Amari and the night brothers

Let me start off with one of the Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees of last year (2022-23) - Amari and the Night brothers.

The Texas Bluebonnet Award is one of the oldest and most esteemed children's choice literary awards in the United States. Each year, 20 books are chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. Every school in the region encourages students to read at least 5 of the selected books. The voting happens every year in the month of January when students vote for their favorite book. The author of the most-voted book is awarded the Texas Bluebonnet Award.

Title: Amari and the Night Brothers

Author : B.B.Alston 

Even though it is classified as a Middle Grade read, my third grader was extremely interested in it due to the book cover image. Since the book was based on fantasy and magic, I was pretty sure, my kid would really enjoy this book. I wanted to test-read it before reading it aloud to my kids, hence, I started reading it. I completed the first chapter in a jiffy and I couldn't stop reading it. I was indeed, glued to it!

This book serves as a magnifying glass into bullying, friendship, relations, courage, and patience. I would say, this would probably need to be read aloud to a third-grader (my kid said there are not many pictures in the book even though the story was interesting) as I did. It would be a perfect read for a fifth-grader though! But once they get started on the book, they would snatch it up from you and complete it real quick.

I would also say this could be compared to Harry Potter's theme and style. If you like the Harry Potter series, you would be in for the fantasy in Amari too! Loved it!