What is it like to live in a warzone? And what if that war isn’t one you’re fighting?  The tiny island of Saipan was caught in the middle of World War II.  Its residents had to navigate tricky relationships with the Japanese and Americans, as the two countries fought their deadly war.  This is the story of two islanders during those events.  Recommended for collections serving young people, particularly because of its unique topic and setting.

It can be hard to make friends when you move to a new town. When Teddy moves to Richland, he finds himself playing with a series of kids who just… disappear.  And you know how strange noises can make it hard to sleep in a new space?  The tree outside of Teddy’s room seems to be getting more aggressive in its scratching against his window.  This relatively slim volume combines horror and historical fiction in a story that will delight and terrify its readers.  Teddy is an accessible everykid, and his plight is believable and eerie.  Recommended as a strong entry into middle grade collections everywhere.

Where does an author get his or her ideas? What is a day in the life of an author like? This picture book helps to answer those questions by way of a dog.

The author in this book works from home. Her dog is there with her from the waking of each day, to her getting dressed, to her writing at her desk and tossing away drafts, to staring out the window at the world outside, until finally it is time for the dog’s walk. Here the dog helps the author come across possible things to write about. Then, they go home for dinner. Sometimes the author gets an idea at night when everyone else is asleep. “So one light comes on. And the author sits up and writes.”  Then one day, “The dog knows something is different.” He gets left at home “because it’s Author Day at Fred C. Underhill School!” with autographs and book signings. The author leaves telling the boys and girls they are all authors, too. Then it is back home to her dog who is waiting for her.

The story is understandable , but the text is halting at times and does not flow well. Steven Henry’s illustrations carry the story along during those times.

This biography for young readers is too simple. There are nine pages of text accompanied by nine pages of photographers and two maps. The pages of text average three sentences per page. There are thirty-one sentences in all, plus a time line.

The book tells where and when Amelia Earhart was born. It tells she was one of the first female flyers and that she flew across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Then, on her flight around the world, she missed her refueling stop in the Pacific. ” Amelia and her plane have never been found.” (18)

I hope someone at ABDO writes a biography on Amelia Earhart using the information found in the abdokids.com websites for an older audience.

‘Every Christmas Eve in the little village of Dorta where I grew up, high in the mountains of Switzerland, we have a carnival like no other. We call in ‘Drumming the Mountain Dragon’. ” (4) The carnival beginnings with the retelling of the story of Mimi and the Mountain Dragon around a bonfire in the center of town.

Hundreds of years ago, the towns folk of Dorta would try to frighten the Mountain Dragon every Christmas Eve in hopes she’d leave the town alone for another year. Then one year, 1314, little Mimi found a baby dragon in her family’s wood shed. Not wanting the baby dragon to be killed Mimi decided she would take the baby back up the mountain to its mother on Christmas Eve while the entire town would be in church. No one would try to stop Mimi at that time.

When Mother Mountain Dragon first saw Mimi with Baby Dragon she was angry. Then Baby Dragon flew to her and Mimi was no longer a threat. Mountain Dragon was thankful for the return of her baby. ” Why it should have happened that the mountain above the castle began at that particular moment to shed itself of its winter snows, none will ever know. But it did. And as Mimi could clearly see, it was not the Mountain Dragon roaring and raging that set the avalanche tumbling and rumbling down the mountainside.” (38) Mountain Dragon flew down to Dorta with baby and Mimi on her shoulders. Mountain Dragon saved all the towns people who were still in the church, now buried in snow, by melting the snow with her deep blast of fiery breath.

“And from that day to this, with the Mountain Dragon, and the little dragon, looking out for us and protecting us, we have never once had an avalanche anywhere near the village, nor a forest fire, and no one ever since has disappeared in the mountains.”   (45) They retelling of the story is done. The village people leave the bonfire and go home, knowing they are safe for another year.

In this early elementary fantasy graphic novel, Fluffy the cat, the Commander of P.U.R.S.T., must save his friends when his base gets invaded by aliens.
This is a cute and hilarious read. It is well-written and easy for young children to understand. Young adults and up would appreciate this endearing book. The art is adorable and expressive.
Cat lovers would especially enjoy this read! A wonderful book for all.
— Kellyn S.

In this graphic novel, the story follows an elephant named Otto who leaves his home in Africa in search of his best friend, a monkey named Georgie who was taken by a man with a wooden nose. His search leads him to New York City where he gets caught up with a gang of nefarious crocodiles…where trouble for Otto ensues.
Overall, the story is cute and well-written. The art-style is eye-catching, but not overbearing with too many details. Students who enjoy reading about animals and adventure will enjoy this read.
— Kellyn S.

This book is a collection of Bigfoot eyewitness accounts in graphic novel form.
Recommended for elementary and middle school children who are interested in reading testimonies about Bigfoot sightings in the United States. The illustrations are fair for the story lines and the informational text is easy to understand although the font of the spoken text could be easier to read. Overall, this was a fun informational read.
— Kellyn S.

Have you ever wondered how you got so many knots in your hair? If you’re a girl, you have. The Knit-Knotters are little tiny sprite that come out at night when you’re asleep and knit knots in your hair. They’re magical so no human can see them. They are quite naughty and are responsible for lots of other nuisances. When Stella went unhappily to get her new glasses, she met an unusual woman who enchanted her glasses and allowed her to see things that humans had not known before. This is a second-grade, getting-used-to-chapter books kind of book and offers an interesting reason as to why we get knots in our hair. It kind of goes along with the tooth fairy. Charming story for early readers.

Siamese cats have quite a unique history and many physical characteristics which distinguish it from other cats. The photographs are beautiful and children will fall in love with these cats. This book is good for beginning readers and cat lovers.

Labs are one of the most popular breeds of dogs; they are strong, used for rescue, smart, used for hunting, and are terrific in families with young children. The photographs in this book are clear and detailed, and children will pore over each one. Good book for beginning readers.

Siberian Huskies originally came from Siberia, Asia, used to pull sleds heavy with meat from hunting. In the early 1900’s they were brought to Alaska and are well known for sled dog races. The rest of the book deals with the dogs’ temperament, fur, eyes, and color. Good book for young children beginning to read. Dogs are always popular.

Thick glossy pages filled with saturated colors show the highlights of Seattle. The art in this book is pretty phenomenal. An ABC picture book, this book will help to prepare the youngest of visitors to the Emerald City. The best that Seattle offers is mentioned.

Although this title says its for kids, it is really for any beginning cook or baker. The information before the recipes is important and shown well; i.e., how to measure dry ingredients, different ways to measure the same amount, common terms, safety tips, list of needed utensils, and a picture list of ingredients. There are seven different bar cookie recipes that look delicious; easy steps and pictures to show what to do and what it should look like. There are five other books in this series, all of them cookies. Includes a message to adult helpers to let the kids learn math and science through cooking, and to set some ground rules. Kids love cooking and this book will be popular.

Asking questions and writing down the answers is a different way to write a biography. It almost makes it seem more personal because the questions asked are probably the ones you’d ask if you had a chance. That’s the idea of this new series, Cub Reporter Meets Famous Americans. The information is exactly what young kids want to know. Interesting that the Table of Contents shows each questions. Jackie Robinson has been a baseball hero for ages. Even today, as President Obama visits Cuba, the first president in over 80 years to do so, his fellow travelers are Jackie’s widow and daughter. Cubans love baseball and Jackie Robinson is the epitome of the sport.

In this version of an old folk tale, new is combined with old. The illustrations are colorful and have just enough detail. The size is perfect for little hands. Mother Pig warned them about the big, bad wolf and they were the ones who wanted to leave home. Kids were surprised that the wolf ate pig one and pig two. But their lives were snuffed out, just as was the wolf’s, with very little fanfare. Simple, yet just perfect.

Little Red Riding Hood is an old Grimm fairy tale but has been updated and revised for today’s children. First of all, the illustrations are colorful and include just enough detail to be interesting. Secondly, the size is just right for little hands. And, lastly, the story is changed by grandmother being smart enough to hide under the bed. Children loved this story because it has always been tough for them to believe a wolf could eat both a grandmother and a little girl. The change is good.

The McNasty pirate twins, Captain Gruesome and his brother, Captain Grisly, are determined to find the treasure buried in Little Snoring. However, two school friends, Tat and Hetty, are also in search of the treasure. The McNasty twins are pushed to the test against Tat and Hetty when they realize that the two friends know where the treasure is, and the gruesome pirates make several attempts to trick them into disclosing its’ location. Kids will love the nastiness, silliness, and mucus, as well as friendship. Black and white illustrations enhance the story.

In this fourth of Jiménez’s autobiographies, the author recounts his life from when he started his graduate work at Columbia University in the late 1960s to when he began his professorship at Santa Clara University in 1973.
With few true accounts of the Latino experience in America, Francisco Jimenez’s work comes alive with telling details about the warmth and resiliency of family and the quest for identity against seemingly impossible odds.

This is an eloquent work about overcoming poverty to receive an advanced education. A wonderful book to inspire young Hispanics in their pursuit of a better life.

Silliness runs rampant in this second book in the Ghastly McNastys series. The McNastys are twin pirates, though the illustrations show them not to be identical. The McNasty twins “were Gruesome and Grisly. And that was just their names…they hated two children in particular. Tat and Hetty, who had stopped them from finding the lost treasure of Little Snoring.” (p. 8, Book 1)

The action goes back and forth between the pirate brothers and Tat and Hetty. They both want the treasure they think is hidden inside Little Snoring Castle.

The story begins as school, in Miss Green’s class, is letting out for the summer. All the children and town folk are eager to audition for the Hollywood movie- Raiders of the Lost Shark- that is about to begin filming in Little Snoring Castle. The McNastys only audition to get inside the castle, so they can search for treasure, and since they already are pirates, they instantly get cast for the movie. In the meantime, Tat and Hetty have come up with a plan to capture the McNastys by tricking them into dungeon #244. Tat and Hetty make a fake treasure map marking dungeon #244 as the site of the treasure and hide it inside the chimney for the McNastys to find. The McNastys find the map, but the map is ruined before they can study it. They are about to torture the treasure’s location from Mrs. Slime and Miss Green, when Miss Green simply tells them the the correct dungeon’s number, # 433. When the pirates keep Mrs. Slime and Miss Green locked up in dungeon #53, one begins to cry and the other one’s nose runs so much the liquids begin to rise to the point of drowning them. A little later, Tat, Hetty, Big Wig, Dog, and Polly the parrot are escaping up a chimney from the pirates. The pirates light a fire, but Polly’s sea gull friends bring them a bucket full of Mrs. Slime’s and Miss Green’s snot and tears to douse the flames. It, also, sticks the pirates together for awhile. Tat and Hetty trade their knowledge of the treasure’s location ( dungeon #433) for the key to Mrs. Slime’s and Miss Green’s dungeon from the McNastys. Nasty as they are, the pirates throw the key into the moat and later release the movie’s sharks into the moat just as Tat finds the key. Hetty distracts the sharks away from Tat using strawberry jam sandwiches. What the McNastys find in #433 is not what they expected. Inside the secret room of #433 spider webs are strewn everywhere. There is a giant silver orb in the center of the room. The McNastys slice it open with their cutlasses. The diamonds they expect to fall out don’t. What does fall out are thousands of baby spiders. The McNastys run only to be swallowed alive by the sharks in the moat, which jump and free themselves into the open sea.

The first six pages cover basic shapes used in connection with the drawings : circles for sun, triangles in ice cream cones. Tools needed: pencils, colored pencils, sharpeners, erasers, markers, and paper.Then the bare basics of a color wheel are given. Nineteen creatures are presented to draw in 4 steps. The left page shows the finished drawing, in full color, followed by the four steps in black and white, on the right-hand page. Above the drawing , on the left page, is a fact or two about the creature represented below. Examples: ” The Diplodocus was the longest dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period!” ( 18) or  “In Chinese folklore, the dragon is a symbol of power and good luck!” (42)

I claim absolutely “NO” artistic talent, so when I followed the 4 step directions on eight of the creatures, I was amazed at how well the pictures turned out!

“This play is based on a true story titled, ‘A Locomotive Engineeress,’ which appeared in the magazine Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly in 1888.” (p. 4) The play takes place in Eastern Tennessee.  “Narrated in 1888; the main story takes place in 1856.” (p. 5) This play teaches: need is the mother of invention or you can do anything when you have to.

Older Bella narrates the play of how her father introduced her to working in the cab of a steam locomotive due to the fact the 15 year old Tennessee girls were not very friendly to 15 yr old Bella, a Yankee. The engineer taught Bella everything a male apprentice would be taught, but without a chance of ever using it, being female. Then one night the train’s fireman was sick at home and Bella took his place. On this trip to the mines, the weather was so stormy neither the engineer nor Bella could see the tracks in front of the engine. As a flash of lightning lit up the night, the engineer realized the train’s wheels did not have any traction. The wheels were just spinning, but the train was standing still. The engineer put Bella in charge of the train’s controls, while he spread sand on the tracks. Once the wheels found traction Bella drove it to the mine. And just in time, because the engine had lost most of its water for steam. Bella had saved the train and the town by bringing them their supplies.

Educators: Find FREE lesson plans and a Reader’s Theater script for this book at www.redchairpress.com/free-activities.

What drew me to this book was the glossy, vivid colors of each page. Daniel and his dad are on their way to see the Christmas play, The Nutcracker, when they run into his friend Owl. Owl is afraid to go in because he is afraid of all the people and the dark. Daniel convinces Owl it’s safe and gets him into the auditorium. This series is inspired by the television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and you can see the similarities. Both deal with problems of children and solve them in a calm manner. This story would be great for little kids with similar issues. I would recommend this book as a personal purchase, but because of the weak binding, not for a school.

Rosemary Wells is a genius at picture books for young children, and this one is no different. Sophie is trying to get attention after her new baby sister has been brought home. When her antics set off her baby sister, she is the only one who can quiet her down. Kids who do have a baby brother or sister will love this story as it shows how important it is to be a big sister/brother. The illustrations are beautiful. The only drawback is that it is geared towards such a small audience group.