Caveboy Dave: More Scrawny Than Brawny by Aaron Reynolds, Phil McAndrew Published by Viking Books for Young Readers
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Almost 12-year-old Dave Unga-Bunga is a scrawny, brainy kid in a brawny, prehistoric world. Hulking and hairy Mr. Gronk, Dave’s Hunting 101 teacher, desperately tries to get his class ready for their coming of age, Baby-Go-Boom quest to kill one of the big six deadly predators: Slothopod, Pokeyhorn, Rippy-Beak, Blobby-Goo, Slugasaurus, or the notorious Stabby-Cat.
It’s a go-big or go-home situation—either bring back one of the enormous dead critters or don’t come home at all. Dave and his companions realize that they have to cooperate and get creative to return victorious from their quest.
This action-packed, hilarious graphic novel offers surprisingly compassionate and poignant messages about individuality and self-acceptance.
There is no need for setting up the story for kids– just hand them the book!
The Race Against Time (Geronimo Stilton Journey Through Time #3) by Geronimo Stilton, Danilo Barozzi, Silvia Bigolin, Christian Aliprandi, Andrea Denegri, Beth Dunfey, Julia Heim Published by Scholastic Paperbacks
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Geronimo Stilton is a graphic novel series that relies on detailed illustrations, vibrant fonts, and an endless supply of cheese/mouse/cat puns to tell the wild travels of a cautious but curious mouse newspaper editor and his entourage of family and friends.
In The Race Against Time, Geronimo and his crew hop through Professor von Volt’s Paw Pro Portal to visit the Ice Age, ancient Greece, and the Renaissance and make mini-stops in the worlds of Genghis Khan, Blackbeard, and locomotive designer, George Stevenson.
Hands-on activities and fun quizzes appear at the end of the book. The Ice Age activity is making a bear claw necklace with string and clay.
Kids who become discouraged with endless black and white text are energized by the colorized words that break up the text. Non-stop action and humor make this a kid-favorite series.
Published by Puffin Books
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This author imagines the lives of the early people who painted the caves of southern France. We follow the life of Tao, a fourteen year-old boy with a turned in foot who secretly draws the animals that surround him.
Tao doesn’t know who his father is, and his mother died when he was young. The old and wise Kala, with no children of her own, took him in when the rest of the clan rejected him.
Tao befriends another outcast, a wolf pup and ventures into the forbidden Slough, a place that the elders claim is inhabited by demons.
Tao dares to brave the Slough alone, to draw forbidden images, and to follow his heart.
This is a story of courage and survival.
The target audience is middle grade, and is perfect to read with your child. It’s a bit slow at first but then roars to a breath-taking end.
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers
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This story takes place during the last Ice Age. Although Maroo and her family live in a constant struggle to survive starvation, freezing temperatures, and fierce predators, they experience family and community in the same ways as we do today.
She and her older brother quarrel, they beg their parents to keep a stray dog, they mourn the sudden death of a family member who provided love and protection, they sing and dance and tease each other. The clan respects Old Mother’s wisdom, guidance, and tough decisions.
After spending the summer near the ocean, the group splits up because Maroo’s mother must stop and give birth. Everyday they wait, the first group gets further ahead on the trail.
Tragedy strikes when Maroo’s father is killed in a hunting accident and the only other adult hunter is injured.
Can Maroo and younger brother, Otak, find their way through a blizzard, survive the Pass of the Spirits, and locate the rest of the community at the Winter Camp, the only hope for rescue of Maroo’s family?
A girl hero. An unforgiving environment. Vivid imagery. Beautiful prose. Maroo of the Winter Caves is a teacher favorite for for sixth grade, which means harsh book reviews from sixth grade students.
Read this title together.
