When Dad’s away at war

“Don’t You Know There’s a War On?”

Avi

Howie’s dad is in the merchant marine, dodging Nazi U-boats in the North Atlantic Sea. Every day Howie faces reminders of war, scary headlines, scrap collections and war-stamp drives. He depends on Ms. Gossim, his teacher, to keep his worries away. Then Howie finds out that Ms. Gossim is going to be fired. Howie and his friends plan on how they can keep Ms. Gossim as their teacher. Will they succeed?

Reviewed by Christian, 11

Ivanhoe Elementary

Los Angeles

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“Dork in Disguise”

Carol Gorman

Jerry is an intelligent and unpopular kid. He moves into a different neighborhood and goes to a school where nobody knows him. He makes up lies about his life. He tries to makes his life sound adventurous to impress a girl named Cinnamon.

This is a marvelous story. It made me laugh several times.

Reviewed by Christina, 10

Third Street Elementary

Los Angeles

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“Night of the Ninjas”

Mary Pope Osborne

One summer day in Fog Creek, Pennsylvania, a mysterious tree house appeared in the woods. Jack and Annie discovered this tree house and have had many adventures. In this book, they time warp into Japan. It is a long time ago. Ninjas capture Jack and Annie, but they were friendly. They go in a mysterious cave. Who is in there? What are they doing? Read the book to find out.

Reviewed by Emmanuel, 8

Glenoaks Elementary

Glendale

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“Sports Great Michael Jordan”

Nathan Aaseng

Michael Jordan was born on Feb. 17, 1963. When he was growing up, he loved baseball and basketball. When he was in high school, Michael sat on the bench a lot, because the coach thought he was too short. He grew to be more than 6 feet tall!

Later he tried out for the NBA. He played with the Chicago Bulls. He tried to win the NBA championship but failed for seven years. I give this book a four-star rating.

Reviewed by Kuba, 9

R.D. White Elementary

Glendale