Well, it’s definitely not an R*, which I really wanted it to be, since I recognized the kitty on the front from it’s partner book, Lost, which I absolutely loved.  I’m sorry to say this one did not live up to my hopes, and out of frustration I almost knocked it down to an additional purchase.  But I decided that wasn’t really fair.  Disappointment aside, the illustrations are strong, and kids will eat up the story of the cute kitty who sneaks into Mr. Fluffy Boots’s bag, gets a ride on his sleight and gets to visit his North Pole workshop, before deciding he really longs to be home.

Nicholas O. Time, authors a new series dealing with time travel – In Due Time. In book #2 – Stay a Spell the main characters Jada and her friends Abby and Daniel are students at Sands Middle School. Their school librarian, Ms. Tremt, is very efficient and then some. It seems at times, Ms. Tremt knows what books you need even before you know. This comes into play when Jada goes to the library to check out self-help books to help her with her spelling problem/ bad spelling test grades. Jada can not seem to wrap her logical mind around the rules for spelling English correctly. While in the library, Ms. Tremt recruits Jada to help her. Little does Jada know that time travel will be involved. Jada may bring her two friends, but none of them will ever be allowed to tell anyone about their time travel. The butterfly effect is discussed. The slightest change in the time traveled to can have far reaching implications. Ms. Tremt has Jada, Abby, and Daniel traveling back to Hollywood, CA, 1977, where Jada’s Aunt Katy works in a Hollywood film company’s costume shop. Something goes wrong, they travel back to 1803, instead  meeting Sagawea. The second time, is successful. They meet Aunt Katy. Aunt Katy is very energetic and shows them around the costume department letting them try on various costumes.  A problem arises that could cost Aunt Katy her job.  Jada’s wonderful math skills helps her discover the problem. Jada realizes the problem was caused by a spelling error, which caused the wrong fabric to be ordered. Oh, this causes a butterfly effect. Then, Tim Raveltere appears. He is trying to track down Ms. Tremt. He wants to take away Ms. Tremt’s ability to time travel for his own gain. Jada, Abby, and Daniel follow Tim through time to stop him, where they meet Cleopatra. Jada, Abby, and Daniel escape ancient Egypt going back to their own time thanks to Daniel’s quick thinking.

That is enough time travel for Jada, Abby, and Daniel for the moment. Ms. Tremt works to keep Tim R. at bay. Then, Jada invites Abby, Daniel , and Aunt Katy over to her house on Saturday have to fun dressing and dancing  1970s style.

Story #2 is over. Nicholas O. Time gives the readers some additional background on the three times to which Jada, Abby, and Daniel traveled.

The reader will enjoy the descriptions of sights Jada, Abby, and Daniel are seeing, especially when referenced to their modern counterparts.

Tim Howard, Dwayne Wade, Stephen Curry, Jim Abbott, Althea Gibson, LeBron James, Shane Battier, R.A. Dickey, Serge Ibaka, Caron Butler, & Jacques Demers.  These 11 athletes began their lives heading down a path that one would not expect to lead to stardom.  Some felt the pangs of abuse – drugs abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, neglect.  Others overcame the challenges of physical impediments.  Each athlete gets 15 – 24 pages of story time.  Dreamed up by a father and sons triple threat, the writing is seamless between the authors.  Even if a student only reads about a few of their favorite athletes, the message is taught and it is a win for libraries.  Highly recommended!

The Grumpasaurus is a small, fearsome creature. You should observe the Grumpasaurus from afar. Edward Hemingway’s book is written as a field guide and features diagrams and colorful illustrations. The book starts out with the Grumpasaurs finding his teddy bear with his arm falling off. It sets him off in a grumpy mood. Eventually his teddy bear is repaired and we soon learn that the Grumpasaurus is a young child in a bad mood. This is definitely for younger audiences. It could be a fun way to talk about bad moods and strong emotions.

Written in the form of undated journal entries, Max Crumbly is sure to be a hit with fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.

After being home-schooled by his grandmother since kindergarten, Max starts his first public school experience as an eighth graders at South Ridge Middle School.  Finding a niche and fitting in was particularly difficult because Doug “Thug” Thurston goes out his way to make Max’s life miserable after Max threw up on his shoe in gym class.  Only the second week and Max has been stuffed in his locker for the second time.  Max then journals in the cramped locker until his crush hears him and unlocks the door.

After school with a three day weekend approaching Max is crammed in the locker once again with no one is likely to notice him missing until the next week.  Max finally busts out the back of his locker into a dank unused boiler room.  Thinking to escape through the ventilation system he overhears 3 burglars planning to empty the new computer lab.

Max’s misadventures are not resolved in this first book.  Maybe he’ll escape the school and outsmart burglars in book 2

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s simple information on snow for young readers. Clouds in winter are made of ice crystals. The ice and dust in the clouds grow “so heavy that they drop from the cloud.” (13) The colder the air, the smaller the snow flakes and vice versa. “Each snowflake has six sides.” (20)

Page 31 contains six “Facts about snow” which are more complex than the previous information. This includes, ” People used to think it was impossible to find two alike, but a researcher named Nancy Knight once did find two snowflakes exactly alike.” (31)

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s simple information about wind for young readers. The earth spins, so air moves creating wind. Heated air rises, colder air falls trading places. “We call this movement ‘wind’.” (11) Birds, seeds, kites, sailboats, and windmills all use wind. Very quickly moving air can cause storms.  We can’t see wind, only its effects.

Page 32 contains four “Facts about wind” which are more complex than the previous information.

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s extremely simple information on clouds. One of the three types of clouds most youngsters will relate to are fog and their chilly breath on a cold morning. There are cirrus clouds, “That means ‘curl’.” (10)” Stratus. That means ‘layered’ or ‘spread out’. “(12-13) “Cumulus. That means ‘heap’ or ‘pile’. (18)
Clouds consist of liquid or frozen water. Clouds cool the earth during the day and keep the warmth in the atmosphere at night (like a blanket). The water in clouds is the same water as back in dinosaur days.

Page 32 contains 5 “Facts about clouds” which are more complex than the previous 30 pages.

John Wallace’s illustrations make a perfect match for Marion Dane Bauer’s extremely simple telling of the water cycle for very young readers. Sentence length ranges from three to eight words. There is usually one sentence, in a large font, to a page. The plot: it is hot, plants wilt, a cloud , water droplets unite, droplets get heavy, and fall to earth. Repeat.

Page 32 contains six “Facts about rain” which are more complex than the previous 30 pages.

Have you ever wondered who invented the cookie? This book discusses the history of the cookie. It starts with how the cookie was started, then how they came to America, and then how the cookie became popular. It gives a lot of interesting tidbits about how cookies became a part of celebrations and the most popular cookie. It ends with a bit of baking science, a recipe and a short quiz.

This book is a part of the History of Fun Stuff series. It is billed as a Level 3 Ready-to Read book, but the text is long and lacks text features. Several of the famous people or companies may not be recognizable to a younger audience. Students who are interested in the history of sweets will enjoy the fun facts and history of the cookie.