The title Cool Campers says exactly what this book is about, school is over for summer and two best friends are going to summer camp together.  But before they leave, they hear that they were the only two kids from their class not invited to a pool party.  They can’t believe they are so unpopular, and make it their priority to be cool, popular kids while at camp and hope it’ll last til school starts again.  Once at camp, they seem to be put in a cabin with all nerds, and even their teen counselor seems a little nerdy.  Also, some schoolmates are also at camp and continue their bullying and harassment.  They learn some invaluable life lessons from one another and have the best summer of their lives, while learning to like themselves for what they are.  I loved this story!

Double Dog Dare is the story of a class of 4th graders, two of whom want the same thing.  The Media Club meets before school.  They are responsible for broadcasting a school news show seen by all students.  Francine wants the job of news anchor, but so does a Kansas, a student who just moved to their school.  In order to decide who gets the job, the club decides that whomever completes the most class dares gets it.  For two weeks, Francine and Kansas get themselves into crazy situations of having to do weird things.  Towards the end of the dare period, the club’s camera accidentally gets broken, so the whole point of it is over.  Francine and Kansas, sworn enemies, must now work together to win a contest to earn money to buy a new camera. They find out that they actually have quite a bit in common.  The dares are funny but something I’d expected more from sixth graders.  This realistic story should be a hit with students, but if it isn’t, it’s because of the book jacket’s cover art is pretty lame and unappealing.

This a great little nonfiction book, which will appeal to younger readers.  The visual formatting is appealing, and it has pictures of real police cars, including the engine, the computer system inside, and parts of the car.  It also includes some early photographs of some of the first police cars and paddy wagons from early 20th century.  In the back is the glossary of vocabulary words and additional resources.  Unexpected was the hands-on art project to make your own siren at home using a cup and some wax paper.  Nice touch of integrating an art activity with the learning.  Recommended,

The formatting of this book is appealing, a good mixture of picture, caption, text, and color.  Also, appreciated is the content, it has some “meat” to it.  Not just one or two facts per page, but some short paragraphs to read.  The younger readers will appreciate the graphic imagery and pick out some reading, and the intermediate students can read the text.  It makes this book even more valuable in a K-5 library. The expected glossary, and addition resources are in the back.  This is a facthound.com book, as well.  Recommended.

Absolutely beautiful, illustrations in a nice sized book.  Perfect for read alouds or individual gazing.  Something for everyone in this book, all ages will gravitate to this.  The plot is simple, with a magpie bird who keeps bringing  more “stuff” back to it’s nest.  He is helped along by a little mouse, who at first helps to find things to give to the magpie who starts out with “nothing”.  Then he has “something”, then “several”, and works his way up to “much too much”.  As the story ends, we find that the “just” right amount for the magpie is what he can carry in his beak and fly with.  A great word lesson and a lesson in how much is enough!  Highly recommended.

Most appreciated about this nonfiction book about Flamingos is the size.  Many publishers are creating smaller sized books, which can are easily lost on book shelves.  I also appreciate the larger sized photos in nonfiction literature.  This book has fabulous, up-close, large sized photographs, which are the cornerstone of quality for this work.  It’s written at a very primary level, preK-1st grade, so the data it provides is limited. It would be good used in a primary classroom looking for some basic facts about flamingos.  Also, come with a Glossary, and additional resources, such as facthound.com.  Did you know that flamingos can live up to 30 years?

The opening of the story with the anxieties of typical high school student such as making the team or worrying about getting into college gives The Combination by Elias Carr an immediate connection to the reader. But the school is anything but ordinary as  bats swoop through the hallways and the doors are locked for the student’s safety. Perched over an ancient sinkhole, St. Philomena High was designed by a brilliant yet mad architect.  With the right combination, it becomes a doomsday machine.  The plot is a bit far-fetched.  Stilted, disjointed dialogue and the stereotypical characters hinder the suspense of the story.  Short chapters with fast moving action in simple vocabulary keeps interest  in solving the mystery and saving the students.  This book could be a good read for an emerging middle school reader.

A witty, self-questioning, authentic teen voice is presented in that of Paisley Hanover Kisses and Tells by Cameron Tuttle.  In this second book of the series, Paisley’s alter ego, Miss UnPleasant, wins as a write in candidate for sophomore class president.  But the dimwit vice-principal won’t let that become official and gives the race to the popular Peter “Hutch” Hutchison.  This is just one storyline that weaves in with three other valid storylines Tuttle creates to bring out issues in high schools today, including bullying, cyberbullying and sexting, and emotional angst when a girl likes two boys and can’t decide.  Overarching it all is the main theme that still continues from the 1st book in the series, that popularity isn’t everything.  No drugs but references to drinking and partying, sidebras instead of sidebars, and somewhat over the top antics lend this story to a Disney or Nickelodeon screenplay, but until then, 9th – 11th grade girls who like the “popularity theme” that encompasses every high school will probably enjoy this read as they see that every character is just as human as the next.  Unfortunately the publisher made such a big change in the cover art between the 1st and 2nd books that I’m inclined to only carry the 2nd one and wait to read reviews of the 3rd that is supposed to be in the works before I would order the 1st.

This is a marvelous book with stories from all over the world.  It has colorful pictures.  Some of the stories were old familiar classics.  Others were less known, all were enjoyable.

The illustrations are colorful and bright and go well with the stories.

In the back of the book are ways to share the stories with a crowd.

This is a cute poem about cooperation and teamwork.  Pete had only half a treasure map.  Until he meets Bella who has the other half.  Together they find the treasure.  They decide together they make a good team.

The pictures are good and colorful.  I didn’t think Bella  looks much like a girl.

This is a fun little story as to why the little vampire can’t sleep.  Scary things are not so scary in the story.  There is a funny twist to the end, vampires don’t sleep at night.

Excellent, colorful illustrations.  Fun to notice that the pictures get bigger with each page.

Similar to I Spy books, this Princesses and Fairy Tales book is more geared for girls, directing them to look for princesses and objects commonly found in fairy tales.  Girls will clamor over this book!