It’s not getting a high recommendation, but there is a certain population of library patrons who will eat this up, for the illustrations alone, loaded as they are with pink and purple and rainbows and unicorns and princesses and sparkles and a mermaid, too.  Frankie, a fan of fairy tales, is surprised one day to find a princess in her bedroom, seeking refuge from a witch.  As soon as she gets the princess hidden under her bed, the unicorn arrives, also needing someplace to hide.  After Frankie has hidden the mermaid and the knight and the king and the frog, the witch arrives, and though Frankie does her best to keep her new friends’ secrets, the witch’s broom rounds up them all, but it’s okay in the end, because it turns out they’re just playing hide and seek, and Frankie gets to be “it” next.

A sweet, comforting, reassuring book to remind small children that there are grown ups in the world to keep them safe when storms rage.  Rhyming couplets and charming illustrations describe a series of young animals being protected by their grown ups while a storm rages:   the moles snuggling  close under ground and touching noses, the duckling under mama’s wing, the rabbits cozy in their burrow, etc… On the final page the puppy is reassured that, “A storm will always end.”

It could be titled, “Dozens of Ways to Die.”  Ninety percent of the 24 possible ending end in death.  Which makes it a great choice for those reluctant reader boys who will be eager to try a new path and find a new way to die.  And they’ll get a little history along the way.  The interactive nature of the book, the simple text, and the comfort in knowing you don’t have to read the whole thing before you get to “The End” are other contributing factors that will draw in the reluctant reader.  It even kept the actual dialogue to a minimum, which I appreciate, as that is one element of these choose-your-path-through-history books that I think calls the non-fiction designation into shady territory.

It is a really quality work: very thorough and well-written, illustrated with lots of full-color photographs.  This is a series I have been generally very impressed with, and I would probably recommend it for middle school or high school, but I hesitate because this is not my area of expertise.  As an elementary librarian, I am happy to put it on my shelf, and it may find some limited interest (particularly if I make a point of pulling up the video feed to the webcam that watches the nests).  The photos would draw some students in, and the text is broken up sufficiently into assorted captions and sidebars so that younger readers may browse through the photos, reading bits and pieces, but I doubt elementary students would read the whole thing, as it’s a bit text dense.

This is fun! I want to try it out with my students! And I want to get the other books in the series (there are 4).  It begins with a basic introduction to what coding is, and defining some key concepts like input and output.  It explains that there are different computer languages and tells where readers can download, or access online two different free resources, Logo and Scratch.  It then goes on to explain quite clearly how each of these work, giving lots of simple exercises to try.

I LOVE the illustrations! They are whimsical and fanciful and delightful, and they totally suit the nonsensical spirit of Wonderland.  They were almost enough to win me over from my usual distaste of abridgments.  But this isn’t even a whole abridgment.  Only if one takes the time to read the inside flap of the dust jacket does one know that this is the first half of Alice’s adventures.  It could have been really fabulous if they’d created a larger volume to include the complete story.  This way it falls a bit flat.

I’m not generally inclined to be a fan of abridgments, as I find them somewhat disrespectful to the author’s original work, but if you’re in the market for such a thing, this would be a reasonable choice.  It is a beginning chapter book, suitable for young readers, with short chapters and full-page color illustrations.  The illustrations suit the silliness of the story. It’s adequate for what it is.

It’s got a great title, and it’s written with a great voice, that brings out the personality of the main character.  The cartoonish illustrations, likewise, are drawn to contribute to the personality of the characters, but there’s a gray undertone to the color scheme that detracts and leaves them a bit drab.  The story itself is fine, but not especially compelling:  dog’s in trouble for wreaking havoc on the furniture, because she thinks she’s battling monsters, but it turns out that she needs glasses, so she gets taken to the doggy optometrist, tries on a bunch of glasses, but opts for contacts instead, and all is well.  It left me a bit flat.

A delightful story with a message we all need reminding of from time to time.  Told in rhyme with a poetic rhythm (without being too sing-songy), the story tells of a meek, tiny mouse who lives at the base of a large rock, perpetually ignored by all the other animals.  Atop the rock is the perch of the lion, whose loud roar and prideful boasting makes him impossible to ignore.  Deciding he needs a roar of his own to get himself noticed, Mouse works up the courage to face the only one who can teach him, and makes the long climb, overcoming his fear of becoming dinner in order to seek his goal.  Upon waking the lion with his timid request, we all discover the lion is afraid of mice, which puts the little guy in a place of power as he assures the lion he means no harm and would like to be friends.  So they both learned that day that no matter one’s size, “we all have a mouse and a lion inside.”  The illustrations give the characters personality and use perspective well to create a sense of drama.

This beautifully illustrated picture book uses the voice of Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson to describe the work and teachings of Gandhi, through the perspective of a young boy not fully the lessons he’s being taught and chaffing at the behavior expected of him.  He says of the eleven principle teachings of his grandfather, the one he struggled with the most was the teaching against waste.  In an act of defiance, one day he tosses his stubby little pencil into the grass, only to be sent into the night to spend hours hunting for it.  Eventually, his grandfather explains that wasting resources is a way form of taking from those who have less, and gives him an exercise to recognize the two types of violence: physical violence and passive violence, and the impacts all our thoughts and actions have upon the wider world.