This popular character is back, sharing all her favorite things about Halloween, from the slightly skewed perspective of a farmyard hen.  The bright, simple illustrations are full of scenes that will be familiar to young children, but the text is full of Minerva Louise’s silly mistaken understandings of what she sees around her:  she thinks the children setting out tombstone decorations are planting a rock garden, the trick-or-treaters are farmers bringing feed-buckets to the house, and the children bobbing for apples have been working so hard they’re drinking down the water bucket.  Young children will laugh and delight in showing off their superior understanding as they correct Minerva Louise and explain what is really going on.

I think every child (and adult for that matter) should read this book.  First of all, the illustrations are fabulous.  Most importantly, the statistics it shares does a really great job of capturing a snap-shot of our planet, giving readers a real perspective as to where they fit in the world and how many other people out there share things in common and have very different experiences than our own.  Using the concept of shrinking the world population down to a village of 100 people, while keeping all ratios/percentages in tact, this book looks at a variety of statistics for the human race.  Each two page spread is dedicated to a different topic of the human experience (e.g. ages, languages, education, etc.), and using the village concept, it shares what percentage of the people on the planet fit different categories within that topic.  For example, the religion page tells us that if the world were a village of 100 people, 33 would be Christians, 21 Muslims, 13 Hindus, etc.  Throughout the book, historical perspectives are offered as well, telling how the make-up of the global village has changed over time.  Told in very simple language, it brings some of the great complexities of our world into comprehensible perspective.  A fascinating and valuable book for any library.

A great book for getting kids interested in our legal system, and setting them up to become fans of John Grisham’s adult books. At first I was skeptical of the idea of a “kid lawyer,” as not being realistic, but the title character actually comes across as both believable and likable.  Of course not actually a lawyer himself, Theodore is the only son of two lawyers, fascinated with the law himself, planning a future as either a lawyer or a judge, and friends with all the folks in and around the courthouse in his small hometown.  Well-known by his peers as someone knowledgable about the law, he does have friends and acquaintances approaching him for varied legal advice, but the bulk of the story centers around a big murder trial. Theodore becomes privy to some information that could be crucial to the outcome of the case, but he must find a way to let it be known without betraying the confidence of a friend.  Keeping in mind the youth of the target audience, who might not be completely familiar with various aspects of the legal system, the author manages to incorporate a bit of legal instruction in very understandable terms. I’m wondering whether this will be strictly a stand-alone novel or if it will be the beginning of a series — would love to read further adventures of this great character. Highly Recommended.

This early chapter book, based on the childhood of Tomie DePaola, shares the experiences of a second-grade boy during World War II.  Many of the events are common events of growing up in any time (e.g. having a big brother who is a bully, performing in a play, taking music lessons, etc.), and yet sprinkled the ordinary experiences of growing up are the effects of war on those at home:  grieving for a cousin who died, the flags with stars that people hung in the window to indicate sons or daughters who were fighting, gas rationing, etc.  Because it is all told from the perspective and in the voice of a young student, it is a wonderful way to expose young children to history in a way that makes it something they can relate to. Because it is based on the author’s actual experiences, it really rings true in the telling.

     I gave this book an “R” rating for it’s humor.  (About practicing his trumpet, Griff says, “I hadn’t practiced since my underwear had Power Rangers on them.”)  Seventh-grader Griff Carver is the new boy at Rampart Middle School.  He has a little bit of big head because he’s a hallway patrol monitor, and takes it ever so seriously, much like Sargent Friday of Dragnet. (“Silence is one of the perks of hall duty.  Giving up study hall three days a week and school assembly on Fridays is a small price to pay for walking a beat.”)  One thing that makes Griff such a good hallway patrol monitor is that he’s extremely observant. (“He had dirty fingernails and the look of a kid who sharpens his pencil too long just to be annoying.”)  Humor is joined by a mystery Griff is ready to solve….Who is at the bottom of the counterfeit hallway passes?  Plenty of action, and even a little horror at the climax of the story will have readers thinking they’re reading a sitcom script.

Who could resist a book with a cover like this?  A slim girl, back turned, stands under the marquee of an old-time movie theater, her pink polka dot tights the only splash of color on a dark, rainy night.

Thus, the mood is set for a mystery that takes place around the Little Arts, a movie theater in a little town where nothing much happens–until the girl in pink tights shows up, and Dani, the young heroine, is consumed by curiosity as to who this stranger is.

As the plot unfolds, just like in the movies, Dani will convince readers that old movies can take one away from life’s troubles, that Rita Hayworth had glamour like no star before or since, and that black and white movies are far more elegant than color.

One more thing to like about this mystery for the middle grades is that there are no scenes to leave you wondering if they’re totally  appropriate for sixth graders, but there’s plenty of action and suspense to keep everyone turning pages.

Colorful photographs, well-placed text boxes, attractive type styles, and easy-to-read text, make this concise yet complete discussion of the Great Lakes easy to read and understand.  The author, Patricia Kummer, lives in Chicago and grew up spending summers on the beaches.  Her knowledge of and love for the area come through in this book.

The lakes in commerce,  research, ecology, art, recreation, poems, sculpture, and song (including, or course, the details of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald), kept me interested throughout.

A glossary, Fast Facts, easy-to-read index, and “Find Out More” pages will help researchers.  The listed web sites, including one on shipwrecks and another with up-to-date environmental information, should remain useful over many years.  This seems especially important in a book that will be used for reference.  The Great Lakes is a great addition to the Nature’s Wonders series.

Stephen Currie’s American History series Environmentalism in America examines the eras, events, and movements relating to ecology awareness, activism, and legislation. The 96 page book is a hardback, and a very typical school library historical short volume that expands on information commonly found in high school history textbooks. Currie gives a brief but solid historical perspective of the subject that has ultimately created and shaped public opinion and activism as well as governmental public policy regarding local and national ecology issues. Overall, this is a well-written but brief informational book.

These Bible stories are short, one to three pages, with simple, colorful illustrations.  The table of contents does a nice of dividing the stories between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which each story titled in bold face type with a brief explanation of what the story is about, and then the book and verse of the Bible in which you’d find the passage.  The only problem is that the stories are blah and somewhat boring–‘he said, she said,and then this happened.’  No explanation of why, no reaction from the people of God, pretty much ‘just because God said so.’  I understand that this is the Bible and all and that people aren’t supposed to question the word of God, however, I think that this was a missed opportunity of what the intention here should be–explain how the Bible or at least particular story pertains to them and how it can be interpreted for today.

Tumtum & Nutmeg, the mice who live at Rose Cottage, are back with three separate stories: A Christmas Adventure, A Seaside Surprise, and A Circus Adventure.  All three stories include Lucy and Arthur, the human children who also live at Rose Cottage with their neglectful father.  Tumtum & Nutmeg are the rock that anchors everyones lives.  They make sure the children have Christmas presents, they take care of their neighbors and get them out of predicaments–they are like the gramma and grampa everyone wishes they had.  A truly comforting book.