This is a book I couldn’t put down until I had finished it.  Like Folger’s coffee, it was good to the last drop.  When Marcel and Alexa’s parents were murdered by a black sorcerer (an evil sorcerer who could cause fire), they knew they would be taken by the king’s soldiers back to the castle.  Boys train for the army and girls go to the breeding house.  The girls’ fate was worse than death, as they were repeatedly raped and starved and held prisoner in the house, giving birth to future soldiers or breeders.  They weren’t given a chance to be mothers.  Knowing what lay ahead for them,  fourteen-year-old Alexa decided to pass as a boy; after all, she was tall and could fight as well, if not better, than her brother.  They cut off her hair, she lowered her voice, and they both became recognized fighters in Prince Damian’s guard.  Alex, as she/he was now known as, was the best fighter of all the guard.  Alex becomes the Prince’s personal guard and learns his secrets to overthrow his father, the king.  The plot is strong and the characters are well developed.  This is a book that displays a strong female lead character, a young lady who gains the strength to stand up for who she is and what she can become.

Eleven year old Gregory is the middle child in a family who loves math.  His father and older brother have won City Math competitions.  His mother is an accountant and his younger sister is also quite accomplished in math.  Gregory hates it, doesn’t understand it, and can’t seem to tell his parents the truth.  What he loves is writing poetry.  He is failing math, but his teacher has given him an opportunity to earn extra credit by journaling about math.  Gregory has hopes of going to Author Camp with his best friend Kelly.  He lies to her about telling his parents.  He lies to his parents about signing up for the City Math Competition.  He lies to himself thinking it will all work out.  Along the way, he learns about Fibonacci and how math “rules” impact poetry and science.  Gregory finally discovers a way to help him deal with math while doing the writing he loves.  Before, he was casual, at best, when completing assignments.  With new direction, he finds purpose and passion in his work.  Pincus has blended a love for math and a love for writing in a story that encourages respect for the different perspectives of both.  The “Fibs” are short, six line poems following the Fibonacci sequence – 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and are also the chapter headings.

A young girl and her best friend do all kinds of things together.  One day she decides to create the most magnificent thing.  After gathering supplies and setting up in an out-of-the-way place, she begins to work.  Through the illustrations, the reader knows the best friend is a dog and the private work space is the middle of a busy sidewalk.  The process of making something new does not go smoothly, so she tosses her first attempt aside and starts over.  Again, it does not work.  Illustrations show her facial expressions go from hopeful to frustrated to angry.  None of the creations are magnificent.  The angrier she gets, the less careful she is until she explodes!  (“It is not her finest moment.”)  As she and her dog go for a walk, she begins to calm down.  Returning to her failed attempts, she see parts that were right, and she begins to work one more time.  Again, the illustrations add to the story as they show neighbors finding use for her failures and begin carrying them away.  At last she is successful.  The final illustration shows the girl on her scooter with her dog sitting in a new side-car seat!  There are many messages in this amusing story: the scientific method when experimenting or inventing, it is OK to make mistakes, and perseverance.  Wonderful vocabulary enrichment in all the related verbs!  Spires’ use of color and white space help focus on details of the story.

Amelia, a small girl, and Nilson, a giant blue gorilla, are always together.  Usually both play happily, but occasionally something goes wrong and Nilson throws a huge fit.  Amelia calms him by saying, “No fits, Nilson” and distracts him with something positive (banana pancakes, favorite froggy coin purse, etc.) As they go through the day doing errands at the grocery store, Post Office, and standing in lines, Amelia is able to help Nilson cope with disappointments.  At the end of the day when there is no banana ice cream, Amelia needs Nilson to calm her down.  That night in bed, Amelia hugs her small, stuffed toy gorilla as she wishes “No Fits Nilson” sweet banana dreams.  Everyone needs to control one’s temper at one time or another and this story of Amelia and Nilson show how a favorite toy can be a successful coping tool.  The illustrations resemble woodcuts and are large and colorful.  Text is large and in simple sentences.  Good addition to libraries needing books for young readers on being in control of one’s emotions.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the entire alphabet fit into this ABC concept book. Only “X” (ax) and “Z” ( Oz) did not appear as the first letter of the word for the letter being represented. “ Letter A is for Aunt Em. B is for a balloon ride. A cyclone spins a letter C. D is Dorothy no surprise! ”      ( pages 4-5) Notice how the color pops out and matches the ‘letter’ and the letter in the word.

Timothy Banks light-hearted characters are darling.

If I were to change anything, I would have the word ‘straw’  on the S page and the word ‘Winkies‘ on the W page begin with the colored letter,  in addition to ‘scarecrow’ and  ‘wicked witch of the West.’

A quick one paragraph retelling of the Wizard of Oz  story is told at the end of the alphabet.

AND by checking the book’s Index the entire list of ABC words is recapped.

Characteristics about the giraffe are presented in simple text, with 2-3 sentences per page.  Color photographs are well chosen to illustrate each fact.  One will learn about giraffe necks, what they eat and how, the spots, knobs on their heads, speed and where they live.  Details are very appropriate for young readers wanting to know more about the giraffe or creating a report.  Other books in this series are: elephant, manatee, panda, sea turtle, and shale shark.  Based on Giraffe, this series appears to be a good addition to an elementary library.

This humorous basic retelling of the traditional Little Red Riding Hood tale contains a surprise ending.  The text is simple and the red and black illustrations are sketchy with jagged lines on a clear white background.  Although the sentences are also spare, they are written in cursive which may require an older audience.  Text for the wolf is written in black; text for Little Red is in red.  She points out the obvious large ears, big eyes, sharp teeth and when he says “all the better to eat you with”, Little Red responds with an unbelievable “No”.  When questioned, she tells him he has stinky breath and offers him a sweet.  The candy is poisoned.  As the wolf topples over in a red death, Little Red’s last word is “Fool!”  No need to be rescued by others for her.  Sweet ending?  Not?  Either way, it is a new take on an old tale.

Trains seem to remain popular for the youngest readers and this book is no exception.  Written for the very beginning reader, this book uses simple vocabulary and repetitive phrases.  The emphasis is on order: first, next, and then, and last.  Illustrated with beautifully saturated colors and published with a sturdy binding, sure to last.