Do you read for fun? Do your kids? According to a flyer shared with one of the books: "Reading for fun in the US has fallen by nearly 40 percent!" For many kids reading has become a chore. It is not fun when you don't get to read what you want. For reluctant readers and others graphic novels bring some of the fun back to reading. Today we are sharing two middle grade novels that are fun and interesting and even have some facts in them! The first is A Fishboy Named Sashimi by Dan Santat. This book is recommended for ages 6 to 10 and is the first in a series.
About the Book:
A new graphic novel series from bestseller and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat.In the town of Barnacle Bay, a creature lurks. He’s come from the ocean, in search of others like him.
To fit in with humans, Sashimi sneaks into an elementary school and pretends to be a student. But he’s clearly a fish out of water!
When Sashimi finds out the whole town is on the hunt for the Beast of Barnacle Bay—a creature who sounds a lot like Sashimi—hijinks ensue! Fortunately, with the help of a new friend and the class goldfish, Sashimi figures out a way to stay afloat.
Perfect for fans of Bad Guys, Sharkdog, and The Investigator series!
Don't miss other books in the series:
- Book 2: Field Trip of Doom
- Book 3: Double Trouble
From Me:
Dan Santat creates a book series meant to get kids reading for fun again. It is about friendship and embracing your inner weirdness. The main character is a fishboy. A fishboy as the book shares is the opposite of a mermaid. A fishboy has a fish head and human body. Our character, Sashimi, was raised by mermaids and is feeling lonely as he has never met anyone like him. He gets out of the water at Barnacle Bay to look for the Beast of Barnacle Bay who sounds like him. One problem, he doesn't have a family or a place to stay. He stays at the school with the classroom fish. Plus the entire town is hoping to catch the Beast. And a fishboy can survive outside of water but needs lots of water to keep going. He is also slimy and smells like fish. Needless to say he is a bit weird in the human world.
This book is humorous and fun. Kids are going to be laughing at Sashimi and his behaviors. Yet he and his human friends begin embracing their own weirdness and it allows readers to see it is okay to be different. The question is will Sashimi be able to not be found out or killed? Will he find the Beast and will the Beast be a relative?
I love that the main goal of this book is to get kids reading for fun. It is the perfect book for the reluctant middle grade reader. It has fun and craziness. Sashimi causes quite a bit of chaos and is really just trying to get the lay of the human world. It is a book about friendship and accepting weirdness. It is perfect for the middle grade classrooms and libraries!
Our next book is a fun book that shares nonfiction facts and a tour of Japan. It is My Journey to Japan: Escape to Yokai Mountain by Matthew Loux. It is recommended for ages 8 to 13.
About the Book:
Explore Japanese culture with Penny, Paulie, and magical Shimesu!Twins Penny and Paulie are thrilled to be in Tokyo—even if they're stuck in a boring hotel while their dad attends "important" meetings. But when they meet a strange, frog-like creature named Shimesu in the hotel pond, their trip turns into a wild adventure.
Shimesu is a yokai, a supernatural being, and he's in big trouble. Banished from Yokai Mountain, he needs their help to get home. Soon Penny and Paulie are diving through his magical water vortex to destinations across Japan and experiencing the country in ways no visitor ever could!
Blending an exciting adventure with fun facts about Japanese culture, this book explores:
- How ancient Japanese castles kept enemies out—and what samurai wore into battle
- The etiquette of visiting a Shinto shrine and the meaning behind its objects
- The trendy pop culture of Tokyo's Harajuku and Akihabara districts
- The many kinds of noodles, street food, and seafood enjoyed in Japan
- And much more!
From Me:
This is a fun graphic novel that teaches about the Japanese culture as well as the country. The twins have dreamed of going to Japan and when they get the chance to go with their dad on his work trip, they are so excited. But their dad gets called into a meeting on the first day and tells them not to leave the hotel. They meet a magical kappa, Shimesu, who needs help because he has been banished from Yokai Mountain. He gets to explain to the twins about the Japanese Yokai, which are the magical creatures in Japanese culture. As they travel up Yokai mountain they run into various yokai and the yokai require Shimeshu to use his magical powers to take them to different parts of Japan usually in search of various Japanese food. The twins get to travel Japan with magic and see just about everything while their dad is at the emergency meeting.
They visit Osaka Castle and learn about the samurai, a shrine and learn about Shinto, Harajuku or Tokyo's fashion center, Gion Matsuri or a festival, Akihabara or the pop culture hotspot, and they also learn about Japanese noodles, traditional crafts, Japanese trains, the Ainu or indigenous people of Northern Japan, seafood, and the ancient turtle. Each page is full of something about Japan and its culture, and it is all presented in a fun and magical way! The book is fun to read and the illustrations are very fun!
I love how the book teaches a bit of the culture as well as history of Japan and that it is done through the magical creatures of Japanese culture. The entire book is fun and educational, and kids will get a kick from the shenanigans of the yokai and all of them demanding things of Shimesu. When they return to the hotel, they are tired and their father shortly returns ready to take them exploring! The twins rally and are ready to explore even more. This book is a fun introduction to Japan. It is perfect for the family traveling there but also for a classroom learning about the country.
