Mr. Andre’s class is going on a nature walk, but first they must feed and water the class gecko, Jojo.  On their walk, Mr. Andrew and the students observe the similarities between Jojo and the plants and animals they see.  These observations lead the students to identifying patterns in the nature they see around them.  As they return to their class, they summarize their learning before saying goodbye to Jojo and heading home.  The story line is contrived but the connections the students draw fit well with the Next Generation Science Standards concepts.

Contains Table of Contents, Nature Treasure Hunt Activity, Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

When a troop of lemurs awakes, the lemur king urges them to, “follow me, follow me, follow me,” as he leads them on an energetic exploration of the things they can do.  The repetitive text reinforces this energy as it is molded around the illustrations.  Their motion comes to a quick and emphatic stop when their path leads them to a large crocodile.  The lemur king urges the troop to follow as he flees to safety and then finally to a much earned rest in their tree.

With its mischievous lemurs and rhythmic rhyming text, this makes a great read aloud that kids will want to read again and again.

Starting with Earth’s atmosphere and moving outward through our solar system to the Universe, this book covers the huge topic of space. The book attempts the difficult task of introducing complex concepts to young readers and does not quite succeed.  For example, the parts of the sun and atmosphere are labeled as if they are significant, but not description is included.  The diameter and orbit period of all the planets are highlighted in the solar system spread, but the terms diameter and orbit period are never defined.  Because of these shortcomings, comprehension for young readers would be limited to rote recall and opportunities to develop deeper understanding and draw connections would be lost.

Text and graphics are visually appealing.  Contains table of contents, limited glossary and no index.

The Super Simple Body series celebrates your amazing body.  With simple text, photographs, illustrations, and activities, this book describes the types of muscles, how muscles work, and the essential role of muscles play in everyday activities.

Pronunciation of anatomical terms are in parenthesis following the word.  Visuals include photographs and detailed illustrations with labels.  Limited glossary and no Index.

Wagari was a Kenyan trailblazer for women’s rights and the environment.  Growing up in rural Kenya, she was one of the few women in her country to read, let alone graduate from high school.  Wagari continued her education in the United States before returning to a newly independent Kenya.  Upon her return, she was devastated to see the scarcity of trees and animals.  She strongly believed her mother’s teaching that a tree is worth more than its wood.  Her efforts in environmental advocacy and towards peaceful democracy were internationally recognized in 2004 when she was the first African woman to be award the Nobel Peace Prize.

The text is reminiscent of African oral storytelling traditions.  This beautifully illustrated book concludes with photographs and a timeline with highlights of Wagari Muta’s life and Kenyan milestones.

Even a gray city can come alive when art is shared.  Mira loved art and she shared pieces of her art and through her art, her joy with her neighborhood making it a little less gray.  Then Mira met a man with a pocket full of paintbrushes, a muralist who showed her how to infuse the neighborhood with energy and light by adding color and meaning to walls.  As Mira and her neighbors painted their songs onto the walls, the community celebrated together and the color spread to utility boxes, benches and even the sidewalks.  Together they created something beautiful. And so the book invites us spread something beautiful, for the world is our canvas and we are all artists.

A Note from the Authors explains the book is based on the true story of the East Village neighborhood in San Diego, California and Rafael and Candice López.  The husband and wife team were instrumental in transforming their community into the artistically vibrant community it is today.  The illustrator, Rafael López was the inspiration for the character of the muralist.  López has created community-based murals around the world.

Set in South Korea, the origin story of Yumi’s jumoni (Korean Lunar New Year blessing pouch) is rooted in family.  Grandma cut her beautiful red silk wedding gown to make blankets for her children.  As her kids grew up, grandma made red vest and a quilt from the pieces.  Grandma then used the red silk of her vest to make Yumi’s blessing pouch.  The gift of the blessing pouch includes the gift of intergenerational family memories.  Grandma’s Red Silk Dress brings to mind the Yiddish folktale of a coat worn out and repurposed again and again until it is a handkerchief.  Used together, these stories provide authentic cultural and familial perspectives.

As part of a math series, the purpose of this title is to demonstrate the concept of whole and parts.  In the instruction of fractions, the unequal parts described in the story would confuse the concept rather than clarify for young learners.

A Tower of Giraffes introduces collective nouns for animals with intriguing artwork and interesting information on the social behaviors of a wide variety of animals. To this information Wright adds flavor with fun language such as her description of a flamboyance of flamingos; “There fancy feathered friends work together to make theatrical displays by posing like ballerinas and marching in time.”  Headings are in artistic cursive that will be difficult for many younger readers, though this book will shine as a read aloud.

Scooby and the gang spend the week at the Tumblewee Ranch.  The owner, Slim Jim, explained to them that someone was stealing his best horses.  Of course Scooby and the gang offer to help solve the problem and as a cover they join a rodeo clown class.  It is no surprise that Shaggy and Scooby are naturals when it comes to goofing around.  Shaggy and Scooby put their rodeo skills to good use and catch the horse thief.  The story follows the standard Scooby mystery story line and is sure to capture the interest of Scooby fans.

The twins Carlos and Carmen are tired of all the rain and can’t wait to go outside again to play. They’re thrilled when they wake up and the rain has stopped.  When they look outside, however, they find their yard covered in water.  The twins make the most of this unexpected development by jumping, spashing, and playing in the water until they are muddy and soaked.  Knowing they can’t go inside in such a messy state, they call their Mom outside.  Instead of being upset, their parents join in the fun, turning an inflatable mattress into a home-made water slide.  They made up for 3 days of rain with a week’s worth of fun in one morning.

These Hispanic characters intersperse the text with short phrases in Spanish. All Spanish terms and phrases are translated into English in the back of the book.  A fun engaging story with energetic characters that is sure to interest young readers.

This title introduces the reader to the land, animals and culture of Bangladesh.  By focusing on the uniqueness, strengths, and challenges of living in Bangladesh the book provides students a good opportunity to find connections and notice differences with their own life.  Maps, graphs, fun facts and vivid colorful photographs help to keep the reader engaged.

Contains Table of Contents, Fast Facts, Glossary, Learn More and Index.  A level 5 Blastoff Reader.

To take care of his or her amazing body, a child needs to eat well, keep moving, fight germs, enjoy fresh air, stay clean, and sleep well.  This title separates these concepts into individual chapters.  The large, easy-to-read text is organized into short segments on each set of pages. Images are colorful and engaging.  This is a good title for young independent readers needing short texts.

Contains Table of Contents and Glossary of bold terms, but lacks an Index.

Also in the series Looking After Me: How Do We Move?; Going to the Doctor; and Going to the Dentist.

This graphically appealing biography presents the Wright brothers in an accessible way for young readers.  The graphic enhancements include a mix of period photos as well as current images of historic locations.  Airplane specific terms such as roll, pitch, and yaw are introduced with a combination of diagrams and explanations, yet the glossary is sparse, with only 3 terms.  The text details the process of development while including personal facts about the Wright Brothers.  A perfect title to support the Next Generation Science Standards.  

In the land of the midnight sun in a time when the earth was young and light disappeared entirely from the earth, an orphan boy watched a Shaman repeat the same ineffectual chants and charms in an effort to return the sun.  While often treated poorly, the boy was still determined to make a difference for his people and begged his aunt for help.  She sends him off with a magical raven cloak and snowshoes to find the light.  After a long journey, he comes upon a man shoveling snow over a ball of fire and with every shovel full, the light was concealed.  The boy steals the light and transforms into a raven to escape back to his village bringing day to his people.

The voice of an oral storyteller can be heard in the language of the story.

Katie Woo hears hear Dad play the piano and she wants to make music too.  She tries the piano and all her friends’ instruments, “but I’d like to play something of my own,” she says.  She finds her own instrument in the sounds she enjoys around her and discovers the drums are her own way to make music.  The repetitive testing and discarding of musical instruments gives the text predictability for young readers.  Showing a Chinese American girl exploring the world around her, this is a great series to diversify your early reader collection.

Includes a Glossary of Musical terms, discussion questions and writing prompts, directions to make a Chinese drum.

This cute picture book is inspired by the traditional rhyme “This Little Piggy Went to Market.”  The repetitive text will appeal to young readers.  The pattern of text starts with Piggy doing daily tasks such as shopping, partying, riding, and skating.  The second Piggy always stays home and is illustrated doing a domestic task.  The third Piggy always “had” some object.  The fourth Piggy always “had none.” The fifth piggy went “all the way home”.  Some terms such as “posting” and “dining” are not familiar for young American children, yet this is a fun and engaging picture book.

Covering a mix of United States and International as well as male and female players, this nonfiction text recounts of some of the stars of soccer in the last 60 years.  The chapters feature 2 women, 3 US players and 2 international players.  In addition, other records are shared in the sidebars and fun facts at he end of the book.  The text assumes the reader has a basic understanding of soccer strategy and concepts.  Contains Table of Contents, Fun Facts, Glossary, Additional Resources, and Index

This is book five of the Lighthouse Family series.  Pandora the cat,  Seabold the dog and 3 adopted mice have created a family characterized by kindness and comfort.  In The Octopus, the mice children Whistler and Lila explore an estuary during the lowest tide of the year, seeing creatures they have never seen before.  They offer friendship to Cleo, a stranded octopus and Cleo in return helps free Lila’s feet from the dry crusted sand as the tide comes in.  The story ends with Cleo bringing his family to share a companionable afternoon with the lighthouse family in the sea cave below the lighthouse cliff.

Short chapters and a peaceful, kind message make this book a good choice for young readers.

This book addresses many of the inter-dependencies and complexities of this rain forest ecosystem; from food chains, to pollination, seed dispersal, and human impact.  The book includes primary source documents and online extensions.  Questions appear at the end of many sections and captions.  Photographs, diagrams and maps support the text.

Contains Table of Contents, Stop and Think, Glossary, Learn More, and Index.

While the information is solid, the sentence structure appears stilted and oversimplified making it a choppy read.

Elizabeth tries so hard to learn the constellations of the night sky so that she can grow up to be a sailor like her father, but she just can’t seem to learn.  When her father doesn’t return from a voyage, Elizabeth uses the postcards of the constellations he sent each week to follow and rescue him from his ship wreck. They then sail off to see the Northern Lights together.  A cute story about perseverance and courage.

Elizabeth’s Constellation Quilt ties imagination with the concept of navigating by stars.  The constellations Elizabeth sees are items that are part of her life, a ship, a bear, and a fish rather than the more difficult to recognize and remember constellations of Gemini, Ursa Major, or Cassiopeia.

The Wombats and their teachers Ms. Annabel and Mrs. Nott visit the zoo ready to make the most of their experience.  Let loose on the zoo, each of the Wombats and their teachers records his or her experiences in first person, often including a short poem.  Facts are interspersed with humor and word play.  The same humor can be found in the busy illustrations.  The complex interactions of the numerous characters makes this a title that would benefit from a second or third read.

This is an international publication with English spellings.  The Wombats Go on Camp contains the same goofy characters.

“Every day, millions of creatures are locked in a battle for survival”  Dead of Alive? is full of examples of how creatures, both big and small, survive unique challenges.  From the wood frog that can survive being frozen solid to the barnacle that turns a crab into a zombie, the book is full of intriguing facts about animal survival.

The book is graphically engaging with colorful illustrations and photographs as well as different size, font style, and arrangement of text.  Contains a Table of Contents, Quiz, Additional Resources, Glossary, and Index.

Published in the UK, the English spellings such as centimetres instead of centimeters may be confusing for young readers.

Law and Disorder is part the Beware of Batman series of graphic novels.  The story follows the typical super hero story line with a villain for the good guy to beat.  Batman’s backup is a woman named Katana.  A Visual Questions and Prompts section in the back helps teach readers to effectively engage with the graphic nature of graphic novels.  Also contains a Glossary with pronunciation of key words.

A origami dog and a cartoon rabbit give examples of healthy eating in Kitanai and Hungry Hare Eat Healthfully.  Dialog appears in bubbles and comes across as stilted and awkward.  While the images are kid-friendly, the food options and meals discussed are not particularly kid friendly.  For each meal of the day, specific bad choices and good choices are offered, but there is no information that would help a child develop the concept of eating healthfully.

This book is part of the series “Kitanai’s Healthy Habits.”

This well organized title about the muscular system is part of a six book Capstone series about body systems. Connections and interdependencies with other body systems are naturally integrated into the text. Topics are supported by headings, bold vocab defined on each page, diagrams, and photographs.

Includes Table of Contents, Glossary, Common Core critical thinking questions, additional information, and Index.

This book is a good choice to support the Next Generation Science Standards.