Based on characters created by H. A. Rey and the Curious George television series, Curious George learns about the sun’s energy and solar panels in this science storybook.  This story begins in the dark when extreme heat during the summer causes a power outage.  Curious George learns about solar power and that batteries store energy.  By using power form the sum, Curious George and the man in the yellow hat are able to create light and cook a lasagna for a special birthday celebration.  Side panels provide additional nonfiction information about forms of power and activities to try.  In the back with the glossary, there are three other experiments or activities to explore.

Everyone wants to fit in.  At some time or another, everyone has wanted to be able to do something they just can’t do.  In this animal story, Elephant want to be able to jump.  His mother and other elephants tell him it’s impossible, elephants can’t jump, it’s their knees.  But Elephant believes that if he tries hard enough, he can do it.  He tries dieting and jumping, but just can’t jump.  He gets so frustrated he thinks he’s not as good as the other animals.  Until he sees a boy who is stuck on a ledge.  The other animals all scramble to help him, but they all get stuck, too.  It’s Elephant’s trunk that is able to pull them all to safety.  And he’s the only animal with a trunk.  He is special after all, even if he can’t jump.

Little kids have seemed to absorb all the information there is about dinosaurs, but here is a fresh, new arrival.  Dinosaurs from Head to Tail shows only the head or the tail on one page and gives the answer on the following page, plus some new little factoids.  The art is colorful on white paper with no background so the illustrated dinosaurs really stand out.  The type is bold and large.  This will be a popular book for our dino-lovers.

Young families and kids today need to know that they are part of something, part of a bigger community.  This community is made up of other people who live near and around you.  When a person/family needs help, the community is there to support them.  And it works both ways:  you get support when you need it and you give support to others when they need it.  The theme of community is taught in the primary grades and it is a difficult concept for kids to understand.  Especially those in families who move frequently; they haven’t really had a chance to experience community.  It’s a give and take relationship. This book explains the concept in a gentle way that hopefully kids can relate to.

All around the world, plastic bags have caused serious problems.  After decades of use, the plastic bags have accumulated in massive quantities in landfills, never decomposing.  Some cultures do not have landfills and garbage is dropped and left wherever.  In Gambia, Africa, the piles of bags grew and grew, smelled bad, and was killing the goats the people used for food.  Isatou Ceesay and other village women decided to solve their serious garbage problem by crocheting the plastic bags into purses which were then taken to the city to sell at market.  The purses were popular and earned the ladies money.  They cleaned up their environment, saved the goats, and earned money to use for their families.  The lady with the vision, Isatou Ceesay, became quite involved with worldwide agencies empowering women, and found ways to build a skills center for her village to provide better learning for people, animals and the environment.  This book is a fine example of it just takes one person to start something.  Its an inspiring story of these women’s courage and tenacity to fix a problem.

In the Pacific Northwest there are numerous opportunities to go hiking and camping, and generally just being outside in nature.  This non-fiction picture book does a great job in explaining the characteristics of poison ivy and how it can affect humans.  The part that stuck with me, personally, was the fact that burning it and inhaling the smoke can be fatal.  The students to whom I read the book were riveted and really paid attention to it.  Although the illustrations were beautiful and highly detailed, I wish there would have been actual photos of the plant available.  This book should be a first purchase for all libraries in cities where poison ivy grows.

In Earthrise: My Adventures As an Apollo 14 Astronaut, Edgar Mitchell essentially tells his life story.  We may think that today’s kids are growing up in an era of huge technological change, but Mitchell saw changes just extreme.  Born in 1930 in Texas, his family moved to New Mexico where he has vast prairies to explore and millions of stars to enjoy.  At the age of four, Mitchell flew for the first time, an event that planted a see for this farm boy.  Having an Airforce base in his town kept him enthralled as World War II ploughed through Europe.  Even after another move, he kept his love and began flying at the age of 14.  At 17 he became more intrigued in flying and space with reports that a UFO was captured in his old home town. The story continues along his choice to go into the Navy and the path to landing a job at NASA.  By chapter 4 readers will get to the exciting training Mitchell received to prepare him for his mission to space.

Audience was considered when Mitchell wrote this text.  It is not overwhelmingly technical. And what is particularly powerful is the chronological building of his dream.  Student readers can clearly see that Mitchell had a goal and had to work extremely hard to get it, even with some set backs and course re-alignments.  Therefore it is also inspiring to know that with a little planning, patience and perseverance, goals can be reached.

The side bar inserts are slightly repetitive to what is explained clearly within the text itself and would probably be skipped by most younger readers.  Yet the quotations at the start of each chapter are a creative touch to forecast what the chapter has in store.

It is clear Mitchell had a life altering spiritual experience on his decent back to earth.  Who wouldn’t?  This reader appreciates how tactfully he handled his discussion of this.  The resource notes in the back of the book keep it focused on the path and mission rather than his spiritual beliefs at this time.

Most students interested in space travel will like this text.  Recommended for middle and high school libraries.

This biography briefly introduces the life of Benjamin Franklin, touching on his inventions and his contributions to the city of Philadelphia as well as to the newly formed United States of America.  This book is part of the Rookie biographies series printed by Scholastic.  Colorful photos, engaging nonfiction text will encourage children to read on their own – as they discover how this incredibly accomplished man contributed to the founding of our nation.

Nick Cannon, husband of  singer Mariah Carey, and father to twins Moroccan and Monroe (Roc & Roe) has taken the traditional Christmas carol THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and updated it the new lyrics.

Today’s children will identify more readily with the items Roc and Roe are hanging on their Christmas tree, then with the items in the traditional song, i.e. a partridge in a pear tree. The traditional melody easily fits the new words for most lines. The words for the ‘7th day’ have the correct number of syllables, but the words themselves do not slip easily off of the tongue when sung.

AG Ford puts whimsical action into his illustrations as the pages build one day at a time to the twelfth day climax.

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, Roc and Roe put on their Christmas tree

twelve chugging choo-choos, eleven teddy bears, ten candy canes, nine jumping Jacks [Jack’s their dog],

eight tiny reindeer, seven balloons with bows, six festive fairies, FIVE GOLDEN BELLS,

four skiing snowmen, three “pip” photos, two singing Santas,

and an angel with sparkly, shiny wings.”

This is a YOU CHOOSE story. Meaning, after the reader has read the opening fives pages of the story, the reader is given two or three choices to make at each plot turn leading up to 14 different possible endings. The plot begins when Poison Ivy : AKA- Pamela Isley has escaped from Arkham Asylum. ”  ‘She’s a toxic villain who cares more about plants than humanity… ‘ ” (p. 8) and is headed to Giordano Botanical Gardens.”Poison Ivy is too powerful in the gardens. She’s literally a force of nature there.” (p. 9)  All plants in Giordano Botanical Gardens are ‘potential weapons‘. Poison Ivy is out to steal the seeds stored there for use after a disaster.

Off Batman goes to recapture Poison Ivy. At the first junction, Batman [and the reader] must decide whether to look for Poison Ivy in the lilacs, the peonies, or in the crabapple orchard. If he chooses the lilacs, there are at least four possible paths or choices (given in blue type at the bottom of the page) until Poison Ivy eludes Batman and ends the story. BUT then the book prompts the reader “To follow another path, turn to page 7.” I did my best to follow all of the choices for the lilac routes, the peony routes, and the crabapple routes. Chasing Poison Ivy through the various gardens with Batman at the Giordano Botanical Gardens was exciting, especially when I was given such choices as: “If Batman decides that it’s safe to rush Poison Ivy now, turn to page 56.”      or       “If he uses his stealth skills to follow her, turn to page 81.” 

All of the twists and turns Batman makes along the way trying to recapture Poison Ivy are much like the vines and tendrils she orders to grow in Batman’s way to stop him.  The chase is what this book is all about! It’s fun and exhausting! Don’t tell anyone, but Batman never catches Poison Ivy in any of the scenarios.

Eleven illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book done by professional DC Comics artist Ethan Beavers.

Includes: Glossary and Poison Ivy bio.