he Little Girl by H. Pham-Fraser is a beautiful story for young children that helps to impress upon them the importance of identity and how much it is the center of belonging, no matter where you are. I think that this is a story that should be read by or to all children, and adults, to help them understand valuable lessons about how important it is to be accepting of others, even if they are different from you, and also how important it is to be kind.
Sweepings of the Street is a powerful story about overcoming tremendous obstacles and never giving up hope.
Emotionally charged and authentic - “Colton’s Terrible Wonderful Year” by Vincent Traughber Meis is a timely book about a young, Black male trying to make sense of growing up during 2020 when the whole world seemed to be falling apart. Relevant topics such as racism, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the pandemic are weaved into this coming-of-age story that ultimately depicts a quest for self-discovery. Like other teens, Colton is beginning to see the world through a different lens, leaving him questioning where he belongs.
An Adorable Story That Teaches Self Love
Sarah Vie's children's book, "Let Your Inner Golden Sparkle Shine," is a visually beautiful story with an important theme every parent should share with their child. The story follows a little girl who uses her golden sparkle to face her fears and never stops believing in herself. The illustrations stunningly display scenes as learning lessons and teaching opportunities. Author Sarah Vie constructs the story around her belief that "every person is rooted in love, and when we tune into the songs of our heart, we won't ever forget who we truly are."
"The Underground Book Readers: The Secret Society" is a sprawling dystopian YA novel set in the year 2031. The World Force, a military totalitarian group, has taken over the United States and turned the country upside down, requiring complete subservience from its citizens. The organization banned the reading of any books and Bibles and also outlawed attendance at churches and schools. In a secluded underground tunnel deep into the mountains of Virginia, four orphaned teenagers, Kahn, Jairus, Asher, and Casey, originally members of a Secret Society group, have been meeting secretly for several years.
Emotions are part of our everyday lives, but at times it feels like they are controlling how we think and act to the point where we feel like we're not in control anymore. "There's A Monster in My Cupboard: Emotions: our brain, our body, and our feelings" by Susannah Nilsen is a profound text for young readers that explores different moods and feelings and how the human mind processes and generates them, based on sensory data and experiences.
When I read this series, I think about Daniel as a character who is living a life that many of us fantasize about if we won the lottery. His situation is a bit different in that he comes from wealth, but through his father’s wealth, he has created even more. He uses his wealth and his compassionate heart to reach out and help those in need. This would be my dream if I had the resources to do so.
“Nurse Florence, How Do We Keep Our Balance?” is just one of many Nurse Florence books in the series. Educating young readers in a variety of topics, author Michael Dow takes complex topics and makes them accessible and understandable for the masses.
Connor Shane is an “almost” 20-year-old author currently making his way through community college. He hopes to become an ecologist one day in order to help better understand and protect the wildlife of our planet.
Connor loves a story that carries a message and believes art is one of the most beautifl ways to teach lessons, allowing us to live our best days. He prefers deep discussions about life as opposed to throwing opinions about the weather into the wind. He’s also a serious gamer.
Connor goes by the pen name Curon. A Warm Touch is his debut novel.
Hierarchy of Blood a virtual storm of emotions. It’s beautiful, exciting, gritty, suspenseful, and maddeningly addictive.
In "Chase Across Time: Search for the Ice Castle of Fire" by authors Z. Altug and Tracy Gensler, Danny Day is an average 10-year-old kid who doesn't have special powers like most of his peers. On a mission to rescue his parents from the evil Lord Daaggerd, Danny assembles a crew of regular kids from different time periods and different countries and, in the process, he learns that despite being a Non (a person without powers), he still has value and can offer his own talents and virtues to stand out among the rest.
In the world today there are so many young adult fantasy stories to choose from that it gets to the point where one gets a bit bored assuming they are getting the same-old-thing. I am here to tell you that Lynne Howard’s debut novel, Dylan Dover, Into the Vortex, is not the same-old-thing and it should not be missed. It is an excellent story giving us a new supernatural hero, actually more than one, and it gives the reader an adventure and characters that are truly likeable, which is not always the case.