Books for Upper Elementary

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Shine On, Luz Véliz!) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.  

What can I tell you about the book Shine On, Luz Véliz!?  Luz is a young lady in the upper elementary/middle school range.  A young soccer star… until she wasn’t. Now her whole family has changed… with more change on the horizon.  How will Luz handle it?  Will she come out as a star shining her own unique light or will she break under the pressure?  I won’t give out spoilers, suffice it to say, some lights need encouragement.

A bit about Shine On

Shine On, Luz Véliz! was written by Rebecca Balcarcel.  Ms. Balcarcel writes books with complex characters with interesting family dynamics and friendships.  You may remember her from my review of The Other Half of Happy.   This book also includes a multi-cultural family struggling with family secrets and a life-changing injury. Published by Chronicle Kids it will be released in May 2022.  Hispanic and Latino children, 8-12 years, will be drawn to familiar characters and possibly familiar language!  🙂   You will find Spanish phrases throughout explained within context for us non-Spanish speakers. At 322 pages it’s a great length for this age group.  

A beautiful coming-of-age story that celebrates identity, language, heritage, family, and the determination to follow one’s own inner light.

I am reviewing a hard-cover copy with a dustcover for Raincoast Books. 

Giving more details

I like the cover.  This young lady looks so confident in herself, it drew me in to learn more about her.  She wasn’t so confident within the pages, but watching her come into her own, excellent!  Having to change your whole life focus is hard, and we see that difficulty in Luz and it’s not always pretty.  Under the dustcover, the hardcover is orange with shining lights. It fits the theme wonderfully.  

Little adornment fill the page of this 52 chapter tome.  A collection of recipes, famous people and an author’s note round out it’s pages.   The illustrations around the chapter headings vary around the same theme, and often repeat. 

You’ll find the text easy to read.  I love how the Spanish phrases are defined within context.  Some books don’t do a very good job at this and I delight that this one does!

Part of what makes a story believable is the realness of the characters.  I love that Luz is far from perfect. It makes her believable to see her express anger, joy, fear, shame and appreciation. 

My enjoyment in watching her parents try to be good parents, and occasionally fail, but more often succeed, is real.  I love seeing parents actually parent! Our youngsters need to see both sides, don’t you think? 

Growth occurs, not only in Luz, but for the rest of the members of her family. You see it not only in her burgeoning computer skills, but in her relationship with her great neighbour.  When she’s surprised with a new family member you’ll see a whole range of emotions.  She is pushed to grow.  You’ll have to read the book to see how she responds to that pushing. 

Add it to your shelves

Oh yes, get it from your library, buy it a birthday gift, share it with a friend.  I found nothing objectionable.   Just good characters aimed to grow.  Characters needing to learn to think before acting.

Shine On, Luz Véliz! is truly a story of family and change and facing them together.  A story of admitting mistakes and apologizing for them.  Of seeking to correct the wrongs you do.  

A story of laughter and celebrations and learning new skills.  You’ll discover it in your children’s Hispanic and Latino section.  Make those recipes, discover another type of cuisine… it’s a good thing to do!  🙂 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (How to Train Your Dad) through Raincoast Books.  Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so.

Oh my word what a funny read!  I hooted too often while reading this quick middle school read.  While How to Train Your Dad is a fun read, it also broaches themes of family, green-living, and the complications of love.  Gary Paulsen takes us on a wild ride through the emotions of one 12ish year old boy told from his point of view. 

The Basic Details of How to Train Your Dad

Gary Paulsen is a well-known author of Middle-school reads.  I’ve also reviewed his book Gone to the Woods.  How to train your dog is a humourous look at a young teen’s attempt to change his dad.  Add in a cunning dog with street smarts and you’ll start to wonder just who is training whom!  Written for youth 10-14 years of age with 192 pages.  Farror Strauss Giroux as publisher.  Reviewed on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

You’ll learn about bartering, green living, respect for animals, family and friends, sacrifices made, and how to be yourself.   With good characters (including the dog) young readers will laugh their way through this first-person narrative from a young man’s point of view. 

Learning More

Upper Elementary through middle school readers will delight in the antics of Carl, Pooder (his best friend), Carl’s dad and of course Carol (the dog).  Carl tells the story and walks us through his dad’s philosophy of life. One thing you need to understand through this entire book is that Carl loves his dad!  As much as he wants to train his dad, it’s more like he’s seeking ways to tweak his Dad a little.  Young teens should be able to relate to this as what teenager doesn’t want to change their parent once in a while? 

You won’t find illustrations beyond the cover art.  But you will find clear writing that slightly pushes the reading level of younger readers. It’s good for readers to not know every word they are reading.  It pushes a body to learn more eh? 

Good characters fill the pages.  Pooder is a lad who would be fun to know.  Carol….. that pitbull has a storied past and made me wonder who was being trained, the dad or the lad.  Dad is an intriguing character with a love for bartering that exceeds my own.  And then there’s Carl, a maturing lad who is developing ideas of his own and they don’t always mesh with Dad’s.  Hence the need to train his dad…. 

You’ll find the text easy to read and the chapter headings straight-forward. 

Should this be read by YOUR middle schooler?

I think so yes.  It’s a fun, yet thought provoking read. How much consumerism is okay?  What are the problems (if any) with trying to live as green a possible? Is it possible to train your parents (particularly with the method Carl was using)?