The Magic Tree House, Lions at Lunchtime by Mary Pope Osborne

The Magic Tree House, Lions at Lunchtime by Mary Pope Osborne is about how Jack and Annie went to Africa by a Magic Tree House that they climb. They get any book that the owner gives to them then they say,”We want to go there” and they go there. But Annie suddenly went rushing across a river and Jack was worried if any lions are going to attack them.

I like the book for many reasons. I like the adventures and missions that Jack & Annie go on. Sometimes they complete the missions and sometimes they don’t. I like the animals that are in the book like the lions, tigers, giraffes, the birds, and the rhinos.

Review by BucketMan

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney tells a story using poetry. Amira is a twelve year old girl living in South Darfur, Africa. She lives simply and happily with her Muma, Dando and little sister, Leila on their family farm. She loves to draw pictures with a stick in the sandy soil. Unfortunately, the peace will not last as her family gets caught up in a war that Amira can not understand. She must flee with the last of her village as she leaves her family home in ashes.

The story begins in 2003 and brings the conflicts between fighting factions in Africa to a personal, understandable level for students. Amira's story will help develop empathy in anyone who reads it. Although it is a story of fiction, the topics covered in the book; death, war, grief, refugee camps, and loss are very real. This would be an ideal read aloud with students. Plan on sharing Amira's drawings with your document camera. It is a story of war and hardship, but also a story of family and ultimately hope. RICBA nominee 2016

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Do you know what it means when your teacher tells you your writing has "voice"?  He or she is letting you know that they can hear your personality shining through your words.  It is as if the writer is speaking directly to the reader.  With Home of the Brave, Katherine Applegate speaks with the clear, heartwarming voice of her character Kek.  He is a young boy chased from his home in Africa by men "with their knives and their guns and their mysterious hate."  But despite all Kek has to be sad about, (he doesn't even know if his mother is still alive), he struggles to fit in to his new life in the cold winter of Minnesota and never gives up hope.  This is a "must read" book!  First you must read it, and second you must tell me if you loved it as much as I did!  And if you still need convincing, it's a fast read, written in short unrhymed poems.  K.A. Applegate is also the author of The One and Only Ivan and the Animorph series.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro