It’s a good discussion starter book around numbers and observation. A concept book about counting, it doesn’t come right out and tell the reader what is to be counted. Photos of familiar objects are presented, each of which offer several compositional elements that could be counted, leaving it up to the observer to share what they see. Sets of pictures with similar components open up discussion for the concepts of same v. different and change as well.

Well, I’m only familiar with three of the twenty-six artists discussed in this book, and I guess the main problem is that I still don’t feel very familiar with the other twenty-three. For each artists, a brief paragraph (three or four sentences) tells a bit about their preferred medium and/or themes, but the art in the book is dominated by the artistic style of the illustrator, rather than highlighting the actual art of the artists being discussed.

I want to like it more than I do. The illustrations are cute. It tells the story of a snail who’s convinced by his friend that it’s time to start looking for a new home, and expand his world beyond the bucket of strawberries where he’s been spending all his time. As they head out on their search, Snail spots the apple orchard right away, and is drawn to the bright red fruit, but Ladybug warns him about the danger of the chicken coop that lies between. While Ladybug is intent on wanting to show him a whole list of places, Snail continues to be drawn by the apple orchard, and sets off on his own, nearly falling into the clutches of the chicken. It’s fine. It just didn’t have anything about it that really grabbed me.

To be honest, it’s not my favorite of the Jack books. When I heard the author speak about the Jack books, he shared that it’s a very deliberate choice to avoid having his books fit the moralistic tale model that so many children’s books follow, and I appreciate that Jack is in general a bit of a trickster character who is less that perfect. That’s what makes him likable. But in this one he catches the bank robber in the act, and then turns around and steals one of the bags of loot himself. I thought that went a little too far.

It’s a beginning reader, with controlled and repetitive text, intended for beginning readers. The sentences are intentionally short, with a simple structure, and the danger in these type of books is trying to not let things get too stilted. Often authors will use rhythm or rhyme to avoid this. Instead, these books depend on the combination of illustrations with the text to give them humor and personality that lend voice to the short sentences.

This is a very real and relatable story. Set in New York City, it tells what it’s like when a beloved dog gets spooked and runs off, and the worry and efforts its family goes through in hope of bringing it home. Besides describing the family’s work to make and post fliers and conduct searches, it shows how the whole neighborhood community came together to help. Spoiler alert: after being missing for two nights and three days, there is indeed a happy ending, and a celebration including all those who cared. I particularly like the people in these illustrations: though drawn with a somewhat cartoonish style, they each include details that give them personality, making them seem very real and believable.

It’s a compilation of short stories, all with the same main characters. Each story focuses on introducing some “big word,” giving it context, along with a little side note actually defining it. The final story is one that incorporates all five of the words introduced in the previous stories. I wouldn’t say the stories show extreme literary merit, but they do the job they are setting out to do: introducing new vocabulary words within a context that goes beyond a plain definition.

I’m generally a fan of Kathleen Krull’s work anyway, and this one didn’t disappoint. She has a way of writing biographies in a very approachable manner, including lots of information while really just telling a story. I think this book is very timely these days, too, as it shares the story of someone on the forefront of the movement to empower women, and it also brings out the themes of righting the wrongs we see in our society. My whole life I’ve heard of the New Deal in conjunction with FDR, but this book showed me it wasn’t all his idea; he just agreed to back the ideas of Frances Perkins.

It’s a beautifully illustrated poem celebrating the seasons through color. Beginning with Spring, it proceeds through the seasons, focusing on a specific color attached to each season, partnered with the consistency of green throughout the year (yellow on green for spring, blue on green for summer, brown on green for autumn and white on green for winter). Between each season the text pauses for a two-page wordless spread with clues to what season comes next, offering readers an opportunity to make predictions. The illustrations are gorgeous!

I’m not saying it’s super strong on plot. It basically tells of a small group of kids who decide to fix up a derelict clock tower. But the language is fun, full of sound effects and rhyme and rhythm. And the illustrations are beautiful, showing the transformation through a lot of different perspectives. And I like that it instills in kids that notion of putting for the effort to fix problems in our community by pitching in with others. It kind of implies that three kids finished the whole job in one day by 5 o’clock quitting time, which could never really happen, but oh well. I liked it.

As beginning readers go, it’s got the repetition and rhyme that helps to make it predictable for young readers. It’s no so much a story as a list of different types of bug behavior. The cuteness of the illustrations add appeal as well as adding meaning to the limited text. For kids who get intrigued and want to know more about bug behaviors, there’s a list of facts in the back for stronger readers to read aloud with the emergent reader.

The only good things I have to say about this book are that it has a sturdy binding, and that kids like Spiderman. Other than that, I find nothing else to recommend it. I know they are making an effort to control the vocabulary as a beginning reader, and they do include repetition that might be helpful, but the language is much too stilted. We’ve learned over the years through the works of countless authors that it is possible to limit the vocabulary while still including a natural flow and rhythm to the language. We need not feed our young readers examples of poor writing.

It’s a little fish’s first day of school, and the simple text (limited to a sentence or two per page, in a large non-intimidating font) manages to capture the mix of excitement and anxiety that can hit a student on such a day. Though the text is simple, it manages to incorporate the rhythm and rhyme and repetition that are so helpful to emergent readers.

It’s got repetition and rhyme and rhythm, as good beginning readers should, along with a good story captured in the simple text. It tells of the anxieties and excitement that go along with a big competition, as well as offering a suggestion on dealing with those anxieties (close your eyes, deep breath, count to ten). And it reminds readers that coming in second is worthy of celebrating, too.

The real strength in this book lies in its beautiful full-color photos of children at school all around the world. The text is simple: one chief sentence on each two page spread, as well as captions under two or three photos, describing how that sentence applies in different parts of the world. The theme of the text is that of the commonalities of school experiences for children all around the world, while the photos highlight both similarities and differences. There is a world map in the back with all the countries mentioned in the book highlighted.

It’s the story of two paper mice who after being cut out are tucked into some books and put away, but after dark they come out for adventures. The book ends when they crawl back into their books just before daylight. It’s a cute enough book, but really just another incarnation of a story that has been told repeatedly before.

It’s the 25th Anniversary Edition of a book I’ve never heard of. The artwork is beautiful and intriguing and always a bit strange. Each illustration is accompanied by an incomplete caption (“If mice were hair…. If worms had wheels…. If leaves were fish…”). It’s a celebration of imagination, and could be used it a variety of ways including art prompts, writing prompts, conversation starters, etc.). Suitable for all ages.

There’s a lot of rhythm to the flow of the text, which makes sense when you get to the back and notice the words set to music. It tells the story of seed that is found on an outing and brought back to the big city and planted in a jar of earth. The bunny who found it cares for it and watches it until it’s too tall to for the jar it’s in, then he and his friends take it outside to plant it in the ground. The refrain that repeats throughout the book is that though it started small, one day it will stand at a hundred feet tall. The illustrations show another whole storyline and the passage of time, as we see the little bunny’s mom pregnant, and then bringing home a new baby bunny who eventually is taking its first steps.

Trike is reminiscing over all the fun he’s had with he’s had with Lulu, when the arrival of a shiny new bike shows up and makes him conscious of all his own scratches and patches. Bike is a bit of a show-off, who likes speed, and he challenges Trike to a race. Recognizing the advantage that he’d have because of his familiarity with the route, Trike agrees, on the stipulation that if he wins, Bike has to promise to let Lulu ride at her own pace. Mid-race, when Bike’s risky behavior gives Trike an opportunity to take the lead, Trike goes after Bike to keep him save, rather than take advantage of the opening. They end up friends, and though Lulu gets presented with the shiny new Bike at her birthday, her baby brother takes over Trike, so the two get to keep riding together.

The illustrations are bright and cheerful. The text is rhyming and rhythmic. The story tells of all the barnyard animals gathering together to wait out a storm. Despite all of them declaring they’re not afraid of thunder, they obviously find comfort in each other’s company. When the storm passes, Little Blue Truck gives everyone a bedtime ride back to their own niches.

It tells about a girl who’s expanding her extracurricular horizons. She loves ballet, but after her recital, when the ballet classes end, it’s time for her to try the baseball she signed up for. She misses the twirling and leaping of ballet, as well as her sparkly tutu, and she’s not exactly giving her team her best. Her coach tells her about famous athletes who use ballet to improve their performance in other sports, and he gives her some sparkly shoe laces, and she begins to put in a bit more effort. And then when the ball is headed her way she leaps and twirls and catches the ball that puts the other team out and wins the game.

The illustrations are cute, and the story draws upon a character that will be familiar to many. But with only one sentence on most pages, the storyline and character development are both a bit limited. It basically tells about planning and preparing for a tea party, and then when Angelina drops the special tart she made for the guest of honor, she performs a dance for her instead. I guess it could be useful for recalling sequence, but otherwise it’s a bit blah.

It’s got the basic, very rudimentary information about why earthquakes happen presented in a simple, straight-forward manner. There are only one to two sentences per page, and illustrations to support the meaning of the text. It includes information about how different cultures of the past explained earthquakes before the science behind them was understood.

The story is lame. The writing is stilted. There’s repetition, but no rhythm or rhyme, as the description on the back claims. The questions in the back of the book are trying to turn reading into an assignment, but there’s not enough substance to the story to illicit any authentic questions. This is a tool designed to turn kids off reading.

The rhyming text tells of a cheerful chick who’s got a dream of starting up a barnyard cheer team. She’s made herself an outfit, practiced her moves, thought up her cheers, but when she ventures through the farm to enlist the other animals she is met with a less-than-enthusiastic response. Everyone is busy with their own agendas, and they each send her on her way. What she doesn’t notice is the series of other chicks who are following her throughout the barnyard, watching her every move. Just when she’s about to give up altogether, they joined her, and by then the grown-up animals’ work was through, so they at least served as an audience as the chick cheer team performs.