This sturdy non-fiction picture book is a wonderful introduction to puppies and kittens.  The pages are thick to hold up well to the many little hands that will surely be turning them for years to come.  A good introduction to these common pets, topics include early development, care, training, safety, and playing.  The text is clearly written and large and is nicely balanced with plenty of adorable color photographs with a large variety of cat and dog breeds represented.  This will be a wonderful addition to our easy non-fiction section of the library.

I LOVED this fairytale about a princess who did not want to be a princess.  She threw down her crown and ventured out to the world to be a pirate, a knight and a minstrel.  This strong female character followed her dreams and succeeded in all she pursued.  She thought for herself and acted with purpose, strength and courage.   This story really speaks to those who break out of the mold or those who wish they would or could.  The illustrations are gorgeous watercolors with an exotic style.  I am planning to read this book aloud to my elementary students.

In this Tintinesque graphic novel, the reader is introduce to the story Julius Chancer, a historian’s assistant. The assistant is caught up in an intrigue involving a silent movie actress, a cheating businessman, and the search for a rare orchid. This high-flying adventure travels all around the world as new twists to the tale are added.
This book is recommended for Grades 5 and up because of its easy mystery style which will engage the reader in an adventure beyond their expectations. It will keep the reader guessing the entire length of the tale with its fun and simple, but historically accurate art style. The Rainbow Orchid is a tale that does not disappoint.

— Mara Briggs

In this graphic novel, the reader is drawn into an action adventure story of two brothers desperately trying to find their mother and outsmart the evil treasure hunters who are searching for her as well. The boys are kidnapped by the treasure hunters and taken to the last place where their mother was last seen — a raging volcano!
This book is recommended for readers grades 4 to 12, but it can easily be read to younger children. The story explores family relationships and has enough action and humor to keep anyone interested. This fun and engaging story will definitely captivate readers.

— Mara B.

This Halloween-themed cookbook is for especially young chefs.  Featuring seven recipes, a young hostess or host could prepare a fun and delicious 5 course Halloween meal plus a spooky drink.  The recipes are clearly presented with simple step-by-step instructions and photographs demonstrating each step.  The recipes have few ingredients but look very tasty.  Some basic cooking techniques (measure, slice, spread, sprinkle, stir and toss) are explained and photographed as are the kitchen tools necessary to prepare these recipes.  The pages are well-laid out with colorful backdrops which don’t distract the reader.  There are 10 themed cookbooks in this Simple Recipes for Kids series.

Manners are so important and this series does a nice job of presenting polite manners in contrast with bad ones, in various settings.  This book is set at Christmastime and features common Christmas activities.  The text is rhyming and comical and the illustrations are brilliantly colored and expressive.  Each dinosaur is subtly label in the illustration as well as on the end papers for those budding little paleontologists.

This series is hilarious!  The unique and comical illustrations, the creative character names, the whitty and silly text all add up to a very fun read-aloud.  I read both the “Darn Squirrel” books to our kindergarten students and they had a wonderful time.  I would love to see more of Mr. Fookwire’s adventures with his critter friends.

This book is a one-stop princess party resource that will delight girls of all ages!  Filled with appealing recipes, crafts and activities, this cookbook has several themes for your princess to choose from.  Each recipe or craft has a beautiful color photograph which demonstrates presentation as well.  The instructions are simple and clearly written.  I like that the binding is ringed so the pages lie flat and are easy to turn.  The index and themed table of contents helps the reader to find entries quickly.  Our students will enjoy this book.

The mood is instantly set once the book is opened by the smokey grey end paper,  followed by darker grey with fine white rain blowing from right to left across the page, followed by even darker grey with white rain blowing across the page from left to right amidst the multi- tined lightening bolt. So Hurricane Emily, in St. Petersburg, Florida,  greets the reader of this, the second book in a trilogy.  Book one is quickly reviewed in a one page prologue, but this book can stand alone.  Author, Roland Smith, uses time stamps for the chapter titles, sometimes in 20-30 minute increments and sometimes in 2-3 minute increments. Tension and suspense keeps the reader from putting this book down!

Hurricane Emily, a once in a hundred year storm, is hammering everything in sight throughout the middle of the night. Rashawn, Chase, Nicole and Mama Rossi (Nicole’s grandmother) are hunkered down in an enormous steel-sided circus barn with a very pregnant elephant. They will be cast into pitch darkness when the generator runs dry and the needed  fuel is two out buildings away. Meanwhile, Chase’s father – John and Tomas try to work their way back to them through the hurricane’s storm surge, along with a local TV news reporter and camera man .

If the hurricane isn’t enough, the circus’s lion, bear, and leopard are loose from their cages and stand between Chase and the needed fuel.

It’s said trouble comes in threes. Book three will bring Tomas’s family and Nicole’s mother (with circus) into the equation as they try to reunite with their families from their distant locations in Mexico after a major earthquake.

Underground habitats of rabbits, moles, earthworms, beaver, cockchafers, and kingfishers  are explored on  6 different dark transparent acrylic pages using a ‘magic [paper] torch’ which the young reader punches out from the back of the book. This paper torch (flashlight) may be a reason to exclude this book from a library collection, but the same viewing result can be achieved using a white strip of paper.

Young children  will be fascinated using the torch to explore the 6 tunnels hidden from view when above ground.

This is a new and improved version of the books Gallimard Jeunesse helped create in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time with  heavier weight paper (board), metal spiral binding (not plastic), and an inch or more larger in both directions.

Basic bird information including beak and feet shapes and purposes, feathers, shape and size of nests, feeding their babies, but that’s what you’d expect from  a series entitled – “My First Discoveries“. Young children and adults will be fascinated with the use of 7é transparent acrylic pages that when turned reveal a different side of the bird being discussed.

This is a new and improved version of the books Gallimard Jeunesse helped create in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time with  heavier weight paper (board), metal spiral binding (not plastic), and an inch or more larger in both directions.

Basic dinosaur information including size, fossils, egg laying, and dying out before the dawn of man. Young children and adults will be fascinated with the use of 6 transparent acrylic pages that when turned reveal a different side of the dinosaur being discussed.

This is a new and improved version of the books Gallimard Jeunesse helped create in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time with  heavier weight paper (board), metal spiral binding (not plastic), and an inch or more larger in both directions.

Basic butterfly information including body parts and life cycle, but that’s what you’d expect from  a series entitled – “My First Discoveries“. Young children and adults will be fascinated with the use of 5 transparent acrylic pages that when turned reveal a different side of the butterfly being discussed. There is a craft project on the last page,  making a string of butterflies similar to paper dolls.

This is a new and improved version of the books Gallimard Jeunesse helped create in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time with  heavier weight paper (board), metal spiral binding (not plastic), and an inch or more larger in both directions.

Do you remember telling knock-knock jokes in grade school and how you told them over an over again? If so, this might be the book your school library patrons have been longing to check-out. Forty-four pages of assorted knock-knock jokes, limericks, tongue twisters, fun facts, did you know, and jokes await the reader. They all revolve around  the birthday theme.

Four or five nicely spaced text items on a page along with 2.5 – 4 inch black and white illustrations.

Cookie is an unusual dog.  Having discovered the many advantages of walking on her hind legs (looking out of the window without climbing on chairs, reaching the candy bowl…) she also gets lots of attention and treats.  She is promoted by a dog trainer, joins a circus, and finally becomes a TV star.  As the demands for her time overcome her, she realizes she misses her old life.  Getting fired is a simple as walking on all four legs!  Coming home, Cookie’s life becomes more normal.  Now, when she stands on two legs, she is careful not to let anyone know.  The format of this book is engaging.  It is a combination of picture book and comic book with panels and conversation bubbles.  Watercolor and ink illustrations add amusing details of Cookie’s adventures and are well worth taking the time to notice.

Wilfred, the monster, was huge, hairy, and lonesome.  One day he came to a town where everyone was bald.  Only one child was brave enough to recognize a special friend in Wilfred.  With winter approaching, the townspeople gave Wilfred an ultimatum – stop being big or stop being hairy.  His only choice was to let them take his hair.  The boy noticed people wearing wigs but could not find his friend.  Fearing Wilfred would freeze during a coming blizzard, the boy made mittens from his blanket and rushed to Wilfred.  The next day, the townspeople found the boy safe in the arms of the shivering monster.  Feeling chagrined, they built a fire, covered Wilfred with blankets, and sewed their wigs together to make a suit, complete with a zipper.  Pen and ink illustrations, colored with Adobe Photoshop, are large and expressive.  Wilfred’s gentle spirit and large heart are at the center of this tale of friendship and sacrifice.

Drama is a good title for this graphic novel: theater drama, middle school drama, and friendship drama.  Callie is excited about designing the set for the new theater production.  Her attention is divided between creating an awesome set and dealing with friendships and crushes.  Telgemeier’s knowledge of backstage workings help the theater focus of the story ring true.  But, basically, the main story is about relationships.  Again, Telgemeier does an admirable job of showing the interactions of young teens trying to work through friendships during that awkward age when also trying to figure out themselves.  The full-color illustrations are expressive and add another layer of detail to the story.

Mary Walker was raised to think for herself.  She became one of the first female doctors, was against slavery, and spoke out for civil rights.  She defied the traditional fashion of women wearing uncomfortable dresses and wore pants, which allowed more freedom of movement, in public.  She helped treat wounded soldiers during the Civil War, was imprisoned as a spy, and received the medal of honor for her service during battles.  This remarkable woman who challenged traditions did not allow society to form her opinions.  Her bravery in staying true to her beliefs and ignoring the taunts of others is admirable.  The audience for this book is elementary school and the noteworthy events of Mary Walker’s life are treated lightly.  This woman had passion, this book does not.  It does, however, introduce readers to the name of a little known heroine, worthy of recognition.  Molinari’s watercolor illustrations depict styles, attitudes, and conditions of the time and add interest to the story.

Having eaten a 100% raw food diet for three years, I was interested in how raw food recipes would be presented to elementary students.  Raw food “cooking” typically requires using kitchen equipment like blenders and juicers…which need close adult supervision.  A two page spread on The Basics covers getting permission from an adult, clean hands, tie back hair, tips on be prepared for the recipe and never working alone in the kitchen.  Photographs of  the tools (blender, whisk, grater, baking sheet) needed for the recipes in this book are helpful for emergent kitchen users.  However, given the targeted audience of upper elementary school-aged kids,  most of the “tools” pictured  would be insulting…such as a fork, plate, small bowl, sharp knife, paper towels, etc.  I did like the two page spread of photos of all the ingredients used in the recipes, as well as the photo definitions of cooking terms such as “coat”, “chop”, “dice”, etc.  The  eight recipes included give a nice variety for main meals, snacks and desserts.  Glossary includes words, again, unnecessary for this audience…”towel”, “permission”, “option”.

As a first introduction to analogies, this book teaches the concept by using photos, and giving lots of visual support for success.  “Tail is to wag…as hand is to _______”  is the first example used to introduce the concept.  The reader is presented with three labeled photos.  Which of the pictures is related to hand the way that tail is related to wag? One photo is a hand with a ring on one of the fingers.  The second photo shows a person with one finger standing straight up (Like the the tail of the dog.)  The third photo shows two kids waving with their hands.  The text explains why the first two examples do not  work, and why the third one does.  The book is a large enough format, and the photos clear and simple so that a teacher of primary children could share this analogy game with the whole class at circle time.  This Eye-Look Picture Games series support national math standards related to grouping and sorting and national language arts standards related to the use of comparisons and analogies.  Primary kids will have a lot of fun playing the game with this beautifully designed publication.

Coast Guard rescue swimmers endure rigorous training in extreme conditions and are highly prepared to rescue people in dangerous situations.  Trainees are both male and female, must pass extensive physical trials for endurance and swimming, and learn how to perform effective first aid.  Swimmers have specialized gear to help keep them safe while rescuing victims and often train in extreme conditions.  I was exhausted after reading how prepared a rescue swimmer must be and was not surprised to read that only about half of the trainees graduate.  This book is highly engaging and has photographs of active training scenarios.  Glossary, index, and a factsurfer internet site included.  Two of the three recommended books are written at a similar reading and interest level, the third is a bit higher.  Other books in the series are: “Bomb Squad Technician”, “Deep Sea Fisherman”, “Lumberjack”, and “Smoke Jumper”.

Children can easily get separated from their family or group.  This is a “self-help” book written for young children but applicable to everyone.  Scenarios include a carnival, walking to school, a store, a field trip, a beach, and the woods.  Each one has a “safety tip” box.  A list of basic rules and procedures are included along with a fun way to memorize a phone number.  This is well written without being scary.  Recommended books for further reading are similar in reading level and directed toward young children.  Also included are a short glossary, index, internet site and a paragraph about the author.  Anara Guard has written other “What if…” books in the Danger Zone series.  Titles include:  “What if a Stranger Approaches you?”, What if there is a Fire?”, and “What if You need to Call 911?”  Each of these titles could generate essential conversations between adults and children on safety.

22 free verse poems take one back to the 1860s and life on a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas.  Dan Burr’s realistic digital paintings are an excellent combination with Harrison’s descriptions of life out west living under the stars with 3000 longhorn cattle.  Sometimes humorous, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes candid, these poems give insight to the hard life of a Texas cowboy.  Words like hardened, rugged, tough, and grizzled just begin to describe life on the Chisholm Trail but can’t conceal the pride the cowboys had as they endured every aspect of their job.  The poems depicting life during this period in our history are geared toward upper elementary or middle school readers wanting to experience the tough life of a wrangler.

Danny is not the most popular kid in school. In fact, he is a bit of a geek. Unfortunately things get in his way of success, like the new kid, Ty Randall. Ty seems perfect. He is handsome, serious and dedicates his time outside of school to worthy causes which is everything Danny’s not. Danny’s jealousy of Ty gets out of control, and he sets up Ty to fail in the school talent show. But when the show rolls around, Danny regrets his choice and makes the sacrifice himself, protecting Ty from the embarrassment. Illustrations throughout will entice reluctant readers.

When Tara makes the trip to stay with extended family in Willow Falls, she loses all her cash forcing her to accept an odd job from an odd woman in an odd antique shop. While working for this woman, Tara makes new friends, has adventures, and makes connections with people from her parents’ past. All her hard work pays off as her job comes to a close in a big way on her 13th birthday.