Fifteen different types of homes from different parts of the world and different periods of history are each described on its own two-page spread, illustrated by rich, detailed collages.  For every home, the introductory paragraph begins with, “If you lived here…”  After sharing some anecdotes of what life would be like in that house, individual paragraphs are dedicated to sharing the facts about house type, materials, location, date, and one fascinating fact. A world map in the back of the book plots locations for all fifteen homes.

The illustrations are really kind of cool, which is what led me to pick the book up, but the story is really pretty lame — the main character is an obnoxious little snot who whines and complains and is basically rude in every way (with a parent who apparently lets her), until she falls asleep one day and dreams about a circus where each performer insists that she demonstrate some iota of politeness before she is allowed to participate; when she wakes up she’s a new child, all politeness. Ugh.

On the one hand, it’s got cute, colorful pictures, and sneaks math into the story, but really it’s a bit contrived and not as charming as I hoped for.  The new bunny in the balloon factory who’s charged with counting all the balloons isn’t observant enough to realize he’s popping them all as he goes?

The cute cartoonish illustrations on a clean white background are very eye-catching, and draw the reader in to examine the details.  Each two page spread contains 100 of something (mice, moles, elephants…), broken up into chunks of ten, to aid young counters, and each page suggests some other detail to search for and count. At the edge of each page there’s a hint connecting it with the page to come.  It’s charming!

Oooh! What a gem! This beautiful book illustrates a poem listing all the things a leaf can be.  The gorgeous illustrations draw the reader in and expand upon the text: when the text declares that a leaf can be a “soft cradle,” the illustrations depict cocoons nestled upon leaves; on the facing page we see a lamb slurping water that has been captured in the curves of a leaf as “water ladle.”  Just in case the reader didn’t get it from the illustrations, the back of the book contains the author’s explanations for each of the potential labels she attached to leaves.  A wonderful book on so many levels, it would be a great edition to a nature study unit.

A companion to The Quiet Book, this book begins with the premise that, “There are lots of louds,” and then it proceeds to list them, one illustrated on each page.  Examples include alarm clock loud, last slurp loud, and home run loud.  The illustrations are sweet, and serve to expand upon the simple text.  All students would find something in this book to relate to, and it could serve as a great discussion builder with young children, providing a launching pad for them to recall similar louds in their own experiences.  Aw heck, I was going to give it an R, but I think I’ll go ahead and bump it up to an R*.

Each page is dedicated to a different animal, with one of Jenkins’ cool collage illustrations and a few simply lines of text describing how that animal sleeps, on a clean white background that makes both art and info pop.  Sleeping is something we all do, and something we have in common with all living creatures, but how some of these animals sleep range from the mildly interesting to the fascinating.  More information about each animal is offered in the back of the book for readers who want to know more.

I love this book! Highly recommended for all ages! Organized around different chunks of time (one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one week, etc. etc.) Steve Jenkins presents a collection of not-quite-random facts about plants, animals, and humans, describing things that occur within that chunk of time.  For younger students, it gives some perspective to help understand our concepts of time; for older students and adults, it gives some perspective to help understand issues of population expansion and nature preservation.  It’s just fascinating all around, and of course, illustrated in Jenkins’ typically delightful style.

I do appreciate the works of Paul Galdone.  I think he does an excellent job of staying true to the folk tale genre in his retellings, using much of the repetition that was part of the oral tradition from which they sprang, and his illustrations give personality to the bears and to Goldilocks.  I’m just not sure Houghton Mifflin did them justice in this particular republication.  There’s a uniformity to the series that is sweet, and would make them look nice on a shelf all lined up together, but as individual books, the new format detracts from the originals.  And they don’t seem especially sturdy for library use. I’d really recommend searching out these stories, by this author, in other editions if you can find them.

This is essentially a republication of an oldy but a goody, with a slightly different format.  The re-telling of the classic folk tale is well-done, and the illustrations are inviting (okay, maybe that’s just because this is the version I fondly remember from my own childhood), so if you don’t already have the older one, this would be worth getting, but I can’t say the new format enhances the story at all.  In fact, I would probably say this smaller version cuts down the illustrations too much.  If you have or can find the older, larger edition, I’d stick with that.

There’s not enough meat here to really make it a recommend, but what’s here is worthwhile.  Each two page spread consists of one full-page color photo opposite a single random fact about the human body, with a few sentences in large font to explain it.  Some of the facts are more “weird” than others, but there’s enough to trigger a response from kids (maybe disgust, maybe fascination, maybe humor).  It’s really intended for early audiences — I might be stretching it to include grade three — older readers may be interested, but not satisfied, with what they learn.

I really wrestled with what kind of a rating to give this book.  I guess I’m settling on a somewhat grudging recommended.  I love the illustrations: I think they’re beautiful, and they do an excellent job of providing modern day students with a glimpse of what school and childhood looked like in Colonial America. I like the rhyme and rhythm of the text, too, with just a few lines of verse on each page.  I just wish the there was a little more mortar filling in the connection between the verses and the illustrations — I think the book will have a hard time standing on its own with young readers who will need some sort of outside source (a knowledgable adult handy, or some previous study) to explain some of the references/vocabulary.  As a read-aloud, it could make a good introduction or addition to a unit on Colonial American history, as long as it is supported in some way, with discussion to set the stage for the time period.

This is a sweet story. Poindexter is a bashful young pig who has a hard time making friends because he is so shy, but he seeks refuge at the local library, where he becomes a bit of a library helper.  One day a young turtle shows up at the library who is even more shy than Poindexter, seeking a book on how to make friends.  As Poindexter helps the newcomer, they bond over the book and pull each other out of their respective shells (literally, in the turtle’s case).

I’m sorry, I feel like I’m being mean, but … really? It’s not that there’s anything hurtful or harmful or inherently bad about this book, it just doesn’t seem like there’s enough to it to have warranted someone taking the time to write it, and someone else taking the time to illustrate it, and someone else taking the bother and expense to publish it, let alone a reason for someone to spend good money to buy it and shelf space to store it and take the time to read it.  Okay, it rhymes, and the illustrations are kinda cute. but it’s just not a whole book worth.  Maybe if it had been published on a single page, in a collection of summertime poems, but as a whole book it just doesn’t seem worth the paper it’s printed on.

The best recommendation for this book is the fact that both my third-grade and fifth-grade nieces asked if they could read it before me, and it got their seal of approval.  The second book in a series, there was enough background trickled in to fill me in, even though I hadn’t read the first book.  It tells the story of a young girl living in a large mystery-and-magic-filled house, along with her distracted parents and three magical cats who once belonged to the previous owners of the house.  Olive is on a mission to find the spell book of the house’s previous residence, but the cats are doing all they can to interfere.  Though she insists (to herself as well as others) that she’s got the best of intentions, the books seems to work its own magic on Olive, leading her away from her original goals, with the potential for disaster hanging in the balance.  Joining Olive in her quest is a friend she met in her first book, and a new friend who has just moved into the neighborhood.  As one would expect with a good kids’ book, in the end Olive comes to her senses, averting disaster, and learning something about herself, and about what it means to be a good friend.

There’s a reason Nancy Drew books have been around for over eighty years and continue to attract a loyal following.  It was fun to have an excuse to go back and re-read one of the books that first hooked me into voluntary recreational reading.  This anniversary limited edition is kinda cute with a retro cover that may be appreciated by Nancy’s fans, but there’s not much pizzaz to the cover to attract new readers, so all-in-all, though I think every school library should offer the series, I don’t think this particular edition is the best option.

This was an interesting 32 page non-fiction book about the history and structure of secret codes.  Various code styles are described along with techniques for cracking them.  It was fun to apply the techniques described in the examples along the way.  The answers were in the back to check progress.  The format was easy to read and included lots of pictures to keep things interesting.  I think students will enjoy reading this and writing their own secret codes.  It is one in a set of 3 in the series.  The other titles include Speaking Secret Codes and Making Secret Codes.

I enjoyed this story about Clara Lee, an 8 year old Korean American girl who lives with her parents, little sister and grandfather.  There are family and friendship themes, including conflicts that must be resolved along the way.  Clara Lee has a dream one night that her grandfather dies.  She is frightened and so tells him all about the dream the next day.  Grandfather assures her that in the Korean culture, a death dream is really a sign of a new start and can be very good luck.  Clara takes this as encouragement to sign up for the Little Miss Apple Pie competition, which she’s always longed for but been afraid.  The story takes you through the build up and results of the competition and all the story lines are neatly wrapped up by the end.  I enjoyed this peek into Korean American culture and the characters were delightful.  The inter-generational relationships were also meaningfully explored.  The AR test is level 3.8, 2 points which should be perfect for our target readers at school.  Bright and colorful cover art and darling sketch illustrations throughout the book also add to it’s appeal.

“Prettiest” and “Ugliest” girls in the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior class appear on a list at the start of Homecoming week each year at Mount Washington High School. Who makes and posts the list and why?

More importantly, how do the eight girls who names appear on The List cope?

The reaction of each girl is shared throughout the novel and this continuing changing point of view can be hard to follow. If the reader becomes confused, it is easy to flip back to the opening page and review The List.

The issue of bullying is a major theme throughout the novel, in addition to examinations of peer and of parent – child relationships.

The List is an intriguing read.

This 10 chapter Milo & Jazz Mystery is set at the outdoor swimming pool with a snack bar.  ” Jazz and Milo are detectives.” In this mystery they investigate how and why someone would dye the swimming pool water purple, thus closing down the  swimming pool for a day. Jazz finds purple “dribbles” on the grass outside the swimming pool’s fence. Jazz and Milo have two suspects, but this plot has a twist in it and someone totally unsuspected did it. The reader finds out this is due to a preconceived idea that all people from California are good swimmers.

Includes: Super sleuthing puzzles after the story

This is an excellent 48 page non-fiction book about the history of the Erie Canal.  Explained in context with the political events of the time and in particular the development of the United States as a nation, this book is well-written and interesting.  The format is also impressive.  Rather than a glossary, key words are defined in the margins on the page on which they appear.  So much more reader-friendly, it ensures that the reader takes the time to fully comprehend the text.  Photographs, primary source paintings, maps and diagrams are plentiful throughout the book.  There is an AR test (level 5.7, 1 point).  I was engaged throughout this book and believe that students will enjoy reading about the history of the Erie Canal.

Before choosing a pet a responsible future owner should acquaint himself with a breed’s characteristics. This book will help those curious about the American Pit Bull Terrier breed understand this breed which often has a bad reputation. The American Pit Bull Terrier “were originally bred in England to be good fighters… to be aggressive toward other dogs, but not toward humans.”

In 9 short, 2-page chapters include: The Dog Family, American Pit Bull Terriers, What They’re Like, Coat and Color, Size, Care, Feeding, Things They Need,  and Puppies, plus Glossary, Web Sites, and Index.

Pinch is hungry, but hasn’t any prepared food in the house and “Pinch was too lazy to make his own soup.” He decides to see his friend Dash who is a good cook. What follows reminds me of the classic “STONE SOUP”, with potatoes, spinach, and cheese being added to Dash’s soup pot. While Dash sets the table in the dining room, Pinch adds pepper and hot sauce to the pot. Then unannounced to Pinch, Dash does the same thing. When Dash tastes the soup the spiciness overtakes him. In the end, both Pinch and Dash reveal what they each have done.

This book, specifically geared for young readers,  provides a literary analysis of the play Macbeth.  The introduction clearly presents information on William Shakespeare’s life and plays and the Globe Theater AND ends with a glossary of literary terms – a good choice for students needing quick background information.  The play is dissected into acts/scenes – each given an quick overview and a short analysis.  A list of characters and their roles are also given to the reader.  The author provides a closer look at the play’s theme, motifs, symbols, and language.  A chronology, a Shakespeare’s glossary, a Suggested Essay Topics section, a Testing Your Memory section, a Further Information section, a bibliography and an index are given in the book.  The pages are colorful and the writing is clear and organized.  This is an easily digestible book for those who wish to grab a quick insight into Shakespeare and his life and this particular play.

This book, specifically geared for young readers,  provides a literary analysis of the play Hamlet.  The introduction clearly presents information on William Shakespeare’s life and plays and the Globe Theater AND ends with a glossary of literary terms – a good choice for students needing quick background information.  The play is dissected into acts/scenes – each given an quick overview and a short analysis.  A list of characters and their roles are also given to the reader.  The author provides a closer look at the play’s theme, motifs, symbols, and language.  A chronology, a Shakespeare’s glossary, a Suggested Essay Topics section, a Testing Your Memory section, a Further Information section, a bibliography and an index are given in the book.  The pages are colorful and the writing is clear and organized.  This is an easily digestible book for those who wish to grab a quick insight into Shakespeare and his life and this particular play.