Two books from the same series Exploring Space, The Hubble Telescope and NASA are level 3  of their 5 level scale and follow similar formats.  One or two sentences per page with large font; full color photos are used throughout and most span both pages.  Because of the science background, the vocabulary is more pretty complex for the type of audience it is written.  Pronunciation guides would have been helpful.  Simple research at an elementary level or upper grade ELL students might find these books useful.  Additional selection for most libraries.

“Brazil is the largest country in South America… borders ten other South American countries. Only Ecuador and Chile do not touch Brazil.” (page 5)

Large applies to Brazil in so many ways.

1) World’s largest tropical rain forest

2) ” Amazon River carries more water than any other river”

3) ” Amazon region has a greater variety of plants and animals than any other place …”

4) 200 native tribes, about 50 are unfamiliar with the modern world

5) soccer – Brazil has always been in the World Cup

6) Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statute is one of the world’s largest statues

Considering Brazil’s size it is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that most of its population lives near the coastline.

The Cuba  I knew about before reading this book consisted of Fidel Castro and the Cubans who escaped his revolution to Miami, Florida.

Now, I know a Cuba  where well kept 1950 vintage U.S. cars are still driven daily due to the U.S. Embargo imposed after the Fidel Castro came to power.  I know a Cuba where the government owns the farms, stores, and most of the restaurants (and a black market as its result). A Cuba where every family is given a yearly food rations book.  And a Cuba where the government promises everyone a job, though it might not be in their field of study.

Author, Walter Simmons, does an excellent job of stating the facts without bias.

On the lighter side, Cuba is the home of the world’s smallest hummingbird and one of the smallest bats – Cuban bee hummingbird & Cuban butterfly bat. Other topics covered include ‘Daily Life’, ‘Going to School’, ‘Playing’, ‘Food’, and ‘Holidays’.

A delightful and varied collection of poems, ranging from traditional nursery rhymes and the works of famous authors such as Shakespeare, to the original works of children (youngest age 2).  The poems are gathered into chapters that focus the reader on different traits often found in poetry, and roughly corresponding to Howard Gardner’s Intelligences: one chapter for word choice, one for poems that convey descriptive visual images, one that plays with the sound of words, etc.  The illustrations will draw kids in, the poems written by other children makes this a source for inspiration, and the organization makes it a tool for instruction as well.

An eight-year-old girl, frustrated with the experience of multiple moves in her short life, contrasts her own new-home transitions with the experiences of her grandmother, who has only lived in two homes in her 65 years.  The water-color illustrations are beautiful and genuine.  The text is a little rambling and the point seems a little unclear.

The illustrations are gorgeous!  The text introduces the reader to how to say hello in ten different languages.  Each of the cultures represented by those languages is beautifully captured in the dress of the characters.  I especially like that the book does not present these languages in the context of world travel, but in the context of a little girl’s walk through an urban neighborhood, greeting people she knows — reminding us of the diversity within our own communities.

A fun and informative book that answers the “why?” of an assortment of bodily functions — sure to capture the curiosity of many elementary school students.  The table of contents lists all the questions the book addresses, from “Why do you get hiccups?” to “Why do you throw up?” and “Why do you yawn?”  One to two pages answer each question with clear and complete explanations, including both the physical mechanics part of the why and the evolutionary advantages offered by each human trait.  Be prepared for protests from any parents who are of an anti-evolutionary mind-set, as the book explains that humans are not only evolutionarily related not only to chimpanzees and other primates, but all other animals including fish and bacteria.

The book design is better than its content.  It’s visually appealing and bills itself as “first-hand accounts of war from those who lived through it.”  But the text actually included few quotes from primary sources.  It included chapters about various individual who fought in a variety of capacities, for both sides during the American Civil War, but it was a bit dry.  Idid like that glossary terms were defined right on the pages in which they were used, as I know students are unlikely to actually make use of the glossary in the back.  Even though it claims to be a Reinforced Library Binding, I don’t trust the smooth finish of the cover to wear well.

I was disappointed.  I know this author has been popular among adults for a long time.  I think he needs to stick to what he knows best.  His narration for kids was stilted.  The characters did not ring true.  And it was boring.

This gorgeous non-fiction book grabs the reader’s attention from the moment you spy the amazing color photography on the cover. The page size is large and each one features several full-color undersea photographs of sea creatures recently discovered during research studies around the world. The photos are complimented by well-written text about each creature, how they were discovered including descriptions of the undersea technology used, what’s happening in the surrounding environment and the ecosystem and much more. The final pages of the book features a glossary, index, source notes and bibliography, and a list of resources to learn more. Readers may also find the labeled photos of the scientists quoted in the book to be an interesting reference especially because their research location around the world is also noted. I’m confident that our students will enjoy this book and that it may inspire future marine biologists. I highly recommend this book.