Category: Friendship - Blazer Tales

Blazer Tales

Welcome to BlazerTales... where it's all about the book reviews.

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!!!***

The Queen Bee & Me by Gillian McDunn

3/18/2020

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 5.5

When you have been best friends with your best friend your whole elementary life, does that guarantee you will stay best friends in middle school? Beatrix and Meg have been best friends since Kindergarten and Meg has always felt comfort in being in Beatrix's shadow. Middle school has brought some changes in Beatrix and Meg doesn't like them too much. Beatrix and Meg have been in dance together, even though Meg can't dance, she has always done it because that is what Beatrix wanted to do. When Meg is accepted into a new science elective she is thrilled but also terrified because she is afraid that Beatrix will pull "The Freeze" on her, just like she has before. Meg does not want to be on the receiving end of "the freeze" again. That is problem number one for Meg. Problem number two is this new girl named Hazel. From the minute Beatrix meets her she doesn't like her and begins to bully Hazel. Meg doesn't think it is right but she is too afraid to stand up to Beatrix, especially over some new girl. But when Meg and Hazel are paired together in the science elective, Meg learns that Hazel is a nice person in need of a friend. This enrages Beatrix even more and soon Meg may be the one who doesn't have any friends. Will Meg have the nerve to stand up to Beatrix over her bullying? Will Beatrix put "the freeze" on Meg so that no one in the school will like her? Will Beatrix and her mom succeed in getting Hazel's bee hives kicked out of the town? Read this incredible story of the love of family, the risks involved in standing up for what is right, and finding friendship in the most unlikely of places.

This has become one of my favorite books! I know there are so many kids out there that believe that they only way they will have a friend is to be in their shadows and be their puppet. Meg has been that friends for so long and she learns that when she finds her own voice it is very powerful! She is such an amazing role model to all of those kids to learn that they can come out of the shadows and be themselves!! Do not miss this book!!!

I Will Be Fierce! by Bea Birdsong

2/23/2020

Interest Level: K-3; Reading Level: 1.8

Have you ever been afraid to do something? Sure, we all have, but maybe if we see this obstacle as an epic fairytale adventure, we can do it! This story is about a young girl who sets off to school and things that are on her path become challenges. On the way to school she takes on monsters and dragons, she will dare to walk with the giants and charge the many-headed serpent, and she will climb the Mountain of Knowledge! But when she sees someone being bullied will she have the fierceness to do what is right? Read this amazing story about a girl who knows her strengths and uses them all through the day.

I love, love, love this story!! From the very first page we can learn so much from her. She woke and and her first thoughts were "Today, I will be fierce!". We can learn from her that each day is precious and we need to wake up knowing that we will overcome anything that comes our way and we will do it with a great attitude! Please do not miss this book!!

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

2/16/2020

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.6

If you look different from others around you, does that give you permission to be mean to them? Absolutely not!! Aven Green was born without arms. she loves to tell people that she was wrestling an alligator and that is how she lost her arms or that they were burned off in a wildfire. Now that she is in middle school that doesn't work unless a new kid comes in. But now her dad has taken a job to manage Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western themed park in Arizona, and she knows the questions are going to start all over again. She knows she doesn't have a choice in class to use her feet to write or turn the pages of her textbooks, but she refuses to eat with her feet in the lunchroom in front of everyone. During her lunch break she goes to the library and this is where she meets Connor. She makes eye contact with Connor and then he barks at her. Aven thinks he is making fun of her so she marches across the library to give him a piece of her mind. She quickly finds out how wrong she is. Connor has Tourettes Syndrome and cannot help with his outbursts. Aven and Connor become fast friends and help each other navigate middle school life. As they are looking around Stagecoach Pass, they find a locked up building that holds so many secrets. As they are becoming detectives they are also trying to figure out why Henry, the old man who runs the ice cream shop, keeps mistaking Aven for someone else. Can Connor and Aven unravel all of the mysteries surrounding Stagecoach Pass? Can Aven help Connor overcome the embarrassing ticks that come with his disability? When Aven finds Zion, a boy that eats outside in the blistering heat to avoid the lunchroom, will she allow him to become friends with her and Connor, or will she just keep on walking? Read this incredible story to find out!!

This is one of my favorite books!! From the first page Aven pulls you into her world and it feels like you are right there with her every step of the way. Dusti Bowling writes this book in such a way that it will make you want to live at Stagecoach Pass and be in Aven's circle of friends. Along with the unbreakable friendships, she throws in a great mystery to be solved and when it is revealed, your jaw will drop! Do not miss this absolutely amazing book and the follow up books, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus!

Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh

2/8/2020

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.4

What lengths would you go to to save your best friend? Max and Ahmed have never met but when their lives collide, the unexpected happens. Ahmed lived in Syria with his loving family. When the bomb hit his home, he and his dad had just left. Ahmed didn't know what to do when he lost his mother and sisters, but when he lost his dad to the ocean as they fled Syria, he was completely alone. He landed in Brussels, Belgium a lonely refugee and he found shelter in the basement of a house. He lived for months undetected, that is, until Max finds him. Max and his family have recently moved from America to Brussels for a year because of his dad's job. Even though Max lives with his family, he feels all alone. His parents are working all the time, his sister ignores him most of the time, he is being bullied in school, and he speaks very little French. So when Max realizes that Ahmed is living in his basement, it is no surprise that they become best friends. Max finds out that Ahmed misses school so with the help of some of his classmates, they forge his way into Max's school. There is just one big problem... Brussels is being attacked by terrorists and everyone is on edge. When the police begin to unrightfully suspect Ahmed of these attacks, he knows it is time for him to run, but will Max allow him to flee? What lengths will Max and Ahmed go to to clear his name and keep him from going to a refugee camp? Read this incredible book to find out what happens!!

I don't believe I have ever read a story so deeply rooted in friendship as this one! I loved this book so much! I found myself rooting for Ahmed and Max from the very beginning when they were alone all the way to the end, when their friendship was unbreakable. This is a heartwarming story of family, friendship, and what it means to never give up on each other!

Serafina & the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty

1/21/2020

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.6

What would you do if you went head to head with your enemy and won, only to find out there is an even greater enemy to face? Only a few weeks before Serafina and Braeden defeated the man in the black cloak. Serafina has been working so hard with her mother to join the catamount family, only to learn that it is too late. Serafina can freely walk the halls of Biltmore now but she is still not comfortable with this new found freedom. She is struggling... she is too human for the forest and too wild for the house. One night while she is in the forest, she faces a creature that is more powerful and more horrible that she has ever seen. And while she is battling his creatures in the forest he has sent on an accomplice into Biltmore. All of the animals in the Blue Ridge Mountains are in mortal danger, even Serafina's mom and siblings. All of the people that are in Biltmore are in mortal danger, including Braeden and her Pa and the Vanderbilts. Will Serafina and Braeden be able to sniff out the intruder that has worked their way into the magnificent home? Or will this unknown intruder cause a gulf so wide between Braeden and Serafina that it can never be crossed? Will Serafina choose to run and hide in the mountains forever, or will she fight for her home? Read Robert Beatty's exciting new thriller, the second in the Serafina series, set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and the Biltmore Estates.

The Serafina series is one of my favorite books series EVER! I read these books to my sixth grade book club and each year the kids are begging for more. There is just the right amount of thrilling cliffhangers, scary conjurers, and friendship that can never be broken. Do not miss this second book in the Serafina series!!

Also, don't miss out on the Serafina and the Twisted Staff PowerPoint that you can purchase through my TpT store. This PowerPoint has 176 slides and asks students comprehensive and thought questions chapter by chapter. It also has pictures of the different rooms described in the book. The students will learn so much about the Biltmore Estates. Click here to go directly to my TpT store or scroll down to access it. If you read this book as a read aloud, this PowerPoint is a must!!

Serafina & the Splintered Heart by Robert Beatty

1/20/2020

Interested Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.2

Imagine that you wake up and you have been buried alive? You have no memories of what happened to get you there or how long you have been there. Serafina has battled and defeated the Man in the Black Cloak and she has battled and defeated the Twisted Staff. Now she has to find a way to battle to get out of the ground. After she gets out and heads home to Biltmore Estates, she encounters a storm-creech creature and a sorcerer in a hooded cloak. She has to get home to warn her friends and family, but when she gets there she finds that things are not the same. Braeden is very sad and looks like he has been in a battle himself and almost lost. The other shocker to Serafina is that Braeden is in possession of the black cloak and he decides to put it on. Serafina has to try and figure out what has happened to her world. She is the guardian of Biltmore and she is also the guardian of the Blue Mountains but how can she help defend any part of her world when she feels so lost? With time running out for Serafina, she must find a way to rally her friends and find a way to fight a new, unknown enemy. In this third installment in the Serafina books, this is one that can not be missed!

The Serafina series is one of my favorite books series EVER! I read these books to my sixth grade book club and each year the kids are begging for more. There is just the right amount of thrilling cliffhangers, scary conjurers, and friendship that can never be broken. Do not miss this third book in the Serafina series!!

Also, don't miss out on the Serafina and the Splintered Heart PowerPoint that you can purchase through my TpT store. This PowerPoint has 175 slides and asks students comprehensive and thought questions chapter by chapter. It also has pictures of the different rooms described in the book. The students will learn so much about the Biltmore Estates. Click here to go directly to my TpT store or scroll down to access it. If you read this book as a read aloud, this PowerPoint is a must!!

Jinxed by Amy McCulloch

12/24/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.6

How would you feel If your pet was also your phone, a computer, a map, and even your friend? Thanks to the MONCHA, the largest tech firm in North America, you can have just that. MONCHA is the company that has created the "baku", a customizable smart pet. You can get a a simple level 1 up to a rare and exclusive level 5. Lacey Chu wants to be a companioneer for this amazing company. The only way her dream will come true is if she can make it into Profectus, the elite academy for cutting edge technology. Lacey is one of the tops in her class and is sure she will be accepted. When she gets her letter that she has been rejected, she thinks her hopes and dreams are over. She doesn't have a lot of money, so she has to settle for a level 1 beetle. On the way to buy her beetle baku she and her best friend, Zora, encounter a nasty kid from their school. Carter and his friends with their level four bakus cause Zora's baku, Linus, to tumble down an embankment towards the railroad tracks. Lacey went over the metal railing and down the ravine to rescue Linus. While she is down there she finds a level three cat baku that has been badly damaged. Lacey takes him home and suddenly she is accepted into Profectus with her registers level three cat baku. Lacey works on her baku, Jinx, all summer and has him ready right before she starts to school. Lacey soon finds out that her baku is not like other bakus. Normal bakus obey their owners and only do what they tell them to do. Jinx rarely does what Lacey tells him to do and makes many decisions on his own. Another shock for Lacey is when she, as a seventh grader, is chosen to be on a battle team. She proves very worthy for her team until Jinx does something to cause her to get kicked off the team. Will Lacey lose the friends she has just started to make at her new school because of Jinx? What will Lacey do when she finds out that some very important people are searching for the lost prototype baku? And what will happen when Jinx is stolen from her? Read this fast-paced novel to find out what happens to Lacey and Jinx!

This story Is so Incredible and it keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. There are also those moments in the end where your mouth drops open from shock. When this book ends it makes you crave book two!! Do not miss this one!!

Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke

12/7/2019

Interest Level: K-3; Reading Level: 2.5

What would you do to save your best friend? Goblin and Skeleton were best friends. Skeleton lived in the treasure room. One day Goblin was wearing skeleton's old crown and pretending to be the Goblin King when they heard footsteps. Adventures stormed the dungeon and stole everything in it, including Skeleton. Goblin was determined to save his friend so he went on a search for him. When he asked a farmer if he had seen his friend, the farmer began chasing him with his pitchfork because nobody likes a goblin. What will Goblin do? Will he ever find his best friend? Or will Goblin's time come to an end? Read this precious story full of determination, devotion, and friendship. The illustrations are precious and you will be cheering for the cute Goblin throughout the whole book!

Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick

11/30/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.4

Do you think you have what it takes to survive on your own in a disastrous situation? Sam Castine had never thought about it until he was forced into a life and death situation. Sam was at summer camp when a wildfire broke out and the whole camp had to evacuate. Sam was in line to get on the bus when he realized that he left his cell phone in his cabin. He is sure that he has time to run back and get it before the buses leave, what he wasn't counting on was the fire to spread so fast and put up a fire wall between him and the buses. He is forced to run away and flee into the woods. Sam's instincts kick in and he remembers all of the survival strategies that his late father taught him. It seems that every time he gets ahead of the fire, something happens to make him stumble and get back into harms way. What Sam was not expecting is for a girl to burst out of the woods looking for help. Delphy was at a camp of her own when the fire erupted. Together, Sam and Delphy work together to get out of this dire situation. When they see two guys on four wheelers actually setting the fires, they have more to battle than just the fire. Can Sam and Delphy outrun the wildfire and find a way out of the woods? And what about the dangerous brothers who are committing the crime of arson - what lengths will they go to to cover up their crimes? Read the story that will have you on pins and needles with every turn of the page!

Wildfire Is an amazing survival and friendship story! Rodman Philbrick does a fantastic job of weaving these two kid's lives together to make them come together to just survive. He also does a tremendous job of making you think that just when you think they are going to be safe, a curve ball is thrown and you have no idea what is going to happen next. This one is going to fly off of my library shelves! Don't miss this one!

Wildfire Book Study Google Slide/PowerPoint

$8.00

Do you think you have what it takes to survive on your own in a disastrous situation? Sam Castine had never thought about it until he was forced into a life and death situation. Sam was at summer camp when a wildfire broke out and the whole camp had to evacuate. Sam was in line to get on the bus when he realized that he left his cell phone in his cabin. He is sure that he has time to run back and get it before the buses leave, what he wasn't counting on was the fire to spread so fast and put up a fire wall between him and the buses. (for more on the review visit my blog BlazerTales).

I have developed a Google Slide presentation that correlates with the book. The 85-slide presentation covers each chapter with questions related to that chapter. This is a great visual aid to help with comprehension of each chapter as well as thought-provoking questions. There are also pictures and video of items as they are introduced into each phase of the book. Each slide has the "fade in" animation so that you can ask the questions before the answers come onto the screen. This is a must have if you are reading this book to a class or even for a book club.

The font is Arial and the size is 18. If your computer does not have this font you may need to adjust the font size to go along with your software. The background is at a 0% transparency.

*** Click below to purchase the Google Slides version of Wildfire Book Study***

Wildfire Google Slides

Friend or Fiction by Abby Cooper

11/3/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 5.7

Have you ever had an imaginary best friend? What would you do if that friend came to life? Well, Jade doesn't have to imagine anymore. Her imaginary best friend actually came to life. Jade lives in a town in Colorado where people come and go all the time. Every time she thinks she has a best friend, they up and move and never stay in touch. She is so tired of being alone that she decides to write about the perfect best friend, Zoe. Jade and Zoe go on all kinds of adventures and are always there for each other. But one day when a boy from Jade's class, Clue, takes her notebook for the weekend, Jade feels lost. How can she survive the weekend without her stories about Zoe? When she goes for a walk she happens to see Clue by the nasty pond with her notebook. He drops a few drops from the pond and viola - Zoe appears in the house across the street. Jade has never been happier in her life. She can actually do all of the things that she has written about with the real Zoe. Things seem great at first, but when Zoe starts to get a mind of her own and starts to make other friends, Jade become very jealous because she doesn't want to share her friend. Then things get worse when Jade's parents surprise her and her younger brother with a vacation. Her dad is battling cancer and this trip is with other families who have someone battling cancer. Jade does not want to leave Zoe with the other girls at school because she is afraid she will lose her too. Jade is shocked to find Clue on this trip too, and it is then that she realizes that maybe she has had her nose in her notebook for far too long. Will Jade lose Zoe to the "sparkle girls" at school? Will Clue send Zoe back where she came from so that he can bring someone back to life? Will Jade and Clue realize that the friend they both have been longing for could be right in front of them? Read this incredible book about what it truly means to be a best friend!

I loved everything about this book! I was drawn into Jade's world from the first page and her loneliness broke my heart. And on top of that her sadness over her dad's illness made my heart wrench for her even more. I was so happy when Zoe came along for her, but I quickly realized that Zoe did not know what it meant to be a best friend. I loved how Abby Cooper worked her magic in this story of love, loss, family, and friendship. Don't miss this one!