Main character, Norris Fowler, is hard to like.  He is a bully, cuts in line, steals lunches, cheats in school, and when put in charge of the teacher’s prize cactus, accidently destroys it.  He is constantly scheming how to shift blame from himself in order to be liked.  His father owns the local cannery.  As outsiders, his family does not truly understand coastal life, especially when a gigantic lobster is caught.  Norris finally comes to appreciate the value of community during a large auction which will decide the fate of the giant lobster.  A note on the jacket flap indicates that this book is the second in a trilogy that tells how the capturing of the large lobster affects the lives of three boys in a coastal, presumably Maine, town.  This book stands fine on its own, but having all three would give a more well-rounded story of this community.

This is a beautiful book.  I love the illustrations and the story.  This is a story of Alfonso who loves Ida, but Ida doesn’t even look at him she is always reading.  He decides to bake her an apple cake.

Alfonso makes the cake and puts it in the oven to bake and Ida looks up to see what smells so good.  Together they eat the cake.

There is a recipe for Apple Cake in the back of the book.

This book will fill the ‘outlier’ spot in the primary grades COMMUNITY units.

Three reasons are stated for why homes move and not just the people: “so  their animals can find food” ( p.5), “to sell things in different places “ (p. 6), and “to see new places.” ( p. 7) These moving homes shown inside and out include: house boats, mobile homes, and tents- both past and present.

There are one or two large font print sentences beneath each photo on each page.

Last but not least from page 24, there is a list of countries of where these photos /homes are from: Kerala, India; Turmi, Africa; Daraw, Egypt; United States; Kashmir, India; Marseille, France; Russia; Omnogov, Asia; Khovsgol Province, Mongolia; Kyrgyzstan; Tunisia; Canada; County Mayo, Ireland; and Bamiyan, Afghanistan.  ... “Discuss how homes provide us with a place to eat and sleep, and keep people and their things safe from the weather.”

Wow, I need to get out and see more of this world!

This is a counting book for PreK- through first grade. There are no facts or descriptions of the animals in this book.

Full-page photos (7″ x 6″) are on the left page and a 4.5 inch tall baby blue numeral with the number word and name of the animal superimposed on top of it are on the right page. The name of the animal is enclosed inside a bubble on the left page: humpback whale, crab, clownfish, sea lion, starfish, African penguins, brown pelicans, octopus, sea nettles (jellyfish), and stingray.  There are ten pages of this.

Example ( Humpback whale)   1   one whale,  (Crab) 2 two claws,(Clownfish) 3 fish, (Sea lion) 4 four flippers…

Only the sea nettles does not have its name inside a bubble on the left hand page.

The animals fill the space nicely and the parts are easy to see for counting.

This 7.5 ” x 6.25 ” book captures 6 different Arctic animals. Each animal is presented with a fact or two in large font print followed by an addition sentence. The number of  animal(s) on the left page are added to the number of animals on the right page for six consecutive page turns.

caribou 1+3=4, Arctic foxes 1+1=2, Arctic wolves 2+3=5, fur seals 2+2=4, polar bears 1+3=4, and walruses 2+4=6

This book supports the national science standards, too.

For those readers who want more the NOW TRY THIS! page asks the reader(s) to find pictures of animals in magazines or online to create their own animal number sentences.

This is a book I couldn’t put down until I had finished it.  Like Folger’s coffee, it was good to the last drop.  When Marcel and Alexa’s parents were murdered by a black sorcerer (an evil sorcerer who could cause fire), they knew they would be taken by the king’s soldiers back to the castle.  Boys train for the army and girls go to the breeding house.  The girls’ fate was worse than death, as they were repeatedly raped and starved and held prisoner in the house, giving birth to future soldiers or breeders.  They weren’t given a chance to be mothers.  Knowing what lay ahead for them,  fourteen-year-old Alexa decided to pass as a boy; after all, she was tall and could fight as well, if not better, than her brother.  They cut off her hair, she lowered her voice, and they both became recognized fighters in Prince Damian’s guard.  Alex, as she/he was now known as, was the best fighter of all the guard.  Alex becomes the Prince’s personal guard and learns his secrets to overthrow his father, the king.  The plot is strong and the characters are well developed.  This is a book that displays a strong female lead character, a young lady who gains the strength to stand up for who she is and what she can become.

Eleven year old Gregory is the middle child in a family who loves math.  His father and older brother have won City Math competitions.  His mother is an accountant and his younger sister is also quite accomplished in math.  Gregory hates it, doesn’t understand it, and can’t seem to tell his parents the truth.  What he loves is writing poetry.  He is failing math, but his teacher has given him an opportunity to earn extra credit by journaling about math.  Gregory has hopes of going to Author Camp with his best friend Kelly.  He lies to her about telling his parents.  He lies to his parents about signing up for the City Math Competition.  He lies to himself thinking it will all work out.  Along the way, he learns about Fibonacci and how math “rules” impact poetry and science.  Gregory finally discovers a way to help him deal with math while doing the writing he loves.  Before, he was casual, at best, when completing assignments.  With new direction, he finds purpose and passion in his work.  Pincus has blended a love for math and a love for writing in a story that encourages respect for the different perspectives of both.  The “Fibs” are short, six line poems following the Fibonacci sequence – 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and are also the chapter headings.

A young girl and her best friend do all kinds of things together.  One day she decides to create the most magnificent thing.  After gathering supplies and setting up in an out-of-the-way place, she begins to work.  Through the illustrations, the reader knows the best friend is a dog and the private work space is the middle of a busy sidewalk.  The process of making something new does not go smoothly, so she tosses her first attempt aside and starts over.  Again, it does not work.  Illustrations show her facial expressions go from hopeful to frustrated to angry.  None of the creations are magnificent.  The angrier she gets, the less careful she is until she explodes!  (“It is not her finest moment.”)  As she and her dog go for a walk, she begins to calm down.  Returning to her failed attempts, she see parts that were right, and she begins to work one more time.  Again, the illustrations add to the story as they show neighbors finding use for her failures and begin carrying them away.  At last she is successful.  The final illustration shows the girl on her scooter with her dog sitting in a new side-car seat!  There are many messages in this amusing story: the scientific method when experimenting or inventing, it is OK to make mistakes, and perseverance.  Wonderful vocabulary enrichment in all the related verbs!  Spires’ use of color and white space help focus on details of the story.