This is an absolutely gorgeous biography about Roger Peterson, the famous American activist, teacher, artist, author and naturalist.  From the time he was a small boy through his death as age 87, Peterson loved to observe, draw, and describe birds along with their habitats and movements.  He spent his life studying birds, teaching about birds, writing identification guide books and working to keep birds safe around the world.  This book is interesting and well-written.  The illustrations bring the text alive as they are realistic, bright, colorful, and very detailed.  I am thrilled to have this book for our school library.  It will be fun to display it with some Peterson guides.

This picture book presents many interesting facts about the development of transportation infrastructure and technology.  It starts with the building of the National Road and early trains and moves through the development of bicycles, cars, and the U.S. highway system.  The story circles around on a regular basis to those who were opposed to the development of this technology along the way.  On the last two pages is a very bleak look at the effect of transportation technology upon our environment.  The final page mentions the types of clean burning technology that is being worked on by “a pack of crazy thinkers”.  I think that the sarcasm of this book will be lost on the young audience it targets and they will be left confused.  The illustrations are bright and engaging.  In fact, the cover is what initially drew my attention and made me interested in reading the book.  I would have preferred a more positive approach to the history of transportation technology.  Covering the resulting environmental issues is a good idea, but I think that a straight forward approach would be less confusing for children.

First pick in the 2008 NBA draft Derrik Rose had his fantasy come true when he was selected by the Chicago Bulls.  Born and raised in Chicago, the people of Chicago were equally pleased to have a hometown boy on their team.  Raised as much by his older brothers as by his mother, Derrick was a basketball standout from a very young age.  The Rose family, who lived in a tough neighborhood, worked hard to keep Derrik out of trouble. His determination to win and his strong moral values make him a good role model for our young readers.  Basketball fans will love the sports-talk in this biography, re-caps of games, and the fact that Derrik Rose was chosen as the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2009, as well as being  the first rookie to win the Skills Challenge at the NBA All-Star Weekend that year.

Not completely flawless, the book discusses Rose’s possible cheating on the SATs, and being photographed at a party flashing a gang sign.  I appreciated the author’s honesty on those issues, yet the overwhelming feeling about Rose is that he’s a modest, hard working player.

Full of interesting facts about Ancient Rome, this alphabet book is not written for a preschool audience.  Older students, perhaps 4th – 8th grade, who are researching Ancient Rome or are simply interested in the topic, could pick up this book and engage quickly in the fascinating text nestled in a well-illustrated picture book setting.  Full color illustrations with lots of details and expressive characters bring the time period, place and historical figures alive.  Upon finishing the book, one has a pretty detailed picture of life in Ancient Rome.

This is a picture book about a king who outlawed music because all the musicians sounded so horrible.  That is, until one enterprising group invented musical notation so that they could play together, harmonizing their sound.  Based on real historical events from the time of Emperor Charlemagne around 800 A.D., which are explained in a detailed Author’s Note in the back, this picture book is an excellent addition to a school library.  In addition to the history lesson, several medieval instruments are introduced including the pipe, tabor, mandolin, contrabass recorder, sackbut and harp.  The illustrations are comical and weave in musical sounds and notations.  I can’t wait to share this wonderful new addition with our Music Teacher at school.

This picture book provides an excellent historical account of the development of train technology.  From the earliest trains to the recent engineering marvels, this full color picture book clearly explains how and why trains have developed and changed our world.  The text is very easy to read and understand, following logically through time.  The illustrations are bold and train diagrams are clearly labeled.  There is an AR test (Level 8.3, 1 point) which will make it especially attractive to our student readers.

This is a funny and rhyming picture book about what it would be like if a bunch of pirates went to school.  Full of pirate references and comical situations, this book is sure to entertain at story time.  I think K – 2nd grade students would enjoy this book as a read-aloud and would be amused by the illustrations as much as the text.

We have several Cowgirl Kate books in our library and you’ve got to love a cowgirl and her talking horse.  These early reader chapter books are sweet and fun.  In this story, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa (her horse) help deliver a new calf, adopt a puppy and help some baby owls.  The illustrations are colorful watercolors, cartoon-style, and expressive.  I recommend this series especially for 1st and 2nd grade emerging readers.

The author retells the Cinderella tale as told by the Wicked Stepmother.  In this version, Cinderella is a very talkative child.  She must miss the Prince’s Ball because she has lost her voice, and must stay at home to rest.  The stepmother and her two daughters attend the ball and witness a beautiful princess who catches the prince’s attention.  After the ball, the prince must find the girl he danced with who lost her glass slipper.  In the end, the shoe fits Cinderella, she marries the prince and lives happily ever after.

I enjoyed this quick story of Cinderella from the Stepmother’s point-of-view.  This story will help readers to think about how the other characters view this tale.  It allows the reader to compare the original classic story to this version.  As a matter-of-fact, there is a “Think About It” section which challenges the reader to compare and contrast other versions of the story;  perfect for all students in the intermediate grades, middle school, and even high school.   This book includes a glossary, a “Read More” section, and gives internet sites.

— K. Soderberg

Cars, airplanes, motorcycles, trains, bicycles, ships, trucks, and buses are each given a two-page spread. The left side contains a photo from the early 1910s or 1920s labeled “Yesterday” and a photo of a 2010s vehicle labeled “Today”, while the right side contains a  ‘ George Jetson-style’ cartoon illustration labeled “Tomorrow”. The first two time frames ( yesterday & today) are given two to three sentences tops. While the third time frame (tomorrow) is given 4 questions usually along the lines, “What if…”  This ends with ” The world we live in is always changing. No one really knows what will happen in the future. We can only imagine!” on page 21.