The real strength in this book lies in its beautiful full-color photos of children at school all around the world. The text is simple: one chief sentence on each two page spread, as well as captions under two or three photos, describing how that sentence applies in different parts of the world. The theme of the text is that of the commonalities of school experiences for children all around the world, while the photos highlight both similarities and differences. There is a world map in the back with all the countries mentioned in the book highlighted.

It’s the story of two paper mice who after being cut out are tucked into some books and put away, but after dark they come out for adventures. The book ends when they crawl back into their books just before daylight. It’s a cute enough book, but really just another incarnation of a story that has been told repeatedly before.

It’s the 25th Anniversary Edition of a book I’ve never heard of. The artwork is beautiful and intriguing and always a bit strange. Each illustration is accompanied by an incomplete caption (“If mice were hair…. If worms had wheels…. If leaves were fish…”). It’s a celebration of imagination, and could be used it a variety of ways including art prompts, writing prompts, conversation starters, etc.). Suitable for all ages.

There’s a lot of rhythm to the flow of the text, which makes sense when you get to the back and notice the words set to music. It tells the story of seed that is found on an outing and brought back to the big city and planted in a jar of earth. The bunny who found it cares for it and watches it until it’s too tall to for the jar it’s in, then he and his friends take it outside to plant it in the ground. The refrain that repeats throughout the book is that though it started small, one day it will stand at a hundred feet tall. The illustrations show another whole storyline and the passage of time, as we see the little bunny’s mom pregnant, and then bringing home a new baby bunny who eventually is taking its first steps.

Trike is reminiscing over all the fun he’s had with he’s had with Lulu, when the arrival of a shiny new bike shows up and makes him conscious of all his own scratches and patches. Bike is a bit of a show-off, who likes speed, and he challenges Trike to a race. Recognizing the advantage that he’d have because of his familiarity with the route, Trike agrees, on the stipulation that if he wins, Bike has to promise to let Lulu ride at her own pace. Mid-race, when Bike’s risky behavior gives Trike an opportunity to take the lead, Trike goes after Bike to keep him save, rather than take advantage of the opening. They end up friends, and though Lulu gets presented with the shiny new Bike at her birthday, her baby brother takes over Trike, so the two get to keep riding together.

The illustrations are bright and cheerful. The text is rhyming and rhythmic. The story tells of all the barnyard animals gathering together to wait out a storm. Despite all of them declaring they’re not afraid of thunder, they obviously find comfort in each other’s company. When the storm passes, Little Blue Truck gives everyone a bedtime ride back to their own niches.

It tells about a girl who’s expanding her extracurricular horizons. She loves ballet, but after her recital, when the ballet classes end, it’s time for her to try the baseball she signed up for. She misses the twirling and leaping of ballet, as well as her sparkly tutu, and she’s not exactly giving her team her best. Her coach tells her about famous athletes who use ballet to improve their performance in other sports, and he gives her some sparkly shoe laces, and she begins to put in a bit more effort. And then when the ball is headed her way she leaps and twirls and catches the ball that puts the other team out and wins the game.

The illustrations are cute, and the story draws upon a character that will be familiar to many. But with only one sentence on most pages, the storyline and character development are both a bit limited. It basically tells about planning and preparing for a tea party, and then when Angelina drops the special tart she made for the guest of honor, she performs a dance for her instead. I guess it could be useful for recalling sequence, but otherwise it’s a bit blah.

It’s got the basic, very rudimentary information about why earthquakes happen presented in a simple, straight-forward manner. There are only one to two sentences per page, and illustrations to support the meaning of the text. It includes information about how different cultures of the past explained earthquakes before the science behind them was understood.

The story is lame. The writing is stilted. There’s repetition, but no rhythm or rhyme, as the description on the back claims. The questions in the back of the book are trying to turn reading into an assignment, but there’s not enough substance to the story to illicit any authentic questions. This is a tool designed to turn kids off reading.