This biography briefly introduces the life of Benjamin Franklin, touching on his inventions and his contributions to the city of Philadelphia as well as to the newly formed United States of America.  This book is part of the Rookie biographies series printed by Scholastic.  Colorful photos, engaging nonfiction text will encourage children to read on their own – as they discover how this incredibly accomplished man contributed to the founding of our nation.

Nick Cannon, husband of  singer Mariah Carey, and father to twins Moroccan and Monroe (Roc & Roe) has taken the traditional Christmas carol THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and updated it the new lyrics.

Today’s children will identify more readily with the items Roc and Roe are hanging on their Christmas tree, then with the items in the traditional song, i.e. a partridge in a pear tree. The traditional melody easily fits the new words for most lines. The words for the ‘7th day’ have the correct number of syllables, but the words themselves do not slip easily off of the tongue when sung.

AG Ford puts whimsical action into his illustrations as the pages build one day at a time to the twelfth day climax.

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, Roc and Roe put on their Christmas tree

twelve chugging choo-choos, eleven teddy bears, ten candy canes, nine jumping Jacks [Jack’s their dog],

eight tiny reindeer, seven balloons with bows, six festive fairies, FIVE GOLDEN BELLS,

four skiing snowmen, three “pip” photos, two singing Santas,

and an angel with sparkly, shiny wings.”

This is a YOU CHOOSE story. Meaning, after the reader has read the opening fives pages of the story, the reader is given two or three choices to make at each plot turn leading up to 14 different possible endings. The plot begins when Poison Ivy : AKA- Pamela Isley has escaped from Arkham Asylum. ”  ‘She’s a toxic villain who cares more about plants than humanity… ‘ ” (p. 8) and is headed to Giordano Botanical Gardens.”Poison Ivy is too powerful in the gardens. She’s literally a force of nature there.” (p. 9)  All plants in Giordano Botanical Gardens are ‘potential weapons‘. Poison Ivy is out to steal the seeds stored there for use after a disaster.

Off Batman goes to recapture Poison Ivy. At the first junction, Batman [and the reader] must decide whether to look for Poison Ivy in the lilacs, the peonies, or in the crabapple orchard. If he chooses the lilacs, there are at least four possible paths or choices (given in blue type at the bottom of the page) until Poison Ivy eludes Batman and ends the story. BUT then the book prompts the reader “To follow another path, turn to page 7.” I did my best to follow all of the choices for the lilac routes, the peony routes, and the crabapple routes. Chasing Poison Ivy through the various gardens with Batman at the Giordano Botanical Gardens was exciting, especially when I was given such choices as: “If Batman decides that it’s safe to rush Poison Ivy now, turn to page 56.”      or       “If he uses his stealth skills to follow her, turn to page 81.” 

All of the twists and turns Batman makes along the way trying to recapture Poison Ivy are much like the vines and tendrils she orders to grow in Batman’s way to stop him.  The chase is what this book is all about! It’s fun and exhausting! Don’t tell anyone, but Batman never catches Poison Ivy in any of the scenarios.

Eleven illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book done by professional DC Comics artist Ethan Beavers.

Includes: Glossary and Poison Ivy bio.

This factual book is written in four sections: What are Gray Wolves?, Pack Life, On the Hunt, and Pups. There are an average of two sentences per page. Included within the pages of text are a map, a graph, and two charts. Wolves’ physical characteristics of height, weight, and color are stated, as well, as what they eat, their habitats, and where they live. The photos of the wolves are captivating.

The map on page 5 showing the wolves range around the Western Hemisphere is correct, but the sentence below the map states eastern Greenland, when according to the map (and National Geographic from the book’s www.factsurfer.com) the wolves reside in western Greenland.

Includes: Contents, Index, Glossary, and www.factsurfer.com.

This United Kingdom non fiction picture book dealing with the celebration of Christmas uses high interest photos with low word count to open dialogue between the young reader and an adult.

I point out U.K. because of the use of ‘crackers’ (p. 17) and the types of desserts (mince meat pie [ p. 19]) used in this holiday’s celebration.

I found the same grammatical mistake in two places: (p. 18) ” How do YOUR family…” and (p. 12) ” What do YOUR family put…”

The best part of the book just might be the “Notes for adults” found on pages 22-23 on how to use this book with young children. The book is said to support “Early Years Foundation Stages”.

Contains an Index and Contents.

Clifford the BIG red dog is pairing up with word opposites while Emily Elizabeth and he visit a zoo. They see at least nine animals and compare them to Clifford: small / big – penguins / Clifford, sleeping/awake – koalas / Clifford, light/heavy – butterflies / Clifford, dirty/clean – hippo / Clifford, noisy/ quiet – howler monkeys / Clifford, hard / soft – tortoise / Clifford, up/down – birds / Clifford, curly / straight – chameleon / Clifford, and wet / dry – seals / Clifford.

After the story’s conclusion, there are four pages which include a 2 or 3 sentence factual paragraph about each of the nine animals Emily and Clifford saw while at the zoo.

The book’s front cover is a tactile  bonus for preschool children and kindergartners alike.   A thick board cover with a cutout of Clifford is filled with a soft padded red fabric inset of Clifford. Clifford’s padding is almost flush with the board, so it should not cause a problem when shelving this book.

Jan Brett’s skilled and customary art style accompany the speculated tale of how a young cave boy becomes friends with a Paleowolf. In customary storytelling fashion, three times the cave boy stops to ask the Paleowolf a question and then deny the animal any of his roasted Wooly Rhino bones. Each time the Paleowolf leaves, Kip the cave boy discovers and eludes a dangerous animal in the nick of time. “Finally, Kip made a speech. He said, ‘Wolfy, if you will use your keen nose and your fine ears and your sharp eyes to keep me from being eaten up, I promise to share with you all the Wooly Rhino ribs and even Mammoth meat that I cook over the fire.’  ”

From inside back cover, “The images and ornaments of her borders were inspired by the cave paintings and artifacts surviving from this time.”

Gorgeous photographs illustrate this informative book on dolphins, written in Spanish.  These intelligent mammals are fast swimmers that hunt and play together.  Physical characteristics,  the life cycle, and habitats are explained.  This is a terrific resource for anyone looking to know more about this amazing animal with few enemies.

This book on ancient Egyptians, written in Spanish, is jam-packed with information and fascinating photos.  One can almost imagine life 4000 years ago.  There are many facts about pharaohs, the methods of preserving mummies, the construction of pyramids, and activities of these ancient peoples.  In the back are questions and with answers from Anna Garnett, an Egyptologist and expert on mummies, along with information concerning Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Egypt, and Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome.  The layout is captivating and spectacular.

Gilbert Stuart painted portraits of several famous people, but capturing a pleasing likeness of President Washington was a challenge.  This book begins with a letter of apology from Charlotte, one of Stuart’s 12 children, promising Mr. Washington that she and her siblings would be better behaved the next time he came to the house for a portrait sitting.  The grim president sent them a book of Rules for Good Behavior for Boys and Girls – some of which are mentioned.  In another letter, Charlotte suggests he should smile as it would make him “very Nice”.  Stuart also unsuccessfully tried to have his children play away from home when Washington was there.  The book is filled with the children’s humorous antics – which finally elicited a smile from Washington.  Portrait accomplished!  There is an author’s note in the back.  Even though there is no record of the behaviors of Stuart’s children, this rendition presents a humanizing look at both Washington and Stuart.  The amusing illustrations are a colorful combination of ink, acrylic, and digital media.