Read, Write, Win!

Book Review by Kids, for Kids

New reviews posted each month!

These book reviews were submitted in June at the Howard County Library. Visit your branch today, and look for the book review forms in the children’s area! Or download the form and mail it to Columbia Association, Attn: KidsKorner, 10221 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, MD 21044. Be sure to have your parents sign the permission slip on the back.

And, remember, every month we will have a raffle for a book light!

Be sure to check out Howard County Public Library’s “AskUsNow” program, where you can chat with a librarian 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

This Month's Reviews

• “A Long Way from Chicago”
  By Richard Peck
  Review by Taylor, age 9, of Ellicott City

  My Grandma read me this book, and I loved it! “A Long Way from Chicago” is about a boy named Joey and his sister named Mary Alice. It takes place during the Great Depression, and it is about the summer they spend with their crazy grandmother in Chicago. The grandmother is really funny, and she reminds me of my grandmother because she is funny too. Joey’s grandmother loves to tell stories, and she even lets him ride in an old biplane! What else happens during the summer? You’ll find out if you read this book!

  “A Long Way from Chicago” was published in 2004 by Puffin.  It is currently available at the Howard County Library. For ages 8-12.
  

• “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”
  By Elanor Coerr
  Review by Amaya, 11, of Columbia

  I had to read this book for school, and it was the first book that made me cry. It is so good. It is about a girl named Sadako. She lived in Hiroshima, Japan two years before the end of WWII. The atomic bomb was dropped on the city in 1945, and she knows that many people died from the bomb and from the radioactive materials left by it. Then one day, Sadako starts to feel very dizzy, and she learns that she has the disease too. Her friends tell her that a thousand paper cranes will bring her good luck, so she starts making them and wishes that she will get well again. This story is based on true facts, and it is very emotional. It shows you how war changes people’s lives, and how courageous people can be.

  “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” was published in 2004 by Puffin. It is available at the Howard County Library. For ages 8-12

• “Miss Bindergarten's Wild Day”
  By Joseph Slate
  Book review by Amber Gilligan
  

  

  With the school year right around the corner, this is a great book to read to get you excited to attend classes again! Miss Bindergarten teaches kindergarten, and her class is always crazy – but some days are more chaotic than others. In this book, you’ll laugh out loud as water overflows, ants take over the classroom and paint gets all over everything! Will Miss Bindergarten and her class survive the school day? Read this great book to find out. The illustrations are great, and the rhymes keep the story fast-paced and entertaining!

  “Miss Bindergarten’s Wild Day” was published in 2005 by Dutton Children’s Books. It is currently available at the Howard County Library. For ages 3-5.

• "Angelina's Birthday"
  by Katharine Holabird
  Book review by Amber Gilligan

  Angelina is so excited because it is almost her birthday, and her parents are letting her help decorate for her party! She rides her bike to Mrs. Thimble’s General Store with her best friend, Alice, and she buys party supplies. On the way home, Angelina and Alice decide to race, but Angelina runs into a rock and breaks her bicycle! She is so upset, but she decides to earn money to buy a new, even better bike. The bike she likes, however, is very expensive, and she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to afford it. Read this book to find out if Angelina’s hard work pays off. Will she have a birthday to remember?

  “Angelina’s Birthday” was published in 2006 by Viking Children’s Books It is available at the Howard County Library For ages 83 and up.

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