Here is the epitome of summer camp life from beginning to end from the point -of-view of a young camper. This experience is presented with the beginning bus ride to camp, the description of the cabin and its bunks, the mess hall/food, mosquitoes (title) , mail call, laundry, the camp talent show, arts & crafts, water sports, limbo, campfire, bathing/showering ( or lack there of), and ending with the letter home.

Each experience is hilariously and rhythmically phrased for singing to one of the following  well-known melodies:

Yankee Doodle, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Skip to My Lou, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, On Top of Old Smoky, Mexican Hat Dance, Take Me out to the Ball Game, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Itsy Bitsy Spider, B-I-N-G-O, Rock-a-bye Baby, Pop Goes the Weasel, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Do Your Ears Hang Low?

So tune up your vocal cords and guitar or piano to have fun with the misadventures of this little camper.

This travel guide to the Silk Road takes you back to an era when camels and yaks trudged along the road bearing burdens of exotic luxuries such as Chinese silks bound for Europe, and European glass on its way to China.  Other goods among the array included trade staples like tea and salt.

 Directions for projects–from how to tie a Gordian Knot to how to make Central Asian Lagman Noodles, are also part of the useful knowledge in this book.   “Words to Know,”  in highlighted text boxes, and maps and illustrations help to make each subject easy to understand.

History, ecology, food, storytelling, and the evolution of the road over the years are covered.  The index, web sites, and glossary of books on the subject invite readers to further explore this trade route that brought goods, culture, and conquest as well to the countries it passed through.

In Book Speak, Salas has written a collection of  poems all about books; from their ‘feelings’ about being checked out or not checked out, going on an adventure with the reader, life on a shelf, which part of the book they are, the characters within them, and so on.  The poems range from thoughtful, funny, simple and complex, but all are totally interesting.  The illustrations, all done by one artist, are combinations of mixed media.  The art reflects the voice of the poem and is an integral part of the poem.  I couldn’t wait to turn the page to see what would be next.  In fact, this book has inspired me for poetry month in April, in which I plan to use it to introduce poetry to my students.  I hope they will feel inspired to write and illustrate in a manner as unique as this book.

Kids will love reading this newest installment of the Five Little Monkeys, especially when it’s time for bed.  Be sure to save it for last, having read several other books first.  Then admonish the kids, just as Mama did and see if they don’t stay up reading.  How fun to be defiant of parents when it’s actually good for you!  In this book, the monkeys are told “Lights Out! Sweet Dreams!  No more reading in bed!”  But they can’t resist just one more story, which turns out to be three more stories: one sad, one scary, and one funny, and each time, in comes Mama for the lecture.  Very enjoyable!

“Grimm” is an understatement!  This extension of the traditional Hansel and Gretel story adds plenty of blood and gore to appeal to the middle readers.  Based loosely on the Grimms’ fairy tales Faithful Johannes, Hansel and Gretel, The Seven Ravens, Brother and Sister, The Robber Bridegroom and The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs, this tale leads us up to and past Hansel and Gretel’s escape from the witch and takes us on eight other adventures until they return back to their parents.  The twins are often separated temporarily to double the adventure as they battle witches, the devil, and finally a dragon at the climax of the story.  The author has fun teasing the reader (“Go ahead, dear reader.  Take a look at the dragon on the cover of this book. That dragon, you see, was designed to alert you to the presence of a dragon in these pages.”) My hope is that I can convince boys to read a fairy tale, because they’re the ones that will enjoy the decapitations, the spillage of blood, and the cutting off of fingers!

The “Polish Peddler” is a teen who sells questionable items to his fellow classmates in order to help his younger sister.   Anna is an innocent young woman.   Anna purchases “party drugs” from the “Polish Peddler” in order to catch his attention.  What happens next is not your typical “happily ever after” ending.

This is a story of an anti-hero.  The reader will empathize with the anti-hero.  The author’s narrator is Anna who tells this compelling story through her point-of-view.  Readers will cry with joy and sorrow for the characters.   This is quality storytelling.  For mature teens.

— Calla C.

This book is nicely illustrated, and an exciting read for young readers.  The print is large, and easy to read

The story is different and cute.  You see life from a baby loon’s perspective.  Great for early readers.

This is a very simple book.  It would be good for preschool through !st grade.  It leaves the reader feeling good about themselves.    There is no real story line, but extremely simple listening and identifying type questions, to keep the readers attention.  The pictures are bright and fun. I think the mirror in the back is fun to look and see yourself in a crown.

This is an interesting picture book about the summer solstice.  After a short introduction which explains the scientific reason in simple terms for the various seasons, the book launches into the history from ancient to present of how humans have revered and celebrated the sun.  The illustrations are colorful and compliment the text.  In the back of the book there are four crafts related to the text.  I think this book will especially appeal to our scientifically minded young students who are interested in more than “just a story”.

This is my new favorite autumn picture book! This is a story of friendship and generosity, of hard work, care and perseverance.  A young boy named Peter is the main character.  He lives with his grandparents on a lovely farm and grows pumpkins for autumn.  One day Peter follows a stray pumpkin vine to the far edge of the field where he finds a little pumpkin surrounded by weeds.  He cultivates the ground and makes sure this little pumpkin has sun light and water to grow big and beautiful.   Quietly, he is observed by a new neighbor girl named Meg.  When Meg’s family comes to look for a pumpkin, she doesn’t find the right one until Peter leads her to his prized pumpkin which has grown big and beautiful under his care.  I love that he shared his pumpkin with the girl and that they became friends and the next summer grew pumpkins together  so that “their friendship grew and grew and grew”.  The illustrations remind me of Mary Engelbreit in terms of the colors and painting style as well as all the delightful details you discover as you peer at the page.  Little ladybugs crawl around the borders of illustrations and bees and butterflies trail through.  Darling and whimsical, sweet and fun are good descriptors for these watercolor illustrations.  I also appreciate that Peter comes from a non-traditional family of grandparents raising him, as do many children these days.  I highly recommend this book and am delighted to add it to my elementary school library collection.