Amelia, a small girl, and Nilson, a giant blue gorilla, are always together.  Usually both play happily, but occasionally something goes wrong and Nilson throws a huge fit.  Amelia calms him by saying, “No fits, Nilson” and distracts him with something positive (banana pancakes, favorite froggy coin purse, etc.) As they go through the day doing errands at the grocery store, Post Office, and standing in lines, Amelia is able to help Nilson cope with disappointments.  At the end of the day when there is no banana ice cream, Amelia needs Nilson to calm her down.  That night in bed, Amelia hugs her small, stuffed toy gorilla as she wishes “No Fits Nilson” sweet banana dreams.  Everyone needs to control one’s temper at one time or another and this story of Amelia and Nilson show how a favorite toy can be a successful coping tool.  The illustrations resemble woodcuts and are large and colorful.  Text is large and in simple sentences.  Good addition to libraries needing books for young readers on being in control of one’s emotions.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the entire alphabet fit into this ABC concept book. Only “X” (ax) and “Z” ( Oz) did not appear as the first letter of the word for the letter being represented. “ Letter A is for Aunt Em. B is for a balloon ride. A cyclone spins a letter C. D is Dorothy no surprise! ”      ( pages 4-5) Notice how the color pops out and matches the ‘letter’ and the letter in the word.

Timothy Banks light-hearted characters are darling.

If I were to change anything, I would have the word ‘straw’  on the S page and the word ‘Winkies‘ on the W page begin with the colored letter,  in addition to ‘scarecrow’ and  ‘wicked witch of the West.’

A quick one paragraph retelling of the Wizard of Oz  story is told at the end of the alphabet.

AND by checking the book’s Index the entire list of ABC words is recapped.

Characteristics about the giraffe are presented in simple text, with 2-3 sentences per page.  Color photographs are well chosen to illustrate each fact.  One will learn about giraffe necks, what they eat and how, the spots, knobs on their heads, speed and where they live.  Details are very appropriate for young readers wanting to know more about the giraffe or creating a report.  Other books in this series are: elephant, manatee, panda, sea turtle, and shale shark.  Based on Giraffe, this series appears to be a good addition to an elementary library.

This humorous basic retelling of the traditional Little Red Riding Hood tale contains a surprise ending.  The text is simple and the red and black illustrations are sketchy with jagged lines on a clear white background.  Although the sentences are also spare, they are written in cursive which may require an older audience.  Text for the wolf is written in black; text for Little Red is in red.  She points out the obvious large ears, big eyes, sharp teeth and when he says “all the better to eat you with”, Little Red responds with an unbelievable “No”.  When questioned, she tells him he has stinky breath and offers him a sweet.  The candy is poisoned.  As the wolf topples over in a red death, Little Red’s last word is “Fool!”  No need to be rescued by others for her.  Sweet ending?  Not?  Either way, it is a new take on an old tale.

Trains seem to remain popular for the youngest readers and this book is no exception.  Written for the very beginning reader, this book uses simple vocabulary and repetitive phrases.  The emphasis is on order: first, next, and then, and last.  Illustrated with beautifully saturated colors and published with a sturdy binding, sure to last.

100 Hungry Monkeys is a counting book, each page full of monkeys first looking for something to eat, then running into a monster, and then escaping.  Each pair of pages offers small items to find and read.  Kids will enjoy counting all of them.

Lots of students, especially boys, are interested in car racing.  This book gives them the history of auto racing as well as the numbers involved.  In car racing, the main number people care about is speed–how fast can a car go?  Car racing has been around longer than people think, as early as the mid 1890’s.  By the early 1900’s, cars were topping speeds over 120 mph.  Cash prizes were awarded to people who could build cars going great distances.  Large money prizes have always been awarded in big races.  In 1911, the first ever Indy 500 (500 miles) was held with a $25,000 prize; in 1912, the prize was $50,000.  Now, as it was then, money seems to follow the cars.

In this volume of the Swedish triplet series, the girls find and care for a stray dog.  When they take him back to his home, he returns to them again.  His owner realizes that the dog, Mike, isn’t suited for farm work and gives him to the three girls.  They are indescribably happy to have him.  Again, what a sweet story Lindman has written.  Young students will truly enjoy reading a story about kids that get to keep a dog they’ve found.  Some things never get old.

This story goes back to a time when life was very simple and simple stories were entertaining for children.  Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka are three Swedish triplets (dressed alike) who take care of their aunt and uncle’s cat while they are gone.  The story is somewhat unrealistic as it takes place so long ago and in Sweden.  But kids reading it won’t know that; they will be entralled that the cat had kittens.  This is a story in which the story is read to the child.  The story is simple and sweet, and there’s nothing wrong with that.