This is a good series about strong female leaders throughout history.  This book is a biography of Nur Jahan of India.  Other titles in the series include Hatshepsut of Egypt, Artemisia of Caria, Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, and Isabella of Castile.  The illustrations, photographs of actual artifacts, maps, and time lines bring these biographies alive.  The text is easy to read and presented in a logical and clearly written manner.  The featured women were intriguing and powerful with interesting lives, holding the reader’s attention.  I recommend this series for school libraries.

This is a good series about strong female leaders throughout history.  This book is a biography of Isabella of Castile.  Other titles in the series include Hatshepsut of Egypt, Artemisia of Caria, Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, and Nur Jahan of India.  The illustrations, photographs of actual artifacts, maps, and time lines bring these biographies alive.  The text is easy to read and presented in a logical and clearly written manner.  The featured women were intriguing and powerful with interesting lives, holding the reader’s attention.  I recommend this series for school libraries.

This book in the four volume series about the wild west, is about pioneering women.  Chapters include Defending our Home, The First Western Women, Hard Living, Independence, Outlaws, and Change and Reform.  The organization of the information felt a bit disjointed at times.  I would have liked the writing style to flow a bit more smoothly.  It was an interesting read and gave a good overall view of life for pioneering women in the west.  There were a few black and white photographs, not of great quality.

This is a sweet little book, perfect for beginning readers, particularly little girls.  The title and book jacket illustration are somewhat misleading.  The cover shows a young girl spooning up an ice cream sundae–yum!  However, the sundae isn’t the dessert, she is–it’s her name.  Dessert is the eldest of four children, whose family owns a French-themed restaurant called ‘Fondue.’  As she starts third grade, she learns from her somewhat eccentric teacher to ‘walk to the beat of her own drummer.’  She uses this newfound knowledge to get her family to allow dessert, the treat, to be eaten first, rather than last, of the evening meal.  The story is fairly mundane, following Dessert around school and at home, having the typical issues that kids have.  Her biggest problem comes when she eats the entire dessert her mom had prepared in honor of her deceased grandmother.  The huge disappointment from her family causes Dessert to rethink her plans.  I was disappointed in the ending, because I thought Dessert would learn how to make and replace the eaten dessert herself.  Instead, she gets their restaurant’s bakery chef to make it for her.  Hummmm….not such a good learning moment.  Anyway, the recipe for the Double-Decker Chocolate Bars in on the back cover; I plan on making them to see if the book would be more believable as a cookbook.

Teddy, a boy whose parents live and work in the FunJungle theme park, knows FunJungle all too well, and finds out that Henry the Hippo was murdered. Teddy decides to investigate the murder himself which turns out to be life threatening when dangerous animals are set loose in Teddy’s presence. As Teddy’s investigation gets deeper, he finds out that a few more animals have died, and it all leads to an emerald smuggling operation. With the owner’s daughter’s help, Teddy exposes the guilty  parties and returns FunJungle back to a place that families can enjoy.

Sage is an orphan who is quick-witted, agile and clever.  Caught stealing meat, a country gentleman bails him out of trouble with the butcher and takes him from the orphanage.  Along with Sage, Conner, the country gentleman, procures two other orphans of similar looks and age.  The three boys accompany Conner and his companions to his estate, where the boys learn of the treasonous plot Conner has hatched.  Conner, one of the king’s regents, wants the boys to compete to become an impostor of the king’s youngest son, believed to have been lost at sea four years earlier.  Unbeknownst to the boys, the king, queen and eldest son have been murdered and the news of their deaths withheld from the public until a meeting of the regents to crown a new king will be held in two weeks’ time.  For two weeks, the boys are schooled in their country’s history, language and grammar, fencing, and horsemanship.  It is understood that the winner will potentially become the new king and the two losers will be killed because of their knowledge.  For two weeks, the boys train and each have their own talents and one of Conner’s cohorts champion and train them.  Sage is the most reluctant and defiant, which earns him punishment instead.

For the past four years, Sage believed that his parents did not love him or care about him.  His father gave some money to the orphanage to care for Sage, but it had run out long ago.  He had to learn street smarts in order to survive.  But listening to Conner, Sage realized that his father did love him and it was that love that sent him to the orphanage.  His father, the king, realized that a civil war was brewing and a plot to overthrow him was eminent.  He wanted to keep his youngest son, the brightest, daringest, cleverest son alive to someday assume the throne.  Conner’s plan to present Sage as the long lost son works, but then works to do him in, also.  This is a very cleverly written historical fiction which elementary and middle school libraries should have in order to introduce historical fiction to students, also to modern-day politics.

In this second installment of School of Fear, Garrison, Theo, Madeleine, and Lulu, are all returning to Summerstone and Mrs. Wellington, Macaroni, and Schmidty, for the required follow-up retraining session.  All four of the returning alumni believed themselves to be ‘fixed’ of their irrational fears, but we find that not to be true.  Shortly after their arrival, they find that Summerstone and Mrs. Wellington are the victims of thievery and burglary.  Mrs. Wellington, a former ‘beauty queen,’ believes it to be the revenge of failed competitors.  Meanwhile, a new student arrives, Hyacinth, with her pet ferret, Cereal.  The premise of this book is that EVERYONE is afraid of something, and that is normal.  However, it is the obsession and paranoia which accompanies some people’s fears that are not normal.  Hyacinth’s fear is being alone, abandoned.  We soon find that the others’ fears have not really been conquered, but merely better hidden.  Life goes on and within a day of arrival, all are on their way to a beauty pageant in which Mrs. Wellington believes the thief will be revealed.  But more importantly, Hyacinth speaks to a reporter at the pageant and reveals the deep, dark secrets of Summerstone.  This reporter threatens to reveal all about Summerstone and Mrs. Wellington’s extreme training techniques.  Everyone gives up hope:  Mrs. Wellington goes into seclusion, the kids are about to say goodbye, when the savior comes…….

This book is definitely quirky and fast-paced, and oftentimes gets confusing.  But the snappy dialogue makes it extremely funny and satisfying.  The humor is one reason I labeled it as a 4th grade and up read; I don’t think younger kids have developed that specific skill of humor as displayed here.  The characterization is spot on!  I actually look at some people who look like they have it all together, and wonder, ‘what is their fear?’  We all have them, it’s true.  Highly recommended for elementary and middle school libraries.

Ollhoff chronicles major events and people that were significant in bringing about the end of segregation in the 1950s and 1960s.  Televising the protests, people, and events shared the racism, hatred, and violence with the world.  Pivotal issues including school segregation, the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, peaceful protests of Martin Luther King, Jr., activist Malcom X, Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery bus boycott are described and explained in a straightforward manner.  The struggle for equal rights required the involvement of people who were willing to take a stand against injustice.  Readers get a basic understanding of these events, the issues, and the involvement of the people associated with this period in U. S. history.  Photographs are well chosen to portray each event or person.  Other books in the series are: The Civil War, Courage and Growth, Pioneers of Equality, The Roots of Humanity, and Years of Slavery.  Excellent introduction to this crucial time.

Here is a perfect party planning guide from thinking about when and where to hold a party to the thank-yous, if needed.  This book offers activities for 7 party themes as details are discussed for planning any party.  Theme ideas in the book are: detective, vampire, magic, Hawaiian, backwards, rock star, and medieval.  After deciding what who, what, when, where, hints for making invitations, decorations, menu concerns, and activities are suggested.  A supply page has labeled photos of tools and supplies needed to create the themes mentioned.  A recipe is given for a backward party.  Clear photographs help illustrate instructions.  Many cool ideas and things to consider for successful entertaining.   Other kinds of cool parties in the series are for: Family, Holiday, International, Slumber, and Sports.  Recommended addition for elementary libraries.

Beginning with an introduction to the scientific method, several experiments explain how and why plants grow as they do.  Investigations include how seeds sprout, how plants take in water, the importance of sunlight in growth, both above and below ground, and how pine cones release seeds.  Each experiment starts with a hypothesis, contains a step-by-step procedure, examples of charts to record observations, and an explanation of what happened.  These experiments use items easily found at home.  Instructions are easily read and many large photographs accompany the text.  Books for further reading are written at a similar reading level.  Glossary, index, and websites included.  Other books in the series are experiments with: liquids, magnets and metals, rocks, and soil.