Skip to main content

The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane

 


Writtey bu: Nikki Shannon Smith
Illustrated by: Mari Lobo
A Capstone Imprint, 2020. Fiction.

Azaleah lane is a good student and a big help at home with her little sister. She has hardworking parents who try to give her an amazing life but sometimes life can get a little crazy even for someone like Azaleah. When it's announced at school that her class is going on a field trip to the National Zoo she is so excited and can't wait to go. Things get even better when her teacher tells everyone they can earn extra credit by doing a project on an animal they see at the zoo. She knows exactly what she wants to make and she can't wait to get home and work on her assignment. When she arrives home she discovers that her little sister, Tiana, is very upset. She can't find her favorite stuffed animal and she just knows someone has stolen it. Her mom and dad are both busy and it seems like Azaleah is the only one who has time to help Tiana find her missing stuffed animal. Just when she is about to give up on finding time to work on her extra credit project for school things take a turn for the better.

This is the first book in a new series about a smart, brave and funny girl named Azaleah. This would be a great book to hand to someone who is just starting into chapter books and reading on their own. There are some beautiful vivid full color illustrations that help the reader visualize the story as well as discussion questions, writing prompts, and a science glossary at the back of the book. The story is sweet and the author teaches some important skills, like pausing and taking a deep breath when things don't go your way. A great book to add to any library.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer

Stand Tall By Siena Siegel by Joan Bauer Putnam, 2002, 182 pgs Realistic Fiction Tree is 12 years old and over 6 feet tall. That would be great if he were a basketball player, but he is not. Dealing with his unusual size is not Tree's only challenge. Tree's parents have recently gone through a divorce, and his grandfather has had his leg amputated as the result of an old Vietnam War injury. The strength of this book is the characterizations. All of the main characters are dimensional and sympathetic. Bauer sets the characters in real and often funny family situations. Best of all is the character of Tree. He is boy with a heart to match his stature. This is a great book for boys or girls ages 9-12, as a read aloud or for individual reading. This book could also be a good Rx book for children whose families are going through divorce, or for anyone who feels like they don't fit in.

Review: The New Girl

The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...

Review: Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker

  Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker By Heidi Heilig New York: Greenwillow Books, 2025. Fiction. 291 pages. Thanks to Cincinnati Lee's no good, dirty rotten, artifact stealing great great great grandfather, Cincinnati's family is now cursed and Cincinnati feels like it's up to her to break the curse. Which involves trying to steal the artifacts back from museums that her grandfather robbed from graves and archeological sites around the world and return them to their countries of origin. But when Cincinnati's first artifact stealing mission goes awry, she decides it might be more effective to steal an all-powerful artifact herself that she can use to break the curse - The Spear of Destiny. Unfortunately her race for the spear will pit her against art smugglers and thieves intent on finding the ancient artifact themselves. If you are looking for an Indiana Jones read-alike, this is the perfect for you! Heavy on the adventure with similar levels of mysticism to those seen in th...