Category: Family Life Fiction - Blazer Tales

Blazer Tales

There are 4 ways to use this blog: 1) Scroll through to see a variety of books; 2) Click on the 3 lines at the top left to get a drop down menu of books broken down by grade levels; 3) Go to the search box and for title, genre, or subject; and 4) Go to Categories and search by subject matter.

***These reading levels are just a guide to help if needed. Please, please, please do not let any of these numbers deter you from reading whatever you want!!!***

Professional Reader

10 Book Reviews

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

5/25/2018

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 5.3

@kidlitexchange #partner Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

What would you do if you were told that had to move from your home for no good reason at all? Would you fight to stay or leave quietly? This is exactly what is happening to the Vanderbeekers. They have been told by their landlord that he will not renew their lease (for no good reason at all) and they have to be out right after the Christmas holidays. Mom and dad are ready to just pack up and find somewhere else to live, even though dad has lived in this neighborhood of Harlem, N.Y. for his whole life. The Vanderbeeker children, however, are ready to fight. Isa, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney start to devise plans to keep the home they have known for the last six years. With only five days to go before Christmas they come up with one plan after another to get Mr. Beiderman, a.k.a "The Beiderman", to let them stay. Unfortunately, all the plans seem to fail and it actually makes things worse. Will anything change Mr. Beiderman's heart? Will they really have to move away from their friends and family? You must read this book to see what happens to the Vanderbeekers of 141st Street!

The Vanderbeekers will grab your heart from the first page and will not let go! These kids are loving, supportive, resourceful, and determined! I promise as you read this book you will want to somehow become their neighbors just to hang out with them at Castleman's Bakery! Do not miss this heartwarming tale of love, family, and friendship!

Spin the Golden Light Bulb by Jackie Yeager

4/14/2018

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 5.2

How would you feel if when you were at school and you didn't have a name, just a number? What if you knew you had potential to be something special but you also knew you might be told what you had to do for the rest of your life? This is Kia Krumpet. It is the year 2071 and Kia attends Crimson School. She is student 718 but she wants more than anything to be called Kia. Kia wants to win the Piedmont Challenge so that she can attend PIPS, Piedmont Inventor's Prep School. If she is not allowed to go to PIPS then she will have to continue her school at home and she will be programmed into something she doesn't want to do. She has so many ideas for inventions but if she is programmed she will not be allowed to do any of these things. All 50 states send a team of five students to the Challenge and when Kia is chosen she is floating on cloud nine. Then something happens that has never happened before, the four other students chosen from New York are all from Kia's school also. Even though they don't know each other, they are being held to a higher standard than the other teams. Kia and her teammates work very hard on their project only to have something disastrous happen just a week before the competition. Will Kia and her team be able to overcome this tragic event and still compete for their chance to go to PIPS? Or is their chance gone forever?

This is a must read book if you want to read about friendship, teamsmanship, inventions, quick-thinking, overcoming obstacles, and finding yourself then this is the book for you! Make sure you have some time when you start this book because it is hard to put down! After reading this book, you will have to read Flip the Silver Switch, book two in the The Crimson Five series.

Astronaut Annie by Suzanne Slade

3/24/2018

Interest Level: K-3; Reading Level: 2.2

@kidlitexchange #partner Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up? Well, Annie sure does and she out of this world dreams! Annie is so excited when her school announces that they are having a career day. She rushes home to tell her family. Everyone has an idea of what she can be based off of their experiences. She tells all of them that they will have to wait until Friday at career day to find out. Annie uses something special from each of her family members to create her costume. On the day of career day her family is so excited to see what she wants to become, using something from each of them to accomplish it.

This is such a precious book of family, encouragement, love, and ambition. This is a great read for kids to show them how great it is to have dreams and aspirations. When I read this aloud to my students I will cover up the title so that they will have to make predictions on what Annie wants to be. This is a must read!

Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers

1/15/2018

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.7

@kidlitexchange #partner Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

What if you had not one, but two big secrets from your best friend? Should you tell her and not keep it from her, or keep it to yourself knowing that one day it may be a problem? This is the difficult situation that Katie faces. She wants to tell her best friend, Ana, that she is adopted and that she has a heart issue, but it just never seems to be the right time. Ana has problems of her own. Her dad, a hockey player, has left her, her mom, and her younger brother. Ana's mom has not taken the break up very well and Ana's family is falling apart. To make things worse, her grandmother from Russia comes for the Thanksgiving holidays and makes things even worse. While Katie is trying to find out about her real parents without her adopted family finding out, Ana is trying to put her family back together before it completely falls apart. When Katie and Ana get into a fight and quit speaking to each other things go from bad to worse with these two friends. As Ana's younger brother, Mikey, is rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening injury, will Katie and Ana be able to overcome their issues and work together to mend both of their families?

I loved this story about two best friends and the issues they go through. Throw in a feisty, Russian grandmother and you have a story that you can't put down.

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

1/6/2018

Interest Level 3-6; Reading Level: 4.0

5 out of 5 Stars!!!!!!

I don't even know where to start with this one! This book is so full of raw emotion that it will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. This is the story of Evie, a 12-year-old girl growing up in a very strict Catholic home. When her sister is sent away to live with their distant aunt because she got pregnant at sixteen, all Evie can do is write her letters. As Evie writes to her sister, Cilla, she tells her everything that is going on in her life. Evie has two best friends but when she meets June, things begin to shift and Evie has to try to sort though these new feelings. This is a story of lies, deception, finding yourself and having the courage to be yourself, friendship, love and so much more! Will Evie have the courage to expose her family secrets, find her sister, and become the person she thinks she is becoming. Read this book to find out what happens to Evie, June, Cilla, and the rest of her family.
I am giving you fair warning that when you get to about the last 100 pages of this book you will not be able to put it down. Jen Petro-Roy's debut book is a winner and I cannot wait to read future books!

Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

Snow Lane by Josie Angelini

12/28/2017

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 5.6

Wow! All I can say is Wow!

Imagine that you are one of nine children. Would you ever feel special? Loved? Noticed? Now imagine that you are the ninth child, the youngest. You never get anything new, everything you have is hand-me-downs. This is exactly Annie. She is the youngest of nine children. She never feels special. She never has any new clothes, and most of the clothes that fit her come from her brother. She also battles with dyslexia. She does have friends but she never lets friends come over because of her mom's hoarding problem. If that's not enough, the whole family has a secret that they want to stay a secret. What happens when one of Annie's sisters runs away and is missing. Will the family's secret come out or will it stay buried?
This is one of those books that when you get to the end you just sit and think about everything you just read, it stays with you for a while. Read Annie's story!!

Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

Little Bigfoot, Big City by Jennifer Weiner

12/1/2017

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.3

5 out of 5 Stars!!!!!

Have you ever wanted something so much that you would do just about anything to get it? Have you ever had a secret that you just didn't think you could share with anyone? In the second book from Jennier Weiner's amazing series, The Littlest Bigfoot, this is exactly what is happening with Alice and Millie. Alice needs to find out what and who she is. She has never felt like she belongs anywhere and now she wants answers as to why that is. Millie has always felt trapped and when she get her one chance at fame, will she have the nerve to take it? And then there is Jeremy. When Jeremy finds out the truth about Alice and Millie, will he do what is right or will he use it to make himself famous?
As expected, I couldn't put this book down. It is such an exciting continuation of the first book that you just have to keep reading to find out what is going to happen next. Warning: this book does keep you hanging and wanting the third book to read next. I can not wait for the third book to come out in this series.

Crenshaw by Kathrine Applegate

10/14/2017

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 3.7

Have you and your family every struggled financially? Have you ever had to spend a night in your car because you didn’t have a place to live? Well Jackson and his family know all about this. Both of Jackson’s parents lost their job and since there was no money coming in, they lost their house also. For fourteen weeks they had to live in their minivan. How would you feel if this was you? Read this amazing book to see the struggles that this family goes through and how they overcome their trials. This book will tug at your heart but at the same time give you hope. Read how Crenshaw helps Jackson through this tough time (and laugh at the things he says and does). You will not be disappointed!

Crenshaw PowerPoint for Teachers & Librarians
(In Laurie's Library TpT store)

Crenshaw Book Trailer

Book Trailer 1