It’s trying to use the graphic novel format to make math cool, but the characters are flat, the math is forced, and the plot is trite, so even though it’s a graphic novel, it’s still a dud.

“So Much Closer” is the story of a journey.  Initially Brooke, who is a senior in high school, thinks her journey is the transition she makes from living with her mother in New Jersey to living with her father in New York City.  This she does to follow her crush, Scott Abrams, who has moved to NYC himself.  Obstacles along the way include leaving her two best friends in the world, moving in with a father who ignores her, and the realization that Scott has a girlfriend.  In this girl-likes-boy, girl-gets-boy, girl-loses-boy story, the reader learns that what we think we want isn’t what’s necessarily right for us.  The book wraps up with Brooke realizing that her journey to NYC was actually what she needed to discover herself as she puts together a plan for college and a major she feels passionate about, while learning about healthy relationships along the way.

It’s got a sturdy binding and it’s colorful, with all the cool graphics to make it appealing and all the appropriate non-fiction text features to make it a good educational tool.  It’s even got good ideas.  My only concern is that it is perhaps overly optimistic/rosy in creating an image for kids about the grand success they can expect, when the reality might not turn out as picture-perfect as what the book sets forth.

It covers a topic that will be of interest to many students, and it uses all the appropriate non-fiction text features to serve as a useful introduction to reading for information, but the information itself is somewhat vague and limited due to the breadth of the topic: because it is lumping together all stadiums for all sports in one brief volume, there are a lot of generalizations.

This book does a good job of taking an innately interesting topic, about which many stories and myths have been developed, and sifts fact from fiction.  Information is presented in a consistent format:  briefly stating a commonly held perception about pirates, and then examining the historical accuracy of that perception.

A complex topic presented in a clear and concise manner appropriate to its target audience.  Electricity is something students use everyday, but about which they may have little understanding. I even learned a few things.  The font and words per page are not intimidating to students, but a lot of information is still packed in, well-supported by color photos and labeled diagrams.

I guess it’s fine for what it is, but what it is isn’t much.  It’s a little weak on substance, which makes sense, given that it’s a biography about a couple of little girls who just happen to have a famous dad.  It reads a little like it was put out by a press agent, trying to plug his client, even though there’s not much to say.

It’s an interesting little book, introducing young readers to the variety of jobs involved in creating and maintaining a museum.  The font is large, the photos are engaging, and lots of non-fiction text features are included.  My chief criticism is that the title is a bit mis-leading, as only 2 pages actually refer to those who clean dinosaur bones: the subtitle should have been the title.

It’s fine.  It includes all the most popular folk tales: Little Red Riding Hood, Three Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff, Three Bears, Gingerbread Man, Henny Penny, etc.  but there are better versions of all these tales out there.  The chief advantage (perhaps) is that they’re all included in one volume

It’s neither interesting, nor particularly useful — the concepts it is trying to convey can be better taught using other tools.  But it does have a sturdy binding.

The text describes the effects of the black widow’s venom on humans as causing stomach cramps and nausea, but just reading this book was enough to give those symptoms to this arachniphobe.  The information is very detailed, as are the up-close, full-color photos that illustrate the text.  I figure if it made me squirm this much, it’s going to delight those who are interested in the topic, and it certainly works as a solid research tool.

It’s just like one long math story problem (complete with answer key in the back), and it’s not a particularly interesting story at that.  No student is going to have any interest in picking this up, and even as a teacher, there are better resources available.

The information is sound and well-organized, but I wish the visuals did a better job of supporting the text.  The same graphic organizer is used again and again, even when the text is discussing different animals than were originally included.

This is Greek Mythology we’re talking about here, so references to sex and violence are of course unavoidable.  Much of the illustration is provided in the form of historical art pieces, so be prepared for shocked responses and giggles over the bare breasts included.  Greek/Roman mythology is so often confusing.  This volume does a good job of clearly and concisely outlining a variety of instances where the characters of The Furies turn up, and sorting through the roles they played at various times, right up to where they are mentioned in modern pop culture.

The basic outline of the book is sound, covering a solid range of information around the topic of public art, but there are not nearly enough photographs of the examples of public art discussed.  Children are visual learners (and after all, this is art we’re talking about), and they are not likely to be familiar with most of the famous works mentioned, yet only a select few are actually pictured.  Big problem.

If you are looking for a book on hurricanes for you weather section, this is an adequate choice.  The information is current, and fairly thorough, addressing many aspects of hurricanes, including how and where they develop, how people prepare for and clean up after them, and some historical information regarding the most significant hurricanes to hit land in the U.S.  The design layout and graphics are intended to give the information some pizzaz to attract the target audience, but it’s really just distracting.

In this sequel to Z. Rex, thirteen year-old Adam, and his video game-making father, are once again on the run from hyper-evolved dinosaurs.  It’s technology-gone-bad in this thought-controlled video game, where Adam and his brainy dad try to rid the world of dangerous velociraptors.  This is the perfect series for kids who love video games or dinosaur sci-fi’s.

At Victory School for Super Athletes, where every athlete is gifted in sports, Kenzie is a gymnast with super strength. The tryouts for the advanced gymnastics team is tomorrow, and Kenzie is very worried after last week when she accidentally broke the balance beam. She learns from her coach and the other athletes at her school that she needs to have confidence that she can control her strength. Kenzie has a great tryout and is sure to make the team.  This story is a great lesson to kids to believe in themselves. This book comes with a glossary and gymnastics history page.

Mallory is so excited to get the lead part in the school play, but her best friend, Mary Ann, doesn’t seem so happy. When Mallory learns her lines, rehearses, and gets even more excited, Mary Ann seems to get more distant. Mallory even writes a mean email about Mary Ann and sends it. Soon, it is show time and Mallory and Mary Ann rekindle their friendship after Mallory learns that Mary Ann was distant because she was fearful of soon being a new big sister. Great friendship story, and a great example of cyberbullying.

Kate is so excited to learn that her new home borders an enchanted forest. She and a friend, Luke, discover fairy houses, containing mysterious clues, that were hidden in the forest. Mrs. Lennox, a grouchy neighbor who owns the forrest, accuses the two of vandalism until she sees the fairy houses and identifies the houses as her mother’s creation and creations of her own from years ago.  Mrs. Lennox decides not to sell her forest to developers, but to preserve it for the animals and children to enjoy.

“Bear had a dream.” He wanted to be a comedian. He’d practice his jokes in front of his mirror, but stage fright always set in when he was “in front of a crowd…What is a bear’s favorite baseball team?…Why the Cubs, of course!…Do you know the proper way to hold a bat?…By its wings!”

Bear’s ready to perform, but on stage he’s so nervous he repeatedly gives the wrong punch lines for his jokes. Off he runs to “the local watering hole, orders a root beer, crumbles up his jokes, tosses them over his shoulder, and exhausted he falls asleep. Emmy the hummingbird, a real comedian, finds Bear’s jokes at the watering hole and reads them. When bear wakes up, he and Emmy come to an agreement and Emmy performs Bear’s jokes on stage.

Freddie Ramos has purple sneakers that give him super speed and the ability to jump excessively high. Freddie likes to use his super hero abilities to help others, and gets the chance when a tree falls across the train tracks of the train his mom takes to get home from work. With super speedy shoes, Freddie zooms to the station to have the train stopped. He also used his special shoes to solve the mystery of the purple squirrel in his school and is able to set the squirrel free.

Freddie Ramos has a pair of purple sneakers with wings on the side that gave Freddie the power of super speed. Unfortunately, Freddie’s shoes are hard to control. He asks Mr. Vaslov, the apartment maintenance man who invented the shoes, to invent a control for the them. Freddie finds a new controller for his shoes, but Mr. Vaslov has disappeared. The controller doesn’t control when Freddie can use super speed, but gives Freddie incredible jumping height, allowing him to see Mr. Vaslov who is stuck on the top of a roof. Mr. Vaslov is very thankful that Freddie saved him!

Freddie Ramos receives a package with a pair of new purple sneakers with wings on the side that gave Freddie the power of super speed. Freddie looks for ways to use his super speedy shoes to help others, and finds the ultimate chance when he saves a small puppy from getting run over by a car. Freddie finds out that Mr. Vaslov, the apartment maintenance man who also is a male role model, is an inventor who made the shoes.

YOU, the reader, are the main character in this story, and you make the choices in this adventure. You are awakened and suddenly have the title of captain in a spaceship that is heading straight for a black hole while battling saboteurs and aliens.  Your journey gives you beg decisions to make.  Do you… accept the title of captain… shoot the alien that is attacking you… shut down the computer before being sucked into the black hole… try to make friends with the aliens,  join an alien crew on their spaceship, etc… However, the wrong choice is certain death. (Which could happen in a variety of ways!)  This book has colorful graphic novel pages mixed throughout. Kids will love making such critical choices!