Posey is completely fed up with the first grade boys.  She hears the word “weirdo” from her older 4th grade neighbor and decides to make up a song about her classmate, Henry.  Her girlfriends think it is funny but her favorite teacher, Miss Lee, does not.  Her family encourages her to put herself in Henry’s shoes, but she is still angry that she is the one in trouble.  Now she has to use her princess power to think of a way to make amends.  This easy-to-read chapter book realistically captures the typical emotions and behaviors of many first graders.  Black and white illustrations are a great match to the moods in the story.

Friends Sydney, girl with a love of fashion, and Sidney, boy with a love of sports, team up to convince their parents they are responsible enough to have a dog for a pet  With two other friends, they start a dog-walking business.  Almost immediately, they hit snags.  A business requires a lot of their time and consists of smaller jobs that are not so much fun – creating advertising posters, picking up the poop, making fair schedules.  Keeping their friendship and convincing their parents they can care for a pet is almost more than they can handle.  Both Sydney and Sidney tell the story in alternating chapters, working through all the big dog decisions.

Based on characters created by H. A. Rey and the Curious George television series, in this science storybook, Curious George learns about germs.  George does not feel well and the man with the yellow hat says he is fighting a bad germ and puts him to bed.  Similar to Miss Frizzle’s Magic School Bus, as George drifts off to sleep, he dreams he is germ-size and inside his own body.  George learns about both good and bad germs, how germs are spread , how they can affect people, as well as how to get rid of and avoid bad germs.  Side panels give additional nonfiction information.  An experiment soup recipe, and suggestions for healthy habits are found in the back with a glossary.  What a great way to introduce germs to young children.

Based on characters created by H. A. Rey and the Curious George television series, in this science storybook, Curious George learns about the ocean.  This adventure actually begins in the sky.  Curious George and the man in the yellow hat are in a helicopter when they learn a weather satellite from space just fell into the ocean.  They are involved in the retrieval and get to ride in a submarine.  In his trip underwater, George learns about animals and plants that live there.  Side panels provide additional nonfiction information.  In the back are experiments and activities (answers included) and a glossary.  This is a great introduction to aquatic life, ecosystems, and sonar/echo science for young children.

Based on characters created by H. A. Rey and the Curious George television series, Curious George learns about the sun’s energy and solar panels in this science storybook.  This story begins in the dark when extreme heat during the summer causes a power outage.  Curious George learns about solar power and that batteries store energy.  By using power form the sum, Curious George and the man in the yellow hat are able to create light and cook a lasagna for a special birthday celebration.  Side panels provide additional nonfiction information about forms of power and activities to try.  In the back with the glossary, there are three other experiments or activities to explore.

Everyone wants to fit in.  At some time or another, everyone has wanted to be able to do something they just can’t do.  In this animal story, Elephant want to be able to jump.  His mother and other elephants tell him it’s impossible, elephants can’t jump, it’s their knees.  But Elephant believes that if he tries hard enough, he can do it.  He tries dieting and jumping, but just can’t jump.  He gets so frustrated he thinks he’s not as good as the other animals.  Until he sees a boy who is stuck on a ledge.  The other animals all scramble to help him, but they all get stuck, too.  It’s Elephant’s trunk that is able to pull them all to safety.  And he’s the only animal with a trunk.  He is special after all, even if he can’t jump.

Little kids have seemed to absorb all the information there is about dinosaurs, but here is a fresh, new arrival.  Dinosaurs from Head to Tail shows only the head or the tail on one page and gives the answer on the following page, plus some new little factoids.  The art is colorful on white paper with no background so the illustrated dinosaurs really stand out.  The type is bold and large.  This will be a popular book for our dino-lovers.

Young families and kids today need to know that they are part of something, part of a bigger community.  This community is made up of other people who live near and around you.  When a person/family needs help, the community is there to support them.  And it works both ways:  you get support when you need it and you give support to others when they need it.  The theme of community is taught in the primary grades and it is a difficult concept for kids to understand.  Especially those in families who move frequently; they haven’t really had a chance to experience community.  It’s a give and take relationship. This book explains the concept in a gentle way that hopefully kids can relate to.

All around the world, plastic bags have caused serious problems.  After decades of use, the plastic bags have accumulated in massive quantities in landfills, never decomposing.  Some cultures do not have landfills and garbage is dropped and left wherever.  In Gambia, Africa, the piles of bags grew and grew, smelled bad, and was killing the goats the people used for food.  Isatou Ceesay and other village women decided to solve their serious garbage problem by crocheting the plastic bags into purses which were then taken to the city to sell at market.  The purses were popular and earned the ladies money.  They cleaned up their environment, saved the goats, and earned money to use for their families.  The lady with the vision, Isatou Ceesay, became quite involved with worldwide agencies empowering women, and found ways to build a skills center for her village to provide better learning for people, animals and the environment.  This book is a fine example of it just takes one person to start something.  Its an inspiring story of these women’s courage and tenacity to fix a problem.

In the Pacific Northwest there are numerous opportunities to go hiking and camping, and generally just being outside in nature.  This non-fiction picture book does a great job in explaining the characteristics of poison ivy and how it can affect humans.  The part that stuck with me, personally, was the fact that burning it and inhaling the smoke can be fatal.  The students to whom I read the book were riveted and really paid attention to it.  Although the illustrations were beautiful and highly detailed, I wish there would have been actual photos of the plant available.  This book should be a first purchase for all libraries in cities where poison ivy grows.