Dachshund means ‘badger dog’ in German.  Historically a hunting dog, dachshunds love to chase, dig and burrow after smaller animals.  Today’s dachshunds are smaller than they used to be, and come in various ‘styles’ such as mini, long-hair, short-hair, wire-hair, and so on.  Loving, cuddly animals, dachshunds love people and love to cuddle.  The photos in this book will warm anyone’s heart.

This is a friendship story set in a large city with two rabbits as the main characters.  One rabbit is excited to meet his friend in the big city and the other rabbit is excited to show him the city.  Brown rabbit is exhausted from the hustle and bustle and running to one event to the next and ends up hiding in a cafe’ to eat carrot cake.  The white rabbit realizes her mistake of focusing on the events instead of time with her good friend.  The two of them end up playing guitar in the park and dancing together while the city continues to hustle around them.  Nice friendship theme.

Written in a rhyming format and illustrated in classic Jack E. Davis fashion, this book tells the story of a child named Burt and his quest to cure his bunions.  He tries “goop for feet”, pigsty mud, sunburn, and even gets offered a pedicure by his little sister.  Finally, Burt’s father informs him that he’s from a lineage of over-sized footed persons and cures what ails him with brand new shoes.

This small sized, primary astronomy book would fit well into small hands.  Illustrated with real photographs, this book is broken into chapters and has extended information in the back of the book.There are notes on sharing the book, an opportunity to be a “vocabulary detective” and book recommendations as well as websites.  A glossary and index finish the book.

This is a reader friendly book which would make a great companion to the fifth grade Foss Science Units taught in many school districts throughout our state.  The chapters include “Farming Past & Present”, “Nutrition”, “You’re Eating What?” which feature ideas and recipes like Civil War hardtack, a food additive experiment, and directions on making a clay pot which were once used by ancient civilizations as storage and refrigeration.  Vocabulary, interesting facts, and black and white illustrations are strewn through out the book which add interest and delight for the reader.

This is the true story of a 14-year-old boy who is an aviation pioneer,  inventing a bicycle powered, hydrogen air, flying machine just after the turn of the last century (1907).   This book is in an illustrated, picture book format.  It would make a great companion to those teaching  units on aviation, Wright Brothers, famous inventors, or the theme of children who persevere and succeed.  The water color illustrations provide a  visually pleasing backdrop to the well written story of Cromwell Dixon and his mother’s support in creating his dream contraption which propels him to the clouds (2500 feet) in his Columbus, Ohio hometown and in the St. Louis Air Ship Carnival.

Set in chronological order, this book is chock full of interesting snippets of information ranging from prehistoric Europe through recent history of Britain.  Time eras include the  Early Middle Ages, Tudors, Victorian Britain, and give information on famous events such as Hadrian’s Wall, Richard the Lionheart, Bloody Mary, and King Henry’s six wives.  Included in this unique book is cartoon style illustrations which blend humor into the sometimes dire bits of history.  The entire book is a bit of “tongue and cheek” humor which will likely appeal to a vast audience.  High interest, easy read.

Amazing illustrations will lure the lovers of mythical artwork to this unique and beautiful book illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli.  The brief descriptive sentence fragments could be used as a writing prompt for teachers at the elementary or middle school level.  Each phrase in the book describes a group of mythical creatures.  Example: A vengeance of harpies, a grapple of griffins, a storm of thunderbirds, etc.  The back of the book includes a comprehensive glossary listing the mythical creatures throughout the book and their origin.  This book would make an interesting addition to any library or collection, but may be most coveted by those who study mythical creatures, art, or creative writing.

This book is a charming combination of art and science which explores the symbiotic relationship between two unlikely creatures.  The format is an absolute bonus, each page uniquely set with a combination of cartoon type illustrations which include bits of information to tell the story of the two animals and how they mutually benefit one another. The illustrations are beautifully done and will carry reluctant or very young readers and the writing is perfect for fourth grade reading levels.  It will be easy enough to follow the information while being exposed to new and challenging vocabulary.  This book will hold the interest of the young and the adults who are “sharing” the story.  Beautifully composed.  This book is highly recommended.

This debut novel is a very, very funny story about an overweight 12-year-old middle schooler, a rich genius, who leads a very interesting life.  His genius and fortune have allowed him to control his surroundings to a point that he can dictate who is popular, who isn’t, who succeeds and who doesn’t.  Supposedly the fourth richest person in the world, he has created a somewhat ‘normal’ life, both at home and at school.  The reader gets sucked into all the drama and the technology that controls it, not stopping to think–hey, wait a minute! — would a rich genius really be in middle school taking regular classes in middle America?  A very funny read.  All middle schoolers should enjoy it!