A great book for exploring ways in which human customs are the same and different around the world:  everybody needs to bathe, but traditions vary from culture to culture.  The illustrations are vibrant, the text is straightforward, with extra information in the back for curious readers.

The main character loves to paint, but she can’t decide what color she should use to paint a kiss.  As she ponders each choice, she considers things she does and does not like that are that color, along with other things associated with that color (like red being the color of anger and blue the color of sadness).  In the end, she just can’t decide, so she asks her mom. The book ends with an illustration showing mom giving her a kiss, and the background filled with hearts of all colors.

This is a beautiful book that celebrates the power of imagination and believing in one’s dreams. As a young girl ponders all the things she’d like to be, a little voice inside keeps protesting with all the what-ifs that could interfere with the pursuit of those dreams, but the little girl is always ready with a come-back to silence the voice. intermixed with all the dreams us grown-ups would consider possible, like being president or a firefighter or an artist or a scientist, are the more fanciful like being a bird or an alligator or a vet who treats dragons or having tea parties with aliens.  And in the end it gets in an endorsement for learning and reading, as the girl declares that first she must read about all she’s going to do.

The text is current and direct, written in accessible language for early learners, and is supported by full-page color photos. The binding is sturdy, and it’s got all the appropriate non-fiction text features. I am often reluctant to spend full-price for biographies of sports figures, or celebrities, as their shelf-life popularity can be so limited, but this book makes the case for Phelps’s significance in Olympic history.

Really sweet illustrations accompany and enhance the simple, repetitive text of this book.  The text itself is a series of three-word sentences, all following the, “I _____you.” pattern.  The illustrations add meaning, creating the story of how the parents and children of different animals on a farm and in the surrounding woods express their love for each other. The repetitive text and supportive illustrations are both good for emergent readers, and it’s a good conversation starter for how we express our feelings, and it’s just plain sweet.

Eh. The illustrations are fun, but I thought the story was a bit flat. As an assortment of sea creatures are filming an Underwater World live broadcast, Shark shows up, and keeps starting to do things completely in character for a shark to do: eat a smaller fish, eat a baby seal, follow the smell of blood to a group of human swimmers. Each time the host of the TV show calls for Shark to stop, and not do anything heinous while the people are watching, Shark declares he’s been misunderstood: he was just showing the little fish his new tooth, returning the baby seal to its family, taking band-aids to the wounded swimmer. And then he eats the host of the TV show. A few “fun facts” about sharks are scattered throughout the story.

Love Steve Jenkins’s work! This one addresses the reasons and methods by which some animals draw attention to themselves in the wild. Kids are often familiar with the need of animals to camouflage camouflage themselves in order to hide from predators or sneak up on prey, and this book points out that sometimes an opposite need exists, either to attract a mate or frighten off potential predators. Jenkins’s bright collage illustrations provide stunning details, and introduce students to a variety of uncommon animals from across the globe.  The main text of the book focuses on the means and reasons for animals to draw attention, but further information pages in the back provide extra details for the curious reader.

There are a few clever poems included, but the quality is inconsistent, which makes a certain amount of sense, given that they are all written by different authors. The illustrations don’t do anything to enhance the appeal of the book: the color scheme is drab and dull.

It’s a very simple book, with a simple, straightforward message: that we don’t need to be just like others in order to just like each other.  The illustrations are sweet and inviting, using a whole variety of animals to represent differences. The text is limited, with lots of repetition and rhyming, which is helpful for emergent readers, and the message is an important one.

I wish I could recommend this book. It’s beautifully illustrated, and full of beautiful sentiments about the American people. It certainly represents all sorts of things I want to be true. But it is so idealized it makes broad generalized statements that aren’t necessarily true of all Americans: when discussing the natural beauty of the land, it states, “Americans know that all these things are gifts to be cherished and protected, and passed on to future generations of Americans.” Yet we hear regularly in the news that a large percentage of Americans believe these things need to be exploited for economic gain. The book declares America a place, “where hard work is rewarded; where people can climb as high as their hearts and minds can reach.” As much as we all like to believe this to be true, it is not always the reality experienced by all Americans. I even debated giving this book a Not Recommended rating, but I’m going soft on it because I want it to be true.