The  ‘Brands We Know’ series provides readers with a history of world famous Pokémon. This book is strictly facts. Instructions for games are not included or hinted upon.

Pokémon began as three Japanese companies for video games, card games , and television shows and movies: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, Inc. Pokémon was first released in Japan, then two years later in the United States of America.

Players battle wild Pokémon and trainers, gaining extra speed and strength, then come to gyms, and evolve into different characters.  “Every few years, a new generation of Pokémon games is released.”(12)There are seven generations  at time of publication.

In 2016, Pokémon Go was introduced to over one hundred countries and has been downloaded over six hundred million times. The Pokémon TV show airs in over one hundred countries and there are over twenty movies. “Pokémon brings people of all ages together for fun and friendship!” (19)

Includes:Table of Contents, Timeline, Glossary, www.factsurfer.com, and Index.

Pre schooler will enjoy this 18 page board book told in rhyme.

“Where did all the dinos go? Some say they vanished long ago.

But I’ll bet if we take a look,

We just might find some in THIS BOOK.”

The dinosaurs are finding in plain sight dressed as a city cowboy, a business man with a courier bag and another one wearing a neck tie. There is one driving a car. Another one is playing in the park, while others are wanting to share your ice cream cones.

Large bright colors.

“What’s the PEST going to eat NEXT?” beans? corn? peas? turnips?

There is a mole or gopher in the vegetable garden. First it eats all of the beans, then corn (sheep’s favorite-‘sniff’), then the peas –“YIPPEE!” , donkey doesn’t like peas. Before the pest strikes again duck comes up with a plan. Duck beats the pest at its own game by eating all of the turnips. When the pest leaves the farm, the animals replant the garden and build a fence.

Super BIG, simple illustrations with great facial expressions and minimal dialog.

Includes for parents a “get your child to read in three simple steps” chart.

Young readers are introduced to the concept of traveling long distances  by train through a series of outdoor photos of trains in the United States of America, Korea, and Australia. There are also photos of people eating in a dining car, sleeping in a sleeper car , and sightseeing.

There are two sentences, in large font, on the left hand page accompanying  the full page photo on the right hand page.

Books contains : Table of Contents, 6 word Glossary with small photos, an Index, and “on the Web” www.factsurfer.com .

Set at Storm Cliff Stables, a camp “for girls crazy about horses” (4) Aunt Jane, the owner/director  of the camp, asks the camp girls to plan her wedding at the camp, when Aunt Jane announces she will be marrying Clyde in two days. Khadija, whose parents are currently in Pakistan for a wedding, is overjoyed to help. All the fun of planning a wedding, while learning about Khadija’s Pakistani Muslim culture, are rolled into one. Plus, there is the mystery of who seems to be thwarting Khadija’s plans for a Pakistani style wedding while also including Aunt Jane’s three requests: red velvet cake, flowers in her hair, and “to ride down the aisle[ in the horse arena] on Sapphire.” (26)

“Family isn’t just who you’re related to. It’s who you spend your time with and who you love to be around. I miss my family. I wish I could have been with them in Pakistan, but I’m thankful to be with my family here.” (111)

This book has all the fun of camp life, horses, and a wedding, to boot!

Each of the ten chapters has an illustration by Paula Franco

Bruno needs to take a bath. But, there is one problem…the whale in the bathtub! This whale loves bubble baths and warm water. He uses dad’s back scrubber and takes hours to bathe! What will Bruno do? He tries to tell his parents, sister and brother that a bath is out of the question because of the whale. But, they don’t believe him. Apparently, Bruno has told some tales before (involving a walrus and a bear).

In the end, it works out. The whale helps Bruno by giving him a shower – blowholes come in handy, don’t they? Bruno heads to bed and his mom says he smells a bit fishy (must be the krill). The last page will delight young readers as Bruno’s big sister enters the water-logged bathroom and gets a surprise!

Readers will enjoy the simple text and illustrations that fill the pages. This book will elicit some giggles and guffaws from kids that might just wish they had whales in their bathtubs! Recommended.

Engineer It! Bridge Projects is part of The Engineer It! series for budding civil engineers or any other kids that like to build and possibly, destroy popsicle stick, cardboard and clay structures. How cool is that?

The book opens with descriptions of several types of bridges, their uses and parts. The next section is the fun part – a list of possible materials and directions for five bridges that can be made with household items. The directions are clear with several accompanying photos to illustrate steps. Each bridge type has some extra information in boxes, ranging from added history to the physics of what makes that bridge work so well.

This is a wonderful addition to the STEAM classroom. Materials are readily available and inexpensive. It will lead to some amazing bridges and associated learning. Buy it! Highly Recommended.

Pig the pug is back in a sassy book about sore losers and cheaters – both are Pig. Pig can’t stand to lose and he will cheat to win or worse, cry and whine until the winner gives in. His friend, Trevor (a sweet-tempered dachshund) puts up with his terrible friend (apparently, dachshunds will be friends with anyone).

One evening, they were about to eat dinner when Pig yells that it is a contest to see who can eat fastest. Trevor doesn’t want to compete; he just wants to eat. But, Pig starts chomping down kibble and sausages and…his bowl! Thankfully, Trevor knows the Heimlich maneuver and saves Pig’s life, only to hear Pig screech “I win” just before said bowl hits him on the head (good riddance). The story ends with Pig (bandage on head) and Trevor playing a game of cards. Pig seems to be a much better sport now and has learned his lesson…or has he?

This book is a wonderful read-aloud and discussion starter with young children, some who probably could learn some lessons themselves from Pig the pug. The text is simple and rhyming and the illustrations are outrageous and fun. Kids will love this book and learn something along the way. Recommended

Thelma didn’t start out as a unicorn. She was a rather plain pony hanging out in a field with her friend, Otis the donkey. She was sad, though. She wanted so badly to be unicorn – beautiful, magical, sparkly and adored by all.

One day, she tied a carrot to her forehead and thought “I’ll say that I ‘m a unicorn. It might just work…who knows?” Well, just at that moment, a truck fortuitously loaded with pink paint and glitter happened to drive by and the driver was so startled by Thelma that he swerved and dumped paint and glitter on her!

Thelma was an instant star – a beautiful, glittery, pink unicorn. Life was wonderful…for awhile. She loved the attention and fame. But, it didn’t take long for Thelma to realize that her life was no longer her own. Her fans were a rabid lot, following her EVERYWHERE! And, some people were actually quite mean.

Thelma, the unicorn, wished she was back to being Thelma, the pony. So, she washed off all that paint and glitter and walked right past the crowd of fans to her friend, Otis. And, she told him that she would rather just be herself.

This is a lovely book about self-acceptance and true friendship. Thelma can teach kids a thing or two. The text is rhyming and the illustrations are hilarious. Kids will love Thelma, the pony – turned unicorn-turned back to pony! Recommended.

This book is part of the Cool Makerspace series and details the steps to making six pop-up projects using readily available tools and materials. It begins with a definition of the notion of ‘makerspace”. Following that are details about supplies, art tips and techniques. Projects are shown in six to seventeen steps, some with helpful color illustrations. Typical nonfiction elements of Table of contents, glossary and index are included.

Adult supervision might be necessary for the younger crowd as a craft knife is required for a few of the projects. Kids will love the ideas presented and can use them as jumping-off points for further crafty exploration of pop-ups. Recommended