Illustrated by somewhat cartoonish water colors, this picture book biography of our third president is suitable for all ages.  Returning often to Jefferson’s love of farming and making things grow, this book draws many parallels between this passion of his and how it influenced his many roles in government.  From planting the first seeds of independence as author of the Declaration of Independence, to growing America’s economy and sharing it’s natural riches with the world, while seeking new varieties abroad, as minister to France; from his experiments and inventions in support of agriculture, to doubling the size of the young nation with the Louisiana Purchase and the exploration, everything is presented as different manifestations of the same theme of nurturing and seeking growth, sprinkled with quotes of his own writing throughout the illustrations.  An end-note does share the controversial contradiction of his role as slave-owner who declared, “all men are created equal,” without trying to justify or explain it away — simply recognizing it as another facet of this complex man, leaving the judgments to the reader.

The illustrations are cute, photos of 3-D scenes created with toys and miniatures, the main character a hand-made sock bunny, whose expressions are drawn with marker on face swatches that get switched between photos. The scenarios in the books (mom insisting that bunny get ready, and bunny fulling intending to, but continually distracted by the events of his imagination) are certainly situations young children would relate to.  But intended for the very youngest, I fear the book will find limited audience in school settings.

A solid little non-fiction beginning reader.  On the one hand, the topic may seem more suited to older students, while the text and format are definitely targeting beginning readers, but it will still have its uses as a beginning introduction to civics in the United States.  Where as some beginning readers tend to over-simplify information for the sake of simplifying the text, this one manages to convey a clear and concise explanation of the three branches of the Federal Government, explaining the division of power, and the ways the power of each branch is limited by the others.  The text is limited to 1-3 sentences per page, well-supported by relatively up-to-date color photos.  Though it certainly doesn’t go into great depth, it does capture the basics.

A good, solid little beginning chapter book.  It doesn’t sacrifice character development or believability for the sake of simplicity.  The main character is part of a group who volunteers each Saturday at their local pet shelter, and at the beginning of this tale some newly rescued dogs from Puerto Rico have arrived, seeking homes.  Suzannah and her team each get to name one of the new arrivals, and help prepare them for adoption.  As the only member of her squad who doesn’t have her own pet at home, Suzannah is faced with the conflicting feelings of wanting her favorite to find a good home, but also not wanting to give her up.  Meanwhile, at school, her class is planning a pet day as  all her classmates write stories about their pets and plan to bring them to school to show off.  Again feeling like the only one who doesn’t have her own pet (although she comes to learn she’s not alone), Suzannah chooses to share Paloma’s story.  I think the characters in this book and the feelings/problems they face will be things that readers will really relate to.

Intended as an early-reader non-fiction piece, it does an adequate job of providing some basic information about desert conditions and about how plants and animals adapt to those harsh conditions.  It did a good job of clarifying that the distinctive characteristic of a desert is its lack of precipitation, not its heat, drawing distinctions between hot, cold, and polar deserts.  It provided a decent world map, showing locations of different types of deserts.  I just wish it had done a better job of providing pictorial support when listing types of plants and animals that are likely to be very unfamiliar to most American children.

All-around a rather awkward tale.  It’s more or less told in rhyme, but the rhythm of the rhyme is inconsistent and difficult to read fluently.  The artwork appears to be trying to invoke traditional Russian folk art, except it includes modern-day cars.  It seems to imply that he somehow uses his ladder to fling himself up and over the road way to reach the cherry tree he wants to harvest, but the illustrations make in unclear exactly how that supposedly happened.  Then, for some reason, after collecting his cherries, he forgets to use his original technique to cross the road, instead walking out into on-coming traffic and getting hit and smashed to bits.  His wife attempts to put all his disembodied bits back together, but he goes home with parts in all the wrong places, ending with what is supposed to be the clever remark that, “As for Ivan…he’s beside himself.” The whole thing seems rather pointless and difficult to follow.

It’s okay.  Advertised on the back flap is another book entitled, “The Problem with Not Being Scared of Monsters,” and perhaps this book would be better as a companion to the other, but as a stand-alone story it leaves me a bit flat.  Most pages consist of one sentence describing some failure or another of monsters trying to make friends with kids who are cowering in fear or running away, until at the end they meet one boy who isn’t scared, so they have no problem.  I’m guessing I might like the other book better, as there is a distinctive twist on the usual expectation that most kids are scared of monsters, and as I said, as a companion this might work.  But since I don’t think most of us have any expectation that monsters are afraid of kids, this book lacks the same twist.  It’s not bad; it’s just not particularly compelling.

Richelle Mead continues to write dramatic, adventure twisting stories for teens and The Glittering Court continues with a kick ass heroine in Adelaide, a countess of Osfrid, who leaves all of her future well cared for life behind for the unknown world in The Glittering Court.  While the Court sounds like her life will still be jewels and parties, it is actually a version of arranged marriages where girls are paraded around to colonists in a new land.  What makes Mead a master of her craft is the twists and turns she plays like a well groomed poker player.  Adelaide remains true to her inner beliefs, lifts up others, and is super smart.  Mead creates wonderful role models for teen readers and The Glittering Court will entrance many.  Recommended.

Freakishly weird storms coupled with abnormal temperature patterns.  Horrible diseases plague the U.S. along with terrorist attacks.  Then, what happens when your parents and their church believe the Rapture is happening and you are left behind?  Vivian Apple wakes up to confront that reality and begin a road trip to a possible future, one that could be to the end of the world.  Vivian lives in a post Rapture world where a second Rapture will take up those who become believers.  But Vivian, as well as her best friend Harp, just can’t believe any of this is true.  In her search for the truth of her life, Vivian will encounter friendships and romance, as well as heart breaking pain at the hands of those who should love her unconditionally.  Vivian Apple at the End of the World will be liked by those who question what truth is and how people perceive it.

In their second STEAM-powered exploration (Full STEAM Ahead!, 2014), mouse twins Sydney and Simon investigate the problem of garbage.

Sydney’s foray into trash tracking starts with a field trip to the aquarium, where a green sea turtle is recuperating after eating plastic. It doesn’t take much of a leap for Sydney to make a connection: “The more trash we make, the more there’s a chance that some of that trash could end up in the ocean.” The two keep a tally of their family’s trash for a week, and the results are eye-opening. Their school is an even larger garbage generator. Ms. Fractalini helps the twins use science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to come up with a way to raise awareness and encourage the community to participate in a solution. A sculpture of Greenie the turtle made out of trash and a song about going green are the start of a community-wide movement to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Along the way, readers will learn lots about decomposition, how quickly garbage adds up, and ways to reduce trash. Ink-and–watercolor-wash illustrations help break up the text and put pictures in readers’ heads that will stick with them, making them likely to want to get on the green bandwagon. Hopefully, readers will focus on Sydney and Simon’s problem-solving, and see it as quite doable in their own communities. (glossary, author and illustrator’s note)