Incredible Insects

Incredible Insects starts in your own backyard. The journey of discovery takes the reader to the prairies of North America then on to interesting insects from other continents. While identifying unique insects, the text also highlight features characteristic of the insect class.

Blastoff Missions Amazing Animal Classes is a series sure to inspire a child’s natural curiosity. Each title starts with Mission Goals to promote fluency (identify sight words), enhance comprehension (identify traits), and promote critical thinking (think of a question).

The informational text engages the reader as a participant in the narrative. The conversational style of the text provides age appropriate academic and subject specific vocabulary. Bolded vocabulary terms are defined in the glossary. Colorful illustrations include identifying and descriptive captions. Extra tidbits of information are provided by Jimmy, a space traveling, cartoon-like avatar who accompanies the reader on all the narrative missions.

Endpapers include a glossary, index, and To Learn More section. The To Learn More resources have three print sources in the At the Library section. The On the Web resources direct the reader to Factsurfer which provides easy access to three curated age appropriate digital resources. Endpapers also include three extension questions in the Beyond the Mission section to help readers connect their learning from the book to their own experiences.

Marvelous Mammals

The search for Marvelous Mammals starts with the cats and dogs found in many homes. From there, the reader it taken north to the Canadian taiga and south to the Amazon rainforest before continuing around the world. The text introduces the common mammal characteristics (warm-blooded, backbone, hair or fur, and feed their babies milk) while highlighting unique and interested mammals in various habitats.

Blastoff Missions Amazing Animal Classes is a series sure to inspire a child’s natural curiosity. Each title starts with Mission Goals to promote fluency (identify sight words), enhance comprehension (identify traits), and promote critical thinking (think of a question).

The informational text engages the reader as a participant in the narrative. The conversational style of the text provides age appropriate academic and subject specific vocabulary. Bolded vocabulary terms are defined in the glossary. Colorful illustrations include identifying and descriptive captions. Extra tidbits of information are provided by Jimmy, a space traveling, cartoon-like avatar who accompanies the reader on all the narrative missions.

Endpapers include a glossary, index, and To Learn More section. The To Learn More resources have three print sources in the At the Library section. The On the Web resources direct the reader to Factsurfer which provides easy access to three curated age appropriate digital resources. Endpapers also include three extension questions in the Beyond the Mission section to help readers connect their learning from the book to their own experiences.

Remarkable Reptiles

Search the world for scaly cold-blooded animals with backbones that lay eggs in Remarkable Reptiles. While reinforcing the characteristics of reptiles the text highlights the unique and extraordinary species of the class. From venom to hoods and third eyes to frills – reptiles are remarkable.

Blastoff Missions Amazing Animal Classes is a series sure to inspire a child’s natural curiosity. Each title starts with Mission Goals to promote fluency (identify sight words), enhance comprehension (identify traits), and promote critical thinking (think of a question).

The informational text engages the reader as a participant in the narrative. The conversational style of the text provides age appropriate academic and subject specific vocabulary. Bolded vocabulary terms are defined in the glossary. Colorful illustrations include identifying and descriptive captions. Extra tidbits of information are provided by Jimmy, a space traveling, cartoon-like avatar who accompanies the reader on all the narrative missions.

Endpapers include a glossary, index, and To Learn More section. The To Learn More resources have three print sources in the At the Library section. The On the Web resources direct the reader to Factsurfer which provides easy access to three curated age appropriate digital resources. Endpapers also include three extension questions in the Beyond the Mission section to help readers connect their learning from the book to their own experiences.

Brilliant Birds

While exploring the world looking for Brilliant Birds, the common characteristics of the bird classification are reinforced with multiple examples. The text also highlights the many different ways birds nest.

Blastoff Missions Amazing Animal Classes is a series sure to inspire a child’s natural curiosity. Each title starts with Mission Goals to promote fluency (identify sight words), enhance comprehension (identify traits), and promote critical thinking (think of a question).

The informational text engages the reader as a participant in the narrative. The conversational style of the text provides age appropriate academic and subject specific vocabulary. Bolded vocabulary terms are defined in the glossary. Colorful illustrations include identifying and descriptive captions. Extra tidbits of information are provided by Jimmy, a space traveling, cartoon-like avatar who accompanies the reader on all the narrative missions.

Endpapers include a glossary, index, and To Learn More section. The To Learn More resources have three print sources in the At the Library section. The On the Web resources direct the reader to Factsurfer which provides easy access to three curated age appropriate digital resources. Endpapers also include three extension questions in the Beyond the Mission section to help readers connect their learning from the book to their own experiences.

Figgy & Boone: The Big Cheese

By Janee Trasler

This whimsical emerging reader graphic novel is a great starter book to interest children. Figgy and Boone are two very hungry mice who are missing cheese when a large wheel of cheese flies off of a truck right in front of them. The graphic novel has a brief explanation on how to read graphics/comics. It also is a great introduction to chapters as it has 3 short ones. The bright colors and strong lines will appeal to many. I would recommend this book for emerging readers.

Bookstore Bunnies

by Eric Seltzer, Illustrated by Tom Disbury

This is a well illustrated emerging reader book about bunnies who run a bookstore and the customers they have that request different books. They run from area to area in search of the best book for their clients. Like a library, they have story hour where everyone loves the read aloud.This book contains short sentences on pages for emerging readers. The illustrations are detailed and allow for finding more on the page as it is read again and again. I would recommend this book for preschool to 1st grade.

In Honor of Broken Things

By Paul Acampora

Three middle school students from differing backgrounds become friends when they are seated together in pottery class. All have recently experienced a traumatic event in their lives: a sister’s death due to Cancer, a drastic move from the big city to a very small town and leaving the homeschool life to be in public school where everything is different and unknown. All are feeling like the broken pottery they have seen/experienced in their class but find solace from each other. Will they come to realize that it is okay when some things stay broken? This wonderful middle level book is appropriate for 5th through 8th grades but could also be recommended for more mature readers at a younger age who may be experiencing trauma and could relate to the characters.

Hungary

Alicia Z. Klepeis explores the 35,918 square miles Central Europe’s Hungary. Klepeis uses snapshots of Hungary’s location, landscape, wildlife, people, school and work, play, and food. The 32 pages just give a quick overview of what this country has to offer with two or three paragraphs of text per topic accompanied by half a page-spread of color photos.

I continue to find the TIMELINE in this “Country Profiles” series confusing to the eye with its segmented lines stating facts above and below the actual timeline leading to the events’ locations on the timeline. It might be better to print the statements on a slant with a single line segment drawing the eye to the timeline location.

The HUNGARY FACTS on pages 28-29 provide good visual graphics to show the flag, where people live, their work, important cities, main exports, and unit of money.

Factsurfer.com provides more information with safe internet.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Panama

Alicia Z. Klepeis explores the 29,120 square miles Central America’s Panama. Klepeis uses snapshots of Panama’s location, landscape, wildlife, people, school and work, play, and food. The 32 pages just give a quick overview of what this country has to offer with two or three paragraphs of text per topic accompanied by half a page-spread of color photos.

I continue to find the TIMELINE in this “Country Profiles” series confusing to the eye with its segmented lines stating facts above and below the actual timeline leading to the events’ locations on the timeline. It might be better to print the statements on a slant with a single line segment drawing the eye to the timeline location.

The PANAMA FACTS on pages 28-29 provide good visual graphics to show the flag, where people live, their work, important cities, main exports, and unit of money.

Factsurfer.com provides more information with safe internet.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong

Venezuela

Nicole E. Rodriguez Mata explores the 352,144 square miles South America’s Venezuela. Rodriguez Mata uses snapshots of Venezuela’s location, landscape, wildlife, people, school and work, play, and food. The 32 pages just give a quick overview of what this country has to offer with two or three paragraphs of text per topic accompanied by half a page-spread of color photos.

I continue to find the TIMELINE in this “Country Profiles” series confusing to the eye with its segmented lines stating facts above and below the actual timeline leading to the events’ locations on the timeline. It might be better to print the statements on a slant with a single line segment drawing the eye to the timeline location.

The VENEZUELA FACTS on pages 28-29 provide good visual graphics to show the flag, where people live, their work, important cities, main exports, and unit of money.

Factsurfer.com provides more information with safe internet.

Submitted for Annette McQueen by Mary Pong