Stunning! Fabulous! Amazing!  The simple text is almost poetical as it describes a spiral as a snuggling shape, a growing shape, a strong shape, a clever shape, and the gorgeous illustrations on each page depict examples from nature where spirals are found in the context described in that bit of text.  Labels tucked cozily in among the illustrations offer scientific vocabulary for further investigations.  Informational blurbs in the back offer more detailed explanations of how/why spirals serve the entities described in the main body of the book.  Highly recommended.  Though a picture book intended for young audiences, I could see it finding purpose in high school geometry, art, or biology classes.

The unifying gimmick running through this book is photographs of silly faces made from healthy food.  This may be the first bilingual ABC book I’ve encountered.  With each page dedicated to a letter of the alphabet, the perimeter of each page lists (next to illustrative photographs) healthy foods that start with that letter of the alphabet in either English or Spanish (or both, in the case of banana).  In capital letters next to each photo is the word for that food in the language that starts with the applicable letter; underneath, in parentheses and italics, is the translation of the name of the food.  There seems to be a good mix of how many are labeled primarily in English, and how many primarily in Spanish.  It is left to the reader to determine which language is represented by the primary label, and which by the secondary label.  In the center of each page is a large photo of a silly face created by the foods around the edges.  The back of the book includes informational blurbs on each of the featured foods, project ideas, and instructions for creating one’s own silly face.  A fun and creative approach to introducing students to perhaps unfamiliar foods.

If your collection needs a book on bicycle safety, I suppose this will fit the bill.  The text, presented in both English and Spanish, is simple and straightforward, telling of a young boy who receives a bicycle for his birthday, and all the precautions he takes to learn to ride it safely.  The illustrations are bright and cheerful and support the text.  Scattered throughout the book are text boxes highlighting and explaining particular safety tips.  Not exactly stimulating reading, but it serves a purpose and does it well.

The illustrations a re bright and cheerful and inviting.  The book begins with note Tu B’Shevat as a Jewish holiday, describing some of the customs there of, and comparing it to Arbor Day.  The story tells of Joni and her friend, Nate trying to figure out what to do for Joni’s tree to celebrate its birthday.  In the end it comes down to making a promise to always be good to the trees of the world.  A good book for making an environmental care-taking point, but a bit pedantic as a story.

Colonial Traditions is one of the books in a series about colonial life from the 1600s to 1776.  Beginning with a labeled map of the 13 original colonies, each chapter is focused on one aspect of life.  Because all work, farming, building, cooking, and sewing, had to be done by hand, this book lends a variety of perspectives of the work needed to be successful in a new land.  It touches on slavery and Native Americans but does not go into much detail.  Bolded words are defined on the page as well as in the glossary.  Many “Did You Know” bubbles provide additional interesting facts.  Simple and colorful illustrations are well-placed within the text.  Two companion books, one by Verna Fisher, provide projects and activities that can be paired with the whole series on Colonial America.  These books provide a realistic look at life of a colonist in the 1600-1700s.  Other books in the Colonial series include: Clothes, Food, Homes, Jobs, Families, Farms, and Towns.  Recommended for elementary school libraries.

Beasts are described as wild animals and are divided into chapters depending on features.  Aimed toward reluctant readers, the photographs are large and the text minimal.  Most photos show only the head so all animals appear to be the same size.  The page layout and muted background color choices are pleasing.  Basic information may lead to further investigations.  Some words are in bold font but not all are found in the glossary.  The word “bounce” is defined but “crustacean” is not.  There is a short true/false quiz at the back.  No index or recommended books or websites for further information are included.

The illustrations are kind of fun, and there might be some teachers who’d like to use it at the beginning of the school year, but really the text is just one long rhyming list of things not to do.  And then at the end it finally says, do have fun.  Really its kinda tedious.

I like it! I like it!  The illustrations are bright and engaging and humorous.  The rhyming story tells of a young girl growing up in a family of pirates, yet longing for the life of a landlubber.  (I particularly like the side-step of stereotypes that makes her mom the Pirate Captain and her dad the cook.) Despite not quite fitting in on board, Victricia’s eccentricities manage to help save the ship from the clutches of a sea serpent, and she is rewarded by finally getting her wish of being put ashore, where she opens a bookstore (no pillaging or plundering books).  Her family and friends come by to visit, and become “the world’s first seafaring librarians.”

On the one hand, with recent interest being generated by Rick Riordan’s books, it’s nice to have a book in the genre of Egyptian mythology, but I really wish it was better.  The telling of the story seems a bit bland, and the quality of the illustrations is inconsistent — some are quite strong, and some are a bit flat in the characters’ expressions.

Ack! Translation creates enough problems when a story written in English is poorly translated into Spanish.  But this story is designed/intended to be a bilingual story.  If a writer has such a purpose from the start, it seems reasonable to expect her to write story that works in both languages.  This one does not.  It tells of the story of a creature with an exceptionally long tongue that won’t fit in his mouth, and the troubles this causes:  when he orders ham and cheese, the waiter brings him a hat a sheep.  That works in English (stick out your tongue and try saying the words, and it’s a reasonable mistake).  The Spanish words in the translated portion of the book sound nothing alike — this would in no way be a reasonable mistake.