Escamilla Reads

Adler, David A. (2015). DON’T THROW IT TO MO! Ill. by Sam Ricks. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers. ISBN 9780670016310 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal Winner Mo Jackson absolutely loves playing football. It is obvious that he is the smallest one on the team. Opposing teams often find this hilarious, leading them to believe that Mo is incapable of playing well in games. One day, the coach has a plan to use this as an advantage and prove that Mo is definitely a valuable member on the team, despite of his differences. This helps young readers understand that it is important to embrace who you are and that everybody is equal. This level two book also contains many bright and relatable-like illustrations, which allows readers to easily notice them and infer the messages that are written within the text.  Arnold, Ted, Hamilton, Martha, & Weiss, Mitch. (2017). NOODLEHEADS SEE THE FUTURE. Ill. by Ted Arnold. New York, NY: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823436736 2018 Theodo...

Aardema, Verna. (1975). WHY MOSQUITOES BUZZ IN PEOPLE’S EARS. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillob. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0803760892 1976 Caldecott Medal Winner Based off of a West African tale, this children’s book tells a story about how one little mosquito accidentally created a negative disaster in a jungle. When it tried to have a conversation with an iguana, the buzzing of the its voice annoyed the iguana. A chain of animal assumptions began to form, and even though the mosquito knows what she did was wrong, she never owned up to it. Now, still guilty, mosquitos still buzz around people, making them appear as nuisances and eventually get smacked, which is a form of their punishment. The illustrations are very colorful and memorable, and they also reflect the intended cultural influence. This book will also be very fun to act out during a read aloud, for there are many examples of onomatopoeia and dialogue students will enjoy participating in. Hen...

Delacre, Lulu. (2004). ARRORRÓ, MI NIÑO: LATINO LULLABIES AND GENTLE GAMES. Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN 9781584301592 2006 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration There is a special bond between a mother and her child, and moments are even more extraordinary when a sweet song is sung while simply just being there together. This book provides a collection of many lullabies and games people in the Hispanic heritage might recognize. Both Spanish and English translations are written to better share with a more diverse group of readers. The illustrations represent happy and content mothers with their children either held in their hands or sitting right beside them. This is what true love looks like. A perfect read to carry on traditions, especially at bed time! Engle, Maragarita. (2015). DRUM DREAM GIRL. Ill. by Ráfael López. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544102293 2016 Pura Belpré Medal Winner for Illustration Inspired by a time when Cuba only allowed males ...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Holm, Jennifer L. and Holm, Matthew. (2017). LIGHT, CAMERA, MIDDLE SCHOOL! (BABYMOUSE: TALES FROM THE LOCKER). New York, NY: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 9780399554384 PLOT SUMMARY Babymouse feels that her middle school life is just like a movie. So, it only makes since that when it comes time to sign up for activities, she decides to join film club. All she wants to do is stand out; therefore, she becomes the film club’s movie director and script writer in order to help her reach that goal. However, along the way, Babymouse tries so hard to reach her fame, that she begins to not only lose herself, but also her friends who were helping her out with the movie. Will Babymouse realize that she wrong and that her friends were an essential part to making this movie debut? Or will she continue to her stardom all by herself? CRITICAL ANALYSIS One major conflict Babymouse went through was consta...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). SMILE. New York, NY: Graphix. ISBN 9780545132060 PLOT SUMMARY It all started in sixth grade when Raina was racing some of her friends and accidentally fell and knocked out some of her front teeth. She was going to get braces eventually, but because of this incident, Raina had to go through various orthodontic procedures in order to get her teeth back to normal. As if this wasn’t enough, Raina also has to juggle other problems as time progresses, such as drama with “friends”, boy crushes, and just simply fitting in with everyone else. CRITICAL ANALYSIS It is known that many middle and high school students go through self-image dilemmas. Because of this, how they look becomes their main priority, making it easy for them to overlook the other necessary and important issues in life. Raina’s journey in  Smile began when she was in sixth grade. With her braces and other...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaiman, Neil. (2008). THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060530938 PLOT SUMMARY Nobody “Bod” Owens lives at a graveyard with many other ghosts. The thing is, he is not dead. He is the only living resident, for he was taken in by some of the graveyard’s inhabitants whenever he escaped his house as a baby. A man named Jack killed his whole family, and he was determined to find Bod and kill him too. In order to protect him, the ghosts allowed Bod to be raised there and be away from the living outside world. As time goes on, Bod begins to question his different worlds, and it becomes even more dangerous for him to leave the graveyard and uncover the mysteries from his past. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Graveyard Book is definitely a thriller from the beginning. A knife is being described, and the readers can immediately infer that a murder (or murders...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, Kwame. (2014). THE CROSSOVER. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544107717 PLOT SUMMARY Josh and Jordan Bell are twins and the star athletes on their middle school basketball team. They get their talent from their dad, who use to be a professional basketball player back in the days. Life seems to be going by so well, that is until Jordan starts dating a girl and begins to forget about Josh and even leave him behind at times. At the same time, his dad is sick and is prone to having heart attacks. With all this stress and feeling like a loner, Josh doesn’t know what to do, especially since everything use to only just be about basketball and winning. CRITICAL ANALYSIS First of all,  The Crossover is beautifully written in verse. This makes the whole story’s plot more poetic and emotional. It starts off with Josh Bell believing that things are going so smoothly for his...

*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Yelchin, Eugene. (2011). BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780805092165 PLOT SUMMARY The time was finally near. Sasha Zaichik was going to soon officially be a part of the Soviet Young Pioneers. However, things started to go wrong right before the big moment, including his Communist father being arrested. He is confused of the events that follow because of this event, for he thought that his leader, Stalin, was definitely going to help him out of his problems. Sasha now has a choice to make. Is he going to continue on and still become a Soviet Young Pioneer, or is he going to choose a different path instead? CRITICAL ANALYSIS In  Breaking Stalin’ s Nose,  it is evident that children trust the system, especially Sasha. He is only a child, so of course he is going with the flow of how things are done. Communism is the only thi...