The best thing about this book is that it shares with students the way scientific knowledge unfolds: it begins by describing the discovery that many frogs were going extinct very suddenly from an unknown cause, then it proceeds to describe the unraveling of this puzzle.  It shares the scientists thought processes as they considered and ruled out assorted possible causes and why.  Even when they discover that the deaths are being caused by a particular fungus, this just led to further questions as to how the fungus spread and what could be done about it. It then goes on to describe the creation of a conservation center and the assorted problems that had to be overcome, as well as describing the possible avenues being considered to develop a long-term solution to the problem for the future.  The color photos are vibrant and the graphics are visually appealing without being busy or distracting.  A beautiful, worthwhile book, which could become out-dated rather soon.

Bright graphics and color photos illustrate this really rather comprehensive look at assorted tools used in fighting crime.  It’s up-to-date at this time with a lot of modern technology, giving a brief explanation as to how each device operates.  It raises questions as to the privacy issues some worry about, and the limitations of some technologies.  It includes a timeline in the back that looks at the history of crime-fighting (dating back to the first known police force in ancient Egypt).  I think it will be of high interest to kids who watch crime dramas on TV and are curious about how all these gadgets work, though it may go more toward sparking curiosity that fully satisfying it.  My one caution is that it is likely to be an out-dated book rather quickly, as technology changes so rapidly.

Kids will love reading  gross facts and trivia of common practices from ancient times to present.  The format is colorful and small paragraphs of text accompany large photographs.  A facthound internet site offers titles and information about related books but some of the “gross” links are broken.  Books for further reading are written at a similar reading level and focus on equally gross topics!  The glossary includes words that were also defined on the pages on which they were introduced.  The index is arranged in sections: animals, blood, foods, history, human body, maggots, and meat to help one quickly find information.  This book will certainly be popular with those looking for fascinating facts the might make you gag!

This book is a terrific overview of what a beginning canoeist needs to know about the sport.  Different styles of canoes have different purposes.  Terms to know, equipment, and safety hints are explained.  Canoeing provides a unique way to experience the outdoors from a lake or river.  Particular skills are explained along with useful facts and things to think about when planning a trip.  One canoe destination mentioned in the book is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) on the border between Minnesota and Canada.  Highlighted words are defined in the glossary.  Books for further reading are written at a similar reading and interest level.  A factsurfer internet site provides even more information.

The title of this book says it all.  Everyone who has owned a pet has noticed some rather gross behaviors at one time of another.  This book explains the reasons behind the sometimes disgusting actions.  With each turn of the page, one reads about an odd fact of another pet.  Beginning with rabbits, often gross facts about cats, ferrets, dogs, lizards, rats, and hermit crabs are explained.  The pages are colorful, the photographs are large, and the text is easy to read.  Definitions of highlighted words appear at the bottom of the page as well as in the glossary.  Additional “gross fact” boxes include other related material.  Titles of other books to read are in the back with a facthound internet site and index.  An additional site from the publisher provides projects, games, contests, and quizzes just for kids.

Granted, I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels to begin with, but I’ve read some I liked.  Not this one.  The artwork is visually appealing and all, but the story is lame and incomplete.  It takes seven pages to tell us the main character isn’t a morning person and is bored with small-town life, and then when she finally gets to school, she over-hears part of a conversation between some classmates that set’s her imagination going.  Suspecting there’s something strange going on, she spends the day following them, and along the way there are these strange little alien guys who seem to be following her, too, but the reader never actually gets to find out what’s really going on, because it just ends abruptly with, “after all this story is far from over.”  As far as I can tell, the only reason this book exists is to try to get someone to buy the next book.  It won’t be me.

Based on the characters from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, this story takes place at some indeterminate time in the midst of Belle’s stay at the castle, after she’s stopped being fearful, but before she’s fallen in love with the beast. Reading a book before bed one evening, Belle discovers the last chapter of the book is missing.  She spends the rest of the story deciphering clues that lead to other clues until she finds the book (with the help of the Beast). It’s a beginning level chapter book that will appeal to some students simply because it’s Belle, but it’s really rather a trite little story.

The sequel to Our Only May Amelia, this tells of the continuing adventures of a young girl growing up in Southwest Washington around the beginning of the 20th century.  Her family is a poor farming family, amid a community of poor farming/logging families.  Most of the folks in the community are immigrants from Finland, and like our immigrant communities today, they depend on the children to help translate, as much of the older generation speaks limited English.  When a slick city guy comes to offer a deal that’s too good to be true, Amelia is the one who speaks for her father, getting him to sign papers that they think will bring them all riches, but instead robs them of all their savings.  What really makes these books such a treat are the relationships between Amelia and her brothers and the network of connections in this close-knit community.  The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is the new cover — since the story is set before the days of color photography, the glossy cover seems a little disconnected.

This is the second book in this series I’ve read (though it’s actually the third book in a trilogy — I never read the one in the middle), and I’ve really enjoyed both.  Set during the Revolutionary War, it tells the adventures of a girl dressed and living as a boy aboard a privateering ship.  In the first book she was disguised to everyone; somewhere in book two, she must have revealed herself to the couple trusted friends who know her secret in this one.  The book does a good job of describing what life aboard ship would have been like in those days, outlining the differences and relationships between the navy ships, privateers, and pirates, and it’s got good plot and character development to draw the reader into Hannah’s adventures.  The only real problem is that the title gives away the ending, as it is not until the very end of the book that Hannah is made Captain of the ship.

A small spiral bound book with alternating pages of heavy board and transparency film, it provides basic information for young readers about different types of homes, from prehistoric caves to modern city sky-scrapers.  Each two-page spread (with one tranparency in the middle) is dedicated to a different type of home from a different part of the world, with 4-6 sentences describing its unique features and why they are helpful to the people who live there.  While I know students will be intrigued by the transparent pages, and the information is sound, if scant, I worry about how this type of binding will hold up under library use.  I don’t expect it to last long.