Boo! is a wordless story about a little ghost that is trying to scare the other ghosts in his family. The book has vivid illustrations that make it interestingto read even though there are no words. It is fun and the little ghost is really cute. He tries everything to be scary from being a vampire to Frankenstein, but the only way he is scary is when he accidentally runs into a sheet and is a “ghost.” When he makes a ghost costume with his sheet, he is finally able to be scary!

From the Little Princess series, this book tells the story of the Little Princess being scared of the dark. When her dad asks her why she is afraid of the dark, she tells him it is because she actually is afraid of ghosts and ghosts come out in the dark. Dad, the Admiral, Doctor and Maid all try to convince her not to be afraid and that there is no such thing as a ghost. When the lights go out, Little Princess figures that ghosts are probably afraid of the dark too. When the ghost and Little Princess meet, Little Princess realizes that the ghost is more frightened of her! This is a fun, cute little story that has great illustrations to go with it!

The raving reviews on the back book jacket got me to pick this book up, and I cannot adequately express my disappointment.  In much of the beginning of the book, Kingsley repetitiously goes over, again and again, the previous two books, neither of which I have read.  But it doesn’t usually take me much to bring me up to speed, since I get the gist of what’s going on.  However, the action/plot was choppy, jumping all over the place.  I couldn’t care less about what happened to the main characters; there was nothing to make them at all endearing.  For example, they start out at a grocery store and Erec comes out of a fog sitting in a shambles–poof–they’re home–poof–he’s in a magical timetravel contraption his ‘mother’ conveniently has–poof–he ends up with the bad guy because he goofed in his wishing where to go–poof–he’s in a dentist’s chair waiting to have his eyes removed–poof–he’s being saved.  I really don’t care if he’s saved or not.  He, Erec, does nothing to prove his worthiness.  Ughhhh—halfway through the book I wanted to scream.  Contrary to what the reviews say on the book jacked, and I seriously think they were taken out of context, this is nowhere near Harry Potter quality.  So don’t worry J. K. Rowling, no one’s going to knock you off your throne!

This was a fun Batman story.  The pictures are bright and interesting.  The story moves along quickly, and is a light fun read for kids.    After an action packed read about Batman and Robin taking on the Mad Hatter, there are several thought provoking questions and reading prompts at the back of the book, along with an interesting biography about the author and cartoonist.  It is a nicely done book for kids.  There are typo’s on pages 11 and 33 in this book.

This is the same format and author of “If the World Were a Village”.  In this book the author condensed the world population to just 100 and gave us statistics based on numbers that are more fathomable than the billions and millions.  In this book, the same effect is achieved, but this time using statistics based on people living in the United States.  For example: for every 100 people living in the U.S., 75 are white, 12 are black, 4 are Asian, and 1 is Native American.  Remaining 8 consider themselves mixed or different race.  This large sized book with bright acrylic style illustrations would make for an interesting book to share with students. The facts and statistics are interesting enough to hold any adult’s attention as well.  I recommend this book for the elementary library and even the middle school library.

This is a crazy rhyming tale of a critter cafe for animals.  It’s fun, fast, has great illustrations and would entertain the audience with the great playful sounding words.  It’s a nice sized book with interesting pictures depicting the waiter and animals at the Cow’s Cafe.  This would make a great read aloud for primary aged children.  Nice addition to an elementary library!

Not all the Pilgrims were seeking religious freedom, some were just plain looking for adventure and weren’t really nice at all.  This engaging book, written in a child friendly graphic novel form, tells the story of the plymouth colony with a different twist.  The two rambunctious boys of the Billington family make sure their many troublemaking schemes  are represented as they banter back and forth with the narrator.  Although the layout of the book is a bit too choppy for a read aloud, it’s an exciting insight into a part of the story that is usually passed over.  Includes authors note.

Walter Diemer, an accountant for a chewing gum factory, decides to experiment and manages to invent “Dubble Bubble”.  His new creation changes the world’s chewing habits and kids will enjoy this simple nonfiction title as they learn the history of gum.  Includes references and an entertaining list of facts about our obsession with bubble gum

What does a baby wombat do when he is not sleeping?  This wombat finds a playmate who happens to be a human baby.  The illustrations are sweet and fun to enjoy, but there is very minimal writing involved with a majority of the journal entries being only one word.

One more for the Team Jake Maddox series, Playing Forward finds Isaac hoping to be a basketball star like his older brother.  Unfortunately, he is height-challenged, and he and his coach don’t see eye to eye on the best position.  Will he give up when he doesn’t get his way, or will Isaac learn to contribute to the team and make the most of circumstances?  The morals are delivered with no light touch, and the narrative arc is steep, but this high-low sports series is popular among struggling and/or early readers.