Author O’Connell is an elephant expert.  She is an assistant professor at Stanford, has won awards for other elephant books, and has spent the last 20 years of her career studying elephants.  The strength of this book is it’s photographs, which were taken by the author and her husband, Timothy Rodwell, while in Namibia, Africa.  The technology in today’s photographic equipment allows the finest of details to be seen in the beautiful photos in this book.  One shot shows 19 elephants ranging in all sizes.  The comparison is remarkable.  The shots of the newborns show their hairiness and vulnerability.  The accompanying text is simple and not distracting, and tells the reader what they are looking at.  This is a beautiful book and would be terrific addition to any school library.

Therapy dogs are becoming more and more well known, especially as wounded soldiers are returning from the Middle East.  This book is based on a true story which took place in London at a children’s hospital.  Children, as well as adults, love a good dog story and this one fits the bill.  This dog, which looked like a white cockapoo, is named Dr. White and he worked making children better.  No, he didn’t actually dispense medicine nor do any other medical things, but the power of unconditional love and affection and loyalty, which Dr. White possessed, worked to bring children back to health.  Children would respond to Dr. White in a way that they wouldn’t to even a parent.  He put a smile on their faces and changed their attitude from despair and hopelessness to wanting to get better and taking those steps to do so.  In this story, a health inspector forces the removal of Dr. White from the Children’s Hospital, claiming he was unsanitary.  But when his own child becomes very ill and the situation looks hopeless, he looks for Dr. White to work his magic. Therapy dogs are used in nursing homes with the elderly, VA hospitals, pediatric wards, and even in schools.  Just the warmth from their wiggly bodies and the occasional lick empowers the ill and elderly to reach out and grasp life again.

Lots of attention to detail makes this an exceptional book.  First of all, the font size is large and easy to read.  Second, the language is sparse.  Just enough to tell the story without any unneeded embellishments.  Third, the illustrations of events are finely detailed without any distractions.  Expressions on the faces of the animals are clear.  And, finally, the story itself is very clever, very minimal.  There are only three main characters:  the shoemaker, the cat, and the monster.  The poor shoemaker has no business, no money, so the cat tells him to make him some fine boots and he will be his messenger and drum up some business, which he did.  The cat comes across a castle in which lives a monster with the ability to change into whatever animal he wishes.  The cat sells the monster a pair of boots for every animal he becomes.  The monster doesn’t want to pay the cat so the cat thinks of a scheme.  He has the shoemaker make the tiniest of books and takes them to the monster, saying he probably isn’t powerful enough to change into a creature small enough to wear the boots.  The monster accepts the challenge and turns himself into a mouse, which the cat promptly eats.  No frills, just a great story.

Quicksilver is described by author R. J. Anderson as a companion novel to her 2011 novel Ultraviolet.  Having not read Ultraviolet, the test of this companion label would be if one could enjoy this new addition without the confusion of not already knowing characters personalities and back stories.  This is the story of Tori Beauregard and her quest to be free — free from a relay that is imbedded in her arm and could send her to a different world at any time, free from a guilt that is haunting her for what happened to a friend named Alison in the previous book, and free from a genetics company that is tracking her every move.  Tori has a special DNA that makes her more than unique.  As readers go through these months in her life, Anderson’s creativity in developing Tori for the audience is a wonderful amusement ride.  There’s action, re-action, drama, sensitive topics, surprise skills, and tension throughout.  Tori takes on a false identity and is constantly having to cover her tracks to keep her secrets.  Mischievous characters emerge that Tori has to work with but can not completely trust.  And of course there’s a love interest, but even this is extremely complicated.  Tori is unlike any other heroine I’ve read before.  She’s got a girl power and go-get-’em attitude coupled with computer/engineering skills that should make anyone stand in awe.  And all she wants to to have nothing of it.  To live a quiet life as a normal teenager.  There in lies the rub.

So can it be read as a stand alone?  There might be slight confusion in the references to her friend Alison who begins the novel in a psych ward and then again toward the end when Alison and Farraday reunite in a scene that has a lost sense of passion because of the missing backstory.  This sense of lost passion might also be due to the fact that by this point in the story a reader knows Tori feels no passion because she’s asexual.  Wow is right.

Quicksilver is recommended for those teenage girls who can handle stories with an edge, who want some twists and turns along the way.  It will be a great addition for those libraries who already have Ultraviolet and a possibility for those that don’t.

Tedd Arnold’s illustrations are so distinctive that even the youngest preschooler can recognize his golf-ball eyes on characters.  His artwork  inA Pet for Fly Guyis no exception to the rule.  The colors are sharp and the pictures go so well with the dialogue.  Another great thing is the larger book format.  I have only seen Fly Guy in the 7″ x 9″ size and this book is 9″ x 11″.  Not a huge difference but big enough to make a difference for kids to enjoy the details even more.  This book should be on all elementary school library shelves.

This sci-fi/fantasy novel begins with a feline epidemic, a disease that cats can acquire and become fatal to humans. Because of the disease, the government has put a regulation on felines; one must have a cat from a government breeder and have a permit, both of which are incredibly expensive. The story begins with a teenage girl, Jade, who finds a cat in her backyard. This cat and a boy named Finn change her life and take her on an adventure to find out about the truth of the disease and the cats.

This fast-paced novel has strong main characters. The plot was well-written and deeply thought-out; it gives the readers questions and will later answer those questions. It leaves the readers entertained and will keep the reader wanting more. Cat lovers will especially enjoy this book. A fascinating read for teenagers and adults alike.

— Kellyn S.

For the library that has How To Rap, adding How To Rap 2 is a natural and worthwhile purchase.  How To Rap 2 is a technical manual for the aspiring rapper.  Author Paul Edwards details out rhythm and vocal techniques as well as rhyming techniques.  Precise examples from real rappers clarify what can’t be explained in words or reinforce what is said.  Interwoven into every page are items of advice, information, and inspiration from rappers around the world.  The rapper just looking for ideas and “how-tos” will gloss over these parts and the reader who can’t get enough of the world of rap will soak in each idea. For the lay person who knows nothing of rap, the words of wisdom from specific artists will get ignored but they could make their way through Edwards technical explanations, much like one does with most college textbooks — it’s that technical.  As said, if How To Rap is checked out by patrons already, this will be a further lesson in the art of rap to enjoy.  High school audiences and above.

This installment in Abdo Publishing’s Contemporary Lives Series, Pink, is an easy to read, fun pick for students in grades 6 and up.  Rowell’s writing is formulaic, but with Pink as the center of attention, the content is still very interesting.  Even the chapter titles amuse a reader:  “Glitter in the Air”, “A Yummy Life”, and “Channeling Heartbreak”.  From this biography, a reader will learn that Alecia Beth Moore was born into a home that was “World War III” every day.  She spent time with kids who were considered druggies and punks.  At 13, her focus on music and natural instinct landed her jobs in clubs singing and being further exposed to drugs.  All of this, as well as dropping out of school, shaped the hard core, intense artist she became.  The 3rd chapter and beyond catalog the climb Pink would make between 2000 and 2013.  Chalked full of glossy pictures, text boxes of quotations from Pink, asides from the author of interesting tidbits, decorative background imagery of reflective lights on every page and less than 200 words per page because of the larger font used, this is a visual feast for pop-culture fans.  Still, the depiction feels honestly representative of a woman who had made a huge impact on the music industry.  As Pink compares herself to Cher, the reader knows Alecia will be in the business for a very long time to come.  Student researchers will appreciate the timeline, data page, and selective bibliography in the back of the text, as well as the author’s note for writing about credibility in their annotations.  This reader will be looking at more books in this set, including Lil’ Wayne, Bruno Mars, and Rihanna.

Through the use of their very sharp spine and venom, plus camouflage and nerves that sense the electrical fields of prey, stingrays are excellent survivors in the wild.  Being ovoviviparous, their young hatch from eggs inside the mother, then are born live and self sufficient.  Having first developed around 200 million years ago, stingrays have close relatives in the sea world.  Stingrays live close to shore and thus are heavily  affected by human pollutants.  These topics and more fun facts are covered in this amazingly informative text, which is also full of equisite photos.  Front Matter includes a fact file list of Class, Order, Families, Genus, Species, World Distribution, Habitats, Distinctive Physical characteristics, Habits, and Diet…helpful to elementary researchers.  Back Matter includes, Glossary, Habitat Map, Find Out More, Index and About the Author.  If all of the books in this Nature’s Children series are this quality, I’m going to be purchasing others.

In a world of robots, who act like humans (the Jetsons, without the people), Tin is asked to babysit his little sister Nickel with the help of their dog Zinc. All is well until Nickel floats away holding onto the string of a balloon. Tin and Zinc follow in hot pursuit. Eventually, Tin and Zinc return Nickel home just before their mother arrives home. The plot is cliche, the artwork carries the story.

The artwork is very geometrical with straight lines, angles, and minimal curves. The artwork appears to be simple on first glance. But then , the use of multiple shades of one particular color per object draws the eye in for a more in-depth look.