Basic information about Cuba is covered from: location with maps, landscape and climate with a seasonal temperature inset, wildlife with photos, communities, customs, school, food, and celebrations.

Students will appreciate the two pages of quick facts containing Cuba’s flag, money, capital city and other information they most likely will be required to give in a report on Cuba.

The www.factsurfer.com links gave more information from at least three other resources.

What disappoints is the Timeline section. The reader must jump up and down from the top to the bottom of the pages to follow the sequence of Cuba’s history. There is not a single line connecting the appropriate picture to the year on the line. There is a three segmented line which usually crosses the book’s ditch from the left page to the right page.

Four accomplices, like the four letters of the title Meme, each will question the motives of the others after a wickedly committed murder, a murder they believe has gone viral. It is the fall of their senior year. Cole and Meeka’s relationship has gone south, with Meeka feeling that Cole may cause her physical harm. Cole has had a very rough life and is smarter with computers than with people. Holly, Grayson, and Logan felt there was only one way to protect Meeka. A single picture is taken at the murder site that would connect all of them if one were to confess. It was taken as a sort of security blanket, then all phones were destroyed and left with the buried body. Except the picture began to circulate as a meme shortly after the killing. Who else has the picture? Does that person know what happened that night? Could Cole still be alive? All have a point of view to share as narrators of alternating chapters as the story unwinds. Yet Meeka’s is that last voice. While Aaron Starmer’s title is trite, the writing is pretty good and fans of Gretchen McNeil will enjoy this suspenseful tale.

When four newly hatched dinosaurs imprint on Doc and Denise at a rundown dinosaur tourist trap this graphic novel becoming very interesting with overtones of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Doc and Denise’s landlord- Angus- unknowingly awakens the dreaded Armageddon, (buried a millennia past), from his underground hypercrystal prison. Armageddon, then transforms Angus into “THE MALICIOUS MAN-COMET!”

Armageddon sets Man-Comet out to destroy the manosaurs. Presently, the manosaurs are at the dinosaur museum with Doc and Denise, who want to show them about their earthly history. Mayhem at the museum ensues until Armageddon is once again trapped in hypercrystal.

Do not miss Book #2.

Tara Smith is a driven high school girl, the daughter of successful, driven parents. Then one day in a hurry to get to the school bus on time, Tara does not take her morning handful of daily pills. Everything changes from there! Tara can no longer block out the taunts from bullies. In a moment of rage, Tara transforms into a girl with glowing red eyes who spontaneously combusts.

Tara finds herself swiftly whisked off to a school for extraterrestrial high school girls. “…IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL, YOU’LL (Tara) HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN FUTURE GALACTIC ENDEAVORS.” This could very well be Tara’s dream come true.

Now Tara must get used to having a roommate, a new school, and life as an alien living among many other aliens from many other worlds. The BIG question is- ‘can friendship withstand cultural history’? A history where one friend’s world destroyed another friends world.

It seems no matter which world a high school girl is from, there will always be drama.

Lola’s dad, the super secret agent, James Blond, is kidnaped by Max Imum and other Friendly Falls villains. Lola sets out to find him with her dinosaur, James, and her cat Hot Dog. Luckily she brought her pencil and eraser to help her defeat the villains. Along the way she is joined by two skeletons and a scribble monster. In the second story, Lola sets off through the television to save her mom who has gone missing.

This story is full of twists and turns and imagination. As an adult, I had a hard time following and keeping up with the story. I think this story would appeal to 2nd and 3rd grade fans of silly graphic novels.

When their owner, Mrs. Food, slips and falls and is taken away to the hospital, the pets learn they are in serious trouble. The dog, cat, bird, and two rats must come up with a plan to survive on their own. They concoct a plan to become independently wealthy. Their plan involves stealing coins from the Coin Man on the top floor. Along the way, they discover something is going on with the little girl who is taking care of them and discover it might not just be the pets that need saving.

Each of the pets have distinct personalities. Readers will laugh at the animals plans and antics. This is a page turning read.

A boy goes for a walk one morning in search of a couple of things for his breakfast. With the curiosity of a young child, he investigates a gate, a truck, a tractor, a haystack, a cow, a sheep, and a pony. None of these interesting objects lay the eggs he wants for breakfast. All the while, a chicken follows him. Retrieving eggs in the chicken coop, he shows he always knew where to find the eggs.

The illustrations give the book a classic feel. The lines of the sweet illustrations are reminicent of Robert McCloskey and the playful colors bring to mind Gyo Fujikawa’s characters.

A young hawaiian boy grows up hearing his grandfather sing. As they spend time at the ocean and evenings singing grandfather encourages his grandson to listen for a good song. The boy tries again and again as he grows and moves away from home to hear the song. Time passes and so does his grandfather. Still he can’t hear the song. In his sadness, he heads to the ocean, lying back he lets it lull him. In his dreams he hears the whisper of his grandfather on the wind. And he hears the “good song”. Now when the boy hears singing and the strumming of the ukulele he feels the love of the good song in his heart.

The Good Song is a touching story that encourages a reader to slow down, listen, and connect to both the surrounding world and his/her inner heart. The story reflects the culture of the Hawaiian people.

Endpapers include a short biography of IZ (Israel Kamakawiwoʻole), a Hawaiian muscisian famous for his medley of Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World as well as the song lyrics.