A very early chapter book, the first in a new series of twisted fairy tales, this falls into that category of kid humor that us grown-ups can’t appreciate, but they’ll probably love it.  The heroine of the story is named Princess Pink, but she’s ademently against both princesses and the color pink, the anti-girly-girl.  In search of a midnight snack she opens her refrigerator one night and falls through to a mysterious land where she meets Mother Moose and Moldylocks, with whom she visits the home of the three beards.  Instead of porridge, they sample chili in which a spider is taking a bath.  When discovered by the beards, Princess Pink makes her escape, but Moldlylocks is captured.  Guilt-ridden for leaving her new friend behind, Moldlylocks returns, disguised as the beards’ grand-pappy, and rescues Moldlylocks from being made into chili.  I’m not ready to give it a whole-hearted endorsement, but I’m ready to consider purchasing the first few books in the series and see how the kids take to them.

Fabulous book! So good, on so many levels!  First, of course, you’ve got a highly appealing topic (dolphins rank right up there with horses for animals girls instinctively want to read about), and the gorgeous color photos immediately bring out the “oooh!” factor that draws so many people to dolphin tourist sites.  The text flows and is highly readable, and packed with information, not only about the dolphins themselves, but about the scientists and their methods for studying them.  It explains how we know what we know and it recognizes that there’s a lot we don’t know.  I learned a lot, and it left me wanting to know more, not because it left things out, but because it reminded me that there are still mysteries to be discovered by human understanding.  Fabulous book!!

There are way too many really good books about Santa out there to waste time or money on one this poor.  It’s not constructed well:  the binding will never stand up to library usage, and the many items glued into the book to give it three-dimensional character are often misaligned, at times even covering up the words. It’s not written well:  intended to be written in Santa’s voice, it babbles along is a random string-of-consciousness that makes Santa seem annoyingly ADHD (and it’s not punctuated well).  And it’s not illustrated well:  it includes a variety of illustration styles that, instead of coming across as eclectic, just seem disjoined.

Who can resist chicken jokes?  This book includes not only riddles, and knock-knock jokes, but fun facts, limericks and tongue twisters as well.  Besides the fun that makes joke books a good draw for reluctant readers, they also represent a good tool, as “getting” the jokes requires fairly sophisticated understanding of language.  This title represents a good value on several levels:  quality binding, a wide selection of types of jokes, limericks, and tongue twisters, and a significant number.  Besides, some of them a really funny (admittedly, some are groaners).  Color pages would make it more visually appealing, and it would’ve been helpful if the tongue twisters were labeled as such, as some children will be perplexed by them (the limericks and fun facts are labeled, but the tongue twisters are set apart by text boxes only).

Fans of the other Alcatraz books will enjoy spending time with these characters again.  In this installment Moose’s dad has received a promotion, and rumors indicate the cons could be out to get him.  When Moose and his sister are left alone one evening and fire breaks out in their apartment, Moose is left struggling with the guilt that his negligence could have contributed, the worry that someone might have set it on purpose (and the puzzle of trying to figure out who), and the neighbors’ accusations against his sister.  The kids on the island band together to try to solve the mystery, and end up uncovering more than one island conspiracy.  The way things are tied up a little too neatly and too abruptly at the end, without enough clue-dropping along the way, keeps it from getting a higher rating.

Based on a true story, this novel is about a young Russian boy who is abandoned on the streets of Russia during a great time of poverty where children are abandoned in abundance. A pack of dogs find the boy and start treating him better than the other homeless children where he eats and sleeps with the pack. He takes care of the dogs and they take care of him. This book is told through the eyes of a five-year-old child. It is about survival in a harsh world. The moral of the story is that one can find love and family in the most unlikely circumstances.

At first, I did not realize that this was a true story. I was really connected to the realism of it all – everything that happened I believed to be true. The author’s writing was very vivid – written from a child’s perspective. The story was so well-written that it felt like it was a biography. The book paces itself with heart-felt moments and action-packed adventure. This is a compelling read for those who like stories about animals, survival and family. I highly recommend this book.

–Hannah M.

In large text, this 300 foot national symbol is described and explained.  The statue is of a woman holding a torch signifying the light of freedom while holding a tablet representing our laws.  Built in France, it was delivered to the U. S. in 1884.  Photographs and illustrations portray different aspects of the statue – construction, placement in New York, cleaning, and as a tourist destination.  Sentence structure is simple yet full of significant facts.  Great introduction to a national symbol for young readers.  Glossary, index, bibliography, internet sites, and three Common Core questions are included.  Other titles in the set are: The American Flag, The Bald Eagle, The Pledge of Allegiance, The Star-Spangles Banner, and Uncle Sam.  Judging from the quality of this book, I would recommend acquiring the series.

A young girl and her favorite stuffed toy, Bubbit, learn there will soon be a new baby in the house.  Told in the third person, the girl and Bubbit decide to draw a welcome picture for her new brother.  When grandma Nonni arrives with her sewing basket, the two of them create a new stuffed toy for her newborn brother.  They fashion a yellow elephant out of fabric from an out-grown jacket.  Sewing steps are beautifully illustrated as the text portrays the love and friendship between Nonni and the granddaughter.  Colorful digital artwork is detailed, warm, and engaging.  This story can be used with a variety of themes and/or writing skills: new siblings, family, sewing craft, and word choice.  Pleasant book filled with the special relationship between granddaughter an grandmother.