If you are looking for a book about how planes work, this book gives only a VERY general overview. It takes a broader approach for a younger audience about air travel in general (including a chapter on airport security). I can’t imagine that students older than third grade or students with knowledge of the Wright brothers or planes would find this book very helpful. Students just beginning to learn about these subjects might, though. For a broad overview of air travel and a younger audience (advanced reader in 2nd or 3rd grade), this is a decent book. Cute illustrations, quiz at the end and a wide array of general info. Some readers may want to go deeper though.

Nicholas O. Time, authors a new series dealing with time travel – In Due Time. In book #2 – Stay a Spell the main characters Jada and her friends Abby and Daniel are students at Sands Middle School. Their school librarian, Ms. Tremt, is very efficient and then some. It seems at times, Ms. Tremt knows what books you need even before you know. This comes into play when Jada goes to the library to check out self-help books to help her with her spelling problem/ bad spelling test grades. Jada can not seem to wrap her logical mind around the rules for spelling English correctly. While in the library, Ms. Tremt recruits Jada to help her. Little does Jada know that time travel will be involved. Jada may bring her two friends, but none of them will ever be allowed to tell anyone about their time travel. The butterfly effect is discussed. The slightest change in the time traveled to can have far reaching implications. Ms. Tremt has Jada, Abby, and Daniel traveling back to Hollywood, CA, 1977, where Jada’s Aunt Katy works in a Hollywood film company’s costume shop. Something goes wrong, they travel back to 1803, instead  meeting Sagawea. The second time, is successful. They meet Aunt Katy. Aunt Katy is very energetic and shows them around the costume department letting them try on various costumes.  A problem arises that could cost Aunt Katy her job.  Jada’s wonderful math skills helps her discover the problem. Jada realizes the problem was caused by a spelling error, which caused the wrong fabric to be ordered. Oh, this causes a butterfly effect. Then, Tim Raveltere appears. He is trying to track down Ms. Tremt. He wants to take away Ms. Tremt’s ability to time travel for his own gain. Jada, Abby, and Daniel follow Tim through time to stop him, where they meet Cleopatra. Jada, Abby, and Daniel escape ancient Egypt going back to their own time thanks to Daniel’s quick thinking.

That is enough time travel for Jada, Abby, and Daniel for the moment. Ms. Tremt works to keep Tim R. at bay. Then, Jada invites Abby, Daniel , and Aunt Katy over to her house on Saturday have to fun dressing and dancing  1970s style.

Story #2 is over. Nicholas O. Time gives the readers some additional background on the three times to which Jada, Abby, and Daniel traveled.

The reader will enjoy the descriptions of sights Jada, Abby, and Daniel are seeing, especially when referenced to their modern counterparts.

The Grumpasaurus is a small, fearsome creature. You should observe the Grumpasaurus from afar. Edward Hemingway’s book is written as a field guide and features diagrams and colorful illustrations. The book starts out with the Grumpasaurs finding his teddy bear with his arm falling off. It sets him off in a grumpy mood. Eventually his teddy bear is repaired and we soon learn that the Grumpasaurus is a young child in a bad mood. This is definitely for younger audiences. It could be a fun way to talk about bad moods and strong emotions.

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s simple information on snow for young readers. Clouds in winter are made of ice crystals. The ice and dust in the clouds grow “so heavy that they drop from the cloud.” (13) The colder the air, the smaller the snow flakes and vice versa. “Each snowflake has six sides.” (20)

Page 31 contains six “Facts about snow” which are more complex than the previous information. This includes, ” People used to think it was impossible to find two alike, but a researcher named Nancy Knight once did find two snowflakes exactly alike.” (31)

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s simple information about wind for young readers. The earth spins, so air moves creating wind. Heated air rises, colder air falls trading places. “We call this movement ‘wind’.” (11) Birds, seeds, kites, sailboats, and windmills all use wind. Very quickly moving air can cause storms.  We can’t see wind, only its effects.

Page 32 contains four “Facts about wind” which are more complex than the previous information.

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s extremely simple information on clouds. One of the three types of clouds most youngsters will relate to are fog and their chilly breath on a cold morning. There are cirrus clouds, “That means ‘curl’.” (10)” Stratus. That means ‘layered’ or ‘spread out’. “(12-13) “Cumulus. That means ‘heap’ or ‘pile’. (18)
Clouds consist of liquid or frozen water. Clouds cool the earth during the day and keep the warmth in the atmosphere at night (like a blanket). The water in clouds is the same water as back in dinosaur days.

Page 32 contains 5 “Facts about clouds” which are more complex than the previous 30 pages.

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s extremely simple telling of the water cycle for very young readers. Sentence length ranges from three to eight words. There is usually one sentence, in a large font, to a page. The plot: it is hot, plants wilt, a cloud , water droplets unite, droplets get heavy, and fall to earth. Repeat.

Page 32 contains six “Facts about rain” which are more complex than the previous 30 pages.

Have you ever wondered who invented the cookie? This book discusses the history of the cookie. It starts with how the cookie was started, then how they came to America, and then how the cookie became popular. It gives a lot of interesting tidbits about how cookies became a part of celebrations and the most popular cookie. It ends with a bit of baking science, a recipe and a short quiz.

This book is a part of the History of Fun Stuff series. It is billed as a Level 3 Ready-to Read book, but the text is long and lacks text features. Several of the famous people or companies may not be recognizable to a younger audience. Students who are interested in the history of sweets will enjoy the fun facts and history of the cookie.

Bertie looks and acts like all of the other giraffes. They do the same thing everyday. One day Bertie oversleeps and realizes that he was all alone. As Bertie wanders around lost and unsure what to do, he sees Blue, a creature just like him, only blue. Blue says that he can lead Bertie back home. As Blue and Bertie walk to his home, Blue shows Bertie things he had never noticed before like birds and rare flowers and helps Bertie see things in a different way. When Bertie joins his heard, Blue sadly turns to leave because he does not belong. Bertie tells Blue that he does belong and Blue helps the heard see things a little bit differently.

A sweet story about acceptance, being a good friend and looking at things differently.

Maggi and Milo return in another adventure. This time Maggi and Milo are having a staring contest when Maggi’s mom suggests going to the park. Maggi wonders why they should go and mom replies, “Because it’s Tuesday and the sun is shining and you might make a new friend.” Maggi doesn’t think she needs new friends because she has “Milo, the Mammal of All Mammals.” They go to the park to discover that dogs are not allowed. Maggi’s mom says she will stay with Milo while Maggi goes to play. Maggi introduces herself to a group of children and soon they are playing. Maggi decides that she wants to walk Milo because he looks bored. The other children want to walk him too. Maggi says that it is expensive and sends them to look for roly-polies, sticks, acorns, dandelions and three leaf clovers. She decides that they look like they are having fun collecting things for her, so she decides to join them. Maggi leaves the park having made new friends, but with her best friend of all, Milo. This is a fun story about making new friends.

The illustrations are colorful and engaging. The characters in the book reflect a multicultural group of friends.