This fiction book will appeal primarily  to female readers between the ages of 3rd-5th grade.  Young readers who enjoy books with visuals, such as different font, occassional cartoon picture,  illustration, diagram, etc. will appreciate the format of this book.  The plot of the story is based on friendship and self confidence.  Grace’s best friend Mimi is going to become a big sister.  The girls want to practice being a family helper with caretaking of neighbor children, but the plan backfires as the young charge seemingly prefers Grace over Mimi.  This undermine’s Mimi’s confidence in becoming a good bit sister.  The girls work together for a happy ending to this story.  Blooming chapter book readers might enjoy the format of this book.

This intermediate nonfiction book has great photos depicting how technology has influenced the Olympics.  Humans with artificial limbs, known as paralympics, seconds and milliseconds in events, technology at the Olympics.  Recommended for intermediate aged sport enthusiasts.

This is a super great nonfiction book with great pictures, list of materials, and fun ideas on decorating pens, pencils, notebooks and bookends.  It will appeal to intermediate aged kids.  The ideas and projects would make a fun independent or group project for students and teachers.  Very well done and recommended.

This is a fabulous nonfiction book with very do-able art projects for children.  Step by step instructions, helpful pictures, and materials list.  This is a great book for a teacher’s unit  of study on Mexico.

This nonfiction, primary book explains the basic ideas behind Veteran’s Day.  This history, symbols, people, vocabulary words, interesting facts, and a recommended website www.abdopublishing.com which promises to offer updated websites from their platform.  This is recommended for primary students as a tool for introducing the Veteran’s Day holiday.

This nonfiction book delivers information on Wombats of Australia.  Fantastic pictures on every page add to the visual appeal of this book.  Written on a dual reading level, the narration on a primary level and the captions more on an intermediate level, make this book great for independent readers or teachers or adults to share with a child.    I do like that the book included a map of Australia, but it lacks an insert which demonstrates where the continent is on a world map.  Vocabulary, websites, facts, and index included in the back.  I really like the format of this nonfictional book.  Recommended.

Beautiful illustrations are the most prominent feature of this poetry book featuring endangered animals from all over the world.  The poems are written on a primary level, K-2 would appreciate the language.  However, the illustrations appeal to every age, and will draw the adult reader in with the facts and pictures.  I would have liked the author to include an insert graphic of world map highlighting the region of the animal being featured.  This book has passion and beautiful illustrations while delivering a message about endangered creatures who are facing dwindling time on our planet.

This was originally published in 2005 or 2006.  I have some copies of this in my library, and thought this was a sequel until I examined it more closely.  This is actually the same version which has been republished!  Only in the back are study guide questions, an author interview, and essay questions.

This is a humorous and stylish piece written with a bit of tongue in cheek by MT Anderson.  This tale has something to amuse eveyone.  The trio of middle school friends work together to outwit the evil boss of the girl’s father, who is planning to take over the world with whales!  Quirky, funny, and will appeal to relectant readers, as well as proficient, due to wit and plot.  Recommended.

This nonfiction books has a visually attractive appeal which hails 8 chapters of information about tropical rain forests.  There are some good website recommendations, an index, and glossary in the back.

This Scholastic non-fiction book is as primary as a reading level can get.  One or two sentence pages with pictures.  Very simplistic and will appeal to preschool, K, and 1st grade.  Nice Addition.

This is a nonfiction book with visual appeal, as it has great photographs,

colorful format, captions, vocabulary and the usual index, web sites, and important facts.  One aspect that is unique about this book, is the varied reading level.  The main narration is in a large size font with mostely easy to read wording.  The captions are in a smaller size font with more complicated vocabulary.  This would make for a great book for an adult and child to read together.  Great addition to a library.  Recommended.

According to the Author’s Postscript, this beautiful work of art was accomplished over two decades of collaboration between the author and illustrator.  Each illustration was created from oil paintings inspired and largely completed on-site in Assisi.  The subject is a fictional day in the young life of Saint Francis of Assisi as the author and illustrator imagined what Francis’ boyhood experiences must have been.  In this story, Francis who appears to be around seven years old, wakes early and goes outside to the barn to gather breakfast.  On the way he encounters the wolf that had recently been worrying the local townspeople.  With his gentle manner, he calmly comforts and secures the animals into the barn and goes about his business of gathering breakfast.  He then shares some milk with the wolf who repays him by leaving the animals safe and helping him back up the hill toward home.  No one comes to any harm and Frances begins his day in peace.  A lovely story and perfect for our Catholic school library.

This excellent juvenile non-fiction series accomplishes a well-rounded look at individual countries around the world.  This book about Iran covers history and government, regions and resources, wildlife, infrastructure, culture, and Iran today.  There are interesting, bright and sharp, full-color photographs throughout which complement the well-written text.  There are timelines, various thematic maps, and graphs along with a glossary which further explain the text.  This series would be excellent for students who are writing country reports as well as those just reading for interest.  I highly recommend this book and the Countries Around the World series.

In this romantic fantasy, Helen Catwright goes through several mysterious events in which she must find herself and attempt to understand and accept her destiny.   Helen’s parents are killed by demon underlings in a fire because Helen is a “Keeper” – someone who controls the balance of the earth.  The demons want a key that Helen possesses without her knowledge.  Thus begins her journey through  a realm of possibility that she never knew existed.

The author incorporates both mystery and romance in a twist of fanciful happenings.  The players in this novel were written with expressive emotion that makes the reader understand the characters’ feelings.  The creative and innovative plot is, in my opinion, nothing like I have ever read before.  The message to readers is clear:  Accept yourself for who you are.

— Erika W.

This is a graphic novel by Nol Yomtov and Berenice Muniz retelling Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  This version provides the basic storyline of the original but is stripped of the details and period language.  There is a helpful pictorial character guide in the front of the book.  In the back is a short biography about William Shakespeare, a brief history of the play as well as some discussion questions, writing prompts and notes about Shakespearean language.  The illustrations are colorful and expressive.  Hopefully this book will inspire readers to delve into the original play to discover the richness to be found there.

This is a beautiful picture book version of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast complete with Jan Brett’s beautiful illustrations.  Ms. Brett retells this story in a gentle way, appropriate as a read aloud for all.  There is so much intricate detail woven into each illustration, one savors each page before turning to discover the next.  Even more important, are the underlying themes of bravery, integrity, love, compassion, and not judging by appearances.  I highly recommend this book.

Great photographs of vintage airplanes from various countries involved in WWII.The table of contents includes several key battles, famous people, paratroopers, strategic bombing, and glossary and index.  The reading level is intermediate to junior high, but the passages aren’t too long, approximately 200 words per page.  Interesting format and should appeal to most enthusiasts.

Five chapter of accurate and detailed information about the Afghanistan war, beginning with unrest in Afghanistan, the Taliban, Operation Enduring Freedom, Rebuilding, Insurgency, and Obama’s new Plan.  Details such as influential individuals, timeline, book and website resources, glossary, index and many color photographs are included in this book.  Great for intermediate learners.

Perfect for the election year!  It simplifies and amplifies the rhetoric and childish fighting between the two major political parties in the United States.  Of course, the main characters are a donkey and an elephant who’s banter is ridiculous.  In the end they end up making up after an independent wins the vote.  Only to begin the fight all over again.  A nice book for explaining or discussing the negative ads during the campaign season.  Recommended for primary aged children (and adults!).

This is a graphic novel, in cartoon format.  The illustrations are in color and the pages are glossy.  Would appeal to lower level readers with high interest level.  Reluctant reader, male readers primarily.  Although, anyone familiar with Stars Wars may find this book appealing, as it is quite true to the themes of the movie.

Remarkable pictures in this nonfiction book.  The layout is very attractive, to all ages.  The content had an emphasis on “attacks”  by this animal on humans.  Two out of five chapters was dedicated to this concept.  As an educator, I would rather have had one chapter on attacks, and had a different topic, less sensational, to focus on in the next chapter.  Something more along the lines of preservation and protection of the species.

An analytical look at different forms of energy being utilized on our planet along with pros and cons.  It includes case studies, which are real life examples from various regions.  There are graphs, pictures, captions, side bars, and a glossary in the back.

Stunning, real photographs of children throughout the world wearing their native costume and clothing!  respectful, beautiful, colorful, and heartwarming.  Recommended for preschool, K, 1st, 2nd grades.