The title is a small glimpse of the POW!er of this book.  Small in size, but full of punch, this 48 page wonder covers the origin of comics, debuts of the main characters throughout comic history, changes in comics due to changes in societal norms, as well as the changing audience for comics in their various forms — including brief pages on comix, indies, manga, and other graphic novels.   Full of interesting tidbits, this book would be suitable for elementary through high school libraries.  Paragraphs of text are in a very small type font that would be hard for younger elementary, though the full color, glossy page comic art filled pages will definitely make it a page turner in it’s own right.  This is probably an additional purchase unless there is a comic assignment or huge draw to graphic novels in your school as there is in mine.

Jackie’s Gift, by Sharon Robinson, is a wonderful true story about the Robinson family’s first Christmas in a new home with new neighbors.  Young Steve Satlow loved baseball, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and believed that “…Jackie Robinson the best player the Dodgers have ever had, black or white…”  When the Robinsons move in down the street, despite other neighbors attempts to stop them, Steve can’t wait to meet him.  Two interesting topics are handled with utmost respect.  The racism of Steve’s neighbors is explained and compared to racism Steve’s grandparent experienced as Jewish immigrants so that Steve can relate first-hand.  Then, after bringing a Christmas tree to Steve’s house, the Robinsons learn that Steve’s family is Jewish.  Steve’s parents find room for the gift in their home and hearts despite their religious beliefs.  The water color illustrations are just gorgeous as they give the feeling of “history” to the story.  This is probably a must have for most elementary libraries that strive to represent multiple perspectives on December holidays.

This for-girls-only novel is book 1 in the Lucy B. Parker series.  It’s hard enough being an insecure sixth grader.  Lucy also has to deal with the fact that her divorced parents are seriously dating other people.  To top it off, her future step-sister is Lauren Moses, the hottest teen star in the world.  Written with plenty of humor, author Robin Palmer shows the best of both worlds — Lauren’s Hollywood life full of limos, movie offers, and celebrity friends, and Lucy’s hum-drum life with awkward moments and the feeling of being ignored by her family.  Like many 12-year olds, Lucy’s emotions change as quickly as a newborn baby’s.       On the downside, it’s disappointing to see a book for pre-teens lose its wholesomeness as Lucy’s mother moves in with her boyfriend and Lucy’s father accidentally gets his girlfriend pregnant.  Where are the role-model families anymore with a happy, wholesome values?

This second book in the “Lucy B. Parker” series continues the story of a dramatic sixth-grader who has been dealt the ultimate challenge:  she’s about to become step-sisters with Hollywood’s hottest teen star, Lauren Moses!  Insecure Lucy writes letters to TV advice celebrity Dr. Maude, as she struggles to adjust to the fact that her mother ignores her now that she has a new man in her life, and Lauren is living a golden life with TV movie offers and living in the limelight.

The book is hilarious.  Lucy is fixated on the premise that everyone is supposed to have 3 crushes:  one local, one celebrity crush, and one long distance/vacation crush.  Not knowing how you tell when you have a crush, Lucy says, “I felt a weird tingly feeling in my spine when I heard him talk.  I wondered if I was getting spinal meningitis, which is this weird disease that I had seen on a program on the Discovery Channel once.”

On the down side of the book, I wonder if this book will become dated quickly, as it uses very up-to-date lingo (BFF, iTouch, iPad, and a reference to Family Guy).  As an adult reading this book, I tired of Lucy’s obsession of getting her period, her bra size, and the way she constantly talked in the format “…because (a) blah blah blah, and (b) blah blah blah, and (c) blah blah blah.”  I felt all of these were overdone, but may be enjoyed by a pre-teen.

A beautiful non-fiction book that encourages young students to observe the world around them and make predictions.  The format throughout the book repeats a similar four-page sequence:  the first two-page spread includes a close-up detailed photograph of some part of something in or around a pond, accompanied by the repeating question, “Look very closely.  What do you see?”  When the reader turns the page after making their guess(es), the see a full-page color photo that answers the question, along with information about that plant or animal.  The photos are gorgeous, the information is interesting, and the layout is fun.  It would make a good read-aloud for young students, and a good solo-read for older elementary students, useful both for curriculum connections and for recreational reading.

Wow! This book is fabulous!  I never thought I would be so fascinated with squid.  I think this book exemplifies non-fiction at its best:  it is full of information, but it’s not just stated or explained — the author truly is a storyteller.  I would love to check out other works by this author.  The book begins with the days when sailors returned from sea with unbelievable stories of encounters with monsters that those on land could only imagine.  It traces the development of early legends and the first maps that marked the unknown expanses of oceans with captions decreeing, “Here there be monsters.”  It continues to connect the dots between reported sightings and early evidence of a creature that only recently (and rarely) has been observed alive.  It does an excellent job of capturing the drama and the unfolding nature of scientific discovery, and reminding us that there are still mysteries that modern science has yet to fully uncover.  A fascinating read that fosters a sense of wonder.

Part of the Scientists in the Field series, this book centers around the issues involved in trying to protect and preserve the seahorse population, focused primarily on that in the coral reefs in the Philippines.  It does a good job of addressing the interconnected concerns of the biology of the seahorse itself, the health of its coral reef habitat, the needs of the community who make their livelihood from fishing these waters, and the wider world where seahorses are sought out for aquariums and medicines.  It does not over-simplify the issues, or support one cause at the expense of the others, but rather seeks to find ways to achieve sustainable balance that benefits all.  The photographs are absolutely lush.  The text understandable, but dense — definitely intended for older students.

Another title in this popular series that focuses on the unpleasant and sometimes downright gruesome aspects of history as a means of capturing students’ interest, this one tells about the primitive medical treatments used during the Civil War.  The book contains a lot of information, but is very readable and not intimidating: colorful cartoonish illustrations and small blurbs of information help to draw the reader’s curiosity.  A good selection of Non-fiction for recreational reading, as well as curriculum support.

It’s a cute book with brightly colored illustrations that tells of young Frog’s excitement over the pending visit of Goose and Gander with their new baby Gosling.  From the time Rabbit tells him the news, Frog is anxiously awaiting their arrival, only to be distressed when they arrive at how much crying the young Gosling is doing.  Though others try lots of ideas (hungry? tired? diaper?) to calm Gosling, it’s Froggie’s singing and dancing that eventually turn the crying into laughing.  It’s cute, and it will be a helpful book for young families with new arrivals that siblings need to learn to cope with, but there’s nothing super special/unique/creative to really say you need to have it if you’ve already got other new-baby books in your collection.

This book is a poem.  As such, it’s hard for me to say exactly what it’s about:  I’ve read it three times, and I’m still not sure how to describe what exactly it’s trying to say, but then, that’s kind of the nature of poems.  The illustrations are soft, and the text is lyrical, and the ideas give the reader things to ponder.  It is a book of simple beauty.  My first hesitation was to wonder whether children are really going to appreciate it, but then I decided I was underestimating kids.  Certainly not all kids are going to love this book, but I want to think some will respond to it.  Definitely a good tool for a poetry unit.