This is a cute, little story about two friends that are opposites. Despite their differences, they are the best of friends. Prudence is quiet, timid and scared of many things. Moxie is loud and not scared of anything. Moxie is dared and double dogged dared to do just about anything and everything their friends can come up with. She drives a tractor, rides the scariest rides at the fair and rides the high-speed turbo go-cart down High Horse Hill with no hands. When Prudence learns the one thing Moxie is scared of is horses, she can hardly believe it. She loves horses! Just for Prudence (and with Prudence’s help), Moxie overcomes her biggest fear and rides Thunder with Prudence. This book has the neatest, whimsical like  illustrations. I love the borders on the pages and the story this story of friendship is enduring. My only issue with the book is the length. It rambles on and is pretty long for a picture book.

This is a nonfiction book from the Pebble Plus series. I love these over sized books. In this particular book, the readers will learn all about the Air Force. The Air Force’s purpose, jobs, tools and machines are all explained in English and Spanish. On each facing set of pages, there is an over sized photo and then text in English and then Spanish. The text is easy and to the point. I really like these English/Spanish books. I love the idea that an ESL student can take it home to read with their parents. Developing students with a Spanish language background can easily see the two languages together on the page. The photos and information are all well developed, as well.

This is a story about two bears that live together in the forest. Matty is a neat, orderly bear, while Milly is a messy, forgetful bear. When a storm comes out of nowhere and a tree crashes through their house, Matty sees that being so orderly isn’t really that important. Matty decides that he really likes the tree and they decide to rebuild their house around the tree. While Matty is still the neat bear and Milly the messy bear, they come to an understanding that Matty can learn to be a little more fun and Milly can learn to try to be a little more orderly. This is cute story with really nice illustrations. The story was originally printed in Great Britain so some things are different. Cozy is spelled cosy and instead of saying once upon a time they say “time upon a once.” This bothered me and I am not sure what students and parents will say. I plan on putting it in my library, but I  just wish it followed the English grammar and spelling a little better.

Nicholas Duck is excited. It is that time of year and he has a very important job! He has to collect wish lists for Santa. Nicholas can’t wait, but soon enough he has a problem. His little brothers and sister are following him and want to help. Even though he tells them they have to be selected by Santa, they have decided they are going to help and he can’t stop them. In an effort to be the best helpers and Santa’s favorites, they mess everything up by offering ridiculous gifts to the skunk, raccoon, beaver (like a chainsaw and bulldozer) and frog. Nicholas has to talk some sense into them and explain the true meaning of Christmas (love, goodwill, kindness and giving). In turn, his brothers and sister question him about being a nice brother. Being a nice brother, he lets them help Santa and all ends well… This is a cute story that teaches a lesson too. The bright digital ink and digital oil pastel illustrations are appealing.

What a delightful book of haiku poetry!  Written and illustrated by guys, it is filled with poems about the many things boys do outside.  Bob Raczka shares special moments from each season as boys enjoy a romp outdoors.  Haiku is a short poem of 3 lines, about nature, and told in the present – a perfect form of poetry for active boys.  Ink and watercolor illustrations by Peter Reynolds do a beautiful job of depicting the simple innocence of the poems.  However, one does not need to be a boy to thoroughly enjoy the sights, sounds, and imagination of an active person spending wonderful hours with nature.  This book lends itself to many topics used in the classroom as well as being a thoroughly pleasurable read.

This is a story about friendship and jealousy told by two teddy bear toys.  When Mollie-Sue received Bendy Bill as a present from Grandma, Gruffy Ted and Tilly Ted were not happy.  Used to being Mollie-Sue’s favorite toys, Gruffy and Tilly were upset when they were ignored.  The two teddies tried many things to make Bendy Bill undesirable.  One day, while trying to remove Bendy Bill’s hat, Gruffy fell out the window.  Tilly’s attempts to reach him fell short.  It was Bendy Bill’s long arms that saved  the day when he reached out and helped Gruffy climb to safety.  Gruffy and Tilly found that being different is sometimes just what a friendship needs.  A good story to be read in Pre-K and K about getting along with siblings or friends.  Watercolor illustrations are colorful and expressive.  One can easily see the emotions on the faces of the teddies.

The life cycle of the honey bee is briefly described in this 24 page book.  Excellent full-color, detailed photographs help illustrate the text.  Labels with arrows point out specific areas of each photo.  The text is large, the sentences are short.  Word choice is appropriate for a nonfiction book for young readers.  A picture glossary is in the back with the index.  Also included are notes to parents and teachers for talking to children before and after the book is read.  (what animal babies are called, whether of not they look like adults, how animals defend themselves…)  A suggestion is made for presenting different types of honey for children to taste – without a caution about food allergies of some people.

One winter evening, a father and daughter take a walk through the woods.  As they notice things in nature, they make up amusing names for them.  A floating leaf is a butterfly raft, a feather is a tickle stick.  As they walk, one of the girl’s pink mittens fell un-noticed along the path.  When different animals examine it, they too have amusing suggestions as to what it is.  Squirrel – cotton candy, Mouse – mouse house, Owl – wing warmer, Duck – fish coat, and Bunny – carrot carrier.  Deer is the one who correctly identifies it as a mitten, just as the father and daughter return to find it.  Wendy Edelson’s colorful watercolor paintings beautifully illustrate each character.  The last pages show each animal as its own home for the evening.  The end pages show a map of the path the father and daughter walked and the names of the homes of each animal.  This is Simon Van Booy’s first picture book.  Artist Wendy Edelson lives in Bainbridge Island, WA.

A  match made in heaven for illustrator R.W. Alley and author Kate McMullan. These two are totally in synchronization*. Every illustration is a perfect match with the text and with the emotions on the furry little characters are exhibiting.   R.W.Alley has an exact match of the eye chart (6 times) with those of K. McMullan’s text.

In 3 easy-to-read chapters, Pearl uses psychology on her friend Wagner when the school’s yearly eye test reveals he needs glasses and she does not. Or maybe Pearl’s just jealous. Either way, Pearl is a true friend for the reluctant first time glasses wearer.

* R. W. Alley’s pictures foreshadow Kate McMullan’s surprise ending.  What a team the two of them make!

Includes: Tips for Glasses.   page 39 “When your glasses get so smudgy you can’t see, it’s time to clean them.” plus 7 more

Has your pet dog ever failed to perform his best tricks just when you have an audience of your peers? Then, you know how Jake feels when his class has ‘pet day’ at school and his dog Buddy does not perform.

The delightful illustrations of Mike Bryne accompany four diverse friends / classmates and their diverse pets: rat, cat, dog, and fish.