I have some really great reviews lined up for this month! Bear Bottom, by Stuart Gibbs, once again had us in stitches as we read. There's an opening scene, involving Teddy riding the wrong-way on a horse in front of a buffalo stampede (read to find out how that happens!) that's priceless!
I enjoyed The Many Meanings of Meilan and learned quite a bit about the Chinese language and community in Boston. I felt for Millie McGonigle, caught in poverty on the eve of the US's entry into WWII. And Bubbles was another interesting What if? exploration by Abby Cooper, namely what if we could read people's thoughts -- literally, as thought-bubbles appearing over their heads?
I also review quite a few mysteries this month: Myrtle's up to her armpits in dead bodies (ok, not really, but there's at least one in each book); Holly Jackson introduces us to her YA amateur sleuth who uses social media postings, among other means, to solve a murder for her senior thesis; and Enola reveals yet another horror women in Victorian times faced. And Aggie Morton has found (yet!) another dead body, this one in the garden of a spa during a Christmas holiday. I love these covers, with a pair of dead feet on each one!
Non-fiction this month includes an excellent history of Cold War spies, Fallout, by Steve Sheinkin and the birth of basketball in Games of Deception that's sure to be a high-interest read on any shelf.
For teachers, I offer a readers theater unit on the radio broadcast of the 1938 War of the Worlds and Gail Jarrow's excellent book, Spooked!, about the stir the broadcast caused, as well as several free materials for teaching the story / historical context.
As always, read, teach, and enjoy!
And, as I started doing these preview / compilation graphics last year, here's what I read this month in 2021!
African Historical Fiction Reads: Orange for the Sunsets and Refugee 87
Surviving a Super 'Cane: Storm Blown
Super Series Conclusion: Time Travel York, books 1 and 3, The Shadow Cipher and The Map of Stars
Hunting Accident or Murder? This is Our Story
