book review

This summer, our S*T*A*R volunteers have taken up the pen to provide some book reviews! See what your peers are reading and find some great new summer reads. Today’s review comes from teen volunteer Annemarie. Annemarie’s Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in the Harry… Read More

Teen Book Reviews This summer, our S*T*A*R volunteers have taken up the pen to provide some book reviews! See what your peers are reading and find some great new summer reads. Today’s review comes from teen volunteer Ella of The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. Ella’s Review: The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen… Read More

Teen Book Reviews This summer, our S*T*A*R volunteers have taken up the pen to provide some book reviews! See what your peers are reading and find some great new summer reads. Today’s review comes from teen volunteer Stella. Stella’s Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo “This isn’t a job for trained soldiers and spies. It’s… Read More

  What would happen if suddenly every woman on the planet had the power to electrocute others with the flick of her fingers? Naomi Alderman takes you on a terrifying ride that digs deep into human nature and how a sudden shift in the power dynamics between men and women can transform society. Set in… Read More

You Hold Me Up is a picture book with gentle, rhythmic text that lists ways readers can show empathy and demonstrate care and respect for one another. You hold me up when you are kind to me when you share with me when you learn with me. You hold me up when you play with… Read More

Unless you’re studying for the National Spelling Bee, you wouldn’t want to read the dictionary cover to cover. But books about the dictionary can be pretty compelling. Don’t believe me? Check out “Word by Word” by Kory Stamper. Written by an editor at Merriam-Webster, “Word by Word” takes us through the strange, complicated, and occasionally… Read More

It is hard for me to accurately describe how much I adore space. Everything about it, from the vastness to the composition of stars, has always fascinated me. That has mainly manifested itself in a love for all things science fiction, but luckily for me and everyone else who loves space, Neil deGrasse Tyson has… Read More

Children’s author and artist Jason Chin is best known for his innovative spins on nonfiction topics, and his newest project, “Grand Canyon”, does not disappoint. This engaging picture book highlights one of America’s most beloved landforms. The text begins with the basics: “Rivers carve canyons. When they cut down into the earth, canyons grow deeper.… Read More

Lin-Manuel Miranda read "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow on a beach in Puerto Rico and was inspired to create the musical, "Hamilton". The story of Alexander Hamilton is an amazing one. He was born poor in the Caribbean, immigrated to New York City just before the Revolution broke out, and ended up becoming Washington’s senior… Read More

The animal kingdom contains many fascinating stories, and one of the best appears in William Stolzenburg’s “Heart of a Lion”. Stolzenburg follows the odyssey of a male mountain lion (aka cougar, puma, or panther) who walked halfway across the continent before being killed by an SUV in Connecticut in 2011. This is a sad story,… Read More