Another wordless picture book about the cute little puppy Jack, this story tells what happens when Jack is put out for the night.  A small UFO lands on the roof of his dog house and a gaggle of miniature robot aliens join Jack for play time.  They release Jack from his leash.  After cavorting in the sandbox and pond, the robots try to attach Jack’s leash to their flying saucer to take him with them, but his collar slips off his head, leaving him behind as they fly off.  When his little boy comes out to check on Jack, he is none the wiser as to what’s gone on while he was inside.  Wordless books are always great for helping younger students develop observational and story-telling skills, and also serve as writing prompts for older students.  This particular story is also a great prompt for triggering children’s imaginings as to what their pets get up to behind their backs. How cute Jack is is just an extra draw.

Frank Asch’s distinctive artistic style is clean and simple and child-like.  This tale is likewise simple and sweet .  When the big bad wolf comes knocking, Momma and Poppa pig do their best to hide, but Little Pig repeatedly misunderstands the situation, thinking it’s a surprise party for the wolf and they’re playing hide-and-seek.  He repeatedly reaches out in kindness to the wolf, and gradually wears away the big and the bad. Okay, I admit that there would be some who would say it’s too sweet, but kids could use more simple sweetness.  The characters are familiar to kids and the message is one they can never hear too much.

Mary Constance is looking forward to the local dog parade, but she is faced with a dog who doesn’t like to go for walks.  She tries luring him around with assorted treats, but nothing works for long.  In the end her pooch leads the parade in her baby brother’s stroller and gets voted the neighborhood’s most pampered pup.  It’s cute.

This really cute story is told from the perspective of a young boy who really wants a brother.  When mom and dad present him with a baby sister, he assumes it is a mistake, and sets out to rectify the problem by finding someone willing to trade, but every time he finds a prospective trade, there’s some flaw that makes him realize his sister’s not so bad.  At one point he misunderstands the purpose of a baby-changing station, much to his disappointment.  While searching for over a year to try to find a suitable candidate, he learns to appreciate his baby sister’s finer points, and finally gives up the search, only to be told a new baby is on the way.  The illustrations are charming.  The topic is one many kids can relate to. Recommended.

Set in a pet-store run by a clueless owner who absurdly mis-labels all the animals, this graphic novel for younger audiences tells the story of the local guinea pig who’s earned herself a reputation as a sleuth.  When the pet-store owner and the local hamster both get spooked by mysterious cold spots, and shadows on the wall, disappearing mice,  it seems the pet store must be haunted.  It falls to our reluctant P.I. to solve the mystery.  The characters and plot aren’t exactly strong, and it certainly helps if readers have already read the first book in the series, to help make sense of the second.  The first was well-liked enough by students to request more, but I’m pretty luke-warm to them myself — nothing bad to say about them, really, but nothing great, either.

Seemingly intended to be a book about handling bullying and controlling one’s inner monster, the book just doesn’t do a very good job of hitting it’s mark.  The story is kind of weak, about a sort of ordinary-looking boy who is actually the son of monsters, being scolded by his parents for not being vicious enough in scaring the bully at school.  Dad’s excited to take Monster Boy off to Scary Scouts camp, where they plan to scare away the ordinary kids at the Super Scouts camp so they can have the lake all to themselves.  Little Marty Monster Boy is not excited about the camp, but when he sneaks off to warn the Super Scouts, he overhears them picking on him, flies into a rage, scares them away, and then denies it when is dad is proud of him for his fierceness.  I don’t get it.  But the illustrations are cute and the binding is sturdy.

Illustrated in a simple, sweet style that will attract many young children, this book seems to specifically target an audience of Christian chil”  dren already familiar with the Easter story:  while the text of the story focuses on the interactions of a dove and an angel who are observing spring in the hatching of eggs and blooming of poppies and birth of butterflies, the illustrations show it to be set during the time of the original Easter story — the people in the illustrations are dressed in biblical fashions; at one point when the text describes the sun going behind a cloud, the illustrations show three crosses on a hillside in the distance; after waiting with a crying woman in front of a tomb, the rock is rolled away and they are joined in the garden by a bearded man in a white robe, and the final line of the book states, ” For it was not just spring, but the very first Easter.” While it will likely be enjoyed by its target audience, readers who are not already familiar with the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus will find the book puzzling.

The rich and vibrant colors in the illustrations, along with the swirly track of the print will catch students eyes and invite them into the story, but the story is not as developed as I wish it were to give it a true “recommended” rating.  It tells of a girl who loves chewing bubble gum.  One day while out and about with her grandmother, who tells her stories of growing up in Mexico with a father who is a chiclero (harvester of chicle from the sapodilla tree), little Chavel finds a package of Magic Chicle in a local market.  When she chews it, she blows a giant bubble and the wind picks her up and carries her to the jungles of the Yucatan where she meets people still carrying on the old traditions.  She spends one day with them and then chews some more gum to return to her grandmother.  I wish there had been more to tell about her adventures on her journey — as it is, it seems a little anti-climactic.

A good book to support science units on life-cycles or habitats/conservation.  It’s officially classified as fiction, as the bulk of the book is a picture book telling the story of a boy and his family working together on a rainy night to watch for spotted salamanders crossing the road on their way to lay eggs in the pool where they were born.  They count the salamanders they spot, warn approaching vehicles to be careful, and help the salamanders across the road.  In the back there is a lot of non-fiction supportive information to explain the life cycle of the salamanders, and efforts being made in many communities to help protect them.  The glossary gives clear and simple definitions to important words that may be unfamiliar to readers.

This is an interesting and informative book for robot novices. It uses clear language, colorful graphics, detailed instructions, and nicely labeled illustrations to guide the novice of any age .  The index, appendix, and glossary are very helpful.  The boxes sprinkled throughout the book, with “Things You’ll Need”, and “Ideas for a science fair project” will be appreciated by students and their parents as they prepare for science fairs.

Humorous author Lauren Myracle had previously written “Eleven,” “Twelve,” “Thirteen” and “Thirteen Plus One.”  When her fans begged for more, she chose to write “Ten” to her series, “The Winnie Years.”  In her usual format, each chapter covers one month in this year-long adventure.  At age 10, this book is reminiscent of Junie B. Jones’ personality (but with better grammar…”We were happy and splashy and yay-summer-vacation-y” and later…. “I could see that he was actually wearing his I’m-not-so-happy-right-now-and-I-might-cry-and-so-I-am-covering-it-up-with-stubborness expression.”)  Common themes throughout the book include family, friendship, and bullying.

This book is based on the Disney movie Princess Protection Program and is book #1 of several titles within the series.  Even though it is the first installment, the story must pick up from where the movie left off.  The main character, a high school girl named Carter Mason, is off to Washington DC with her father as the very special guest of Queen Rosalinda of Costa Luna.  She became best of friends with ‘Rosie’ when she came to live with Carter and her dad, a security guy for the ‘Princess Protection Program.  It had been up to Carter to teach Rosie how to blend in and be a regular teenage American gal.  Apparently this all happened in the movie, which I never did see.  Anyway, now Rosie is visiting the U.S.  and has invited Carter and her father to be her guest while she is in DC.  Shortly after they arrive there, Rosie and Carter’s father both must leave for some urgent business, leaving Carter on her own with the other security guards.  She befriends Princesses Alice Catherine and Ingrid from Scandia, and uncovers a plot to dethrone the heir to the Scandia throne, Alice Catherine.  She does some sleuthing, her dad comes back and Rosie comes back to pitch in and help, and they solve the case.  Cute, interesting, and totally unbelievable.  I’m sure some girls who adore princesses and who’ve seen the movie will enjoy this adventure.  The characters are predictable as is the plot.  Not too much to think about here.