Five Books by Ofra Peled

The Big Party (Bk 1)
Emma and Adam hated they only had parties on birthdays. Their teacher told them they could come up with a party. Adam wanted to plan his own party by himself. The teacher allowed them to go ahead with their party plans. Adam went home and sat and decided what he would need his parents to buy for the party. That was all he did. Emma told her parents about the party. Then she went to her room and started to plan it out. One of them had a very successful party and the other one did not. This book is to teach kids about the importance of planning anything, especially a party.

My Money Box ( Bk 2)
Adam and Emma go shopping with their fathers. They see things in the mall that they want their dad’s to buy for them. As they shop they notice that their father’s keep looking at each item and comparing it to others. They learn how their parents have a budget and why it is important for them to have that budget. The children learn the importance of saving money and waiting to buy things you want until later. This is great for teaching kids how to save money and why it is important.

The Creative School Class (Bk 3)
Creativity is one of the most important things in kids. We need creative thinking in our kids for them to learn how to problem solve. By not teaching or allowing our kids to be creative we are creating a group of kids who won’t be great problem solvers. In this book the principal has a challenge for the students. She wants them to create something to solve a problem. Great book for teaching kids to use their creativity.

The End-of-School-Year Show (Bk 4)
In this book Adam and Emma are in a dance group preparing for the End -of-the-Year Show. The problem is that everyone wants to be centerstage. This causes arguments and they progress no further. The coach tells them he is cancelling things until he can figure out a solution. Adam suggests to Emma that it could all be solved if the learned to cooperate the way the geese do. A wonderful story about valuing others and collaboration.

The Forex Clan (Bk 5)
Emma belonged to a group they called FOREX. Her club created the name from words that described what they love to do. One day on the news she heard the word FOREX and asked her dad what it was. He explained that it stood for Foreign Exchange. He then explained what foreign exchange meant. Emma brought this information and a special plan back to her club. This is a great book to teach about foreign money.

Dead School by Laura Gia West

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This book baffled me. I was exci

ted to get it based on the premise that Tina Crocker  is a teen performing at a talent show when she is suddenly killed and ends up in Dead School. She is put in the guide division as an assistant to another person. This has never happened before.   They have to guide and help change the life of another person.  They classify this girl as a loser.

I started and stopped this book so many times. I very seldom abandon a book. I decided to sit and read it until I was finished.  The main character gave me mixed feelings.  She has such a self-loathing attitude it was hard to like her. I was pleased when she decided to perform at the talent show. I felt like maybe her attitude would change.  When she is killed and lands back in Dead School she is the same person.  In many ways she was like Melinda,  the girl to whom she was an assistant. Both of them came across as bullies.  The bouncing back and forth between the different “classes”  was unique and well written. I really thought that the ending was headed in the right direction. It was satisfying. Then the ending is ripped from your grasp and an alternate is thrown in and the story ends.

I wish I could say what it was that really made me not love this book. For some reason I didn’t click with it the way I hoped I would. It wasn’t terrible once I got it started, it just wasn’t my favorite.

Seven Wonderful Books

Beluga Tales by Nanna Elliana 
This is a cute book about a mommy beluga whale and her baby beluga whale. The mommy tells her baby all the things that she will do for her baby because she loves him. This would be a wonderful bedtime story to read to your child each night. This is a way to affirm to your child how much you love them and the ways you love them.

Will You give Me Your Toy? By Abigail Faure
Max the fox wants to have friends. Unfortunately, he has taken all of his toys and all his friends toys and won’t share with them. When he is done playing with all of their toys by himself he goes to play with them. They don’t want to play with him. He tells his parents the other kids won’t play with him and his dad explains why by telling him a story of his own childhood. Great way to teach children about sharing and being a friend.

Sunny’s Heart by Na’ama Gal
Sunny is a young boy who can feel emotions because his heart is so big. In this book his mom and dad teach him the importance of understand your feelings and not bottling them in. This is a great book to read to children when they are trying to figure out what to do when they feel certain emotions.

I Won’t Cut My Hair by Daniel Georges
When Sally is complemented on her beautiful purple hair she decides to let it grow. She is never going to cut it. Unfortunately for Sally, having such long hair brings along some problems. It is always dirty from dragging in the dirt. She has trouble with her cat wanting to lay on it all the time. She has trouble keeping it washed and dried. This is a book about change and how sometimes change is exactly what we need.

The Poem that Will Not End by Joan Bransfield Graham
This is the story of a young boy who can’t stop writing poetry. He writes it on shirts, in the shower, at recess, on the playground. He writes until the day his teacher asks him to write a poem about Spring. Then his mind goes blank. This book ends by talking about the different types of poems and voice. This would be great to use in any classroom as a mentor text.

My Sister is a Monster by Agnes Green
I loved this story. This is a book that should be read to every child who is about to become a brother or sister for the first time. This is told from the perspective of a young boy who has just met is baby sister. All she does is fusses and makes messes so he calls her a monster. His wise grandmother tells him what to do to discover how to defeat this monster. Before long he has learned she is a kid just like him and loves her so very much.

The Refuge by Sandra le Guen
This is the story of a young girl named Jeanette who meets a new girl at school named Iliana. Jeanette tells her parents the things she has learned about Iliana as their friendship grows. Iliana had left a war torn country. Her mom told her the stars and sky have no border. There is so much to be learned by young children here. They learn how much they can have in common with those who don’t speak the same language. They learn that their lives may be different but still have a lot of commonalities. This is a delightful book.