Kepri, the sun dragon, has shiney white and yellow scales and can shine a rainbow from her mouth. But, suddenly Kapri turns up sick from dark magic. Griffith, the wizard, brews a medicine in hopes to make her well, but it offers no results. Everyone was very worried when suddenly Worm, Drake’s Dragon who has the gift of telekinesis, teleports everyone, including Kepri to Kepri’s homeland. It is then that the Dragon Masters kids remembered sun dragons have a twin that is called a moon dragon. When Kepri sees her twin, she starts feeling better and soon makes a full recovery. After a while, they know they must return home and Worm teleports them safely back again. The illustrations are sweet and demonstrates specific details of the story. This is book two in the beginning chapter book series, “Dragon Masters.”

Eight year old Drake was an onion farmer until he was swept away to King Roland’s Castle to be a Dragon Master. Griffin, the king’s wizard introduces Drake to three other Dragon Masters who all have dragons. Each of their dragons have amazing talents: one can shoot fire from its nose, one can spray water from its mouth and another can shine bright light from its mouth. Drake is introduced to his dragon which resembles a worm, thus its name. Unfortunately Worm can’t perform any of the amazing tricks the other dragons can do. After the dragons’ cave collapses and everyone is trapped, Worm’s true skill comes out when he moves all the rocks out of the way using telekinesis. Very cute illustrations demonstrate the story well. This is a great beginner chapter book.

A brief introduction to Sioux Indians, discussing their traditions, daily life and more.  Outstanding layout, beautiful color photographs, and captions that are easy to read make this a wonderful book for students doing research.  This book is part of the series  “Native Americans” printed by ABDO Publishing including 8 separate tribes.

This sweet story begins, ” I’m  giant turtle, and I’m as BIG as an island.” Turtle is lonely in the big ocean until cat, bear, owl, and frog get shipwrecked on him, and he becomes their island home. They work together and are quite happy until cat, bear, owl, and frog decide to leave because they miss their families and friends. Turtle is at a loss. Turtle is lonely again. Then bear, cat, owl, and frog return with their families and friends. “This is how Turtle Island started… and how we continue to grow.”

Yes, the story is sweet, but it lacks pazazz .

The non-fiction books now available are a visual treat.  The digital photography can capture a bird in flight with a crystal-clear image.  This book is a good example of this current technology.  The information is written for primary age children with text corresponding to images.  A picture glossary and index are included at the back.  This book would be a good addition to a library collection.

A variety of idioms related to money and numbers, are explored and explained…such as “on cloud nine”…”at sixes and sevens”…”the whole nine yards”.  Each chapter covers a two page spread discussing the possible origin and/or explanations of the idiom.  Thirteen idioms are included, in all.  “The whole nine yards”  (meaning all of something) has an unclear origin.  It may have been related to an order for a large wedding veil…or maybe it relates to a concrete truck which can hold approximately 9 cubic yards.  The design of the page layouts are visually appealing with a peppering of illustrations mixed with photographs.  I have two concerns for this well, put together book.  First of all, the font size is too small, which is not friendly on young eyes.  I have seen kids open a book, and close it quickly, if the font is too small.  Secondly, the phrases chosen to be included, are somewhat outdated for the targeted audience.  Back Matter includes Glossary, Further Reading and Index.

This is the fourth, and maybe favored book in the Theodosia Thockmorten series.  The setting is Egypt, where Theodosia, a strong, witty girl, discovers more about her birth and history…and how she is connected to the fight between the Brotherhood and the Serpent of Battle.  Filled with mystery, adventure, twists, and turns, periodic comic relief is welcomed, in order to give your nerves a break from the races against time, encounters with evil people and dark, dark magic.  Young and old, alike, would enjoy this romp of a tale.

Biographies for the primary level are becoming more prevalent.  I was impressed by the Table of Contents in this series which appeared to cover a wide range of interesting aspects in the life of Maurice Sendak.  Each “Chapter” (actually a two-page spread) answered a question…”Who Is Maurice Sendak?…Where Did He Grow Up?…What Did He Do Before He Was a Writer?”…and so forth.  However, after a closer look, I was disappointed in how very little information was actually included in the text…or how some, not so interesting information, was taking up prime real estate on the page.  (“He worked and studied hard for four years.”)  Where the Wild Things Are was mentioned in five of the nine “Chapters”!  Authors sometimes don’t realize that primary students can absorb a little more “meaty” information than what is being presented.  Timeline, Glossary, Find Out More and Index are all included in the Back Matter.

Life is full of times when everything does not go as planned.  Tallulah knows that she is an excellent ballerina.  She is attentive in class, following her teacher’s exact instructions.  Her younger brother, on the other hand, goofs off a lot and  has to sit in the time-out chair.  When she and her brother audition for The Frog Prince ballet, to her horror, her brother is chosen for a major part at being the frog and she is NOT the princess, but a lady-in waiting.      Eventually she accepts the situaltion and helps her brother with improving his part in the ballet.  This does not go unnoticed…and the story has a happy ending with she and her brother playing the leads in the next ballet, Hansel and Gretel.  This story rivets children who can identify with such difficult, real-life situations that build character.  The numerous water color illustrations are charmingly soft and beautifully support the flow of the story.  Reading this title makes me want to add more Tallulah  books to my collection.

The text grabs the reader from page one.  “Find the Truth!”  You are given a challenge, as you read along, to discover which of two statements about the solar system are true or false.  Immediately the mind is engaged.  Packed full of interesting informational text and  exquisite photos, this True Book series is a winner for all of the elementary levels.  The page layouts have wonderful visual appeal.  I can see students returning to this book again, and again, to explore all that is there.  Back Matter includes Resources (Books), Organizations and Web Sites, Places to Visit, Important Words, and Index.