by Phyllis | Feb 17, 2021 | Book reviews
Coo by Kaela Noel, a middle-grade tale, tells the story of a girl raised by pigeons. It’s a sweet story; by the end of it, you too will want to learn pigeon-language. I guarantee you’ll never see pigeons in quite the same way again. A flock of pigeons in...
by Phyllis | Feb 3, 2021 | Book reviews
In this book, Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri, the author channels his twelve-year-old self, an immigrant from Iran living in Edmond, Oklahoma. He tells his life story to his fifth-grade class as part of an assignment. And it’s a long story–for...
by Phyllis | Jan 26, 2021 | Phyllis Wheeler's Books
Rejoice with me! My dream is coming true! My debut novel, The Long Shadow, comes out June 1 from Elk Lake Publishing. It’s an anti-racist novel for kids 10-14. I’ve been wanting to write a children’s book since I was 13! What’s The Long Shadow...
by Phyllis | Nov 4, 2020 | Book reviews
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan is a novel that pairs the points of view of two fifth grade boys, Ravi, a recent immigrant from India, and Joe, a local guy. Both have to deal with the same bully. The book alternates chapters between the two points...
by Phyllis | Oct 13, 2020 | Book reviews
Chirp by Kate Messner, published in 2020, tells the tale of Mia, a twelve year old former gymnast who’s just moved from Boston to Vermont. Her family moved there to support her grandmother, whose unpredictability makes everyone wonder what’s going to happen next....
by Phyllis | Oct 7, 2020 | Book reviews
Kate Messner’s Ranger in Time series features a rescue dog, Ranger, who who magically is called to other times and places to help save people. In this tale, Soldiers and Spies, Ranger helps a young black soldier in the Continental Army of George Washington....
by Phyllis | Sep 22, 2020 | Book reviews
Authors Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan team up to tell a middle-grade tale with two points of view: one a Muslim Pakistani-American girl who just wants to fit in at her big new school, and the other a Jewish girl whose best friend has dumped her. This contemporary...
by Phyllis | Aug 5, 2020 | Book reviews
Bryan Davis, author of thirty successful young adult books, wrote this middle-grade tale and published it last year. It’s a delightful comic book story of heroes and villains told as a novel, with plenty of gadget references that remind me of Batman....
by Phyllis | Jul 1, 2020 | Book reviews
Jason Reynolds’ award-winning middle-grade novel Ghost tells the story of a boy who joins a track team. But he’s not just any boy; he’s one who, three years ago,ran for his life from his father. He’s the one whose mother, struggling to work and...
