This book is full of beautiful pictures of large and deadly animals.  It is a quick read, so will hold the attention of younger children, but also older readers will enjoy learning the interesting facts about each animal.  The glossary at the end is a wonderful resource to increase the readers understanding and vocabulary.

This is a fun story about good vs. evil, and saving the world from destruction.  It would be a good read for 4th graders and up.  The biography at the end gives details about the characters that are not in the story line,  a fun way for kids to see the creative side of writing a character.  The biographies about the author and illustrator are also written in a way kids would enjoy.  This is a good book for looking at how people with different views can work together to accomplish an end all will be happy with .

Life after death.  Only a very few get to go to the underworld and see make it back to the real world.  Pierce did.  Prolific author Meg Cabot begins her new Abandon trilogy with Pierce Oliveria as a real world Persephone, who is being tracked by John Hayden, organizer of the underworld, aka Hades.  None of Pierce’s meetings with John were by chance, for when she was seven years old, John fell in love with her and gave her the gift of a color-changing diamond necklace. But when he had his opportunity to keep her in the underworld, out of fear she ran back through the door to the real world, still wearing the diamond necklace.  Parental divorce and issues at her previous school land her back to the island where she first met John.  Though he comes in and out of her life, both scaring her and kindling her love, he has told her the diamond will protect her from those who will want to harm her.  But Pierce is more head strong than heart weary and the battle of head over heart will drive this grinding love story because at the age of 17, Pierce is more flattered than enamored by his fondness for her.  This twisting tale always has more coming, and by the end of this installment, readers know it’s not over.  This cleverly crafted connection to mythology will definitely be a hit with those who are kin to such stories.  Strongly recommended for all libraries.

It’s an adequate, though limited biography of President Obama, designed for early readers, presented in both English and Spanish, illustrated with photos from the president’s life.  Along the bottom of each page, a timeline grows throughout the book, with new dates/events added to accompany the text.  But as a teaching tool, the timeline failed to represent the passage of time with distance along the line:  all dates were evenly spaced regardless of whether they represented a 4-year or a 7-year gap, and some important events described in the text were left off of the timeline, leaving me as a reader wondering why.

Each two-page spread consists of one full-page color photo of a real kid, accompanied by 2-3 simple sentences (in both English and Spanish), describing some of the behaviors and challenges that autistic children experience.  It is careful to use words like “some” and “may” so as to avoid generalizations lumping all autistic children together.  A useful tool for teaching students about children they may encounter around them but not understand.

A good tool for supporting early childhood social studies curriculum teaching about community workers, the simple text in this book, supported by simple illustrations, clearly describes many facets of the job of garbage collectors. These are members of the community that young children will be aware of, but likely know little about.  I even learned something.

Friendships between two friends are always easier than when a third friend comes along.  Learning to navigate the politics and power-plays that arise in such situations is one of the essential lessons of childhood.  All students will recognize the simple dilemma in this story of two friends playing, and the tensions that arise when a third joins but tries to push one aside.  The illustrations are cute.  The text is spare and simple and direct. The situation is common.

Bright, bold, graphic illustrations accompany very simple rhyming text walking readers through the noises one might encounter on a typical day in the city, from alarm clock ringing, through trash cans knocking, and on through the day until street lights are blinking and children are dreaming.  Useful for teaching about rhymes, nouns, verbs, and observing sounds.

If you need something in your non-fiction section to support dental health curriculum for young students, this would fit the bill well.  The binding is sturdy.  The text is simple and straight forward, presented in both English and Spanish — just a couple sentences per two-page spread, opposite large color photographs supporting the text.  It’s unlikely to be chosen by students for recreational reading, but could be useful as a teaching tool. One gripe: they could have left “tooth” out of the glossary, and included “enamel” instead, given that it’s more likely to be an unfamiliar vocabulary word for students.

Another wordless picture book about the cute little puppy Jack, this story tells what happens when Jack is put out for the night.  A small UFO lands on the roof of his dog house and a gaggle of miniature robot aliens join Jack for play time.  They release Jack from his leash.  After cavorting in the sandbox and pond, the robots try to attach Jack’s leash to their flying saucer to take him with them, but his collar slips off his head, leaving him behind as they fly off.  When his little boy comes out to check on Jack, he is none the wiser as to what’s gone on while he was inside.  Wordless books are always great for helping younger students develop observational and story-telling skills, and also serve as writing prompts for older students.  This particular story is also a great prompt for triggering children’s imaginings as to what their pets get up to behind their backs. How cute Jack is is just an extra draw.