The format is attractive in this series of books. Good use of color and graphics, without having the color be a distraction instead of an enhancement. The captions, and pictures are distributed in good coverage. As with most new non-fiction books, this has a great resource list in the back to further your learning. The only change I would make would be to tone the font size down a little. Making the font BIGGER doesn’t make it EASIER to read. I think the size should honestly reflect the level of the reading, and in nonfiction books of substance, it will be higher. Recommended.
Natural Disasters, Investigate Earth’s Most Destructive Forces
This is a fabulous science book with experiments related to weather and geological activity on our planet. The experiments come with a short story introduction based on a real event, and then supply an experiment with a supply list, step by step instructions, and some simple pictures drawn by the illustrator. Just the right amount of information is given to spark interest, get a student going on an activity and create results. Recommended.
Write On, Mercy! The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren
This is a fabulous book about a strong female character who writes political news for a newspaper, during a time when women weren’t allowed to participate in politics. Of course Mercy had to use a pen name, but her work stirred a lot of emotion, debate and rhetoric for the masses to contemplate. She was 75 years old the first time she penned her name to her work! She did much to record the history of our revolution in the United States. Recommended!
Starcross: A Stirring Adventure of Spies, Time Travel and Curious Hats
Starcross was a delightful read! Reeve has the rare gift of being able to weave together big vocabulary and complex themes in a manner easily accessible to young audiences. At it’s core, Starcross, is the story of what would happen if Victorian era Britain was able to colonize the solar system. What I was most impressed with was Reeve’s ability to weave together the Victorian cultural motifs and sci-fi elements. My favorite example of this is the novel’s villains, the Moobs, mind-controlling, time-traveling alien invaders disguised as top hats. Even the sci-fi elements reflect the historic beliefs of Victorian Britain: space ships are literal ships, and the vacuum of space contains breathable air. The book also plays as elaborate parody of colonial politics: a major plot involves a French spy working with the United states to upset British intergalactic supremacy. Starcross acts as a serious reflection of the values and beliefs of Victorian England, playing them for absurdity merely by altering the setting.
The whimsical pros are captivating, it’s a great story, and it contains a treasure trove of knowledge about Victorian England made more accessible for the fictional elements. This is the type of book needed to instill in young readers a lifelong love of the written word. My only critique is the characters are fairly generic, never taking on much of a life beyond their setting. It’s also worth noting this is a sequel to Reeve’s previous book, Larklight.
Jordan Beaudry, Washington Reading Corps
Write Fantasy Fiction in 5 Simple Steps
The “five simple steps” are broken down into five short but insightful chapters. Beginning with “Start With an Idea”
and wrapping up with “What to Do With Your Finished Story”, each step is one chapter unto itself. Each chapter’s
beginning page is a step to be taken when writing fantasy fiction. The step is isolated and the reader’s attention is
drawn to the page by the use of a deep pink, one inch, page border. This visual sign post commands the reader to
pay attention and take note. Within each chapter, assignments are suggested as a way to get the reader to practice
the craft of writing. Each chapter also includes resources to further help learn the craft, such as: a Famous
Fantasies book list, tips (start a daily journal, create maps and word lists for your story), ideas (have different
people critique your work, do your research) and web links (to authors’ and organizations’ websites).
McKay breaks down the writing process into bite sized chunks which allows the reader to work at a slow and methodical pace, or to read in small increments when help is needed. The text heavy book may not initially appeal to younger readers; however, those who do pick up this book may find exactly what they are looking for and find it easy to understand. Teachers and librarians may also find this book useful as a teaching tool because most subsections within the chapters are mini-lessons. These could easily be plugged into a lesson plan and the book as a whole could be used for a unit plan.
Table of Contents, Book Key (for icons that are interspersed throughout the text), Chapter Notes, Glossary, Further Reading suggestions, Internet Addresses and an Index are all included.
Fruits
Even for an early reader, this book is way too simplified and general. It’s only got one sentence per page, and those sentences are so vague as to provide very little information, even bordering on misinformation by way of omission. It answers the question, “What are fruits?” with the statement, “Fruits are parts of plants.” Which parts? Not all parts of plants are fruits. It tells us, “Many fruits are round.” Many are other shapes, too. It tells us, “Fruits are full of nutrients.” So are all the other healthy foods that belong to the other food groups. There are much better food group books available for the money.
Safety Basics
I like the size and the sturdy binding and the color photos, and I like that most pages include 2-4 sentences rather than some early readers that only have 1-2 sentences per page, but I think it’s trying to be more than it can be. Given the limitations of the early-reader format, it perhaps needed a smaller focus. Each page is dedicated to safety tips for different places, but in just a few sentences, you are obviously limited to how much content you can include. For example, the “At Home” section only addresses poison safety; the “At School” page only considers slipping or getting lost on a field trip. Obviously there are many, many ways children can be hurt both at home or at school, so a few sentences really don’t cover it. I do like that it started with the idea safety starts with thinking before you act — that helps to cover what cannot be listed.
Dairy Group
Recommended with reservations. It fits a narrow curriculum niche, strictly for young readers for health lessons — not likely to be chosen as recreational reading. But if you need something to fit this niche, it’s a good selection: one to two sentence on each page are accompanied by full-page color illustrations; it explains what kinds of foods are part of the dairy group, what makes a serving size, how much is recommended each day, and offers meal/snack suggestions. It’s got a sturdy binding and the full range of non-fiction text features.
Protein Foods Group
I recommend this book with reservations. It is strictly an early reader book, and it is not likely to be chosen for recreational reading, which means it serves a small niche in a school library collection. I have a hard time recommending such books, due to the limited information one gets for one’s buck, but if you need something to fit this particular niche in your curriculum, this is a good choice. It lists examples of foods included in the protein group, including portion sizes and daily recommendations. It describes some of the benefits offered by the protein group, and offers meal/snack suggestions. One or two simple sentences on each page accompany full-page color photos. The full gambit of non-fiction text features are included at a rudimentary level. And it’s got a good, sturdy binding
Copperheads
Beginning with a Cherokee Indian legend about copperheads, facts are presented about this fascinating reptile. Their habitat, coloring, types of copperheads, and how they hunt fill this 32 page book. Highlighted terms are defined on the page as well as again in the glossary. Fact boxes provide extra details. Photographs are large, colorful, and show features of each type of snake. Glossary, index, and books for further reading are in the back. A facthound internet site and a publisher site provide further information and activities.