Wood-cut block pictures in black & white, offset with one or two hues for contrast draw the eye in for a closer look.

Each letter of the alphabet has its own page with large illustration and one sentence in a large font.  These sentences usually deal with a location or habitat. There are 14 animals and 7 plants accompanied by their scientific names in parenthesis, and 5 curious features represented, they include: alpenglow, beaver, cougar, white-tailed deer, bald eagle, fox glove, mountain goat, great blue heron, Douglas iris, Utah juniper, kinnikinnik, Canada lynx, scribe moth, red-breasted nuthatch, spotted owl, prairie dog, California quail, rose, Douglas squirrel, trillium, umbrella, turkey vulture, waterfall, Xeriscape, yucca, Zigzag, OR.

Snap is a tale of childhood innocence, simple in its detail.  A little boy is afraid of monsters, when it is time to go to day care (or maybe preschool) he puts on a crocodile mask.  “  ‘Snap! I said when I left my house. ‘Snap!’ I said when I got in the car. “Snap!” I said when they left me there.”

The other children are all wearing mask, too. The little boy’s only word is “Snap!” until a smaller child sits near him. ”  ‘Go away,’ I snapped. ‘This is my log.’   ”  But she doesn’t go away. She begins to draw. Curiosity gets the better of him as he slowly moves closer to her to see what she is drawing. The monkey face mask is perfect. He wears the monkey mask the rest of the day, even to bed that night.

The moral to the story is- what may seem scary at first, time can change.

The layered paper cut-outs are charming, especially with the little children’s bodies jointed together with brads.

Seymour Hope lives with his parents Ignatius B. Grumply (I. B. Grumply) and Olive C. Spence (I love suspense), a ghost.  The three decide to make greeting cards and form the company, Greetings from the Graveyard.  This new venture is threatened by Grumply’s old girl friend Nadia Richenov (rich enough), who is threatening to publish Grumply’s 20 year old love letters.  At the same time, two escaped convicts, Liza Lott (lies a lot) and husband Rob Z. Lott (robs a lot) come and town to start a security business.  The story is told with letters, illustrations, newspaper clippings, advertisements, and transcripts.  The whole book is rife with puns: Judge Claire Voyant, butler T. Leeves, book representative Paige Turner, sheriff Mike Ondolences.  This is book 6 in the series.  It is a fun, quick read as well as a challenge to find all of the puns.

Quincy is a horse who lives near a southwestern desert in a barn and corral owned by Cam.  He dreamed of trail riding and hearing the crunch of sand, feeling the gentle breeze, and warm sun on his back.  However, scary surprises could happen out in the desert and Quincy was reluctant to venture outside the corral.  He conveyed his worries to his friend Beau, who told him he would never feel brave if he always stayed home.  One day, Cam saddled Quincy, and more experienced Buck, for a day of trail riding.  Quincy quickly discovered Buck did not want to be a friend on the trail so he kept his distance.  He focused on the trail and the beauty around them.  At one point, Quincy stumbled and Buck kicked out at him.  Riders Cam and Cathy calmed both horses then they continued on their way.  Then they heard a strange, loud noise.  A smelly dirt bike roared past them on the trail.  The noise scared Buck and he couldn’t move.  Quincy knew the noise could not hurt them and he led they way back.  Quincy was tired when they got home, but his rider Cam rewarded him with a carrot, telling him he would be a fine trail horse.  Illustrations are in vivid oil and are an excellent match to the scenic southwest and the beauty of the horses.  This is the third in a series of award winning Quincy the Horse books.

Author Brad Meltzer has written a series of biographies designed for children.  Childhood experiences and observations begin this account of the life of Rosa Parks.  Illustrator Eliopoulos depicts Rosa as a child throughout her life – possibly to emphasize a person is capable to bring about change, no matter how old the person may be.  Her refusal to relinquish her bus seat and subsequent arrest ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the major events to begin the focus on civil rights.  “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”  “I knew the rules said.  But I also knew in my heart: That’s not how you treat people.”  Information is easily read and in a suitable format for young readers.  Included are photographs of Rosa, of her police photo, riding a bus post boycott, and of a typical segregated classroom in the early 1900s.  This is a great resource as a read alone or discussion starter.  Other books in the series include: I am Amelia Earhart, I am Abraham Lincoln, and I am Albert Einstein.  Consider purchasing the set.

Quite possibly there is a boy like Brian in every classroom – one who is excluded from most activities and ignored.  Illustrator Patrice Barton draws Brian in faint black and white while everything around him is in full color.  The teacher is focused on the louder or ill-behaved students and his classmates leave him out of all conversations and games.  Brian amuses himself by drawing amazing pictures.  When a new student, Justin, arrives, Brian gives him a shy smile while the others are trying to decide if Justin is “cool”.  As the class begins to include Justin in games and activities, Justin invites Brian to join in.  As Brian interacts with the others, color begins to slowly seep into him.  By the time a school project is completed, Brian is at last in full color.  This is a thought-provoking story and a great resource for conversations on friendship.  Included are several discussion questions as well as recommended reading list for adults and another for kids.

The cover of every book in this series is quite colorful and appealing.  However, upon opening the book, the reader is taken-a-back by the stark textbook-like style of the interior…with single spaced, old-style typerwriter font and black and white diagrams that harken back to nonfiction books of another era.  Given that students can actually use the book for the information,  it delivers accurate and effective science projects.  The introduction includes excellent information on Science Fairs, Safety First and the Scientific Method, as well as specific tips on writing a Science Fair Report.  Experiments with seeds, leaves, roots and stems, flowers and whole plants are covered in the six chapters. Back Matter includes Further reading and Index.

The cover design is colorful, and quite appealing…yet open the book and you get wordy, single-spaced, old-styled font with black and white “textbook” graphics that make you want to close the book before you go any farther.  If you can overlook the unappealing interior (and maybe older students can) you will find impressive magical looking experiments with underlying solid physics and chemistry.  The unattractive black and white diagrams and illustrations do a great job of clarifying and supporting the text.  Included in the contents is air magic, visual magic, chemistry magic, light and “sticky” water magic, and motion magic.  Also included in the Back Matter is Further Reading and an Index.

Appealing to the grade 5-9 crowd of perpetual procrastinators, this series offers science projects that can be done in one hour or less, 30 minutes or less, 15 minutes or less and even 5 miniutes or less.  An explanation of the scientific method is front and center, as well as a discussion of science fairs.  I especially liked the suggestion for keeping a scientific notebook containing ideas you may have as you experiment, as well as sketches, calculations, hypothesis…and much more.  Each experiment covers “What’s the Plan”, “What You Need” (which sometimes may not be found in an hour, such as oleic acid), “What You Do”, “What’s Going On?”, “Keep Exploring-If You Have More Time!”.  I will be giving this text to our science teacher to try out the experiments on elementary students to see how effective they are for the younger level…as “science fairs” seem to be more prevelant in elementary schools.  Words to Know, Further Reading and Internet Addresses are included in the Back Matter.

For starters, the “simple machine” topic is typically better suited for the primary grades.  This text is geared for grades 5-9, with an older girl visual on the cover.  The title certainly appeals to the procrastinators of that older developmental age.  If science projects can be done in an hour or less…great!!  However, on closer inspection, some materials needed to perform the experiments might not be able to be found within the hour…such as a toy wagon or a spring balance.  Also, many of the formulas included require the students to have prior knowledge, as many terms used are not definied.  Although the design layout of the book is attractive, it is not very user friendly.