https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0 Enter your review with book cover and comments. en-us 2021-10-11 19:49:16 UTC 2023-05-18 13:19:39 UTC hello@padlet.com mw016294 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1134494778 A review by Melodie Wright

I was surprised to see this title in MSBSD for YA. It is definitely upper, upper YA! The story is the third in the series following Feyre's adventures in Fae-land. She's hooked up with Rhysand, the High Lord of Night Court (pretty spectacularly and several times explicitly) and is now trying to figure out allies among the Fae for the coming war. If you like fantasy, heavy duty romance and lots of drama, you'll like this book. I'd slap a warning on this series tho - my then-18 year old daughter read these books and I was very glad she was that old. 

]]> 2021-01-28 02:53:25 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1134494778 ws07225 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1808885533 Reviewed by Wendy Stout
Holling Hoodhood is a 7th grade student in 1967. With the Vietnam war in the background, Holling shares his struggles with his father, sister, friends, 8th grade bullies, and his 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Baker, who hates him (so he thinks).  Due to all of his classmates leaving on Wednesday afternoons for religious classes, Holling is left with Mrs. Baker. After a series of simple chores that go awry, she decides that Holling will read Shakespeare plays to keep him busy.  This is a great coming of age story in a historical setting with a huge dose of comedy mixed in.  
The reader of the audio book employs comedic timing and his use of a wry voice is very well placed in many sections of the book.

]]> 2021-10-11 22:15:56 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1808885533 hk07953 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1808919090 This beautifully written story is breathtaking and overwhelming and charming and heartbreaking, all in the same breath. Phoebe is not charming or sunny or well-liked like her sister, Okalee. Nevertheless, she adores her sister and loves spending time with her. They share a secret event each Spring, one their parents know nothing about...until it goes irreversibly wrong. Phoebe is left without her sister, struggling with a lie that seems to be stopping her voice from singing. Desperate to find her way through the grief that's consuming her and her family, and to sing the coveted solo, she also has to come to terms with her lie and find the courage to tell the truth.  ]]> 2021-10-11 22:42:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1808919090 sw06603 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1809658173 According to the Sora description, this is the author's first published effort. It seems much more than that. Zebra Forest spins a sometimes tense sometimes humorous and always engaging story of two adolescent siblings who spend as much time as possible lost in the wooded lot behind their home as in the pages of classic stories like Treasure Island. But their idyllic - if unconventional - world is invaded by a dangerous stranger. Escapee Andrew Snow first threatens Annie and Rew's lives, but his real threat turns out to be to who they think they are in the world Gran has created. ]]> 2021-10-12 04:43:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1809658173 mp018593 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1811637582 Reviewed by Mikael Porcello
So far this book is always a hit with my students.  
Jessica's identity is running. So, when she loses her foot in accident, she is completely lost.  The Running Dream is about how Jessica discovers a connection with Rosa--who experiences CP. Before the accident Rosa was "invisible" to Jessica, but now, Rosa has much to teach Jessica.  
This is a wonderful story about confidence, determination, ableism, and preconceptions. ]]> 2021-10-12 18:08:14 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1811637582 dl019457 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1812932945 This book is wonderful for a young age audience especially kindergarteners.  The author compares feelings to the way it rains.  It starts out with a young boy walking to school with his older sister, leaving behind his mother at home.  The walk goes through many different types of feelings we all may experience throughout the day knowing each feeling is okay to have just like how rain come down. The author also has a great section at the end that teachers can use in the classroom during social emotional learning.]]> 2021-10-13 05:13:38 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1812932945 sw06603 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1817429939 I'm finding a few gems in Sora that I wouldn't otherwise easily come across (except for my expensive sojourns to Fireside). This picturebook handles the basics of fact vs. opinion, but also delves into the ramifications of what happens when opinions differ, or when "facts" (claims) can't be verified, or conflict. The reading level is a little higher than I would like, but I think the book overall is accessible to most elementary readers, and it could be a fun medium for older students as well.]]> 2021-10-14 15:19:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1817429939 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1852275937 Another good Julia Cook. It's obviously about a kiddo who is consumed by his new video game. A good lesson for media balance and parent involvement in helping students make healthier choices with technology. Some good parent advice. I think a lot of my students would brag more about how they spend all their time gaming.]]> 2021-10-28 19:32:04 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1852275937 hf023353 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1866348076 *DISCLAIMER* This is  a high school leveled read. Though easy, there is some adult content that younger secondary kiddos might find....confusing. 
If you're a lover of graphic horror classics like Dracula, then this might be the book for you! Olivia is a young, outspoken woman living in 1900's Portland, Oregon. Speaking her mind, participating in radical protests, and "rebelling" by (OH NO) READING BOOKS, her father, a conservative dentist, has had just about enough of her unwomanly outburst. When a traveling hypnotist, Henri Reverie, comes to town, Olivia's father pays him greatly to rewire his daughter's mind to help her get her head out of the clouds, and turn her into an obedient and civilized young lady. Instead, Henri grants Olivia the ability "to see the truth" in those around her. Suddenly, Olivia is swarmed with supernatural beasts who show their REAL intentions of those around her. As Olivia fights to regain control of her own mind from these terrifying visions, she also has to continue fighting with the people she knows and loves to end the suffrage of early American women. ]]> 2021-11-04 02:29:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1866348076 sw06603 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1890631439 Plymouth Rocks! by Jane Yolen is one of two books I recently found on Sora that address the myths and inaccuracies surrounding America's most-beloved holiday, Thanksgiving. In this work, Yolen uses Plymouth Rock as the focus. PR tries to give us the traditional interpretation, from its point of view. But the red pen splashes on nearly every page, and the stone-cold truth is told.
While I liked the style of this work, I'm not sure students would be able to follow the poetic phrasing of P.R., nor fully comprehend how its story is corrected to reflect current scholastic interpretations. ]]> 2021-11-15 07:44:32 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1890631439 sw06603 https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1891630940 This is another solidly researched and well written effort aimed at disspelling the cloud of misinformation surrounding Thanksgiving.  While much longer than "Plymouth Rocks!," this actually seems more readable and accessable to elementary students. The text is frequently broken by insets and graphic novel style interludes that equate to Messner's versions of long quotes. The book mostly follows the Pilgrims from England on, with some digressions and interesting parallel events. Unlike Yolen, Messner is openly critical of the Thanksgiving myth and the subsequent impacts on native cultures. Her author's note at the end, sharing her own journey of knowledge, is impactful alone. So also is her brief examination of a unknown-to-me event where famous sufferagette Elizabeth Cady Stanton propelled such myths regarding the early relations between Pilgrims and Wampanougs.  I think this kind of book (I look forward to reading others in the series) highlights why research is critical for young learners.]]> 2021-11-15 15:41:00 UTC https://padlet.com/rt06430/y99prn2oupeemsq0/wish/1891630940