In 1942 Los Angeles, Sam’s class is knitting as a way to help the war effort. Sam really struggles with knitting just as he struggles with how Keiko, his Japanese American classmate and neighbor is treated. Once the United States declared war on Japan, Americans of Japanese descent faced attacks, discrimination, and racism. The tensions escalated when President Roosevelt issued the decree creating the Japanese Internment Camps. The small actions of friends and neighbors to show their support of a group of people unfairly labeled. As Sam untangles his emotions he finds that his yarn is no longer as tangled either. The scarf Sam knits and sends to Keiko represents a concrete symbol of his change in thinking.

This complex and difficult time is portrayed in a way young students can understand. Connections can easily be made with current events and racial profiling.

Books on technology become outdated so quickly, but I immediately thought highly of this book because there was not a single photo of the old “Hollywood” robot from the 1960s television show LOST IN SPACE. This book comes with a QR code for each chapter or the website popbooksonline.com/robots for more information. The four chapters are: What are Robots?, How Robots Work, Ways to Use Robots, and The Future of Robots.

“Robots are machines that perform tasks for people. Some robots are simple…Other robots are very complex.” (4) Robots are run by computers programmed by people.

The graphic on page 17 shows “TYPES OF ROBOTS” simple and complex. The simple robots include a robot vacuum, robot toy dog, and a robot lawn mower. The complex ones include a factory robot, military robot, space robot, and a robot that goes to school. None of these robots look like humans, which might be one of the best selling features of this book!

Large font type, three or four sentences per page turn, and up-to-date photos of robots being used to do work make this book a great introduction for young reader on the subject of robots.

This book focuses on archeological finds that are being exposed due to warmer temperatures and melting snow.  It starts with a brief introduction to the science of climate change. Then there are eleven different stories describing people and animals uncovered- from ancient Caribou dung in Alaska to a mountain climber in Italy.  Each story contains an inset with more information – both scientific and archeological. Information includes the difference between glaciers, ice patches and permafrost, as well as explanations of carbon dating and DNA testing.  There are photographs of the locations of discovery and some of the things uncovered, including mummified bodies. Additionally, there are artist’s illustrations of possible past scenarios. Glossary and timeline at the end of the book, and also a few resources to find out more. Easy to understand explanations of a complicated topic, including why this is important to us today.

“Imagine you’re the pilot.”  This book takes the reader through a day inside the deep-sea submersible Alvin.  Go along with scientists from the surface of the ocean, to the depths, and back again.  Evocative language and intriguing illustrations immerse the reader in the experience. Alvin’s journey introduces the reader to information on geology, as well as the flora and fauna of the deep sea. At the end of the book there are notes from both the author and the illustrator, facts on Alvin, a glossary, list of organisms, and resources to learn more.  Budding scientists and curious kids will enjoy exploring the mysteries of the deep ocean floor.

Gondra is a young dragon who has a mother from the West, and a father from the East.  Throughout the story, she compares her features to her parents and wonders who she will take after the most as she grows. Gondra is assured by her parents that they no longer need to horde treasure as she is their treasure. Includes interesting and informative author’s note at the end with background information on Eastern and Western dragon mythology. Positive message and delightful illustrations.

This story is like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. How will you ever be able to get all of the pieces together, especially when the mean character is trying to do the exact same thing.

The ‘boy’ wakes up on an island beach not knowing or remembering anything. Amnesia? He has an inner bully of a subconscious always ready to let him know how dumb and cowardly he is in his choices of action. Let’s put some more pieces of the puzzle together. Let’s try a different color scheme. Let’s go from the gray of the beach to the green of the forest. The bully thinks this is a bad choice. There are monsters in the forest. The boy escapes the monster by climbing a tree. There he saves a baby owl in a torrential rain storm, only to find a tree house. The colors of the puzzle pieces now change from the brown of the tree house to a strong beam of light. The boy decides to find the source of the light. The colors change yet again as the boy leaves the forest and comes to a lighthouse. “He stepped back, starring out of the window at the trees of the Green Wall [forest] lined up outside the lighthouse. What kind of place made refrigerators appear out of thin air? Showed his brother in a puddle? Made a pathway from an owl of leaves? And lured him with a light that had no bulb?” (115) Will these puzzle pieces ever come together to make a whole picture?

The boy tries to make a boat, but it floats away without him. Then three boys come to the island in two real boats. The boy wants to leave the island with them, but they cannot see him. Is he a ghost? More pieces to the puzzle. Is he dead? Finally, someone is here to help him get off of this island. The puzzle is coming together at last. The boy must choose between the easy way of slipping into the afterlife or the hard way of fighting his way back into consciousness to the life and family he is sure is waiting for his return. The bully does not think the boy could or should face the blues of the sea to get to the other distant island where his family waits for him. The boy conquers his fears and “made his own courage.”(240) The boy – Ethan- wakes up in the hospital room to the joy of his father, younger brother, and mother. The boy- Ethan- has faced his demons and survived.

Intermediate elementary readers will enjoy finding out some of the secret “tricks used by filmmakers.” (8) Some are done while the movie is being filmed, while others are added after the filming. “Most film studios had special effects teams by the 1920s.” (15) Some of the effects mentioned are: animatronics, claymation, substitution shots, stop-motion animation, CGI, and use of models.

There are usually six to eight sentences in a combination of two paragraphs per page turn along side photos from twenty big Hollywood movies. Movies like Star Wars, Titanic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mary Poppins, and Jurassic Park III. Lovers of action movies will enjoy this book.

The book closes with the publisher’s web site- Factsurfer.com. Its link to the AMC site is outstanding!

This book will give young readers information about collared lizards, such as: biome, habitat, coloring-camouflage, and diet. The collared lizards appearance is not described, but gained through colored photographs on almost every page.

There are usually three factual sentences for every page turn, in a large font, with glossary words in bold. Pages 14-15 state, “Collared lizards need heat to break down their food. Food that does not break down rots. They stop eating before they hibernate so they do not get sick.”

The book closes with the publisher’s web site – Factsurfer.com, which gives a recap of the book and additional information.

Sid, Axl and Ivan make a midnight run for the theater group, but on the way come upon some creepy events and a strange Taco Bear drive-thru that transports them to another dimension. Their taco order turns into tentacled creatures and the world around them turns soft and goopy. They must team up with grad student, Wendy, to save the world from these creatures. This is a science fiction graphic novel that would appeal to students who like horror. The pictures change from gray to an orange to coincide with events in the story.