Ben’s favorite stuffed giraffe disappears one day, but sends a series of postcards telling about his travels, before returning just in time for Ben’s birthday.  I wish it mentioned specific places Raf traveled to, so as to provide readers with geographical context.  The only real humor comes when Ben is described as having to sleep all alone, without Raf, while the illustration shows a whole pile of other stuffed animals.  It’s fine, I suppose, but there’s not really much to make it wonderful.

The page layouts are clean and crisp, with one project per 2-page spread.  Projects use simple materials easily available.  The instructions are written in text suitable for children to be able to follow them independently, well-supported with step-by-step photos.  Vocabulary blurbs are added within the context of the project that illustrate them.  The final project combines techniques introduced in all the others.  My one criticism of the book (common among many craft books) is that the projects in the illustrations look like they were completed by grown-ups pretending to be kids — I worry that children will be disappointed if their own efforts do not produce such perfect results.

A basic weather book explaining thunderstorms, this book will be useful to teachers, but does not offer much to bring it to the attention or interest of recreational readers.  It is adequate if you are in need of some materials to support your science curriculum, but I’m not sure you couldn’t find better.

Eh.  It’s got a strong binding and all the necessary non-fiction features to serve as teaching tool, but it is boring and preachy, and is not likely to have much of an audience for general recreational reading. There are other tools that teach non-fiction reading and friendship better.

This wordless book tells of a girl getting on on a subway train with her parents.  While all the other adults are occupied (reading, sleeping, etc.) the girl watches out the window, noticing when they come out of  a tunnel into a sunlit hillside with lots of little people flagging down the train.  She follows, serving to rescue one of the little people and his plane which had been caught in a tree.  They follow her home and offer in thanks a small plant which grows into a large tree in her urban neighborhood.  The book’s bright, graphic illustrations invite the reader into studying the plot they portray.  It can be a useful tool for oral language development with young readers and a writing prompt for older students.

Fabulous full-page color photos support a couple of simple sentences of text (in both English & Spanish) on the opposite page.  This is a popular topic that holds automatic appeal for young readers, and the information included is both interesting and accessible to beginning readers and language learners.  As with all the books in this series, it’s got a strong and shiny binding that adds to its appeal.

In rhyming text a whole assortment of baby animals ask their mamas whether they’ll still love them and do all the same things when new babies come, and each mama replies, “of course,” calming fears and giving assurances.  It definitely has a very specific target audience and purpose (kids with pregnant moms who need reassuring), and it does a sweet job of fulfilling that purpose if you don’t already have something to fill that niche, but it doesn’t have wide reading appeal.

A sentimental, sweet, and touching story told from the perspective of a small teddy bear who shows patience and perseverance through much rough play in order to win a place in the heart of his young boy.  He wins the boy’s heart and stays with him until the boy is grown, at which point the once-boy shares his beloved bear with another child in his role on a rescue squad.

Cute water-color illustrations help tell this rhyming story of a four-year-old who becomes friends with all the animals in the zoo.  Disturbed by their confinement behind bars, she decides to set them all free one night and invite them to live at her house.  Of course this arrangement creates problems too, but her bold initiative spurs the zookeeper into upgrading their home.  One problem for American readers:  because it was originally published in Great Britain, the rhyme is thrown off a bit for our pronunciation at times (door-saw?).

This book is full of heart.  I don’t know much about the history of baseball (in fact, I had never heard of Honus Wagner, this turn-of-the-twentieth-century ball player who was one of the first players inducted into the Hall of Fame).  But now I’m a fan.  His story from poor, homely, son-of-immigrants coal miner to well-loved baseball star seems like the epitome of the American dream.  Illustrations capture the era and the mood of the story beautifully.

I love this book! I promptly bought it for my first-grade niece for Christmas and recommended it to several friends.  The illustrations are fun, and the rhyming, rhythmical text carries a great message:  it celebrates all the things a girl can do, even while delighting in wearing a sparkly crown, including getting dirty, playing sports, and using power tools.  It simply broadens the view of what it can mean to be a princess.

Designed for beginning readers and language learners, this bilingual books shares very basic information about ballet.  A few simple sentences on each page are accompanied by full-page color photos supporting the text with images of diverse dancers.  It includes all the appropriate non-fiction text features for teaching purposes, it is a high-interest topic attractive enough to appeal to recreational readers, and it has enough structure to make the information accessible to emergent readers and language learners.

This sweet story begins when Santa returns from making his annual deliveries with one little kitten left over.  Like a child asking his mom, Santa asks Mrs. Clause, “Can we keep him?”  Unfortunately Mrs. Clause is left to be the voice of reason, reminding Santa of his allergies.  When Santa goes to review his letters, the romping kitten discovers one last lost letter under the desk.  In a neat and tidy Christmas ending, the problem of finding the kitten a home and the problem of finding a last-minute gift for the child who sent the letter are mutually resolved to the delight of both kitten and child.  Admittedly schmaltzy, sappy, and sentimental, it might have only ranked as an additional purchase, except sap and schmaltz is just what the Christmas season calls for, and besides, the illustrations do such a wonderful job of capturing the expressions of the characters, that it gets the final nudge into “Recommended.”

From the opening pages, the reader experiences the sharp contrast between 17 year old Delilan and her workaholic, unemotional, always in charge mother. Unjustifiably labeled as a troublemaking teenager, Delilah struggles with memories of  her childhood, years of loneliness she experienced as a latch key kid, and the ‘what if’s’ of the father she never knew.

Unexpectedly called back to her mother’s home town by the death of Delilah’s  grandmother from whom her mother has been estranged for eight years, Delilah re-enters a world she has longed for. Upon arriving back to the lake house in rural Vermont, Delilah is full of questions that her mother and aunt will not answer: Why did her mom and aunt and Grandma get in a huge fight on the dad of her Grandpa’s funeral?’ Why didn’t her Grandma ever try to get in contact with her?

Adding to the suspense is the mystery of her youngest aunt’s death at the age of 19, less than a year before Delilah was born.  Why won’t her mother, aunt or other family friends tell her the details of what happened to Aunt Stephanie? Why doesn’t anyone have her diary, and why are there no photos of her?

While helping her mother and aunt with estate sale and funeral preparations, Delilah reconnects with her childhood friend who lives in the house next door to her grandmother. This childhood friend, who she hasn’t seen or talked to in eight years, is now a handsome 18 yr. old young man.

The story of their rekindled friendship, her rebuilding of her relationship with her aunt, and the search for answers to the mysteries of the family history makes this an intriguing and compelling book.

This is a well written book, with characters and situations that teens and adults alike can relate to.

This book, written and published in Canada, tells how to recognize, share, and enjoy public spaces.  Because it’s a book for young people, it addresses the need kids have for spaces to hang out, visit friends, ride bikes, and play Frisbee.

The author admits that kids who are “just hanging out” aren’t always popular in cities or parks, and often for good reason.  Her tips for becoming good neighbors include getting in touch with local government to learn the rules for a park or plaza, and how to advocate for change if you feel that the rules aren’t fair.  Some examples of successful projects, like a skateboard park, are included.

From city planners to “guerrilla gardeners,” to examples of notable public areas in other countries, there is a lot of information in the book’s 80 pages.  A glossary helps to understand unfamiliar words, and Marc Ngui’s realistic drawings throughout are exceptional.

Apparently this book is an adaptation of a musical stage production which in turn is an adaptation of the classic ballet.  The CD included begins by reading the book aloud, and also includes songs from the musical.  I don’t know that I’m much of a fan of the music (though maybe it would be better in context), but I quite enjoyed all aspects of the book: story, illustrations, and audio, too.  One probably has to be familiar with the original story to appreciate this modern twist with a male protagonist and a female nutcracker.  It opens when Fritz gets in trouble and has his Mouse Hunter video game taken away, and sentenced to stay at home being baby-sat by the neighbor, Mr. Drosselmeier, while the rest of his family go out to see the Nutcracker ballet.  After sneaking into the closet where his video game has been stashed, Fritz plays so much he finds himself taking on the Mouse King himself.  When the Nutcracker comes to his aid, together they pursue the Mouse King to Toy Town to keep him from ruining Christmas, and after many adventures mirroring those of the original ballet, Fritz finds himself waking from his dream at home, as everyone troops in for their Christmas festivities.

The only thing I like about this book is the reinforced library binding.  The craft projects seem a bit lame, their connections to the states a bit tenuous, and the information about the states a bit redundant and dull.  Sorry, but that’s kinda all I have to say.

Is it still called a graphic novel if it’s only as long as a picture book?  This mystery is set in Mr. Venezi’s pet shop, where all the cages are mislabeled, except that of the guinea pig.  When the crash of the door one evening knocks the G off the end of the guinea pig’s sign, the new hamster on the block mistakenly thinks he’s a P.I.  Sasspants is really only interested in returning peacefully to his cage full of books, but the young hamster won’t stop pestering him until he fulfills his duty as local P.I. and solves the mystery of who has been eating the pet store owner’s sandwich each day.  The pestering hamster becomes the begrudging P.I.’s sidekick as they interview witnesses, test hypothesis, and set a trap to catch the culprit.  It’s a cute introduction to both the graphic novel format and the mystery genre for young readers.  It’s got a good, sturdy binding, and it finishes off with a couple pages in the back to offer a brief,kid-friendly, non-fiction explanation about the animals featured in the story.  It’s the first in what I presume will be a series for the Pet Shop Private Eye.  For now I’m calling it an additional purchase, but I reserve the right to come back and edit my review (possibly bumping it up to recommended) after I see how it goes over with the kids.

Wow!  Labrador Retrievers are the most popular dogs, the easiest to train, smart, most loyal, and hardest working dogs.  Traditionally a dog for hunters, Labs would retrieve the animal or bird shot.  Labs make excellent pets for children as they won’t bite, and can be trained as service/guide dogs as well as for other jobs.  It’s interesting to be able to compare a Lab to other breeds.  All breeds have something worthwhile, but also something you have to learn to either love or put up with.  Labs seem to be well-suited for just about any situation, just be prepared to take care of it, and they will be your best friend for life.

Yorkshire Terriers, originally from Yorkshire, England, are dogs with attitude.  Small dogs, they think they’re actually big dogs.  They are difficult to train and patience is required in teaching them appropriate behavior.  But once learned, Yorkies are loyal companions.  Yorkies are hypoallergenic but need daily grooming to keep their hair manageable.  Photos are terrific.

Dachshund means ‘badger dog’ in German.  Historically a hunting dog, dachshunds love to chase, dig and burrow after smaller animals.  Today’s dachshunds are smaller than they used to be, and come in various ‘styles’ such as mini, long-hair, short-hair, wire-hair, and so on.  Loving, cuddly animals, dachshunds love people and love to cuddle.  The photos in this book will warm anyone’s heart.

This is a friendship story set in a large city with two rabbits as the main characters.  One rabbit is excited to meet his friend in the big city and the other rabbit is excited to show him the city.  Brown rabbit is exhausted from the hustle and bustle and running to one event to the next and ends up hiding in a cafe’ to eat carrot cake.  The white rabbit realizes her mistake of focusing on the events instead of time with her good friend.  The two of them end up playing guitar in the park and dancing together while the city continues to hustle around them.  Nice friendship theme.

Written in a rhyming format and illustrated in classic Jack E. Davis fashion, this book tells the story of a child named Burt and his quest to cure his bunions.  He tries “goop for feet”, pigsty mud, sunburn, and even gets offered a pedicure by his little sister.  Finally, Burt’s father informs him that he’s from a lineage of over-sized footed persons and cures what ails him with brand new shoes.

This small sized, primary astronomy book would fit well into small hands.  Illustrated with real photographs, this book is broken into chapters and has extended information in the back of the book.There are notes on sharing the book, an opportunity to be a “vocabulary detective” and book recommendations as well as websites.  A glossary and index finish the book.

This is a reader friendly book which would make a great companion to the fifth grade Foss Science Units taught in many school districts throughout our state.  The chapters include “Farming Past & Present”, “Nutrition”, “You’re Eating What?” which feature ideas and recipes like Civil War hardtack, a food additive experiment, and directions on making a clay pot which were once used by ancient civilizations as storage and refrigeration.  Vocabulary, interesting facts, and black and white illustrations are strewn through out the book which add interest and delight for the reader.