Plants are stationary, right? Plants Can’t Sit Still invites the reader to discover the many ways that plants move.  “Plants can creep.  They slither underground or crawl through tall grass searching for the things all plants need.” The descriptive language and bright pictures will intrigue young scientists and encourage them to explore the world around them.  For older students, focus on the descriptive verbs (easily identifiable with enlarged colored font) and personification.  The back matter provides more detailed information about the plants pictured in the book, a glossary, and a More Information section.

Starting with a description of the caterpillar’s body, this book continues with chapters on where to find caterpillars, their food, what they do, and a labeled diagram.  Simple text and colorful photos often with captions make this a good option for young readers.  Magnified images show the diversity and beauty of caterpillars.  Both academic and content vocabulary are bold in the text and defined in the glossary. Also contains a Table of Contents and an Index.

A good size for small hands to hold.

This book is part of the Survivors series, which are stories of bravery and survival at different times in history.

This particular story centers around Lily LeGrand, a Cajun girl in the mid 1800’s. She is a strong, feisty character, who overcomes the weakness of her deformed foot to save the rich plantation owner’s sons. Two of the boys are very unkind to her, but the third boy, Paul treats her as a friend and comes to her aid when the others torment her. As a result of his chivalry, his two brothers drag him into the alligator and snake infested swamp, planning to leave him there to teach him a lesson. Not only is his life in jeopardy, but his brothers become lost and are nearly killed by an alligator.

Cajuns are treated poorly in this time and place and they see little use in forming a search party for the lost plantation owner’s sons. But, Lily knows that Paul is a good person and strikes out alone to save him. In the process, she saves the others as well, gaining their respect and apologies.

This is a fast-paced story that will entertain young readers, while they are immersed in the lives of kids who lived over 150 years ago. Recommended.

A pun-filled book that begins with a rainy day recess show-and-tell is sure to make students gasp and giggle as they turn the pages.

Some of the puns might be a little over the readers’ heads (“that’s cheesy…Limburger” or”that’s gross…144 items”). But overall, it’s a humorous take on some come comments that might otherwise get one in trouble.

The illustrations fit the text nicely. They are clear and well-defined. Use this book when you are teaching a unit on humorous writing.

A Newbery Honor poet partners with a Caldecott artist to produce an illustrated poem written as an invocation – this is truly a powerful combination.
This is a book that needs to be examined and studied several times through. Each time, new details are discovered that further illustrate the short, but dramatic, poem and add depth to the simple and effective words.
The tone is quiet and contemplative. The illustrations are very well-done and can lead to a conversation about the method of scratchboard art, with its intricate details and mostly black and white colors.
This is a quiet, flowing book which should be savored and enjoyed fully – don’t hurry through it!

Fuddles has a perfect life until Puddles (you can guess the reason for his name), the puppy, enters his life. Fuddles is no longer the king of his domain – there is a messy, loud canine there to ruin his day. But, Fuddles changes his opinion of Puddles after a near-disaster with the neighbor dog.

Pictures convey the absolute disgust and disdain that Fuddles has for Puddles. The text is accessible and children will laugh out loud at the cat’s inability to escape the puppy’s slobbery kisses and adoration!

This is an extremely well thought out and organized book directed at kids and teenagers who tend to be quiet or introverted.  This reviewer tends to be quiet, but always in the middle of introversion versus extroversion, since I love crowds and lots of activity.  I wish I had had this book when I was a very quiet teenager, afraid to speak up in class.  One example of this advice is in Chapter 14, The Restorative Niche, which describes people who need to have alone time and how to create a space where they can go to recharge their batteries.  This was helpful for me as a parent, especially since I don’t need this as much as some of my children.

Each chapter presents different characters in everyday scenarios with their varying personalities and needs.  The author then goes on to show how these characters were able to overcome difficulties and be powerful.  At the end of every chapter, there is practical advice on how to deal with these situations. Most chapters also have a cartoonish infograph to make it light in its topics, such as finding a way to leave a party when uncomfortable.  

This is a book that one can read only a few chapters, picking and choosing, and still get a lot out of this book; although I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover.  My favorite chapter was Chapter 12, Changing the World the Quiet Way as it is helpful for Girl Scouts who are looking for Gold Award projects or Boy Scouts looking for Eagle Scout projects.  I highly recommend this book for students, introverts, parents, and teachers.

-Sherrie Barrett for Capital High School Library

We Know It Was You‘s intensity right at the beginning hooked this reader.  Someone was definitely  a psychopath!  We’re not talking blood and guts– this killer in this  works on an emotional level. Formatted as a detective’s log book with dates and times rather than chapters, this is a murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns.  As part of  the initial shock of an opening, readers meet Benny Flax, a nerd who attends the private Winship Academy in Atlanta.  Benny had started a club years prior where he investigates unusual events in the school.  The only other member of his club is Virginia.  While he wants to solve mysteries, she just wants to be part of them.  Throughout the story, these two will work as foils for each other until the mystery is solved.  While Benny and Virginia are as innocent as can be, readers need to be aware that there are definitely upper high school/adult content to the point where there were times this reader felt uncomfortable and wondered the purpose of the talk about sex and body parts.  It did not help the plot at all.  Because of this, a novel that could have been a starred recommendation dropped significantly to just an additional purchase and not really recommended.

A double homicide upsets the quiet Swedish village of Blackwater. The residents are left dealing with finding the murderer while dealing with their own personal issues. The two main characters, Annie Raft and Johann Brandberg, face communes and cults while coping with their issues of isolation and fear which is the main theme of the novel.

In this adult book, while the writing is very pretty, the plot is very confusing; the point-of-view was messy. The novel is translated from Swedish. There was character development, but it was lost in the flip-flopping of the characters’ stories. The reader’s full attention is required and multiple readings might be necessary in order to fully understand the plot development.
Final verdict: It is an interesting book, but, will leave the reader more confused than satisfied.

— Faith E.

This dystopian novel takes place after the Seventeen Days of destruction. Eliza, the second princess of England, must find her captured brother and sister and stop the man who killed her mother. Eliza, pretending to be one of “the evil people” sees how they evil people fight and rule. Thus, educating her to become more passionate for the people and the crown.

If you are looking for a literary read, this is not the book. However, if you are looking for an engaging, fun, fast-paced read, this is your book. Teens will be able to relate to the characters especially Eliza, who depicts a strong heroine, and her younger brother, who is a symbol for freedom and growing up. There are some very fun plot twists. The romance between Eliza and Wesley seems a bit unnecessary. The end is very powerful, but some of the impact of the ending is lost when the reader realizes that there will be a second book. This book is smartly-written and readers will enjoy the wild ride.

— Faith E.

An active boy named Scribble and his imaginary friend, a bird named Buttonhole share many things. As they talk and ask questions about the world around them, some of the answers Buttonhole shares are thoughtless stereotypes. “Elephants bang into things and are rude and loud.  They trumpet,” says Buttonhole.  Scribble greets the arrival of Dash, a quiet polite elephant who likes ballet with a smile, but Buttonhole is not so welcoming.  Only when Buttonhole and Dash realize that dancing is like flying do they join together in play.  Scribble and his friends then happily dance through the house on adventures;  The bath is a sea, the legs of a table a forest, and the couch becomes a mountain.

The quirky illustrations give the story a feeling of motion.  Grump the cat appears on each page with grouchy commentary distracting at times from the story line while in others focusing attention on the feelings of the characters.

An Australian import.

Cricket Song is an invitation to listen to the world around us.  A child falls asleep to the song of crickets.  The cricket’s song mingles with the “kreck” of frogs and leads to the poorwill and the fox.  The sounds of one creature leads to another until the story spans the water to another land where another child also dozes to the song of crickets.  The lyrical text flows smoothly from page to page, filled with examples of onomatopoeia.

Beautiful pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations lend the story a soothing feel.  The picture at the bottom of each page shows the two children’s’ houses on either side of the water.  Minute changes in the image from page to page shows the progress of the day yet at the same time unifying the characters and events in the story.

Together the text and images portray the diversity of the world around us as well as the sameness of our human experience.

Mr Pip, a monkey and Frederick, the famous actor are best friends.  On his birthday, Frederick receives numerous outrageous gifts from people all over the world, but is unable to enjoy any of them because Mr. Pip is clearly unhappy. Worried about Mr. Pip, Frederick takes him to vets all over the city.  When none of them can help Mr. Pip, Frederick leaves Mr. Pip with the Guild of Geniuses to determine why he isn’t happy.  After a week and many unsuccessful quirky solutions, Frederick returns to find Mr. Pip is still unhappy.  It turns out all Mr. Pip needed was a chance to present Frederick with his birthday present and the chance to spend some time together.  A rather awkward story, though amusing at times.

Nukappia lives with his adoptive parents in Ottawa, but spends his summers with his biological family in an Arctic Inuit village in northern Nunavut.   The story begins as Nukappia rises from a sleepless night at his Uncle’s house in town.  His uncle Angu will walk him to his grandparent’s annual camp along the shoreline.  As they walk, the reader experiences the Arctic through the eyes of the Inuit.  The dried seaweed can be a delicious soup or used in medicine, catching fish using a weir with kakivaks (traditional fishing spears) and digging for clams and jigging for sculpin through the ice.  As Uncle Angu shares his knowledge that “almost everything that can be found on the shoreline is useful as either a medicine, food, or helpful tool,” Nukappia’s excitement grows for their arrival in the camp.  His greeting with his entire northern family fills him with happiness.

Glossary of Arctic Plants and Animals includes Inuit, English and scientific names, photograph, description, and Inuit traditional uses.  Glossary of Landforms and Tools Used on the Shoreline include illustrations and descriptions.

Suffer Love, Ashley Herring Blake’s debut novel, will appeal to readers who enjoyed John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars or Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything. The main characters, Hadley and Samuel (Sam) have the same attraction-with-a-complication, although in this case the complication is not medical. Sam’s mother had an affair with Hadley’s father. Sam realizes who Ashley is long before Ashley makes the connection. Sam’s decision not to share that information provides much of the tension throughout the novel.

The novel is told from alternating points of view, which is occasionally disorienting. It’s helpful that each chapter is titled with the name of the character from whose point of view that chapter is told. There is a good deal of vulgar language. Sadly, though, the characters seem to use profanity as casually  and unconsciously as many high schoolers do today.

This book is told through the eyes of young Rosa who lives on the lower Baja Peninsula with her family. Rosa tells her followers about Mexico being in North America with beaches, deserts, rain forests, and mountain ranges. Rosa’a parents take tourists on whale watching tours. Rosa goes to school after a breakfast of fried eggs, beans, and sauce on a tortilla. In school “we are learning about archaeology (say: ark-ay-AHL-oh-jee), which is the study of ancient cultures. There are many places in Mexico where the remains of ancient cities still stand.” Her school is taught in Spanish in the morning and in English in the afternoon.  In history, they learn about the Olmec, Mayans, Aztecs, Europeans explorers and conquerors. People “fought many battles with Spain… won their freedom in 1812… became Mexico!”

Lunch is the big meal of the day. There are after school programs for children while their parents go back to work.

Rosa likes the November holiday the Day of the Dead.

Rosa’s family eat a light supper before she goes to bed.

The first page of this book is a glossary of eleven entries. The last page is “ALL ABOUT MEXICO” which includes: the official name of the country, population, capital, official language, total area, government, currency, fun facts, and flag.

This book does not have a table of contents or an index.

This is a super quick overview of China for young readers. I was pleasantly amazed at how much information there was packed into these brief 32 pages! In 32 pages the book breaks China up into four regions: North, West, South, and East.  The North has the Gobi Desert, the West has the Himalayan Mountains, the South has the rain forests, and the East has the majority of large cities, such as, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Xi’an, and Beijing.

The book is introduced by a young Chinese boy telling the reader about his home country of China. His name is Jin. He lives in Hangzhou with his mother – who works at a bank, his father- -who works for a power company, and his Aunt Jun- who has come to the city looking for work.  The reader follows Jin on a typical day, starting with a breakfast of noodles with eggs. Then, off to school. Jin learns about the 40,000 years of China’s history. It includes a brief line or two about the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties, along with the Mongol’s invasion, and the 1912 rebellion against the emperor. “My favorite part of history is learning about all of China’s great inventions. The Chinese are credited with inventing paper, printing, silk, and fireworks.” After lunch, they study science about the dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert.   They, also, study English, computer, art, music, and gym on various days. After school, dad picks Jin up for a snack. Jin is excited about tomorrow’s Dragon Boat Festival. The book closes with Jin’s family eating dinner.

The first page of this book is a glossary of fourteen entries. The last page is “ALL ABOUT CHINA” which includes: the official name of the country, population, capital, official language, total area, government, currency, fun facts, and flag.

Does not contain an index and table of contents.

What’s not to love about Mr. Putter & Tabby? Cynthia Rylant writes another lovely book about dear old Mr. Putter and his companion, Tabby (who is old as well!). Arthur Howard adds his signature illustrations and we are off on an adventure with our friends, Mr. Putter & Tabby!

In this book, Mr. Putter becomes restless as winter sets in – his garden is under snow as is his hammock. He and Tabby need some fun and he reminisces about his childhood days of sledding and outdoor play. So, he contacts his good friend, Mrs. Teaberry, and her dog, Zeke. They are always up for an adventure and usually have the gear with which to do it!

They meet up with Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke and have a lovely, exhilarating time sledding. Tabby isn’t as excited as Mr. Putter, but they both enjoy a warm bath, muffins and cream and nap afterwards!

This book is a moving historical novel told in free verse poems. The use of second person voice is an approach that draws in the reader and and one feels like a part of the pilots’ story. There are few books about the Tuskagee Airmen that are accessible to younger readers and this book does a masterful job of imparting the history and emotion of those historical moments.

These incredible men fought in two wars, World War II and the war on prejudice at home. They fought with dignity, integrity and great sense of pride in their chosen path.

The accompanying scratchboard illustrations in black and white are stark and vivid. They add just the right touch to the power of the written words.

A timeline and added resources are welcome additions, which students will absorb with great interest. This book will lead to some phenomenal discussions and reports! Highly Recommended.

This title is #4 in the DATA Set series. It is an early chapter book and can be considered science fiction.

Gabe, Laura and Cesar are the brainy group of friends that make up the DATA Set of their school. In this book, the students are challenged by their science teacher, Mrs. Bell, to build robots that would make life better. The friends are up to the task and with the aid of their friend, wacky scientist Dr. Bunson, they perfect their robots.

But, chaos reigns, on presentation day, when the robots malfunction and take over the school. The DATA Set and their new classmate, Olive, need to save the day!

The story is a fun read with diverse characters and a science theme, which will be welcome in schools, given the current STEAM emphasis. Verdict: Add it to your collection. There are very few early science fiction chapter books and this fill this niche.

This title is a follow-up to Rosie’s Walk and Pat Hutchins has done an excellent job with our friend, Rosie!

Rosie has laid an egg and it hatches when her back is turned. She looks all over and her chick, with part of the egg shell on its head, is right behind her. Rosie finally turns to greet her chick when her friend all shout “Behind you!”.

Children will delight in pointing out the chick behind Rosie on each two page spread. Great discussions will follow about the ‘near misses’ of the chick as it passes a cat, a fox and other hazards. Familiar illustrations and a fun story – buy it!

This title is part of an early chapter book series under the Branches division of Scholastic. Tooth Bandit is the second book in the Stella and Night Sprites series.

Stella can see sprites and fairies with her glasses and her adventures with them are chronicled in this series. In Tooth Bandits, Stella discovers that sprites are taking coins that the Tooth Fairies leave under children’s pillows. They use the coins to decorate their scooters. she hears all of this from a shy night sprite called Piper, who she catches trying to swap a paper clip for Stella’s coin. Stella shows Piper and the other sprites how to decorate their scooters with glitter, sequins and stickers, thereby saving future coins from possible thievery. She also helps shy Piper make friends with the other sprites.

While the language is very appropriate for the target audience and the illustrations are well done, the story will appeal to a small group of readers who might be really excited by fairies. The story drags a bit and the reader may wish for less sweetness and more excitement. Make this an extra choice.

Billy is a boy like any other except he wants to be a cheerleader.  No one seems to understand.  His family questions him and the kids at school laugh at him.  But Billy practiced and practiced on his own.  On the day of the big game, he cartwheeled, jumped, smiled and yelled.  And the crowd went wild.  The book closes by restating all the characteristic that make Billy a “boy” and then reaffirming he is also a cheerleader.  Text is simple with dialogue appearing in speech bubbles.  Illustrations are colorful and support the text.  The book introduces the concept of gender identity without clearly stating it.

Arms and hands are part of your body.  Your arms can lift and bend and your hands can touch and pick things up.  This simple text introduces the reader to body parts including how they work together and how they are similar to some animal body parts.  The book ends with a labeled diagram of the arm and hand.  Labeled parts include wrist, forearm, and biceps that are not mentioned in the text.  Includes table of contents, illustrated glossary, index, and link to crafts, games, videos and more.  The linked text and images on the Abdokids.com site support the text, but the external links are not age appropriate.

Jess is feeling very sad because it’s her birthday and she is missing her parents. She hasn’t even received her birthday present in the mail!
In order to cheer Jess up, Ella and her friends plan to make a magical glitter bomb as a birthday surprise. However, Ella does not stick to the recipe and adds extra of the special ingredient just to be sure it goes off, sending a glittery message into the air. Unfortunately, when Ella delivered the special surprise, it went off with such force, it broke a priceless statue at the academy! Ella is sure she will be expelled, until the guardian angels realize a bird has hidden the missing mail and Jess’ birthday present in the statue!! This story is filled with cute, adventurous characters that readers will fall in love with. This is the second book of the Angel Wings series.