The main body of the book is written in an almost poetic manner, with rich illustrations that evoke the mood and sentiment of life in an ancient wilderness.  It tells about the life cycle of a giant redwood tree, but more as a story than as informational text, yet it is still full of scientific explanations.  Toward the end, it also shares the historical/sociological aspects of work that has been done to protect the Giant Redwoods from over harvesting.  Several pages in the back are dedicated to “Facts about Coast Redwoods,” expounding in a more expository manner to some of the phrases used earlier in the tree’s story, adding more information/details.

It’s a straightforward text for young readers that provides the basics of how seeing-eye dogs are trained and what kind of services they provide.  It explains for children that when such a dog is in its harness it is in work mode, and they should not attempt to pet or play with it.  It describes some of the commands dogs learn, as well as some cues they may give to their owner.  Because it is a text intended for young readers, the depth of information is somewhat limited, as there are only a few sentences, in large font, per page.  The text on each page is supported by full-color photos on the opposing page.  The book contains all your basic non-fiction text features, including table of context, index, etc. I wish they had kept with the more traditional academic vocabulary of “Glossary,” instead of “Words to keep” though.  Also, although there is another book in this series dedicated to other service animals, I thought it would have been nice in this book to include a sentence or two explaining that Guiding for the blind is only one type of service dogs (and other animals) have been trained to do.

It’s fine I guess, but it wasn’t my favorite of similar type books.  This one seemed more concerned with being cute than with being informative, and I’m not sure their cuteness attempts always hit the mark. When the book is explaining that carrots aren’t really that good for rabbits, and could give them cavities, I don’t know how many modern kids are going to understand the point of the illustration of a rabbit with a kerchief tied around its face.  It makes the bold statement at the beginning of the book that no matter what kind of pet we have they love us, but is that really true?  I know dogs and cats can develop relationships of affection with their owners, but how does one know if a tarantula or a gold fish loves one?

This is a level 2 Blastoff Reader. It talks about the different types of technology used in a school and a brief history of technology in school. This book is coding in school, but a more appropriate title would be technology in school as it did not talk very much about coding. This book has many informational text features including bold words, labels and a glossary.

The British Museum is in trouble, it needs a donation right away to stay open. Lottie Lipton follows clues that lead her underneath the museum into the catacombs. She goes on an adventure that may lead her to treasure and saving the museum.

Remy, a raccoon, had his house broken into and his most prized possession a journal is missing. Remy and his friends the mice join forces to search for the journal. Remy and his friends must escape different perils while searching for the journal and discover new friends along the way. This book is part graphic novel, part illustrated chapter book. Students who are trying to move from graphic novel to chapter books may find this a decent transition.

Mia Tang moved to the US with her family in search of a better life. Instead they have faced many challenges. Mia’s mom thinks they have found the perfect new job managing a motel and it comes with free lodging. Unfortunately the owner of the motel is mean and managing the motel is a lot of work. Mia decides to help her family by running the front desk of the motel and in doing so makes new friends and overcomes many obstacles.

The Year of Living Awkwardly runs the reader rapidly through the life of high school sophomore Chloe Snow. The author, Emma Chastain, compels the reader through this emotional year with Chloe and her classmates as she works at the pool concession stand, plans to go to dances, hilariously prepares for and takes the PSAT, terrifyingly attends traffic safety classes, and flubs trying out for the school musical. If that isn’t enough drama, her parents have separated and are proceeding with a divorce. Chloe lives with her attorney dad while her writer mom has moved to Mexico with the boyfriend. Can Chloe forgive her mom for leaving? or her dad for dating Chloe’s English teacher? Can Chloe even figure out who her real friends are amongst the teen drama at school? Chastain presents a sophomore girl who is unfiltered, sexually aware and floundering to find love in most of the wrong ways. Some readers will be put off by this girl’s choices, though no doubt there are girls who have lived parallel lives to Chloe’s by the age of 16. The teenage angst is dripping from this novel as Chloe is battling how to be true to herself as she trusts and loves others. This is an additional purchase for upper high school students.

Maya is in an experimental phase in her life, quite literally. Going into the summer after graduating high school and losing her mother to cancer, Maya’s world is in a state of emulsion — droplets that aren’t mixing together in the right way. Whit, her boyfriend of over a year, dumps her for another girl. Her dad is more concerned with carabiners than college preparations. Her best friend, another boy, is leaving for college at the end of the summer. Maya’s summer plan consisted of transcribing notes from a college professor at MIT, where her mother had previously worked as a chemist and where Maya would be attending in the fall. But shortly after the implosion of her love life, Maya discovered a notebook of her mother’s with field notes on an secret experiment with a serum containing pheromones to spice up the mother’s relationship with her dad. With the help of a PhD candidate in the lab at MIT who had also worked on this secret project, Maya devises a way to continue the experiment, the goal of which is to get her boyfriend back. A true love story without many surprises, Meredith Goldstein gives readers a character that has a little fun while figuring out with which guy she really has the right chemistry. Recommended for hopeless romantics who like clean finishes.