Maya and the Robot by Eve L. Ewing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Friendship, jealousy, loneliness, grief, finding your voice, resilience, and pursuing your interests are all themes tucked neatly into this story about a girl and her new mechanical companion. Maya’s best friends are in a different class this year, and for the first time, Maya is not looking forward to school. On top of that, Zoe is mean to her, and her teacher calls her by her first name instead of by Maya. But then, Maya finds a robot in the stock room while working at the store for Mr. MacMillan. She loves science and engineering, and this is exciting! She finds out that Mr. Mac’s son Christopher built the robot years ago, but Christopher is gone now, and Maya is not sure where he is. Maya gets the robot to work and all is well until sabotage at the science fair!

This is a good story with heavy moments tempered with humor and fun. Maya learns that there is more to people than she can see on the outside, that Christopher was shot and killed 10 years ago and Mr. Mac is still really sad, that Zoe is mean because she’s jealous and thinks Maya’s life is perfect, that her teacher calls her the wrong name because she doesn’t know any different and Maya never spoke up to correct her.

Highly recommended!


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Incredible Rescue Mission: Book 3 by Zanib Mian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Omar lives in London, where he goes to school with his friends Charles and Daniel. One day they arrive to find that their favorite teacher Mrs. Hutchinson has been replaced by mean old Ms. Crankshaw, who is so grumpy she outlaws smiling. No one tells the class what happened to Mrs. H, so Omar and his friends set out to solve the mystery themselves. According to Omar, all clues lead to alien abduction.

Meanwhile, Omar and his family take a trip to Pakistan for a family wedding. While there, Omar learns a lot about his family's culture, and he gets some unexpected information about his teacher as well.

I like the story about a close family and students who like their teacher. Even at over 250 pages, the illustrated chapter book format makes it quick and easy to read. I think middle-grade readers who try this series will really enjoy it.

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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy by Emmanuel Acho
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Uncomfortable Conversations should be subtitled Important Conversations. Acho takes time to explain with great poise and patience why various actions and beliefs are racist, even when white people maintain that they aren’t. His examples are concrete and timely, and his explanations are clear and direct. This book is perfect for parents and other caregivers to read together with kids to discuss in small bites.

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Ways to Grow Love by Renée Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you for the review copy from NetGalley and Bloomsbury Childrens. All opinions are my own.

Ryan is one of my favorite middle-grade characters. In this story, our spirited protagonist heads to church camp with her besties. She is elected the cabin captain, and not everything goes as planned. Amid the skits, pranks, and other adventures of the next 4 days, she has to learn how to love her neighbor, forgive, and ask forgiveness. And by the end, she becomes a big sister.

This is a wholesome story where the protagonist is just a little girl doing little girl things. She learns, she grows, she loves her family and they love her. I hope Renee Watson has more books planned for this series because I can’t keep the first one on the shelf, and I suspect this one will follow suit.


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