Written by Juvvie Ajayi Jones, Illustrated by Joey Spiotto
Luvvie is experiencing her first day at a new school. After she introduces herself to the class, Tommy teases her about her unique name. This upsets her and she calls him Dummy just as the teacher is walking by. After the teacher asks her to apologize she is upset for the rest of the morning.
This book is about a few common occurences that can happen in the classroom. In the end, the teacher helps to resolve the situation and all end up being friends.
This story follows Piet the squirrel as he moves into a large beech tree with help from Peter the forester. As Piet explores his new home, he learns interesting facts about how trees work and change through the seasons. The book also includes sidebars and additional information about forests and animals.
While the science content is interesting, the story feels a bit forced and does not flow smoothly. There are other books that present tree facts in a more engaging way for elementary students. I would not recommend this title for purchase in an elementary library because the story feels uneven and there are stronger, more engaging books available on trees and forest science.
Sunrise Sail follows a boy and his grandfather as they set out on a sailing adventure. During their trip, they discover a stowaway and face a storm that creates unexpected challenges. What makes this book unique is that every word in the story begins with the letter “S.” The creative wordplay and alliteration make it a fun read-aloud and a good choice for teaching letter sounds and language patterns. While the story is enjoyable, I would not recommend this title for most elementary school libraries. The book is best suited for preschool and primary-aged children, and the alliterative text may have limited appeal for older elementary students. Libraries serving younger audiences may find it useful, but it is unlikely to attract a large readership in a K–5 elementary collection.
Text in Spanish. Translation of: Day of the Dead. It is often difficult to find engaging books for our emergent readers, but El Dia de los Muertos (series Holiday Fun! (Festividades!) will be a favorite with its full page photos and simple text. Readers will discover many of the elements unique to this holiday as they explore the photos and read the brief sentences. There are many important nonfiction elements, including: Table of contents, index, labels and ‘words to know’ list. Repetitive, controlled vocabulary and short sentences will aid in reading success. Photos show diverse subjects and settings. There are sixteen books in the series. Purchase this set to update your holiday collection and attract your newest readers. Recommended.
Do Aliens Visit Earth? is an accessible entry in the Into the Unknown series, aimed at curious young readers who love mysteries, science, and the possibility of life beyond our planet. The book attempts to strike a balance between scientific explanation and the thrill of the unexplained. The author introduces readers to UFO sightings, government investigations, and theories about extraterrestrial visitors. The book encourages critical thinking – rather than pushing a single viewpoint it lets readers decide what they believe. The photos, sidebars and quick fact boxes break up the text and keep readers engaged. It’s well-suited for middle-grade audiences who enjoy nonfiction packed with intriguing questions.
Some of the “Fast Facts” are not actual facts. For example, on page 23, the Fast Fact includes opinions from scientists about why we haven’t found intelligent life, but none of these statements are proven or supported by evidence. These are hypotheses, not facts, which makes the section misleading and weakens the book’s credibility.
The book lays out evidence through real-world reports and debunks common myths though at times the stories feel disconnected. The book jumps between ideas in a way that lacks cohesion. While including elements of non-fiction such as table of contents, glossary, and index, readers may find the layout of the chapters confusing.
This classic story was originally published in 1979 but was re-released in 2023. It is a story about a bear named Sam. On Halloween night Mama Bear and Papa Bear head off to a party and Sam is home alone. He decides to invite his friends over for a Halloween party of his own and each friend brings popcorn. When they pop all the popcorn things get very out of control. This story would be best used as a read-aloud for young children up to age 7. The illustrations are bright and cheerful yet simplistic and engaging. The illustrations have been updated to be less offensive to different cultures. When comparing the old illustrations to the new ones I was disappointed that the only change was adding a hat to the main character.
This is a tale about a girl and her family who see a snake nearby. Freya feels that the snake is harmless and should be left alone but her parents are concerned about her younger brother getting too close and the snake causing him harm. Her father ends up killing the snake and Freya is quite upset by this and will not talk to him. In the end, she and her dad resolve their differences and she is more understanding of the situation. This book is translated from Swedish and I am unsure as to if it is a good translation into English. I feel that there could have been different word choices. For example, It uses the word murderer quite a bit including this last part on the last page: “My dad loves me. I love him. I love a snake-murderer.” While the book reflects loss, mourning and anger, I would not recommend this book for an elementary library purchase.
This Book Is Not for You by Howard Pearlstein, with fun pictures by Susanna Covelli, tells a silly story through a grumpy narrator who says the book is boring and has nothing cool in it. But the pictures show the opposite—there are monsters, aliens, ninjas, and more! Kids will laugh at how wrong the narrator is and enjoy spotting all the exciting things happening around him.
The book is fun and playful, especially for read-aloud time. But the joke gets repeated a lot, and some students might lose interest. It’s good for a quick laugh and to talk about point of view, but it’s not the strongest book for deeper lessons or repeated reading.
Steve: A Pretty Exceptional Horse by Kelly Collier is a funny and easy-to-read graphic novel that attempts to help kids learn an important lesson—being yourself is what really makes you special. Steve the Horse wants to stand out, so he finds a shiny horn and tries to show off. But his friends remind him that he doesn’t need fancy things to be important. This book could be used for classroom discussions about confidence, friendship, and what it means to be “exceptional.” Early readers may enjoy the humor, but the message misses the mark.
I’m sorry to say it, but I was disappointed. I couldn’t really tell what the purpose of this book was. It can’t count as a joke book, because the story really only contains two jokes, and they’re not especially good jokes. The main character even says his friends don’t like his jokes, and the zebra he’s telling them to straight-out tells him that jokes that have to be explained aren’t funny. It tells us the zebra showed up because he got left by a traveling circus, and it says they should find the circus so the ringmaster can teach them more jokes, but then they don’t actually go look. The book just ends with them rolling around in a field laughing with each other. And there were some pretty challenging words for an “easy reader.”
