This is the sixth book in the Furry and Flo series. Author – Thomas Kingsley Troupe does a nice job of recapping the vital information from book one giving the reader enough background to make this a book that can stand alone from the others in this series. Readers of the series will enjoy the golem, the latest monster to escape through the portal, from another world, hidden behind the washing machine in Flo’s apartment building’s basement laundry room. In previous books, the portal has let giant spiders, goblins, mummies, and skeletons escape. The giant golem, made of rocks, is on a mission from his master Krigg to bring back Wolf Son, AKA Furry, who is a werewolf, when not in human form. Garvel, the golem, only wants to take Furry back to Krigg because Krigg has promised to give Garvel back his brothers and sisters. Flo is drawn into Garvel’s problem. She wants to help him, but Furry isn’t so sure. What does Krigg want with Furry? It could be a trap, but Flo convinces a reluctant Furry to help. To get Garvel back through the small portal opening, Flo and Furry have Garvel stand inside a dumpster then pull out the magic pin which keeps Garvel together. Boulders, once Garvel, tumble into the dumpster which Flo and Furry push through the portal. Back on the other side of the portal, Flo and Furry a-line the boulders before replacing the magic pin bringing Garvel back to life. Garvel leads them to Krigg. Flo notices Krigg is wearing a belt of magic pins. Krigg commands golem Number 20, made of metal, to hack Garvel apart for not following his orders.  Afterwards,  Number 20 proceeds to attack Flo. At this  “Garvel gave the iron golem a push backward, and Number 20 tripped over his own legs. He fell against the far wall, smashing a giant hole in the rocky border. Garvel moved to help his brother up, but when he saw through the hole in the wall, he stopped in his tracks. Number 20 turned to look too.” (92) There in pieces were the other  eighteen golems. Now, Flo commands Number 20 to get the pins from Krigg. Much to Krigg’s dismay, Number 20 is no longer under his control. Krigg drops the pins and runs for his life. Flo, Furry, Number 20, and Garvel begin to piece all of the disassembled golems back together, with Garvel and Number 20 doing the heaviest parts. They finally have them all together but one. They can’t find the pin to bring it back to life. Flo and Furry go to look for the missing pin inside of Krigg’s cottage. There they find the missing pin, but also a WANTED poster for Furry, put out by Furry’s father. “This poster thing says my dad will pay a fortune in bellims to whoever manages to return his son–and the portal shard.’  ” (112)  It is getting late, Flo needs to get back home. When Flo and Furry get back to the portal they find that Krigg has smashed it. Will Flo and Furry be trapped in this other world forever?

After this cliff hanger ending there are 3 “Questions form Flo” and 3 “Prompts from Furry” for discussion and or writing.

One action packed black and white illustration per chapter.

Do you remember the first time you were introduced, in person, to an orchestra one instrument at a time? What a thrill to hear the instrument and what it was capable of playing! In this book, an orchestra conductor does just that. Since the reader can not hear the instrument, Gabriel Alborozo has invented a colorful visual for each instrument’s sound.The timpani have bluish fingery clouds, while the cymbals have bright golden yellow sound shock waves, and the xylophone has multi-colored confetti floating in the air. After the percussion section comes the brass, then the strings, wood winds, and a piano and harp. Finally the conductor asks, ”  ‘So let’s see how they all fit together, shall we? One, two, three…’   MAGNIFICO! ”

The finally page, ” Clap  clap  clap  clap  clap  clap  clap  clap  clap  clap…”

The Civil Rights Movement Through the Eyes of Lyndon B. Johnson is a non-fiction title in the Presidential Perspectives series which also includes The Civil War Through the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln, The Louisiana Purchase Through the Eyes of Thomas Jefferson, The New Nation Through the Eyes of George Washington, September 11 Through the Eyes of George W. Bush, World War I Through the Eyes of Woodrow Wilson, World War II Through the Eyes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and The Cuban Missile Crisis Through the Eyes of John F. Kennedy. This series supports the Common Core State Standards for grades 3-6.

The Civil Rights Movement Through the Eyes of Lyndon B. Johnson is an historical look at the turbulent early half of the 1960s, and contains powerful black and white photos of  civil rights protests in Birmingham, the march on Selma,  the National Guard deployed in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral cortege in Atlanta. The text also contains a timeline, glossary, index, and a “Stop and Think” section that would be helpful in the classroom. Additionally, there is a reference section with both text and web sources for deeper study.

Investigating Seasons is a non-fiction title in the What Are Earth’s Cycles? series which includes Investigating Animal Life Cycles, Investigating Plant Life Cycles, Investigating the Carbon Cycle, Investigating the Rock Cycle, Investigating the Water Cycle.  This easy to read text is filled with large color photos, a glossary, an index, and a reference section that includes both print and web sources.

How the Executive Branch Works is part of the How the US Government Works series, which includes additional titles of How Political Campaigns and Elections Work, How Political Parties Work, How the Judicial Branch Works, How the Legislative Branch Works,  and How the US Security Agencies Work.  This non-fiction series supports the Common Core State Standards for grades 3-6.

Nicely laid out, easy to read with color and black and white photographs and other illustrations, the text contains sidebars, a timeline, a glossary and an index, and a “Stop and Think” section that would be very useful in the classroom. There is also a reference section that includes books and a link to websites that are routinely monitored and updated.

Armistice Day is a  graphic novel in the Graphic Warfare series that includes these additional titles: D-Day, Fallujah, Gettysburg, Iwo Jima,  and the Tet Offensive. The text is filled with action-packed illustrations and fact-filled narration. Easy to read, but riveting, this text explains how WW I started, the new battle methods used in that war, trench warfare, the final days of the war, and the signing of the armistice agreement with the cease fire on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It concludes with a history of Armistice Day, how it later became known as Veterans Day. The text also includes maps, timelines, biographies, statistics, a glossary and index, as well as a reference to websites that are frequently monitored and updated.

This book, and the entire series, would make an excellent addition to a school library.

Polar Bears Matter is a non-fiction book in the Bioindicator Species series that also includes the titles Bees Matter, Coral Reefs Matter, Dragonflies Matter, Frogs Matter, and Monarch Butterflies Matter. The series supports Common Core State Standards for grades 3-6

Polar Bears Matter has especially nice colored photographs of polar bears in the wild, and of scientists and researchers working to determine what is causing their habitat to shrink, and how to protect these animals from extinction.  There are also sidebars, graphs, charts, a glossary, index, additional resources for further research, and a nice “Stop and Think” section that will useful for classroom use.

Thomas Edison Invents the Light Bulb is a non-fiction book in the Great Moments in Science series. The series, which also includes non-fiction titles on Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, and Rachel Carson, supports the Common Core State Standards for grades 3-6.

The book is filled with period black and white photos and etchings, has numerous sidebars of information, as well as a timeline, glossary, index, and resources for further study. It is interesting and easy to read, and will make a good addition to a school or classroom library, especially for students who are studying inventors and inventions.

Ebola is a non-fiction book for children and youth that explains how the Ebola epidemic occurred, what is thought to cause the virus, the symptoms shown by the infected, how the disease spreads, how the disease can be  or prevented or contained, and what health officials in the affected countries of Africa and around the world are doing to educate communities about this disease.

The book contains numerous color photographs and other graphics, as well as statistics, a glossary, index, and resources for further study.

George is a novel about a 10 year old named George, who loves to read and has a best friend named Kelly. Everyone thinks George is a boy, but she doesn’t feel like one. George is a transgender fourth-grader who prefers to be called Melissa and who identifies as a girl. The main plot conflict is that George really wants to try out for the role of Charlotte in the class production of the play Charlotte’s Web.  George  thought she would always be keeping the secret, but when her teacher states that she can’t try out for the part because she is boy, she and her friend Kelly come up with a plan.

George is praised for filling the gap between transgender picture books for young children and novels for teenagers, as it is the perfect book for mid-grade kids.

As author Alex Gino states, “It’s not just, ‘This is a trans narrative.’ This is a narrative about a young person who is very much trying to become who they are.”