A young girl has a new cat, but has a very difficult time naming it. She tries many lovely names, like Lorraine and Ethel, until she discovers that her pet is a male cat. Whoops! The list of potential boy cat names include Butch and Rocky. Mr. Maestro seems to be fine, until she joins in on the musical fun and the cat disappears. She looks everywhere, even the zoo, where she picks up another pet. Steve, the gorilla, is a nice pet, but eventually gets hauled away by the Bureau for Naughty Animals and ‘Tricky’ the cat returns (with a new collar and name). Hmmm….

This book is a busy, colorful riot of fun and readers will enjoy studying the pages for all the crazy details related to the story. Cat lovers will cheer for Tricky, the cat. Recommended.

A young bear stumbles across a piano in a clearing in the forest and began to play. Each day, he came back until the sounds coming from that piano became beautiful and magical. Other bears came to listen to his music and he was so happy. One day, a man and his daughter walked to the clearing and heard the bear play. They told him that he could come with them to play on even better pianos in front of hundreds of people in cities everywhere. He wanted to go, but worried that his friends would be sad. But, in his heart wanted to play music in a bigger, better way. So, he left with the people and did just that.

Yet, he began to miss the forest and his friends. One day, he went back, wondering if they would be angry with him for leaving or perhaps had forgotten him. He reached the clearing and…nothing! No piano or friends! Suddenly, he saw a fellow bear and followed him to find his old piano. His friends had taken care of it and had followed his career. They weren’t mad – they were proud of him! He then sat down to play the most important concert of his life…for his friends.

This is a lovely story and a lovely book with soft colors and a wonderful message. Highly recommended.

Kids love books about sharks and they will learn some great information in this book as they turn through the pages showing gaping mouths and dagger-sharp teeth. The photos will grab their attention and the text-boxes, labels and short sentences will teach them such information as the life span of great whites (30+ years), swimming speed (35+ miles per hour) and reproduction (two to twelve pups that develop inside the female). Typical non-fiction features (table of contents, labeled diagrams, index and glossary round out a solid introduction to this great predator. Recommended

Earth Movers is a high interest book for those readers that love to play with trucks or in the dirt or both! Large photos with labels and information (bolded words are explained in the glossary) are attractively laid out on bright background colors. Associated nonfiction features (table of contents, index and glossary) are helpful additions for the younger readers just getting started.

This book will not last long on the shelf and readers will learn some things along the way. Recommended.

Breathtaking photography with some good science mixed in – this book should interest most budding marine biologists. An introduction explains the history and process of photography. After that, the reader discovers some amazing animals of the ocean in glorious living color. Textboxes indicate scientific name, habitat, diet and size of each coral. Corresponding text adds extra information, some rather frivolous, but mostly interesting.

At the end of the book, the reader is invited to become a photographer, with tips to get started. Perhaps, this book, part of the Up Close series, will encourage a future wildlife photographer to take that first step. Or, it might prompt a future naturalist to take a closer look at organisms around her.

This book is a tour of all things Japan introduced by a young girl named Satchiko. The pages are loaded with information about daily living, school and home, customs, food, art and history. There is a guessing game as well as comparisons between Japan and America. An additional section called “Preparing for Your Visit” will help future travelers get ready for their trips to the featured country.

An index, glossary and table of contents are strong non-fiction features and the colorful layout lends itself to browsing as well as deeper reading for information. Recommended!

Izzy is different sort of girl in a family that includes a busy, perfect sister and a mom who aspires to greatness in politics. Dad believes in her and Grandma Bertie and Aunt Mildred provide some fun comedy to the family dynamics.
The story begins as Izzy heads to middle school and all the social upheaval it entails. She longs to belong, yet her combat boots, eclectic wardrobe and lack of interest in boys make her an outcast. What she really wants, though, is to be part of the elite rowing team, which is full of the most “popular” girls in school. She deserves to be there, but she gets in trouble with everyone, including her driven mom, who is running for mayor. After Izzy gets sent to the principal’s office yet again, her parents enroll her in a correspondence charm school, Mrs. Whipple’s Earn Your Charm School. Letters arrive with charms, tasks to be completed and the promise of a wonderful prize at the end. Things go pretty well for Izzy until she makes a huge mistake with one of the tasks. She needs to fix her mess and she has some new friends that will help. Is it enough to make it on the rowing team? And, will she finally be accepted in middle school?
Told in Izzy’s voice, the story is a wonderful piece of realistic fiction. The reader will empathize with Izzy as she navigates through school, family, charming disasters and new friendships. Recommended

A day in the lives of two ballerinas, one a little red-headed beginner and the other a young accomplished African American woman. Their activities mirror each other, beginning with waking up and eating breakfast before ballet lessons. While Emma’s mom drives her to ballet, Julia takes the bus by herself. But, upon entering their dance studios, they both put away their coats and bags and begin lessons with their beloved teachers, who make them both work hard at their respective levels. As the day progresses, the reader is reminded of how much these two characters love ballet and they finally meet that evening when Emma attends the ballet in the city with her family and Julia is the principal dancer. After the performance, Emma shyly asks for Julia’s autograph backstage and receives an encouraging hug as well. Emma states that one day she will dance onstage like Julia and Julia replies that once she dreamed of being a ballerina just like Emma. And, the end feels just right. The artwork is lovely and the details on the pages draws the reader into the lives of the ballerinas. Young ballerinas will enjoy the parallel story of two dancers who love ballet. Recommended.

Penny and her dog,Jelly, are SO excited! An invitation to a sleepover under the stars at the local recreation center comes in the mail and they can’t wait, until…Jelly unrolls the invitation and Penny sees the bottom words “No Pets”. Suddenly, the sleepover doesn’t sound as fun, unless Penny can make a substitute Jelly to take along. She tries to construct a dog out of paper, yarn, marshmallows, vegetables, recyclables and many, many other versions. But, none of them are as perfect as Jelly. Penny packs her backpack and heads for the door as Jelly looks on sadly. But, wait! Penny can solve this problem another way and it works out beautifully for everyone. Penny, Jelly and all their friends (of varying ethnicity and species) end up having a great time all due to Penny’s thinking outside the box to solve the problem. Readers will be impressed by Jenny’s tenacity as she works hard to include Jelly (or, initially, some form of Jelly) in her sleepover plans.
Artwork is realistic and the reader will notice the characters’ emotions as they read through the story. Recommended

(Blue)Squirrel and (Red)Rabbit are new to their neighborhood and each longs for a friend. They wander through the pages of the story, always missing each other as they search a friend. Each is accompanied by tiny caterpillar that offers to help, but is not heard. And, while Squirrel is busy doing things like lugging some nuts over a bridge or rowing a boat, the reader (and the little caterpillar) see Rabbit engaged in his solo activities. Rabbit is equally oblivious to Squirrel in the background as he plays golf or plays in the creek under the bridge. In the end, all is well as the two literally run into each other and become friends. The caterpillars are there, too, commenting that Squirrel and Rabbit should have listened to them. But, “perhaps they don’t speak bug!”. Endpapers are worth a look, as they detail the places Squirrel and Rabbit visit in their quest for friendship and the paths they took while barely missing each other.
Young readers will enjoy this sweet book about finding friends and will delight in knowing what the main characters can’t see right in front of them. Sharing secrets with the caterpillars adds to the fun! Recommended.