Ragdoll Cats is part of Cats: Set 2 by Abdo for the K-2 crowd. The book gives a description of the cat and its personality, as well as their grooming needs. Text is accompanied by large photos that are well-done and clear. The book has a table of contents, glossary, index and code that can be used to access videos, games and fun (printables and links to feline organizations).
My only complaint is that the two pictures that include humans are only young girls. Boys like cats, too! Pet books tend to be big sellers in the library and this one, even though it is specific to a particular breed, should be popular.

Dr. Seuss is a slim, easy-to-read biography that imparts the necessary facts about a great author/illustrator in just 24 pages. While a few of the pictures are very loosely related to the text (ex. a picture of what must be the current Springfield, Illinois, the associated text says he was born there in 1904. I doubt the high rises were built at that time), the text and most of the pictures give the reader a pretty good idea of the special man that he was.
There is a nice “Quick Stats” page as well as a “Key Dates” page, which bullets his life clearly. Non-fiction features are present: Table of contents, glossary, index.
Buy if you need to update your Seuss biography.

This is a book to share between kids and adults. There is a note to adult helpers at the beginning, discussing the possible need for adult help while encouraging the child to do as much as possible independently. The book has a nice introduction to woodworking techniques and tools. Then, it describes five projects with varying degrees of difficulty (noted). Each project has a materials list, concise instructions and photos to illustrate the steps.
Typical non-fiction elements are present: Table of contents, glossary, index and websites for further consideration.
This is part of a series introducing the industrial arts to elementary students and should be a big hit in your library. It’s all about the hands-on experiences! This will be a great addition.

What a gem! This book will fly off the shelf when students find it!
Written in an accessible language, each fact encompasses a two page spread, with pictures, human/dinosaur size comparison and sidebar “Dino File” with diet, height, weight and pronunciation guide. A dinosaur timeline and activity round out this wonderful book. Included also are non-fiction features like table of contents, glossary (for bolded words within the text), and index.
Buy this book as well as others in the series and you will have a collection of books that you will never see – they will be constantly checked out! Highly recommended.

This is a great book for budding origami enthusiasts. It starts off with materials needed, tips and tricks, and some basic folds and bases, which it refers back to when the reader moves into the projects. The individual projects appear to be organized from easy to more difficult as the book progresses. There is a table of contents and glossary.
It is part of series that should provide hours of creative entertainment for the younger set.

June and her dog Sammy are best friends, which is helped by their ability to communicate with each other! June lives with her mom, dad and teenage sister. June would really like a best friend that is human, though, and she is excited when a new girl moves in across the street. Unfortunately, the mean girl at school, April, gets to Mae first, which makes it difficult for June.
June’s grandma sends her a Wonder Wheel with instructions to spin it each day and follow the directions. Those directions lead to some interesting moments with her classmates and help to encourage a friendship between June and Mae.
This book is appropriate for newly minted chapter book readers. The ending leads one to believe there might be more.

The Icarus Show, by Sally Christie, is a tender and insightful examination of strategies used to cope with uncomfortable situations and how they can interfere with living a full life.  Alex has devised the perfect coping strategy for his first year in secondary school: no matter what happens, do not react in any way.  David, the boy who lives next door, does react when Alan, the class bully, trips him on the first day of school.  This reaction earns him a very insulting nickname.  Then a mysterious note appears in Alex’s bag.  Alex is amazed to find that the note announces a coming event where a boy will fly.  Is Alex the only one to receive such a note, or did others receive one also, and is it only a hoax?  Subsequent notes and objects make it clear that there is such an event planned and the planner is known only as Icarus.  Alex is frantic to solve the mystery so he enlists the assistance of Maisie, who once lived in the house where Alex lives and her son Donald.  Alex also begins to make friends with David and his perfect coping strategy slips enough to make him very uncomfortable.  Alex, Maisie, and Donald  must unravel the mystery before the event occurs because a boy cannot fly, or can he?  The situation appears farfetched, but as the story unfolds, the reader learns that what is really happening is not at all unusual, and learns how coping strategies can restrict our lives.  With constantly mounting tension, clever plot twists, believable characters, and a real cliff hanger ending, The Icarus Show is a very enjoyable read.  Highly recommended.

Sadie is one unlucky girl. And in a town like Fortune Falls, luck means everything. This town is loaded with superstition and magic. If you step on a crack, your mother really does break her back. And, don’t even think of breaking a mirror – you will probably die! Sadie must turn her unlucky life around soon or she will be sent away with the other “Unluckies” in order to protect the other folks in town. Unfortunately, luck is hard to find, even with the help of her friend, Cooper. But, through a series of events that include a black cat and some people that care about her very much, Sadie turns around her luck in the nick of time.
there are dark elements to the story, including Sadie’s guilt over her dad’s death and her mom’s worry about their future, which looks pretty bleak. But, the ending makes up for it.
A fine read for those students that enjoy a bit of magic and a strong female main character.

Inge Maria arrives on a boat to the island of Bornholm in Sweden to live with her grandmother in 1911. Her mother has died and brave Inge has left everything she knew (color, laughter, music, art, the city and her mother) to come to a seemingly stern grandma on a rather gray, cold island inhabited by people who live by a rather austere code of conduct and just don’t seem to have fun.
Inge tries to fit in, but mischief follows her wherever she goes, beginning with her arrival, when a goat chews off one of her braids. There are incidents at school (a terrible place, where girls cannot play the fun games at recess with the boys and music is not allowed) and with friends, but slowly Inge begins to realize that her grandma is also grieving the loss of Inge’s mother (her daughter) and they begin to share a bond of mutual loss.
Change occurs and Inge and her grandma grow closer and Inge’s penchant for mischief brings the island’s residents some new fun, laughter and love. A classmate, who is also experiencing some difficulties in life, becomes a part of Inge’s life and new family.
This is a gentle story set in a time long ago, but the pacing of the story makes the reader want to know what will happen next to Inge in her new life with grandma. This is a wonderful book that is reminiscent of Ann of Green Gables.

Basketball Time! is an introduction to the game, court and vocabulary. Accompanying pictures of boys and girls of different ethnicity add to the currency of the book, showing that everyone can enjoy this fun game.
Good examples of nonfiction elements – table of contents, index, picture glossary and a nice labeled diagram of a basketball court.
Simple sentences and the occasional question to encourage discussion.
This would be a nice, simple introduction for the younger readers.