Written by J. Patrick Lewis, the Children’s Poet Laureate of the United States, this is a cute collection of Halloween poems.  The poems are each 4 lines celebrating an aspect of the holiday; from parties to costumes and pumpkins to trick-or-treating.  Each poem has a 2 page spread with the poem on the left and a digitally modified photo on the right.  Each spread includes an interesting fact about Halloween that supports the poem topic.

End papers include spooky celebrations around the world featuring fall holidays in 6 different countries; a brief description and history of the holiday of Halloween; and a glossary and index.

I found the use of lowercase text for the Table of Contents and poem titles to be a potential distraction for young readers and writers who are just beginning to recognize and use proper capitalization.

Every night wishes are sent to the rabbit on the moon. The wishes as stars to the sky. Rabbit has a wish. He wants friends, so one night he takes a wish and comes to earth. He has a great day with new friends, but at night there are no stars in the sky. Rabbit realizes he must say good-bye and return to the moon. The text is lyrical with only a sentence on a page. The illustrations are beautiful and complement the text.

A little pup cannot go to sleep. He tries counting sheep, counting stars, chewing on a bone. The moths and butterflies tell him to go to sleep. A fox and a badger tell him to go to sleep, but the little pup cannot sleep until his mom covers him with a soft blanket. The text is rhythmic and engaging for young children, but I think the illustrations steal the show. The colors are vibrant, yet the illustrations are soft.

In her memoir, March Forward, Girl, Arkansas public school’s integration pioneer Melba Pattillo Beals offers an important perspective on racial oppression in the 1940’s and 50’s American south.  Seen through a child’s eyes, the picture she presents is at both shocking and inspiring as she describes her life leading up to the moment she enrolled in the 1957 all white Little Rock Central High School as one of the “Little Rock Nine”.

Simple prose, detailed events, child’s point-of-view as honest and frank are highlights of this appalling oppression and mistreatment.  Written for readers from 7th grade and up, this is an adult looking back at her childhood that shaped her immensely.  Witnessing a lynching at the age of five, an abduction by the KKK at the age of eleven and escaping an attempted rape are terrible highlights of her narrative.  The subject matter is jarring, which should sadden readers with the reality of our nation’s past.  Lower level ore reluctant readers will be drawn in by the subject matter and accessibility of the writing while more advanced readers will find plenty to ponder.

Kristen Hall relates how bees collect nectar, pass on the location of the flowers and a brief look at the rolls of different bees from spring to spring through a rhythmic lyrical text. Readers may not realize they are learning information about honeybees until they dive deeper into the story.

The colors of the book mainly focus on the golden yellow, orange and black with a few muted other colors in the background.

The text seems to be geared towards younger readers, but information at the back might be for the slightly older student.

Houses can be in the treetops or underground. They can be made of bubbles, sticks or clay. This book goes through different animal dwellings. Giving a brief description of how what type of animal lives in that home and what it is made of. The watercolor illustrations add a softness to the page.

Some animals are familiar, while some animals readers may not have heard of before. Some of the animals included in this book are beavers, rock-boring urchin, common swift, termites, and Mexican book beetles.

The information is brief on each page and at the back their is a short paragraph on each of the different animals in the book. This would be a good introduction to different types of animal homes.

A young Japanese American, Katherine Tasaki, turns in her library card and books to the librarian. She tells the librarian, Clara Breed, that she will be moving soon like all of the Japanese. Clara gave Katherine a stamped postcard and asks her to write so that she knows where they are. Clara went to the train station as the families are leaving and handed out books and more postcards.

The story is told partly through the postcards the children write to Miss Breed. They discuss where they are, things that happen and the living conditions. They also thank her for the books that she sends to them.

An author’s note at the end includes more information about Clara Breed, notable dates in her life, selected history of Japanese People in the United States as well as a bibliography and resources for further reading. The end papers include photos of Japanese Americans on their way to or at internment camps.

Max Patkin wanted to be a professional baseball player, but due to injuries he ended up being a baseball clown. Before there were team mascots, baseball clowns would entertain baseball fans. It started after Joe DiMaggio hit one of his pitches and Max chased him around the bases while making faces. When he could no longer play baseball, he took to entertaining the crowds.

An interesting look at a different side of baseball history. The illustrations are colorful and add to the fun of this true story. The author’s note at the end includes photographs of Max Patkin, information and a bibliography.

This is the 40th Anniversary Edition of this title- All Kinds of Families. It is in picture book format, but can and perhaps should be used for all age levels. “Children need grown-ups who take care of them.” Almost every kind of family imaginable is in this book in one place or another: big , little, new, old, multi-generational, grandparents, two mothers, two fathers, aunts and uncles, adoptees, step sisters and brothers, people with different last names, multi-racial, and on and on. The important thing is that people “living together, sharing good times and bad times… growing together.” Families are ever growing and expanding with marriages, births, and deaths. When families get together for holidays, birthdays, weddings, and sad times stories are told and retold.  “Their family feelings keep people close, like a strong, invisible circle.”

This book is a wonderful jumping off point for discussions on what family is for you and others. Illustrator Sarah S. Brannen has done her part to positive provide families from different ethnic and culture groups, as well as, different age groups. Very well done!

Opossums is a very informative book that is part of the North American Animals series. All aspects of the the animal’s life are explored, from its description to range and eating habits. We learn that they really do “play dead” when they are threatened (or hiss and screech, if needed). Information is presented in clear, short paragraphs with unfamiliar words in bold text, which is later explained in the glossary. There are several very good graphics, showing size, foods, enemies, range, et cetera. One graphic is slightly misleading (range) because the color chosen for the range on the map is similar to the color on the conservation status bar that denotes extinct in the wild, while the text below the bar says they are of least concern from a conservation standpoint. Other than that, the information is clearly presented and backed up with great photos. Nonfiction features include table of contents, graphics, index, glossary and website information.

This book is a good choice for reports or general interest. Students will learn some solid information, which might lead them to further research. Recommended