It’s an okay little story, with a nice lesson about coming together to help someone in need, but there seem to be a few holes in the thread tying the story together.  A giant, magical ball of yard shows up one night in the hedgehog’s quills, the spider teaches him how to knit, he knits an assortment of gifts for various forest animals, and every time the gift mysteriously turns into something else that animal likes best.  Finally a crab comes inland to find the hedgehog and ask him to knit something to help a beached whale, but he’s all out of yarn, so all the critters return their gifts, which the hedgehog is able to unravel and reknit into a single string which turns into a giant butterfly that is big enough to lift the whale and return him to the ocean.  We are never told where the yarn came from, why the transformed gifts are better than the hand-knit ones, how the hedgehog is able to unravel things that are no longer made of yarn, or why a giant butterfly was the best way to get a whale back into the ocean.

The design is really nice:  shiny cover, sturdy binding, color photos with color blocks setting off the captions, text broken into small enough chunks not to be overwhelming, and labeled diagrams providing visual support for the text.  The information is well-organized, clearly explaining the differences between different types of muscles, and substantive enough that I learned things I didn’t know.

The text is clear and concise, with chapters dedicated to describing different kinds of jobs police officers perform, what kind of training they need, the equipment they use, etc.  The color photos are well-chosen to support the text and are clearly captioned.  This is a high-interest topic for elementary students, and this volume provides plenty of substantive information, while breaking up the flow of information with enough photos, so as not to over-whelm young readers.  Solid, sturdy binding, too.

A lot of solid, scientific information, presented in very readable, comprehendible text, and illustrated with beautiful paintings.  It discusses the inter-connectedness of living things on planet earth, the fragility “The Real World Wide Web,” problems that come from introducing non-native species into new areas, or from over-harvesting, or from climate change.  It presents a variety of arguments for the importance of preserving biodiversity, describes efforts underway to keep the earth healthy, and offers suggestions for how individuals (even kids) can make a difference.

I’m sorry.  I’m just not a fan. The same publisher puts out a similar series of early chapter books based on classic super heroes, of which I really am a fan.  But this pet spin-off seems pointless.  The characters are a speedy turtle who is meant to be the pet of The Flash, and two newts who want to be pets to the villain Professor Zoom.  After hiding in Zoom’s bag, the newts find their way into his laboratory and start mucking around with his giant robot, but they’re in over their heads and set it loose on the city without really having it under control.  Speedy comes to the rescue by causing the robot to crash into some electrical lines and fry itself.  I found the characters undeveloped and the story line a bit lame.  Maybe I’m a purist, but there didn’t really seem to be a point to the whole pet angle.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a necessary addition to every collection, but if you’ve got students who exhibit particular interest in the Presidents of the United States, this could be a nice addition.  As one might expect there is certainly more known about the mothers of some presidents than there is of others, but taken together, these snippets  offer an interesting glimpse into the varied backgrounds of the men who became President.  One of the sad things this book brings home is how many mothers didn’t live long enough to know that their sons had became president.  The illustrations are rather cartoonish, adding a bit of levity, while helping to make clear the different personalities of the women who raised presidents.

The illustrations are the real lure of the book — they’re charming!  The story basically tells of the day in the life of an octopus, as he uses his powers of camouflage and ink sprays to escape some annoying seahorses and seek some solitude.  It tells of her encounters with jelly fish and crabs and a whale and clownfish on her quest for peace and quiet.  When she finally finds herself in a quiet place, she finds herself missing the bustle of the reef and returns home.

This is the fourth book Wendy Mass has set in the small, unusual town of Willow Falls, and the title seems to imply it is the final book in the series.  As such, it does a really nice job of wrapping together the other books, and explaining the mysterious character that linked her other books.  While bringing satisfactory closure to this delightful series, it also manages to set up the possibility of a companion series to follow.  It brings back well-loved characters and ties together mystery and humor and time-travel as Amanda and Leo (the main characters from the first book in the series, 11 Birthdays) work together to unravel and rescue Grace, who has fallen into a strange trance.