s governor, Dixie Lee Ray, understood the despair that would follow from people being forced from their homes. How and when should she give orders to evacuate the area? And would that be enough to save the people from the eruption of Mount St. Helens?

Includes a QR code for a website featuring eye-catching photos of the eruption.

(POST-IT SAYS: An easy recommendation for all the kids who love I Survived and are ready for something a little more complex. Narrative nonfiction is a great genre to point readers toward. History comes to life in this engaging read.)

Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer (ISBN-13: 9781665930383Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Publication date: 06/11/2024, Ages 8-12)

Perfect for fans of Victoria Jamieson and Raina Telgemeier, this heartwarming middle grade graphic novel follows two nonbinary kids who navigate anxiety and identity while having fun and forming friendships at their summer orchestra camp.

After attending an incredible concert, Tate Seong is inspired to become a professional violist. There’s just one problem: they’re the worst musician at their school.

Tate doesn’t even have enough confidence to assert themself with their friends or come out as nonbinary to their family, let alone attempt a solo anytime soon. Things start to look up when Tate attends a summer orchestra camp—Camp Prodigy—and runs into Eli, the remarkable violist who inspired Tate to play in the first place.

But Eli has been hiding their skills ever since their time in the spotlight gave them a nervous breakdown. Together, can they figure out how to turn Tate into a star and have Eli overcome their performance anxieties? Or will the pressure take them both down?

(POST-IT SAYS: LOVED this! Great art and charismatic characters tell a story full of excellent messaging about pressure, identity, friendship, acceptance, insecurity, and teamwork. A wonderfully affirming look at gender identity and mental health struggles.)

Fake Chinese Sounds by Jing Jing Tsong (ISBN-13: 9780525553427 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 04/30/2024, Ages 9-12)

A middle-grade graphic novel about a Taiwanese American girl navigating identity, bullying, and the messy process of learning to be comfortable in her skin.

Between homework, studying, and Chinese school, Měi Yīng’s summer is shaping up to be a boring one. Her only bright spots are practice with her soccer team, the Divas, and the time spent with her năi nai, who is visiting from Taiwan. Although Měi Yīng’s Mandarin isn’t the best and Năi Nai doesn’t speak English, they find other ways to connect, like cooking guōtiē together and doing tai chi in the mornings.

By the end of the summer, Měi Yīng is sad to see Năi Nai go—she’s the com­plete opposite of Měi Yīng serious professor mother—but excited to start fifth grade. Until new kid Sid starts making her the butt of racist jokes. Her best friend, Kirra, says to ignore him, but does everyone else’s silence about the harassment mean they’re also ignoring Sid . . . or her? As Sid’s bullying fuels Měi Yīng’s feelings of invisibility, she must learn to reclaim her identity and her voice.

Perfect for fans of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor, Measur­ing Up by Lily LaMotte, and The New Kid by Jerry Craft.

(POST-IT SAYS: Yet another really satisfying middle grade graphic novel. 5th grade Měi Yīng experiences endless microaggressions but stands up for herself and makes other see their cowardice. Nice intergenerational connections with mom and grandma.)

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle by Dan Gutman (ISBN-13: 9780823454846 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 06/04/2024, Ages 8-12)

From the author of the My Weird School books, an adventure story that spans centuries and continents.

In Central Park, New York, stands Cleopatra’s Needle. But what do you know about? Did you know that thousands of people worked in 1461 BCE to build it? Then hundreds more moved it, and erected it in Alexandria, where it stood for 3,000 years? So how did a monolith weighing over 200 tons get moved all the way to New York City—and in the 19th Century, no less?

In this historical fiction account by bestselling author Dan Gutman, five kids who watched the Needle at each phase of its history recount the daring story of how something that seemed to be impossible –and that nearly ended in disaster—finally succeeded against all odds.

Including photos, diagrams, and illustrations, this book will leave history lovers and fans of problem solving astounded at all that was accomplished. And best of all, it will leave middle grade readers feeling they’ve just watched a really good movie—they’ll hardly even realize they were reading.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

(POST-IT SAYS: Fact and fiction meet as a boy listens to his mother’s story of the history of Cleopatra’s Needle. I’d never even heard of this monument and found its construction and rehoming fascinating. Super engaging and informative.)

Pearl: A Graphic Novel by Sherri L. Smith, Christine Norrie (Illustrator) (ISBN-13: 9781338029437 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 08/20/2024, Ages 10-14)

In a beautifully crafted and captivating graphic novel from award-winning writer Sherri L. Smith and Eisner-nominated artist Christine Norrie, a Japanese-American girl must survive years of uncertainty and questions of loyalty in Hiroshima during World War II.

Amy is a thirteen-year-old Japanese-American girl who lives in Hawaii. When her great-grandmother falls ill, Amy travels to visit family in Hiroshima for the first time. But this is 1941. When the Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor, it becomes impossible for Amy to return to Hawaii. Conscripted into translating English radio transmissions for the Japanese army, Amy struggles with questions of loyalty and fears about her family amidst rumors of internment camps in America — even as she makes a new best friend and, over the years, Japan starts to feel something like home. Torn between two countries at war, Amy must figure out where her loyalties lie and, in the face of unthinkable tragedy, find hope in the rubble of a changed world.

(POST-IT SAYS: A really interesting look at being trapped in Japan during WWII and being forced to work for the government. Strong themes of identity, belonging, and loyalty. The unique perspective helps this stand out from the many WWII books.)

Meesh the Bad Demon #1: (A Graphic Novel) by Michelle Lam (ISBN-13: 9780593372876 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 03/21/2023, Ages 8-12)

A tale of unlikely heroes and myths is made real in this debut graphic novel series about a “bad” demon trying to find her place in the underworld. But she’ll have to save it first!

Meesh is a bad demon. “Bad” in that she always sees the good in those around her—which isn’t how a demon is meant to feel or act.

Bullied by the other demons, twelve-year-old Meesh is more likely to be found reading magazines from Plumeria City—the fairy realm—and fangirling about the fairy princesses.

But when disaster strikes and all of demon-kind is threatened, Meesh must journey to other worlds in search of help.

As luck would have it, she meets a fairy princess right away. Things in the fairy realm aren’t so perfect either, though. As Meesh makes surprising new friends and unites a band of outcasts, she learns there’s much more to being a demon than she ever realized. And learning to love herself might just uncover the secret to saving her home.

(POST-IT SAYS: Misunderstood Meesh gets a chance to show her real self—and be appreciated for that—while teaming up to do the small task of saving the underworld. An imaginative story full of real world concerns.)

Filed under: Book Reviews