Yum Yums, Poetry, And More!

These STEM-themed poems are so much fun! Each silly poem tackles a scientific concept. In “Extra Electrons 2,” for example, dog and human exchange electrons when a nose bump leads to a static electricity zap. Other poems explore the states of matter, gravity, magnetism, and more. It’s a really fun way to explore science.

After moving across the world, a young girl misses Cairo so much. When her Auntie Fatma comes to visit, the young girl requests an Egyptian lullaby before bed to help her remember everything she loved about Cairo. Auntie Fatma’s lyrical and repetitive song recalls the swish, swoosh, swishing boats along the Nile, prayers at the mosque, and more. This is a really heartwarming read.

In this early chapter book, Bo’s teacher assigns the class a poem. Each student is to write a poem and read it to the class. But Bo doesn’t feel like he has what it takes to write a poem. With a little help from his barber shop owner Pop-Pop and Pop-Pop’s musician client Darius, Bo learns that poetry is a lot like song lyrics, and poetry can help express the things you love. All six books in the Bo at the Buzz series are a lot of fun, and very relatable.

In this lovely middle grade novel-in-verse, 12-year-old Dominican American Aniana discovers she has Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis right when she begins to really shine in swimming. She and her Papi hide her swim practices from Mami, whose childhood tragedy has made her afraid of the water. However, the family lives in Galveston, TX, where learning how to swim is pretty much a requirement. Plus, Aniana loves to swim so much. Aniana’s diagnosis threatens to end her swim career, and what will her mother do when she finds out Aniana is lying?