How interesting to have a book with so much to say about something that exists only in one’s imagination!  Various myths and lore surrounding merpeople are explored.  No actual findings of any merpeople.  Lots of books and media which feature mermaids are referred to.  A quiz to find out what kind of mermaid you are is featured.  Lots of beautiful illustrations and pictures of mermaids.  Girls strongly in tune with fantasy will enjoy spending time with this book.

Mole is a terrific musician but the problem is, he gets stage fright and can’t play in front of a crowd.  At a school talent show, he doesn’t want to play because of fear, but comes to the rescue of his friend, Pig, whose iPod broke and needs some music for his dance.  Mole overcomes his fear.  The references of Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen will go over young readers’ heads, but the adult reader will know who is being referred to.  Okay, but not necessary.

This book will have limited appeal to students, mainly those who love monsters, cannot read too well, may be prone to nightmares, and who have trouble with comprehension.  This is a graphic novel about ten young monsters who’ve formed a friendship and one day are headed out to the beach for a day of fun.  There they meet Gil, a fish monster, who is afraid to go into the water and is afraid of fish.  They talk him into going with them into the water and he ends up saving their lives from the giant squid.  He then discovers his family.  The story is kind of lame, the dialogue is lame, and what is strange is that the cover is intentionally made to look beat up and well worn, as if it’s been a loved book.  Why?  To fool the kids into thinking this is a popular book?  Some younger kids will enjoy it, but most won’t pick it up.  Most school libraries won’t have the budget to purchase these books.

Using a dog to teach the love of poetry–a perfect combination!  Marilyn Singer has written poems about dogs for every occasion and Miki Sakamoto has created beautiful, colorful, clean pictures in which to display these poems.  Together, it’s a beautiful thing, which all school libraries should have.

Kids, and adults, too, can’t get enough of the pictures of the cute polar bear and cubs.  In looking at the photo credits, I was surprised to see so many people involving in procuring pictures.  The language here is very simple, giving interesting facts about the bears.  Includes a glossary and index which can be used to teach about non-fiction tools.

The title refers to the big, bad wolf, who preens as he looks at his reflection in the mirror.  He saunters through the forest and as he encounters various fairy tale characters, he doesn’t threaten to eat them, he just asks “Who is the handsomest of all?”  Until he finally runs into a baby dragon, who tells him the truth, that his father is.  And he fries the wolf with his breath of fire.  The audascity of the wolf, coupled with the timidity of the fairy tale characters, gives you the feeling of his brashness, until someone finally stands up to him.  Clever and young kids got the humor.

What makes this book remarkable is that each set of pages opens up into a panoramic view of a forested area and a dinosaur.  The forest area looks to be a photograph as does the dinosaur, however, it doesn’t say so in the credits.  In which case, the illustrations are fantastic!  I thought maybe they were pictures of dinosaurs taken at perhaps a science center exhibit of the real-looking robotic dinosaurs.  In any case, the illustrations were credible enough to make kindergarteners and first-graders gasp.  The story is about a young ankylosaur trying to make friends with an old, injured ankylosaur and being rebuffed.  When a T-rex tries to kill the old ankylosaur, the young one steps in to help, and a friendship is made.  Young kids love dinosaurs and this book practically makes them lifelike.

Making a Bully-Free World identifies the various types of bullies and ways in which to handle each situation.  This is a hard topic to teach in schools, and although this book looks to be for the younger audiences, the topic and discussion it entails is actually for the more savvy students.  The book uses good examples of what bullying actually looks like.  I believe the  more opportunity for discussion is worthwhile and this book provides it.  I wish it were larger so that it would be easier to show larger groups of kids in a more intimate fashion.

Lou is a 12-year-old girl living with her single mom.  She’s noticing boys and finding out that playing with dolls isn’t the same now as it had been before.  Also, her mother is attracted to a new neighbor.  Just about each page is a new scenario for Lou, except for when her grandmother comes to visit.  That story takes several pages as ‘memaw’ is quite the character.  Quite a few realities are exposed.  Definitely a girls’ book, they should love the storylines and dialogue.

The last year of Rose Hathaway’s life wraps up her typical dramatic flare in Last Sacrifice, the final installment of the Vampire Academy novels.  Rose is on her way to becoming her best friend Lissa’s guardian when the unimaginable happens – she is accused of murdering the queen, which is also her boyfriend’s aunt.   Well connected, she manages to escape with others help and will be a fugitive, traveling up and down the east coast until she figures out who really killed Titania and why she was framed.  Of course, Rose’s romantic life cannot be left to dwindle while she’s gone.  Though her boyfriend is still back at the court, her true arua-ly connect soul mate Dimitri will put up his guard while traveling with her.  Both will come to conclusions that the physical fighting is easy, but it’s why they fight that matters.   Once again, Richelle Mead’s fast-paced narrative that includes Rose being able to connect to others with through dreams and channeling gives a reader 24 hours of vampire action per day.  The scene of passion between Rose and Dimitri is tame but true.  Rose will never give up and is heck of a role-model for vampire fans to unite around.