This book comes from a Kid Racer series. This book is all about snowmobiling, racing and all that goes into it. Upon looking at the table of contents, I found it to be a bit overwhelming! There are 20 chapters! I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book and really think that the average 4th or 5th grade boy will get enjoyment out of it. It does have a lot of information, but also has great photos and extra information boxes that will hold the reader’s interest. The book starts out talking about racing, snowmobile history and  different manufacturers. The book also discusses the different kinds of machines, how they are built and raced, safety, some well known names in the industry and how this can be a family sport. With appealing photos and set up, this is a great addition for some of those reluctant boy readers.

This book is from the Blastoff Readers! in the life cycle series. This book follows ladybugs as they transform from eggs to adults. Start with an explanation of ladybugs, it then explains the egg, larva, pupa and adult stage. With easy to read and understand text and amazing photographs, this is a great book. I guess I had never thought about how a ladybug becomes a ladybug and this book does a great job teaching the life cycle.

The story of Mathew Brady’s life is an important addition to school libraries because photographs taken by Brady and his staff are history’s major record of the Civil War.  This biography, by Don Nardo, is full of photos, from the Lincoln portrait that is the model for the Lincoln penny, to his battlefield photos of the dead at Antietam used by Ken Burns in his Civil War series.

This is a great biography for middle school students as there’s plenty of action in Brady’s life.  Filled with new shops, new ideas, and fast-paced life, New York City was as young and ambitious as Brady when he moved there around 1839.  He opened a business making cases for surgical instruments, but found out that his cases worked well for photographic equipment, and he soon became interested in this new art.

By 1861, his studio was swamped with Union soldiers having their portrait taken before heading to the battlefields of the Civil War. Seeing an opportunity, Brady put darkrooms on wheels, and he and his assistants were off to follow the action.

As an old man, Brady observed that he’d been in the right place at the right time, and with stories from that of the falling skylight that barely missed General U.S. Grant as Brady was making his portrait, to the insider’s view of Brady’s battlefield darkroom, this is a well-told story of a memorable life.

A chronology, chapter notes, further reading, and internet addresses will help serious researchers.  The web sites include many of Brady’s  photos.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.

All the scouts in Sylvia’s pig scout troop had to do a good deed to earn their next badge.  Sylvia wanted to help her neighbor who twisted her leg. Unfortunately, Sylvia had to stay away because she was too clumsy. Sylvia couldn’t give up that easy. She dressed up as different people delivering food, chocolate, a painting, and a book so the neighbor could rest easy. However, Sylvia could not reveal her secret to the troop because she was told to stay away from the neighbor.  However, the neighbor showed up to the troop meeting praising Sylvia’s good deed which allowed Sylvia to get her badge.

This  23 page book contains 6 stories telling of specific ghost and alien sightings ranging from the year 1718 to modern day.  Each story is written with simple vocabulary and has 7-14 sentences.  Photos or illustrations accompany each page spread.  Some stories have a “Fact or Fiction” page questioning the authenticity of the account. There are reference pages including a table of contents, glossary, read more, internet sites and index.

This 32 page book has approximately three sentences of text, a color photograph and a fact box which contains a fact or vocabulary word and definition.  Four main topics are covered. The first is about death and the questions that need to be answered about each death.  The second is about procedures done on the scene, such as looking for clues, taking photographs and blood samples. The third is about procedures once the body is in the lab including all the jobs of the medical examiner. The fourth is about determining the official cause of death and filing charges , if necessary.  This book contains a table of contents, glossary, read more and internet sites page, and index.

Bella has a stuffed bear named Arthur that can protect her from monsters, dragons, slugs, and shadows. One night Arthur shows up missing and Bella has a hard time sleeping. Then, Bella finds Arthur in her baby brother’s crib and takes Arthur from him…until she sees his worried face. She then realizes that her brother needs Arthur more than she does, and she finds inner strength to ward off all monsters.