This everybody, fiction book was written by Cynthia Platt in the style of H.A. Rey.  This story is about George receiving a Chicken Little book from his friend in the yellow hat.  Even though he excitedly anticipates the story all evening, when bedtime comes George cannot sleep for fear that the sky will fall.  Many other books and distractions are tried by the man in the yellow hat, and then he takes George outside and they use a telescope to look up at the sky to make sure it’s not falling.  Then George can have sweet dreams.  Nice addition.

Excellent photographs leading the young artist through each step of the process to create paper mache’ projects.   The projects are simple enough to make, and yet challenging enough to create a nice a nice end product.  It wasn’t clear to this reviewer why the book is called “Earth-Friendly”, as there was nothing different about it and is the same glue, water, newspaper recipes that have been used for decades. Most projects are made from things you would find around your house, such as used egg cartons.   Some of the projects were animals such as bats, salamanders, and centipedes, while others were bracelets, microphones, and hats.

The resources listed at the back of the book had a website called www.dltk-kids.com which had a section on paper mache’ with helpful hints and tips.  Also, the index in the back of the book is very clever as it listed the crafts from EASY to HARD.    I’m sure that this will save many young artists and teachers, some frustration.  This book would make a nice addition to a collection of books.

Great beginner book on airplanes.  The font is very large and easy to read.  The vocabulary is simple, with a glossary at the end to help children understand unfamiliar words.

The photos are clear and interesting.  This book is great for young readers.  It’s a quick read.

This book is all about being creative and being you.  Young girls would have a lot of fun using this book.  There are pages of creative ideas with good clear directions.  The pictures make it easy to understand the directions.  It is a great book for encouraging the old addage my mother use to say.  ” Use it up, wear it out, make it due or due without.”  Or in the case of this book, make it do it over.  This book is a wonderful starting point for young girls to learn some basic sewing skills and crafting methods.

This is a cute book about two families who live next door to each other.  The one family brings home a speed boat.  Sammy’s father brings home a green bath tub.  What is special about a green bath?  Wait until you see.  It can do amazing things.  It ends up that the bath is way more fun than the speed boat.

The pictures are fabulous.  There is a lot to look at in each picture.

It is a great story about not bragging or showing off.

I loved this book of fishy/water poems!  The pictures are wonderfully funny and cute.

The poems are creative and teach about many water dwelling animals.  The large font is easy to read.

What a fun book!

This is a funny story about a zombie child, his mother, and his struggle to go to sleep at night.

For kids who enjoy zombie stories, this would be a fun read.  The pictures are simple and fun.

The story is written as a rhyme.

I liked it.  O think kids who like monsters will like it too.

This is a fun kids cook book, full of yummy things kids would enjoy making and eating.

The interesting science facts with each recipe is a great way to teach applied science, and helps kid see science is around them in everything.

The glossary in the back explains terms new cooks may not be familiar with.  The colored pictures of how to-do-it

This story is full of funny words to familiar tunes.  Kids would probably think they are funny.

The story was just ok.  The sibling bugs have a poor relationship with each other, which never quite gets resolved.

The font is easy to read.  The vocabulary is beyond beginner.  It was just OK.

This is a nonfiction book with a very conventional, traditional format.  There are occasional captions which offer explanation of photos.  Along with this are the Fun Fact! captions which include something interesting in one sentence.  It is a good addition to the dry text.  The glossary (Words to Know) are in red, which is nice feature throughout the book.  There are also pronunciation cues in the back of the book.  Also included is a Habitat Map, located in the back of the book.  I’d like to see it in the front of the book, but am impressed that they have included it at all, since too many nonfiction books do not include this crucial information.  The size scale, comparing humans to zebras, was a perfect compare and contrast skill.

Find Out More, which gives titles of books and the www.factsfornow.scholastic.com website offers additional resources.  The website’s face is beautifully simple (less is better) and it offers a Grolier encyclopedia article.  The best feature is the simple search engine, but the articles are more dry text.  I like the fact hound site better, where there is a variety of vetted websites, some including games and fun activities and variety of resources.