Paul

The story of Natalie, as told in pictures, and how she navigates entering middle school along with a bunch of kids from other grade schools, the loss of her best friend (who’s turned into a really “mean girl”), the making of new, truly good friends, and finding out what she’s good at doing. Of course there’s a lot of anxiety, self doubt, and missteps along the way but Nat survives, spectacularly, in this sweet and humorous tale. -Paul

I have become totally hooked on this series and very much recommend it for older tweens. I plan to continue enjoying my way through each volume even after the current quarantine/shut down is lifted! -Paul

The author, Janae Marks, deftly weaves the all too common experiences of African-Americans with the U.S. justice system and its fallout into an engaging tale of a young girl on the cusp of adulthood, juggling several things at one time while balancing what she feels is the right thing to do and the fear of suffering the consequences, both if she does or does not follow through in her quest. -Paul

Recommended for upper elementary and above, for some content and word complexity. -Paul

Recommended for tweens and older this is an action and adventure tale with humor and grisley demises sprinkled throughout. -Paul

A funny and quite well paced action and misadventure tale of a group of eight graders during a class trip to Washington DC. Centered on Wyatt Palmer and his various personal anxieties, the tale follows him, his nerd buddies, and assorted other classmates as they deal with teacher chaperones, a pair of menacing and creepy strangers they meet during their plane ride, and a series of mostly bad and ill-informed choices made not only by Wyatt but others as well. Make no mistake, things get quite dangerous and potentially quite fatal for several of the characters along the way. -Paul

Another in the series of picture books that includes The Good Egg and The Bad Seed. Looking at what it means to be cool from very superficial aspects to truly meaningful ones. Well told with a very good message. -Paul

A classic tale that relates the experiences of a very spoiled and selfish young girl, Mary Lennox, who is sent to the Yorkshire country estate of an Uncle after her parents die of a cholera epidemic in India. After a bit of culture shock and getting used to her new home she learns of an abandoned garden on the estate that has been locked since her Uncle’s wife died 10 years earlier. After finding a key she is able to finally enter the garden which is dormant and choked with weeds. Mary starts to tend the garden and undergoes a bit of a transformation into a better person. Soon she meets a local boy, Dickon, who has a way with animals, and he helps her with the garden. Eventually she meets her cousin, Colin, who’s kept isolated in a room inside the manor and is presumed to have a spinal deformation that keeps him under constant care. As the three become thick as thieves and the garden blooms, several things change among the individual characters and their relationships. -Paul

Celtic Woman once again provide a very enjoyable listening experience with their special treatment of traditional songs of the season. Just a heads up, this group will be appearing at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on the UNI campus on December 22nd. -Paul

You knew it was only a matter of time before John Legend would release a Holiday album and here it is. Featuring both classic songs and new, original tracks guest artist include Stevie Wonder and Esperanza Spalding (one of my favorite bassists of all time!) -Paul

Menzel's amazing voice is once again worth the price of admission, as with her previous Christmas release she teams up for a number of duets with an A-list of currently popular vocalists. Very centered on recognizable favorites this release does include one not so traditional Hanukkah song, Ocho Kandelikas, which is sung in Ladino. -Paul

Pentatonix have once again released an enjoyable a capella collection of Christmas music, featuring brand new arrangements of familiar favorites. I'm always amazed at what this group comes up with. -Paul

Features catchy rhythms evocative of the jazz and pop music of the 50's and early 60's with clever and often humorous lyrics that do push some boundaries, being just naughty enough to add spice to seasonal cocktail listening cocktail mix with out being too strong. -Paul

Residing very comfortably in the tried and true traditional seasonal "tropesphere", this release certainly adds well to the Christmas music canon populated by crooners of the 50's and 60's. What sets it apart is Lea Michelle's way of infusing each song with an inner wonder and infectious, sincere joyousness. -Paul

Features some pretty interesting metal interpretations of classic Christmas songs and, as one one expect, certainly with some ear catching guitar hooks and power chords. Sure to make the tinsel on your tannenbaum gleam a little brighter and louder. -Paul

Keb' Mo's distinctive voice really shines through with a proper amount of Christmas warmth and cheer on an album filled with very smooth, but not horribly over-produced, tracks while staying true to the various musical genre types he explores. -Paul

Amazingly fresh and engaging sound with picture painting lyrics, suitable for listening while sipping vodka martinis. -Paul