King George III: America’s Enemy

King George III was the strict king of Great Britain and Ireland (1760-1820) and of Hanover (1814-20).  During his reign, the American colonies were lost after a seven-year war.  King George once stated, “I wish nothing but the good.  Therefore, everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel.”  Maybe if this king were a little more flexible he wouldn’t be known as “the king who lost America!”

In the Scholastic’s series, A Wicked History, students will devour these biographies which look at the lives of some of the malicious leaders in history.  The author does a fine job of consolidating information in a logical readable way to produce an engaging and definitely NOT boring biography.  Chapters are short and easily digestible.  The authors in this series always leave the reader with the question:  “Wicked?” –  A great way to spark discussion and debate.  The illustrations are well-chosen.  Each book has a Timeline of Terror section, a glossary, a Find Out More section, an index, and an Author’s Note and Bibliography.  I highly recommend this book and this series (I have read many) as a quick research resource for intermediate, middle school and high school students AND for anyone interested in a well-done informative entertaining biography.  NOTE:  As an adult reader, I personally find this series to be an extremely informative and enjoyable quick read; definitely not dry and dull.

Slice of Cherry

Two teen sisters, Kit and Fancy Cordelle, are daughters of a convicted murderer.  The sisters take on their father’s homicidal traits.  As the sisters grow apart, Fancy discovers her ability to “project” mental images of the present and uses this power to literally plant her victims in a mental projection that she likes to call her “Happy Place”.  Fancy, after a talk with her divine and dead ancestor, Cherry, decides to use her powers for other people’s murder requests  and kills only those who “deserve it”; she decides not to follow her father’s footsteps in getting caught.

This fantasy novel grabs the reader with the excitement of the Cordelle sisters’ twisted tale.  The author acts as the narrator of the story mostly telling Fancy’s point-of -view.  The ending was anti-climatic – a little disappointing which betrayed the amazing plot.  This story will satisfy readers who crave a twisted tale without the confusion of interpretation.

— Tyler Z.

Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFOs and Aliens

“Alien Investigations” explores UFO sightings, landings, crashes, aliens, and, admittedly, some hoaxes, based on interviews and photographs.  Beginning with the first UFO report filed with the U.S. military in 1947 near Mineral, Washington, the book is organized by spacecraft shape, landings, alien types, and hoaxes.  Some cases in other countries are included, but most were reports from the U.S. The illustrations were a down-side for me.  Drawings of spacecraft and the whimsical alien cartoon characters don’t give credibility to the topic.

Zip It!

As Joe and his very loquacious father begin to run errands one Saturday, he notices his dad has forgotten to zip his fly.  Joe tries many times in many ways to tell his father, but he cannot get a word in edgewise.  Artist Nancy Carlson includes many clever details as Joe and his father go from place to place: pop fly at the ball field, the car license plate XYZ PDQ, picking up zip ties at the hardware store, even a little house fly that accompanies them on their errands.  Finally, at their last stop in the grocery store, Joe comes up with a creative way to get his father’s attention.  Zippers and flies are certainly the theme of this colorful book.  This could be a good resource on polite ways to talk about embarrassing or awkward subjects.

Look inside a Beaver’s Lodge

Large, colorful photographs show up-close details about the interesting home of beavers.  One learns about how lodges are built, how many beavers live in them, where they are commonly found, and how they keep beavers safe.  The layout is pleasing, the font is large, and photographs are well-matched with the text.  This book on beavers is a good introduction to nonfiction for young readers.  It contains a table of contents, a glossary, an index, a couple of resources for more information, and a Facthound internet site.  Both resources appear to be appropriate for young readers.   Other titles in the series show a look inside a bee hive, an ant nest, and a robin’s nest.

Hoppy Passover!

If you are looking for books to offer your Jewish patrons for celebrating holidays, this one depicting Violet and Simon as two young bunnies celebrating Passover with their family is a good choice.  Throughout the preparations and celebration, each character declares what s/he likes best about Passover.  Those patrons not already familiar with the traditions of the holiday may wish for a book that offers more explanation.

Periwinkle Smith and the Twirly, Whirly Tutu

Like so many little girls, Periwinkle has a favorite tutu that she love to wear, no matter what she’s doing.  One day while painting in it, she gets a big splot of paint on it.  She tries a variety of techniques to remove the spot, and a variety of ways to repurpose the tutu, but nothing works.  In the end she gets her paints back out and turns the splot into a flower, accompanied by a bunch more flowers.  I know that the topic is sure to attract little girl readers, and I really like the message it offers about turning mistakes into opportunities.  I wish the illustrations had more vibrancy to them — there’s something a bit drab about the color palette used.

How You Got So Smart

It’s one of those books to be read at milestone moments, from Kindergarten graduation to college graduation.  It’s a book that reminisces, looking back at the types of behaviors that lead us to learn and to grow, reminding all readers that there are many roads to success, and many kinds of learning.

One Pup’s Up

A charming counting book, using rhyming text to describe the antics of a litter of pups. Counting up from one to ten, and down again from ten to one, the cute illustrations help support the verbs so that potentially unfamiliar vocabulary will be understood.

Cheerleading Professionals

Energetic color photos with bright graphics will draw readers in to this popular topic, and the informations is thorough and easily readable.  It includes descriptions of several different careers within the Cheerleading world, including coaches, choreographers, judges, etc.  Though the tone is positive and encouraging, it doesn’t sugarcoat challenges: it tells how fierce the competition for professional cheerleading positions is, and explains that salaries are very low, that most professional cheerleaders have other jobs, too.  And it’s got a sturdy binding, too.  A worthwhile selection.

Willie’s Word World

Willie’s class is playing a game to create silly sentences that demonstrate alliteration using the first letter of their names.  In between his classmates sharing their sentences we see Willie worrying about what words start with W.  In the end, of course, he does come up with something.  The book would have been better off if it had just stopped there and stood as an alliteration books that teachers could use to spark similar activities in their own classes.  The declaration in the back of the book says we’ve just read about being brave, but that’s a pretty weak assertion.  As with other books in this series there are several pages in the back of the book with extra learning activities that only connect to the story in the most tenuous fashion.

Bears! Bears! Bears!

A great book to use as an introduction to a unit studying bears.  The information is sparse to say the least, but the beautiful illustrations will spark young students’ curiosity as they realize how many different types of bears there are.  A world map in back indicates where the different bears can be found.  Young researchers can use this as a leaping off place to learn what more they can about each.

Being Me

For the most part it’s a book about a little girl listing all the different things she likes to do.  Tucked in rather off-handedly is the fact that the girl can’t here and she talks with her hands.  In the back is a declaration telling the reader they’ve just “found out how much fun doing what you like can be.”  Really? This reader didn’t think so.  I think it’s probably a bad sign in general if you have to tell the reader flat out what the point was, but it’s particularly bad if the text failed to make that point.  This declaration is followed up by some “learning activities” that don’t seem to have anything to do the declared purpose.

Little Cloud Lamb

Cute pictures. Rather an odd little story.  Lambkins is a lamb whose body is covered with a cloud instead of wool, and this sets him apart from the other sheep, but he finds his own way of getting on with the snails and flowers, until he dies and then his mother sees him in the sky as a cloud. In the very back is a nice little mission statement from the publisher, declaring their purpose to publish uplifting books, but I’m not sure this one particularly hits the target, as it’s a little hard to tell just what the author was aiming for.

Maccabee! The Story of Hannukkah

Bright, bold, cartoonish illustrations accompany rhyming text telling the story of Hanukkah, with a repeated refrain: “Sometimes it only takes a few, who know what’s right, and do it, too.”  A worthwhile book for multiple audiences — both as a selection for the Jewish child looking for a book to celebrate the holiday, as well as for outsiders who want to know what the holiday is all about.  The moral contained in the refrain is certainly a good reminder for all.

Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House

Clancy is having a hard time adjusting to his family’s move to a new house:  while Mom and Dad are declaring the benefits of the new house, Clancy is missing his favorite features of the old house.  When he starts to play in the empty moving boxes, he makes the acquaintance of a neighbor who comes to play with him, and all is well.  Though the topic is one I think many students can relate to, the coloring of the illustrations is a bit drab.

Cool Cars

Strictly an early reader.  The full-page color photos will attract readers, but the text is limited: a single sentence on each page, repeated throughout the book with only the last word changing: “Some cool cars are…”  Perhaps more suitable to classroom use than to the library.

Germs

Colorful, cartoonish illustrations accompany rhyming text introducing young readers to what germs are, where they hide, and the importance of washing hands and covering coughs.  In the back are a few extra pages with extra learning activities using the germ theme (patterning, counting, etc.).  Though the extra pages in the back seem a bit removed from the primary purpose of the book, the book does a good job of introducing young children to necessary health concepts in an engaging way. And it’s got a good sturdy binding, too.

Peanut Butter and Homework Sandwiches

Martin has a difficult week with a substitute teacher who loves to give out homework and is very unbending when it comes to excuses.  Each day a new disaster befalls Martin’s homework, from dog to laundry to wind gusts, etc.  And each day Martin faces the consequences, all the while sure his real teacher would have been more understanding.  The cartoonish illustrations will appeal to kids, and they will all sympathize with Martin.  Part of me feels like I should give it a “Recommended” on grounds of kid appeal, but the teacher in me cringes at the way it’s never Martin’s fault that his homework isn’t done.  Really? I think the kid needs to learn some responsibility.

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister

The folks who really need to read this book are those parents out there who are so determined that their children live life to the fullest and make every moment count that they over schedule their lives, leaving them little time to just be kids.  Ernestine’s parents are like that.  Ernestine has a packed schedule, with different activities every day.  As she dashes off to one class or another, she looks longingly at the little boy next door, playing independently in his yard.  One day when she revolts and schedules some play time in the park instead of showing up at her usual class, her parents make the rounds of all her classes trying to locate her.  Before they finally do locate her, they’ve gotten a taste of how exhausting Ernestine’s usual schedule is, and the family makes some changes, with some new ideas about what it means to live life to the fullest.  The illustrations are bright and silly, adding to the sense of absurdity to it all.

Tallulah’s Tutu

Tallulah reminds me of me as a little girl.  She’s so excited about wanting to take ballet lessons, because she wants the tutu that comes with being a real ballerina.  When faced with the reality of the time and practice and work involved in earning one’s tutu, she almost gives up in disappointment.  She quits for a while, but finds herself drawn back by the dancing itself.  Many young girls will relate to Tallulah’s hopes and wishes, and they may just learn something from her about delayed gratification.  The pictures are charming and sweet and full of personality.

Elmer and the Rainbow

Elmer the patchwork elephant must come to the rescue when all his jungle friends notice that the rainbow has lost its colors.  Elmer makes his way through the jungle, asking his animal neighbors for advice on finding the end of the rainbow.  When he finally locates it in the waterfall, Elmer enters the waterfall to share his colors, much to the concern of friends who worry that he’ll lose them in the sharing, but as Elmer informs them, “Some things you can give and give and not lose any.  Things like happiness or love or my colors.” The books is sweet and colorful, and reunites readers with beloved characters, while teaching a philosophical truth.  It’s a charmer.

Brownie & Pearl Get Dolled Up

Bright, cute, charming, sweet illustrations and simple text (sometimes only one word per page) celebrate a young girl and her kitty enjoying that universal childhood delight: playing dress up.  A fun book for very young children, but its limited audience keeps me from giving it a full recommendation for a school library.

Max Spaniel: Best in Show

David Catrow is a terrific illustrator.  Not only do his illustrations depict the story, but from the vivid colors to the dogs’ expressions, his attention to detail makes each page a masterpiece.  This book is about a dog show that have become so popular.  Max is in the show, but seems to be a ‘hot’ dog, too.  He has to be different in some way.  Kids love dogs and they love Max!