The new Piper Morgan series fills a niche for those young girls living in a single-parent family, where they are the only child and there is no father in the picture. Piper is most likely in the 5-8 year age range, is eager to please, wants to make friends, and jumps to conclusions – be they right or wrong. Piper’s mother works out of a ‘Temp’ agency which takes her and Piper to many different places. Piper’s big hope is that her mother will finally get a job where they will be able to stay in one place for a long time.

As book #2 opens, Piper’s mother has taken on her latest temp job working on a project in a school office. Piper might get to help around the school as a Helper Bee, when not in class. Piper is introduced to her new class. She will be sitting next to Lily, the principal’s daughter, who is also a Helper Bee.

Nana and Piper make cookies for Piper to give to the principal. When the cookies disappear, Piper blames Lily. Later, when Lily and Piper are yelling at each other Piper’s mother is able to get Lily to explain how she hid the cookies in a classroom. Meanwhile, Lily’s father had already found the missing cookies. It seems Piper and Lily both wanted to be the best Helper Bees.

In the end, Piper finds the “I’m sorry” card Lily made for her.

At the end of each of the ten chapters, there is a “Class Fact” page of trivia about the topic of interest from that chapter.  At the end of chapter 5, the Class Fact deal with how to tell if someone is lying. While at the end of chapter 8, the Class Fact deals with how to say you’re sorry and after chapter 9, it deals with famous artists.

Lucy Fleming has two or three gray-toned pencil illustrations for each chapter.

Named one of “13 Detective Book Series You Obsessed over as a Kid” by Buzzfeed.com and the inspiration for a hit Disney film, the masterful Great Mouse Detective series is now available to a whole new generation of readers!

Basil the mouse detective sets off on a journey to solve one of the greatest mysteries of mousedom: Do miniature cats exist? Leading mouse scientists aren’t certain, but they believe that answers can be found in India. As Basil sets sail for the Far East-and the lost island of Kataarh-danger stalks him at every turn. Will Basil successfully unravel the mystery of these mini-cats and their mouse king?

Written on a 5.2 AR level, advanced second and third grade readers would enjoy this book. May not appeal to the older middle grade readers; seen as “too young.” Nice illustrations, well paced, interesting.

This is the second book in a hilarious new monster adventure series. With fresh, funny illustrations on every page, this is perfect for fans of comics and graphic novels aged 8 and over.

Jack Sullivan, originally introduced in The Last Kids on Earth, is back! It’s still TOTAL MONSTER ZOMBIE CHAOS on the streets, but now Jack has a gang of friends to help him through – science genius and best friend Quint, super-strong Dirk and all-round coolest girl ever, June. Not to mention Rover, Jack’s awesome monster pet! Along the way this group encounters a lot more than they bargained for, including a giant Wormungulous, a pizza parlor monster hangout, an ancient evil who destroys worlds, and a stereo system that is totally the bomb. Can Jack figure out why the zombies are vanishing . . . before he and his friends are next?

Mr. Andre’s class is going on a nature walk, but first they must feed and water the class gecko, Jojo.  On their walk, Mr. Andrew and the students observe the similarities between Jojo and the plants and animals they see.  These observations lead the students to identifying patterns in the nature they see around them.  As they return to their class, they summarize their learning before saying goodbye to Jojo and heading home.  The story line is contrived but the connections the students draw fit well with the Next Generation Science Standards concepts.

Contains Table of Contents, Nature Treasure Hunt Activity, Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

This informational book introduces basic facts about bighorn sheep such as their appearance, size, food, ewes vs. rams, predators, and information about babies. Each page spread contains large photos that supports the information stated. Charts are found throughout this book emphasizing the content. This book contains a table of contents, glossary, index, and library reference information.

This informational book introduces basic facts about unique mammals such as pangolins, bats, sloths, monkeys, lemurs, moles and more. Mammal facts are also explained. Most page spreads contain a full page photo that supports the information stated. This book contains a table of contents, “which is stranger” page, “top 5 facts” page, “record holders” page, “animal crack-ups” page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address.

This informational book introduces basic facts about jellyfish such as their appearance, size, body parts, food and eating habits, and information about baby jellyfish. Each page spread contains a full page photo that supports the information stated. This book contains a table of contents, more facts page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address code.

This informational book introduces basic facts about Jupiter such as its location to the sun, orbit around the sun, the speed of its spin, size, and more. Each page spread contains a full page photo that supports the information stated. Although this book is basic, the facts stated are very interesting and thought provoking. This book contains a table of contents, more facts page, glossary, index and a publisher sponsored web address.

This informational book describes the physical characteristics, habitat, and behavior of rabbits. Full page, color photos accompany each page spread demonstrating the information being reported.

The art of storytelling is celebrated as a life-giving force in this enthralling picture book set in Morocco.

A nameless, thirsty boy meets a storyteller and is drawn to return day after day to listen to intricately linked stories and to learn the older man’s art. The stories bring not only sustenance to the boy’s inner life, but water to his lips, for in this world, storytelling and water are symbolically connected. Stories will ward off the great drought if the Sahara encroaches on the cities, but only if young people keep the tradition alive. And so, in the manner of Scheherazade, the stories unfold, and the protagonist retells the story of the boy who saved the city from the sandstorm that arrived as a large djinn by telling him a story, day by day. The life force of cool blue water appears in the illustrations, the antithesis of the destructive brown sand. Beautiful swirls of blue dominate many of the intricately bordered double-page spreads, fighting against the tans and browns of the djinn and the sands he represents. Each spread takes on a life of its own, sometimes highly geometric, other times full of swiftly crayon-drawn individuals, and still others with heavily inked and outlined figures.  Vibrant picture book!