This informational book introduces basic facts about jellyfish such as their appearance, size, body parts, food and eating habits, and information about baby jellyfish. Each page spread contains a full page photo that supports the information stated. This book contains a table of contents, more facts page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address code.

This informational book introduces basic facts about Jupiter such as its location to the sun, orbit around the sun, the speed of its spin, size, and more. Each page spread contains a full page photo that supports the information stated. Although this book is basic, the facts stated are very interesting and thought provoking. This book contains a table of contents, more facts page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address.

This informational book describes the physical characteristics, habitat, and behavior of rabbits. Full page, color photos accompany each page spread demonstrating the information being reported.

The art of storytelling is celebrated as a life-giving force in this enthralling picture book set in Morocco.

A nameless, thirsty boy meets a storyteller and is drawn to return day after day to listen to intricately linked stories and to learn the older man’s art. The stories bring not only sustenance to the boy’s inner life, but water to his lips, for in this world, storytelling and water are symbolically connected. Stories will ward off the great drought if the Sahara encroaches on the cities, but only if young people keep the tradition alive. And so, in the manner of Scheherazade, the stories unfold, and the protagonist retells the story of the boy who saved the city from the sandstorm that arrived as a large djinn by telling him a story, day by day. The life force of cool blue water appears in the illustrations, the antithesis of the destructive brown sand. Beautiful swirls of blue dominate many of the intricately bordered double-page spreads, fighting against the tans and browns of the djinn and the sands he represents. Each spread takes on a life of its own, sometimes highly geometric, other times full of swiftly crayon-drawn individuals, and still others with heavily inked and outlined figures.  Vibrant picture book!

In 1843, fourteen-year-old Hanson Gregory left his family home in Rockport, Maine, and set sail as a cabin boy on the schooner Achorn, looking for high-stakes adventure on the high seas. Little did he know that a boatload of hungry sailors, coupled with his knack for creative problem-solving, would yield one of the world’s most prized and beloved pastries.  Lively and inventive cut-paper illustrations add a taste of whimsy to this sweet, fact-filled story that includes an extensive bibliography, author’s note, and timeline.  Kirsch’s charming watercolor collages liberally employ round motifs: on many spreads, the circular illustration on the right page is “cut” from the left, freeing up a circle of white space for text. Endpapers sport scores of holey doughnuts, many decorated nautically. Miller shares the true story of the invention of the doughnut with the hole in its center. Delicious!

This new series – Piper Morgan- will fill a niche for those girls where there is a working mother with no father in the picture.

Piper is a 6 or 7 year old girl who loves to please. Piper wants to make friends, but Piper often jumps to conclusions about the new people she meets. Sometimes she is right and sometimes she is not. Piper’s mother works hard at her job, but her jobs never last very long. “My mom’s new job was as an assistant. That means she takes care of stuff for people. A person will send her jobs to take care of stuff for people, but the jobs are only temporary … For now, we were going to live with the traveling circus people.” (3) So begins the first book in this series.

While Piper’s mother is working, Piper becomes part of the ‘Little Explores’ section of the circus. The Little Explorers are the young children of the circus staff and performers. The Little Explorers do little acts between the major circus acts in the rings. Piper is to be a dancer along with the other Little Explorers. On her first night, she forgets her dance steps, then falls on another dancer, causing a domino affect of fallen dancers. The other Little Explorers are upset with Piper, but Big Top Bubba explains to all the children mistakes happen all the time. Circus is family and family helps each other. Big Top Bubba then has Lexie become Piper’s mentor.

Piper is set for the next performance. This time April starts the Little Explorers’ dance too soon, but the others follow her. Everyone’s timing is off. Piper starts doing cartwheels. Then, she bumps into a clown, who bumps into a dog act, who bumps into another act. The audience loves the chaos that follows as Piper tries to catch the dogs that are now out of control. The other Little Explorers help, too. The show most go on. Soon everything is back to normal.

Then, mom’s job is over and Piper leaves the circus. Stay tuned for book two in this new series.

Author, Stephanie Faris, has placed “Fairground Facts” trivia at the end of each of the ten chapters. Illustrator, Lucy Fleming, has two or three soft pencil drawings intermixed throughout each chapter. These sketches often show just the right facial expressions.

This “Ready-to-Read” book is chuck full of photos from the latest 2016 Ghostbuster movie.  That is one way to get reluctant readers to open a book up and read. This a an informational book introducing the ghostbusters and their work to the reader. Each of the five ghostbusters is given a two page mini bio: Abby, Erin, Holtsmann, Patty, and Kevin. One page being a photo with the opposite page being a description of her or his work. It is very tongue-in-cheek: ” When you hire the Ghosterbusters, we’ll bring the very latest in ghostbusting equipment. (Not the safest, but the latest.)” (18) On and on it sings the praises of the ghostbusters and what they do to help keep their community safe from ghosts.

There is not much meat to this book, but it is fun.

In Westaway’s first picture book, originally published in Australia, a whale has invaded the bathtub of a boy named Bruno; worse, it isn’t even an especially nice whale. “You could have knocked!” says the cetacean before shooing Bruno out of the bathroom. Bruno tries to explain the situation to his family, but no one believes him. “A “shower” courtesy of the whale’s blowhole keeps Bruno from getting in trouble for not bathing, though, as his mother notes, “You smell a bit fishy!” While there isn’t much of a story line, illustrator Jellett makes the most of the improbable situation, filling the bathroom with bubbles and white spray to emphasize the mess the whale is making and using crayonlike red scribbles on Bruno’s cheeks to highlight his growing irritation. Good, clean fun!

As this presidential draws near, I remember my mother working at our local polling place. Until I read this book, I never realized my mother would have remembered when women gained the right to vote in a national election in 1920.  STORIES OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE: Votes for Women tells of five women, in particular, who diligently worked over a fifty year period to gain this right for women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton began her work prior to the Civil War when many laws were unfavorable towards women. First she worked as an abolitionist before moving into women’s rights. In 1851, she met Susan B. Anthony and began collaborating with her. During the Civil War Elizabeth helped the abolitionists as she could. Then after the war, “Elizabeth and many other campaigners for women’s rights to vote became frustrated as more people began to support the right of black men to vote. Elizabeth refused to support the vote for black men only, instead demanding that this right should be extended to black and white women, too.” (22)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony made a good team. Elizabeth liked working behind the scenes and Susan liked being out in front of the crowd. Elizabeth was the mother of seven children, while Susan never married. Susan traveled around the country giving speeches. She was very good at strategy, such as, scheduling her talks “just before politicians were due to discuss changes to the law. This got the attention of the newspapers and the lawmakers themselves.” (34) Susan used the 14th and 15th Amendments as the basis of her arguments. In 1872, Susan registered to vote, voted, and was then arrested for voting.

Across the Atlantic Ocean in Britain, Clementina Black was working to improve the lives of poorer working women. Clementina was asking for equal pay for equal work, breaks during the work time, limited hours to a work day, and a legal minimum wage. “Clementina’s work and writing has helped lay the ground for other campaigners for women’s rights, who were ready to give their lives for the right to vote.” (61)

Carrie Chapman Catt married newspaper man Leo Chapman and “became co-editor of the newspaper.”(65) Sometime after Leo’s death, Carrie married a wealthy George Catt who agreed with her views on women’s rights. George, on occasion, spoke for women’s rights with Carrie at rallies. Carrie’s strategy was to get women the right to vote at the state level and then finally get an Amendment to the Constitution.

Emmeline Pankhurst, in Britain, saw that peaceful protests were not achieving the results women wanted. Her motto was, “Deeds, not words.” She wanted the issues in front of the public everyday, in every way, even if it meant chaining women to fences shouting about women’s suffrage, so they couldn’t be removed and arrested.

Britain’s women could vote by 1918, if they were 30 years old, which changed to 21 years old in 1928. In the United States, the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, though women in varying states could vote on local issues before then. Washington state women could vote by 1910.

These longer bios are followed by five one page mini-bios on: Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Millicent Fawcett, Annie Kenney, and Emily Davison.

Then, there is a timeline, Facthound.com, glossary, and index.

At first glance you might think this is a picture book for grade schoolers, but you’d be wrong. Oh, small children might sit still while you read it to them, but on a deeper level, this is an allegory poking fun at uneducated, simple people.

The story is told in three parts. Part one, the LEEKS, tells about how uneventful a leek’s life is in the vegetable garden. So, when a cow comes along telling them he is Santa they get very excited. The cow invites them to come home with him. “The leeks line up, orderly and disciplined, and one after the other they squeeze through the fence.” Right into the waiting cow’s mouth.

In part two, the CARROTS, in the garden are laughing at the leeks and their demise. Then the carrots begin to worry the reindeer might come and eat them, too. After long discussion where nothing is accomplished, one carrot suggests digging a tunnel a escape from the reindeer. The plan is carried out in teams. The carrots’ tunnel soon runs into a colony of bats. At first the carrots are worried the bats might eat them, but the bats are friendly. The bats are going to a party. The carrots ask if they can come along. No problem. The bats and carrots emerge from the tunnel in a warren full of wild rabbits.

In part three, MIXED VEGETABLES, off in another section of the garden a leek named Romeo finds a carrot named Julienne. They spend their nights whispering together, away from the other vegetables, until one dawn they are discovered. The Leeks are against the Carrots and vice versa. Then the other vegetables from the garden get involved in the insults. Romeo and Julienne sneak away.The vegetable garden is a battle zone. The gardener sees the aftermath and turns the smashed vegetables into soup. And the cow and a rabbit enjoy Romeo and Julienne.

Perceval Barrier’s illustrations are all done in varying shades of orange and green with cartoon conversation bubbles, in addition to the regular text.