They’re baaaaacccckkkk!   This is the original story introducing the Smurfs.  The story takes place in the Middle Ages and Peewit, an oftentimes pesky lad (and, I believe, the king’s son), loves music and thinks he is the best musician in all the land.  No one else thinks that and they run and hide to avoid listening to him, no one brave enough to tell him the truth.  He comes across a flute that when played makes people dance.  Peewit thinks this is the funniest thing ever, but it is stolen by a thief who uses it to steal from the bank and other wealthy institutions, and uses the gold to arm armies to invade Lord Mumford.  Enter the Smurfs….a help or a distraction, hmmmm?  Anyway, a long story short, the Smurfs give Peewit another magic flute, he duels with the thief, gets back the original flute and saves the day.  I remember the Smurf cartoons from 20 years ago and they were pretty cute and funny then.  They are still cute, but I think if the Smurfs are new to you, you really need to be able to hear and see them in action.

Jerome’s mom is a sailor and spends much of her time at sea.  When her ship is at port, she lives at home and does many things with the family.  When she leaves, she gives Jerome big kisses, a hug, and tells him to be brave.  Jerome misses his mother a lot and does not feel brave.  The books is divided into mini-chapters describing Jerome’s life when Mom is gone.  One day, Jerome took his dog, Duffy, to a pet show at school.  Duffy was afraid of all the other dogs and kids and hid behind Jerome until it was time to perform.  Jerome was surprised when his teacher gave Duffy a ribbon for being the bravest.  His teacher explained that being brave does not mean being un-afraid.  It means doing what is expected even when one is afraid.  As he reflected on all he did when he was worried about his mom, he decided, “sometimes we were brave”.  France Brassard’s awesome watercolor illustrations capture the life and emotions of Jerome and his family beautifully.  The point of view changes on each page which adds interest and drama.  Brassard’s paintings are perfectly paired with Pat Brisson’s endearing story.

Polygons are defined in easily understood text and demonstrated with colorful illustrations.  Different cartoon animals identify examples from 3-sided shapes (triangles) to 10-sided shapes (decagons).  Terms are reinforced on pages – the number of animals equal the number of sides on the polygon.  There is a fine arts tie-in with the decagon (10-sided) shape.  A decagon is the frame around a cat resembling the Mona Lisa, two dogs representing Grant Wood’s American Gothic, and a giraffe portraying The Scream by Edvard Munch.  A quick review precedes the page containing the glossary, index, a Facthound internet site, and other books to read about polygons.  Also listed are other books in the Math Fun series.

An introduction describes the basic rules of baseball and shows how numbers are used all the time in this sport: 4 bases, 3 strikes, 4 balls, 9 innings,etc.  The next pages show a player demonstrating parts of the game.  There are simple story problems using numbers the reader has learned from the text.  The answers to 7 questions about various parts of the game are on page 23 or this 24 paged book.  Also included are baseball facts using numbers from some games and players.  A glossary is on the last page.

When a new girl comes to school and mentions there are ghosts at her grandparents house, Damian Drooth resolves to use his detective skills to solve the mystery.  He and his detective team research ghosts at the library and prepare to spend the night at the grandparent’s house.  Damian’s observations are reminiscent of those of Hank, the Cowdog, written by John Erickson.  Damian tends to present himself as more knowledgeable than h e truly is.  Included in the back is a page telling about the author and illustrator, as well as a glossary of detective terms.  There are also discussion questions and writing prompts.  The web sites Capstonekids.com and Facthound.com provides games, puzzles, heroes, etc. as well as a list of other similar books.

This story begins with a traditional Salish legend of how buffalo came to earth to feed the people.  Bill Farnsworth’s oil paintings provide excellent illustrations for this story of Walking Coyote and a near extinction of the buffalo in 1873.  Two Nez Perce, a boy and his father, discovered a calf they named Little Thunderfoot, who survived the slaughter of her herd.  They took her to the camp of Walking Coyote, a man who gathered endangered buffalo.  Little Thunderfoot becomes the leader of the herd and symbolizes the majesty of the powerful animals.  By mid-sumsmer, the small, orphaned herd was ready to travel over the mountains toward a mission’s pastureland.   When the mission did not accept the buffalo, Walking Coyote eventually found a kindred spirit in Michel Pablo, a wealthy rancher who shared his vision of bringing back the great herds.  An afterword adds details about the growth of the herd on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

In this riveting memoir, the author offers the story of Sonia Rodriguez’s life as a gang member.  Written by a former gang member himself, Sanchez shares Sonia’s life of abuse and violence with his readers.  Following a horrific early childhood of constant verbal, physical and sexual abuse, middle schooler Sonia joins a gang – the Latin Kings – in her Chicago neighborhood.  As she ages, Sonia’s deep involvement in this world of drugs and violence allows her to become Lady Q, a Latin Queen.

Although the text is not well-written, the story itself is enough for readers to learn the her truth and perspective on gang life.  This memoir will definitely make an impression on the reader and provoke much discussion.  A compelling memoir.