Saturday, June 16, 2018

The Mean Girl Who Never Speaks by Zuni Blue


The Mean Girl Who Never Speaks stars Mya Dove, a practicing detective. In this episode, Mya is given a case to figure out whether the new girl at school is "mean" or not. And what the other children should do about it. Mya currently gets paid in grapes (when she does get paid), but she hopes to one day be a true detective.

It was fun reading the little police facts that Mya would pop off. Mya is adorable and spunky, though she occasionally sounds older than six. She seems to be a "wise beyond her years" character. She didn't feel right about writing off the new girl as "mean" and it was a good thing she followed her gut. I don't want to spoil the book, but I feel like it's really important to point out that one of the topics in this book is Social Anxiety. There are so few books that cover that issue that I almost shouted when I read the words. Go Zuni Blue for using a fun story to talk about real issues! And thank you for the police facts.


Set in London, England, this book is written in British English. That was another thing I liked about the book. I think it would be cool if the book had illustrations, but it was still good without them. The book could be pretty funny at times too.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about social anxiety.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Birdplane by Tonya Coffey


Birdplane by Tonya Coffey is the story about a little ant that has dreams of flying. Tiny Tom wants to fly and soar in the air more than anything. And he's willing to do almost anything to take flight. We follow Tiny Tom on his adventure as he tries a series of plans to get himself launched into the air.

My favorite thing about Birdplane (aside from the illustrations) is the determination shown by Tiny Tom to get into the air. Not does Tiny Tom show the determination to do the thing he wants, but he also shows the ingenuity to try several methods and to keep trying until he succeeds.

The illustrations are very nice. They are done on a canvas. They look great, and I think they fit the story well.