This picture book biography a little known figure (who was not so little) will make for a good bit of reading for those who feel awkward, and as if they don’t quite fit in. Anna never did fit in — she was taller than her mother by the age of six — but she had a definite sense of adventure and found a way to use her unusual height to help her see the world. I like the way the book gently describes the ups and downs we all face, regardless of our individual struggles, by sharing the differences between good days and glum days. The author’s note in the back offers additional details as well as photos to remind the students that this is indeed a true story.

It’s packed with information, and both the cartoonish illustrations and the chatty writing style make it very approachable for young readers. I kind of have to like it because it makes clear to students a misconception that I carried with me until I got to college: that the sun isn’t bigger than other stars, it just looks that way because it’s so much closer. Though it covers lots of aspects about the sun and its place in our solar system and our solar system’s place in the greater universe, it can’t go into great depth, given that it is a picture book. One element I thought was over-simplified a bit was when, in explaining that the tilt of the earth gives us seasons, it declares that there are four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter), where it would have been more accurate to say that much of the earth has those four seasons; not everywhere has the same four seasons and North America and Europe.

Glitter on the cover is always a draw, but these books have substance to their stories, too. I’ve yet to meet a Tallulah story I didn’t appreciate. This one does a nice job of balancing the dual messages that it takes practice and persistence to get good at something, while simultaneously reminding readers that it’s not always important to practice and succeed — sometimes you’re allowed to just have fun. As an added bonus, the super skilled ice skater who gives Tallulah tips and reminds her that it will take time to improve, is a boy, avoiding what could have been a sexist stereotype.

I really enjoyed this one. The illustrations fill the animal characters with personality and spirit. The story opens with a chipmunk receiving a note from Bear to “Please come at once!” Imagining Bear in distress, since Bear never asks for anything, little Izzy sets out to brave a coming storm in order to help her friend. When she finds herself unable to continue, a squirrel comes to her aid, and they continue on until the storm is even too much for the two of them, when a duck in a knit cap and scarf try to fly them through, but eventually the three must accept the help of a sweater-clad raccoon too. As they persevere through each new struggle, we read again and again the refrain, “No matter how steep or tough the climb, a friend is worth it, every time.” When they finally reach their destination, it turns out Bear wasn’t really distressed — he just wanted to wish his small chipmunk friend a happy birthday.

On the one hand, the book got my hackles up right off the bat when it begins by telling about Gideon and Audrey’s tradition of building a sandcastle together every summer: “Gideon made sure each tower stood straight, every wall was level, and all the castle sides were smooth. Audrey made sure the castle sparkled with shells, sea glass, ad a starfish on the top.” Seriously? Are we still allowing children’s picture books to blatantly pass on gender stereotypes that the boy cares about the engineering of the castle and the girl is all about decorating? And yet if it wasn’t for that one page, I like how the story continued with Gideon deciding one summer that he was going to build one all on his own, and after many attempts that get destroyed by waves or wind or others on the beach, he does indeed succeed in building a structurally impressive sand castle, admired by many strangers, only to discover his success is a bit hollow when he sees his sister and parents joyfully laughing together over a much more lopsided structure. I like the message of valuing togetherness and joy over independent glory. I feel like the publisher let the author down here: if it had been big sister v. little sister or big brother v. little brother, it could have avoided the whole sexist flaw easily enough.

As a general rule, I am not really a fan of abridgments and adaptations. I find it a bit disrespectful to the original work of the author. That being said, this one does have really charming illustrations that invite the readers in. Since the original work has sat on my library shelves for years without circulating, this may be a good way to introduce students to the idea that the story came before Disney, even if the picture book format allows for only a taste of the full story.

The text is in phrases, rather than sentences — a rhyming poem describing a series of transitions in a small child’s life, from saying goodbye to last year’s favorite coat that’s now too small and moving on to a new one that fits just right, to a trip on an airplane which requires saying goodbye to the familiar in order to say hello to the grandparents at the other end of the journey; from giving away one’s preschool trike in favor of a big kids’ bike, to saying goodbye to velcro-covered toes when one learns to tie their own shoes. It culminates with saying goodbye to mom and dad in order to head out for the first day of school and all it holds. The illustrations are vibrant and simple and graphic, offering support to the limited text to make the meaning clear.

It’s a lovely glimpse into Japanese culture, as well as the sharing of traditions across generations, and the transformation of traditions as life changes. It begins with Mayumi as a young child, describing her annual visits to her grandfather who lived half a world away, and the time they spent together in the garden he built when she was born. She describes his garden as unlike any other gardens with which she was familiar: instead of flowers or vegetables, it is a rock garden. She shares what she learned as they worked together, and how much she enjoyed raking patterns in the small stones. She describes the small tin of souvenirs she kept from the garden to remember her visits when she was back at home. And then she tells of the year they visit, and find the garden overgrown and untended; the illustrations show her parents packing boxes and grandfather in a wheelchair as she learns he cannot live there anymore. Remembering how her tin of souvenirs comforted her when she was far away, she makes both her grandfather and herself miniature rock gardens in bento boxes so they can take a piece of their memories with them when they must move away.

It’s a fine story, a loving tribute and memoir of a girl’s outings with her grandfather, who she knew as Toppy, and the world knew as Charles R. Knight, a famous wildlife artist, responsible for many works at the American Museum of Natural History. Told from the granddaughter’s perspective, she shares how her grandfather began visiting the museum and the zoo when he was only five years old, and how he taught himself to observe closely the animals he loved, despite his poor eyesight. He was the first to paint prehistoric animals, based on his study of their fossils.

I like it. It acknowledges that it’s okay to have mixed feelings about big events, like starting school for the first time: Lena wakes up excited about her first day of kindergarten, but when she goes to get dressed, she discovers her shoes are nervous. She encourages her headband and her shoes to have a heart-to-heart talk, and after the shoes explain that school is big and loud and different and they’d really rather not go, the headband reminds the shoes about other times they were all scared but decided to be brave together (the illustrations indicate doctors’ visits, ending with a lollipop, a scary movie that turned out funny, and meeting a big dog who turned out friendly). Shoes still aren’t quite convinced until Lena threatens to wear her slippers instead, at which point they decide to be brave together. When they reach the playground, the shoes get a little nervous again, causing Lena to walk slower than usual, but not for long. I like that it is told in a way that is respectful of all the feelings churned up by this new experience.

It’s a lovely book. The illustrations are warm and rich. The story tells about a walled village where the townspeople are painting a mural on the wall to welcome all to their town, but they face the problem that no one in town is tall enough to reach the top part of the wall. When Billy expresses concern about this, his grandfather tells him not to worry, as he knows just the fellow for the job. He reminds Billy of all the times the local giant has come to their aid, but young Billy refuses to believe his grandad’s stories are anything other than stories, because he’s never actually seen the giant, despite hearing the stories for years. When he asks why the giant would hide if he’s so nice, his granddad explains that people are often scared of things that are different, and can be unkind, and he encourages Billy to visit the wall at Dawn to see what he will see. When he does indeed see the giant painting the top of the wall, he runs away in fear, until he realizes he has behaved just as others have, and has contributed to the giant feeling unwelcome. He is determined to make things better, and he does indeed find a way. It’s a sweet story that encourages kindness and believing in things we cannot see.

It’s a repetitive tale, based on the pattern of “The House that Jack Built,” except it’s about the building of a piñata and party preparations. The illustrations are bright and help support the text of the story. It’s a good introduction to some Spanish vocabulary, even though the bulk of the story is told in English: the first time used, all words are in English, but as phrases are repeated, certain vocabulary switches to Spanish. The illustrations help support determining the meaning of the Spanish words. It ends with instructions for making one’s own piñata and songs in both Spanish and English for singing while smacking it.

A beautifully illustrated picture book biography of Sue Hendrickson, the woman responsible for finding the biggest, most complete skeleton of a T-Rex that has ever been found. The telling of the story, beginning with the habits she developed as a child, encourage readers to be curious and observant, and to explore. It describes the many years of searching, and the serendipitous nature of stumbling upon her famous discovery. It describes the long, laborious process and the teamwork required to uncover the full skeleton and transfer it to its eventual home in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The author’s note in the back tells, too, of the dispute over ownership that arose from Sue’s discovery: did it belong to Sue Hendrickson, who found it? Or the Sioux tribal member who owned the land where it was found? Or the federal government who held the land in trust? Or the institute which organized the dig of which Sue Hendrickson was a member?

The quality of the information is good. It is well-organized, and thorough. It is illustrated with detailed color photos and labelled diagrams. The photos zoom in close to show students details that might not be noticed from casual observation. Unfortunately, the quality of the binding is kind of flimsy and does not feel like it will stand up well for library usage.

It’s got a large font and bright formatting, with color photos, to make it inviting, and yet with limited text per page, it doesn’t feel like it skimps on information. It discusses the traits that make Golden Retrievers unique; it considers issues that should be considered when deciding if a Golden Retriever would make a good pet for a specific family (e.g. they need lots of exercise, and room, and company); and it describes their needs for proper care: diet, toys, vet visits, etc. It also shares a bit about their origin, and roles they play as service dogs. It includes all the basic non-fiction text features for teaching purposes, including table of contents, index, glossary, and further reading suggestions. A solid choice.

It’s okay, but it doesn’t really live up to its title. It’s like it’s trying to spin something into more of a story than it really is. It starts out telling the story that townspeople like to share, which brings tourists to this small Alaskan town, but just a few pages in it tell us that all of that is just a legend, and that the town is really too small to have a formal government. The whole second half of the book is just telling the story of the life of a small town cat. In the end, it left me wondering what the point of it all was.

For a beginning reader, this one really packs in some solid information. I think it’s a great idea to get kids thinking early about career possibilities. This one uses a popular topic of interest as a springboard to spark young students’ curiosity about possible future careers they might have never known about — Aquatic Veterinarian, Marine Biologist, Underwater Filmmaker, etc. It was well-organized and rich in information. One innovation that I decided I particularly liked was that they put the Glossary in the front instead of the usual position in the back of the book: though students may not take the time to read it first, they will at least have seen it, so they know they can refer back as needed.

As is so often the case when trying to create a non-fiction early readers, the constraints of the format limit the information severely. With only 1-3 sentences per page, it’s important in such a book to be very careful about choosing what information to include and how to organize it coherently. This one came off as very disjointed.

I love a good wordless picture book, and the illustrations in this one are simply gorgeous! The soft, moody watercolors show us a father-son fishing expedition on the high seas. Below we see a pod of whales swimming by until one gets tangled in some discarded nets and crab pots. As their day comes to an end, the young boy notices the whale’s distress and convinces his dad they must help. As they get close, we see the whale reflected in the eye of the fisherman, and the fisherman and his son reflected in the eye of the whale. The fisherman dives in and cuts the whale free of the ropes, and after he returns safely to his boat, the whale breeches in thank you. Then they sale home in the sunset.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous. They invite you into the story so that you almost forget that a tame, talking tiger wouldn’t really wander out of the woods at a family campground. At his family’s traditional end-of-summer camping trip, the young narrator is feeling down about growing up. After a week of sleeping with the tiger, boating and fishing and stargazing with the tiger, he is sad when it leaves camp on their last day to return to its cave, just as his family must return to their home. When he gets home, he immediately draws his tiger friend to show to his new teacher. It’s a story that left me a bit puzzled at the end, wondering, “huh…I wonder what the point of all that was supposed to be…” and yet I didn’t really care that I was a bit confused. It managed to evoke such sentiment and emotion that I really enjoyed it, even if I didn’t quite “get it.”

If you have a population of Haitian students in your school, it might help fill a niche. It is bilingual, and the illustrations are bright and vibrant. But I thought the story felt a little forced. It tells of a young girl after a rough day at school who wanders into an urban garden where a woman is painting a mural and suddenly finds herself transplanted to a garden in San Pedro de Macoris, where a soon-to-be-famous musician asks for her help finishing his song. Then the two fly away to Croix-des-Bouquets to meet a famous artist who asks for Sofi’s help finding just the right shade of purple she needs for her sculpture, before finding herself back in the original garden, where she asks if she can contribute to the mural, and impresses her sister with the purple flower she paints. The way names of certain places and people are mentioned without explanation makes it feel like a tourist book you would buy as a souvenir after having visited those places, but as an independent story I thought it fell a little flat.

It’s a look at science through a poet’s eyes. All the equations in the book specifically focus on the science of Spring, and are even further organized according to early, mid, and late Spring. On each page, an equation is offered in large print, accompanied by a paragraph explaining the equation is smaller print, thereby offering an opportunity to let students ponder the equations and offer their own predictions about what it refers to before reading the author’s interpretation. It invites readers into considering the basic facts of our scientific world in a new way (e.g. “maple trees x buckets + boiling = sticky smile”). The artwork is mixed-media collage and supports the text nicely.

I really love the illustrations: they’re soft and sweet and inviting. I also really love the message it is trying to convey: that each creature plays an important part in the ecosystem, right down to a lowly worm. And I know stories sometimes need to set aside reality to get to the point, but I admit to having trouble suspending my disbelief with this one: just because one worm stopped doing his job, I’m sure there were thousands of others still at it, and it seems like the amount of time it would take for the soil to harden and for the ecosystem to die away and then come back when the worm went back to work would be far longer than the lifespan of a worm. Just saying’.

It’s fine. It tells of a used car salesman who is feeling a bit bored with all his customers on vacation. Things pick up when a series of dinosaurs come in and each drives away in his perfect car. It will get picked up by all those kids who love dinosaur books, but it doesn’t seem to have any purpose other than trying to appeal to kids who like dinosaur books.

It’s really cute. The text tells the story of some toddlers on a pirate adventure, but the illustrations translate that adventure into toddler experiences. When they “sail across the seven seas,” we see the boys on a floatie at the community pool, using part of a pool noodle as their telescope; when their rival pirates “readied their cannons and took aim,” we see water balloons flying through the air. In the end, after being sent to the dungeon (i.e. their separate port-a-cribs under the shade umbrella), they reform their ways…at least some of the time.