During WWI, when fathers went off to war, those remaining at home plan on knitting hats, socks, and scarves to help keep servicemen warm.  Mikey resists, saying knitting is for girls.  When challenged to enter a contest by the girls, Mikey rashly accepts without knowing what he is volunteering his friends to do.  Mikey and his friends are the only boys in the 3-day event.  Mikey knits one perfect sock and is on his way to finishing his second when he notices a dropped stitch back at the beginning.  As he considers the whole contest, a soldier with only one leg approaches him and encourages Mikey to continue doing what he can to support the men overseas.  At the end of the contest everyone has something to contribute.  Mikey gives his one perfect sock to the soldier.  Although his friends never knit again, Mikey finally finishes a pair to send to his father.  An author’s note tells of knitting clubs and bees for men and women whose sole purpose was to do projects for supporting the troops.  Illustrations are very simple and reminiscent of days gone by.  End pages show photographs of boys and girls knitting items for military forces.

Mary Wrightly is a quiet, polite girl who has such a small, soft voice, she often has to repeat herself.  When Mary and her mother go to a toy store to buy a birthday gift for her young brother, they find the store quite crowded.  As people keep bumping into Mary, she quietly apologizes.  When someone takes the toy for which she was reaching, she apologizes.  She knows it is not polite to sulk, but over and over again, her hopes for finding the perfect gift are dashed.  At last, she finds a perfect small, blue elephant and again someone takes it.  This time asserting herself, Mary exclaims in a loud voice that she wants to give that toy to her baby brother.  This time the other person apologizes!  As Mary carries the soft elephant home, many people admire it.  Mary again uses her good manners and responds politely.  Charming illustrations in jewel-toned pastels are digitally retouched.  They portray expressions and emotions of Mary and others quite well.

When George Brown moves to his new school, he is determined to turn over a new leaf and no longer be a class clown.  However, he has recurring super burp that takes over his body and causes him to say and do crazy things.  George’s baseball team, the Sea Monkeys, are about to play a championship game with their rivals, the Klockermeister Elementary Kangaroos.  George is worried the burp-curse will ruin everything.  Black and white illustrations are on almost every page.  Every page also has some words in bold font.  They are not necessarily words important to the story, but oddly enough, add interest.  Action moves at a good pace and George’s super-burp antics are sure to attract readers.

Atwood tells the stories of heroic women from eight different countries, women who served as couriers, spies, rescuer, and correspondents. She includes the stories of many famous women, like Corrie ten Boom and Marlene Dietrich, and many unsung heroes, like Hannie Schaft, the Dutch woman with “the red hair.”  The book is very text-dense; a few photos and sidebars are included but not many. At the end of each bio there is a short list of books by or about the hero. I found the stories fascinating and inspiring, how each of the women decided to help the cause and their reasons for risking their lives to help others. I was aware of Josephine Baker’s career as a singer, dancer and actress. But I had no idea that she also served as a spy for the French government. Students could easily use this book as the first step in research on the Resistance during WWII, on the lives of specific women, or on heroes in general. The book does not have to be read cover to cover and does include a glossary at the end.

Beginning with the basic shapes of circles, ovals, and triangles, pictorial directions for 20 forest animals and wildlife are shown.  In five or six steps, sketches can go from simple cartoon shapes to a recognizable animal.  Brief information is given about each animal, including a “Fun Fact” in a box with a photograph of the animal.  There are no written instructions however the diagrams are numbered so the progression is obvious.  The first tools and materials used are paper, pencils, a sharpener, and eraser.  Then colored pencils, felt markers, or paints and brush can be used for the finishing touches.  This is one of fifteen books in the Learn to Draw series.

A uniquely, self-assured woman drives her extremely noisy tractor down the road.  As she passes different people, they each notice a feature in her appearance: a beehive hairdo, thick glasses, blue raincoat, rubber boots, red purse, and remark that she should not be driving a tractor.  The tractor chugs so loudly she cannot hear a word.  As she turns off the road into a pretty village, a young boy happily greets her and they have a very pleasant conversation.  He learns her husband is the cook and stays home with their daughter.  This untraditional family is extremely happy.  When the daughter tells her mother she wants to grow up to be a farmer too, her mom encourages her to follow her heart, but to be sure the tractor is deafeningly loud so she cannot hear the silly things grown ups say.  Large, colorful, interesting illustrations add fun details to this tale that encourages individuality and turning a deaf ear to disapproval and narrow-mindedness.  Translated from Spanish by Jon Brokenbrow.

A southern cowpoke has taken “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” to Texas.  After consuming a fire ant,”Yippie-ti-yay! My stomach’s on fire!”, our gritty hero ingests one southwest critter after another: spider, roadrunner, horned lizard, armadillo, rattlesnake, boar, and longhorn.  Finally, he swallows his horse, rope, and eventually himself.  “If I want it done right, I’ll do it myself.”  The clever cowboy starts a stampede and drives everything out.  Will Terry’s large, warm-toned illustrations place this story solidly in the desert with plenty of cacti, sand, and rock formations.  An unexpected ending is entirely fitting for this ol’ cowpoke!  A great read, or sing, aloud for all to enjoy.

Storm chasers can be amateurs or professionals, on the ground or in the air, have equipment to gather information or just observe wild weather.  All need to know how to be safe.  Vehicles, maps, and technology help storm chasers relate updates to each other and to report to radio and TV stations.  New equipment is continually developed to monitor and record storms.  Text on each page is brief but descriptive.  Photographs show equipment, tornados, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and the aftermath.  Captions accompany photos and “xtreme fact” boxes offer more details.  Daring would-be storm chasers see the variety of tasks and equipment involved in this dangerous and exciting venture.

Interesting, informative text show a fascinating side of these elusive mammals.  Spending most of their time underwater, they are only easily observed for about a month when they come to land to breed and molt.  Being the largest of the pinnipeds, they are named for their massive bodies and trunk-like nose.  The layout is pleasing and information is plentiful.  Large, colorful photographs are well-matched with text.  Terms to know are in bold, colored words and well defined in the glossary.  Additional facts are found in orange circular areas on many pages.  Other recommended books are written at a similar reading level and a factsurfer website offers extra specifics as well as a live-cam site.  This is a great resource for learning about this amazing, somewhat strange looking animal, or for reports.