I love this book! I promptly bought it for my first-grade niece for Christmas and recommended it to several friends.  The illustrations are fun, and the rhyming, rhythmical text carries a great message:  it celebrates all the things a girl can do, even while delighting in wearing a sparkly crown, including getting dirty, playing sports, and using power tools.  It simply broadens the view of what it can mean to be a princess.

Designed for beginning readers and language learners, this bilingual books shares very basic information about ballet.  A few simple sentences on each page are accompanied by full-page color photos supporting the text with images of diverse dancers.  It includes all the appropriate non-fiction text features for teaching purposes, it is a high-interest topic attractive enough to appeal to recreational readers, and it has enough structure to make the information accessible to emergent readers and language learners.

This sweet story begins when Santa returns from making his annual deliveries with one little kitten left over.  Like a child asking his mom, Santa asks Mrs. Clause, “Can we keep him?”  Unfortunately Mrs. Clause is left to be the voice of reason, reminding Santa of his allergies.  When Santa goes to review his letters, the romping kitten discovers one last lost letter under the desk.  In a neat and tidy Christmas ending, the problem of finding the kitten a home and the problem of finding a last-minute gift for the child who sent the letter are mutually resolved to the delight of both kitten and child.  Admittedly schmaltzy, sappy, and sentimental, it might have only ranked as an additional purchase, except sap and schmaltz is just what the Christmas season calls for, and besides, the illustrations do such a wonderful job of capturing the expressions of the characters, that it gets the final nudge into “Recommended.”

From the opening pages, the reader experiences the sharp contrast between 17 year old Delilan and her workaholic, unemotional, always in charge mother. Unjustifiably labeled as a troublemaking teenager, Delilah struggles with memories of  her childhood, years of loneliness she experienced as a latch key kid, and the ‘what if’s’ of the father she never knew.

Unexpectedly called back to her mother’s home town by the death of Delilah’s  grandmother from whom her mother has been estranged for eight years, Delilah re-enters a world she has longed for. Upon arriving back to the lake house in rural Vermont, Delilah is full of questions that her mother and aunt will not answer: Why did her mom and aunt and Grandma get in a huge fight on the dad of her Grandpa’s funeral?’ Why didn’t her Grandma ever try to get in contact with her?

Adding to the suspense is the mystery of her youngest aunt’s death at the age of 19, less than a year before Delilah was born.  Why won’t her mother, aunt or other family friends tell her the details of what happened to Aunt Stephanie? Why doesn’t anyone have her diary, and why are there no photos of her?

While helping her mother and aunt with estate sale and funeral preparations, Delilah reconnects with her childhood friend who lives in the house next door to her grandmother. This childhood friend, who she hasn’t seen or talked to in eight years, is now a handsome 18 yr. old young man.

The story of their rekindled friendship, her rebuilding of her relationship with her aunt, and the search for answers to the mysteries of the family history makes this an intriguing and compelling book.

This is a well written book, with characters and situations that teens and adults alike can relate to.

This book, written and published in Canada, tells how to recognize, share, and enjoy public spaces.  Because it’s a book for young people, it addresses the need kids have for spaces to hang out, visit friends, ride bikes, and play Frisbee.

The author admits that kids who are “just hanging out” aren’t always popular in cities or parks, and often for good reason.  Her tips for becoming good neighbors include getting in touch with local government to learn the rules for a park or plaza, and how to advocate for change if you feel that the rules aren’t fair.  Some examples of successful projects, like a skateboard park, are included.

From city planners to “guerrilla gardeners,” to examples of notable public areas in other countries, there is a lot of information in the book’s 80 pages.  A glossary helps to understand unfamiliar words, and Marc Ngui’s realistic drawings throughout are exceptional.

Apparently this book is an adaptation of a musical stage production which in turn is an adaptation of the classic ballet.  The CD included begins by reading the book aloud, and also includes songs from the musical.  I don’t know that I’m much of a fan of the music (though maybe it would be better in context), but I quite enjoyed all aspects of the book: story, illustrations, and audio, too.  One probably has to be familiar with the original story to appreciate this modern twist with a male protagonist and a female nutcracker.  It opens when Fritz gets in trouble and has his Mouse Hunter video game taken away, and sentenced to stay at home being baby-sat by the neighbor, Mr. Drosselmeier, while the rest of his family go out to see the Nutcracker ballet.  After sneaking into the closet where his video game has been stashed, Fritz plays so much he finds himself taking on the Mouse King himself.  When the Nutcracker comes to his aid, together they pursue the Mouse King to Toy Town to keep him from ruining Christmas, and after many adventures mirroring those of the original ballet, Fritz finds himself waking from his dream at home, as everyone troops in for their Christmas festivities.

The only thing I like about this book is the reinforced library binding.  The craft projects seem a bit lame, their connections to the states a bit tenuous, and the information about the states a bit redundant and dull.  Sorry, but that’s kinda all I have to say.

Is it still called a graphic novel if it’s only as long as a picture book?  This mystery is set in Mr. Venezi’s pet shop, where all the cages are mislabeled, except that of the guinea pig.  When the crash of the door one evening knocks the G off the end of the guinea pig’s sign, the new hamster on the block mistakenly thinks he’s a P.I.  Sasspants is really only interested in returning peacefully to his cage full of books, but the young hamster won’t stop pestering him until he fulfills his duty as local P.I. and solves the mystery of who has been eating the pet store owner’s sandwich each day.  The pestering hamster becomes the begrudging P.I.’s sidekick as they interview witnesses, test hypothesis, and set a trap to catch the culprit.  It’s a cute introduction to both the graphic novel format and the mystery genre for young readers.  It’s got a good, sturdy binding, and it finishes off with a couple pages in the back to offer a brief,kid-friendly, non-fiction explanation about the animals featured in the story.  It’s the first in what I presume will be a series for the Pet Shop Private Eye.  For now I’m calling it an additional purchase, but I reserve the right to come back and edit my review (possibly bumping it up to recommended) after I see how it goes over with the kids.

Wow!  Labrador Retrievers are the most popular dogs, the easiest to train, smart, most loyal, and hardest working dogs.  Traditionally a dog for hunters, Labs would retrieve the animal or bird shot.  Labs make excellent pets for children as they won’t bite, and can be trained as service/guide dogs as well as for other jobs.  It’s interesting to be able to compare a Lab to other breeds.  All breeds have something worthwhile, but also something you have to learn to either love or put up with.  Labs seem to be well-suited for just about any situation, just be prepared to take care of it, and they will be your best friend for life.

Yorkshire Terriers, originally from Yorkshire, England, are dogs with attitude.  Small dogs, they think they’re actually big dogs.  They are difficult to train and patience is required in teaching them appropriate behavior.  But once learned, Yorkies are loyal companions.  Yorkies are hypoallergenic but need daily grooming to keep their hair manageable.  Photos are terrific.