This book provides an engaging graphic description of the sport of hockey that includes timelines, graphs, maps, and diagrams.  Hockey’s increasing popularity, rules, players, equipment and game statistics are all part of this visual guide. Each two page spread includes clear headings, easy to read captions, and a descriptive paragraph in addition to the inforgraphic. Occasionally the graphics interfere with the content being communicated, though overall the book is a positive example of this format.

Contains table of contents, glossary, further information, and index.  The table of contents is organized in a circle making it misleading and difficult to follow.

This translation of the Korean original uses simple yet rich text to describe the water cycle.  The story and images create a cycle of their own using a young girl in a red dress to follow the water from one page to the next. The illustrations are simple yet charming.  Includes questions and an activity.  The book focuses more on the story than the science as it is lacking a table of contents, glossary, or index.  A pleasant read to introduce the water cycle or as an extension on a rainy day.

Shaken Up is part of The Kicks series by Olympic Gold Medalist, FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion and US Women’s National Soccer Team member Alex Morgan.  The series holds obvious appeal for young girl athletes.  The main character, Devin is a middle school soccer player beset with friend, crush, and self-confidence issues typical of that age.  As a new resident of California, she is “freaked out” when a earthquake hits and it affects her ability to cope with both soccer team rivalries and the challenges of middle school life.  The story resolves with her on top in the friend, crush, and soccer drama.

The content is more appropriate for a middle school audience, but the simple plot and “cute” cover is a better fit for younger grades.  While this is definitely a recreational read, it could easily be used in the classroom as an example for writers to “write what you know.”

Mr. Pants the cat and his two cat sisters, like mischievous siblings everywhere, spend their seemingly endless energy both provoking each other and aggravating their human mom.  In Slacks, Camera, Action!, Mr. Pants has only one day to enter a film contest and his fixation on creating a film encounters continual hiccups.  When it appears he’s run out of time, his mom shows him how to edit and add audio to what he already has filmed and Mr. Pants gets the film submitted just in time!

Slacks, Camera, Action is the second book in the Mr. Pants series.  The colorful pictures and simple text are in the format of a graphic novel with speech bubbles and multiple panels on each page.  The silly story is organized into eight easy-to-read chapters offering young readers a sense of accomplishment and a good option for readers not quite ready for more challenging chapter books

Growling Gracie is part of the series Adventures at Hound Hotel.  The story takes place at a dog kennel run by the Wolfe family.  When Uncle Robert brings Gracie and Twinkles for an afternoon at the Hound Hotel, the twins Alfie and Alfreeda fight over playing frisbee with Twinkles.  Gracie and her aggressive alpha behavior cuts frisbee time off before it starts.  But the twins end up putting their knowledge of dog behavior to good use and helping each other out.  Gracie get a nap and Twinkles gets to play frisbee.

The book is a well paced engaging early chapter book sure to interest dog lovers.  Interspersed throughout the story are explanations of dog behavior and its roots in  wolf behavior.   The reader comes away believing that when dog behavior seems wrong, there is probably still a rational explanation from the dog’s perspective.

Back information includes breed information, glossary, questions, and author/illustrator information.

This book tells of the life of a phone booth on the corner of West End Avenue and 100th Street in New York City starting during the years when it saw heavy use, through the advent of cell phones and its decline into disrepair.  When a storm knocks out cell service, the phone booth again feels needed and valued.  Its imminent removal provokes outcry from those who relied on it for so many years.  It still stands today on its corner in New York.

While progress brings change, this story shows that people working together can make a difference and keep what is important in their lives.

This book provided a traditional retelling of this classic rags to riches tale.  Upon the death of his father, the third son of the miller is disappointed to receive a cat for his inheritance.  After asking for a pair of boots and a hat, the cat proceeds through trickery to obtain the king’s daughter in marriage for his master.

This book is the English edition of a book originally published in Korean.

Large text, non-fiction text features, and age appropriate experiments makes this an intriguing choice for budding young scientists.  After an introduction to the parts of a plant, the four experiments in the book focus on roots, stems, leaves, and seeds.

Its never too early, however, to use correct terminology for the scientific process.  Including terms such as hypothesis, materials, procedure, and results would make this book a better fit for school libraries building their STEM collection.

Contains table of contents, glossary, further reading, and index.

With lovely pictures, soothing cadence, and rhyming text, this book offers the sweet sentiment of bedtime stories everywhere with its repeated refrain, “You nest here with me.”  As the book progresses, the complexity of the details surrounding each subsequent bird and nesting location slowly abates as the colors cool and darken in preparation for the appearance of the moon and stars to sooth the child to sleep on the last page of the story.

Terms such as sedges, boles, and tors are not typical word choices for children’s bedtime stories, but these concise terms for nesting locations would be engaging for older audiences.  Author notes at the end of the book provides more information on the birds in an age appropriate version of an Audubon type bird book.

The love between a cat and an Egyptian queen transcends time in this wonderful and approachable introduction to ancient Egyptian culture and burial practices.  While the Mummy Cat’s exploration of the tomb introduces the reader to features of an Egyptian tomb, the vivid murals and the cat’s reminiscences portray ancient Egyptian life. The hieroglyphs incorporated in the story are explained in the back matter along with an age appropriate explanation of Egyptian mummies, cats, and queens.