What happens when 10 different pigs bring their favorite foods to add to a sandwich?  Using slant rhyme, Derek Anderson builds suspense as each pig throws in their item to become a towering meal.  When the 11th pigs shows up, every pig is stopped in its tracks as there should only be 10 pigs total.  What’s a wolf doing there?  A silly ending is only the downfall of this super cute read, well maybe that and the choppy cadence.  Still, the illustrations are amazing and will carry the story in young kids’ minds.  Illustrator Derek Anderson, of Hot Rod Hamster fame, has produced his second “pig” book incorporating his own writing with his fabulous illustrations.    Most kids will enjoy Ten Hungry Pigs.

The title and cover of Manners Are Not For Monkeys will draw young readers into this book instantly.  I mean, who doesn’t like to see monkeys behaving badly?  But the problem is that after a move to a cage near the children’s playground, the monkeys do the exact opposite.  They start mimicking the children and use their manners.  Their mother can’t stand this and orders then to chew with open mouths, screech loudly, drop food on the ground and swing around crazily.  The little twist at the end of the story is a perfect finish for this fun review of good manners.  Full-color illustration throughout, though this reader thinks they could be “cuter” — maybe cuter wouldn’t match the message.  Regardless, it will be entertaining and is a worthy purchase if you have additional funds.

Well woven biographical sketches and social history lessons will open many eyes of students who pick up LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field.  Author Kirstin Cronn-Mills was able to capture both the agony and pride these athletes have felt in such a variety of sports.  The unfortunate reality is that their athleticism is shadowed by their sexual orientation, whether they come out while still participating or in retirement, is surprisingly sad.  Cronns-Mills portrays each athlete as the human being they are, with the same rights as the next person, yet those rights have to be fought for in court and in the court of people’s hearts.  Gatekeepers are being challenged and toppled, from Major League teams to K-12 education policies.  LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field should make lists of recommended books for libraries for its well-rounded, primary source filled coverage of the issue.

Josh Baster states he’s the new kid in the “new town, new house, new school. And no player’s guide to give me the tips and tricks I need to make it through the year. This is one game I have to figure out how to beat on my own.” (1)

Josh eats, sleeps, and lives video games. It is not the best way to influence people. On the first day, Josh has a run-in with the top football player Schmittendorf, Josh’s new bully, whom the entire school is counting on to win the big football rivalry game for them.  Bad grades at mid-term  Josh’s mother takes away all of his video games and computer until the end of the quarter. “In every adventure game the character starts out at the bottom. A level-one scrub. No skills, powers, or magic items. And if I want to reach the top, to become the hero who could get the grades, beat the bullies, and maybe even impress the princess, there’s only one way. I have to grind my way through the levels. I need to learn the rulebook, earn the experience points, max out my stats, and level up.

I’ve been playing not to lose. It’s time to play to win.” (35)

This is how Josh acts and reacts to all of his real life situations, by comparing them to how videos games work. What would various video game characters do in this or that situation?  The reference to evolving his math skills to Pokemon, made me chuckle. When Josh takes the advice of one character to stand up to bullies, Josh gets into it verbally with ‘Mittens’, who hits Josh in the head before teachers arrive on the scene. Both Josh and Mittens get detention. This means Mittens won’t being playing in the big football game. When the school looses the football game, the entire school seems to turn against Josh.

On the up side, this middle school holds a Video Game Decathlon as a fund raiser for the class trip each spring.  Josh’s new  student English tutor and her friends (the geeks of this story) want to win this year! Mittens and his video gaming group are able to turn the Video Game Decathlon theme into video sports games, which of course Josh’s new friends know basically nothing about. Josh convinces his new friends, one at a time, to enter the Video Game Decathlon because of his knowledge of sports gaming.  When they win the Video Game Decathlon, Mittens is a gracious loser, a true sport.

The video gaming terms and themes give this book a fresh approach to school life and bullying!

Morgan is a rule breaker.  And a liar.  And a thief.  And her parents have had enough.  When the opportunity comes for them to send her to a “reform” school of sorts, she can’t believe her dad locked the door of the car after she gets out to walk into the airport. But Morgan is also super smart.  And a quick thinker. And can make it on her own.  Even if it means “borrowing” someone’s identity to fly across the country and become a girl named Janelle for the fall.  In this new identity, Morgan will continue to lie, manipulate and theve herself into the people’s good graces, but how long can Morgan keep up the act without being caught?  Don’t You Trust Me is a fast-paced, though slightly far-fetched quick read for girls.  G-rated, this could easily stretch down to middle school as an additional purchase.

This is the first book in the BOB AND TWEET series. The mob of Bobs are slobs, but one Bob (#7- Dean) is not a slob.The Bobs have been requested to move to a new neighborhood. They do not mind. The fleet of  Tweets are very neat, all but one Tweet (#7- Lou). The Tweets move, too. They move right next to the Bobs. After the Tweets clean, exercise, and do yoga, they decide to bicycle down to the swimming pool to swim 100 laps. After the Bobs finally wake up at noon, they decide to go to the swimming pool with their gear meant for the beach- jet ski and BBQ. The Bobs swamp the Tweets who are swimming laps. An argument arises. During the parents’ argument Lou Tweet meets Dean Bob. They discover they have been deceived by the same realtor as to where to move. Then, life guard Mark combs his hair, puts down his cell phone, divides the pool into two sections, and stops the families’ fighting with the Tweets on the right and the Bobs on the left.

” ‘Phew,’ says Dean Bob. ‘I am glad Mark helped out.

I get really stressed when my Bobs start to shout.’

‘I agree,’ says Lou Tweet. ‘I am glad Mark came through.

Most of all I am happy I got to meet you. ” (67)

Both families leave he pool to continue their opposing life styles, but Dean and Lou promise to see each other again tomorrow.

This story has nine short chapters, told in rhyme. The rhyme and zany illustrations are very reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’ style.

The chapter titles definitely state the main idea for each chapter.

Bright bold colors delight the eye of the reader as they follow two bugs with BIG eyes on their first trip to the beach.

Bitsy Bug and Busy Bug build a big sand castle. Then, a ” Bird Bug swoops down. It lands on the castle…It comes down with a crash.” Bitsy and Busy will build again later, for now, they will play in the water.

All the critters are bugs in this world. The dolphins and birds are bugs having antennae with with red knobs. Cute!

Written in very large font, with three or four lines of text per page.

Snail loves his bucket! It has everything he needs and he never, ever, ever, has to leave – no matter how many times Ladybug asks. Until…one day, the farmer picks up his bucket, Snail is dumped out and the adventure begins!

He tastes so many amazing new foods, like pea pods and beets and, best of all, strawberries! He meets new friends, like Gopher and Rabbit. But, disaster strikes and his day becomes terrible (for a few minutes) when he bites a REALLY hot pepper. But, Ladybug and Rabbit save the day – finding Snail’s bucket home, which is now filled with strawberries. Life is good!

This book is a great one for those readers who are ready for a little more that the average picture book. It’s a bit longer, with word bubbles and cartoon-like illustrations. Hopefully, this is the beginning of many adventures for Snail and his friends. Recommended

What a lovely book! The sweet adventures of Lucy and her friends are told in three stories – “The Snack”, “The Treasure Hunt” and “The Hatchlings”. Friendship, fun and a few surprises are detailed in simple language with beautiful accompanying illustrations.

There is a labeled map of their home, reminiscent of Pooh’s Hundred
Acre Woods. Young readers will enjoy referring to it as they move through the three stories, each with a mild conflict that is resolved in a delightful manner. Highly Recommended!

Megafast Motorcycles starts with a general description of what the term “megafast motorcycle” means and then moves on to a two page spread detailing a variety of motorcycles that fit within that term. Sidebars, located on the right side of each spread gives information like power, spead, engine size, price, et cetera that can be compared to other motorcycles in the book.

The photos are edgy and some are blurred to give the impression of speed, which can also be a distraction. There is a glossary, index and table of contents, which are helpful.

Middle grade readers might enjoy this book, but I would make it an additional purchase. Only your real gearheads will care about the torque and engine size of any given bike. Look for books with a wider potential audience.