This is a wordless picture book filled with pages of detailed illustrations depicting several mysteries at once.  The setting is a park on a sunny day where a kid’s birthday party is in progress.  All the characters are animals dressed and behaving like humans.  The illustrations comically tell the stories of the progression of the birthday party, a stolen necklace, the baking of the birthday cake and several other sub plots.  There is a group of mischievous monkeys, a tantruming party guest, and some very suspicious-looking rats.  This book could be enjoyed by a wide range of ages since reading is not required and the clues for the various mysteries range from obvious to subtle.  I think it is one that children would pick up again and again to discover some new detail each time.

This is a wonderful informative book about the out door sport of hiking.  There are wonderful things to see along the way.  Through the forest and into the meadow.  You don’t have to travel far to find a trailhead.  You have to prepare for all possible conditions to be ready for a hike.  Water is very important when hiking.  When you hike you should leave no trace that you were there.

There is a glossary in the back with a “To Learn Move” page.  There is also an index and in the f ront is a table of content.

Thomas Fleming freely admits that there will be confusion as he tries to explain the philosophical shifts in the theory of socialism in his book of the same title from Marshall Cavendish’s Political Systems of the World series.  Classical definitions of socialism, communism and liberalism will are used, which means that a liberal believes that everything can and will be done to achieve liberty, or independence from the government.  What is currently described as being a “democrat” in the United States is really more of a socialist – society ensuring fairness among all people.  Fleming begins his history lesson with Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s dissection of Plato’s ideas as unmanageable, Christianity’s influence, and the rise of Utopias.  When the US colonists declared independence and the French Revolution put the world’s elite classes on notice, the hope for new mindsets by which to inspire rose again.  This ebb and flow continues through the historical timeline of this book reaching a crescendo of sorts in the late 19th and early 20th century.  The United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden are 3 focal countries for discussion purposes in the text. The constant question of political vs economic means justifying the ends is raised again and again.  The comparison table of socialism and other governments in the back is particularly helpful.  Students will need to ignore their “Americanized” concepts of liberal vs. conservative and instead go back to history to learn how these concepts came about.  Not many pictures or sidebars to glamorize the topic, this book is good for advanced students at the high school level and above.

Basic general information is presented in eight chapters: #1 What is a Biome?, #2 Landscape and Climate of the Coniferous Forest, #3 Plants Growing in the Coniferous Forest have Adapted, #4 Animals Living in the Coniferous Forest have Adapted, #5 Environmental Threats, #6 Biodiversity at Risk, #7 The Future of the Coniferous Forest, and #8 Conservation Challenge. Each chapter averages 4 pages in length, generously sprinkled with labeled photos of coniferous forest animals, “Words to Know” which match the glossary section word for word, “Word Exploration”, and “Did You Know?” trivia.

The ratio of picture to text appears to be equal. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the readers will love this form of information!