A uniquely, self-assured woman drives her extremely noisy tractor down the road.  As she passes different people, they each notice a feature in her appearance: a beehive hairdo, thick glasses, blue raincoat, rubber boots, red purse, and remark that she should not be driving a tractor.  The tractor chugs so loudly she cannot hear a word.  As she turns off the road into a pretty village, a young boy happily greets her and they have a very pleasant conversation.  He learns her husband is the cook and stays home with their daughter.  This untraditional family is extremely happy.  When the daughter tells her mother she wants to grow up to be a farmer too, her mom encourages her to follow her heart, but to be sure the tractor is deafeningly loud so she cannot hear the silly things grown ups say.  Large, colorful, interesting illustrations add fun details to this tale that encourages individuality and turning a deaf ear to disapproval and narrow-mindedness.  Translated from Spanish by Jon Brokenbrow.

A southern cowpoke has taken “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” to Texas.  After consuming a fire ant,”Yippie-ti-yay! My stomach’s on fire!”, our gritty hero ingests one southwest critter after another: spider, roadrunner, horned lizard, armadillo, rattlesnake, boar, and longhorn.  Finally, he swallows his horse, rope, and eventually himself.  “If I want it done right, I’ll do it myself.”  The clever cowboy starts a stampede and drives everything out.  Will Terry’s large, warm-toned illustrations place this story solidly in the desert with plenty of cacti, sand, and rock formations.  An unexpected ending is entirely fitting for this ol’ cowpoke!  A great read, or sing, aloud for all to enjoy.

Storm chasers can be amateurs or professionals, on the ground or in the air, have equipment to gather information or just observe wild weather.  All need to know how to be safe.  Vehicles, maps, and technology help storm chasers relate updates to each other and to report to radio and TV stations.  New equipment is continually developed to monitor and record storms.  Text on each page is brief but descriptive.  Photographs show equipment, tornados, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and the aftermath.  Captions accompany photos and “xtreme fact” boxes offer more details.  Daring would-be storm chasers see the variety of tasks and equipment involved in this dangerous and exciting venture.

Interesting, informative text show a fascinating side of these elusive mammals.  Spending most of their time underwater, they are only easily observed for about a month when they come to land to breed and molt.  Being the largest of the pinnipeds, they are named for their massive bodies and trunk-like nose.  The layout is pleasing and information is plentiful.  Large, colorful photographs are well-matched with text.  Terms to know are in bold, colored words and well defined in the glossary.  Additional facts are found in orange circular areas on many pages.  Other recommended books are written at a similar reading level and a factsurfer website offers extra specifics as well as a live-cam site.  This is a great resource for learning about this amazing, somewhat strange looking animal, or for reports.

Small, bordered boxes contain text about the myth of dragons.  Highlighted words are defined on the page.  The glossary also contains these words and adds pronunciation clues.  Myths are stories that have been around for so long many people like to believe they are true.  Dragon Fact boxes reinforce that belief with invented information that makes these imaginary creatures seem believable.  Large, colorful illustrations show various features of these majestic beasts.  This book will definitely appeal to dragon lovers of any age.

The 1863 Civil War Battle of Gettysburg is told from the viewpoints of both the Union and Confederacy.  Each skirmish, confrontation, or battle is accurately portrayed including names of leaders and their corps, division, brigade, etc.  The area around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is precisely described.  The Union section contains a small map but labels are too small to read.  A map in the Confederate segment indicate both North and South paths as different forces advance toward Gettysburg.  Following the descriptions of events would be much easier to understand if a basic map of the area with labeled landmarks had been included.  Both sections have photos and paintings to illustrate attacks.  Text is small.  Both partitions include a glossary, index, bibliography, resources and share a timeline.

The largemouth bass is a popular freshwater sport fish.  It is a fast swimmer, has good vision and can see colors, and will eat almost anything.  They will not eat dead food so lures must move or look alive.  Bass prefer the calm, fresh water of lakes, ponds, or streams that provide good hiding places.  When caught, they are active fighters.  Most largemouth bass anglers practice the “catch and release” method.  Suggestions of techniques, ways to record the catch, equipment, safety, and responsibility are offered.  Colorful photographs are captioned.  Many pages contain a “Wild Facts!” box.  Glossary, index and resources included.  After reading about the largemouth bass, it is hard to resist grabbing a rod and reel and rushing off to that fishing hole!

The topic of mermaids has been an enigma for thousands of years.  The premise of this book is to explain these sightings using the scientific method.  Multiple stories are reported including dates, places, and names of the observer.  Speculations include everything from alien or supernatural events to weather to intentional pranks.  The scientific method is explained but not efficiently used.  A final page, “Summing Up the Science” lists a few hypotheses however there is no test or scientific evidence (fossils, for example) that can substantiate the supposition.  Many illustrations, photographs, reproductions, and maps supplement the text.  A timeline of reported sightings or descriptions is included.  The reader is essentially left with interesting tales with which they can choose to believe or not.  Nothing is actually solved with science.

War dogs refer to one-time prime minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, known as “the British Bulldog”, and his pet Rufus, a brown miniature poodle.  Readers learn about Churchill’s role during WWII and get a glimpse of his personal life through a focus on Rufus.  Rufus was with Churchill in the underground bunker, addressing the House of Commons, and the bombing of London.  He guards the door while Churchill plans the invasion of Normandy with Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin.  Acrylic and collage paintings in neutral tones show Rufus keeping Churchill company during the stressful years of guiding a country through a world war and the aftermath of rebuilding.  Quotations from speeches are “tacked” onto several pages.  Details of this turbulent time are accurate but brief enough for young readers to get a general understanding of the great man and the difficult war years.  A timeline of highlights from September 1939 to September 1945 is at the end along with a page about Churchill and his poodles and a page of other personal information.  An extensive bibliography, other books about Churchill and WWII related websites accompany the sources for each quote.