This graphically appealing biography presents the Wright brothers in an accessible way for young readers.  The graphic enhancements include a mix of period photos as well as current images of historic locations.  Airplane specific terms such as roll, pitch, and yaw are introduced with a combination of diagrams and explanations, yet the glossary is sparse, with only 3 terms.  The text details the process of development while including personal facts about the Wright Brothers.  A perfect title to support the Next Generation Science Standards.  

In the land of the midnight sun in a time when the earth was young and light disappeared entirely from the earth, an orphan boy watched a Shaman repeat the same ineffectual chants and charms in an effort to return the sun.  While often treated poorly, the boy was still determined to make a difference for his people and begged his aunt for help.  She sends him off with a magical raven cloak and snowshoes to find the light.  After a long journey, he comes upon a man shoveling snow over a ball of fire and with every shovel full, the light was concealed.  The boy steals the light and transforms into a raven to escape back to his village bringing day to his people.

The voice of an oral storyteller can be heard in the language of the story.

Katie Woo hears hear Dad play the piano and she wants to make music too.  She tries the piano and all her friends’ instruments, “but I’d like to play something of my own,” she says.  She finds her own instrument in the sounds she enjoys around her and discovers the drums are her own way to make music.  The repetitive testing and discarding of musical instruments gives the text predictability for young readers.  Showing a Chinese American girl exploring the world around her, this is a great series to diversify your early reader collection.

Includes a Glossary of Musical terms, discussion questions and writing prompts, directions to make a Chinese drum.

This cute picture book is inspired by the traditional rhyme “This Little Piggy Went to Market.”  The repetitive text will appeal to young readers.  The pattern of text starts with Piggy doing daily tasks such as shopping, partying, riding, and skating.  The second Piggy always stays home and is illustrated doing a domestic task.  The third Piggy always “had” some object.  The fourth Piggy always “had none.” The fifth piggy went “all the way home”.  Some terms such as “posting” and “dining” are not familiar for young American children, yet this is a fun and engaging picture book.

Covering a mix of United States and International as well as male and female players, this nonfiction text recounts of some of the stars of soccer in the last 60 years.  The chapters feature 2 women, 3 US players and 2 international players.  In addition, other records are shared in the sidebars and fun facts at he end of the book.  The text assumes the reader has a basic understanding of soccer strategy and concepts.  Contains Table of Contents, Fun Facts, Glossary, Additional Resources, and Index

This is book five of the Lighthouse Family series.  Pandora the cat,  Seabold the dog and 3 adopted mice have created a family characterized by kindness and comfort.  In The Octopus, the mice children Whistler and Lila explore an estuary during the lowest tide of the year, seeing creatures they have never seen before.  They offer friendship to Cleo, a stranded octopus and Cleo in return helps free Lila’s feet from the dry crusted sand as the tide comes in.  The story ends with Cleo bringing his family to share a companionable afternoon with the lighthouse family in the sea cave below the lighthouse cliff.

Short chapters and a peaceful, kind message make this book a good choice for young readers.

This book addresses many of the inter-dependencies and complexities of this rain forest ecosystem; from food chains, to pollination, seed dispersal, and human impact.  The book includes primary source documents and online extensions.  Questions appear at the end of many sections and captions.  Photographs, diagrams and maps support the text.

Contains Table of Contents, Stop and Think, Glossary, Learn More, and Index.

While the information is solid, the sentence structure appears stilted and oversimplified making it a choppy read.

Elizabeth tries so hard to learn the constellations of the night sky so that she can grow up to be a sailor like her father, but she just can’t seem to learn.  When her father doesn’t return from a voyage, Elizabeth uses the postcards of the constellations he sent each week to follow and rescue him from his ship wreck. They then sail off to see the Northern Lights together.  A cute story about perseverance and courage.

Elizabeth’s Constellation Quilt ties imagination with the concept of navigating by stars.  The constellations Elizabeth sees are items that are part of her life, a ship, a bear, and a fish rather than the more difficult to recognize and remember constellations of Gemini, Ursa Major, or Cassiopeia.

The Wombats and their teachers Ms. Annabel and Mrs. Nott visit the zoo ready to make the most of their experience.  Let loose on the zoo, each of the Wombats and their teachers records his or her experiences in first person, often including a short poem.  Facts are interspersed with humor and word play.  The same humor can be found in the busy illustrations.  The complex interactions of the numerous characters makes this a title that would benefit from a second or third read.

This is an international publication with English spellings.  The Wombats Go on Camp contains the same goofy characters.

“Every day, millions of creatures are locked in a battle for survival”  Dead of Alive? is full of examples of how creatures, both big and small, survive unique challenges.  From the wood frog that can survive being frozen solid to the barnacle that turns a crab into a zombie, the book is full of intriguing facts about animal survival.

The book is graphically engaging with colorful illustrations and photographs as well as different size, font style, and arrangement of text.  Contains a Table of Contents, Quiz, Additional Resources, Glossary, and Index.

Published in the UK, the English spellings such as centimetres instead of centimeters may be confusing for young readers.