My Double Life is a Cinderella story in modern dress.  Alexia Garcia is a smart teenage Latina who gets good grades and has her sights set on a scholarship to a good college.  She’s also a perfect look-alike for teen rock star Kari Kingsley.  Alexia, with plain brown hair and little makeup,  is trying to work up the courage to ask a popular boy to the Sadie Hawkins dance, when she’s suddenly swept away to sunny California to be a body-double for the glamorous Miss Kingsley.  A new cut and color, dance classes, an unlimited clothing budget, and a skill for lip synching, and soon Alexia is earning tons of money by being Kari at mall openings, parades, fairs and rodeos.

This book takes you away to rock stardom, both the glamour and the hard work, but  Alexia struggles to stay true to herself while being someone else.  As with Cinderella, you know there’ll be a happy ending, but I couldn’t put it down until I found out how things would work out.  Teens will love this book, and parents will too as Alexia’s rock and roll story doesn’t include sex or drugs.

In this wordless picture book by father/daughter duo Marije and Ronald Tolman, a polar bear and a brown bear float across the sea and come across a beautiful tree, with a perfect tree house built into the branches.  The two bears make their home in the tree, the seasons pass, and other animal friends come and go.  With what looks like crayon, colored pencil, ink, and watercolor, the artists have created a true work of art on each and every page of this book.  The gently changing the colors of the pages and careful detailing of each animal character create a serene mood of harmony and peace, and the complete lack of words invites the reader to create his or her own story to accompany the exquisite artwork.   Highly recommended for all school and public library collections.

Originally published in the Netherlands, Marijke ten Cate’s playful picture book is a new take on the traditional “getting dressed” story.  A little boy gets out of the bath, and can’t find his underpants!  Of course, finding one’s underpants is made considerably more difficult when one has to search through a cluttered room filled with an alligator taking a bath, a baby chasing a cat, and mice climbing ladders.  The author’s playful illustrations take the reader through an interactive journey through finding the boy’s clothing in his messy environment, and getting dressed and ready to play outside.  Perfect for preschoolers who love “I Spy” and “Where’s Waldo”, the busy scenes are gently rendered and full of life.  Parents and teachers should know that the first page features a young boy wearing no underpants, so this book might not be suitable if nudity is a concern.

Eighth grade classmates Jaya, Maria, and Lola, all immigrants from different countries, find each other in a small town in New Jersey.  Each young lady brings her own personal struggle blending into the mix of the school.  Each of their mothers is a nanny/maid, also struggling against money worries and false accusations.  This is a great book to illustrate the unfairness of preconceived notions about minorities.

The author of this book feels it is his duty to point out  hoaxes on the subject of UFOs and aliens. If  in fact they are hoaxes, that’s fine, but  this reviewer thinks the book is biased or at least sarcastically written. Here are a few points:

page 18- “Over the years, plenty of photos have seemed to prove that UFOs really exit. The trouble is, you don’t have to look hard to see that the photos are fakes!”

page 16- “This photo shows a mock-up of an alien said (wrongly) to have been taken alive from the crashed Roswell UFO.”

page 4- “Alien landing strips During the 1970s, some people thought (wrongly) that the Nazca Lines of Peru were alien landing strips. It seems that aliens had been visiting Earth for thousands of years!”

page 27- “No explanation The strange events on the first night in Rendlesham Forest have never been explained. BUT, no one has ever come up with any evidence that they were caused by a UFO.”

Young readers will find out “What is  a wildfire?”, “What causes wildfires?’, “Wildfire safety”, and “Fighting wildfires”.

9″ x 11″ color photos provide visual clarification for the text from a brush fire, to a campfire, to creating a fire break.

Lexile: 460 L

Part of the series-  Exploring Countries– this  Level 5: Fluent Readers book gives a clear but brief overview of Japan: ” Where Is Japan?”, “The Land”, “Volcanoes and Earthquakes”, “Wildlife”, “The People”, “Daily Life”, and  “Going to School” to list a few.

Includes Fun Facts or Did You Know on each turn of the page, such as this one from page 9,  “An earthquake happens somewhere in Japan every day. The country experiences up to 1,500 earthquakes each year.”

Also includes: Fast Facts, Glossary, Index

If you have students who are looking for books to help them select the perfect pet, then add this book to your collection.

Authors Charles and Linda George inform the reader on important aspects prospective dog owners should know before purchasing a dog, such as:  “How Big do Beagles Get?’, “Brushing Hair and Clipping Nails”, “Make Room for Your Beagle!”, “Loyal Friends”, “Curious About Everything!”, and “Taking Care of Your Beagle Puppy” to name a few sections in this book. Each page includes a “Fast Fact” such as this one from page 25: “If you’ve been away for a while, get ready to be licked and pawed when you get home.”

Lexile: 660 L

Author Matt Haig won UK’s prestigious Nestle Children’s Book Prize with the book Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest (titled Shadow Forest).  In this sequel, we find Troll-Son threatened to be sent to the Betterer–a troll feared by all troll children–and he runs away to Samuel Blink, his human friend-hero.  Troll-Son is part of a family of four trolls: Troll-Father, Troll-Mother, Troll-Daughter, and himself.  They all must share one eyeball.  It has become difficult for Troll-Father and Troll-Son to hunt rabbits and they’ve had to come home empty-handed.  Troll-Mother thinks it’s just laziness and she decides to send Troll-Son to the Betterer so that he can learn how to work harder.  The Betterer (a troll who once actually thought he was human and so he thinks he is ‘better’ than the ordinary trolls) is feared by all, but especially the troll children.  Rather than have to endure bettering, Troll-Son takes the family eye and heads to where Samuel Blink lives.  Here is where the background knowledge from the prior book would be helpful, but it’s not necessary in order to get what’s happening.  When he arrives, it’s a surprise to Samuel, who has to hurry to hide him.  His sister has made friends at school with the daughter of the village’s richest man and who is also the sworn enemy of his Uncle Henrik.  He would love nothing better than to find a troll at Samuel’s house so that he can get him in trouble, and has sent his daughter to do his spying for him.  Poor Samuel is trying to save his aunt and uncle (with whom he and his sister now live since their parents died) from this evil man, while in the meantime Troll-Father, who is eyeless, and the Betterer are on Troll-Son’s trail, intent to bring him back to the forest.  Samuel is torn between saving his aunt and uncle and saving the troll who sees him as a hero.  Readers with strong visualization will be able to see the setting and characters clearly.  Lots of action and the realization of just what makes a hero are strong.  Highly recommended.

This graphic novel is an entertaining Arthur story with an excellent historical/literary introduction that separates fact from myth surrounding the character of Arthur.  This tale has fantastical creatures, battles, intrigue, magic, heroism and villains.  There are a few spots in the story that are a bit confusing in terms of following the text bubbles in coordination with the illustrations.  On occasion, the text refers to a picture on the previous page which is a bit awkward.  Generally speaking however, the story flows well and held my attention and interest.  I would recommend this book, especially as an introduction to the tales of Arthur for the reluctant reader.