Nazi Hunters

Many people team up to locate, create an intricate plan of kidnap, and take a criminal responsible for numerous deaths to trial before the world. This detailed book is the true account of the mission of capturing Adolph Eichmann at a bus stop in Argentina and smuggling him to Israel. It involves a courageous network of people, many who lost family at camps, and a team of spies with patience and split second timing. Lengthy research, notes, and numerous primary sources strengthen this incredible book.

Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash

Freddie Ramos has his super speedy purple shoes… Zapato Power! However, he loses his shoes when he leaves them in his new white backpack and it turns up missing. Also, Freddie must figure what to do about a neighborhood bully as well as conquer his fears of swimming. Freddie realizes his backpack was picked up at the local pool, recovers his zapatos, and deals with the bully!

Basement of the Undead

Lew and Gary must enter the Ravens Pass Middle School basement in search for, Lugnut, the school bully. While down there, they encounter a group of school zombies that threaten to eat their brains. Lew, Gary and Lugnut make attempts to find alternate exits while escaping the undead. After losing Lugnut in an effort to stay alive, Lew and Gary make their way out to safety. Finally safe, they reunite with Lugnut who happens to lose an ear lobe while they all talk, and then he runs off… Jason Strange controlled the vocabulary to keep the vocabulary at the second grade level. It is perfect for intensive intermediate readers.

Franklin’s Big Book of Stories

I have known Franklin the Turtle by sight for years, but had never read (or seen on TV) any of his stories until now, as he came on the scene when my sons were in high school. My sons missed out on these six stories which all teach valuable life lessons without being preachy. Each story begins:  “Franklin can tie his shoes. Franklin can count by twos.” Followed by a quick preview of the story to come.

In Franklin and the Scooter, he learns buying something isn’t always the answer to getting what you want. Franklin was not able to earn the amount of money needed for the scooter he wanted. In the end, Franklin learns to share his bike with his friend and takes turns riding his friend’s scooter.

In Franklin and the Contest, Franklin has a hard time figuring out what he can do for 5 hours straight to win the contest for Gee Whiz magazine. The magazine contest promoter is able to see Franklin’s talent better than he can himself.

In Franklin and the Bubble Gum, Franklin innocently comes across a broken gum ball machine which dispenses all of the gum balls for his one penny. Franklin thinks it’s his lucky day and shares the gum balls with all of his friends. Later, Beaver announces the gum balls have been stolen. Then Franklin returns to the gum ball machine to pay for the gum balls. When Mr. Mole tries out the machine after refilling it with more gum balls, Franklin is allowed to keep all of the gum once again after he catches them in his hat. Mr. Mole thanks him for his honesty.

In Franklin and the Stopwatch, Franklin learns firsthand why his friends are tired of his timing them do everything, when they start timing his every move. Turn about is fair play- has a whole new meaning.

In Franklin and the Magic Show, after seeing a magician in a magic show, Franklin charges his friends 1 cookie to see his magic show. When his disappearing act does not work, his friends leave taking back their cookies. Later, Franklin’s father shows him some easy tricks. Franklin invites his friends to the show, but instead of charging a cookie, he gives each of them a cookie.

In Franklin and the Cookies, Franklin and Bear make a dozen cookies. First they eat half of the cookies and then the other half which they have been asked to share with their younger siblings. So they make 12 more cookies. They eat these, too. They make 12 more cookies. These they share. The third time is the charm.

Tasty Desserts Little Chef Recipes

This is a fun easy to follow recipe book.  The recipes sound yummy!  Many of the directions are simplified by using the microwave.  There are pictures for each step.  I liked this young cooks recipe book.  Nice addition to our cooking section.  Fun pictures, easy to follow numbered picture instructions, as well as written ones.  There are also helpful hint boxes in many pages.

Mom Goes to War

A book explaining beast cancer in terms of a kingdom battle.  A good tool for kids who may be facing this with their mom or other family member.  The pictures are beautiful and colorful, and fun.  They simplify understanding cancer.  The font is clear and easily read.

On the Farm our Holiday with Uncle Kev

This book is silly and unique.  The pictures are full of tiny funny details;  you could look at them for a long time.  The story line is rambling and crazy, full of silly poems and characters.

It is not run-of-the-mill.  I think kids would find it fun.

The font is like a hand written scrall.  Some of the notes in the story are in cursive, which is not easy for early readers to read.  I think kids will have fun reading/looking at this book.

The Secret Life of the Wolly Bear Caterpillar

This is a great science book for young children.  The pictures are large colorful simple paintings.  The information about the caterpillar is factual, but interesting.  There are scientific words that will be new to children, but they are explained both in words and pictures.  The end of the book has additional information that will help answer questions young readers may have, followed by an excellent glossary.

This book is a nice addition to our books on insects.

Big Pigs

Some similarities to the three little kittens, as the mother pig is very concerned that her naughty pigs are so muddy.  She is so concerned that she gives them all a reward for their terrific pig-like behavior.  Very wonderfully illustrated, charming picture book, suitable for a library or private collection.  Recommended.

Colin Kaepernick: NFL Phenom

Colin Kaepernick was a competitive child growing up and excelled at sports.  He got good grades in school and many awards for sports.  Both in college and the pros, Kaepernick has been a top-notch player.  This book will appeal mostly to reluctant readers, especially boys who love football.  Other than playing football, not much else is told about Kaepernick and his life outside of football.

Homestretch

Gaston, “Gas,” is devastated by the loss of his mother, who he believes was killed by an illegal alien in an auto accident. When Gas’s father begins drinking more and becomes physically abusive, Gas decides it is time to leave. He ends up in another state, working with a family of Mexicans – the people his father has taught him to hate. Gas finds out that the family he works with are more trustworthy than his new boss, who will do anything for money. This coming of age novel is fast-paced and will pull the most reluctant readers along for the ride. The characters aren’t fully developed, but Gas’s feeling ring true. NOTE: some language and ethnic slurs.

Falling for Hamlet

Ophelia is paparazzi fodder: she is the daughter of the King of Denmark’s adviser and the girlfriend of the King’s son, Hamlet. Her life is the epitome of today’s celebrity culture. When Hamlet’s dad dies unexpectedly and his mother marries his uncle Claudius, Hamlet begins to fall apart. The novel follows Shakespeare’s plot in great detail, which is not a good thing. It might have been better if this modern retelling was loosely based on the play and let go a little more. Shakespeare fans will be put off and those who have never read the original will miss some of the references and events. Girls who enjoy Lauren Conrad might enjoy this one.

My Unfair Godmother

After being forced to move in with her father and new step-family because her mother must travel with her actress little sister, Tansy thinks life is horribly unfair. Her father has never had enough time for her, and now she goes to great (and destructive) lengths to get his attention. When her new bad boy boyfriend abandons her after spray painting city hall, Tansy is picked up by police, meets a cute guy at the police station and is grounded to her room for life. Enter Chrissy – Chrysanthemum Everstart, Fairy Godmother in training. Unfortunately Chrissy hasn’t quite gotten the wish thing down, so all kinds of havoc ensues. While the plot (the retelling of Rumplestiltskin) strains the reader’s credulity, the characters are likable and the book is fun. Where other modern retellings of fairy tales circ well, this one should, too. Sequel to My Fair Godmother.

The Different Girl

In a dystopian future, where global warming has threatened resources and the religious right does not trust scientists and bullies want to wipe out education and replace it with the rule of might, four “girls” are being raised on a small tropical island to observe everything by two adults who are not their parents. One day they observe the remnants of a wrecked ship and find a girl who is different. May, the new girl, brings the outside world to their little haven.  You can guess how it proceeds from there.

The problem is, I didn’t care how it proceeded. I was not attached to the characters. The stereotypes were grossly exaggerated. There seemed to be no point to the novel at all. It was so slow that it was difficult to finish. I can’t imagine teens picking this up, let alone finishing it. Even science fiction fans would have little to interest them; there is almost no information about the “girls” or how they work.  This was a chore to read.

Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls is one of a series on Arctic animals by Julie Murray.  A small map of the Arctic Circle shows the many countries included in the snowy owls’ territory.  Backgrounds for photos are colorful and work well with the large, black font, except on a couple of dark blue pages, where the text is harder to read.  Physical descriptions define males, females, and chicks.  Facts on what they eat, behavior patterns, and habitat are beautifully presented on these birds who mate for life.  Still and action photos are captioned and many pages include Uncovered! text boxes with additional facts.  A final WOW! page concludes the book with other related details.  The glossary defines words highlighted on pages.  Index and an ABDO website finish this engaging 32 page book.

Komodo Dragon

Well-written text provides accurate information about this exceptional predator.  What type of animal the komodo dragon is, where they live, and what they eat is presented in a clear, easily read format.  Captioned, colorful photos and side boxes offer additional facts.  Web sites supplement pages with fascinating, additional material.  Captions not only offer more information, many share primary sources, and include questions to encourage deeper thinking.  Aligned to Common Core Standards, one is prompted to write reports or responses to observations made from the text.  Students will be drawn to this nonfiction book starting with the cover photo.  Teachers will see this as an excellent resource as a teaching tool for informational text.

Guantanamo Boy

Khalid, a fifteen year old from England, is on a trip to Karachi to visit family when he is mistaken for a terrorist and sent to Kandahar and then Guantanamo Bay. An innocent victim of the war on terror, he is held, interrogated and tortured for two years. This fictionalized story representing real situations illustrates the captives’ feelings of helplessness and boredom, the brutality and indifference of the jailors, and the consequences both intended and unintended of the war on terror. This story is riveting and will grab the attention of most teens. There is a timeline and discussion questions at the end that should prompt a lot of dialogue.

Getting Somewhere

Instead of serving time in juvie, four girls elect to enter a new correctional program. Each of the girls has some sort of history that makes them reluctant to trust. Working together helps the girls to slowly begin to open up to each other. However one of the girls tries to sabotage both the girls’ success and the entire program.

This could have been a compelling story about four girls bonding and coming to terms with their issues, however, the characters are not well-developed. Lauren, the girl who betrays the others, is unpleasant, vindictive and not a sympathetic character at all. Could have been much better than it was.

Better off Friends

Levi moves to the Midwest at the beginning of seventh grade and just hopes to fit in with the guys. When pretty girl Macallan is assigned to show him around, they immediately discover their love of British comedy and become fast friends. The book, looking back and told in alternating voices with a few present day comments thrown in, follows the pair through 11th grade and attempts to answer the question: Can boys and girls just be friends? While the pair seem to navigate more than a few ups and downs, jealousy sets in when they date others. Sweet, gentle – definitely a summer read.

Heather Fell In the Water

Wonderfully illustrated with watercolor, appropriate to the topic, this is a story about a little girl who is attracted to but afraid of the water.  Maybe for humor, the parents make Heather wear arm floaties any time she is near water, including visiting a farm with water wells and going to an art museum with a water exhibit.  The arm floaties help create a fear of the water that the parent then have to fix.  To the author’s credit, the parents do get into the pool with her for swim lessons.  Heather soon realizes she wasn’t attracted to water out of fear but out of love.  Making a pact with it, she says she’ll learn to swim.  Progressing quickly, the older Heather even joins a competitive swim team.  When she wins, all of their cheering makes them fall into the water together.  This small amount of humor helps send the message that kids need to become accustomed to the water and that water is fun!  An additional purchase unless your library doesn’t already have something on the subject.

Trouper

Trouper is a touching story of a black lab who is rescued from the pound.  Told from the dog’s point of view, readers learn that he ran with a pack of mutts until caught by an animal control worker.  The beautiful watercolor cover of this picture book gives hints of the emotional pull this story will have with readers, but the reason to make this a read aloud is to work with kids on the reading of the artwork.  The causal reader will be enjoying and predicting the storyline and then forced to re-read when they encounter the cover art’s page within the book 3/4 of the way through as the dog says “Before you found me, I thought all the kids were mean, though I dreamed each night I might find just one who didn’t mind so much my hairy stump, who liked the way I lean on those I love.”  The careful reader will have seen in the artwork that Trouper is missing a back leg, but this reader did not!  And first I went back to read only the text.  I then realized that the picture is worth all those words too!  What a great reminder for kids.  Or maybe they do this naturally and I am the one who needed the lesson.  Regardless, E.B. Lewis’s brushwork is extraordinary and deserves just as much attention as the text by Meg Kearney.  Trouper is a worthy addition to any library.

Snorkeling With Sea-Bots!

Kolten goes out into the water for some snorkeling fun.  What he discovers is an underwater city of hard working robots whose job it is to keep the ocean running smoothly.

I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading.  Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers.  The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.

I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words.  Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word.  Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.

Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers.  Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.

The Good, The Bad and The Monkeys

Jake has an unusual job of herding monkeys.  When monkey rustlers come and try to steal his “herd”, Jake acts responsibly to tend to his small group.

I feel comic books and graphic novels are a great way to draw reluctant readers into reading.  Comics Land stories I believe are trying to do just that – draw in reluctant readers.  The stories are brightly colored, easy to read and follow and are written with a touch of unexpected humor.

I like that the back matter includes a “word power” section where readers can check the glossary for unknown words.  Here they will also find a pronunciation guide as well as the meaning of the word.  Each book in this series also contains questions to aid in critical thinking skills, vocabulary scramble, word/picture match, find the hidden objects and a how to draw section.

Yes the story line does not hold much weight, but the beauty in these little gems (the Comics Land series that is) is that this format is highly appealing to young readers.  Beginning readers will gain confidence in their skills in a easy to access manner and learn along the way.

Triple H

Pro wrestling WWE fans this might be the book for you if you like a bad boy champion.

Triple H has gone by a few names on his way to the top: Terra Ryzing, Jean-Paul Levesque, The “Connecticut Blueblood”- Hunter Hearst Helmsley now shortened to Triple H, and his nickname – The Game. His real name is Paul Michael Levesque. He loved wrestling from an early age and started working towards it by first becoming a body builder. Then he moved on to wrestling, first with the IWF, then WCW, and finally with the WWE.

The book is set up for fans with more photos than text. The photos show the “intense competitor” Triple H is especially through glimpses of his facial expressions. Nine times the text is centered within the fist shaped hole of a shattered glass window, adding to the intensity.

 

Includes an eight item timeline of his life, an index, and glossary.