Shadow Squadron is “- a top-secret special missions unit. Assembled by the United States’ Joint Special Operations Command, the unit was comprised of elite soldiers from the Navy SEALS, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and the Marine Special Operations Regiment…From one end of the world to the other, the team had showed up wherever the US government required military intervention but couldn’t act openly for tactical, political, or legal reasons.”  (p.12)

Carl Bowen sounds like he has a recipe for middle school-aged boys who want modern day adventure! The story is just shy of 100 pages, written in five chapters, has nine full-page color-graphic illustrations, uses military jargon / lingo – “boots on the ground”, and begins each chapter with what appears to be classified computer screen intelligence listed as “com chatter”.

As this book in the series begins, Shadow Squadron is introduced to its newest member of the team, who just happens to be a woman. They are briefed on a ‘blind’ mission which will be taking them to Northwest Africa to rescue Senator Barren’s kidnapped son. Once Shadow Squadron locates Jack Barron, they find out Jack has not been kidnapped, but instead wants to use money from his trust fund to pay protection money to keep a village safe. Shadow Squadron sends  Bubaga’s band of slavers away from the village. Fearing Bubaga’s retaliation on the village, Shadow Squadron makes a big show of leaving the area, only to ready themselves to defend the village and stop the protection racket. Once Bubaga is defeated at the village, the Shadow Squadron hands their intel over to the local Malian Army. The Malian Army will stop the slave ring and graciously take the credit because the Shadow Squadron was never really there.

Includes: Author Debriefing with questions and answers and a 12 page preview of another Shadow Squadron book – Dark Agent.

This 6.5″ X 7.5″ counting book is one of the BEST I have ever wanted to use with young children!

The top 2/3s of each page captures the word “Nature” from the book’s title with  a bright, colorful, close-up look of an item from nature just begging to be counted by the young reader: mushrooms, bird’s eggs, acorns, tulips, dewdrops, icicles, and 14 more.

Below the photo are two sentences. The first sentence includes the name of the item to be counted. The second sentence states the number of items to be counted. “Lotus seeds grow in a pod. This pod has 13 seeds.”  (p. 16)

Below the sentences is a thee part display:  gives a display of dots, followed by an “equal sign”, followed by the numeral, followed by an equal sign, followed by the numeral written as a word.        ***  =  3  =  three

Finally, across the bottom of each page is a number line from 1 to 20. The numeral for each page is highlighted with an arrow pointing to it from below. YES, this book does count to twenty!

The only down side of this book would be the color selection for the book’s front cover. Mauve  and pinks while attractive to an adult might not make the book jump out to the young reader.

The Nethergrim is an evil force once thought slain but now, after many decades, has reawakened; it is a force so strong that it can grant everlasting life to those who choose to worship it.  In order for life to be given to a chosen individual, life must be taken from elsewhere, namely seven children.  As children begin to disappear and the search for them uncovers unimaginable terrors, the stories of The Nethergrim resurface.  A  trio of three unlikely friends join forces to solve the mystery of this hideous monster and to save the children of the village.  For reasons of their own, each of these friends has something to prove, and together they are a force to be reckoned with.  The Nethergrim is very well written; it is thrilling, exciting, thoughtful, sad, and a real old-fashioned page turner.  I can’t wait to read the next installment.

On a rainy day in the jungle, four friends, a moose, a zebra, a lion, and a sheep, are looking for a warm, dry place to play.  They settle in a cave, unaware it is already occupied by a cranky, sleepy bear.  Back outside in the train, they discuss how to cheer up the bear so he will let them back in.  Thinking about what makes them happy, the zebra suggests making him stripes, the moose makes a pair of antlers, and the lion suggests a golden mane.  Sheep waits outside while they take the gifts inside.  A loud ROAR chases the animals back outside.  Bear looks hilarious in his new attire.  As he rips it off, he grumbles that he just wants a quiet place to sleep.  Sheep is the only one to empathize.  She shears off half her wool to make a pillow for the bear.  He cuddles down to sleep and the four friends return to the warm, dry cave to play a quiet game of cards.  Jaunty rhyming text is illustrated by large, colorfully expressive artwork.  A fun read-aloud and a visual treat.

An easy rhyme tells of the adventure of a curious cat.  While exploring outdoors, a gray cat curls up on a chair in the back of a pick-up truck.  “Shake cat.  Quake cat.  There must be some mistake cat.”  Ending up far from home, the cat injures a foot jumping out of the truck.  A woman finds the cat and takes it to a shelter where her foot is bandaged.  Meanwhile, the cat’s owner, a little girl, hangs posters advertising her lost cat.  Eventually, the cat is returned to happily cuddle with her girl.  “Wrap cat.  Lap cat.  The only way to nap cat.”  Pencil, watercolor, and acrylic illustrations are large, simple and colorful.  Digitally rendered, they show the emotions of this little cat’s adventure.

Hazel has waited forever for her baby brother to be born so she could read to him.  She practices with her stuffed bunny, Rodrigo.  When Edgar finally does arrive, Hazel thinks he’s not that much different from Rodrigo, or a watermelon!  so, she goes back to waiting. Eventually, Edgar says his first word, “No!”  He gets a lot of practice saying it as he says “No!” to everything Hazel suggests.  Mom records Edgar’s “firsts” as Hazel unceasingly tries to interest Edgar in anything.  One evening, ever-patient Hazel once again takes baby Edgar onto her lap to read a story.  Edgar cuddles in and listens.  When she finishes, it’s quiet.  Then Edgar says his second word, “Again”.  And his third word, “Again, ‘azel?” to which Hazel happily replies, “Again”.  This story certainly rings true to little ones learning a language and asserting their wishes.  Illustrations are colorful, uncomplicated, and are rendered digitally.

“Beautiful” and “dung beetles” may seem like an oxymoron, but dung beetles are considered “ancient symbols of life and renewal”.  Found on every continent except Antarctica, these beetles are nature’s clean-up crew.  Waste of other animals mean life to the dung beetle.  They rely on dung for nutrients and water and use it to complete their life cycle.  There are three types of dung beetles: dwellers, rollers, and tunnelers.  Dwellers eat before it dries out, rollers push balls of dung away from the pat to use later, and tunnelers dig tunnels under the pat to store the dung.  Competitions can be tough, mates are chosen, and eggs are laid.  Plants also benefit from nutrients as dung is buried in the soil.  Young beetles (grubs) feast on dung.  Grubs evolve to pupa, which eventually grown into adult beetles.  Pages contain a simple narrative as well as a more detailed paragraph.  Watercolor and pencil artwork is stunning – a great match to the intriguing facts of this fascinating insect.  Additional facts, glossary, and bibliography are also included.

When one thinks of war heroes, one rarely thinks of a horse.  In 1952, during the Korean War, Lieutenant Eric Pedersen thought his platoon could use a packhorse to help transport munitions and equipment to soldiers.  He bought a reddish-brown filly from a racetrack in Seoul and named her Reckless after the recoilless guns.  Until the Marines bought horse feed, she ate whatever they ate.  She was trained to step over wires and kneel or lie down under enemy fire.  She trusted her handlers.  At the first blast of the recoilless rifle, she jumped high in the air, but didn’t bolt.  With each blast, she shook less.  For months, she delivered ammo to gun crews, sometimes by herself following the sound of the guns.  She followed her handlers even when wounded by shrapnel.  At the end of the War in 1953, she helped string communication wire.  In honor of her bravery and service, Reckless was promoted to staff sergeant.  In 1954, she was shipped to California to live at the Marine base in Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.  Artwork is large and colorful.  Although the horse and settings are realistic, the soldiers’ faces are cartoonish with button eyes.  Also included are a glossary, bibliography, website and 3 Common Core critical thinking questions.

Tucker MacBean, a promising 7th grade artist, takes on the school bully and the girls’ basketball team in order to secure a bulletin board for the Art Club.  One thing leads to another and culminates in an exciting and crucial dodge ball game.  Art Club members are few and not at all athletic.  The outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion.  However, the Art Club, with Tucker’s comic cartoon Beanboy, have a few ideas to try first.  Frequent illustrations, sketches, and handwritten notes are interspersed throughout the text.  This is a fun read with a satisfying conclusion.  The illustrations are digital.  Sequel to The Adventures of Beanboy.

Just Grace gets invited to Grace F’s sleepover birthday party, which will be outdoors with sleeping bags and tents in her backyard.  Grace worries about bugs, bears, and mean older sisters.  Forgetting to make Grace F. a birthday card, Just Grace invents a ghost inside a recycling bin to deflect attention.  The small lie snowballs and soon the whole school begins lining up to “see” the ghost.  Grace doesn’t know how to let people know there is no ghost without admitting she made it up.  Just Grace has a practice sleepover with her dad in their own backyard and realizes there is nothing to worry about.  She also finds a way to solve the ghost problem.  Just Grace books are told in the first person narrative.  The books are filled with list and drawings to explain and illustrate Grace’s view of things.