Twelve year old Abigail Stewart continues her tale where she left off in The Winter of the Red Snow.  Abby’s father had joined the Continental Army.  Left homeless in Valley Forge by a house fire, Abby, her mother, seven year old sister, and one year old brother decide to follow the army with other families of the soldiers.  Through her diary, she tells of the hardships endured by George Washington’s army for three years from 1779 to 1781.  The day-to-day aspects of surviving cruel winters, starvation, lack of suitable clothing, and the constant moving bring history to life.  The lives of people they meet and events witnessed are realistic and not idealized.  An epilogue brings Abby’s story to an end.  A historical note add details about life in America during the Revolutionary War.  It is followed with illustrations of people and places from the 1770s which are reproduced with permission.  Books in the Dear America series are a great way to experience life as it was in the early days of our country.

Fox is bored with his daily diet of big, fat toad.  Consulting recipe books, he discovers they all recommend fresh, young toads.  Returning after an exhausting night of capturing small toads, he is considering which recipe to use when Mamma toad hops in.  As Mamma tries to dissuade Fox from using her babies, little toadlets are everywhere getting into everything.  Mamma suggests the recipe Toad-in-the-Hole and tells Fox how to make it.  Suspicious because the ingredients do not include toads, he reluctantly takes a nibble.  Delicious!  And, it requires no late night trips to catch more toads!  Digital artwork is colorful and humorous.  Mamma Toad includes her secret Toad-in-the-Hole recipe for the rest of us.

Young Carter tells of the traditions his family follow during the Christmas holidays.  He works on making a gift for Grandma, they shop for others, buy and decorate a tree, bake cookies, go to church to hear the story of Jesus, decorate the house, and prepare for Santa.  On every spread is a nonfiction fact box that add details about each tradition.  Bright, colorful, cartoon-like illustrations are a combination of collage, paint, and ink and add to the festivity of the season.  Directions for making an ornament are included with the glossary, index, and other resources for the holiday.

Anastasia is a cockroach.  Fairy Brunhilda took pity on her when she overheard her complaining about looking for food in the garbage and turned her into a princess.  Life as a princess was not as pleasant, or as easy, as one would think.  Word got back to Brunhilda that Anastasia was not happy as a princess.  In a rage, Brunhilda cast another spell.  Happily back to being a carefree cockroach, Anastasia’s new home was in a humble house with delightful people.  When she watches confused Grandma Paula sprinkle ant poison instead of salt into the stew, she dove in head first.  The family was saved when Grandma saw the floating cockroach and threw the stew down the toilet.  Brunhilda appears again to give Anastasia a new life as a princess, which Anastasia emphatically declines.  Anastasia loves the untroubled life as a household cockroach, helping humans who need it.  After reading about Anastasia, one is certainly to see cockroaches in a different light!  The illustrations are whimsical, large, colorful, and fun.  The text includes many challenging, high-level words which may require having a dictionary close by (seneschals, doyenne, tristesse, octogenarian, repugnant, ingrate…) but the story is appealing none-the-less.

The Jamestown Colony, founded in 1607, was the first British settlement in North America.  Author Peter Benoit incorporates primary and secondary sources to share the challenges (sickness, starvation, and relationships with native people, specifically the Powhatan) as the colony grew.  Three ships carried 144 men and boys on the original voyage.  Some were landowners, some religious leaders, and some were soldiers.  A few of the influential people were Bartholomew Gosnold, organizer of the expedition, Christopher Newport, privateer and seaman, John Rolfe, grower who introduced Orinoco tobacco to Jamestown and England, John Smith, soldier and explorer, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan chief and married John Rolfe, and Wahunsenacawh, Powhatan chief.  Differences of opinions caused dissention which added to the challenges.  The struggle to survive and grow in chronicled from 1606 to 1699.  Illustrations are captioned.  Spotlight boxes provide additional information about people, places, or events.  Readers are encouraged to view primary and secondary sources provided on a scholastic website.  A timeline, glossary, and extensive index are included with a short paragraph about the author.

Living next to Niagara Falls, Homan Walsh loved flying kites more than anything.  Whenever the winds were strong, he rushed out to send his kite dancing into the sky.  In the 1840s, there was no bridge connecting the United States and Canada over the Falls.  Engineer Charles Ellet instigated a contest rewarding $10 to the first boy to fly a kite from one country to the other.  Homan designed and built a hexagonal kite he named Union.  Traveling to the Canadian side to take advantage of the southwest winds, Homan launched his kite.  It flew for hours and into the night.  Heartbreakingly, the cord broke and, because of weather, he could not retrieve his kite for eight long days.  Returning home, he found Union, repaired her, and returned to Canada’s high cliffs.  Sending Union soaring once again, this time he was successful.  Two countries were joined by the span of a kite string.  Beautiful paintings illustrate the poetic text, the vastness of the scenery, the almost insignificance of humans along the shore, and the turbulence of weather and severity of conditions.  The vivid language intensifies the sensory experience of this historical event.  There are multiple potential uses for this book: to be enjoyed “as is”, as a historical fiction, or as an example of STEM literature focusing on the technology of bridge building.  Information from historical documents included at the back of the book provide many detail in the story.  There is an author’s note, known facts, what is not known for sure, what happened next, and a timeline.  A bibliography of primary sources, websites, interviews, and videos are also included.  This book is a treasure.

Eight year old Ellray (Lancelot Raymond) Jakes is the smallest person in his class, but he is also big brother to his four year old sister, Alfie (Alfleta).  When Alfie is being bullied by mean and bossy, Suzette, Ellray encourages his sister to stand up for herself.  Alfie is completely intimidated by the dragon Suzette so Ellray decides to take action.  At the same time, he finds he may need to stand up for himself after an incident at recess.  Black and white illustrations show Ellray in a variety of circumstances with family and friends.  Occasional bold and assorted fonts add focus and humor to many of Ellray’s situations.  This fourth book in the Ellray Jakes series is fun to read and shows how it is possible to work through life’s imperfections.