#17 - March Book Madness — Books Between

Feb 13

Feb 13 #17 - March Book Madness

Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, a college basketball fan, and a lover of all things science. Coming from my dad’s side, I grew up on a steady diet of Syracuse games and highlighted brackets scattered all over the house every spring. And on my mom’s side, I grew up with a steady diet of David Attenborough documentaries and trips to just about every planetarium and nature center in the state.

This is Episode #17 and today I’m chatting with you about March Book Madness and featuring twelve fabulous books about science and scientists.

Launch the Episode at All the Wonders here >>

On this week’s episode-our favorite graphic novels of 2018 - including ALL SUMMER LONG! I loved this graphic novel for a lot of reasons but one of them was that it features a friendship between a girl and boy that doesn’t ever fall into that trope of “well, maybe things are changing because you two really just have crush on each other!” Nope! It’s real, platonic – and has rocky parts – but it’s not a stepping stone to a love interest. And I love the summery creamsicle orange palette and how Bina develops a “contact British accent” from watching too much Netflix. 😂

Lots of #graphicnovel love on today’s episode! Best of 2018 includes the first in a new series by @frankcammuso! When his mom has to go out of town, Edison and his little sister, Tesla, go to stay with their Uncle Earl. Uncle Earl is an exterminator and he reluctantly takes the kids (and their hamster!) on a late-night “emergency” job where the two kids (and the hamster!) wind up going through a portal into a shadowy other-worldly place where Edison has to confront his fears and lots of weird and cool creatures! This is one of those few books that has kids laughing out loud while they read it. It’s sort of like a mix between HiLo and Amulet. So if you have kids who love those two series, and want something similar, introduce them to Edison Beaker Creature Seeker.

On today’s episode we are celebrating the best graphic novels of 2018! For me, the strength and charm of this book is really about the outstanding illustrations – the gorgeous pastel palette and the nuances of the wordless panels. And NO ONE draws leaves and houses better than Thummler!

Today’s episode is all about the best graphic novels of 2018! MR. WOLF’S CLASS includes a cute preview of each student the night before school starts and then the day unfolds with short slice-of-life stories as we get to know each of the students and their teacher. A strength of this book is that the author clearly KNOWS what an actual classroom community is all about – the interactions of personalities. It feels really authentic in that way. And uh… I can definitely relate to being late to pick my kids because I was distracted by a donut in the break room!