All the relatives are gathered around a new baby (and boy, this kid has LOTS of family), while each predicts all the wonderful things the baby will someday do, each declaring, “just like me.”  But baby Ellen just burbles and coos and burps and such until Mama declares that, “For now Ellen will do just what Ellen wants.”  Fun water color illustrations make it a charming book for families who are welcoming their own new little ones to share together.

Not as durable a cover as I usually expect from Capstone publishers, but lots of history packed in, illustrated with scenes from period paintings.  The books covers everything from rotting teeth and meat to sewage management, the plague, and medical practices of the middle ages.  The glossary provides definitions for vocabulary words that are highlighted within the body of the text.  It includes and index and suggestions for further reading.

Large 10.5″ x 9″ format  book with 2 sentences on the left page dealing with orangutans Asia location, appearance, eating habits, and safety accompanied by full page color photo on the opposite  right side page.

I was surprised that I actually liked this book.  There seems to be a trend in using the gross-factor to catch the attention of readers, and I picked this book simply figuring it would be able to catch the eye of some reluctant readers, but I was surprised by how much sound science was clearly explained.  I was surprised that the publisher suggests the 300s for Dewey placement, as I would be inclined to put it in the 600s.  My one criticism of the book would to say that I found the yellow liquid graphics that are meant to look like pee spilled around the edges of the pages were a bit much.

The only good thing I’ve got to say about this book is that it’s got a really good, strong binding.  It attempts to retell a folktale of the fox and the sour grapes, but with one drab sentence per page, with pictures as drab as the text, it fails miserably.

10 different sets of animals’ tracks are presented, each with an accompanying riddle as to the identity of the animal. Turn the page to find the riddle’s  answer in both text and photo of the animal.

Large 10″ x 9″ format of book makes each set of tracks life size or larger in most cases.

This is a valuable resource that clearly and concisely discusses the issues surrounding censorship.  It includes chapters addressing times and places where book banning has been especially prevalent; the most frequently challenged books and authors, and the reasons why they have been challenged; and how some powerful books have led to revolutionary changes is society.  The targeted audience for this book is middle school, but I think it has a place in elementary and high school libraries as well.

Excellent INTRODUCTION should not be skipped.

10 questions about the human body with test procedure materials lists, explanations for each, and possible science fair ideas for each?

Example: “How Quickly Do Your Nails Grow?”*

4 pages of illustrated  text for each of the 10 questions.

*( oops, the #8 is missing from the data chart)

There will be kids who will howl over this book, and there will probably be parents who will complain.  Presented as a cookbook collected from witches around the world, they all follow the same gruesome pattern of tongue-in-cheek recipes with plump and juicy children as the main ingredients.  The illustrations are fun, and the language is sophisticated, with lots of plays on words that would likely go over the heads of younger readers.  Because it was originally published in Great Britain, some of the slang will be unfamiliar to American readers. The different voices of the different contributing witches come across loud and clear.

29 innocent questions asked by 5-9 year old children about weather :

” How does rain start?…What part of the world gets the least rain?… Why do rainbows form?”  (p. 10-11),

“How does snow get made?… Does it snow in other places besides the United States?… Why is snow white instead of different colors?” (p. 14-15).

Funny /cute pictures, such as, a bird cross-eyed because it was hit by a hailstone and a cat holding its ears during a lightening and thunder storm.