Simon B. Rhymin’

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Synopsis:

“A humorous and heartwarming bounce-to-the-beat underdog story about a young rapper whose rhymes help bring his community together.

Eleven-year-old Simon Barnes dreams of becoming a world-famous rapper that everyone calls Notorious D.O.G. But for now, he’s just a Chicago fifth grader who’s small for his age and afraid to use his voice.

Simon prefers to lay low at school and at home, even though he’s constantly spitting rhymes in his head. But when his new teacher assigns the class an oral presentation on something that affects their community, Simon must face his fears.

With some help from an unexpected ally and his neighborhood crew, will Simon gain the confidence to rap his way to an A and prove that one kid can make a difference in his ‘hood?”

Review:

Written by Dwayne Reed, an elementary school teacher in Illinois, Simon B. Rhymin’ was definitely written with kids in mind. You see, Mr. Reed, is also a YouTube sensation after his Welcome to the 4th Grade video went viral. You can tell Dwayne is the type of teacher who has a passion for teaching – it shows in the videos and shows in this novel as well.

I think a lot of kids are going to relate to Simon who creates awesome raps in his head, but when threatened by the class bully or asked to present in front of the class, he clams up. Even with the support of his family, Simon can’t seem to shake his fears, even throwing up at school from his nerves!

I really enjoyed the story as Simon takes the time to build a relationship with a community member that he sees all the time, but has never given much thought to. Once, he learns more about this gentleman, Simon realizes that he wants to share what he’s learned with his class. And although it’s still scary, the story is more important than the nerves.

This is a quick read and one that I think a lot of kids will gravitate to. It also has some great opportunities to open up for discussion. And that makes this a great book discussion title for a school, library, or at home!

If you’re interested in purchasing Simon B. Rhymin’, please use my affiliate links for Amazon.com or Bookshop.org. If you purchase from either of these links, I will earn a commission as an affiliate.

Need to Know:

Title: Simon B. Rhymin’
Author: Dwayne Reed
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Page Number: 240 pgs.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.