Over all, I am generally a fan of Scholastic’s True Book series, but this one didn’t seem to do as good a job as the others of really getting concrete and clear in its explanations of complex scientific concepts.  Perhaps it was a function of how much material they were trying to cover within the same number of pages, but the information seemed to skim a bit more across the surface level.  It’s not bad, but I think it would have been stronger if it had gone more in depth, maybe having a different volume for each type of simple machine.

Like other books in this series, this one takes some pretty abstract scientific concepts (such as the difference between different types of energy), and explains them in simple terms, using concrete examples that are familiar to students.  It’s a useful and worthwhile tool to support the science curriculum, though it’s unlikely to be chosen for recreational reading.

This book does a good job (as I have found to generally be the case with this series) of taking some pretty complex scientific concepts, such as friction, inertia, and centrifical force, and explain them in clear and understandable language.  It sets up several experiments to illustrate its points that students could fairly easily replicate on their own.  In addition to the experiments for students, it also includes information about famous scientists and the early discoveries regarding motion.  I do however have one and a half gripes: gripe number one is that when it is describing the effects of centrifugal force, it never actually names it as such, missing a perfect opportunity to build scientific vocabulary; my half gripe is that it sets up experiments for students to conduct, and then proceeds to describe what the results would be, thereby taking away the need for students to actually try it themselves (but it’s only half a gripe, because I grudgingly acknowledge that this way students who wouldn’t bother to do the experiments may actually learn from them anyway).

This is actually a collection of four of Grimms’ tales: Tom Thumb, The Fisherman and His Wife, Hans in Luck, and The Seven Swabians.  I would have liked it better if Eric Carle had dedicated an individual book to each of the first three (the last one was a little odd — could’ve just not bothered).  His distinctive and fabulous artwork is what makes Eric Carle’s work so amazing, but this volume had too high a ratio of white space and words to somewhat limited artwork.

I loved this book.  I put off reading it for a long time because I thought it was going to be a chore, but it was actually a lot of fun, and I learned a lot, too.  A collective biography of U.S. presidents from George Washington to Barak Obama, this book focuses more on who the presidents were as people, rather than focusing on policies and politics.  With some of the less interesting presidents earning only 1/3 of a page, and others granted four whole pages, each biography includes a caricature, birth and death dates and locations (where applicable), and an interesting look at who that president was, including bits about their marriages and family lives, and what kinds of foods they liked to eat, as well as some pertinent historical stuff.  I gotta tell you — over the years we’ve had some pretty useless presidents.  I just wish they included at the beginning of each (or else a timeline somewhere) the dates for which each was president.

Other than as a souvenir from one’s visit to the Lincoln Memorial, I’m not really sure what the purpose or target audience of this book is. It’s got a lovely, sturdy binding, and it’s even got good solid information presented in simple-enough language for young readers.  I just don’t think it has enough information to warrant the cost of a book all of it’s own.  The same information could be offered within a book more broadly about Lincoln, or about Washington D.C.  I can’t recommend spending this much money for a book with such a narrow niche.

I wish the author’s note in the back of this book had been printed in the front instead.  Unless students are already fairly familiar with the artist’s work, they won’t know until the end (if they bother to read it) that the illustrations in the story are based on the surreal paintings of Rene Magritte.  Though the artwork is certainly intriguing on its own, and the occasional clear pages which alter the pages behind them with just a turn of the page will delight readers, the story of this artistic dog who purchases a mysterious hat that goes off on adventures of its own is certainly more grounded when read with some context.  Those readers who don’t bother reading the author’s note may be left puzzling over the book (which I guess is what happens when one views surreal art, too).  This is one of those picture books which could be useful in high schools as well, as part of the art curriculum.

The story is about a young Irish girl discovering a mummy buried in a peat bog.  Told from the young girl’s perspective, it recounts the events from discovery through placement of the mummy in the museum.  Throughout, the young girl who made the discovery is caught up in wondering about the young girl who was buried perhaps 1000 years before.  When she goes to see the museum exhibit, she raises the question of whether the dead girl misses her cozy resting place, and minds being put on display.  Normally I’m a big Eve Bunting fan, but this one didn’t capture me as much as I hoped.  There really wasn’t enough to the tale to make me care about the characters.  I don’t think most of my students will be impressed, but still I’m glad to own it, as part of the Eve Bunting collection.

Kids love how-to drawing books, but often they are too complicated for young artists to really achieve success.  The cute cartoon-like versions of the creatures in this book will be appealing to students, and they are broken down into simple-enough step-by-step procedures that young artists will be able to create reasonable facsimiles of their own without much trouble.  The final two-page spread shows all the creatures from the book gathered together in a single tableau.  I’d like to get the rest of the books in this series, as well, as I am sure they’ll be quite popular.

This fabulous bit of historical fiction, set in the era of reconstruction after the Civil War, is told from the perspective of a young girl, whose family is getting their first taste of freedom.  When news comes through that permission has been granted for all former slave couples to officially register their marriages in the eyes of the law, Ellen’s parents reminisce about their “broom wedding,” the only type of wedding that had been allowed under slavery.  The day the family goes together to the court house, Ellen brings along the family broom, and decorates it with flowers from the roadside as a wedding bouquet for her mother.  The cut-block illustrations are stunning, capturing both the time period and the mood of the story.

Bright, cheerful, fun illustrations and rhyming text tell the story of Zog and his classmates at dragon school.  Poor Zog is ever so very enthusiastic and well-meaning, but he struggles with each lesson, but after each failure he is comforted by a young girl who tends his bumps and buises.  When it comes time for the final lesson, how to capture a princess, the young girl reveals herself as Princes Pearl, and offers herself to be captures, so Zog finally gets his gold star.  Princess Pearl stays to tend the other dragons, too, until a knight shows up to rescue her; when she declares herself uninterested in being rescued, she and the knight team up as a flying medical crew, with Zog as their transport.  Presumably, they all live happily ever after.  Sure to be a hit.

I have a young niece who loves painting nails, and I’ve had the experience with other nail art books of having her want a design that is so complicated that I don’t even feel up to attempting it, let alone her being able to do it on her own.  The main thing I like about this book is that it really does seem geared to its target audience:  the designs are fun and showy, but (mostly) of very simple composition, with lots of close-up step-by-step photography, giving the impression that a young artist might actually be successful.  The text is simple and straight-forward and offers practical helpful hints.

This picture book graphic story is set on the streets of New York in the early 1900s.  A small shoe-shine boy is not having much business luck among the bustling crowds, when a bit of red falls from laundry lines strung between the buildings.  The young boys climbs crates and drain pipes and fires escapes as he scampers from balcony to balcony in search of the owner.  At each balcony he meets another of his neighbors, each from a different corner of the world, and each offering another suggestion as to who the bit of red may belong to.  The illustrations are fun, and kids will be drawn to the graphic format, but they may be disappointed it doesn’t have a more exciting plot.

A collection of short Christmas stories, including bible stories, stories describing the origins of holiday traditions from around the world, and assorted legends and others, the focus of the book is definitely on the religious aspects of the holiday.  Each story is 2-3 pages, and the author’s background as a story-teller comes through in the fluency and voice with which the stories are infused, intending them to be read aloud.  The illustrations are soft and inviting, and an appendix in the back offers readers specific ideas for each story to turn  it into an interactive experience if being shared with a large group.  A great tool for families wishing to share holiday traditions.

Beautiful illustrations accompany this tale of an old winter wind who is tired and looking for a place to rest.  Unfortunately, everywhere it tries to stop, someone shoos him along for fear of the damage he will do.  Every time he gets sent packing, his anger and frustration builds until he is quite the raging storm.  At the peak of the storm, a young girl takes pity on him and offers the wind refuge under her house.  His anger gone, the wind is able to rest until spring, when he awakes and flies away, leaving behind magical snow that never melts, keeping the kind girl and her family cool throughout the hottest summers.  An afterward shares what the author knows about the story’s origins, which may or may not be a Jewish folktale.

In this latest adventure of Elmer, the patchwork elephant, Elmer helps the little guys stand up to a bully.  All the animals of the jungle are noticing the quiet when the usual songbirds refuse to sing as they hide from the big bird who’s being a bully.  When the big bird refuses to listen to reason, Elmer comes up with a plan that brings everyone together to scare away the bully.  It’s bright colors and familiar character will be engaging to young students, and it’s message of sticking together to stand up to bullies is needed.

Charming water-color illustrations set the stage for this picture-book biography of Sarah Hale, the woman credited with convincing Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.  Though it doesn’t have the same voice and drama of “Thank You, Sarah,” it’s got more concrete information, filling in gaps where the other story skims over some details.  Together they make a good pairing to share this little known bit of history.

The illustrations are charming.  I’m not sure the story is as charming.  Times are hard in the village when a young girl finds a chicken which seems to have fallen off a truck.  Markings on a broken crate indicate that the chicken belongs to someone named Izzy Pippik.  The girl gets permission to keep the chicken until she can locate its rightful owner.  She protects both the hen and her eggs from those who would want to eat them, insisting that they must be cared for until their owner is found.  Soon there is a flock over-running the village, and bringing in strangers curious to see the spectacle, until business is booming again.  By the time Izzy Pippik finds his way back to the village, he decides to give them to the village.  It’s not a bad story; I’m just not sure kids are going to care.

The author of Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library brings his friendly, fuzzy bats to a baseball game.  But this isn’t a human baseball game.  This is a bat baseball game.  At the beginning of the story, the bats arrive at a piece of grass under a striped canopy on the edges of a carnival.  Some play the game, while others watch, hanging upside down from the tent.  The story is told in rhyme, following the drama of the sport.  Lies includes traditional human baseball trappings, such as popcorn, a tiny microphone, and uniforms, and integrates them with things befitting the bats small stature (i.e. the foul lines are sprinkled using powdered sugar).  There are one or two awkward turns of phrase (i.e. “We feel ejected from the game!”), but overall, the rhyme is solid and the competitive drama is involving.  Readers view the sport through the perspective of a grandfather/grandson pair, which brings a measure of nostalgia to the story.  All in all, this is a fun bat adventure.

This is a wonderful manual.  It tells everything you need to know about the activity.  You are even given tips about attitude.  I learned about different types of cheerleading.  This book is very readable and informative. Lots of great pictures.

This book is so funny.  The girls in this story are into mischief nonstop.  There is never a dull moment with this imaginative pair.  This book is silly and believable.  The pictures add a lot to the story.

This could be called a coming of age story.  It’s very readable and deals with a lot of modern issues like divorce and parents finding other friends.  The story is interesting and shows that life goes on.  It also shows the ups and downs of school friends, too.  All in all a good read.

The is the folk tale story of the Town Mouse visiting his friend the Country Mouse.  The Town Mouse invited the Country to go the visit with him at His Majesty’s Court.  When they got there the country mouse was delighted at the fine food that they had before them to eat,  but he was very alarmed by the barking of the court dog.  The country mouse decided that the Majesty’s Court was not a very good place to be and went home to his “plain food and … peaceful cottage.”

Some of the words are hard for the kids to understand but they understand the story.  This is a wonderful story for all to hear.

This book starts at 6300 BC and takes the through the history of transportation to 2004.   It has many interesting facts of different countries and how they evolved with transportation.  They use different forms and mode of transportation.  The pictures are fun to look at but I wish they had used real pictures where they could.  It is a great introduction to transportation and could inspire a child to look into more depth on the subject.

Tyger, Tyger is the exciting first book in the Goblin War series by Kerstan Hamilton. High school teenage angst of the 21st century is entwined with primordial struggles between goblins and humankind  of Irish/Celtic mythology.   Danger and excitement build as Teagan learns about her mother’s true identity and the role she is thrown into in order to protect her younger brother and rescue her father.  The tension between Teagan and Finn, the handsome McCumhaill of the Irish Travellers, makes for page turning interest in this fast-moving, imaginative sprint through Mag Mell, the world between worlds. The fierce, dark power of unknown forces of evil and the persistence of ancient curses that survive through time make this life and death struggle more vital than which college Teagan may choose to attend or expectations of her employer. Fantasy readers will love it and those who normally don’t choose fantasy will be happily surprised with how the story carries you away.