Fall is here and Carlos and Carmen play in the colorful leaves Mamá and Papá are raking into a pile.  Papá makes a deal; Carlos and Carmen help rake the leaves and he will help them learn to ride a bike – with only 2 wheels. Carmen goes first.  She pedals and wobbles and falls into a big pile of leaves only to bounce back up with a wobble and a laugh.  Carlos’ wobbly effort end up with a crash in the leaf pile and the need for a band-aid.  With lots of practice, by the end of the day Carlos and Carmen can pedal fast and steer.  Then it is Papá’s turn to learn!!

Spanish words are interspersed and repeated in the text.  At the end of the book there is a Spanish-English glossary of all Spanish words.

The Carlos and Carmen series is an engaging latinx beginning reader series that incorporates cultural experiences in the everyday life of young children.

Carlos and Carmen go shopping with their grandmother for the perfect piñatas for their birthday party.  Finally in the 3rd store Carlos chooses a dinosaur piñata and Carmen chooses a elephant piñata.  When they get home, Dino and Ellie take part in many imagination filled adventures.  In bed at night, Carlos and Carmen lament the fact that their piñata friends will be smashed at their birthday party.  The next day their grandmother shows them how to cut out a square and use ribbons, scissors and tape to make door to let out the piñata prizes.  Now their piñatas will survive their party.  Hugs all around.

Spanish words are quite naturally interspersed in the text.  Spanish-English glossary in the back of the text.

This is a fun engaging story with young latinx characters celebrating their cultural heritage.  In the story the characters solve a problem of today by relying on family and the cultural expertise of their elders.

It was summer and Hank was bored and lonely. No one was using his pet-sitting business.  When the new kid in town stops by to use his services, Hank is thrilled.  Hank will be pet sitting for an escape artist sheep named Elmer.  That night the sheep does escape the garage, but not to get away, but to come find Hank.  After the sheep wakes Hank yet again, Hank finally settles down on the hay in the garage with the sheep.  Tommy arrives the next morning for his sheep and is impressed with Hank’s success.  Hank’s business has found him a new friend.

This beginning reader title adds a goofy twist to the kid friendly topic of pets.  Young readers can identify with Hank’s desire to earn money and his loneliness when his friends are away for the summer.

Black holes, by there very nature cannot be seen.  The only information about black holes is from observing how other objects in space behave around them.  This book details many of the devices that are used to collect information about black holes.  It also discusses the evolution of black hole theories over time.  The complexity of the concepts mentioned make this a book for a student with some prior knowledge of black holes and a basic understanding of cosmology.

The book contains a number of amazing illustrations and diagrams that imply they are showing a black hole.  These illustrations and diagrams, however, portray astronomers theories which don’t always agree with each other.  It is only in the last 2 chapters of the book that it clearly communicates that what is considered “knowledge” of black holes is in truth only theories and that aspects of these theories are continually being supported or disproved as more data is accumulated.

I feel the scope of this book is too great for its size. Ideas and concepts are mentioned in passing and not adequately explained.  Either focusing on current black hole theory, how black holes were discovered, or the tools and technologies used in the study of black holes would be more appropriate for this age level and allow for more clarity.  I also found the glossary entirely inadequate.  It includes the word “merge” yet not things like binary, gamma ray, or jet bursts.

A national park is more than just a name or a boundary contained place that we can witness now.  And Glacier National Park is more than “a wilderness landscape of forest, mountains, and lakes.” It stands witness to the impact of the forces of nature on the land as well as the footprint left by humans.  Glacier National Park, established in 1910 is one of the top ten most visited National parks in the nation with more than 2 million visitors in 2015.

In Glacier National Park from the Core Library National Park series, the reader experiences much more than a description of the park itself. This book incorporates multiple areas of study as it examines this beautiful wilderness landscape.  The science topics include: glaciers, continental divide, weather, geology, climate change, flora, fauna, and conservation. Personal perspectives include input and quotes from an award winning park ranger, a naturalist, a climate change expert, a historian, and multiple local Native Americans. The history of the region reflects multiple perspectives. Primary source documents are seamlessly integrated to support the content.  Suggestions for online exploration are embedded at the end of chapter 1 and 3 and include relevant leading questions.

With potential for NGSS STEM and C3 socials studies alignment this high quality title leads me to consider adding whole series to my library.

At the 2016 Olympics, Simone Manuel was the first African American woman to win a gold in an Olympic swimming event.  In fact, she won 4 medals in the 2016 Olympics.  The book covers her childhood, education, swimming career, and her future plans.  She started swimming at age 4 after watching her older brothers racing. She began swimming competitively at age 11.  Her family motto is, “D.Y.B” (do your best) reflects her positive and competitive attitude.

This is an inspirational story of a successful African American woman worthy of being a role model for kids. Colorful photographs, captions and fast facts support the text. Contains Table of Contents, Timeline, Glossary, and Index.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical description of the German shepherd and information on their care, personality, and history as a breed. Glossary terms are in red.  Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the German shepherd weight as heavier than a suitcase and its height as twice a basketball.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  One of the three links is to an information rich site, though the reading level is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  One link is broken and the third is to a site with significant commercial intent.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

This book “celebrates some of the thousands of mammals that never get seen or talked about even though they are every bit as amazing or weird or beautiful as their overexposed cousins.”  This book shines the limelight on some of the alternative mammals out there.  Among the interesting animals included in this book are one of the few poisonous mammals, an armadillo that plugs it’s burrow with its armored back end, a weasel-like creature that stinkier than a skunk, an underwater mole with a snorkel-like nose, a krill eating seal, and round eared rabbit-like creature.  For each of the 25 mammals highlighted in this book, there is a narrative description of what makes them interesting, illustrations, a map and basic facts about size, diet, habitat, and endangered status.  The illustrations are a bit cartoon-like, giving the animals personality.

Table of Contents incudes mini-portraits of each animal. Includes a large, partially illustrated Glossary.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the camel. The habitat section includes a map of the Eastern Hemisphere.  Glossary terms are in red.  The way the glossary term ruminants is used in the text leads the reader to believe that it means “eats lots of food at once.” Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the camel’s height as shorter than a door and its weight as the same as a soda machine.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the orangutan. The habitat section includes a map of Southeast Asia.  Glossary terms are in red.  Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the orangutan’s height as shorter than a door and its weight as heavier than a toilet.  The former comparison has a difference of over 2 feet and the later comparison does not relate to something students experience as moveable.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

Using simple text and colorful pictures, this book provides young readers with the physical characteristic, habitat, food, and life cycle of the alligator. The habitat section includes a map.  Glossary terms are in red.  Quick Stats section at end of the book visually and numerically compares the alligator’s length to a sofa and its weight to a soda machine.  Contains a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

Booklinks directs the reader to Abdo site where the book is selected using a search box.  The three provided links are to quality sites, but the content is significantly higher than the K-1 reading level of the book.  The reader is also encouraged to visit Abdo Zoom Animals database, but will have not access to the information, since it is a paid site.

This reprint of a classic tells of a neglected tree that just needed someone to care.  The young girl clears away the rubbish, rakes, hoes, and plants flowers so that in spring the now proud tree flourishes like never before. It’s branches, leaves and blossoms give way to apples until its producing, “Plenty of apples/delicious to eat/juicy and crunchy/crisp and sweet.”  Apples keep coming, “The more we ate/the more they grew/the more we wondered/what to do.” Finally at the Apple Festival they made a pig of themselves eating apples prepared in so many different ways.  And you’re invited next year.

A good choice to celebrate fall and harvest time.

Using simple text, this book focuses on the science and technology behind boats.  It starts with the physics concept of density and why boats float followed by how different forces such as wind, paddles, propellers and engines can make a boat move .  The engineering concepts focus on how differences in the shape of the hull affect its ability to cut through the water.  Math is incorporated when discussing relative wind strengths in relation to sailboats.

This book effectively balances the need to simplify difficult science concepts and the opposite need to maintain enough complexity to communicate complicated concepts.  A solid choice for a library looking for STEAM titles for young readers.

Contains a table of contents, glossary, online links and a index.

This is an cheerful portrayal of the first day of kindergarten.  Starting with excitement and nerves at home before school and moving on to the activities that take place in kindergarten.  Kindergarten is described more by the activities than the learning that takes place.  Nervousness makes way to optimism, “Now you’re BIG! You’re in school! And…. It really is cool!”

Colorful appealing illustrations portraying diverse smiling children.  I good choice for pre-school transition and the early days of kindergarten.

Reading can lead to curiosity and passion. Priscilla talks about gorillas “morning, noon and night” after her dad gives her an All About Gorillas book for her birthday.  Her love of gorillas becomes part of everything thing she does, from school to the grocery store to her cloths.  Sometimes her love for gorillas interferes with school.  Priscilla’s gorilla-like antics mean she’s spending a lot of time in the class’s thinking corner getting her the label of troublemaker. Priscilla’s dad points out that her book says that gorilla’s cooperate and if that she’s going to be a troublemaker she should choose a different animal, like a skunk.  After much thought, Priscilla apologizes to her teacher.  On a trip to the zoo the impact of her love of gorillas is clear when her classmates can share many interesting facts about gorillas.  When Priscilla demonstrates her gorilla dance, the gorilla responds with a dance of his own.

With photographs and simple text, this book provides an introduction to lizards.  The informational text on lizards includes common characteristics, habitat, and diet.  It also includes some specific information about the blue-tailed skink, gecko, and iguana.  The book would benefit from captions on the photographs.

Contains table of contents, glossary and index.

Linked online resources include photographs with a brief description of lizards.  Also included are downloadable print activities, links to elementary level informational websites, and a 4 minute video.  All links to external websites were dead links.

With photographs and simple text, this book provides an introduction to penguins.  The heavy use of pronouns, make the simple text less effective. Bold words defined in the glossary include waddle, webbed and flippers, but skips the word krill.

Contains table of contents, glossary and index.

Linked online resources include a more in depth description of penguins with more photographs.  Also included are downloadable print activities, links to elementary level informational websites, and a 1 and a half minutes video.  One of the website links was dead link.

With photographs and simple text, this book provides an introduction to the White House.  The heavy use of pronouns, particularly the word “it” make the simple text less effective.

Contains table of contents, glossary and index.

Linked online resources include a more in depth description of the White House with photographs.  Also included are downloadable print activities, links to elementary level informational websites, and a 2 minutes video of still animation, music, and textual information.  All online material are more appropriate for grades 2-5 so it does not match the audience of the actual book.

Is there anything a dog loves more than a treat? Woken from a dream of treats by an encouraging smell, the dog races off for the chance to earn any sort of treat. He tries all his best tricks first for a toddler eating cheerios, then a young girl with a hot dog, a young boy coloring with no food, grandma with dentures in a glass, grandpa brushing his teeth and finally an infant with a bottle.  His discouragement is evident until finally he’s called to his bowl for a treat, only to find it filled with toys not treats. Dejected, he retreats to pile of laundry to dream of his lost treats.  As the dream turns into a nightmare of monstrous dentures chasing him, he wakes to the call of “treeeeeeat….” The 2 girls have created a masterpiece of topped with dog bones and chunks of dried dog food.  What a treat!

The word, “treat” is the only word in the book.  The tone and expression in the repeated word, “treat”is seen in the expression of the dog and supported by the punctuation, font size and style.  Sure to be a hit as a read aloud but also a good example of the power of expression to convey meaning.

The animal world is a diverse interesting place.  What do things as different as a zebra and a bumblebee or a hedgehog and a chameleon have in common?  This book explores differences while highlighting the similarities.  Each two page spread contains four illustrated animals and a description of how they are different in some way; appearance, behavior, or habitat. Then readers are invited to look closer.  Each spread closes with the unifying similarity, “We all have…”

The animal illustrations have expressive cartoon-ish expressions. The back matter contains explanations of why animals have each of the similar characteristics described in the book.

Use this title to invite young children to think critically about the world around them. Use in a science lesson or to help students recognize their similarities to the many diverse people of the world.

Whoosh is science success story of an African American man made particularly accessible to students by their first-hand knowledge of one of his inventions, the Super Soaker. The story begins with Lonnie’s childhood in Mobile, Alabama and the challenges he faced in pursuing his love of invention. Lonnie wanted to be an engineer, but an exam he took said he would not be a very good one. He was not discouraged by this challenge either.  At a 1968 science fair at the University of Alabama (only 5 years after allowing their first African American students), Lonnie’s home-made robot named Linex won his team first place.  From there he studied engineering at the Tuskegee Institute before working at NASA on the Galileo probe to Jupiter.  And still Lonnie tinkered with his own inventions at home. He came up with the Super Soaker idea while investigating refrigeration and air conditioning systems that were better for the environment than than those that used R-12.  One toy company after another refused to produce his invention.  His attempt to produce his inventions on his own flopped, leaving him in a discouraging and difficult financial situation.  He asked yet another toy company and they said “Wow” and now Super Soakers are sold everywhere.  With the money Lonnie earned from the sale of each Super Soaker, he now has an even bigger workshop where he continues to invent because, “facing challenges, solving problems, and building things is what Lonnie Johnson loves to do.”

This book belongs in every elementary library.

A single unhatched egg rests in a nest surrounded by four fluffy goslings.  Mother goose nudges the egg, “Hello in there! Are you aware…how long we’ve all been waiting?” A mother’s cajoling is picked up by the coots and crows. The world is moving through spring and life is brimming. The wait is measured by the bursting of buds and sprouts are breaking through.  The journey begins with, “A nest. An Egg. A chick like you.”  The four fluffy goslings look on as a beak breaks through the egg.  Finally the egg hatches a bewildered, bedraggled chick with a piece of shell still stuck to its beak. The gosling is urged out of the nest to discover, “The whole wide world is waiting.”

Warm colors and up close pictures lend the story intimacy and closeness.  The more panoramic views show the expanse of the world waiting to be explored.  The short rhythmic phrases feel like the baby steps picking up momentum until you’re running to catch up with spring.

Using short simple sentences, this book starts by introducing the concept of biome as a large area with certain plants, animals and climate. It then explains that marine waters are biomes.  Of the three main marine biomes, oceans are the largest.  Coral reefs and estuaries, the other main marine biomes, are glossed over and never clearly identified in the text with headings or bold font.  Nor do the three main biomes appears in the glossary. Confusing the reader more, coral reefs are part of the ocean, yet in the book are considered separate from ocean biomes. The book would benefit from the use of non-fiction text features to clarify the complex concept of biomes without adding complexity to the text.

A few examples of plants and animals are given.  The climate of coral reefs is described.

Contains Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index.

The book starts with a 18th century Japanese Haiku about a butterfly dreaming while folding its wings. The remainder of the pages contain alternating 3 and 4 line rhyming verses for snake, deer, newt, rabbit, mouse, and turtle. For each of the 6 dreaming animals in the book, the first page is a 4 line recounting of the animal’s activities during the day; the second page is 3 lines describing where the animal shelters at night to dream; the third page is 4 lines describing the animal’s dream; the fourth page is always a 3 line refrain, “Sleep, Little (animal)/ Safe and warm/ Dream until the light of morn.”  The Little Dreamer can be found exploring on each of the pages describing the animals day.  The book ends with the child, Little Dreamer asleep in bed dreaming of the six animals joining her until morn.

Rather than using this book as a bedtime read-aloud, use it for writing lessons focused on clear concise descriptive language and the use of text structure to reinforce a message.

The book begins with Mother Goose sailing into view.  The introductory poem explains that the intent is to “remix old songs anew to turn them into something true fro modern singer, wingers, readings.”  The authors take 14 selected nursery rhymes from around the world and reinvent them in two unique poems with different voices, playing with points of view.  The dog complaining about the snoring when its pouring (It’s Raining, It’s Pouring), a pie tuckered out from all the thumbs (Little Jack Horner) a happy fiddle (Old King Cole) are just a few of the fun twists on the originals.  This book is similar to the author’s first book Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist.

A great choice for teaching point of view or for writers workshop.

The end of the book includes the original nursery rhymes as well as background on each original.  The book wraps up with a farewell poem from Mother Goose.