In book two of this series, the war continues with between the robots. Erin and Nick are two human children raised by robot parents. Erin and Nick, with Ava and Jackson, the illegal robot children in which the parents made, take their robot parents on the run to escape from the killer robots. The family arrives in the forest near a maze of caves where they meet Lida Mae.

The robot father connects to the internet which allows the killer robots to track their location. When the robots come for the family, the parents shut down so they can’t be tracked which leaves the kids on the run through the caves. They discover a cavern that is for robots only. Ava connects and learns there are baby robots in the cave that have the ability to grow as humans do. Eventually the killer robots surround the kids within the cave and prepare to kill everyone, human and robot. However, Erin comes up with a plan to connect her robot sister, Ava, to a killer robot and reprogram the killer robot with kindness. Because the killer robots are all internet connected, they all reprogram to see the good in the world.

When eight-year-old Anna Wang is given several packets of seeds and a copy of The Secret Garden by an elderly neighbor, she becomes intent on growing a garden of her own in the yard of her family’s new home. She meets Laura, also a new girl in the neighborhood, and together they start the work of plotting the land and turning the soil.  In this prequel to The Year of the Book, you can join Anna in a year of discovery, new beginnings, friendships, and growth.  Patrice Barton’s softly blended monochromatic illustrations match the delicacy of the text. Fans of Anna and Laura’s adventures will enjoy seeing the beginning of the girls’ friendship.

The opening line of text declares, “I love round things.”  And the rest of the text goes on to describe why, and to share different examples of roundness and why it’s to be admired, but there is definitely some artistic license taken with the term “round,” making this more a poetic ode to that which is (at least somewhat) round, rather than a true concept book that sticks to accurate examples of the true geometric term “round.”  Seeds and eggs are used as examples of round, and those pictured are, but not all eggs or seeds are round.  The mushrooms pictured, though rounded on top, are not truly round; neither are the rocks that have been smoothed by the sea.  More detailed paragraphs in the back share why rounded shapes are beneficial to the examples shared, but again the term is used loosely.

I LOVE the illustrations!  They are rich and detailed and evoke a certain fairy-tale element to the setting.  Cleonardo is a young inventory is a family line of inventors, daughter of Geonardo and granddaughter of Leonardo.  With the town’s Grand Festival of Inventions approaching, Cleo is determined to help her father, but though indulgent, he’s a bit dismissive, sending her off out of his way.  With her grandfather’s help, Cleo sets up hr own workshop in the woods to design her own project.  On the day of the great festival, when her dad’s project runs into trouble, it’s Cleo’s inventions that help to save the day, and “From then on father and daughter always worked…side by side.”

With bright, bold, graphic illustrations and rhyming text, this is a good introductory book for young children about different animal traits.  The text in the main body of the book doesn’t even specify the animals in question: some animals wear hair and some animals wear scales…but it’s up to the reader to look at the illustrations for examples of just what animals fit each description.  A good opportunity for letting young students see which animals they can identify by sight.  In the back, brief paragraphs go into more details, naming the animals pictured earlier in the book and explaining why they need the specified trait.  Not dense with information, but still a good introduction.

The text is simple, as is the bright artwork, but the message is profound:  it’s okay to be different, and to be friends with those who don’t fit in with the crowd. Colin is carrot, and so very different than all of Lee’s other pea friends.  But his differences prove to be what allows him to bring unique talents to the group.

An introductory page how animals develop certain traits in order to meet their survival needs.  It specifically describes convergent evolution: when animals who aren’t even related to each other develop the same or similar traits, due to similar environmental needs. Each two-page spread is dedicated to a particular trait, and how two different animals use that trait for survival.  A final paragraph on each page contrasts the two animals, explaining how they can share similar traits even if they’re not actually closely related.  All of this is illustrated with large color photos that support the text well.

The soft illustrations of friendly forest animals trying to encourage and console and help their friend Badger are charming.  And the story is one that so many of us (children and teachers alike) here in the Northwest and relate to — the anxious anticipation in waiting for snow that is not coming.  They come up with all sorts of ideas, from throwing stones at the sky to punch holes in the clouds, to performing a snow dance, to wearing their pajamas backwards.  Nothing seems to work, but throughout Hedgehog keeps trying to remind his friends that crocuses always bloom in spring, and the sun rises every day, and the stars shine every night; though they always come in their own time.  So eventually the band of friends realize that the snow also will come in its own time, and they’ll just have to wait.