There’s nothing especially compelling about either the writing or the illustrations for this early chapter book (really still a picture book, but broken into token chapters).  But it does have a good message reminding children not to get too caught up in competition, but to put priority on friendship and being proud of our work, regardless of how it compares to that of others.

I’m certainly glad I didn’t waste any money on this book, and assuming it is an example of the rest of the series, I certainly won’t be buying any others in this series.  I’m not even sure I want to put this on my shelves for free.  The story is flat and pedantic.  The text is stilted and choppy.  It’s not even easily decodable, which sometimes excuses other stilted, choppy writing.  Our students need books that provide examples of rich, fluent language and compelling stories. I don’t see any redeeming qualities here.

A beautiful celebration of all the dreams inside us all.  The illustrations are fanciful, in fitting with the topic.  The text reminds us all that no matter what the world is demanding of us on the outside, we all hold the power to escape into our daydreams.  It also recognizes that within us we can hold many different kinds of dreams.  It concludes by asking the reader what kind of a happy dreamer are you? And then opens up a double-fold-out spread illustrating two dozen different kinds of happy and different kinds of dreams.

A really approachable and informative non-fiction picture book that I think has a wide grade-range of appeal.  The illustrations are cartoonish enough to be inviting, but still do a good job of providing the reader with a visual context for the time period.  The text is written with a chatty voice that makes it approachable for both the curious elementary student who has heard of this Shakespeare guy right through to the high school student reluctantly struggling through a Shakespeare class.  The book is designed so that the paragraphs on the left of each two-page spread describes the life and times of the great playwright, bolding specific words which were used by the bard himself.  On the right is an inset providing the definitions of these bolded words and phrases still common today, while also linking them to the original Shakespearean usage.

Fans of MY LITTLE PONY will enjoy this visually graphic read about The Equestria Super Chef Competition which Pinkie Pie wants to win and how Applejack is mistakenly entered into the event.

Pinkie Pie gets stage fright once the spotlight is on her and Applejack is trying to explain she is not who they think she is.

Once Pinkie Pie and Applejack realize Toffee Truffle wants to win so she can reopen her town’s only restaurant, they try to loose, to help her out. Toffee states, ” ‘ I don’t want you to LET me win. I want to BEAT you fair and square…’ ”

Toffee wins the dessert round on her own merit just as Marine Sandwich tries to take revenge on Applejack for impersonating her.

Cute, play on words, with real emotions and feelings.

Even though I have not read books 1-4, this was a good read. It helped to have a synopsis on the title page.

Danny went to the mansion to help his deceased grandpa. Danny is now trapped inside the mansion and needs to get out. He achieves this by jumping out of a window into a cemetery , a long way down. Once outside the mansion, the ghostly captain’s curse is broken, allowing all of the other ghosts to leave the mansion. The captain now plans to pillage New Orleans. The captain wants Danny to help him find the treasure that was supposed to have been inside the mansion, but was not there.

Danny “let [his fear] drive and motivate [him] instead of control [him]” when he jumped from the window, freeing all of the other ghosts. When captain rethreatens Danny and the ghosts, the ghostly bride Constance throws a battle ax at the captain ending him.

“The mansion itself is the treasure…but he was so obsessed with being rich that the captain never saw that.”

Grandpa reintroduces Danny to his ghost grandmother, before they  leave to haunt the world. Then Danny returns home and helps his parents grieve together as a family, instead of separately.

Thanks to the synopsis on the title page this book could be enjoyed by itself, but I am now wondering what lies inside the first four books.

This book “celebrates some of the thousands of mammals that never get seen or talked about even though they are every bit as amazing or weird or beautiful as their overexposed cousins.”  This book shines the limelight on some of the alternative mammals out there.  Among the interesting animals included in this book are one of the few poisonous mammals, an armadillo that plugs it’s burrow with its armored back end, a weasel-like creature that stinkier than a skunk, an underwater mole with a snorkel-like nose, a krill eating seal, and round eared rabbit-like creature.  For each of the 25 mammals highlighted in this book, there is a narrative description of what makes them interesting, illustrations, a map and basic facts about size, diet, habitat, and endangered status.  The illustrations are a bit cartoon-like, giving the animals personality.

Table of Contents incudes mini-portraits of each animal. Includes a large, partially illustrated Glossary.

Book #3 finds Nate and Patrice riding their bicycles, with the peashooters and squash, being chased by zombies. They are surrounded until Uncle Dave drives up and over some of the zombies. Uncle Dave will take Nate and Patrice to the mansion to start the wind machine, which will blow away the BIG cloud from the city, and thus energize the plants.

When Nate and Patrice get to the mansion the zombies are already there. They get through the zombies to start the machine, but not without a struggle.

The plants are winning until “Zomboss” takes charge. Nate ans Patrice flee. Uncle Dave shows up in a wooden fire-breathing T. Rex sending the zombies  and Zomboss  on the run.

“Citizens of Neighborville,

Your continued antagonism against our rightful claim on your city and brains is noted. Action will be taken at another time.       Sincerely,

Dr. Edgar Zomboss”

Considering this is book 3, and a conclusion of this series, it is a little lean on plot.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the camel. The habitat section includes a map of the Eastern Hemisphere.  Glossary terms are in red.  The way the glossary term ruminants is used in the text leads the reader to believe that it means “eats lots of food at once.” Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the camel’s height as shorter than a door and its weight as the same as a soda machine.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the orangutan. The habitat section includes a map of Southeast Asia.  Glossary terms are in red.  Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the orangutan’s height as shorter than a door and its weight as heavier than a toilet.  The former comparison has a difference of over 2 feet and the later comparison does not relate to something students experience as moveable.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the alligator. The habitat section includes a map.  Glossary terms are in red.  Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the alligator’s length to a sofa and its weight to a soda machine.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

This modern fairy tale, third in the series, is a whimsical story of magic and charm. It describes the origin of the character, Jack Frost. He is known as Nightlight, sworn to protect the Man in the Moon and light his way. But when the Nightmare King attacks, Nightlight brings him down with a price of losing his thoughts and his name. He awakens many years later as Jackson Frost, “an icy boy . . . whose slightest breath or touch brought spirals of frost.” Cold and lonely, he flies aimlessly until he encounters children in need and remembers his earlier oath to guide and protect, and finds renewed purpose watching over the children of Earth. The illustrations are magical with an intensity that feeds curiosity.

This is a very silly book about a donkey and a yam arguing about proper pronunciation and grammar. The donkey is oblivious to his misuse of the words, “is,” “am,” and “are.” The yam grows continually more irritated and finally gives the donkey a lecture about proper verb conjugation, only to finally be eaten by the donkey at the end of the book. Children will be amused by the comic-book style speech bubbles and highly expressive characters.

This is an artistic look into the life of a young boy and his dog who run a morning paper route. The lyrical prose set against the vivid paintings present a highly nostalgic view of what used to be many young men’s early morning routine, before the shift toward digital news. Children will find the illustrations visually stimulating, and parents may enjoy the calming tone of this lullaby-like tale.