This 12″ X 9.75 ”  book is a simple introduction into the world of a balanced diet.  Page 4 states, ” A balanced diet includes fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein.” From there it shows a  modified pie chart of a balanced diet using a dinner plate with fork, an additional circle (glass) for dairy, and ‘Choose MyPlate.gov’ written across the bottom of the place-mat. Facts about each food group are then given two pages with numerous photos of food large enough to be easily recognizable by young readers. Serving sizes are not mentioned.

Fruits include: apples, tomatoes, raspberries, and watermelon which help fight disease. Vegetables include: carrots, peas, and broccoli which keep a body healthy. Grains include: oats, wheat, and rice which give energy. Dairy include: milk, cheese, and yogurt which help build strong bones and teeth. Protein include: meat, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts which help you to grow.

‘Healthy Fats’, ‘Sugar’, and ‘Exercise and Sleep’ are also, given two pages apiece.

Concludes with “Can You Remember” (quiz) , “Words to Know”, and index.

What an excellent graphic novel!  Amelia Louise McBride is an only child whose parents are recently divorced.  She and her mom now live with her mom’s sister until they can save enough money to move into a house.  Amelia has a plan to make both her parents feel guilty about the change in lifestyle due to the divorce, and she’d benefit at Christmastime with a windfall.  However, among her new friends is a latchkey kid–something she’s never heard of before.  She had been feeling sorry for herself, but when she went to this kid’s house, she realized she had it a lot better than he did.  She knew Santa wouldn’t be visiting his house.  Anyway, she finds out that they have both asked for the same toy for Christmas, and Amelia knows it’s an expensive and hard-to-find toy.  When she gets it, she is so happy, but her  mind takes her back to her friend’s dreary house.  She rewraps the gift and sneaks out of the house over to her friend’s house.  She gets in a puts the toy under his tree and then hides to watch him open it.  Knowing she has done the right thing is gift enough for her.  She sneaks out of the house, but makes a small creak which her friend hears.  He runs to the window and sees her running home in her red outfit and red hat with white fur trim.  He’s positive it’s Santa!  Back at the clubhouse, he regals his friends with his story of seeing Santa and Amelia feels hope restored to her faithless friends.  Wonderful story!  This is a book I will definitely recommend to other librarians for their schools.

This is the story of a young girl’s dream for greatness among the people (animals) around her who doubt this will ever happen.

Diva Duck declares, “I am destined for greatness,” but for the cow, hen, and pig this is ironic, living on a farm. Life changed after the farmer had a barn dance, where Diva Duck took over for the DJ. She was an instant hit with the farmer’s guests,  farm animals, on the Internet, with reporters, paparazzi, and clothes designers. She traveled the world opening dance clubs. “Diva never went back to doing the duck stuff. Because when you have a dream, anything is possible.”

Includes: 2 discussion questions.

I may be old fashioned , but I find it crude and pointless to use the word ‘butt‘ as author Janice Levy does in this book when other words are possible.

“She waddled by, wiggling her butt.”(page 9)  “Her beak twitched. Her hips swiveled. Her butt went boom-ducka-boom.” (page 15)

Eleven  pages of  visual examples of spheres accompanied with two lines in rhyme. The young reader will “Search for spheres inside this book.” Seven of the spheres are mentioned by name: ( assorted) balls, bubbles, orange(s), grape(s), beads, seeds, and marbles.  More  spheres are shown but not mentioned by name: globe, bowling bowl,  ice of  a snow cone, ice cream of an ice cream cone, jaw breakers and other spherical-shaped candy,  meat balls, topiary shrubs, and swimming pool lane floats.

Includes: two sphere games.

This 24 page, 3 chapter book is a great way to help scared children work through their fear of going to the dentist through realistic fiction.

In Chapter 1 ” Problem Teeth” – Max is not looking forward to having the dentist pull his baby teeth to make room “so my grown-up teeth will come in straight.” In Chapter 2 ” Beyond Brave” – Max asks the dentist’s helper , “Can I get my prize first?” Then, walks to the dentist chair, is given a shot to numb his mouth, has two teeth pulled, and says,”That was so fast! And it hardly hurt!” In Chapter 3 ” The Best Part”- Max’s mother lets him pick out soft foods at the grocery store, puts his pulled teeth under his pillow for the tooth fairy, and plays with Zoe and the new toys/prizes from the dentist office.

Includes: 3 discussion questions, 3 writing prompts, a tooth box craft project, and www.facthound.com code.

This is the perfect blend of sports and math!  I knew that math was relevant is every facet of life, however, I had no idea the plays called in football used so much algebra.  This book shows exactly how math is used and how important it is, even if your only goal in life is to play a game.  This book shows measurement, area, time, percentages, ratios, geometry, square roots, plot graphs, data charts, prediction, kinetic energy, and velocity–and this doesn’t even cover all of it.  This is amust for any library which has students who think they don’t need math.

I am a football fan, so I was curious as to who was on the all-time top 10 list.  Many of those I thought should be on the list, were there.  However, there were a number who weren’t there and some who were I thought were questionable.  Wilner gives a good description of each running back’s credentials and claim to fame.  However, the intro gives no criteria as to how he determined who would make the list.  I had to google to get various top 10 lists and, sure enough, each list was different.  What concerns me most is that LaDainian Tomlinson is the youngest on the list, and he was born in 1979.  This leads me to believe that Wilner’s research is a little outdated.  Maybe he chose only ‘retired’ running backs.

Much needed in the life of children, clear instruction on internet usage in this nonfiction book.  Covers chat rooms, bullies, “free gifts”, personal information, and strangers.  Excellent for students to know so that they remain safe while online. One analogy utilized in this book is that being online is like being at the mall.  Some strangers aren’t nice and may try to trick kids.   There is a safety pledge at the end of the book, along with the usual further reading book list, internet site, glossary and index.  Fact Hound link on this Capstone book.

Eva Ibbotson has always been one of my favorite authors.  In one of the last books prior to her death, Ibbotson has again created a fun fantasy for grades fourth through seventh.  A group of misfits: an old hag, a troll, a wizard, and an orphaned boy, are on a mission to save a princess from an ogre.  But when they arrive at the ogre’s castle, they find things are not what they seemed.  The princess is harrassing the ogre, the ogre is suffering from a nervous breakdown, and the group must figure out how to restore sanity.  A bit predictable, but the lightheartedness wins out.  Ibbotson has a clever way of describing things which makes for an interesting read.

Shelley Coriell, noted romance writer, has entered new territory with Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe, her debut novel. Strong in voice, characters, plot, topics, and emotion, Coriell takes readers into the engaging world of Chloe Camden, junior at Del Ray High School in Southern California, as major changes are shaking her life.  Chloe loves vintage shoes, her friends, her family of loving brothers, parents and aging grandmother, and her job at a popular Mexican restaurant. She’s not prepared when her best friends turn on her, her mother and grandmother implode into arguments, and the entire school seems intent upon shunning her. Forced to become part of the struggling high school radio station, KDSR 88.8 FM, in order to satisfy requirements for her Junior Project under the guidance of a new school counselor, she finds herself challenged to leave the past and her expectations behind. Using skills her job has helped her hone, she finds success, acceptance, and newfound talents doing a call-in radio show that blossoms into greater funding for the station, hard-won new friendships, and even love. The book has the reader rooting for Chloe all the way as she navigates quirky colleagues, broken friendships, new romance, and creative ways to be in the world – learning to listen, acting with heart, and stepping into the unknown bravely as she also speaks her mind.  Coriell’s book is a terrific read from start to finish, well written, perfect for teen audiences.

This 11.25 ” X 9.5 ” book is divided into three sections: Good Camouflage, Great Camouflage, and Amazing Camouflage. At the beginning of each section is a camo meter divided into thirds. ‘Good Camouflaged‘ animals are categorized as ‘hide-and-seek’ . ‘Great Camouflaged‘ are categorized as ‘out of sight’. And ‘Amazing Camouflage‘ are categorized as ‘master of disguise’.

The good camouflage animals are the arctic fox, horned lizard, and goldenrod crab spider.

The great camouflage animals are the dead leaf butterfly, leafy sea dragon, and mimic octopus.

The amazing camouflage animals are stonefish, cuttlefish, and great potoo.

The amazing animals’ camouflage is the sort I always wanted to be able to show students when I taught this science unit but never had available at the time!  Supports National Science Standards.

The left page has four sentences and the right page is totally covered with these remarkable photos.

This 8.25″ X 7″ book is divided into three parts: What is Water?, Living Things and Water, and Why Do Living Things Need Water?

The top 5 inches of each page is photo of plants or animals with water ( eight of the 18 photos are of drinking water), while the bottom 2 inches contains a single large font statement. From page 16, “People need water to keep their bodies working.” And from page 21, “People use water to keep clean.”

“The fans booed Dolph Ziggler as he stepped into the ring.” So begins this mini-bio of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) wrestler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth A.K.A. Dolph Ziggler. He was a star wrestler on his high school team and he set a school wrestling record at Kent State University where he was studying political science. Should he go to law school or wrestle professionally, the later won, and the rest is history. Dolph Ziggler has won several WWE titles.

“He wrestled as a heel named Dolph Ziggler.” The book’s glossary states : heel – “a wrestler seen by fans as a villain”.

This book is short, sweet, and to the point, with more photo bravodo than text.

Includes: glossary, index, and www.factsurfer.com.

Reminiscent of Bill Martin, Jr.’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear with its question and answer format, the answers in this book do not always trip off of the tongue in English, as they might have in their original French. BUT the two color optic artwork and how it amazingly alines to show through the cutout page is FABULOUS! The animals include: cow, chick, snail, sheep, ladybug, trout, fox, and rooster.

“Mooing cow,

for whom do you wait?

This maid stepping with

a very quick gait.”

I am truly glad someone chose to show how different the sizes of dogs can be between / among breeds: golden retriever, chihuahua, and Great Dane.

Photos of real animals ( superimposed on drawn backgrounds)  show comparison and size perception in realistic scale for : big & small, tall & short, long & short, wide & narrow, and the same size.  The reader is asked questions and answers in rhyme.

Twins, Zoe and Ben help their uncle  “undertake top-secret missions for a covert environmental organization called WILD.” This mission takes them to Adilah Reservation for the protection of orangutans in exotic Borneo.  Using their keen observational skills, playing off of each others carefully chosen words, and spy gadgets – BUGs (Brilliant Undercover Gizmos) and EEL ( Electronic Escape Lines) –  they discover who is sabotaging the reservation’s wooden walkways high up in the forest canopy, scaring away the orangutan, and warning the authorities of the potential forest fire.

Thirteen fast paced, action packed chapters.

Includes: glossary, Discussion Questions, Writing Prompts, and www.facthound.com code.

Proofreaders missed two mistakes: page 34 – ‘returened’ should be ‘returned’ and line 6 on page 48 the word ‘like’ was omitted (“It looks they have horns on their beaks.”)

This is a book that keeps you curious to the end.  There are many words that invoke visual as well as other senses.  Some of the words would be a challenge for young readers, but the story, if read to them would hold their attention.  I liked the colors of the illustrations.  The book describes a farm experience, something many children never have.  A pleasant  read.

This is a very informative book on the giant squid.  I learned so much from reading is book.  The pictures are wonderful in adding to the learning.  This book answers so may questions about the giant squid.  There is a table of contents in the front, with a glossary and index, and additional information in the back.

This is an amazing picture book! The drawings are each filled with the story of our history during the civil war.  They pull you into the events, and make you think about the part each character plays.  They speak of love for others, and courage to help those in need.  Good for all ages.

Barack Obama and George Washington are on the cover,  and if you’re curious about their lives or  the lives of any president in between the two, the information is inside The Handy Presidents Answer Book .

No matter how obscure, each resident of the White House gets about four pages, but it’s far more entertaining reading than mere birth, death, and politics.   Did you know, for instance, that Andrew Johnson was criticized for buying Alaska from Russia for a bit over $7 million dollars?  The Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson relationship is discussed and debated,  and you can learn that U.S. Grant’s well known initials were the result of a congressman’s mistake with Grant’s name.

Pictures of each president include a young and handsome George W. Bush in training as a F-102 pilot, Bill Clinton playing his saxophone,  a very heavy William Howard Taft in his judicial robe after leaving the presidency, and many more.

This book, which even includes a “Presidential Trivia” section, would be a nice addition to libraries and classrooms.  Pick it up and browse through and you’ll find it hard to put down.

Curtis Jackson III, aka 50 cent, surprises music fans and readers alike with Playground, a one-of-a-kind story about fitting in and the paths people take.  In 13 year old “Butterball’s” world, every day is a new battle: dodging the glares of his classmates, eating lunch alone in the bathroom stall, wishing his weight would stop increasing, longing for the bustling streets of the city where his dad lives, wishing he didn’t have to talk to his therapist Liz, and most of all, wanting to forget what really happened that day on the playground. Butterball retells the events that landed him talking to a shrink, and by the end, tears will be shed, painful words spoken, and more than just Butterball will come away ready to start anew.  Topped off with detailed sketches, Playground is an inspirational book which many will enjoy.  Incorporating events from his own childhood, 50 Cent tells the mostly true story of how Butterball became a bully.

Award winning author of biographies, Barbara Kerley teamed with her outstanding illustrator Edwin Fotheringham, to bring us an outstanding introduction to two important Founding Fathers of American history…John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  Comparing and contrasting their differences… background, temperament, physical traits, and their two things in common…distaste for the tyrant British King George and a deep desire to create a United States of America, Kerley has presented a meticulously researched text, full of wit and wonder.  Here is accessible history at its best!  Back Matter includes a “must read” Author’s Note, Declaration of Independence, and the sources of the quotes included in the text and author’s note.

This is a wonderful illustration of how our moods and feelings can rub off on others, and how we can help others by having a positive attitude.  It is full of beautiful verbal images.  It would be a fun read for a wide age group.  I liked the story.