I love this pair’s work, and this one does not disappoint.  The illustrations are fabulous and draw the eye, and the text is simple yet fascinating.  We all have the understanding of what little humans are able to do on their first day of life (and just in case young readers aren’t sure, the first page reminds us).  Each page in this book is dedicated to a different animal describing it’s first day.  The selected animals are wide-ranging, from the familiar to the exotic, from those born helpless to those who are independent from the start.  Though the few sentences on each page are just enough to tantalize, detailed paragraphs in the back of the book offer more detailed information on each animal, including what part of the world it inhabits, and it’s typical birth size and weight.

A clever little story about a pig and an alligator who share the same birthday.  When they stumble upon each other, the alligator captures the pig and thinks it’s his lucky day, as he ponders the birthday feast the pig will provide.  But the clever piglet outsmarts the alligator at every turn, manipulating events so that all the alligator’s plans turn in his own favor.  A twist at the end lets us know that the clever pig has been plotting all along, as a true trickster character.  A delight.

It’s beautiful and it’s sentimental and sweet, without being cotton candy sweet.  The text declares Christmas to be a quiet time, and then goes on to list a variety holiday situation that bring on different kinds of quiet, from the sneaky quiet of not wanting to get caught looking for presents, to the chastised quiet when you’re in time out after getting caught, to the quiet awe of lighting up the tree.  The illustrations are soft and charming and add meaning to the two-three word phrase on each page.

Fans of the other Scaredy Squirrel books will be drawn to the illustrations, which are very much in line with the character of the other books, but I am afraid they may be disappointed as they start reading, because there is no actual story to this one.  It is instead a Christmas manual, written from the perspective of Scaredy Squirrel, filled mostly with lists, outlining his views on mistletoe, fruitcake, gifts, etc. Visually appealing, but lacking much in the way of substance.

Wow! This book is fabulous! Just like it’s companion book, “Mirror Mirror,” this book is a series of Reverso poems based on fairy tales, some obvious and familiar, others more obscure.  Reverso poems are two side-by-side poems that use the exact same words, but by reversing the order in which the lines are written and changing punctuation, they completely alter the meaning of the text (often reversing the meaning entirely).  I was grateful for the paragraphs in the back which offer brief synopses of the fairy tales on which the poems are based, as some were unfamiliar to me.  The illustrations and bright and eye-catching and really contribute to setting the two poems against each other. I think this kind of play with words would have applications at all age-levels.  A treat!

ARG! Most definitely NOT recommended.  I’m not even sure I want to put it in my library.  It does have some nice features – great photos, a consistent layout, basic information outlined for struggling readers, with extra information added for those interested & ready to read a bit more.  I was almost ready to forgive it for being guilty of my biggest pet peeve with books written for early readers — when in their efforts to keep the text simple they oversimplify to the point of inaccuracy.  On the page about macaque monkeys, it states that, “During the winter, they warm up in hot springs.”  While this is certainly what is depicted in the photo chosen for the book, it cannot be said of all macaque monkeys, as they don’t all live where there is winter, let along where there are hot springs near by.  Then they compounded their mistake by putting a true/false quiz in the back, designed to test students’ comprehension of their reading, when they come right out and ask students whether it is true or false that, “Macaque monkeys warm up in hot springs.” Of course, their answer key declares this to be a true statement, even though it’s not necessarily so. Ugh!

Given that it’s trying to cover the animals, weather, industry and landscape of an entire (and very diverse) continent in only a few simple sentences per page, it doesn’t do a bad job.  I only found one place to object to it’s oversimplification: when the sentence, “Other people live in villages,” is immediately followed by, “They grow rice on farms,” it implies that all villagers are farmers, which of course is not accurate.  But over-all not bad, just basic.

It’s a decent little book: sturdy binding, nice full-page color photos, solid information in clear sentences.  But with it’s limited scope (32 pages, with just a couple easy sentences per page), trying to cover a vast topic like an entire continent means it’s only very basic, generalized information.  The photos don’t always do as good a job of supporting the text as I would like, either (e.g. text says that lions, giraffes, and zebras live in Africa, but accompanying photo shows only zebras).  Still, not bad.

The title says it’s “A Day with Mail Carriers,” but it’s really only about half about what the mail carriers are doing, and the rest is about the people sending and receiving the mail.  To be true to it’s title, I wish it had told more about what happens at the post office, and about different types of mail carriers.

If I had looked closer at what I was getting I wouldn’t have even taken these for free — they’re completely not suited to library use.  I know the kids like the transparent pages, and though not sturdy the regular ones are fine.  But these transparent pages are in front of black pages, so that the only way the reader can view what’s on them is by sliding a punch-out “torchlight” behind them (a piece of paper with a white “spotlight” to illuminate small portions of the illustrations at a time).  It’s gimmicky, and there’s no way the punch-out torch will last more than a month before getting lost.

If I had looked closer at what I was getting I wouldn’t have even taken these for free — they’re completely not suited to library use.  I know the kids like the transparent pages, and though not sturdy the regular ones are fine.  But these transparent pages are in front of black pages, so that the only way the reader can view what’s on them is by sliding a punch-out “torchlight” behind them (a piece of paper with a white “spotlight” to illuminate small portions of the illustrations at a time).  It’s gimmicky, and there’s no way the punch-out torch will last more than a month before getting lost.

Kids love the transparent pages, but they’re a bit fragile for library use.  I won’t expect these to last long.  Also, because the topic is so broad, the depth of information is rather shallow.

The subtitle says it’s poems and prayers, which it partly is, but also quotes from scripture and other people.  It does have an over-arching theme of peace, but it seems a bit unorganized/random.  The illustrations fine.  I just think there are better choices available.

One very short, direct sentence on each two-page spread states very briefly what that type of machine does.  Though the topic will be of interest to small boys, and the limited text is useful for emergent readers, there’s hardly enough content here to judge.  I would be reluctant to spend my library budget on something of such minimal substance, but it might be a series to consider in paperbacks for classroom use.

The topic supports the science curriculum both in terms of seasons and in terms of animal adaptations.  The full-page color photos are large and vibrant and eye-catching, and help support the text.  The text is simple and straightforward, presented in both English and Spanish, so the book is also useful as a tool for language learners.  An all-around solid choice.

Though this series is targeting young readers, the topic of this particular one, slaver, seemed at first to be a little age-inappropriate, but the author managed to hit the right note, without being either too gruesome for its young audience, nor white-washing things too much.  I only found one place where over-simplification resulted in inaccurate information (when explaining why Harriet Tubman’s exact birthday is unknown, it says, “Slave owners did not keep track of when their slaves were born.” — some didn’t, but some kept very detailed records).  And I’m willing to forgive what is usually one of my pet peeves, because they got one of my other pet peeves right:  the timeline in the back, listing different events in Harriet’s life, uses distance along the line to represent different lengths of time, as timelines should.  It’s illustrated with a combination of photos and drawings. Great binding.

It could be a great addition to a school whose music or drama department was planning on using this musical in their curriculum.  The illustrations are fun and cartoonish.  The text is the lyrics to the broadway musical, and would be helpful for students who wouldn’t catch all the words if they were just listening to the music.  But, as a stand-alone book, it’s a bit difficult to read without knowing the tune that should be accompanying the words.  It would have been stronger if it included a CD in the back with the music, or a link suggested as to where readers could listen to the music online.

First problem: the graphics are too over-the-top splashy, so that they become a distraction from the information, rather than an enhancement.  Second problem:  though the title of the book is, “Ice Dancing,” and the first page defines ice dancing, explaining what distinguishes it from other styles of figure skating, much of the content is actually dedicated to other types of figure skating.  Third problem: for a $20.00 book, it’s not going to have a long shelf-life, as the celebrities described inside are names not likely to be ones kids recognize in a few years (if they know them now).  It was nice to finally get some descriptions of the different jumps.

A couple of sentences of clear text on each page are accompanied by color, full-page photos that support the text.  The topic is one that is not only useful for community units, but will also appeal to some for recreational reading.  I appreciate that the photos show women as well as men in firefighter roles, and that the text makes clear that there is more to the firefighters’ jobs than only putting out fires.  Some fire-safety tips for children are also included.  The binding looks durable, and the size is appropriate for small hands.

Though the topic is not one likely to be chosen for recreational reading, it’s a solid choice to support the health curriculum:  it covers all the basics of good dental health, in both English and Spanish.  The illustrations are both appealing and supportive of the text.  Each two page spread includes a couple sentences about what needs to be done to take good care of one’s teeth, and then an insert with another couple sentences telling why this is important.  One of the things I look for in bilingual books is that both languages be represented equally:  this one uses both Spanish and English, in equal-sized fonts for cover information, the main body of the text, and the NF text features in the back such as index and further information.  Publication & copyright information is offered only in English.

For what it is, I guess it’s fine:  it’s got some beautiful color photos, and it counts to 10, and it names things in the photos.  It’s got a nice binding.  But with such little information, it serves a very limited audience.  I’d rather spend my limited budget on counting books that also offered other information, so that it would serve multiple purposes.

It’s got some really good features, but it’s got some problems, too.  Among the good stuff are simple text, a sturdy binding, color photos.  I also like the way it makes a very deliberate connection between arial photos and drawn maps, in order to illustrate the way maps depict areas from above.  It does a fairly good job of describing different purposes for different types of maps, but I wish it explained the purpose of colors on maps to represent different things (sometimes political boundaries, sometimes elevations, etc.).  Also, the picture of the floor plan they use doesn’t look like any floor plan for any house ever constructed, which again falls into the trap of over-simplification of information for young children.

It’s got all the basics of fire safety covered in clear, concise, easily understood sentences: 2-3 sentences per page, in large font, opposite full-sized color photos that support the text on each page.  The size is appropriate for small hands, and the binding is sturdily constructed.  It could have been stronger if it offered children more “why”s to go with the dos & don’ts.

My biggest pet peeve with books for young children is when they try to simplify the information so much that they over-simplify it to the point of misinformation.  This book is all about how the scale on a map sets the distance represented on that map.  Then they draw the maps with giant sized icons that don’t fit the scale — one map makes it look like a road is half a mile across, and one makes it look like a bird cage is 20 feet tall.

Strictly a book for the youngest audiences.  Three hens try to work up the courage to go for a ride in the farm truck, but they are scared of the noise it makes and of the unknown world beyond the farm.  They decide to go together, but after Pip gets into the truck, the other two make an excuse to stall, and while they’re gone the engine revs, Pip gets scared by the noise and hides her eyes until it stops, and when she looks around she thinks the rest of the wide world looks just like the farm, until the other hens inform her she never really went anywhere, and they all decide sitting in the wheelbarrow is more their speed.  In some respects, it is a book about facing up to one’s fears, but at the same time, it’s suggesting that venturing away from home is something to be scared of.  Also, the text is written in such simple sentences as to be stilted.