How Effective is Recycling? is part of the Earth Debates series which also includes Are Humans Damaging the Atmosphere?, Can we Protect People from Natural Disasters?, and How harmful are Fossil Fuel?

Chapters look at the recycling of plastics, hazardous materials, metals, tires, packaging, building materials, water, and food. Color photos illustrate the vast quantities of garbage that would end up in the landfill or worse, in waterways, if not for recycling. There is also a chapter on reuse of materials.

The book includes a quiz, glossary, index, table of contents, and a “Find Out More” section which provides websites, print resources, and places to visit, such as the Museum of Science and Industry.

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This book is a biography of Malala Yousafzai with an emphasis on her activism. It gives background information on Pakistan and the rise of the Pakistani Taliban, so it is accessible to entry-level readers unfamiliar with the issue. Malala is accurately portrayed as an active player in her own story and not as a helpless victim, with the assassination attempt on her being only one part of her extensive history of activism instead of being falsely portrayed as her sole achievement.

The back contains a glossary, an index, a short reference list for further reading, a link to the Scholastic website, and a ‘True Statistic’s list of key  biographical information like Malala’s birth date and the names of her family members.

This book details various environmental threats to rivers with a short description (usually about a paragraph on one page) of each one. Basic river ecology is covered in the first chapter and it’s stressed that humans depend on rivers as much as other animals. Key words are printed in red and are defined in text boxes on the same or next page. The book touches on a number of complex issues (ex: climate change, chemical runoff, etc.) and explains the basics in concise, simple language without skimping on meaning.  The final chapter offers solutions and hope, which helps keep the book from being so depressing that environmental problems are made too scary for children to face.

The back contains a glossary, index, three Common Core discussion questions, a short reference list of related books, and a link to a publisher-sponsored internet search engine.

This book describes the biology and life cycles of scorpions. It contains lots of detailed information and quality photographs. Some of the technical terms may be intimidating for younger or less confident readers, but there is a glossary in the back for key words, and other terms (such as specialized words for body parts, etc.) are defined within the text itself.

In addition to the glossary, the back contains an index, a world range map for where scorpions live, and a short reference list for related books and a link to the Scholastic webpage for more information on scorpions.

This second edition contains a set of fully updated Big Kid Boxes designed to incorporate the latest scientific discoveries about Mars (First edition was 2006).  This fun story of Max, space dog, helping his young friend Tori on the first human mission to mars, is sure to delight kids who enjoy dogs, space, and science stories. Max Goes to Mars is part of the Big Kid Science series, and includes Max Goes to the Moon, Max Goes to Juniper, Max Goes to the Space Station, and The Wizard Who Saved the World.

This is a very nicely illustrated picture book on the life of Frank Sinatra, starting with his youth in Hoboken, New Jersey. The story chronicles Frankie’s love of singing: at school, at work, everywhere. The story continues with Frankie’s move to New York City to study voice, his first appearance in concert, and his records being played on the radio. Moving on into his film career, singing and dancing on the big screen, and moving on to his international tours, Las Vegas tours, and awards, the reader gets a rosy view of Frank Sinatra, focusing on his talent and hard work, and omitting any mention of organized crime, womanizing, drinking, smoking, or any other vices.

The book includes an Author’s Note and Bibliography.