What is it like to live in a warzone? And what if that war isn’t one you’re fighting?  The tiny island of Saipan was caught in the middle of World War II.  Its residents had to navigate tricky relationships with the Japanese and Americans, as the two countries fought their deadly war.  This is the story of two islanders during those events.  Recommended for collections serving young people, particularly because of its unique topic and setting.

It can be hard to make friends when you move to a new town. When Teddy moves to Richland, he finds himself playing with a series of kids who just… disappear.  And you know how strange noises can make it hard to sleep in a new space?  The tree outside of Teddy’s room seems to be getting more aggressive in its scratching against his window.  This relatively slim volume combines horror and historical fiction in a story that will delight and terrify its readers.  Teddy is an accessible everykid, and his plight is believable and eerie.  Recommended as a strong entry into middle grade collections everywhere.

Where does an author get his or her ideas? What is a day in the life of an author like? This picture book helps to answer those questions by way of a dog.

The author in this book works from home. Her dog is there with her from the waking of each day, to her getting dressed, to her writing at her desk and tossing away drafts, to staring out the window at the world outside, until finally it is time for the dog’s walk. Here the dog helps the author come across possible things to write about. Then, they go home for dinner. Sometimes the author gets an idea at night when everyone else is asleep. “So one light comes on. And the author sits up and writes.”  Then one day, “The dog knows something is different.” He gets left at home “because it’s Author Day at Fred C. Underhill School!” with autographs and book signings. The author leaves telling the boys and girls they are all authors, too. Then it is back home to her dog who is waiting for her.

The story is understandable , but the text is halting at times and does not flow well. Steven Henry’s illustrations carry the story along during those times.

This biography for young readers is too simple. There are nine pages of text accompanied by nine pages of photographers and two maps. The pages of text average three sentences per page. There are thirty-one sentences in all, plus a time line.

The book tells where and when Amelia Earhart was born. It tells she was one of the first female flyers and that she flew across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Then, on her flight around the world, she missed her refueling stop in the Pacific. ” Amelia and her plane have never been found.” (18)

I hope someone at ABDO writes a biography on Amelia Earhart using the information found in the abdokids.com websites for an older audience.

The traditional tales of native peoples are a niche in our libraries which can sometimes be difficult to find.  This story offers an introduction which gives the reader a context for the tale, setting it within the tradition from which it comes.  The illustrations capture the adventurous nature of the story, drawing the reader in.

The real strength of this alphabet book lies in its illustrations, which are bright and stylized and incorporate each of the letters they are representing.  The text is somewhat limited in the information it provides, really more it spark one’s curiosity than to quench it.  It uses a lot of slang of the time and genre, which some readers may find confusing, but it includes a glossary of terms in the back to explain itself.  The two-page introduction at the beginning sets the stage for the rest of the book by offering a basic, straight-forward history of the development of jazz, which even made sense to this musically illiterate reader

On the one hand, when I was 10-12 years old,  I would have been delighted with this book, and anxious to try it all, and I know plenty of girls today who would like it, too.  On the other hand, reading it now as an adult, I can imagine my mom would’ve been very discouraging to my youthful enthusiasm, and now I understand why.  The crafts that are included require expensive and hard to locate items (although, to the book’s credit, they do offer suggestions of where to locate the more obscure items), and are unlikely to turn out quite so tidily as those in the photos.  It would have been helpful if the step-by-step directions included more photo support.

The story is that of the Biblical narration of the first Christmas, with some elaboration to add dialogue and expand on the setting.  What really recommends it are the illustrations — they’re beautiful, full of rich colors and soft edges.

It tells the story behind the creation of the famous Christmas carol, setting the scene in an Austrian village in the early nineteenth century, where the people are downtrodden by war and cold.  It tells a bit about the background of the writer and composer who collaborated to create it, and it tells a bit of how it spread around the world.  The illustrations suit the tone and era of the story.  But it’s not told in the most direct manor, and I’m not sure there’s enough here to compel young readers to be interested.

I don’t know if it’s a problem with the translation, or if it’s the fault of the editor, or if it’s just a cultural difference in story telling.  According to the information on the dust jacket, there are thirteen books published in this series in Japan, which would seem to indicate it was  popular there.  The illustrations are cute, and will attract certain readers, but the story really rambles.  It’s essentially about a community effort to raise funds to restore an old abandoned house that had once been a cafe.  They hold a homemade cake contest, selling pieces of the entries to raise money, then they all work together to rebuild the house, and everyone made themselves at home as they liked.  Except it took a long time to tell it, and the reader is never really sure what the point is.