MADreads for Kids

Book reviews for children by library staff and guest contributors

Charting a friendship

Cover of Friends Beyond Measure
A review of Friends Beyond Measure by Lalena Fisher

This picture book requires multiple readings. You can read it as a sweet story of two girls who meet and become instant best friends. They spend hours playing, have grand Halloween adventures, and learn to manage disagreements. Until one day, when Harwin announces that her family is moving - really far away. You can also read it as a celebration of neurodiversity, Ana has ADHA and Harwin has dyslexia. They sometimes have different needs, and figure out how to find something that makes them both happy.

Posted by Jennifer on Oct 4, 2023

Building dreams

Cover of A Girl Can Build Anything
A review of A Girl Can Build Anything by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller
Keisha Morris

This is a sneaky, beautiful little book. Just when you think it’s all about girl power (and power tools!) to build and construct bookshelves, parks, community gardens, and a community center - take a closer look at the illustrations. You’ll see an amazing progression of time, of six girls growing together into strong women - sisters in their shared love of building and making. There are so many things to love about this book: great friends, great building vocabulary (drills, drivers, levers, sheetrock!), and an empowering message to build, fail, and try again.

Posted by Rebecca M on Sep 29, 2023

Gift of learning

Cover of Rivka's Presents
A review of Rivka's Presents by Laurie Wallmark
Adelina Lirius

Set during the 1918 flu pandemic, “Rivka’s Presents” brings us into the world of a little girl who wants nothing more than to learn. Rivka, a young Jewish girl, isn’t able to go to school because her Papa is sick with the flu, and her Mama has to work at the shirtwaist factory in his place, leaving Rivka responsible for her younger sister, Miriam. Rivka is desperate to learn and makes deals with her neighbors, trading her work for lessons in reading, mathematics, and American history. In the end, Rivka receives the greatest gift of all, knowledge.

Posted by on Sep 22, 2023

What's in the book?

Cover of Open this Little Book
A review of Open this Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier
Suzy Lee

If you and your little ones love books, Open This Little Book is the perfect choice. It's a story within a story, a book within a book -- and it's all a lot of fun! Madison native, Jesse Klausmeier, along with illustrator-extraordinaire Suzy Lee, have created an imaginative and exciting picture book that will have your kids asking to read it again and again. But what's inside the book? You'll have to check it out and find out for yourself!

Posted by on Sep 15, 2023

The world is dangerous and mysterious

Cover of Big Tree
A review of Big Tree by Brian Selznick

And totally worth saving.  

Louise and Merwin are tiny sycamore seed siblings preparing to take flight from their mother's seed pouch when disaster strikes. The forest is on fire and creatures are fleeing the area. A stampede of dinosaurs knock over mama and her seed pouch bursts open. The two little seeds make their way into the terrifying world earlier than planned, sooner than they were prepared for, and without great prospects for finding a suitable place to put down roots.

Posted by Molly W on Sep 11, 2023

Becoming buoyant

Cover of Starfish
A review of Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Name-Calling
Eliana Elizabeth Montgomery-Hofstein
  That's my name,
  My bestie, Viv,
  and my parents call me
  Ellie or El.
  But most people call me Splash
  or some synonym for whale.
  Cannonball into a pool,
  drenching everyone,
  and wear a whale swimsuit
  to your Under the Sea birthday party
  when you're a chubby kid
  who grows up to be a fat tween
  and no one will let you live it down.
  Ever.

Posted by Jane J on Sep 8, 2023

What's in a Name?

Cover of The Boy Who Tried to Shrin
A review of The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran
Michelle Pereira

When Zimdalamashkermishkada starts at a new school, he feels anxious about introducing himself to new people with a long name and decides to shrink his name to "Zim." But between his new friend, Elly, seeing him for who he truly is and not giving up practicing skateboarding, he begins to gain confidence about himself and his full name. 

This uplifting story will inspire young readers to celebrate their authentic selves and learn that it's okay to take up space. 

Posted by Carrie G on Sep 1, 2023

Pintando un arcoíris / Painting a rainbow

Book Cover image
A review of ¿De qué color es un beso? by Rocio Bonilla

Cuando Mónica va en bicicleta, es más rápida que el viento, pero lo que más más más le gusta del mundo es pintar. Pinta muchas cosas con todos los colores, pero nunca ha pintado un beso. Pinta con cada color para ver cual sea mejor para pintar un beso, y descubre algo de color arcoíris. Perfecto para compartir con niños de 3-6 años, y seguir con un proyecto de arte.  

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Posted by Holly SP on Aug 25, 2023

Menace under the surface

Cover of The Children of the Black
A review of The Children of the Black Glass by Anthony Peckham

Action, adventure, magic, mystery, plot twists, betrayal, redemption. Tell was only expecting to take his precious black glass, mined by his injured father, to the trading town of Halfway to get medicine and get back as quickly as he could. He didn’t count on his younger sister, Wren, sneaking along or the series of events embroiling them in a fierce wizard battle for control of Halfway. Tell and Wren make some strange alliances and some deadly foes. How the story resolves is anyone’s guess. The final page commands us to wait with a large “TO BE CONTINUED”.

Posted by on Aug 18, 2023

Infographics galore

Cover of Friends Beyond Measure
A review of Friends Beyond Measure by Lalena Fisher

Ana and Harwin are best friends. They thought the fun would last forever, brewing fairy tea, playing horse doctor, crafting, and jumping on a trampoline. Then Harwin tells Ana her family is moving away and the two friends aren't sure how their friendship will measure up going forward. Their ability to chart their friendship through timelines, bar graphs, and everything in between tells the story of how they maneuver through memories, feelings, the passing of time until the day Harwin leaves, and ultimately how they plan to stay in touch. 

Posted by Molly W on Aug 4, 2023

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