Elissa Brent WeissmanRezensionen

K-Gr 2—Cousins Nora and Noah live in opposite parts of the world. As Hanukkah approaches, the two begin a
friendly battle over who will celebrate it best. This glowing book shows family connections across the globe and
remains true to the traditions of the Jewish holiday.

Cute story about believing in yourself and not changing for others. Also to add that I got this book for free from Goodreads first reads.

Gets a bit boring.

First sentence: Noah lived in New York. His cousin Nora lived in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Premise/plot: Noah and Nora are cousins who live on opposite sides of the world, but the two (and their families) share the same faith. This new picture book follows both Noah and Nora (and their correspondence) as they celebrate Hanukkah.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I liked seeing how Hanukkah is celebrated in summer AND winter. There are many things that are the same--traditional, culturally familiar--and things that are different.

This book offers a unique offering of a Hanukkah themed picture book.

#31Days31Lists

Cousins Noah and Nora live half a world apart, in New York and Aotearoa, New Zealand, respectively. That means that while they both celebrate Hanukkah in December, it's winter for Noah and summer for Nora. The cousins playfully argue about which of them is upside down, and whether Hanukkah is better in winter or summer. They set up a shared photo album and the challenge is on! Each day, the cousins do something different, but parallel (ice skating, surfing), and each night, they celebrate Hanukkah - by saying prayers, lighting candles, eating latkes, etc. On the last night of Hanukkah, they open the gifts they mailed to each other, which happen to be shirts with "World's Best Cousin" printed upside down. "And on opposite sides of the same small world....Everything felt right side up."

Smart use of the gutter (some pages are also divided in half horizontally). Noah and Nora and their families are unique and friendly-seeming, both settled in their worlds. Noah's family presents white, with Dad and Noah wearing glasses; Nora's dad has brown skin.

celebrations in northern and southern hemispheres

In this delightfully upside-down picture book holiday story, cousins from opposite sides of the globe debate who can celebrate the best Hanukkah. Eight chances to prove it—may the best cousin win!

Firstly, I would have loved to have attended a camp like SCGE when I was in middle school - what a fun time! Alas, church camp was my only sleep-away experience (still kind of fun) so I had to carry out my gifted enrichment at school in seminar or on my own time during the summer. Gabe and his friends make it seem like such a blast!

So Gabe thinks he's normal-level cool until he meets Zack who is uber-cool. Zack doesn't enjoy reading, isn't so hot with the grammar and not big into math or science in point of fact. But he is jealous that Gabe is the one who gets to spend the summer at sleep-away camp. Hoping to impress his future brother with the coolness of his camp, Gabe makes a logic proof to organize what he thinks he can and cannot tell Zack about his summer.

Gabe is pretty easy to relate to, even for an adult. He likes who he is, but isn't so sure what others will think of him. To offset this dichotomy, he presents a sort of facade that is part him and part who he thinks he's supposed to be. After all, everyone in the world does that to some degree. By the end, Gabe's secret is uncovered when his mom brings Zack with her to pick him up from SCGE and Gabe's cover is blown as Zack witnesses Gabe's geekiness firsthand.

Weissman knows her subject matter well and she was a delight to listen to and speak with. Her stories are well written and her characters are very well developed. She has also managed to successfully write a children's book that appeals to adults as well!

One of the best books about the Holocaust that I have read in years, and that's saying something. 1) I love Imani's character, and her journey about her adoption/birth parents. 2) I think the thing I responded to so strongly was that the kids in this book are all going to Hebrew school and preparing for their Bar Mitzvahs and they are kind of bored and jaded about their history -- and then Anna's journal makes it all very immediate and real for them (and the readers) -- the impact was huge to see the characters react to it sort of reinforced my own reactions. 3) I didn't really think I was going to read this book, but from the moment I opened it, I just couldn't put it down. It's heartbreaking, empowering, thoughtful -- just extremely vivid and packs an emotional punch that makes you want to see where it's going. Spectacular.

This is a cute story about what makes us who we are, and I'm glad I read it, but it doesn't hold together as tightly as it might. There were some opportunities for tension that I think the author missed out on, and I'm not keen on seventh graders dating each other. I did, however, enjoy learning about Luxembourg and Luxembourgish. I read this with my son as part of Build Your Library homeschool curriculum, level 6.

10yo review: "I loved this book![return]i loved this book because I thought the plot was exciting. I thought it was cool to get to read her great-grandmothers diary! This is definitely a don't judge a book by it's cover/title. When I first looked at it I was like meh, but when I actually read it i was awesome!!!!! If you choose this book I hope you enjoy it!"

As a former attendee of Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, I could not help but have affection for these nerd campers. Gabe, Wesley, and Nikhil reminded me of the boys who play Magic in my library every day during recess, so of course I adored them. This is a book about what "cool" means, and finding the cool in who you are even if you don't meet society's Coolness Standards -- a pretty common middle grade theme. What takes it a cut above are the wacky camp hijinks, the book's refusal to mock the "cool kids" even as Gabe decides not to be one, and a hilarious hairstyling scene with a fresh take on middle school gender performativity. I found it slow to get started, and Gabe's relationship with his stepbrother Zack a little canned, but once the boys settled into their camp routine I couldn't put it down. I look forward to sharing it with my 6th graders!

10yo review: "I loved this book!
i loved this book because I thought the plot was exciting. I thought it was cool to get to read her great-grandmothers diary! This is definitely a don't judge a book by it's cover/title. When I first looked at it I was like meh, but when I actually read it i was awesome!!!!! If you choose this book I hope you enjoy it!"

Imani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birth parents. But when she discovers the diary her Jewish great-grandmother wrote chronicling her escape from Holocaust-era Europe, Imani begins to see family in a new way.

Oh, how do I describe my love for this book? I'll do my absolute best to touch on all the parts that really made me fall in love, but I can promise you now you'll need to go and pick up a copy of Nerd Camp. The dialogue and adventures are laugh out loud funny, and it's just such a fun read! Where else are you going to find a karaoke battle featuring the countries of the world in alphabetical order? Did I peak your interest? Good, read on!

As young characters go, Gabe and his posse of camp buddies are hilariously believable. Weissman gives the readers a camp full of unique and fun personalities. Gabe Gabe loves to make lists. They are a way for him to figure out problems that are bugging him. In fact, he ends up making a list during the book to help with his Zack problem. He lists out "Reasons I Am a Nerd" and "Reasons I Am Not a Nerd" at the beginning of every chapter. What's hilarious, and evident to an older reader, is that every single thing he does during his time at camp falls under both categories! Is there a lesson to be learned here? I think so! Wesley can solve all sorts of problems in his sleep, if you're awake long enough to hear him talk about them. Nikhil was my favorite because he was the character of the bunch who was afraid of everything. Germs, consequences, he reminded me so much of me when I was little!

Lest you think that the reader will be bogged down with lesson though, let me tell you that they are blended seamlessly into this overall story. The humor takes the edge off of Gabe's learning, but he really does figure out a lot. As Gabe goes through his summer time fun, he learns a lot about himself and those around him. He learns to fit in, he learns that he can be pretty "cool" in his own way, and most of all he learns that sometimes those kids out there who think they are cool are really just insecure. Yup. Deep right? Look at all the lessons you can get from one fun and extremely well written book! Did I mention every kid should read this?

Where was this book when I was an elementary aged kid? Really, Nerd Camp is a book that every young kid should give a read. If they happen to be in Gabe's situation, on the line between "cool" and being themselves, they will connect with the book. Yet if they are in Zack's situation, which I can't describe too much without giving away the story, they'll understand that there are varying shades of "cool" out there. Perfect book for any kid! The message is clear, be yourself. If you are a lover of MG writing, or even if you're just looking for something that will make you giggle, give this one a try! The antics of Gabe, Wesley, and Nikhil are something you won't regret taking part in.

This book is about authors and illustrators. It showcases their early illustrations and written work. It gives insight to how they were as not only children but writers. It also gives information about each person. As well as fun facts. It talks about each artist individually. And shows the differences in each individual.

I didn’t particularly like this book because it was very lengthy. And it’s not really a topic that I really like. Although I do think it’s interesting. Considering they can gather up all these pieces of work from when these illustrators and writers were younger. It also had the original work pictures. So, you can see the different styles. You can also compare it to now. And you can see the differences and similarities.

Inside, each section is divided by their name and what they do and is written by them personally along with samples of hand drawn and handwritten letters and pictures from when they were young. So many kids (and adults) compare their work to people whom have succeeded or who they idolize, this allows kids to see that everyone starts somewhere, and that anyone can go somewhere with their passions as well. 



My love of this author’s work started with the book “Standing for Socks”. I read this when I was a Middle Grades judge for Cybils in 2009. I have read her Nerd Camp Books and loved them as well. I had no thoughts of not liking this book. As I thought, I loved it. Lindy Sachs, the main character of the book is a very lovable character. Lindy is like so many people, including myself, who struggled with math in school. When she comes down with mononucleosis and must stay home from school she is bored. Her parents hire a tutor for her so she doesn’t get further behind in her least favorite subject. She does a favor for her dad by helping him purchase some stock, since he can’t access the site from work. As he explains it to her she becomes interested enough that he fronts her one hundred dollars to buy and sell stock on her own. She becomes even more interested when she learns her new tutor used to be a trader. They have that in common. She begins to understand math better the more she works the market. Like others who have found that a little bit of money isn’t enough, Linday falls into that trap. One wrong move in the stock market, one bad and illegal decision has both her and her father in hot water.

I really can’t wait for my students to get their hands on this book. It is fun, funny, and full of enough adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat reading until the end. Once again I highly recommend this book to young and old alike.

I enjoyed this small book as much as the first two. Nikhil is looking forward to weekend camp at the Center for Gifted Enrichment, with one exception. His younger sister Monishah will be going with him. He has no choice. If things don't work out and his sister gets into trouble then he won't be able to go to summer camp. He will be forced to stay at home and babysit his sister. The problem is that his sister is constantly in trouble. She does crazy things such as sliding down the stairs on her duvet cover. Nikhil enlists the help of his camp friends to keep an eye on his sister. Things take a different turn and Nikhil learns that he and his "crazy" sister aren't that different after all. This was a wonderful book. You could feel the tension Nikhil felt trying to make sure his sister didn't get them kicked out. This is a very short and quick read yet is so full of adventure. My students will love this one as much as they loved the first two. I can't wait to tell them about it.

Ten-year-old Gabe has been looking forward to the Summer Camp for Gifted Enrichment which includes courses of poetry and logical reasoning, but now he’s worried. He doesn’t want his new stepbrother to think he’s a nerd. How can Gabe write letters to Zack (who has made snide remarks about nerds) without admitting to the academic side of the summer venture and risking ridicule? With tangential math connections, add this novel to a summer reading list for a math class. The students’ banter at camp is about things like Pi Day and math club. One boy asks: “Did you know you only need twenty-three people in a room to have a greater than fifty percent chance of finding two people with the same birthday?” (p. 41). That question alone provides a perfect invitation for a class full of children to explore by conducting surveys in classrooms across the school, creating graphs or charts to represent their data, and compiling an analyzing that data.½

It all starts when seventh grader Lindy Sachs is granted one hundred dollars and access to her father’s online trading account as a way to alleviate her boredom while she’s home sick from school.

Lindy learns something immediately—she is very, very good at e-trading. Her one hundred dollars soon becomes two hundred dollars. Then four hundred. And more. With trading talent and access to her parents’ savings, the opportunity to make some real dough is too tempting to pass up. In fact, given how well Lindy’s stocks are doing, it would be a disservice to not invest it all…Right?

Right after Gabe meets his future stepbrother Zack, he gets accepted to the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment - which is great, except he's worried what Zack will think. During his six weeks there he creates a logic proof to see if he is a nerd who only has nerdy adventures -- and he has many adventures, but there is definitely a nerd twist to each. Does that mean it's not a real adventure?

I loved this book. There is the element of "finding yourself" - but it's set in such a fun story and the message isn't too heavy handed. I liked the adventure, the camp story line, and the fact that the nerds win :)

This is one of the Sunshine State Young Reader nominees for next year and it's terrific! It's about a boy named Gabe who loves to learn. Some people might even call him a geek. His dad is remarrying and his dream of having a brother is about to come true. Zack is from California and is a surfer and is super cool and Gabe really wants to be friends with him. But Zack does not think reading or any of the other things Gabe likes are cool so when Gabe goes to sleep away camp (which Zack is dying to do), he develops a logic proof to show that he is cooler than a geek. He has lots of fun at camp and finds out that being a geek is pretty great.

Zack doesn't always understand Gabe and his nerdiness, but he has accepted him. When Gabe helps Zack convince his parents that they should let him go to sleep away camp Gabe is excited for Zack. A wildfire changes things for both boys. Zack's campgrounds and most of the buildings are destroyed. Gabe's camp extends the hand of welcome to the other camp. They are going to share their campground. Both Gabe and Zack learn that it will be more difficult than they think. To start with the "cool" kids try to rule the camp, bullying the nerds. Then the "nerds" decide to take back the camp. The battles go back and forth. The one common denominator in all of this is Zack and Gabe. Zack has discovered he loves to cook. He is even becoming quite nerdy about it. He overhears his brother make a comment about him and it hurts him. He seeks revenge against his brother. When things once again get out of hand Zack decides he must set things right and find a way to stop the camps from destroying each other.

This was full of fun, and practical jokes. There is something here that everyone can relate to. Most importantly for me was the message that ran through about accepting each other's differences. I loved this book and can't keep it on my shelves at school. This should be a must read in all middle schools.

Gabe was such a fun character. He'd always wanted a brother. He knew with his parents divorced that was not going to happen. Then he learns his dad is getting remarried and he's going to have a brother after all. There is one problem. His new brother thinks learning over the summer is stupid and Gabe is going to a camp for nerds. he spends so much time trying to keep Zack from knowing he's a nerd. He's so worried about being a kid and fitting in. This would be great for my students because they all want to fit in. Gabe actually sets things up complete with a problem: "Am I a nerd who only has nerdy adventures?" and a hypothesis, "No". He decides there are things he can tell Zack such as, "Wesley (his bunk mate) says amazing things in his sleep." Then there is the actual truth he can't tell Zack. Wesley, "solves math problems and brain teasers" in his sleep. When Zack comes to pick Gabe up what will Zack truly think of his new brother?