Gabby Torres Gets A Billion Followers

Gabby Torres is a 9-year-old conservationist and starts a social media page for the Sea Musketeers Club (with parental supervision of...

Mitra

11 hours ago

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Gabby Torres Gets A Billion Followers

Gabby Torres is a 9-year-old conservationist and starts a social media page for the Sea Musketeers Club (with parental supervision of...

Mitra

11 hours ago

What A Writer Needs

When school is out, it is the perfect time to re-read books and get inspired. One of the best books ever to teach writing comes from...

Mitra

Jun 14

Ren's Pencil

“𝘙𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭” is a simple story on immigration and belonging, making new friends and a new place your home. Ren immigrates to...

Mitra

Jun 8

Wanda Hears The Stars

I had not heard of Wanda Diaz Merced until I read this book and what an inspiring biography it is! Wanda lived in a small town in Puerto...

Mitra

Jun 6

Letters To A Monster

Have you read this laugh-out-loud, hilarious book that came into the world in March this year? As the name suggests, the book comprises...

Mitra

Jun 4

Tear This Down

There’s something about the way Barbara Dee writes that makes all her books so well paced. In her most recent middle-grade creation “Tear...

Mitra

Jun 4

Made For More

This book is a celebration of a darker skin tone. Our little protagonist is of Japanese roots and Hawaiian upbringing. Like many others...

Mitra

Jun 3

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Gabby Torres is a 9-year-old conservationist and starts a social media page for the Sea Musketeers Club (with parental supervision of course!) But she soon discovers that she is too young to overcome the temptation of being online and to navigate the mean comments that social media posts often garner. In the process, she ends up being mean to a number of people.

A thoroughly entertaining graphic novel, this is a great read for Grades 1 to 3! Also perfect for the early elementary students to get a grasp of what could go wrong with social media.

@andominguezzzz #graphicnovel #socialmedia #mitrasuggests #readlikeawolfreads

Here are five reasons why every reading teacher must read current children’s literature - beyond the ‘tried and tested’. #readingteacher #kidlit #readlikeawolfeats

When school is out, it is the perfect time to re-read books and get inspired.

One of the best books ever to teach writing comes from Ralph Fletcher. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴” is a no-frills, no-heavy-graphics gem that can re-energise any writing teacher.

But if you happen to read the second edition of this book, make sure you get hold of the foreword by Don Murray written for the first edition…

One of my favourite parts from the book:
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦… 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘕𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘥’𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥.”

What’s your first PD-read this summer?

@ralphoto17 #WhatAWriterNeeds #PD #writingteacher #mitrasuggest #readlikeawolfreads #teachersofig

“𝘙𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭” is a simple story on immigration and belonging, making new friends and a new place your home. Ren immigrates to the west with her family and as a parting gift, her Popo gives her a pencil, a magic pencil for Ren to create her own magic!

But this is where the magic in the story begins! Bo Lu cleverly meshes in fantasy into the story, making it stand out from other immigration stories. Her art work adds on to the realms of the imagined world and will take you to the magical lands of princesses and fairies!

“𝘙𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭” will be a great mentor text for the fantasy unit in your curriculum. Book releases on 3 February 2026.

Thank you Abrams Books for the digital review copy! All opinions expressed are 100% mine and uninfluenced!

@bowru #immigration #picturebook #fantasy #mitrasuggest #readlikeawolfreads #teachersofig

I had not heard of Wanda Diaz Merced until I read this book and what an inspiring biography it is!

Wanda lived in a small town in Puerto Rico. A meteor shower when she was nine sparked her curiosity. Though initially shy, her scientific bent of mind saw her winning the local science fair competition. She took up physics for higher studies and started learning more about stars. However, in year 3, she started losing her eyesight.

Learning about stars without eyesight was unheard of. But being blind did not mean she had to give up on her dreams. So instead of looking at the stars, Wanda started “hearing” them through ‘sonification’ that converts data into sounds. She also got into an internship program with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre and eventually made new discoveries about the universe.

This motivating book should find a place in every classroom! Book releases on 19 August 2025.

Thank you Charlesbridge Publishing for the digital copy of the book. Opinion expressed are 100% mine and uninfluenced!

@amy_s_hansen @denarmen #nonfiction #picturebook #sonification #scienceisforeveryone #mitrasuggest #readlikeawolfreads #teachersofig

Picture books have no rules on storyline, no fixed format for appeal – your imagination is the limit. Corey Tabor of “Mel Fell” fame proves just that!

The book begins with Crow sitting atop a wire and a squirrel scurrying towards it with the good news of an overflowing garbage can. “Kaw” says Crow. Next, we see a number of animals approaching Crow, but he remains unwavering in his response – “Kaw!”

What happens next will take your imagination, put it on a rollercoaster, and forget the seatbelt. Your students will be left wide-eyed, shouting, “Wait… whaaaat?!” There’s a perfectly good reason behind Crow’s steadfastness and readers will have a blast uncovering it!

#picturebook #CrankyCrabbyCrow #crow #hilarious #kidlit #readlikeawolfeats #mitrasuggests

Have you read this laugh-out-loud, hilarious book that came into the world in March this year? As the name suggests, the book comprises letters written by a super brave protagonist Sophie, to a monster, who she strongly believes lives under her bed. Through the exchange of letters that are sure to tickle your (and your class kids’) funny-bones, we get to know that the Monster indeed ‘used’ to live under Sophie’s bed, but not anymore, because that spot is now occupied by the Gorilla. The Monster is so terribly scared of the Gorilla that he moved in with another friend on the Ghost Ship in the bottom of the sea.

What would Sophie do next? How will she get rid of the Gorilla? And what happens to the Monster? Well, well, I can’t spill the beans – read this aloud in the class to find out!

@trishforde1 @s_warburton_ish_ #picturebook #letters #hilarious #monster #kidlit #readlikeawolfeats #mitrasuggests

There’s something about the way Barbara Dee writes that makes all her books so well paced. In her most recent middle-grade creation “Tear This Down”, we follow seventh grader Freya Stillman brimming with questions and passionate to do what’s right.

Freya lives in Wellstone and as part of a school project, she starts finding out more on town-founder Benjamin Wellstone. To her horror, she finds out that Benjamin Wellstone didn’t think women should be allowed to go to school or to vote. With the help of her friend Callie, Freya now wants to replace Benjamin Wellstone’s statue with that of Octavia Padgett, a suffragist. Would Freya’s voice be heard? Read and find out!

@barbaradeebooks #middlegrade #chapterbook #activism #standup #kidlit #readlikeawolfeats #mitrasuggests

This book is a celebration of a darker skin tone. Our little protagonist is of Japanese roots and Hawaiian upbringing. Like many others in South and South East Asia, she makes comparisons between her skin tone and that of her grandmother and other family members. But she proudly declares that she has no time to ‘maintain’ a light skin and rather focuses on exploring, and enjoying the outdoors. She sets forth a point of view that the perceived ‘blemishes’ can be one of the things that make her beautiful and unique.

What a lovely book about self-acceptance, cultural pride, and being comfortable in your own skin! The illustrations are equally gorgeous!

@chloeitoward @gaelabary #colorism #darkskin #picturebook #kidlit #mitrasuggests #readlikeawolfeats

Though this isn’t a very ‘recent’ release, it is just the perfect time to share this book because the end of the school year often coincides with families relocating.

This graphic novel is about Ruth’s family moving from Toronto to Hong Kong. Readers from south-east Asia with find this book extra humorous for the cultural elements and it would be even better if you speak/read Cantonese. Adjusting after immigration is never easy and teenager Ruth has to navigate a new school, a different outlook on education, new friends, and extended family. Her mum, on the other hand, is nostalgic on being back to her homeland while Dad is gone for work days at a stretch, making it extra hard for poor Ruth.

Instead of being a heavy read, this is entertaining, and amusing and adolescents will find a direct connection with their thought process. Highly recommended for Grades 4 and above.

@ohtruth #immigration #hongkong #memoir #graphicnovel #kidlit #mitrasuggests #readlikeawolfeats

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Gabby Torres Gets A Billion Followers

MITRA'S BOOK REVIEWS

Stay Updated with the Latest Reviews

EXPLORE BOOK REVIEWS

Gabby Torres Gets A Billion Followers

What A Writer Needs

Ren's Pencil

Wanda Hears The Stars

Letters To A Monster

Tear This Down

Made For More

ABOUT MITRA OF STORIES

FOLLOW MITRA

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