Nocturnal life in the forest is brilliantly illuminated throught poems, compelling linoleum-block print artwork, and detailed notes of the subject on each double-page spread. The poetic forms are quite varied as nine creatures are featured…snail, primrose moth, great horned owl (Dark Emperor), orb spider, baby porcupette, cricket, wandering red efts (newt, salamander)…plus the oak, mushrooms, and the moon. The closing “Moon’s Lament” is in the medieval style known as an ubi sunt…that laments the loss of heroic, beautiful things.
“Where are my ghostly shadows,
my pools of of molten silver,
poured with such extravagance?
Where has it all gone-
my glory,
my radiance-
now that day as come?
Alas. Another eternity of sunbeams to wait.”
Final Glossary aides the reader with science terminology. A gem of a book appropiate across curriculums. (Listed in Boston Globe’s Best Books of the Year 2011.)

Utilizing both novel text and graphic novel, this historical fiction may appeal mostly to reluctant readers. Based on the late 1970’s where, in California, a drought caused most swimming to be emptied, skateboarders honed their skills “in the deep end”. A surfboarding store, in Venice Beach, (Zephyr Productions) joined with a skateboarding team (Z-Boys) to promote their business. One team member, Tony Alva, eventually wins 1st World Champion of Professional Skateboarding, and features in the plot. The protagonist, Skip, a gifted skateboarder, moves from California to Ohio. He wants to be included but gets connected with the wrong gang/bullies. Eventually he enters a skateboarding tournament with the “good guys” and Tony Alva scores him a 10. The story abruptly ends there, leaving open opportunities for the reader to “discuss” what happened next. With a Time Line, Discussion Questions, and Writing Prompts as part of the back matter, this book lends itself to reading with a supportive adult. The manga-ish graphic flash cover and illustrations, plus simple text, may be just what you need for a specific reader.

This book is full of bright watercolor illustrations to compliment a story line featuring Sebastian and his friends on a camping trip.  Along the way, they discover they are missing some of their equipment, setting up subtraction problems.  The readers can work together to solve the math problems and learn more about fact families.  This combination of math and literature combines disciplines in a way that makes learning fun.

This book describes the operation and professionals who work at TV stations.  The text is a bit dry, although informative.  The glossary and index at the back of the book are very brief and the illustrations are ok, but not particularly good quality or very interesting.

Set in the late 1590’s, this book follows Shakespearean Actors in London.  What is theater life like, for novices up to experienced actors?  What happens when the plague hits London and the show must hit the road?  These topics are explored in fascinating text and cartoon-style drawings in the first half of this book.  The second half focuses on Shakespearean life in London after the famous Globe theater is built.  There is a glossary and index.  The Accelerated Reader test is level 5.1, .5 points.  This series presents information in a understandable, interesting and comical format.

Imagine that your excellent language skills lead to a Secret Agent position behind enemy lines during World War II.  What are the risks, the thrills, the challenges?  How are Secret Agents trained and prepared?  What special equipment and tools will you need?  What will your mission be like?  Will you succeed and live to tell about it?  What if you are captured?  All this and more is covered in this exciting and interesting non-fiction book.  The illustrations are cartoon-style and the pages are full of facts presented in an easy to read format.   Accelerated Reader level 4.2, 1 point.

If you’ve ever been curious about the reality of climbing Mount Everest, this book will provide lots of information in an engaging and entertaining format.  Every page is busy, filled with cartoon style illustrations, text boxes and bubbles.  Although busy, the information is easy to follow.  The Everest climbing experience is told from the early attempts to summit, ending with the story of the first officially recognized  successful summit in 1953 by Hillary and Tenzing.  There is a glossary and index.  Accelerated Reader level 5.3, points .5.  This series provides interesting information about different experiences, jobs and famous people from history.

This series is an engaging way to be introduced to interesting jobs throughout history.  This book focuses on what life is like building cathedrals.  Written with a sense of humor, comical graphic novel-style illustrations, and lots of text boxes and bubbles, readers will follow a young apprentice mason as he becomes a Master.  All the hazards and challenges of building a cathedral are described.  The layout of the pages is busy but not difficult to follow.   There is a glossary and index.  Accelerated Reader test level is 4.7 and is worth .5 points.

This book is well written and well organized. It begins with an introduction explaining ‘freeganism’, then the following ten chapters explore different aspects of consumer culture from different perspectives. A different author, explaining their views of consumerism’s pros and cons, writes each chapter.

The writing is informative and concise. The widely differing perspectives give the total book a balanced view. The reader can explore contradicting concepts and make their own decisions.

Short biographies of each author are given at the beginning of each chapter. There are charts, an index, bibliography, and an appendix giving statistics to back up each chapter’s claims. A final chapter, “What You Should Do About Consumer Culture” gives a clear summary of how teens should evaluate the advertisements they are bombarded with.

With college tuition and fees at an all time high, and continuing to rise dramatically each year, 1001 Ways to Pay for College serves as a very useful reference for students, parents, and school counselors.  The authors, Gen and Kelly Tanabe, have written numerous guidebooks on funding college, including books on scholorships and how to write scholarship essays.  The fifth edition of 1001 Ways to Pay for College has been updated to include new options and changes in the tax codes.

There are 22 chapters that cover undergraduate, part-time, adults returning to college, military, and graduate school options. There are chapters on financial aid, scholarships, tuition savings plans, tax breaks for students, grants, internships and part time jobs, loans and loan forgiveness. Other chapters provide warnings against financial aid scams, ways to live more frugally while at college, and even options for colleges that provide free tuition.

Some of the 1001 essays are brief and leave the reader wishing for more details, but other essays are lengthy and provide details, including information on various states’ tuition savings plans.

This guidebook is relatively inexpensive with used or discount copies available. It would be worth continuing to purchase future revised editions to keep as up to date as possible on changes in tax laws, student loan interest rates, government opportunities for loan forgiveness, etc.