This is a charming beginning reader chapter book which is twisted continuation of Little Red Riding Hood.  The big bad wolf ends up in the emergency room because he is choking on something, as the nurse comforts the little girl who can’t find her grandmother, the doctor squeezes with all her might.  Grandmother is saved, after much suspense, and a happy ending is enjoyed by everyone-except the big bad wolf.  Unfortunately for him, it’s against the law to eat grandmothers and the police were called to take him away.  Charming pictures contribute to this quality book! Recommended.

This book is affiliated with Amnesty International, which is a global human rights organization.  This book explores the psychology behind soldiers fighting their “enemies” and what they might have in common.  In this story the soldier is told that the enemy is evil and as soon as he can kill him he can go home.  He endures much discomfort, fear and trauma before he learns that the enemy was also told the he was evil and as soon as “the enemy” could kill him, the enemy could go home.  In the end he realizes how much in common they have and the soldiers end with a truce.  Time to go back to their families.  A message delivered in a delicate manner, sure to solicit good discussion.

The Peculiars, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry, enters realms of steampunk fantasy with the search of 18 year old Lena Mattacascar to learn more about her father, Saul, who left her and her mother for the strange land of Scree, wherein live those whose characteristics (wings, goblin features, dwarfism and the like) make them not only different but undesirables and victims of oppression. Lena’s inheritance of the deed to her father’s mine in Scree begins her journey north, leading her to engage with friends and foes as she deals with her own goblinesque, hands and feet and the realization of her father’s uncontrolled tendencies to violence.

Themes of self-acceptance, discernment, trust and determination infuse McQuerry’s alternate late-1800s steam-powered world. Infused with facts and historic figures, readers enter Lena’s experiences as she discovers whether she is indeed “a Peculiar” in the face of societal condemnation and shame.  In so doing, she finds a new life, acceptance, a worthwhile career and the promise of love.

The author, who lives and teaches in southeastern Washington, specializes in young adult fiction.  With The Peculiars, she has created a worthwhile and thought-provoking look into a world filled with gears, pulleys, steam-driven flying machines, committed characters, and an indomitable spirit of self-discovery. Recommended.

Perfect is for a baseball fan.  Anyone one who has played the game will “see” a game from the descriptions of the writer and enjoy reading about some of the games special moments. Each perfect game is its own chapter; alike in that the reader knows how it will end, but different in how the end comes about. What James Buckley Jr. also provides in this book is a historical timeline because descriptions of how the game was played in the beginning to how the rules changed to the game we know now give readers a real sense of the evolution of America’s pastime.

Of course nothing can be perfect.  The book does not include the perfect games played last year, most notably, by this Mariner’s fan, that by Felix Hernandez.

The author does reference other books written about perfect games, each book about a single game and its impact upon the game, the season, the player the team and the fans.  This is most likely an additional purchase for schools and public libraries.

Theo’s classmates help him understand his feelings about becoming a big brother as they share their good moods/bad moods  for Monday morning’s Mood News.  Since each child has a different mood (proud, jealous, afraid, mad, confused, grateful, cheerful, etc.) , the story becomes a great introduction to a  rich vocabulary of “feelings” words.  I found the stylized  and  colorful illustrations quite engaging.  The main character was named after the author’s father, Theodore.  One classmate was named Ameen, which I took as an acknowledgment to our country’s cultural diversity.  After reading this book, I was feeling LUCKY to have found a story to help kids learn more  about moods and feeling vocabulary.

Max and Zoe are schoolmates looking for a really cool science fair project.  Max comes up with an idea that includes his love of dogs.  He decides  to do tests on his own dog, Buddy, plus neighbor dogs, to prove that dogs understand facial expressions.  They used staring, frowning and  smiling…recording each dog’s reponse.  The dogs acted very differently to a frown vs a smile, proving his hypothesis.  What a delightful Early Reader…perfect for those late first and second grade readers.  Characters show persistence,  collaboration, and cooperation.  The book is brightly illustrated in primary colors and  sweet cartoon-like drawings.  Large print text  shares the page equally with the fun illustrations.  Back Matter includes author/illustrator information, Glossary, three Discussion Questions, Writing Prompts, and a recipe for Dog Treats.

As the sun comes up, birds awake.  This beautiful picture features a different bird on each spread, using spare text and focusing on each bird’s call.  Each page is large and the background colors get progressively lighter and lighter, along with the imagined sky.  Crisp illustrations of each bird jump off each page.  Because, like all of Genechten’s work, this was published in Dutch originally, some of the sounds the birds make do not conform to American norms.  This does not bring down the quality of the book, however, as each type of bird is so specific.  The spare text, large clear illustrations and font choices, as well as the focus on animal sounds, will make this a lovely choice for group sharing, and children will enjoy pouring over the beautiful illustrations at a more individual pace as well.

Shortly after Abraham Lincoln died, a group of forgers got the idea to attempt to steal the former president’s body.  This is their story.  Narrative nonfiction for youth is an art form.  This title brilliantly takes an intriguing subject that not many heard about in their history classes and connects it to topics that are more familiar.  Many people have heard the story of how Lincoln was assassinated from an early age.  But they generally don’t know much about the context in which the assassination occurred.  Here, we learn about forgery, body snatching, medical research, the early days of the secret service, and undercover spying.  Sheinkin has made a living of telling stories from history in an engaging way to children and teens, and this book is no exception to that track record.

Trixie has always felt like an outsider.  So, in some ways, it isn’t that big of a surprise when she’s invited to join a circus which travels from planet to planet through space.  There’s just that niggling worry about the creepy guy in the mask who keeps turning up.  In this bizarre setting, Fagan takes on talent, rivalry, finding your place, and being a good friend.  Trixie must decide what she wants to do in the circus, and the ring master has more than a few secrets.  The plot of this book is more complicated than it seems at first, even though it revolves around familiar themes.  This is playful science fiction with a unique setting and will be a winner with the right crowd.

Pirate treasure, art forgery, and the Peruvian mob, oh my!  When Tom spends a week with his Uncle Harvey, he finds himself on a quest to find a hidden stash of ancient gold!  Along the way, Tom and Harvey follow clues, dodge bullets, and jump off of boats.  It’s an adventure in the tradition of Indiana Jones and Tintin with a dash of history to top it off.  Tom is an approachable, trouble-seeking everykid, and Uncle Harvey is as believable as a well-meaning white-collar criminal can be.  The story is packaged in a flashy, pulpy way, fitting the mood.  This will attract reluctant readers and fans of video games and is a great addition to the world of tween adventure fiction.