Little Wheels

Four trucks, 2 big and 2 small, with headlights for eyes and bumpers for mouths start their day. ” ‘I will help you! ‘ says Blue Truck”, but his offer is turned down twice by the big trucks. Discouraged and giving up Yellow Truck asks Blue Truck for his help. Success follows. The End.

Illustrator Patrick Girouard has added a Pesky Pigeon to find on every turn of the page.

Word Count – 115.

Little Lizard’s First Day

Gary Lizard has been marking the days off on his calendar until his first day of school. Mom and Dad Lizard help send him off with (new) clothes, backpack, sack lunch, and by taking his picture before climbing onto the school bus.

Word count – 88. with bright, child-friendly pictures by Andy Rowland

Seabird in the Forest: The Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet

This nonfiction book tells the story of the mystery behind a little seabird, called the marbled murrelet in a picture book format. The murrelet makes its home in the ocean until it is time to lay it’s egg. This bird that is the same size of a robin lays just one egg, that is the size of a chicken egg. For hundreds of years, it was unknown where they lay this egg. It has just been discovered that they lay these eggs in the forest trees along the west coast. It is amazing because this bird will travel up to 50 miles one way to deliver a fish to the nest when the chick has hatched.  This is a story that takes place in the Pacific Northwest, making it of real interest to students in our area. The paintings just add to the beauty of the story. As the story is told, there are additional information boxes about these birds, forest and other forest animals set in the pictures, as well. The story brings to light the environmental ramifications logging companies are causing by taking the birds’ nesting ground. This is really neat story with lots of information about the outdoors that would be great to share with students.

Stanza

Stanza, the dog is a thug and a rotten dog that prowls the streets with his rotten brothers by day. But by night, Stanza writes poetry that would only come out of a sensitive hound. He lives in fear of his brothers finding out about his dark secret. When Stanza sees a poster display about a poetry contest, he can hardly wait to start writing. When he comes in second place and his secret is out, the outcome is terrible! He hates losing and worst of all, his brothers make fun of him. Stanza becomes a hero when the townspeople see his talents and his prize gets delivered (chicken pot pies). Stanza and his brothers soon make a new life showcasing their talents and forgoing their bad ways. This book tells a cute story centered around poetry and the rhyming makes it a fun read aloud. The illustrations help to tell the story perfectly.

Shawn Michaels

This nonfiction book is all about the life and career of pro wrestler, Shawn Michaels. The book discusses Shawn winning the World Championship, Shawn proving himself with his small size, his life growing up, Shawn losing his friendship with Marty Jannetty and then getting back on his feet. The book is nicely set up, has great photographs of Shawn and good information. My only problem with this book is the large amount of text. It seems like a lot of information in paragraph style for elementary students to read and comprehend.

The World’s Greatest Football Players

This nonfiction book goes over the achievements and career statistics of some of the greatest football stars, such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Randy Moss. Each chapter has facing pages with a photo of the star, their personal information, their regular season rushing stats, achievements, a little paragraph about the player and a fact. The book is visually stimulating and has nicely organized information that is not overwhelming to read, although there is a lot of information. My only negative critique is that all the stars are from around the same time (2000-present). I feel that this may date the book. It would have been nice to have a little more variety of players in the years they played.

Twinkle Star of the Week

In this picture book, all the stars at school will get a turn to be star of the week. All the stars are so excited to be chosen and share something special. Twinkle knows right away she wants to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Poor Twinkle is very upset when another star shares her song. She just doesn’t know what to do. Luckily, when it is Twinkle’s turn, she wishes and wishes for help and is visited by a wishing star. She is very excited to share that she has been chosen as a wishing star. This is really cute book and all the references to stars and space is an added bonus. In the front and back cover pages, there are even star facts. The illustrations just make the story even cuter.

The World’s Smartest Machines

This nonfiction book is from the Extreme Machines series and is all about smart machines. The book first teaches students about smart machines that are in the ocean. There are underwater vehicles that teach scientists about the ocean and robots that go underwater and take videos. The book then talks about trains that are smart and drive without drivers and smart cars that have sensors, lasers and radars that help drivers be safe. The book also teaches about smart machines that deal with bombs, planes that are smart and smart machines used in space. The book also has a test students can give themselves, a glossary, find out more page and index. The book is presented simply with large font, a low reading level and straight forward facts. The photographs are high quality and book has really nice thick pages.

Spiky, Slimy, Smooth: What is Texture?

In this nonfiction book, students are presented with the concept of texture. Texture is the way something feels. The entire rest of the book is about different textures in our world. From things that are soft and fluffy (furry slippers) to knobbly and warty (squash). The descriptions are vivid and make great use of adjectives. The photographs that accompany the descriptions are vivid as well and of great quality. There are just so many neat parts to this book. I loved it (and I am not an art person)! The photos that go with the descriptions of textures are ingenious. This is a great book to add to the art section in any elementary library.

Other Goose Re-Nurseried!! and Re-Rhymed!! Children’s Classics

In this fun book, J. Otto Seibold has taken the popular Mother Goose nursery rhyme classics and rewritten them to his style. This book is supposedly written by a real goose unlike Mother Goose who is not really a goose. These nursery rhymes are “more modern, more fresh and more Goosian.”  For example, he writes “It’s raining, it’s boring, The snoring creaks the flooring. With that said, go to bed, and I’ll see you in the morning! The rhymes are fun and the illustrations to go with them are funny and appealing. This is just a fun book!

Freestyle Motocross

This nonfiction book is all about freestyle motocross, which is a type of dirt bike race held on an outdoor course. The book discusses the basics of the sport, tricks and motocross freestyle stars affiliated with the sport. The book also has a glossary, read more, Internet site pages and index. The book has a pretty low reading level and is good for reluctant readers. It has basic easy to read information, but great photographs  and nice use of borders. It is definitely appealing to young boy readers.

Xtreme UFC: Georges St-Pierre

This nonfiction book is all about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title holder, Georges St-Pierre. The books discusses this fighter and his stats, his UFC record, early career, fight training and his career highlights. The book is nicely laid out giving his stats and record in nice, easy to read box charts. For reluctant boy readers, this book does not have  a lot of text. It just gives basic information and has great (although graphic!) photographs of St-Pierre. There is a glossary explaining some of the terms such as what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighting is and an index. Elementary boys would love the entire series (Inside the Octagon, Forrest Griffin, B.J. Penn, etc.).

How Heavy Is Heavy? Comparing Vehicles

This nonfiction book is all about measuring weight. The books starts out explaining weight and measuring weight. The author then explains about the weight of vehicles and then starts comparing weights of vehicles. The book compares vehicles such as, toy scooters to mountain bikes, mountain bikes to snowmobiles, snowmobiles to cars and so forth each getting heavier. Each comparison is on facing pages with a photograph of the vehicle and measuring scales showing the comparison. The book has great photos, nice additional information bubbles and a measuring activity students can do. There is also a heavy quiz and facts page at the end of the book, along with a glossary, find out more and index. Upon seeing this book, I thought boring! When I actually started reading it, I really liked it not finding it boring at all. Young elementary boys will like it and teachers will find it useful when teaching measuring and weighing.

Astronauts Working in Space

This nonfiction book is all about astronauts working in space. The book discusses blasting off into space, what it is like going into space, floating and gravity, eating, taking a bath, sleeping, walking and communicating with Earth all while in space, and then coming back to Earth. Each chapter is on facing pages with important words bolded, great photographs and just enough information that it is not overwhelming. The attractive, nicely laid out style of this book put it in my recommend list. There is also a glossary, further reading page and index.

Wildfires: The Science Behind Raging Infernos

This nonfiction book is all about wildfires. It starts out telling about a devastating fire in California that was started by a boy playing with matches. The book then teaches students the science behind fires, including what causes them, the potential devastating effects and staying safe. The book has a lot of text and information. There are many side bars and boxes with added interesting information, such as “a firefighter will carry equipment and protective gear weighing fifty to seventy pounds.” At the end of the book, there is a glossary, further reading, Internet addresses and index. I recommend this book because I don’t have any books in my library about wildfires and the dangers. I think it would be a nice series to have. There are also books on floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. The only thing I did not like about the book was it is really text heavy. While the photographs in the book were high quality, there weren’t many of them. The information given is well written, but there are some pages with nothing but writing on white paper (the text is small), which I worry the reluctant readers that this book is supposedly for will find it overwhelming.

Robert Pattinson

This nonfiction biography is all about the Twilight star, Robert Pattinson. The book discusses this rising star, his family ties, growing up, starting out, his big break, the actor as a  singer and songwriter and what it is like to be an actor. The book is nicely organized and is easy to read for students. It has an attractive quality with lots of stars, colors and nice photos. At the end, there is a snapshot page about the star, important words, web sites and an index. This is a nice biography series for elementary age students.

Emperor Penguins: Animals of the Snow and Ice

This nonfiction b00k is all about emperor penguins. The book starts with a table of contents and then a words to know page. I liked that the words to know is at the beginning of the book so students can be looking for those words and already have seen them. It then discusses the habitats, characteristics, eating habits, mating, babies and conserving this species of birds. There is a lot of text, but it is easy to read and has lots of interesting facts about the penguins. The photographs are great, the text is a nice font and I just really liked this book. At the end of this book, there is a facts page with fun facts (if a newly hatched penguin chick fell off its parent’s feel onto the ice, it will die in less than two minutes), a learn more page and index.

Buzz Beaker and the Outer Space Trip

Adventure should be Buzz Beaker’s middle name! Young Buzz keeps a notebook handy for recording his inventions.   “So far, none of his inventions worked” (p. 11)  but he continues to dream of making a space ship.

Illustrator, Bill McGuire gives Buzz a  big head and a winning smile which works very well with Cari Meister’s energetic text with which student readers will identify.

Opossums

Emergent readers will enjoy straight forward facts with strong visual support about opossums. Written in large font with two sentences per page opposite a color photo. If it weren’t for the cover photo and the one opposite, “It shows its 50 teeth to scare the predator away” on page 16, the young reader might have thoughts of keeping an opossum as a ‘cute’ backyard wildlife pet. The author does not mention the aspect of ‘playing possum’ but young readers won’t notice this omission.

Includes: Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, & Fact Surfer.com instructions.

Chaucer’s First Winter

Chaucer is a bear cub who is friends with a fox and a squirrel. When his parents begin to hibernate,  friendly and inquisitive Chaucer decides to stay awake with his non-hibernating friends and experiences  the beauty of snow, the fun of snowball fights, and the slipperiness of ice. Chaucer’s illustrator has his parents sneaking peeks and keeping a watchful eye on him.

Predictable, Chaucer fall asleep when his parents end their long winters sleep.

Desert Days, Desert Nights

Roxie Munro’s panoramic 9″ X 20″  pen-and- ink and watercolor illustrated vistas of  North America’s Chihuahuan, Death Valley, Great Basin, Mojave, Painted , and Sonoran Deserts once by day and once again by night take the reader on a search and discover mission. There are 12 to 18 different animals per vista.

“Find, name, and count the animals you see during the day, and then find the animals that come out after the sun sets.” The reader will find his/her enjoyment on all those levels, plus the added information given on each desert in the back of the book where the answers are found.

Tucker Took It!

In this picture book, Tucker is naughty goat that will eat anything. But what Tucker really loves is corn and he is tired of waiting and waiting. It is almost ready, but he just can’t take it so he runs amuck through the farm taking the horses sun hat, the pigs watermelon, the cows hay, Mrs. Zook’s sundress off the line, and her fresh pie. Mrs. Zook and all the animals have had enough! She heads off to let that goat have it. To everyones surprise, Tucker has used all the stolen goods to make a scarecrow to keep the corn safe! This is a fun, little farm story. The pictures are digitally created and very bright and colorful. The story is simple and good for beginning readers.

Prudence & Moxie A Tale of Mismatched Friends

This is a cute, little story about two friends that are opposites. Despite their differences, they are the best of friends. Prudence is quiet, timid and scared of many things. Moxie is loud and not scared of anything. Moxie is dared and double dogged dared to do just about anything and everything their friends can come up with. She drives a tractor, rides the scariest rides at the fair and rides the high-speed turbo go-cart down High Horse Hill with no hands. When Prudence learns the one thing Moxie is scared of is horses, she can hardly believe it. She loves horses! Just for Prudence (and with Prudence’s help), Moxie overcomes her biggest fear and rides Thunder with Prudence. This book has the neatest, whimsical like  illustrations. I love the borders on the pages and the story this story of friendship is enduring. My only issue with the book is the length. It rambles on and is pretty long for a picture book.

The U.S. Air Force/La Fuerza Aerea Dr EE.UU.

This is a nonfiction book from the Pebble Plus series. I love these over sized books. In this particular book, the readers will learn all about the Air Force. The Air Force’s purpose, jobs, tools and machines are all explained in English and Spanish. On each facing set of pages, there is an over sized photo and then text in English and then Spanish. The text is easy and to the point. I really like these English/Spanish books. I love the idea that an ESL student can take it home to read with their parents. Developing students with a Spanish language background can easily see the two languages together on the page. The photos and information are all well developed, as well.