This book details various environmental threats to rivers with a short description (usually about a paragraph on one page) of each one. Basic river ecology is covered in the first chapter and it’s stressed that humans depend on rivers as much as other animals. Key words are printed in red and are defined in text boxes on the same or next page. The book touches on a number of complex issues (ex: climate change, chemical runoff, etc.) and explains the basics in concise, simple language without skimping on meaning.  The final chapter offers solutions and hope, which helps keep the book from being so depressing that environmental problems are made too scary for children to face.

The back contains a glossary, index, three Common Core discussion questions, a short reference list of related books, and a link to a publisher-sponsored internet search engine.

This book describes the biology and life cycles of scorpions. It contains lots of detailed information and quality photographs. Some of the technical terms may be intimidating for younger or less confident readers, but there is a glossary in the back for key words, and other terms (such as specialized words for body parts, etc.) are defined within the text itself.

In addition to the glossary, the back contains an index, a world range map for where scorpions live, and a short reference list for related books and a link to the Scholastic webpage for more information on scorpions.

This second edition contains a set of fully updated Big Kid Boxes designed to incorporate the latest scientific discoveries about Mars (First edition was 2006).  This fun story of Max, space dog, helping his young friend Tori on the first human mission to mars, is sure to delight kids who enjoy dogs, space, and science stories. Max Goes to Mars is part of the Big Kid Science series, and includes Max Goes to the Moon, Max Goes to Juniper, Max Goes to the Space Station, and The Wizard Who Saved the World.

This is a very nicely illustrated picture book on the life of Frank Sinatra, starting with his youth in Hoboken, New Jersey. The story chronicles Frankie’s love of singing: at school, at work, everywhere. The story continues with Frankie’s move to New York City to study voice, his first appearance in concert, and his records being played on the radio. Moving on into his film career, singing and dancing on the big screen, and moving on to his international tours, Las Vegas tours, and awards, the reader gets a rosy view of Frank Sinatra, focusing on his talent and hard work, and omitting any mention of organized crime, womanizing, drinking, smoking, or any other vices.

The book includes an Author’s Note and Bibliography.

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a child who loses a beloved stuffed animal, and how his grandfather helps him cope with the loss by using his imagination.

Flinkwater is a city similar to Silicon Valley in which most of the people are employed by a computer company. Those people are super smart and nerdy, as are their children. However in an attempted takeover, people are reduced to a catatonic state by watching the screen saver for the local school’s mascot. The founder and CEO of the town’s tech industry was actually the culprit. Hautman does a terrific job with the main character, Ginger, a 13-year-old girl. The dialog and self speak is snappy and funny, and goes off on tangents pretty much just like a 13-year-old girl. Kids will enjoy the humor and fast pace of the story.

Middle school boys see if you could keep up with Jack Sullivan if your world turned upside down with roaming monsters and zombies!

Jack has not had the easiest of lives being an orphan and shifting from one bad foster home to the next, but then the monsters and zombies take over. “But one thing I’ve learned about life after the Monster Apocalypse: nothing’s quick and nothing’s easy.” (p. 4) Now, Jack lives in a tree house which he has fortified.  On one of his trips to the CVS to get replacement parts for is walkie talkie, Jack runs into BLARG, a monster who will make several appearances for revenge on Jack. Jack spends his days calling out on the walkie talkie trying to make contact with his one friend Quint. [Foster kids don’t make or keep real friends easily.] Jack new life philosophy “Ever since the Robinsons peaced out– that’s forty-two days ago, now–I’ve been forced to survive alone in a world of monsters. That’s pretty much the plot of a video game, right?! So I said, y’know what, I’ll treat life like a video game.” (p. 23)

In video game fashion, Jack finds his best friend Quint. Jack helps move Quint and all of his science stuff in Quint’s mother’s suped up pickup truck, they call BIG MAMA, back to the tree house. They have a fine life eating Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts, drinking Mountain Dew, along with other junk foods. All the while, Jack is looking for June Del Toro, a girl from his former middle school, whom he wants to save as a damsel in distress. This is one of Jack’s Feats of Apocalyptic Success! video game style. While looking for gas to keep Big Mama running, Jack meets up with a humungous  pet monster (perhaps a dog- soon to be called Rover). On another trip out looking for June, Jack runs into the former middle school’s bully – Dirk. Dirk is not having any trouble fending off the monsters, but Jack talks him into coming and living with him in the tree house. BLARG makes an appearance, but between Dirk and Jack they are able to escape in Big Mama.

Quint makes a saddle for Jack to use to ride Rover. While riding Rover, the monster pet, Jack spies June’s sweat shirt stuck in the grating of a middle school window. Jack, Dirk, and Quint go to rescue June. As it turns out, June ends up rescuing them inside the abandoned middle school when BLARG makes yet another appearance. June does not want to be rescued. She’s trying to make contact with her parents. She saw them evacuating the city when the Monster Apocalypse began, but she was not able to reach them at that time.  Once again, Jack is able to talk another person into joining Quint and him back at the tree house fortress. Quint, Dirk, Jack, and now June deck themselves out in the school’s protective sports gear before going out to face the zombies and BLARG so they can return to the tree house. They are almost to Big Mama when Jack starts running away to lead BLARG away from the group. The rest of the group make it back to the ree house, but Jack is cornered by BLARG. Rover bounds in, in the nick of time. Back at the tree house,  Jack and friend use all of the fortress’s defenses to defend the tree house. Jack Slays BLARG. “I completed the ULTIMATE Feat of Apocalyptic Success! and now? Well, now, I think it’s time we all relaxed. At least for a little while…[until] the next giant monster comes around the corner….   THE END! (for now…)  (page 255)

Douglas Holgate’s graphic novel style illustrations are generously spread throughout the book making this a middle school boy favorite.