Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Get a Peek into Bina Lobell's Super-Secret Diary


Have you been looking for a simple, but intelligent chapter book for your daughter? Look no further, Bina Lobell's Super Secret Diary is the book for you. Its pages will take you through a couple of months of Bina's complex life in dealing with being homeschooled, sibling rivalry, class politics and trouble with other friends/neighbors. Bina explains things from her perspective, which tends to be somewhat comical.

Judging the Book by its Cover -  a first glance review:


I love this cover! It is designed to look and feel like a diary should. The book actually has a material flap to keep it closed. The enticing fonts, imagery and style of the cover follows inside the book as well. The font is meant to resemble handwriting and is printed in purple. There are entertaining illustrations that appear every few pages.

Some Details I Liked:

The clear font made this book such a pleasure to read and the content was thought provoking. Ruchama Feuerman really got into a child's brain to explain concepts like "Monty Sorry" (Montessori) schooling, as well as various Judaic ideals, like how to react to a bad guest. There is a clear glossary in the back for all potentially foreign terms. 

Who This Book is For:

This book is great for elementary school students and all educators. I think most parents would also gain from reading it. Ruchama Feuerman created a character who is able to express her frustrations, which may seem immature at times, but are classic children's issues. Some of the questions that Bina poses at the end of each chapter are great discussion topics for parents to bring up with their kids in order to gain insight into their life, hardships and celebrations.

Who This Book Isn’t For:  

Bina's Diary is probably not going to be something that your older teen will be hooked on. As much as it is "Super Secret", there isn't anything super juicy in it, aside from what Bina's teacher is wearing that day, of course. Although, there is a clear plot with ups and downs to keep the book exciting.

What I Didn’t Like/Would Have Made it Better: 

The only thing that I think that could have made this book better, would have been direct input from another character. For instance, if the diary was found by someone and marked up or had it been a school assignment and the teacher would comment. But then again, there is always room for a classmate's diary to be a sequel.

In Conclusion:  

It was great reading Bina Lobell's Super Secret Diary. Its a gorgeous book, inside and out, with serious content that put a smile on my face. I loved following Bina's antics and reactions to the events in her life. 

Disclaimer:
I received this book for the purpose of reviewing it, but that it no way changed the way I read it and reviewed it.