As his family gathers in preparation for his big sister’s wedding, Gaps, a Nguni calf, is presented with a pair of long trousers from his father.  The problem being that the new trousers are too long.  Gaps proceeds to go from relative to relative asking if there is someone who can shorten them for him, but everyone is too busy with other wedding preparations.  That evening everyone he asked suddenly remembers that the trousers need shortening, and each do so in turn, resulting in trousers that are much too short, but in the end that turns out to be a good thing because the day of the wedding is so hot that everyone else is uncomfortable in their wedding finery, but Gaps is “fresh as a daisy.”  The story is good, but at first I was puzzled as to the author’s decision to make the characters cattle, especially a specific type of cattle with a name that will be hard for young readers to pronounce, but then I discovered that the story was originally published in South Africa, where I presume children are familiar with this particular type of cattle.  I have to confess I was not overly impressed with the artwork.

When a young monster by the name of Harvey hears his parents discussing the new baby that’s due soon, his father refers to it as “another mouth to feed.”  Harvey misinterprets this to mean that the new arrival will be just a giant mouth, and his spends the rest of the book stressing over what that will be like, only to discover when mom does return from the hospital that it’s not just a mouth, but a regular monster with all the usual features, including three eyes.  A page in the back of the book describes what an idiom is, and the meaning of this particular idiom.  I’m not a fan of the artwork in the book, and the plot seems a bit blah.  There are better things out there to teach idioms.

In some respects this story is likely to “expire” soon, as its setting is specific to the recent aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, and it won’t be long before many young students won’t remember hearing about this in the news.  Still, the messages of the book (looking to the future and holding onto hope in the midst of crisis; generosity; games bringing children together) are easily transferrable to any crisis situation.  The book tells the story of a boy helping his mother build their new “home” out of a bit of tin and some blankets and poles, and then getting acquainted with his new neighbors when a girl produces a ball of rags with which they are able to get up a game of soccer.  An adult watching their play begins reminiscing with them about soccer greats who have played in the very stadium where they now have their temporary shelters, and before he goes, he offers them his own real soccer ball, autographed by one of those greats, as thanks to the children for restoring his hope in the future.

Hattie didn’t start out being bad, but she soon realized that being good was not fun or exciting.  Other children admired Hattie, but their parents would not let them play with her.  Hattie was lonely, so she switched to being Hattie the Good.  Parents were happy, but the other children began to avoid her.  Hattie was lonely again.  When Hattie won a competition to find the “Best-Behaved Child Ever”, a funny feeling grew inside her.  When asked if there was anything she would like to say, she did a handstand and yelled “Underpants!” as loudly as she could.  Children rejoiced that Hattie the Bad was back (with a little bit of good) and Hattie was never lonely again.  Joe Berger’s energetic black-line illustrations complement the text wonderfully.  Pages with Bad Hattie are splashed with bold color.  When Hattie switches to Hattie the Good, he paints neatly with a sedate pink.

Both predator and prey use camouflage to blend in with their environment.  The color and/or the shape of an animal or insect make it hard to see  them in their surroundings.  Photographs show several animals in hiding.  The next page shows the same photograph with the background grayed out so the animal is highlighted.  The font is large, sufficient information is included within few sentences, and the colorful photographs are a good match with the text.  A few examples show how some animals use color to stand out to be noticed – either to attract a mate or to warn animals away.  Bolded words are included in the glossary.  Other books with a similar reading level and websites are mentioned in the back, along with the index.  Good information for those learning about camouflage.

Excellent, large photographs portray the daily life of a pika.  Although the reader level is about 4th grade, each page contains 1 to 4 sentences written in large font.  This creates a pleasing balance of text and photos.  Extra information about pikas is found in the back – which includes a life-size photograph, pronunciation for pika and its scientific name.  There is a list of pika predators along with a photograph.  Books and websites for further information accompany an author’s note to older readers about the future welfare of pikas.  There is a glossary but no index.

Laurie is a young girl who is not like other children.  She has difficulty hearing.  Because many students do not understand, they tease or feel uncomfortable around her.  Laurie finds comfort with her dog, Laika, with whom she communicates just fine.  Her mother took her to the doctor to check her hearing. He gives her hearing computers (hearing aids).  She can control the volume to hear when she wants to, or turn them down or off when she doesn’t.  Now, instead of feeling lonely, Laurie feels lucky.  Eline van Lindenhuizen’s simple, colorful illustrations are rosy and soft.  She was inspired by children in a deaf school in Romania.  Author Elfi Nijssen also writes from experience, as she was also a young girl with hearing problems.  The point of view from which Laurie was written may help others understand difficulties posed when one is hearing impaired.  Published in 2009 in Dutch and 2010 in English.

Buzz loved everything about being a bee – the taste of honey, the cozy hive, smelling clover, but most of all, she loved flying.  One day, she read the headline in a paper quoting a professor saying bees’ bodies are not the right shape for flight.  Thinking a professor must be right, she wobbled to the ground.  As friend Snail tried to comfort her, she smelled smoke.  Owl’s tree was on fire and she knew he slept soundly!  Buzz raced toward the tree.  The more she thought about Owl, the less she thought about the professor’s words.  The next thing she knew, she was flying.  Vincent Nguyen used Photoshop with his oil paintings to depict the warm, summer days in Buzz’s neighborhood.  The illustrations glow with sunlight.

When the Frost King brought the winter snow, Anna fashioned a snow dog.  She and her brother dressed him in a scarf and cap and loved him as if he were real.  The Frost King spotted Snow Dog, blew “life” into him and carried him back to the Ice Palace.  Snow Dog missed the children and searched until he found their house.  Exhausted, he curled up and fell asleep.  In the morning, Anna saw him at once and she and Olen dragged him inside.  As he rested, the snow melted and his ice coat was replaced with real fur.  As Anna hugged him, Snow Dog felt his heart beat with love for her.  Later, when the Frost King saw Snow Dog sleeping indoors, he realized there was a magic power he did not have.  He sprinkled more snow, and disappeared into the Northern Lights.  In the morning, Anna and Olen saw the Frost King had returned – and left enough snow to make a snow cat!   Loretta Krupinski paints with cool winter colors until the children bring Snow Dog indoors.  The colors then switch to warm reds, oranges, and browns.  Many pages have borders which complement the illustrations.  Good supplement for art lessons on color and design.

A little girl imagines the skills, equipment, and procedures needed to be an effective firefighter.  Along with her observations are boxes with additional information.  The bright watercolor and colored pencil artwork excellently illustrates the large text on each page.  A final page tells about classes one needs to take and physical fitness required to become a firefighter.  A glossary, index, internet sites, and books to read are included.  Other books in the Dream Big! series are:  If I Were a Ballerina, If I Were a Cowboy, If I Were a Major League Baseball Player, If I Were an Astronaut, and If I Were the President.  Books in this series are a good resource for children imagining their futures.