What is killing all the bees?  In 2006, beekeepers were horrified to discover that high percentages of their honeybee populations were dying out.  Here, Markle discusses the many theories about what could be killing the bees, and along the way, readers learn much about the beekeeping industry, the importance of bees in the larger ecosystem, and life inside a bee’s colony.  The informative text is laid out on large pages, accompanied by close-up photos of bees and other relevant images.  Although the presentation of the information is accessible enough for elementary school students, the complexity of the problem of the bee disappearance is plain.  Markle is a master at communicating information in a clear and engaging way.  This is an important, well-presented introduction to the problem of bee depletion – one which will educate future adults about the high stakes of this looming danger.

The Gristle Grunt, the Ink Blight, the Two-Headed Mutant Rodent, the Shark Hound – these are just a few of the monstrous creatures featured in Morton’s story.  It begins innocently enough – a family finds a statue which grants three wishes.  Dark magic and the blind former owner of their new home are at the root of the trouble.  Fisher’s story feels like a slightly more sophisticated heir to the Goosebumps series.  At the center of the bound volume are pages printed with information about and images of creatures from “The Monster Deck.”  This title will appeal to kids looking for adventures and monster goodness – although they may be sorry that they must look at the website for the book to see the monsters in color.  Each of the three siblings involved in the story have their own character arcs, as they each cope with personal tragedy and supernatural happenings in different ways.  At nearly 300 pages, this title is hefty, and will be a fun challenge for monster-obsessed readers.

Pro Stock motorcycles are custom built for racing.  They are similar to street bikes but have more powerful engines, light weight tubular steel frames, and an aerodynamic chassis.  Bikes reach upwards of 195 mph and races end is less than 7 seconds.  The front wheel is for steering, the rear one is larger (10″ wide) to provide maximum grip on the track.  A “wheelie” bar prevents the bike from flipping.  Riders wear padded leather suits, gloves, boots, and a helmet for protection.  Xtreme Fact boxes state additional facts such as the tires only last about 8 drag strip runs and that acceleration force is similar to the lift off of the space shuttle!  Several racers are mentioned with their statistics.  A glossary is in the back but the words are not indicated within the text.  An index is also included.  Photographs show details on the bikes as well as action during a race.  Those attracted to sport bikes will be drawn to this series.

Indy cars are wide, flat, use the latest technology, and can reach speeds upwards of 200 mph.  They run on ethanol, a biofuel made from corn and sugar cane.  High speeds cause the tires to get extremely hot which helps hold them to the track.  Drivers must wear fire-resistant protective suits which cover them from head to foot.  Races are held around the world on speedways or street courses.  The race positions for the 33 drivers are determined by the highest qualifying speeds.  These are just some of the facts presented in this book of these amazing cars.  The famous Indianapolis 500, first run in 1911, will take two days and cover 500 miles (200 laps).  Fans will recognize names of a few drivers mentioned.  A labeled photo shows specific parts of a race car.  Photos are well chosen to support the large text.  Highlighted text is defined on the page as well as in the glossary.  Fast Fact boxes provide additional interesting facts.  A glossary, books for further reading, an index, and an internet site are included in the back.  The publisher website also provides additional games and projects.  Those attracted to race cars will be drawn to this series.

Hannah and Caitlin are best friends and decide to try out for a place on the dance squad at school.  Caitlin is naturally athletic and the moves come easily to her.  Hannah struggles with the moves but wants to do well.  When Caitlin wants to go shopping or hang out with a boy, Hannah is torn.  She wants to be friends with Caitlin, but she also wants to practice and get better at the routines.  She chooses practicing over spending time with her best friend.  After their friendship suffers some rocky moments, it pays off.  Hannah got a solo spot on the dance teams and Caitlin returns to being a good friend.  The story line is predictable but the main focus of being true to one’s self and practicing to accomplish a goal is strong.  Included in the back of the book with a paragraph about the author and illustrator, is a glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and descriptions of four styles of dance – ballet, tap, hip-hop, and jazz.

Main character, Norris Fowler, is hard to like.  He is a bully, cuts in line, steals lunches, cheats in school, and when put in charge of the teacher’s prize cactus, accidently destroys it.  He is constantly scheming how to shift blame from himself in order to be liked.  His father owns the local cannery.  As outsiders, his family does not truly understand coastal life, especially when a gigantic lobster is caught.  Norris finally comes to appreciate the value of community during a large auction which will decide the fate of the giant lobster.  A note on the jacket flap indicates that this book is the second in a trilogy that tells how the capturing of the large lobster affects the lives of three boys in a coastal, presumably Maine, town.  This book stands fine on its own, but having all three would give a more well-rounded story of this community.

Joy in Mudville by Bob Rackza illustrates how anyone can do things unexpectedly, in a unique manner, and succeed wildly at it.  The baseball game is near the end with a score of one to zero when a rookie pitcher (a girl, if you can believe that) takes over and surprises them with different ways of pitching in the forms of different sports.   The illustrations accurately depict the written word and it is easy to picture these pitches and the scenery in your head.  This book stands out because it overcomes stereotypes and is creative in its approach.  Although this is a picture book, it is not one that would read easily aloud due to changes in the cadence and words that don’t quite rhyme.  It is a book that would especially appeal to athletic children of either gender as well as to baseball fans.  It is a follow-up to the famous “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer which is printed in entirety at the end of the book.  In fact, this might be a good comparison piece for students to really look at the difference in word choices, finding evidence of this and practicing some common core skills, even at the upper elementary.  This book is recommend for those who enjoy sports or just breaking the mold.

Though the cover does consent that this is the Unofficial Story of Drake’s musical career, author Dalton Higgins definitely knows the rap scene and provides infinite details about the handsome Canadian rapper Drake.  Born to a father who himself was a musician, Drake was primarily raise by his mother after a divorce when he was 5.  Keeping Drake involved in activities and off the streets of Toronto was a priority and Drake participated in a variety of the arts.  At first, theater rose to the top of his successes.  His break into stardom comes during 8th grade with a TV show titled Degrassi: The Next Generation and from there the ball begins to roll.  His life as as a TV star kept rapping as a chance for release.  But Drake did record and release music starting in the early 2000’s.  Those in the rap scene were skeptical at first but quickly rose to respect his lyrics and style.  The clean cut edge and being from Canada made him different too.  And according to this biographer, Drake had a knack for connecting with the right people and the right time.

This biography is chalk full of minute details.  For the hard core rap fan who know the names and places in the history of rap, it will be an interesting read.  While the overarching structure is chronological, Higgins jumps back and forth throughout a chapter, making reference to events in 2010, 2011, or 2012 and then jumping back to the early or mid 2000’s.  This reviewers head was spinning at times and could only read a few pages in each sitting.  For this reason, Far From Over is an additional purchase for most libraries.

The Campaign by Elizabeth Karre is part of The Opportunity Series of books targeting young adult, reluctant readers.  Using the premise of a teenager getting their “dream job”, the series has ordinary teens in real career situations. “The Campaign” involves the dilemma that arises for Destiny, a senior in high school with financial concerns  limiting her hopes to attend college.  During her summer job as an intern reporter, she discovers false video tapes are being made to discredit a mayoral candidate.  Is Destiny being  paid to be a reporter, paid to uncover political shenanigans or paid to keep quiet?  With a surprising twist at the end, the expected plot is thought provoking  and  realistic..  By using hip language, realistic social situations, teenage romantic crushes, responsibility for younger siblings and money problems, the book is honest.  It could be a recommended read for a reluctant reader that is that is also facing “real” life after high school.

Seven Billion and Counting is intriguing  from the cover with the sub text of “the Crisis in Global Population Growth” to the final page with discussion of possibilities for a sustainable future.  The use of colorful photographs,  charts  and graphs show the hugeness of population numbers in the billions.  A grasp of this many humans on the planet is then discussed in the needs of these people as individuals.  For the planet to provide the basic, life sustaining  requirements, such as adequate food, water and shelter , decisions must be made beyond the boundaries of separate countries, regions or nationalities.  This book gives a clear, graphic presentation of viewing the planet as a whole organism to be nurtured and sustained in order to provide for a magnitude of human beings. Real solutions are recommended through education, public awareness, population control  and  sustainable farming.  This is a pressing problem that needs discussion and action on many different fronts.  Additional purchase for middle and high school libraries.

Andrew Jenks as a young boy felt awkward, shy and out of place. Observing life from behind a camera lens became how he could participate in life yet not have to “do anything”.  Growing up around the world, from Nepal to Belgium to New York City, he clung to family, basketball and a video camera for stability.  After making a short, humorous film to celebrate the graduation of his high school basketball team, Jenks decided that filmmaking was his passion and dream career.  This autobiographical book chronicles his journey  from boredom and depression in college to frustration with the rejection of his first  off-beat, early film projects to the realization of his dream when he is hired by MTV.  Jenks’ goals stay true to his early desire “to do something right for the world”.  His films want to deal with the real stuff that is happening to his generation: homelessness, mental illness, aging and loneliness, poverty, abuse, addiction.  As he states it: “My plan was to tell engaging and substantive stories about important issues, masked as entertainment.”  Using photos, graphics and decorative text, the message that art is a powerful medium to inform and enlighten society is reinforced.  This is an excellent book on many levels.  Highly recommended for all high school and public libraries.

The book offers primary readers an opportunity to accompany a variety of animals to the local fair which culminates in a monster truck show.  The monster truck show features one of their friends driving his own monster truck in the finale.  This cast decides they have some time to kill before the big show and set off to explore the fair and all its rides.  When the time arrives for the big monster truck show, Franco ( the large dog assigned to drive the truck) breaks his glasses.  The crisis is averted when the hamster and friendly mice step in and drive for Franco.

The tale reinforces sizing, sequencing, and includes the young reader in a series of choices connected to the day at the fair.  Readers becomes another friend accompanying the animals to a day at the fair and monster truck event.  It stresses how things can be categorized, such as that rides that are fun, rides that are fast, rides that are both, and offers a variety of food that enables the reader to engage in more choices.  The illustrations reinforce the choices for both the reader and the characters.  Through the illustrator’s vision, primary children have a door that they can enter and spend a day at the fair and monster truck show.  The author and illustrator invite the young reader to accompany the animals on their journey through the fair.  Children are constantly included in making choices, problem solving, and what can be accomplished when all of us work together.  I would highly recommend this book for those working with pre-K and K age groups.

This well written and illustrated biography chronicles Joe Dimaggio’s legendary streak of hits in 1941.  Juxtaposing World War 1 and a world rapidly changing, America’s pastime and legendary Joe Dimaggio’s streak of hits comes alive for upper elementary readers.  The impressionist inspired illustrations transport the reader to this era and the writing weaves mere facts into a captivating story.

This  author highlights one man’s accomplishments in baseball.  In spite of the looming war and the loss and recovery of his favorite bat “Betsey Ann”,  Joe Dimaggio manages to set a record hitting streak that ended with a total of 56 games.  The writer brings history alive for the readers and what could be a list of dry facts becomes one man’s struggle to become the best baseball player he can for his team.  Figurative writing accompanies the dream-like drawings blending a tale that will capture a ten and eleven year old imagination.   Yet the author’s note, annotated source notes at the end  and quotations on the end pages remind a reader that this is in fact non-fiction and could be used as a source for a research report in elementary schools.  Recommended for school and public libraries.

This is a beautiful book.  I love the illustrations and the story.  This is a story of Alfonso who loves Ida, but Ida doesn’t even look at him she is always reading.  He decides to bake her an apple cake.

Alfonso makes the cake and puts it in the oven to bake and Ida looks up to see what smells so good.  Together they eat the cake.

There is a recipe for Apple Cake in the back of the book.

This book will fill the ‘outlier’ spot in the primary grades COMMUNITY units.

Three reasons are stated for why homes move and not just the people: “so  their animals can find food” ( p.5), “to sell things in different places “ (p. 6), and “to see new places.” ( p. 7) These moving homes shown inside and out include: house boats, mobile homes, and tents- both past and present.

There are one or two large font print sentences beneath each photo on each page.

Last but not least from page 24, there is a list of countries of where these photos /homes are from: Kerala, India; Turmi, Africa; Daraw, Egypt; United States; Kashmir, India; Marseille, France; Russia; Omnogov, Asia; Khovsgol Province, Mongolia; Kyrgyzstan; Tunisia; Canada; County Mayo, Ireland; and Bamiyan, Afghanistan.  ... “Discuss how homes provide us with a place to eat and sleep, and keep people and their things safe from the weather.”

Wow, I need to get out and see more of this world!

This is a counting book for PreK- through first grade. There are no facts or descriptions of the animals in this book.

Full-page photos (7″ x 6″) are on the left page and a 4.5 inch tall baby blue numeral with the number word and name of the animal superimposed on top of it are on the right page. The name of the animal is enclosed inside a bubble on the left page: humpback whale, crab, clownfish, sea lion, starfish, African penguins, brown pelicans, octopus, sea nettles (jellyfish), and stingray.  There are ten pages of this.

Example ( Humpback whale)   1   one whale,  (Crab) 2 two claws,(Clownfish) 3 fish, (Sea lion) 4 four flippers…

Only the sea nettles does not have its name inside a bubble on the left hand page.

The animals fill the space nicely and the parts are easy to see for counting.

This 7.5 ” x 6.25 ” book captures 6 different Arctic animals. Each animal is presented with a fact or two in large font print followed by an addition sentence. The number of  animal(s) on the left page are added to the number of animals on the right page for six consecutive page turns.

caribou 1+3=4, Arctic foxes 1+1=2, Arctic wolves 2+3=5, fur seals 2+2=4, polar bears 1+3=4, and walruses 2+4=6

This book supports the national science standards, too.

For those readers who want more the NOW TRY THIS! page asks the reader(s) to find pictures of animals in magazines or online to create their own animal number sentences.

This is a book I couldn’t put down until I had finished it.  Like Folger’s coffee, it was good to the last drop.  When Marcel and Alexa’s parents were murdered by a black sorcerer (an evil sorcerer who could cause fire), they knew they would be taken by the king’s soldiers back to the castle.  Boys train for the army and girls go to the breeding house.  The girls’ fate was worse than death, as they were repeatedly raped and starved and held prisoner in the house, giving birth to future soldiers or breeders.  They weren’t given a chance to be mothers.  Knowing what lay ahead for them,  fourteen-year-old Alexa decided to pass as a boy; after all, she was tall and could fight as well, if not better, than her brother.  They cut off her hair, she lowered her voice, and they both became recognized fighters in Prince Damian’s guard.  Alex, as she/he was now known as, was the best fighter of all the guard.  Alex becomes the Prince’s personal guard and learns his secrets to overthrow his father, the king.  The plot is strong and the characters are well developed.  This is a book that displays a strong female lead character, a young lady who gains the strength to stand up for who she is and what she can become.

Eleven year old Gregory is the middle child in a family who loves math.  His father and older brother have won City Math competitions.  His mother is an accountant and his younger sister is also quite accomplished in math.  Gregory hates it, doesn’t understand it, and can’t seem to tell his parents the truth.  What he loves is writing poetry.  He is failing math, but his teacher has given him an opportunity to earn extra credit by journaling about math.  Gregory has hopes of going to Author Camp with his best friend Kelly.  He lies to her about telling his parents.  He lies to his parents about signing up for the City Math Competition.  He lies to himself thinking it will all work out.  Along the way, he learns about Fibonacci and how math “rules” impact poetry and science.  Gregory finally discovers a way to help him deal with math while doing the writing he loves.  Before, he was casual, at best, when completing assignments.  With new direction, he finds purpose and passion in his work.  Pincus has blended a love for math and a love for writing in a story that encourages respect for the different perspectives of both.  The “Fibs” are short, six line poems following the Fibonacci sequence – 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and are also the chapter headings.

A young girl and her best friend do all kinds of things together.  One day she decides to create the most magnificent thing.  After gathering supplies and setting up in an out-of-the-way place, she begins to work.  Through the illustrations, the reader knows the best friend is a dog and the private work space is the middle of a busy sidewalk.  The process of making something new does not go smoothly, so she tosses her first attempt aside and starts over.  Again, it does not work.  Illustrations show her facial expressions go from hopeful to frustrated to angry.  None of the creations are magnificent.  The angrier she gets, the less careful she is until she explodes!  (“It is not her finest moment.”)  As she and her dog go for a walk, she begins to calm down.  Returning to her failed attempts, she see parts that were right, and she begins to work one more time.  Again, the illustrations add to the story as they show neighbors finding use for her failures and begin carrying them away.  At last she is successful.  The final illustration shows the girl on her scooter with her dog sitting in a new side-car seat!  There are many messages in this amusing story: the scientific method when experimenting or inventing, it is OK to make mistakes, and perseverance.  Wonderful vocabulary enrichment in all the related verbs!  Spires’ use of color and white space help focus on details of the story.