This is a 32 page Heinemann Info Search non-fiction book all about hurricanes for grades 4 and up.  This book explains the formation, movement, hazards and weakening of  hurricanes and typhoons or cyclones.  There are case studies included which highlight specific hurricanes in recent history.  The photographs, maps, charts and diagrams illustrate and support the well-written text.  This book does a good job of explaining the human and environmental impact of hurricanes and touches on how technology is being developed to help predict and minimize hurricane-related devastation.  It is AR level 5.6 worth 1 point.

Our students love graphic novels and they are wonderful for introducing these students to the classics in a very accessible and non-threatening way.  I often have students ask for the original text of a classic after reading the graphic novel version.  This version of the Jungle Book should be no exception.  Engaging and exciting pictures and storyline draw in the reader and the length keeps him/her reading to the end.  At an AR level of 3.0 and .5 points, this book will also appeal to the reluctant reader.

This 144 pg book is a wonderful addition to our non-fiction sewing section.  It is thorough and clearly-written with pictures and diagrams to demonstrate throughout the text.  The chapters include: choosing a machine; knowing your machine; using your machine; sewing seams; sewing hems; zippers and buttonholes; gathers, tucks and pleats; biding and trimming; decorative techniques; glossary and index.  This is book is an excellent resource for students interested in learning to sew by machine or hand and I highly recommend it for grades 5 and up.

This 48 pg non-fiction book about Civil War soldiers is well-written and interesting with well-placed and helpful text boxes, photographs and maps.  The information is clearly presented with human interest stories throughout.  I also appreciated the thought provoking questions sprinkled in to generate additional consideration of the material.  There is a timeline,  glossary and table of contents.  I highly recommend this book and would like to purchase the entire series.  The AR level is 6.7 worth 1 point.

This biography is from the series, Lives Cut Short and chronicles the short life of Michael Jackson. The book talks about Michael’s life – the good and the bad. It discusses Micheal’s life growing up, the Jackson 5, going solo, Thriller, marriage, family and his death. This book really coves it all! In its chapter book format, the book presents information in all aspects of Micheal Jackson’s life. The book has nice photographs of Michael and his life and additional info boxes. The end has a timeline, quick facts, a glossary, and further reading. This book would be best for 6th grade and up just for the overload of info. For students doing biography reports, this book might be a challenge to pull information out of because it just has so much information. However,  the information is there and for those students interested in Michael Jackson they will enjoy reading it cover to cover to do the report.

This is book 4 in the popular graphic novel series, The Elsewhere Chronicles. The main characters, Max, Rebecca, Noah and Theo are back trying to return to their normal lives after escaping from the Master of Shadows. When Rebecca falls ill, her fate does not look good. She is convinced that the only way to save herself from dieing is to return to the other world of ElseWhere. Despite the dangers, she and her friends return to find even more danger. The book leaves the reader hanging and not really knowing what is going to happen to Rebecca and Max. The glossy pages, really nice illustrations and cliff-hanger ending will leave the reader wanting more. I like the large size of these graphic novels, but found it a bit hard to follow having not read the previous books. It would be good I can see to have the entire series in order. The book has a touch of violence and is geared for the older student. I will probably let my fourth and up check it out. There is a lot going on. There are lots of text boxes with a large amount of writing.

This is a graphic novel from the Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers movie. This novel is Volume 3 of the official movie adaptation. The Transformers war continues on Earth in this book as the Autobots work to end the terrible Decepticons threat. The leader, Optimus Prime and his autobots fight to save the world from the evil force leader, Megatron and the other Decepticons. The book is in true Transformers style with the dark illustrations. The cartoon look is legitimate Transformers. While it really isn’t too violent, the story line isn’t anything amazing. Again, a great book for the young boy reluctant readers.

Appealing to a 4th-6th grade audience, this zany little chapter book is full of comical observations and situations.  Scattered throughout are little text boxes with the main character’s notes, lists and facts.  The illustrations support the text in a similar style, adding to the humor.  Testing in at AR level 3.3 (3 points) this book would be especially enjoyable for the reluctant male reader.

This is a graphic novel from the Zinc Alloy series. This is the story of Zack Allen. Zack is a nerdy boy that loves reading comic books about superheroes. Unfortunately, he is always being picked on by bullies at school until he builds his own robot suit. With this robot suit comes new found powers and Zack is now the superhero-Zinc Alloy. Zinc Alloy stops a runaway train downtown and scares the school bullies off. After a busy superhero day, Zack knows that his superhero self must return someday! As far as graphic novels, I found this one to be pretty good. There isn’t any violence, it is grade school appropriate and touches on issues like bullying. I like that this is a good series for those older, reluctant boy readers since it has a fairly high interest level but low reading level.  I like at the beginning it has an illustrated “cast of characters” and a glossary, history of comics, discussion questions and writing prompts at the end.

This nonfiction book explains the difference between a butterfly and a moth. This book is from the series, What’s the Difference. The book describes the similarities and differences in physical characteristics, diet, behavior, and habitat between these two insects. While the illustrations are beautiful, I miss the real photographs that make these kinds of nonfiction books spectacular. There is great information that is easy to read and understand for young readers in a story type format. Throughout the book, there are additional information boxes about things such as metamorphosis, pollination and camouflage. At the end of the book, there is a great illustration of a butterfly and moth with all the different body parts labeled and diagrammed. There are also fun facts (there are 20,000 different kinds of butterflies and 150,000 different moths!), glossary, learn more and index.