The simple, straightforward text is presented in both English and Spanish.  It gives some basic information about money (how much cents makes a dollar, the names of the coins, etc.) and considers different ways coins can be sorted.  My problem with the book is that the only two ways to sort coins that actually serve a real-world purpose are to sort by type of coin and by value, which is really the same thing, but this book dedicates two separate pages to these ways, and also sorts by size, color, and whether or not there are ridges on the edges.  I guess this is fine as a study of sorting, but serves little purpose to understanding money, other than guiding introductory observations.

Adequate information, but nothing to make it special, and the illustrations are a little odd.  There are so many books on Martin Luther King Jr. that are so much better, I can’t imagine spending money on something that’s just adequate.

A solid choice to support earth science curriculum.  The text is clear and straightforward, easily accessible, with an attractive layout, and color photos and diagrams to suppport the text. Organized into chapters that address what soil is, how it forms, layers of soil, what it looks like, and how to take care of it, it taught me a few things. I did wish that in the chapter about how to take care of soil there had been some mention of how composting can help return nutrients into the earth. The binding is shiny and sturdy-looking, too.

The story opens as young Hope is presented with the gift a a conch shell from her father as he says goodbye before running away to fight for the North to help bring an end to slavery during the American Civil War.  It goes on to tell how this shell becomes a symbol of hope for her as she misses her father and worries about him for over two years as they wait to gain their freedom. I had a hard time deciding how to rate this one: it’s a nice little story with nice illustrations, but I still don’t think I can really go so far as to recommend it, as it seems a rather sanitized story to tell about such an ugly, brutal time in American history.

The cartoonish sketches and simple, yet direct story do a a good job of making a political statement about the silliness of war.  When this grumpy little king is pouting about not being big and powerful enough, his advisors suggest he start a war to gain fame and stature, so he readies his troops and sends them forth with the order to attack.  When his soldiers declare they are ready to follow their king into war, they look around and realize he’s not actually there, but back at the castle having tea. The soldiers from both sides collected their respective kings handed them weapons and stood them facing each other, but the two kings were too scared that they might get hurt, so everybody goes home and the war is over.  Wouldn’t it be nice if all wars were handled so directly?  I’m not actually sure what grade to recommend this for, as it might best suit as a discussion starter in a high-school world problems class.

I wish I could give this book a stronger recommendation.  The text is rather lyrical and poetical, speaking of dreams and hopes for peace, and the soft flowey illustrations suit the text.  If you wanted to support a unit of study on Afghanistan or interpreting creative writing, this could be a worthy choice.  I just wish it had some sort of forward to place it in context so that it would stand alone better with young readers.  Students will need to be given some background, in order to make meaning from this book.

Well, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call these mysteries.  They’re word problems. They’re good word problems (real-world situations, all the necessary information provided, but leave the solver to figure out what to do with the information, well explained), but still, they’re word problems.  Twelve story problems are put forth, each on it’s own page, and on the reverse of that page the answer is preceded by an explanation of one way to solve the problem.  It does what it’s trying to do well, so if you’re looking to fill a niche like this, I could recommend this title, but I don’t imagine it’s likely to have a lot of circulation, as it is unlikely students will self-select it, and most teachers already have an arsenal of materials they draw from.  Also, I do wish they would have made more of a point of stating that the solutions offered represent one way to think about the situation, rather than just presenting it as THE solution.

Well, I’m not overly fond of the illustrations — they’re a bit on the drab side, but the story is even more drab: neither believable nor interesting.  When the princess refuses to sleep (at all, ever) no one in the kingdom can sleep, so they bring in all sorts of folks who try all sorts of things, from singing to stories to counting sheep, and nothing works.  Then the prince rolls into town, shouts “Silence,” the princess falls asleep and the prince falls in love.  The end.

What a beautiful bedtime story!  The illustrations are charming and delightful.  The story is something every child can relate to: a little girl who doesn’t want to go to bed.  As her parents tuck her into bed, she asks if everything sleeps, and they discuss several different animals and the way they sleep.  She insists she’s still not sleepy, but as she emulates each of the animals they discussed, she gently drifts off.

It’s a simple, sweet, charmingly illustrated story about a Mama duck who went for a walk with her little ducklings one day, but the little ones fell through the gaps in a storm drain.  Luckily the problem is noticed by some friendly humans who work together to rescue the ducklings and send them on their way. I’ve got two gripes with the story that keep it from getting a higher rating: 1) it feels like it’s trying to be the next Make Way for Ducklings, but it falls a little short, and 2) the cover declare it to be a “true rescue story,” but though it may be based on a true story, as soon as the author starts interpreting Mama Duck’s quacking to represent human speech, it stops being able to claim the “true story” label.