Tales of dragons are told in many cultures.  Here, Mould collects four folktales, one original tale by another author, and five of his own stories.  The illustrations are the highlight here.  Mould’s artwork is curly and crisp, evocative and bright.  His dragons are beautiful and creepy, but friendly too.  His writing is uneven – mostly serviceable, with the occasional run-on sentence.  One glaring issue is that he labels three of the folktales with their region of origin, but when it comes to the story from his cultural heritage, merely marks it “traditional.”  Many children will enjoy reading through the selection of stories and poring over the pictures, but this is an additional purchase.

It is thought that Miss Muffet ran away because of a spider, but that is wrong. She is not interested in arranging flowers, or identifying insects or being demure. She wants to play her fiddle, but her mother finds this appalling and hides the fiddle. So while sitting on her tuffet, she sees a spider who knows where the fiddle is hidden. They decide to go off together. Along there adventure they come upon Bo-Peep and other characters and eventually end up Old King Cole’s castle.

This fractured fairy tale is told in verse with dialog and stage/setting notes. The story lends itself to a reader’s theater or some type of performance.

Pax befriends a pigeon he calls Blue. Every morning he feeds Blue a piece of toast. One morning Pax’s mother is in a hurry and he doesn’t get to feed Blue a piece of toast before he is hurried onto the subway. Pax is worried that he left Blue alone and you don’t leave a friend behind. Pax did not know that Blue followed him on the subway and now Blue was lost. Pax sees Blue on the subway and helps him get off.

The story is very simple with only 1-2 sentences on a page. The pictures are muted with Pax and Blue having the most color, but effectively tell more of the story.

What could you do with a bubble-gum-related superpower?  Gabby Gomez is walking down the street, minding her own business, blowing the biggest bubble-gum-bubble ever, when she finds out.  This early chapter book will appeal to the hybrid readers and bridge book lovers alike. Montijo uses black, white, and pink to illustrate, and writes a superhero story relatable to everybody.  He incorporates Gabby’s culture, sprinkling Spanish words and phrases into the dialog.  A sure-fire winner, the main drawback to this title is is that there are only a couple of books in the series.  Highly recommended for libraries serving elementary audiences.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a giant pile of garbage.  Scientists have studied the phenomenon, and the creators of this book journeyed to witness science in action.  They focus on three scientists, and show some of the methods of study.  Text is broken up with plentiful photographs of things found in the ocean and the scientists at work.  Maps display how all that garbage got there.  This phenomenon in the world deserves all the publicity it can get, and the straightforward approach here is perfectly accessible to upper elementary and middle school students.  Important for most collections serving youth.

An early elementary informational book about the moon. It is a part of a series about things in the sky. The book features bright photographs, an index, table of contents, key facts, and bold keywords. Some of the vocabulary used is not as attainable to younger audiences, but with minimal assistance could be a resource for those wanting to learn more about the moon. The book did not focus just on the moon. The Key Facts page gave more information about the moon that I would have liked to see in the text itself.

Early elementary informational text about levers. This book is a part of a series called Simple Machines. Each page includes 1-2 clear and concise sentences. The vibrant photographs and text gives examples of levers and the text discusses the features of different levers and why we use levers. Several text features are utilized including bold keywords, glossary, table of contents, and index.

Early elementary nonfiction book about beluga whales. There are 1-2 simple sentences on a page and the information is basic. This would be a good book for beginning readers. Text features such as bold words, glossary, index, and table of contents are included. There is also a quick stats section and online learning resources.

Early elementary nonfiction book about zebras. There are 1-2 sentences on a page and the information is basic. Many text features are used including keywords, headings, table of contents, map, glossary, and index. Readers can also access quick stats in the back.

Houdini, the rabbit, was a natural magician’s assistant. He kept the team together, helped them relax, and performed pre-show checks. He made sure everything was ready for Monsieur Lapin’s show, but one night things go wrong and the magician is accidentally turned into a rabbit. Houdini knows the show must go on so he becomes the magician. Houdini was a hit, but it soon was not as exciting as it had been and during his greatest trick, he turned the magician back into a human. Monsieur Lapin and Houdini soon realize that the spotlight is best when it is shared.

The illustrations in this book are hilarious and tell more of the story. The other rabbits antics will certainly have readers laughing.

Calvin is sad that his next door neighbors are moving away, but it is even worse when Harper, the biggest bully at Carver Elementary, moves in next door. In addition to trying to hide from Harper so he doesn’t discover that he lives next door to Calvin, the science fair is coming up. Calvin wants to win first so that his dad will by him a new video game. In the meantime, Calvin’s dad invites Harper to the movies and encourages Calvin to find out why Harper might be so angry and encourages them to be friends.

The storyline is easy to follow and it touches on the topics of bullies, foster care and homelessness. The black and white illustrations complement the story.

This is book 4 of The Carver Chronicles. Although this is a series, they can be read out of order without feeling like you missed something in a previous book.

A spoiled, snooty queen is unhappy with her cup of tea and sets out in a hot air balloon to find the perfect cup of tea. She travels around to Japan, India, and Turkey and meets a child in each country. She drinks a cup of tea with each as well as snuggles kittens, kicks a ball, and dances. On her journey, she discovers that the perfect up of tea is the one that you make yourself and share with others. The queen becomes less spoiled and instead of being lonely, has found three new friends. The colored pencil illustrations add to the story.

A picture book biography of Dr. Kathy Sullivan. The book goes back and forth between Kathy as a child and as an adult. The pages written as an adult have text in italics. The text is simple and written as a story. Kathy dreamed of having adventures and she loved maps, books, and foreign languages. She thought she might grow up to be a spy or diplomat, but most people told her those were not jobs for girls. She learned to be a pilot as a teenager.

The end of the book gives more details about Kathy, as well as mini biographies of fourteen other women astronauts.

Click-Clack Waddle-Waddle Dot-Dot Dewey Dew does not want to go to school. He is going to school at Ms. Brightsun’s School for Little Learners on Planet Earth. When he gets to school everything is different from the cubbies and books to the students that come in different colors and have two eyes and five fingers. A confused Dewey with a dorf (tear) in his eye stood in the back of the room until a little boy notices him and asks him if he wants to play and everything is alright.

The author has included alien language and that could lead to discussion of identifying what each word means. This could be a good read aloud for those nervous about starting a new school.

Steve is a fine horse that want to be exceptional. He finds a gold horn one day and believes this will make him exceptional. He ties it on his head and shows the other forest animals which leads them to find things to tie to their head. Steve loses his horn and he is so sad until he sees it in a pond. Steve realizes that he doesn’t need to horn to be exceptional.

The illustrations in this book are quirky, but the lack of color leaves me wanting more. The gold horn is a tan color and everything is muted in tans, black and white. The text uses a variety of fonts and dialog.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio made Usain Bolt’s name famous, a house hold name. Usain Bolt became the only man in history to win the triple-triple: “winning the 100-, 200-, and 4 x 100-meter relay races in three consecutive Olympics.” (23) Usain began racing in his native country of Jamaica by age twelve.

The left-hand page contains two or three sentences about his running career. The right-hand page is totally filled with an appropriate photo from a race. The photos show the euphoria of this sprinter’s achievements.

To see Usain Bolt in action the book directs the reader to go to: abdokids.com and enter code OUK9473.

The title pretty much says it all. Twelve giant pieces of whimsical art from across the United States of America have been photographed for this book. There is usually a sentence explaining why the attraction was built. It reminds me of the 1950s and 60s. Eye catching gimmicks to get your attention and often your dollars.  The book includes a United States map with each of the 12 roadside attractions marked: 1) the Donut Hole- CA, 2)Spoonbridge and Cherry – MN, 3) Jimmy Carter Peanut Statue – GA, 4)  World’s Largest Pistachio – NM, 5) Lucy the Elephant – NJ, 6) Blue Whale of Catoosa – OK, 7) Queen Connie – VT, 8) Cadillac Ranch – TX, 9) Giant Van Gogh Painting – KS, 10) World’s Largest Rocking Chair – IL,11)  Beach Ball Water Tower – FL, and 12) Giant Eyeball Sculpture- TX.

If your state missed the cut, try the “Facts for Now” on page 32 which will lead you to other roadside attractions from all fifty states, at www.factsfornow.scholastic.com keywords Roadside Attractions.

Yeah, a craft book! Author – Sammy Bosch introduces the book by giving some background on what a wetland is and what types of animals live there. Each of the eight animals has a sentence or two about them in a round bubble next to their photo, also, in a round bubble. The craft supplies are easy to acquire at Michaels, or Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabrics, Wal Mart, K-Mart or the like. This is a BIG plus, as far as I’m concerned! Several of the crafts use parts from egg cartons, Chenille stems ( pipe cleaners), paint, glue, pom-poms, and googly eyes.The finished craft is presented on the left-hand page, while the step-by-step directions are on the right-hand page. If the direction has its own photo, its number is inside a dark circle. Otherwise, the number for the direction is inside a light colored circle. When a specific photo is not given for the direction, looking at the photo of the finished craft is close at hand and easily furnishes any answer to the crafter’s question.

The crafts include: an Egg-cellent Turtle, Tennis Ball Turtle, Springy Bobble Frog, Scaly Shimmering Fish (a use for my unusable scratched up CDs), Crawling Cup Alligator, Hungry River Otter, Fuzzy Muskrat, and a Colorful Striped Salamander.

Super simple and super cute.

Choosing the right dog for a pet is not easy. This book will give the reader information about the rat terrier to help in making a decision. Does the reader want an intelligent, very active, spunky, playful, small dog ( 13-18 inches tall, 12-25 pounds ) who is calmer than most other terriers? Does the reader want a dog that is curious, territorial, suspicious of strangers, and will develop a strong bond to its owner?  Then, this just might be the dog for you. Plus, rat terriers make great watch dogs, guarding property, hunting, and catching vermin.

Rat terriers come in as many as 18 official color combinations, with short, dense, smooth coats.

This book is full of good care practices for dogs in general, as well as some information on the origin of this breed.

The text fills the left-hand page in three paragraphs, while the right-hand page is usually filled entirely with a color photo of a rat terrier in one of its many color combinations.

Book #4 in THE CARVER CHRONICLES finds Calvin needing to come up with a science fair project for school. In the meantime, the neighbors next door move to Florida to be closer to their grandchildren. Calvin spends quite a bit of time avoiding the new neighbors, a cranky older cigarette smoking woman and a bully from school – Harper- aka Monster Boy.

Author -Karen English must secretly live inside of boys’ heads to know what they are thinking, she is that ‘spot on’. Take Calvin’s science fair project, ” ‘I’m going to find a bunch of great optical illusions, and I’m going to prove who’s faster at seeing them, boys or girls. Even though I already know the answer.’ ” (21)  Calvin results have him later wondering if he should tamper with the data, just so the boys’ times are not so slow. He keeps the original data.

Calvin’s father meets the new neighbor lady and invites Harper to go to the movies with Calvin and him. How could Calvin’s father have encroached on their father son time, especially with that bully Harper? When Calvin’s friends start coming up with Harper scenarios at the movie theater, Calvin is surprised at himself when he defends Harper.

At the movie, Harper reveals the lady he lives with is a foster mother because Harper and his mother are homeless. Later on an early release day from school, Harper takes Calvin to the Community Garden. There Harper introduces Calvin to his mother and to Harper’s science fair project- do plants respond to classical music. Calvin had doubted Harper would even do a science fair project.

As more and more eye opening events  are witnessed by Calvin, as Harper is concerned, Calvin comes to realize living next door to Harper is “going to be kind of fun.” (139)

Laura Freeman’s pencil sketches, about three per chapter, add just that extra little something to push the characterizations over the top.

The first page of this graphic novel is a super quick mini-bio of the Spider-Man creation story.

Peter Parker has no trouble with math and science in high school, but with history he struggles. It is the opposite for Gwen Stacy, so their teacher- Mr. Maxwell has teamed them up to tutor each other. Peter has taken a liking to Gwen. He is about to ask her out to the Winter Formal when his ‘spidey’ sense goes off.

Vulture is stealing a brief case from Stark Industries. Vulture gets away from Spidey. Just as Iron Man shows up, Vulture escapes. Spidey and Iron Man have never met before and Iron Man wants to see Spidey’s face. Off Spidey goes chasing Vulture. Iron Man follows, not believing Spidey is innocent of the breaking into Stark Industries. With Vulture in view, Iron Man asks Spidey to team up with him. Vulture is soon captured. Before Iron Man and Spidey go their own ways, Spidey asks Iron Man for advice on how to ask out a girl.

The next day, Gwen and Peter get their history tests back, both with “A”s. Peter finally asks Gwen out to the Winter Formal, but he is a day too late. Gwen has already accepted to go with someone else. Later that night, as Spidey sulks a top a tall building, Iron Man shows up and invites him to help fight off a dragon “trying to eat Brooklyn.”

All of Peter’s insecurity and all of Tony Stark’s self-confidence and arrogance come through in this story. I could hear Robert Downey, Jr., in my head, as I read these pages.

It helped me follow along to see the text boxes’ script in two different colors to distinguish between characters speaking.

How appropriate my fortune cookie read, “An optimist is always able to see the bright side of other people’s troubles.”

Boris Snodbuckle and his sidekick Adrian are true optimists. They are seventh grade nerds or geeks at Bendale Public School, which is a K-8 school.  As you might imagine, Boris’ last name gets quite a bit of play in the unpleasant nickname department, but that does not stop him. Boris wants to make Bendale a better place and to do this he plans to run for Student Council President. Boris will be running against super popular, gorgeously handsome, and chief bully Robert. Boris figures out he will need to win over five groups of students in Operation Save Our School: “1. Little kids, 2. Nature lover kids ( Green Goblins), 3. Artsy kids, 4. Brainiac kids, 5. Popular kids”. (30) Boris comes up with a plan, or operation- as he likes to call it, to win over each group.

First plan is Operation Swing Back. This involves getting the swing sets back from the seventh graders for the little kids to use at recess. This operation involves water ballooning the seventh graders. When they give chase the little kids rush in to take over the swings. The operation is a success only to have Robert step in to announce Boris is copying his campaign promise to get the swings backs. Robert is believed.

Second plan- Operation Rally in the Valley involves saving ‘the Valley’ where generations of kids have played from a greedy land developer. Boris succeeds again, only to have Robert take credit for it through social media.

Third plan- Operation Broadway finds Boris auditioning for the school musical. Boris and Adrian both get parts, but so do Robert and his lackeys. Boris’ part is reduced to playing Rock #2, through Robert’s sneaky tricks. Dirty trick after dirty trick Boris doesn’t loose faith. As Rock #2, Boris has no lines, so he learns everyone else’s lines, which will eventually save the show, no thanks to Robert.

These are followed by Operation Triple R,  Operation Feed the World, and finally by Operation Beat His Speech. Each operation has its own set backs, usually Robert. Boris’ optimism rules!

All but once: ” ‘We did all this for nothing, and I’m tired of things never working out– never– and of kids putting me down all the time… and the jokes about my name… and no matter what I do, all I ever get are detentions and suspensions.’ ” (196)  Then Adrian proves himself as a sidekick and convinces Boris not to give up.

Boris has ethics! He won’t throw dirt on Robert in his speech before the election. After the Robert and Boris’ speeches, there is a question and answer session. Here several students ask Robert question after question, as if he is on trial, about all of the things he is guilty of during the campaign. Chanting for Boris erupts!

Boris wins the election, of course. Then, post election, in Operation Gym-Jam the student hold a sit-in (1960s style) until they are given outdoor recess again on mild weather days.

My one complaint about this book is that it needs better cover art to sell this wonderful story!

Be aware the word “wuss” is used once, on page 18.

Here is a mystery for your upper- grade Hi-low readers. The color illustrations are very close to graphic novel style, only page-size. Each page of text has two or three words jumping out at the reader by way of size, color, and/or style. Like in any good mystery, the reader will need to read between the lines.

As the book begins, it’s the first day of middle school for both the narrator and Ms. Fleek the new science teacher. As the weeks pass, Ms. Fleek can not find the key to unlock the science lab room. The class is forced to continue reading and doing textbook  assignments, even though I can see a glow coming from under the lab’s door. By mid-October, Ms. Fleek is questioning her ability to teach science when she still can’t find the key to the lab. Then one night, after yet another strange and bad dream, Ms. Fleek awakes to find the key in her hand. “We’ve been able to do all of our science labs since Ms. Fleek opened THAT DOOR three months ago.    I was so excited when we first had the equipment out! But science class and Ms. Fleek have become strange. She doesn’t smile as much. Well, not real smiles anyway.” (34) In February, the English teacher asked me some questioned about Ms. Fleek. Then,  the English teacher disappeared from school after Spring Break. I have stopped hanging out around the science room. “Anytime that door OPENED … I felt sick.” (44)

Next fall, when I am in 8th grade, “I stayed AWAY from Rm. 201.”  [Cliff-hanger]

We all know children who get a ‘bee in their bonnet’ (pun intended) and won’t let it go. This is such a story, but for all the right reasons.

Hurrah! It’s summer. Anna can’t wait for Friends, Fun, and Flowers day camp to begin in her school’s friendship garden. Her younger brother, Collin, is thrilled to be going to the Bugs, Bugs, Bugs day camp there. Then, not enough people sign up for Bugs, Bugs, Bugs.   Bugs, Bugs, Bugs and Friends, Fun, and Flowers are combined to become Sweet Peas and Honeybees. Anna is not thrilled with having her little brother around. On the first day of camp, they go on a field trip to an apiary, much to Collin’s delight. Anna is asked to be Collin’s buddy as the group walks there. “N-O F-A-I-R!” (18) Anna thinks. Collin is acting like an insect all the way there. “The apiary sat on the rooftop of a nearby apartment building.”(19) Mr. Blanco, the bee keeper, gave information about bees.  Collin stated, ” ‘ honeybee colonies are dying.’ ”    “Mr. Blanco nodded sadly…’And if we lose too many, that means lots of food that we enjoy…might disappear.’ ” (25) Now Anna wants to help solve the bee problem.

Anna asks her father to take her to their neighborhood home owners’ meeting dealing with spraying their yards with weed killer. At the meeting Anna shares her information about the blight of honeybees and of their importance. The meeting goes long, the vote will be taken at a later time.

Anna, with Collin’s help, plans to help the honeybees by throwing a BIG BEE BASH. Their invitations read: “Come to Anna and Collin’s house for honey-sweetened treats, waggle dancing, and bee games and activities. Monday night at 7 p.m.’ …they took a walk around their neighborhood with their mom and dad and passed out invitations to their friends and neighbors. They brought an invitation to Mr. Blanco, and asked him to bring his cool bee stuff and honey to sell. She knew he could get people excited about bees.” ( 86) They posted an invitation at the school garden, too, along with a place to donate to the ‘Wildflower Fund’.

Their Big Bee Bash is a success. The homeowner’s society still vote to spray their yards with weed killer, though. Anna is disappointed she has not made a bigger difference. Her parents reassure her that every little bit helps, “it will all add up.” (104)

In the end,  two hives are put on the roof of mom’s restaurant.

The story ends, but there are two more items of interest. The first are directions to the ‘Waggle Dance Game’ from the Big Bee Bash. These are similar to the dance honeybees do to point out directions to flowers for other bees. The second item is a recipe for Anna’s honey cinnamon ice cream.

What are your personal feelings about Groundhog Day as a holiday? Believe it or not, in this installment of the Black Lagoon Adventures, Hubie thinks it is ridiculous. Nevertheless, when Hubie’s teacher assigns his entire class a job for their school’s morning news show in February he becomes anchorman for February 2, Groundhog Day. As any good reporter Hubie begins with research in the library. It turns out, the groundhog, Punxsutawney  Phil, is only “right 39 percent of the time.” (14) Anything can be right 39% of the time. Hubie is not excited about Groundhog Day like the rest of his class. He thinks it’s silly. Humhog. The school is having a play during lunchtime about Groundhog Day.  Hubie has a hogmare the night prior to his broadcast. In it, Hogzilla “cast a big shadow.” (28) Hogzilla ruins parts of the school. Hubie is hoping the school won’t be serving groundhog for lunch on February 2. Early on February 2, Hubie gets up at 7:25 AM to begin watching for Punxsutawney Phil on TV. Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow. ” ‘I guess spring is in the air,’ I smiled.” (50) The newscast goes well. ABC, NBC, and CBS News all want Hubie to work for them.

The book closes with 8 Groundhog facts.

This would not be a Black Lagoon Adventure book without silly, but humorous, little doodles in the page margins by Jared Lee, in addition to the other major black and white sketches accompanying the story.