Elizabeth tries so hard to learn the constellations of the night sky so that she can grow up to be a sailor like her father, but she just can’t seem to learn.  When her father doesn’t return from a voyage, Elizabeth uses the postcards of the constellations he sent each week to follow and rescue him from his ship wreck. They then sail off to see the Northern Lights together.  A cute story about perseverance and courage.

Elizabeth’s Constellation Quilt ties imagination with the concept of navigating by stars.  The constellations Elizabeth sees are items that are part of her life, a ship, a bear, and a fish rather than the more difficult to recognize and remember constellations of Gemini, Ursa Major, or Cassiopeia.

Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely give readers a firsthand look into what it is like to be black and white growing up in today’s America with police brutality on the rise and racism still at the forefront. Main characters Rashad and Quinn are 2 teenage “American Boys” growing up with different perspectives in the heart of America because of the color of the skin with which they were born. Despite the modern times, racism is alive, and police brutality is increasing, but only towards black youths. All American Boys makes you take a hard look at the racism that still exists today and makes you confront it head on. The authors captured 2 different perspectives with chapters alternating between each boy’s perspective yet the collaboration and editing brilliantly intertwined them beautifully opening my eyes as a reader to a racism that still exists today. Young and old readers alike will be pulled into this story and make them take a look at themselves and ask some serious questions on the problems around racism today in America. I definitely recommend this book.

Have you ever wondered how you got so many knots in your hair? If you’re a girl, you have. The Knit-Knotters are little tiny sprite that come out at night when you’re asleep and knit knots in your hair. They’re magical so no human can see them. They are quite naughty and are responsible for lots of other nuisances. When Stella went unhappily to get her new glasses, she met an unusual woman who enchanted her glasses and allowed her to see things that humans had not known before. This is a second-grade, getting-used-to-chapter books kind of book and offers an interesting reason as to why we get knots in our hair. It kind of goes along with the tooth fairy. Charming story for early readers.

Siamese cats have quite a unique history and many physical characteristics which distinguish it from other cats. The photographs are beautiful and children will fall in love with these cats. This book is good for beginning readers and cat lovers.

Labs are one of the most popular breeds of dogs; they are strong, used for rescue, smart, used for hunting, and are terrific in families with young children. The photographs in this book are clear and detailed, and children will pore over each one. Good book for beginning readers.

Siberian Huskies originally came from Siberia, Asia, used to pull sleds heavy with meat from hunting. In the early 1900’s they were brought to Alaska and are well known for sled dog races. The rest of the book deals with the dogs’ temperament, fur, eyes, and color. Good book for young children beginning to read. Dogs are always popular.

Thick glossy pages filled with saturated colors show the highlights of Seattle. The art in this book is pretty phenomenal. An ABC picture book, this book will help to prepare the youngest of visitors to the Emerald City. The best that Seattle offers is mentioned.

Although this title says its for kids, it is really for any beginning cook or baker. The information before the recipes is important and shown well; i.e., how to measure dry ingredients, different ways to measure the same amount, common terms, safety tips, list of needed utensils, and a picture list of ingredients. There are seven different bar cookie recipes that look delicious; easy steps and pictures to show what to do and what it should look like. There are five other books in this series, all of them cookies. Includes a message to adult helpers to let the kids learn math and science through cooking, and to set some ground rules. Kids love cooking and this book will be popular.

Asking questions and writing down the answers is a different way to write a biography. It almost makes it seem more personal because the questions asked are probably the ones you’d ask if you had a chance. That’s the idea of this new series, Cub Reporter Meets Famous Americans. The information is exactly what young kids want to know. Interesting that the Table of Contents shows each questions. Jackie Robinson has been a baseball hero for ages. Even today, as President Obama visits Cuba, the first president in over 80 years to do so, his fellow travelers are Jackie’s widow and daughter. Cubans love baseball and Jackie Robinson is the epitome of the sport.

It’s boring. It tells the story of a sloth who ventures out once per year to attend a sleeping party with a bunch of other animals. They all bring their comfort items, scope out the best place to sleep, watch the pajama parade, and fall asleep during the first lullaby.  And the next morning everyone goes home.  And sloth goes home and goes back to sleep.  I’m not sure what the point is supposed to be.