I really wrestled with what kind of a rating to give this book.  I guess I’m settling on a somewhat grudging recommended.  I love the illustrations: I think they’re beautiful, and they do an excellent job of providing modern day students with a glimpse of what school and childhood looked like in Colonial America. I like the rhyme and rhythm of the text, too, with just a few lines of verse on each page.  I just wish the there was a little more mortar filling in the connection between the verses and the illustrations — I think the book will have a hard time standing on its own with young readers who will need some sort of outside source (a knowledgable adult handy, or some previous study) to explain some of the references/vocabulary.  As a read-aloud, it could make a good introduction or addition to a unit on Colonial American history, as long as it is supported in some way, with discussion to set the stage for the time period.

This is a sweet story. Poindexter is a bashful young pig who has a hard time making friends because he is so shy, but he seeks refuge at the local library, where he becomes a bit of a library helper.  One day a young turtle shows up at the library who is even more shy than Poindexter, seeking a book on how to make friends.  As Poindexter helps the newcomer, they bond over the book and pull each other out of their respective shells (literally, in the turtle’s case).

I’m sorry, I feel like I’m being mean, but … really? It’s not that there’s anything hurtful or harmful or inherently bad about this book, it just doesn’t seem like there’s enough to it to have warranted someone taking the time to write it, and someone else taking the time to illustrate it, and someone else taking the bother and expense to publish it, let alone a reason for someone to spend good money to buy it and shelf space to store it and take the time to read it.  Okay, it rhymes, and the illustrations are kinda cute. but it’s just not a whole book worth.  Maybe if it had been published on a single page, in a collection of summertime poems, but as a whole book it just doesn’t seem worth the paper it’s printed on.

The best recommendation for this book is the fact that both my third-grade and fifth-grade nieces asked if they could read it before me, and it got their seal of approval.  The second book in a series, there was enough background trickled in to fill me in, even though I hadn’t read the first book.  It tells the story of a young girl living in a large mystery-and-magic-filled house, along with her distracted parents and three magical cats who once belonged to the previous owners of the house.  Olive is on a mission to find the spell book of the house’s previous residence, but the cats are doing all they can to interfere.  Though she insists (to herself as well as others) that she’s got the best of intentions, the books seems to work its own magic on Olive, leading her away from her original goals, with the potential for disaster hanging in the balance.  Joining Olive in her quest is a friend she met in her first book, and a new friend who has just moved into the neighborhood.  As one would expect with a good kids’ book, in the end Olive comes to her senses, averting disaster, and learning something about herself, and about what it means to be a good friend.

There’s a reason Nancy Drew books have been around for over eighty years and continue to attract a loyal following.  It was fun to have an excuse to go back and re-read one of the books that first hooked me into voluntary recreational reading.  This anniversary limited edition is kinda cute with a retro cover that may be appreciated by Nancy’s fans, but there’s not much pizzaz to the cover to attract new readers, so all-in-all, though I think every school library should offer the series, I don’t think this particular edition is the best option.

There seems to be quite the trend these days to capitalize on children’s fascinations with the gross and disgusting.  Many of the books I’ve read in this line have either failed to live up to being as icky as it proclaimed, or else hyped the ew without delivering any real information.  This one really was delivering honest-to-goodness scientific information, and it really was icky enough to make me squirm.  Illustrated with a combination of photos and cartoons.

The problem with trying to write a book about the unexplained is that when you’re writing about something about not much is known, you don’t have much to say.  So what’s the point?

This book packs in a lot of information, and does so in a well-organized manner.  The font and the layout and the plenitude of color photos keep the information from becoming overwhelming for young scholars.  The words from the glossary are highlighted in bold, and “words to know” sections along the way provide the definitions without requiring students to turn to the back of the book.

A topic of high-interest to many, this book draws on a wide variety of sports to complete its alphabet.  Some of the words selected are specific to one sport or another; others are general terms that apply to many sports.  Each page is dominated by a large full-color photo supporting the brief text explaining the given word.  A good tool for early readers with an interest in sports, though not heavy on information.

There’s always time for one of these brief folk tales.  Each of the ten stories begins by telling the tradition from which it comes.  It is then re-told in an engaging yet compact manner.  Besides the time benefits of these short re-tellings, the spare nature in which they are told leave room for inference as to the morals of the stories, thereby providing a springboard for discussion about the stories.

It’s trying to use the graphic novel format to make math cool, but the characters are flat, the math is forced, and the plot is trite, so even though it’s a graphic novel, it’s still a dud.

It’s got a sturdy binding and it’s colorful, with all the cool graphics to make it appealing and all the appropriate non-fiction text features to make it a good educational tool.  It’s even got good ideas.  My only concern is that it is perhaps overly optimistic/rosy in creating an image for kids about the grand success they can expect, when the reality might not turn out as picture-perfect as what the book sets forth.

It covers a topic that will be of interest to many students, and it uses all the appropriate non-fiction text features to serve as a useful introduction to reading for information, but the information itself is somewhat vague and limited due to the breadth of the topic: because it is lumping together all stadiums for all sports in one brief volume, there are a lot of generalizations.

This book does a good job of taking an innately interesting topic, about which many stories and myths have been developed, and sifts fact from fiction.  Information is presented in a consistent format:  briefly stating a commonly held perception about pirates, and then examining the historical accuracy of that perception.

A complex topic presented in a clear and concise manner appropriate to its target audience.  Electricity is something students use everyday, but about which they may have little understanding. I even learned a few things.  The font and words per page are not intimidating to students, but a lot of information is still packed in, well-supported by color photos and labeled diagrams.

I guess it’s fine for what it is, but what it is isn’t much.  It’s a little weak on substance, which makes sense, given that it’s a biography about a couple of little girls who just happen to have a famous dad.  It reads a little like it was put out by a press agent, trying to plug his client, even though there’s not much to say.

It’s an interesting little book, introducing young readers to the variety of jobs involved in creating and maintaining a museum.  The font is large, the photos are engaging, and lots of non-fiction text features are included.  My chief criticism is that the title is a bit mis-leading, as only 2 pages actually refer to those who clean dinosaur bones: the subtitle should have been the title.

It’s fine.  It includes all the most popular folk tales: Little Red Riding Hood, Three Pigs, Billy Goats Gruff, Three Bears, Gingerbread Man, Henny Penny, etc.  but there are better versions of all these tales out there.  The chief advantage (perhaps) is that they’re all included in one volume

It’s neither interesting, nor particularly useful — the concepts it is trying to convey can be better taught using other tools.  But it does have a sturdy binding.

The text describes the effects of the black widow’s venom on humans as causing stomach cramps and nausea, but just reading this book was enough to give those symptoms to this arachniphobe.  The information is very detailed, as are the up-close, full-color photos that illustrate the text.  I figure if it made me squirm this much, it’s going to delight those who are interested in the topic, and it certainly works as a solid research tool.

It’s just like one long math story problem (complete with answer key in the back), and it’s not a particularly interesting story at that.  No student is going to have any interest in picking this up, and even as a teacher, there are better resources available.

The information is sound and well-organized, but I wish the visuals did a better job of supporting the text.  The same graphic organizer is used again and again, even when the text is discussing different animals than were originally included.

This is Greek Mythology we’re talking about here, so references to sex and violence are of course unavoidable.  Much of the illustration is provided in the form of historical art pieces, so be prepared for shocked responses and giggles over the bare breasts included.  Greek/Roman mythology is so often confusing.  This volume does a good job of clearly and concisely outlining a variety of instances where the characters of The Furies turn up, and sorting through the roles they played at various times, right up to where they are mentioned in modern pop culture.

The basic outline of the book is sound, covering a solid range of information around the topic of public art, but there are not nearly enough photographs of the examples of public art discussed.  Children are visual learners (and after all, this is art we’re talking about), and they are not likely to be familiar with most of the famous works mentioned, yet only a select few are actually pictured.  Big problem.

If you are looking for a book on hurricanes for you weather section, this is an adequate choice.  The information is current, and fairly thorough, addressing many aspects of hurricanes, including how and where they develop, how people prepare for and clean up after them, and some historical information regarding the most significant hurricanes to hit land in the U.S.  The design layout and graphics are intended to give the information some pizzaz to attract the target audience, but it’s really just distracting.