A origami dog and a cartoon rabbit give examples of healthy eating in Kitanai and Hungry Hare Eat Healthfully.  Dialog appears in bubbles and comes across as stilted and awkward.  While the images are kid-friendly, the food options and meals discussed are not particularly kid friendly.  For each meal of the day, specific bad choices and good choices are offered, but there is no information that would help a child develop the concept of eating healthfully.

This book is part of the series “Kitanai’s Healthy Habits.”

This well organized title about the muscular system is part of a six book Capstone series about body systems. Connections and interdependencies with other body systems are naturally integrated into the text. Topics are supported by headings, bold vocab defined on each page, diagrams, and photographs.

Includes Table of Contents, Glossary, Common Core critical thinking questions, additional information, and Index.

This book is a good choice to support the Next Generation Science Standards.

Susan H. Gray, a zoologist, has written over 140 reference books for children, and enjoys writing about animals and topics that engage children. Animals Helping to Detect Disease is one that will be of interest to kids. It is full of photos of animals being used to detect diseases, such as dogs using their keen sense of smell volatile organic compounds (VOCc) from diseased tissues, and rats smelling samples to detect TB.

The book includes a history of medical diagnosis, how dogs have been used in other helpful ways (searching for lost people), and the technology being tested for ‘electronic noses’ to sniff out disease.

There is a glossary and index, as well as resources for further study.

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.