Gorgeous photographs illustrate this informative book on dolphins, written in Spanish.  These intelligent mammals are fast swimmers that hunt and play together.  Physical characteristics,  the life cycle, and habitats are explained.  This is a terrific resource for anyone looking to know more about this amazing animal with few enemies.

This book on ancient Egyptians, written in Spanish, is jam-packed with information and fascinating photos.  One can almost imagine life 4000 years ago.  There are many facts about pharaohs, the methods of preserving mummies, the construction of pyramids, and activities of these ancient peoples.  In the back are questions and with answers from Anna Garnett, an Egyptologist and expert on mummies, along with information concerning Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt, and Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome.  The layout is captivating and spectacular.

Gilbert Stuart painted portraits of several famous people, but capturing a pleasing likeness of President Washington was a challenge.  This book begins with a letter of apology from Charlotte, one of Stuart’s 12 children, promising Mr. Washington that she and her siblings would be better behaved the next time he came to the house for a portrait sitting.  The grim president sent them a book of Rules for Good Behavior for Boys and Girls – some of which are mentioned.  In another letter, Charlotte suggests he should smile as it would make him “very Nice”.  Stuart also unsuccessfully tried to have his children play away from home when Washington was there.  The book is filled with the children’s humorous antics – which finally elicited a smile from Washington.  Portrait accomplished!  There is an author’s note in the back.  Even though there is no record of the behaviors of Stuart’s children, this rendition presents a humanizing look at both Washington and Stuart.  The amusing illustrations are a colorful combination of ink, acrylic, and digital media.

Five, tired sheep wander home in this tale written in simple, soothing rhyme.  They settle down but cannot get to sleep until collie comes to tuck them in.  He gives hugs, drinks, a teddy bear, a quilt, and sings a lullaby until, one by one, each sheep falls asleep.  And what of collie?  He can be found taking a morning nap under a haystack.  The colored pencil illustrations are just as relaxing as the text.  A perfect end-of-day story for bedtime.

This simple rhyming book highlights many things children can do to make their dads happy.  The families are international, the dads are of various ages and abilities.  The one thing that makes all dads happy is a great, big hug.  Large, cheerful illustrations are a combination of acrylic and collage.

The 1800s was a challenging and changing time for our country.  Men and women were not expected to be friends and people with different skin color were not suppose to fraternize.  Susan B. Anthony had a privileged childhood, Frederick Douglass was a slave.  Despite their different backgrounds, both were vocal about their beliefs – liberty and justice for all: slavery should be abolished, women should have the same rights as men, everyone should be able to own land, go to college, and vote.  They gave speeches together, agreed and disagreed, and remained close friends for 45 years.  This book was extensively researched by both the author and the illustrator.  Beautiful illustrations accurately portray the volatile emotions and fashions of the time as well as the enduring strength of their friendship.  This would be a great discussion starter about the topics of  gender and equality.

Razia lives in Afghanistan and has a strong desire to go to school and learn to read.  She sees a new school being built in her community but needs to convince her father and brothers to allow her to go.  She begs her mother and grandfather to speak to them on her behalf.  Through the story and illustrations, one has a accurate impression of Razia’s life.  The artwork is impressive: muted colors, a collage of portraits, and photos of ordinary objects superimposed over images of life in a rural village.  The result is a realistic representation of Afghan life, traditions, and customs.  This story is inspired by Razia Jan, who was born in Afghanistan but moved to the United States as a young woman.  In 2001, she returned to Afghanistan to build a school for girls.  Included in the back: information about education around the world and Southern Asia, a short bio of Razia Jan, and a list of Dari words used in the text.

Alex loves soccer and desires to be on the Longhorn Lightning Jr. High soccer team.  Even though his past tryouts were poor, he has decided to try again.  Jake, a loud-mouth bully on the team, continually belittles and taunts Alex.  Errol is a new student from Scotland.  Errol has a strong accent, uses odd terms, and has a huge knowledge of the game.  He and Alex begin practicing together.  Errol stresses practice and teamwork and encourages Alex to keep pushing.  Sports action is exciting, the book is easy to read, and the story is fast paced.  The characters are two dimensional and the conclusion comes a bit quickly, but all-in-all this is a satisfying read for sports fans and reluctant readers.  Included are: a paragraph about the author, glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and additional soccer facts.

Interesting color photographs illustrate features of a variety of snakes.  Details of physical traits and behaviors are accompanied with humorous comments.  Both venomous snakes and constrictors are described.  There is a list of the top 10 snakes with the deadliest venom.  Attention-getting photos and facts are sure to captivate young readers.  Included with the glossary and index is a game and stickers.

Seven year old Lola’s grandmother is staying with her while her parents are on business trips.  In this second book of the series, Lola finds friendship and sharing friends to be quite a challenge.  Lola wants to dominate time with her best friend Amanda and does not want to share her with Jessie or Savannah.  Her jealousy tends to bring out bad behavior and misunderstanding among the girls.  Lola struggles to be a good friend but continually runs into complications.  The friendship issues continue during the class field trip to the Kookamut Farm.  Young children often experience the emotional roller coaster of relationships and may relate to Lola’s problems.  Expressive pen and ink drawings are on almost every page.

This 12th book in the Just Grace series has Grace trying to find a friend for the new crossing guard, Marie, enjoying their substitute teacher, and helping her best friend, Mimi, prepare for a craft fair.  As  usual, Grace includes humorous illustrations, lists, graphs, and side information with their own mini-titles.  Third grader Grace is energetic, frank, witty, and full of fun observations about school, family, and friends.  Although there are many books in the series, they do not need to be read in order to be enjoyed.  This series is great for those readers easing out of picture books looking for more of a story but not comfortable with the continuous text found in most chapter books.

Lizzie lives in the 19th century London slums with her drunk and abusive father.  A traveling circus comes to town and Lizzie escapes to find work there.  At the same time, a mysterious phantom thief has been robbing various homes in London.  Lizzie finds work assisting the fortune teller and begins to make friends and find acceptance.  As she works alongside the phony fortune teller, Lizzie discovers she has a true psychic gift.  She discovers clues that may uncover the phantom.  The action is fast, the characters and setting are realistic, and one is drawn in to the action and life of Victorian London.  This is book one in the series.  Readers will eagerly look forward to the sequels.

Abby and her brother, Jonah, have a magic mirror which allows them to enter fairy tales when the knock on it three times.  In this sixth adventure, Abby and Jonah follow their dog, Prince, through the mirror in the tale of the Snow Queen.  Many readers may unfamiliar with this fairy tale, but Abby relates details of the story as well as sharing the tidbit that it was the basis for the film, “Frozen”.  Prince has been frozen by the Snow Queen.  In order to rescue Prince, Abby and Jonah befriend characters from the tale and eventually confront the Snow Queen.  This is another entertaining, fractured fairy tale for “Whatever After” fans.

Fernie What lives across the street from the mysterious Gloom estate.  Gustav’s house is black and odd events take place there.  Fernie and Gustav are best friends.  In earlier books, Fernie’s mother is off filming adventure stories and her father and sister, Pearlie, were in Gustav’s home when they fell into a bottomless black pit leading to the Dark Country.  Gustav’s dad is also missing.  It is now up to Gustav and Fernie to find and rescue them from evil Lord Obsidian.  They discover a magical carousel in the basement which transports them to amazing, yet curious places.  They encounter strange beings that they must outwit in order to repair the carousel and continue on their quest.  Illustrations are all in shade of gray, after all, it is Shadowland!  This is the fourth adventure of Gustav and Fernie.  A quirky, yet interesting story line and strangely captivating.  Sure to attract fans of fantasy adventures.

Jules is a child star in a TV sitcom.  She is starting 3rd grade, has a new teacher, and is trying to figure out just how she fits into things.  School has lots of homework, friendships shift on her, and she is having difficulty with her TV character,  Jules’s personality is buoyant even when events start to drag her down.  The various obstacles she encounters with friends, family and school are realistic and her point of view is common to many third graders.  Chapters are labeled as “takes” and the black and white illustrations are humorous.  Jules includes many lists (similar to those in the Just Grace series) and the text is large and easy to read.

Written in journal form, ten year old Celie discloses her worries and opinions about friends and family.  She is confused about issues with her ex-best friend, her grandmother is exhibiting Alzheimer symptoms, and her older sister’s new friend is mean and snobbish.  Celie’s illustrations, entries, and taped-in notes and e-mails give readers the feeling they are actually reading a real diary.  Celie’s views and frustrations are realistic and will have wide appeal among grade school aged girls.  This is book 1 in a series.  Readers will be looking forward to more of Celie’s diaries.

Fans of Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series will also enjoy his Ricky Ricotta books.  Ricky is a mouse whose best friend is a huge, flying robot.  In this adventure, a Martian named Major Monkey plans to conquer Earth with his own gigantic mechanical monkeys.  Ricky and his robot are able to outwit Major Monkey and overcome the mecha-monkeys.  Also included are the “Flip-O-Rama” actions found in the Captain Underpants books.  Dan Santat illustrates this edition with large, colorful artwork.  This book was originally published in 2002, illustrated in black and white by Dav Pilkey.

Robert Irwin, son of the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, is the co-creator of this series.   In The Discovery, Robert finds a dinosaur fossil in the Australian outback.  He places it in the back pocket of his shorts while updating his reports.  As he stands, he feels a sharp jab and begins to feel dizzy.  When he awakes, he is no longer in the lab but back in the cretaceous age of the dinosaurs.  He gets an up-close and personal view of creatures that lived in prehistoric Australia.  It is one thing to watch dinosaurs hunt or stampede, quite another to be the item on the menu!  A mighty roar sends Robert back to the present day with a new knowledge of life millions of years ago.  Additional notes about the Australovenator dinosaur, prehistoric Australia and the Australian Museum of Natural History are included in the back.  This is a fun, fiction series for those interested in dinosaurs and Australia!

Since this book was originally published, Minerva Louise has appeared in a bouquet of friendly picture books.  In this introduction to the character, our hen interprets the sights within a house through the lens of her normal view outdoors.  A tricycle is a tractor.  A bedspread is a field of flowers.  Stoeke effortlessly depicts a friendly way to encounter newness.  The illustrations are framed in rough rectangles on white pages, and the text is written in a large font at the bottom of each page.  All of the objects are simply drawn, with easy lines and bright colors.  A practiced provider of group storytimes will wish each picture filled more of the page (to be more easily seen across a room), but lap-sharing children will enjoy the subtlety, as they get to discover each new misunderstanding.  Minerva Louise’s story is a classic in the most deserving sense.

Jennifer Strange has found herself the caretaker for a bunch of magicians.  Strange lives in an alternate world to our own: magic is mainstream – though fading – and the last dragon’s land is in danger of development.  Fforde builds an unexpected version of a magical world.  He integrates magic into a version of modern life, and considers the logistics of magic as known quantity.  Readers will enjoy the use of language, clever turns of phrase, and winks to the sides of the narrative.  Fforde invents some particularly endearing characters, such as the Quarkbeast (for who wouldn’t love a razor-sharp doggish creature?), and imparts wisdom about greed and corporate development, and finding one’s place in the world.  This title has broad appeal, and will find a few passionately rabid fans as well.