Cute story about a class trying to raise money to go to a theme park.  Fun way to learn about addition and subtraction and working as a team.

The Spanish Missions of California by Megan Gendell is the most detailed of the 3 books in A True Book series I’ve read.   Focused more on the who, what, why, when, and how of the people living and working in the mission than the political ties to them, 6 of the 21 Californian missions are given a page each with a picture and text to highlight the differences in architecture between them.  The “Find the Truth” critical thinking questions presented before the table of contents both focus and bring wonder to the topic.  Answers are given at the end of the text along side other statistics. Unlike another book in this set titled Spanish Missions, this book does a great job providing maps of the locations of the missions. Full color with pictures on each page, the resources, glossary, and index pages complete this book that is recommended for upper elementary or ELL students.

With an elementary audience in mind, Spanish Missions by John Perritano would work well in secondary libraries for ELL and struggling readers.  Perritano’s 3 -4 page chapters cover the beginning of missions, Texas missions, California missions and the closing of missions.  The influences on Native American culture is discussed presenting both sides in a positive light.  No primary source material except the full color pictures  on each page.  A map indicating where each mission is located would have been useful.  The pronunciation of Spanish names and words is provided which will help readers unfamiliar with Spanish.  The “Find the Truth” critical thinking questions presented before the table of contents both focus and bring wonder to the topic.  Answers are given at the end of the text along side other statistics.  Resources, glossary, and index complete this recommended book.

A very good elementary resource and usable at any level for ELL students, Teresa Domnauer’s Westward Expansion is intended for upper elementary audiences.  Covering the entire movement across the United States, from Beyond the Appalachians to Pathway to the Pacific, this 48 page history lesson is brief yet succinct.  The highlight is its bright color graphics throughout.  Additionally, important vocabulary is in bold and referenced in the glossary, following a resources page.  Another plus for this book is the critical thinking question given for each chapter that encourages the reader to read for “the truth” about the particular topic. Recommended for elementary libraries, additional purchase for secondary libraries.

This book comes from a Kid Racer series. This book is all about snowmobiling, racing and all that goes into it. Upon looking at the table of contents, I found it to be a bit overwhelming! There are 20 chapters! I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book and really think that the average 4th or 5th grade boy will get enjoyment out of it. It does have a lot of information, but also has great photos and extra information boxes that will hold the reader’s interest. The book starts out talking about racing, snowmobile history and  different manufacturers. The book also discusses the different kinds of machines, how they are built and raced, safety, some well known names in the industry and how this can be a family sport. With appealing photos and set up, this is a great addition for some of those reluctant boy readers.

This book is from the Blastoff Readers! in the life cycle series. This book follows ladybugs as they transform from eggs to adults. Start with an explanation of ladybugs, it then explains the egg, larva, pupa and adult stage. With easy to read and understand text and amazing photographs, this is a great book. I guess I had never thought about how a ladybug becomes a ladybug and this book does a great job teaching the life cycle.

The story of Mathew Brady’s life is an important addition to school libraries because photographs taken by Brady and his staff are history’s major record of the Civil War.  This biography, by Don Nardo, is full of photos, from the Lincoln portrait that is the model for the Lincoln penny, to his battlefield photos of the dead at Antietam used by Ken Burns in his Civil War series.

This is a great biography for middle school students as there’s plenty of action in Brady’s life.  Filled with new shops, new ideas, and fast-paced life, New York City was as young and ambitious as Brady when he moved there around 1839.  He opened a business making cases for surgical instruments, but found out that his cases worked well for photographic equipment, and he soon became interested in this new art.

By 1861, his studio was swamped with Union soldiers having their portrait taken before heading to the battlefields of the Civil War. Seeing an opportunity, Brady put darkrooms on wheels, and he and his assistants were off to follow the action.

As an old man, Brady observed that he’d been in the right place at the right time, and with stories from that of the falling skylight that barely missed General U.S. Grant as Brady was making his portrait, to the insider’s view of Brady’s battlefield darkroom, this is a well-told story of a memorable life.

A chronology, chapter notes, further reading, and internet addresses will help serious researchers.  The web sites include many of Brady’s  photos.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.

Geared for middle school students, these books in the Amazing Decades in Photos series would be fine for upper elementary as well as useful for ELL high school students.  Each book authored by Jim Corrigan has identical formats, providing highlights for each decade: world, national, and cultural happenings.  Though extremely brief, enough information is provided to give an overview of the particular who, what, when, where and why of each topic.  Colored illustrations with captions appropriately placed balance the text on each page.  A chronology, glossary, and bibliographic references, along with and index, are provided.  Additional purchase for most school libraries.