Ten year old Aldo Zelnick, AKA Bacon Boy, journals the high and low points of his life in this sketchbook.  Written in a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate style, Aldo befriends Danny, a deaf student with a quick sense of humor and Bee, a home-schooled neighbor who takes a few classes at school.  He finds himself “dumbstruck” around the new art teacher as he adjusts to life as a fifth grader.  Many readers will identify with Aldo’s predicaments in this fourth book of the series.  Each book focuses vocabulary on a letter of the alphabet.  Other books in the series are: Artsy-Fartsy, Bogus, Cahoots, and Egghead, so far.  (Finicky, coming soon.)  Kemdra Spanjer’s black and white illustrations are a great match with Aldo’s quirky situations.  There is a large glossary in the back of the book, along with a map of Aldo’s neighborhood, a sign language alphabet, and notes about the author and illustrator.  The Aldo Zelnick website offers an A – Z audio dictionary.  This terrific series will be enjoyed by all readers and constantly in demand.

After her mother dies, Hailey’s father sends her away to an elite boarding school in Vermont.  Here Hailey is a top student, is dating the son of two celebrities, and is favored by all her teachers.  But Hailey goes through a “bad girl” streak, making risky decisions, damaging school property, skipping school, and cheating on her boyfriend.

I’m not sure what lesson the author was after, because Hailey’s life improves after becoming a bad girls, strengthening her relationship with her father and finding a new boyfriend more suitable for her. As an adult reader, I was unhappy with this turn in the plot.

This is a lovely little book of 29 Christian prayers for children.  The illustrations are colorful and sweet and compliment the text of the prayers.  There are a few prayers for each season plus Christmas and Easter.  I enjoyed the descriptive and rhyming writing style and found the prayers to be simple without being boring.  This will be a nice addition to our catholic elementary school library.

This book is an excellent source for our elementary students who are interested in or studying common dolphins.  The chapters include common dolphins; size, shaped and color; where they live; senses; defense; food; babies; and behaviors.  There are common dolphin facts, a glossary, index and additional web sites listed in the back of the book.  The information was presented in a clear manner with nice basic coverage of each topic.  The text was not too technical while still using some scientific language.

This is a wonderful picture book version of the classic Nutcracker Tale.  The illustrations are bright, colorful and engaging, complimenting the text well.  The story is well-written, flowing nicely as a read-aloud.  Some versions of the Nutcracker can be a bit frightening for younger children during the battle with the Mouse King but this one is fine for even very young children.  Our elementary school students love to check out the Nutcracker around Christmas time and this one will be a lovely addition to our collection.

Angelina is invited to be a bridesmaid for a royal wedding so off she races for adventure, parties and beautiful gowns at the palace.  The illustrations are charming and very detailed and the story is sweet and fast-paced.  This will be a nice addition to our library’s Angelina collection.

The prayers in this book are very simple and are accompanied by simple sketches on each page.  The prayers are organized by topic and are listed in the table of contents and cross-referencing indexes in the back of the book.  The author has written many of the prayers, while others are classics gathered from various sources.  This edition has been updated and reprinted from the original version in 2003.  I think this book could have been improved by choosing the 100 best prayers touching on a variety of topics and adding more colorful illustrations.

This book is packed with clever ideas for making sandwiches fun for kids to eat!  The instructions are clearly written step-by-step and are positioned next to lots of helpful photographs including the finished dishes.  Children should be able to follow along and help their adults to prepare these healthy meals.  I liked how vegetables and fruits are worked into each meal, hopefully inspiring even the pickiest of eaters to at least have a “try bite.”  This is a wonderful introductory cookbook to add to our elementary school library.

The illustrations of this picture book are expressive and rich in color and details.  The story is about a little white stray cat named Nini who comes to beg a scrap at a little Italian cafe in the 1890’s.  At first, the owner Nonna has nothing to offer the cat until Verdi comes in for a coffee and to work on his opera.  Nini inspires Verdi with just the right note and Nini’s fame takes flight.  The little cafe becomes busy and is visited by famous people including the king and queen of Italy, the pope and the emperor of Ethiopia.  Nini helps them all (of course) and lives happily ever after with Nonna.  In the Author’s note in the back of the book, the author explains that there was a little white stray cat in Venice in the 1890’s who became famous and was visited by many celebrities of the day, including those mentioned above.  The author’s imagination filled in the details of these visits in a whimsical and entertaining way.

Each year the 7th grade science classes do a “physics of sports” report in the spring.  This book will be perfect for anyone who chooses basketball as their topic (especially chapter 5 titled “The Physics Behind the Moves.”)  Other chapter topics include The Discipline of Training, Sports Medicine, High-Tech Equipment, Bodies in Motion, and The Psychology of Winning.  Chapter 1, “Peach Baskets and Playoffs,” will be helpful to anyone needing to research the history of basketball.

A basketball fan myself, I found the book engaging as it discusses changes in the rules as the game evolved, information on sports nutrition, repeated concussions, hydration, and chronic injuries especially interesting.  While some famous players are pictured, most of the photographs are of everyday people enjoying the sport, which I liked.  sidebars with interesting facts, a glossary, and charts and graphs add color and interest to the body of the book.

Other sports in the series to date include baseball, swimming, snowboarding, gymnastics and soccer.

Caldecott winner Chris Raschka (Yo! Yes!) tries his hand at writing in this debut novel, flooded with illustrations.  Norman Normann (born to Orman and Norma Normann) is in academic trouble, so his parents hire a tutor, Balthazar Birdsong, to help prepare him for an entrance exam.  This bird-nosed tutor’s first advice is to read the dictionary, one letter at a time.  While sounding like a lazy way out of his job, the words Norman learns surprisingly come in handy in his daily life.

While the silliness of the story was not my humor, middle school readers will probably get a kick out of the outlandish, quirky play on words and bizarre teaching style of Balthazar.

A coffee table book, really,”William & Kate: Celebrating a Royal Engagement” has a misleading title.  Admittedly, the photographs of the royal family and Catherine Middleton are both stunning and engaging, but there is very little about the relationship between William and Catherine.  As a matter of fact, just as the photographer/author begins to build on their relationship, speculating on an engagement, there is a random “For Better or Worse” chapter on other royals throughout the world, followed by the final chapter titled “The Engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton 16 November 2010” which shows two pictures of the couple, with no text.  End of Book.  The abrupt ending will leave readers disappointed.

Much of the book centered on Diana, Prince William’s and Prince Harry’s upbringing and military training, and almost no pictures of Prince Charles. I doubt this book will get checked out for its biographical information.  Its appeal is solely the photographs.

Distracting typos, such as calling Catherine “Diana” took away from the book’s charm.

That cute Siamese kitty (who thinks he is a Chihuahua) steps into his bedroom closet where his imagination allows him to board a bus for school with his friends, the Chimichango Gang.  There, Skippyjon, aka Skippito, will take on the wooly bully who terrorizes the school grounds! This Skippyjon Jones story is very fun. It is one of Judy Schachner’s best pieces yet! The illustrations are bright and show much action.

The author, Linda Bozzo, met with employees from The Seeing Eye training center to research for this book. This book starts with a true story of a college student who gains a guide dog to allow him to continue his education. It continues with the history of guide dogs, breeds used for guide dogs, training of, guide dog responsibilities, retirement of, and how guide dogs are heroes. For useful reference, the book contains a table of contents, glossary, books and internet address reference, and index. A full color photograph of guide dogs in action enhances each page spread.

This 24 page book contains an explanation of the many kinds of Pterosaurs, information of their body features, what they eat, their young and where they lived on earth. It also has a contents page, glossary, pronunciation guide, book recommendation, web site recommendation and index. Color illustrations can be found on each page spread.