Animals on the African Savanna follows animals around from sun-up to sundown.  Every two pages constitute a chapter, and the table of contents shows a nickel-size picture of the chapter subject along with the chapter title telling where the animals are and at what time of their day.  Each two-page spread shows a vignette of the savanna with one of the native animals.  I could not figure out if they were photographs or illustrations, but I see that there is an illustrator, not photographer, that’s given credit.  The picture fades to blur along the outside edges and the inside of the picture shows one of the animals in nice detail and color.  Each chapter also has insets that are a little larger than a quarter coin depicting other animals which might be seen at that particular location.  The text is in a large font and readable, however young children won’t understand many of the words.  I usually update my non-fiction collection with books which have outstanding photography that captures the creatures in action with every little detail shown; photos that almost as good as being there.  This book just doesn’t meet my standard.

The two main characters, Prince Aspen and Snail, are as different as night and day.  The prince has been trained to be a royal and Snail is an apprentice midwife.  Aspen is a hostage prince.  His father, a king of the neighboring Seelies, exchanged him with a son of a king of the Unseelies.  If a war were to break out between the two kingdoms, the princes would be the first to be killed, so this is their way to prevent war.  However, Jack, a traitorous ‘friend’ to Aspen, has told him war is about to break out and he will help him escape to go home.  This is all a lie in order to kill Aspen.  Snail and other midwives and their apprentices are locked up in a dungeon about to be sentenced to death for their bungling in the queen’s birth of a new child.  Snail escapes and hooks up with Aspen to find their way out, encountering a myriad of creatures and soldiers.  Aspen may be the prince but it is Snail and her wits and common sense that save them.  They finally make it to Aspen’s home only to find out that there is no war brewing.  The king decides that Aspen’s return might actually cause a war and orders him killed.  He and Snail escape, again, and she thinks they should begin a new free life and he wants to stop the war.  Good descriptive characterization and  plot,  lots of surprise action.  Should be a hit with fantasy lovers.  This is book one of a new trilogy.

In June 1941, Otto and Leni, two young refugees from the Nazis living in England, are sent on a secret mission to Bavaria, to extract a young girl attending summer camp, and who may hold the key to the war.  Filled with suspense and plenty of action, this WWII novel should appeal to both boys and girls.  The relationship established by hero Otto and heroine Leni adds to the interest of the story.  But who is this young girl they’ve been sent to “rescue” and return to England?  Could it be Hitler’s daughter?  An addendum to the book explains the historical figures appearing in the book and the roles they played in true life WWII on both the German and English sides.  Surprise ending holds the reader to the very last!

Best Kept Secret, the third book in the series Family Tree by Ann M. Martin, begins in the year 1977. In Princeton, Dana’s daughter seven-year old Fancie is struggling to keep her dyslexia a secret from her teachers and her family.  Even the thought of high school and college is part of the remote and unattainable future.  Events in her family life include the divorce of her parents, the cancer death of her dear Aunt Adele, and eventually a household which includes her Down Syndrome 31 year old Uncle Peter.  Francie is supported by a number of really good friends and finds herself developing her talent as a writer.  At the end of the book she marries the brother of her best friend and leads the reader onto the fourth book in the series with her daughter Georgia.  Written on a fourth grade level I would recommend this book, and the entire series, to middle school girls because of the life circumstances presented.  The storyline is somewhat predictable having read Books One and Two, but enjoyable.

This is a typical Boxcar Children mystery, however, the illustrations are more contemporary and interesting.  In this episode, the Alden children are at a wild west town when mishaps begin to occur.  There is a stranger in town who wants to buy the town, but the children gather clues and find the culprit.  This story was a little too easy to solve and the story would be perfect for the minds of first and second graders who would be able to read it.  Maybe written at a third grade reading level it just doesn’t quite match up with age of student who’d be interested. Needs to be more of a story; good illustrations.

Who knew feet could be so interesting?  Arndt is both author and photographer in this compilation of the feet of various animals.  The feet are divided into groups according to how they move: walk, climb, swim or dig, an interesting approach.  Many of the photographs have captured the animal’s foot against a pure black background, the contrast making the textures stand out more noticeably.  No table of contents and the index is arranged by the various animals’ feet shown.

The unique quality of Barn Owls Nocturnal Hunters is the quality of the photography.  Owls have been captured in mid-flight, with their wings spread wide.  You can see the details in the nest of newly hatched pink owlets. The information is pretty much standard, however,  also included is information about owl pellets, the remnants of their meals which contain the fur, feathers and bones.  But the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, is certainly true here.

Shaffer does an excellent job in describing the life cycle, habitats, behaviors, and threats of the different types of bearded dragons.  I actually learned a new word from the book, brumation, which is the precursor to hibernation when appetite decreases and body temp falls.  The photos are spectacular and show the textures of the dragons’ skin and nails.  This book would make an excellent resource for any research project and should be included in a library’s collection.

While spending a day at the beach with his family, a little boy builds the perfect sandcastle, and a dragon moves in.  The dragon is actually a pretty good companion and they have a great day together.  However, when the food disappears and he blames the dragon, his parents have had enough and the little boy kicks his dragon out until he learns some better manners.  The next day it starts all over….. This story is beautifully illustrated as well as beautifully told and would make an excellent first purchase for a library.

Teen girls looking for a light romance will enjoy Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson.  Carter Moon is beginning to enjoy the summer between her junior and senior year when her small town of Little, California is no longer “little” with the likes of super teen throb Adam Jakes and his entourage beginning to shoot his movie there.  Carter is not the pop culture monger that her friend Chloe is.  She prefers a simple life where one can go out on the roof top at night and seek solice in the stars. Her aversion to that pop culture type of life is what makes her the perfect “character” for Carter’s manager to hire to be his new girlfriend – clean cut, earthy, non-drama queen and in need of some money to keep her brother who has a gambling addiction out of trouble.

At first both are a little stand-offish but Carter is a “tell it like it is” girl who decides to make the most of the new job.  She can’t share her secret about it being a “fake” relationship with any of her friends.  This is only one small emotional conflict though.  Of a larger scope is Carter’s decision to stop dancing the previous year.  This was an activity that could have taken her across the nation to an arts focused college but one dance teacher allowed her to drop her confidence in herself.  As Carter and Jake begin to learn more about each other, they begin to counsel one another in their issues such as Carter’s dancing future and the sparks begin to be set off onto a real romantic interest in one another.  Add in some additional words of wisdom from Carter’s best boyfriend, Alien Drake, nicknamed Alien because he too loves to study the stellar universe, and readers will be contemplating our social media driven world where no one is “…ever knows what’s real.”

Students trying to make decisions about their next step on the path after high school will relate to Carter’s crisis of her soul.  Those who pine for a soft touch romance will find it here.  Slightly “Hallmarkish”, Catch a Falling Star is an additional purchase for most libraries.