Jasmine wakes before dawn, hugs her parents, and leaves with her papa (her grandpa) to drive to Great-Grandma Caroline’s one hundredth birthday. On the long drive, Jasmine naps, snacks, and reflects on the ages of things she cares about; goldfish lived 30 days, hamster lived 6 months, and a dog that shares her age. In meeting and spending time with a great-grandma she had never met, Jasmine learns how she got so old – patience, determination, and faith. The youngest and the oldest then work together to blow out the birthday candles.

This book features a multi-generational black family. Beautiful illustrations reinforces the themes of interconnectedness, caring, and learning life lessons from family.

People have always used their imagination to explain the unexplained. The Mythical Creatures series describes some of the best known creatures in an engaging, age appropriate way that is sure to be a hit with young readers. Each book contains ten chapters focusing on different aspects of the creature. This includes the mythical origins, typical characteristics, unique powers or skills, geographic home, and similar mythical and real life creatures. Short sentences are divided on the page into a variety of text boxes. Labeled illustration and diagrams support the content and break up the pages in a manner reminiscent of a screen. Includes Glossary, Index, and Table of Contents.

The Mythical Creature series currently contains eight titles. Titles used for this review are: Centaurs, Giants, Werewolves, and Kraken.

A boy, his dad, and their dog take a nature walk and identify the many interesting trees they pass. The unique and identifying characteristics of each tree is described in a four line stanza The poplar has rough bark, the huckleberry has hairy leaves, the quaking aspen have fluttering leaves. Through the course of the book, they identify 8 different trees. At the end of their walk they end up in a nursery so the boy can choose small tree to plant in their yard. It is unclear what tree he chose.

The illustrations reinforce the joyful and soothing aspects of a nature walk. End paper include three identifying photos for each type of tree. In the Why We Love Trees section, the reader can learn of some of the benefits of trees.

Lucas wakes excited for his capoeira moving up ceremony. Getting ready to go in the morning, he eats his breakfast and practices. His little sister tries the moves too, but fall and loses her ginga, or her confidence. As Lucas waits his turn during the ceremony, he starts to wonder what would happen if he lost HIS ginga. And when it happens, he’s not sure he will be able to earn his new cordas like his friends. This story shows the importance of family, community, and capoeira’s movement and music in the Brazilian community. It also speaks the importance of perseverance, effort, and the support of community in self improvement. In the end, Lucas earns his new cord and his nickname.

The inclusion of Portuguese words enrich the cultural experience of the book. The pictures portray the art and motion of capoeira with dynamic expressive illustrations.

In Our Solar System captures young people’s fascination with planets and space. The use of the “Over in the Meadow” rhythm for the poems provides the information in a catchy format for younger children and aids in fact retention. Illustrations then portray the number from the poem also providing a counting opportunity for young children. Each poem is then accompanied by a paragraph detailing more complex information about the topic. As the numbers increase in the rhyming poems, the topic is moving further from the sun. Topics include: the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and comets.

The combination of short catchy rhyming poems, colorful illustrations, and interesting facts will make this a great book when reading with a diversity of ages.

Hana, a young biracial girl is excited that both her grandparents will be visiting. She wants to cook a perfect meal that blends her African American and Korean roots. Hana’s mother and father offer suggestions and encouragement as she wrestles with ideas. The blending of the two food traditions with lots of love results in the creation of Kimchi Gumbo. Hana’s dinner is a huge success and so is the family gathering.

Seoul Food uses a young girls efforts to incorporate her grandparents’ cuisine into a single meal to symbolize both the challenges and the joys of blending two cultures. The cute illustrations clearly portray the characters’ emotions. The recipe for Kimchi Gumbo is included at the end.