This book is a rhyming book that starts with the “Hey Diddle Diddle”, but it take off in a different direction with animals playing instruments.  At the end of the book they are all in a music box.

Cute turn at the end.

This is a fun imaginative story about live snowmen.  The characters are all snowmen.  The little snowman found he learned a lot by getting out of the rut of daily snowman life.  It’s a good lesson to us all.

Cute, easy to read.

This is a fun book that tells about Mardi Gras.  What the holiday is for and how it began.  We learn how the holiday is celebrated and how New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama became famous for the holiday Mardi Gras.  There are games and decorations for the holiday that can make it a fun party.

Another tried and true Lola and Charlie story with an issue close to the heart of reading fans…fear of losing our best friend.  Lola and Lotta do everything together.  They play witches making spells.  They swap lunch items.  They observe the tadpoles in the school fishpond, imagining the tadpoles are playing hide and seek.  When Lotta is asked to show the new girl, Evie, around, Lola feels more and more left out…thinking she has lost her best best friend.  It soon becomes apparent to Lotta that Evie has trouble relating to the world of imagination and creative play (“I don’t think tadpoles play hide and seek.”)  Evie gravitates to another girl in the class as Lotta runs to play with Lola.  The author’s signature style of dealing with big life issues in a subtle and understated way, I believe,  allows the reader to be more focused on their own personal feelings and reactions to what they have just read.  Great discussion book.

This is a wonderful 210 page biography about the life and accomplishments of Girls Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low.  It is full of engaging pictures from throughout Ms. Low’s life.  The text is well-researched and organized, making it interesting and easy to read.  Our school has many Girl Scouts who I think will be very interested in reading this book.  I highly recommend it for a school library.

The letters in Alphabet City are happy with the status quo except for X, who calls for a new alphabet where he can have a more prominent place in words and not be the third from last all the time.  During a dream before the vote, he revisits the responsibilities of the the other letters in keeping the quirky rules of the American English language (i.e. “i” before “e” except after “c”)…and decides he likes his place after all.  A fun and informative text, with kooky, colorful, and bold graphics that are very kid-appealing.

I’ve been waiting for a series to come along that could knock Wimpy Kid off its  pedestal as the most popular series in my library.  Well, this may be it… Aldo Zelnick Comic Novels.  Artsy Fartsy, Bogus, and Cahoots.  These are an action packed alphabet series with laugh-out-loud, smart, fast moving stories.  The slap stick comic illustrations provide spot-on kid humor.  In Bogus, Aldo, a believable kid, with quirky charm, finds what he thinks is a bogus diamond.  In reality, it is not…and carries a$1000 reward.  He loses the ring, and must solve the mystery of its whereabouts.  In the process, the good karma from helping those in need becomes more important than the monetary reward.  Wait…you will love Aldo even more  as an impressive linguist who incorporates challenging “B” vocabulary words in his Bogus sketchbook, with explanations in the “B” Gallery in the back of the book.  Save room on your shelves…for 26 volumes.  Move over Wimpy Kid!

In the 1200’s the Mongol Empire was huge, covering almost all of what we now call Asia and parts of Europe.  In order to maintain control over such a large area, the Mongol warriors were fearsome.  They were highly trained in fighting techniques.  Their weapons and body armor were designed for the utmost protection.  Their sheer numbers and organization easily overwhelmed enemies.  The mighty Genghis Khan ruled over 50 years, but after the death of his grandson, the empire broke into four different empires, each ruled by a different leader.  But the strength of the parts did not equal the strength of the whole, and each  empire eventually was conquered by enemies.  Interesting to see how well organized and equipped they were nearly 1,000 years ago.

Since the latest round of movies that deal in history, i.e., Gladiator, 300, Clash of the Titans, Troy, and so on, there has been a strong interest, mainly from boys, of ancient warriors.  Spartans is a hybrid of sorts, combining history with mythology, and so it appeals to a larger group.  Sparta was/is a Greek city-state and had a large, well-trained, disciplined army of warriors.  Their weapons, helmets, red clothing, shields, and breastplates were all impressive, made for safety as well as to show their strength and superiority, in fighting as well as in life.  All in all, the Spartans were very successful, until overcome by sheer quantity of enemies.  The Persian army (Iranian) significantly outnumbered them and this was, consequently, the end of the Spartans.  It was about 480 B.C.E.  The book was interesting, however, I wished it had a pronunciation key after some of the Greek terms.

From wind chill charts to how a GPS works, this Fourth Edition of  The Handy Science Answer Book really has the answers.  And as the title suggests, the arrangement and the short answers really do make it handy.  I believe this book could be a life saver for a student who’s tackling a difficult concept and needs a point at which to begin.

A chart identifies the smallest and largest vertebrates.  Another chart gives official names of male and female animals, such as alligators, which are known as “bulls” and “queens.”

If you have the time, pick this book up and just read it.  The Concise, well-written and sensible answers will tell you if groundhogs can accurately predict the weather or if a ring around the moon can do the same.  There’s even a section that explains general relativity in just eight lines.  What could be better than that?