I’m sorry, but I didn’t find any redeeming qualities in this book.  I didn’t find it funny.  I didn’t find it clever. I didn’t find it interesting. It’s about a toddler who isn’t sleepy at bedtime, and her dad gives into whatever she demands, whether or not it makes any sense at bedtime.  Then she finds her Aunty Fairy who gives her a birthday present a day early — a spinning wheel.  She doesn’t prick her finger, but she does break it and then throw a tantrum. By the time she finally falls asleep, she sleeps right through time for her birthday party the next day, and none of her guests can wake her up.  By the time she finally does wake up, she declares it’s time for a pajama party.  Basically I found it to be the story of a spoiled brat who expects the whole world to revolve around her whims.

It’s your basic life-cycle-of-a-frog book, but it’s a very well-done version for young readers.  The text is direct and simple yet doesn’t lack substance in its simplicity.  The large color photos do an excellent job of supporting the text.  It’s got an excellent binding, and all the usual non-fiction text features.

Visually, it’s a really cool book.  The illustrations use light and shadow to great effect as the story tells of a little rabbit being carried home through the city at night, describing all he sees in the windows they pass, and what he wonders about his neighbors.  But you need to be careful about your patron population if you’re going to choose to put it on your shelves.  I really like most of the book, except the last sentence: “But every night, we all go home to bed.”  I’ve worked too long with kids in poverty to believe this to be true, and I worry about the child reading it who doesn’t get to go home to a bed every night.

It’s fine for what it is, but it’s very limited in the information it provides.  Strictly a concept book for the very youngest students.  One or two sentences per page is accompanied by color photos of places in our lives where circles are found.  The circles are highlighted in each photo to make them stand out.  It does have an excellent binding and all the basic non-fiction text features (in a very limited fashion).

Written in the third person point of view, The Lost Causes tells the story of five teens who are just that: lost causes. Or so their parents, teachers, and counselors describe them as such. One is a rich depressive, another has OCD, one is a hypochondriac, another a drug abuser, and there is athlete with serious anger management issues. All are chosen for intensive group therapy because other options have been exhausted. The reader is surprised when they are tapped by the FBI to help with a murder investigation and help find the killer whose grisly crime has turned their small town upside down.

The teens think they are assigned to a therapy group, but in fact, the beverage the therapist (actually an FBI agent) gives them is a dangerous serum that erases their teen past problems and unlocks a psychic ability within each of them. Suddenly, Z can hear other people’s thoughts, Andrew becomes a genius, Justin can throw people off with his mind, Gabby can see people’s past by touch, and Sabrina can see dead people. Their new powers will help them uncover clues and follow leads that have eluded the authorities. Their outsider status gives them the perfect cover.

Their earlier problems have vanished, but their new freedom comes with a price, as the same traits that make them excellent investigators also make them vulnerable. As they close in on the murderer, they expose a larger conspiracy that puts them directly in harm’s way and makes them wonder if there is anyone at all that they can trust.

The Lost Causes is a page turner that mingles science fiction with mystery, and ends with a completely unexpected cliffhanger that will leave the reader longing for a sequel.

Neal Bascomb, author of The Nazi Hunters, presents another griping true story of spies and survival as Norwegian commandos sabotage Hitler’s industrial fortress at Vemork, on a mission to prevent that Nazi’s from using their own nuclear bomb.

Using alternating perspectives of the Germans and Norwegians, Bascomb tells the story of the Nazis invasion and occupation of Norway, the martial rule they impose upon the Norwegians, and the Nazi’s production of “heavy water”, the essential ingredient for the weapon that could end World War II: Hitler’s very own nuclear bomb. The story reveals how the Allies discover the plans for the bomb, how a British operation fails to destroy Vemork, and how a band of young Norwegian commandos take on the mission. The reader is intrigued and anxious as these young men, armed only with their skis, explosives, and tremendous courage, survive months in the bitter cold wilderness, elude a huge manhunt, and carry out two dangerous missions.

This story of WWII espionage will appeal to teens who enjoy historical fiction, military works, and narrative nonfiction. Bascomb uses primary source documents including journals, diaries, and first hand interviews. He also includes photographs and maps which add authenticity and drama to this story. Teachers will appreciate the exhaustive 29 page bibliography.

The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball’s Unsung Heroes by Matt Doeden is written in a simple, easy to understand format with lots of pictures, however, the issues are very complex.  At a time in history when baseball leagues were segregated by the color of one’s skin,  Doeden details some differences between the better-known baseball leagues where all players had light colored skin and the lesser known “negro leagues” where most players were of African American descent and the records were by word of mouth rather than written down.  It illustrates the difficulties of playing as people of African descent, yet the black community overcame many of these difficulties to produce interesting games and outstanding players.

This book also may help you to understand current controversies in the media.  We now view multiracial teams and players are recognized based on their ability to play, rather than the color of their skin.  However, it is the black team members who are silently protesting the national anthem at football games as black members of society are still not treated equally in our communities.  Unfortunately, white commentators and politicians fail to understand what they are protesting.

The book also illustrates the outcomes of integrating the baseball teams as the negro teams disintegrated as their best players joined the integrated teams. This can help us understand the current controversy of integrating Boy Scouts and allowing girls into their organization.  Will allowing girls into Boy Scouts lead to a weakening of Girl Scouts as it draws away the most involved supporters, families, and girls?

If a library doesn’t have a good text already covering this topic, The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball’s Unsung Heroes fits the bill as an additional purchase.

One Whole and Perfect Day, written by Australian YA award winning author Judith Clark, tells the story of Lily, who wishes she could be like the other girls at school. But doesn’t know how she can be, what with her embarrassingly eccentric family, who she considers “freakish”. Lily has never even met her father, who returned to America before she was born. Lily laments that she is the only sensible person in her family, and with her home responsibilities, she doesn’t has time to hang out with friends.

Lily’s anxiety increases when her grandmother, who has an invisible friend, invites the whole family to a party. Lily doubts that they will make it through the day. She worries that her mother will bring some strange person from her work. Lily worries about what her racist grandfather might say, or how the family can attend when the grandfather has disowned her brother.

Compounding her anxiety, the day when she made eye contact with Daniel Steadman, she felt woozy inside. Could that be love? If it is, she isn’t sure she likes the feeling. As the party approaches, all Lily can hope for is one whole and perfect day.

This book is full of satisfying coincidences and serendipitous occurrences. It’s also fun to read the Australian dialect / dialog.

The illustrations are cool and colorful and inviting, but there are other books that convey the information and concepts of this book better.  This book is written in first person, from the voice of the sun.  But it rambles a bit in its explanations and doesn’t connect all the necessary dots.  The subtitle is “how the sun moves water around the earth.”  Several times it describes roles played by “my winds.”  Now I have enough of a science background to understand the role of the sun in creating the convection currents in the air which are our winds, but this book didn’t offer any connective tissue for young readers as to why the sun could claim power over the winds.

A good description of many animals’ behaviors that resemble those of humans.  Drawing the similarities with familiar human behaviors gives young readers a connection to relate to the different animals, but the book goes on to explain why those animals behave as they do, which may vary from human motivations:  humans may dance simply for the fun of it, but for honey bees this is a means of communication.