It uses the format of a graphic novel and the character of a June bug to share a lot of information about assorted bugs, and June bugs in particular. As the June bug finds itself disgruntled to realize it doesn’t have some of the cool powers that other bugs have, and finally discovers his ability to avoid spider’s web, it makes friends with the other bugs. It’s not exactly packed with insect information, but many students will appreciate the graphic novel format and the personification of the bugs and learn some stuff along the way.

Originally copyrighted 1978, the cover proclaims it “Moonbear’s very first adventure,” a prequel to Happy Birthday, Moon. This one describes how much Bear loved the moon and how concerned he became when he noticed it shrinking smaller and smaller. In all his worry, he stops eating and then notices himself getting thin, which of course leads him to speculate that perhaps the moon isn’t eating enough either, so he puts out some honey for the moon. Birds come and ate the honey while Bear sleeps, and then he notices the moon getting bigger, so he things he’s found the solution, but he continues to help the moon so much that he continues to get thinner himself, because he’s not saving enough honey for himself, which leaves the birds with a bit of a moral dilemma: they could help bear by telling him that they’re the ones eating the honey, but then they’ll lose out on the honey for themselves… Both the words and the illustrations are simple and straightforward, appropriate for young children, and the seeming logical, yet wrong, path of Bear’s thinking provide young readers with an opportunity to bring their own knowledge to the story to explain where Bear is making his mistakes. A solid choice.

It’s got lots of rhyming and silly illustrations as a young girl proclaims all the ways she loves making noise, even while admitting that her mom and teacher and other library patrons don’t appreciate her noise. After being embarrassed by the complaints of the other library patrons, she decides to open a book and finds that she can be quiet on the outside while all sorts of noisy adventures go on inside her head. And that just turns her life around. The next morning she decides to listen and realizes this allows her to enjoy birdsong and to learn in school. So she decides she likes being quiet some of the time and saving being noisy for appropriate times and places. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to leap from enjoying a book to suddenly delighting in listening at school. It comes across as a bit pedantic — the author’s wishful thinking, maybe?

It’s cute. It’s fun. And it’s a new look at the role of the Easter Bunny. It’s got a repeating refrain that twists the traditional “Here comes Peter Cottontail…” to describe the adventures of Peter Easter Frog, but it keeps getting interrupted by other animals pointing out that he’s not the bunny. As he pleads his case to each animal — he can hop, he love Easter, etc. — the other animals join in. But when they run into The Bunny, he doesn’t seem too happy with the usurpers, until Frog gives Bunny and Easter egg. No one’s ever given him one before. It’s got rhythm and rhyme and a nice message about making sure those who are always giving get to receive sometimes too.

It’s a wordless picture book that shows a child of the circus refusing to wear his clown costume and choosing farmer clothes instead, and after helping to set up the circus tent and welcome guests, the last guest to arrive is dressed just like him. He and his monkey friend seem to recognize this new guest and introduce him to the boy’s clown mom and they all spend a day together full of music and juggling and food and then they wave goodbye to the rest of the clowns and head off to the farmer’s home as a family. The back flap does show that the book is the third book in a trilogy, and it would probably be best as part of the complete set. It works okay as a stand-alone, but would probably be better understood by someone already familiar with the previous encounters between these characters.

I really like this book, though I freely admit it probably has more appeal for the adults who will read it to the kids and actual kid-appeal. It’s sweet and sentimental, with humor in the illustrations as it chronicles all the firsts of ordinary things in a new year, from first waffles to first fight with your brother, to the first snowfall and on and on through the first halloween mask and the first giving and getting on Christmas morning. Just to keep things from being completely repetitive it tosses in a few other numbers, like the second lost umbrella of the year and the 226th fight with your brother, and wraps up the year with the last waffles, last snowfall, last stories. I like it for the way it celebrates ordinary moments and I could see it sparking some interesting New Year journaling projects. It’s definitely something everyone can relate to.

Main character, Spencer, was born biologically female but identifies as male. His early high school experiences have been riddled with bullying and threats to his life. At Spencer’s new school he decides to keep his transition a secret, passing easily as male. Spencer is a skilled soccer player, but encounters trouble playing for his new school’s team once the coach finds “female” listed as the sex on Spencers birth certificate. At this point, Spencer must decide if keeping his transition a secret is more important than playing soccer.

This book would interest student athletes as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The character development is strong, the events unfold in a way that makes the reader want to continue to learn what happens. I highly recommend this book for all high school libraries.

This is a book about grief, addiction, family and finding your community. I went into this book with high expectations because I’ve loved every other book by Gayle Forman, but by the end of this read I was left wanting so much more. The main character, Aaron, is boring and had me often wondering why I couldn’t connect to him very well. The events unfold slowly with little development. The one redeeming aspect of the book is the way we see Aaron and his parents dealing with grief in vastly different ways; none of which are coping well, but all are still making their way through it.

The book is appropriate for both upper middle and high school students. There are characters dealing with substance abuse and addition as well as a character who dies of an overdose.

Libby Wimbley and her friend Becca spend time trying to decide what Libby can enter this year in the upcoming county fair. Libby’s cobbler won’t work, nor will her knitting. The farm animals do not seem to be interested, either. Then, Fred, the calf, ‘nudges‘ his way into becoming Libby’s fair entry.

Libby does not pout or cry when Fred does not win a prize. This is refreshing in a day when everyone receives a prize. ‘ “Looks like we didn’t win. But you did great!” Libby smiled at Fred. Then the judge announced, “And fourth place goes to Libby Wimbley and Fred!” ‘ (31)

Cow Girl is part of the Libby Wimbley series. Libby is a person-of-color, though this book does not address it. I am not sure if it is addressed in any of the other books in the series. Cow Girl is written in five short chapters with a medium-large size font.

Smash!:Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe with the Large Hadron Collider by Sara Latta, illustrated by Jeff Weigel uses the graphic novel format to excite readers about physics.

When Nick travels to see his cousin Sophie in “GENEVA, SWITZERLAND–HOME OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST PHYSICS LABORATORY” (8) where her parents are scientists, they will both help each other. Nick needs an idea for a comic contest back home and Sophie knows all about the physics behind the Hadron Collider but is not good at art. An art trade-off for a science trade-off is about to begin. ( Since this reviewer is not good at creating art or physics, the use of ‘kid dialogue’ is an important part of this book’s experience.)

Sophie breaks down the Standard Model consisting of a collection of theories into smaller and smaller parts, while Nick figures out how to turn them into Super Heroes.

“WOW! IT’S LIKE SOMETHING FROM A SECIENCE FICTION MOVIE! [Nick] BELIEVE ME– THE STUFF YOU’RE ABOUT TO SEE BEATS ANY MOVIE YOU’VE EVER SEEN…” [Sophie] (39) Yes, this reminds me of two different Star Wars movies. First, when Darth Vader and Luke face off with Luke falling, falling, down, down the humongous shaft and second, when Han Solo and Kylo Ren face off with Han falling, falling, down, down a humongous shaft. Some of the equipment in the Geneva laboratory remind me of those shafts.

The reader will be familiarized with the particles and forces in physics through the graphic novel format, given five more pages to review once Nick and Sophie are done, a glossary, and given a few books, visual media, and websites to check-out.

Just by looking at the cover of The Bug in the Bog by Jonathan Fenske readers will think they know this book’s plot. The frog is slyly looking at the bug with a toothy grin. When I read Jonathan Fenske’s dedication “For Epomis beetles everywhere.” I did not know there are, in fact, beetles that eat frogs. Surprise! Guess what happens to the frog in this book when the fog bank rolls in and nothing is visible?

Chuckle away at the illustrations, too. It is a book of few words. After all, it is a pre-level one, Ready-to-Read book by a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Winner.

Can Zip, the young outer-space humanoid, out wit his mother when it is time to go inside for the day and go to bed? David Milgrim has done it again! This very easy to read story set in outer-space will connect with young playful children. It is magical on more than one level.

Parents and teachers will be able to help their early readers succeed in reading this book by using the pre-story tables of sight and bonus words.

“Don’t miss the questions about the story at the end of this book.” is the last thing stated before the story begins, but in this copy of the book there were no questions. Perhaps because this book only contains thirty-nine different words total.

My Bed :Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep Around the World fills the eyes with cultural customs and treasures from around the world through the theme of beds. They are candy for the eye.

Each of the twelve pages, representing twelve distinct regions of the world, are filled with painstakingly made hand sewn, embroidered, figures with sleeping areas created using felted wool as a starting point. The Netherlands’ bed sits in a floating houseboat. “Brazil[‘s], Mexico[‘s], and other countries[‘] of South and Central America” are sleeping in hammocks. Afghanistan’s bed consist of “soft, hand-woven rugs”. Each page is a lesson in culture from the living quarters, to the native plants and animals of the region. They are candy for the eye.

We Love Fishing! presents the delightfully charming story of the reluctant odd-man-out. “Bear, Porcupine, Otter, and Squirrel love fishing.” Squirrel just wants to hang out with his friends. After all, squirrels do not eat fish, no matter how they are prepared. Squirrel keeps his lack of enthusiasm to himself and goes fishing, to be with his enthusiastic fish loving friends.

Marc Rosenthal’s illustrations gave this reader laughs, chuckles, and giggles throughout the book!

Simply looking at the adorable cover of The Duck Who didn’t Like Water will quack you up. The duck is holding an open umbrella in the rain while wearing a lemon yellow macintosh rain slicker and yellow rain hat. Oh yes, and there is a green frog sitting straight legged on top of the umbrella. Duck is a little OCD when it comes to water. When a terrible storm makes a hole in the roof of Duck’s house (on stilts above the cattails) Duck discovers not only a frog on his front porch, but a true friend in the making.

Basic information about Italy is covered from: location with maps, landscape and climate with a seasonal temperature inset, wildlife with photos, communities, customs, school, food, and celebrations.

I found Italy, in the COUNTRY PROFILES series, the easiest to understand when it came to the use of local place names and vocabulary in captions. This is most likely because this is the country I am most familiar with in this series. Also, Amy Rechner does a great job of including definitions within the text.

Students will appreciate the two pages of quick facts containing Italy’s flag, money, capital city and other information they most likely will be required to give in a report on Italy.

The www.factsurfer.com links gave more information from at least three other resources. Most of the links were working today.

What disappoints is the Timeline section. The reader must jump up and down from the top to the bottom of the pages to follow the sequence of Italy ‘s history. Only four of the lines are straight directly connecting to their spot on the timeline. The other eight are lines in three segments giving the appearance of a maze.

Basic information about Thailand is covered from: location with maps, landscape and climate with a seasonal temperature inset, wildlife with photos, communities, customs, school, food, and celebrations.

Students will appreciate the two pages of quick facts containing Thailand’s flag, money, capital city and other information they most likely will be required to give in a report on Thailand.

The www.factsurfer.com links which should have given more information from at least three other resources were not working very well the day I went to see them. Of the three Scholastic Thailand books shown, only one of them had information. All the links that matched the photo of this particular Thailand title went to other countries.

What disappoints is the Timeline section. The reader must jump up and down from the top to the bottom of the pages to follow the sequence of Thailand’s history. There is not a single line connecting the appropriate picture to the year on the line. There is a three segmented line which usually crosses the book’s ditch from the left page to the right page.

The Wildlife section includes six photos of indigenous animals, but also talks about another five animals that are not pictured.

Basic information about Cuba is covered from: location with maps, landscape and climate with a seasonal temperature inset, wildlife with photos, communities, customs, school, food, and celebrations.

Students will appreciate the two pages of quick facts containing Cuba’s flag, money, capital city and other information they most likely will be required to give in a report on Cuba.

The www.factsurfer.com links gave more information from at least three other resources.

What disappoints is the Timeline section. The reader must jump up and down from the top to the bottom of the pages to follow the sequence of Cuba’s history. There is not a single line connecting the appropriate picture to the year on the line. There is a three segmented line which usually crosses the book’s ditch from the left page to the right page.

Four accomplices, like the four letters of the title Meme, each will question the motives of the others after a wickedly committed murder, a murder they believe has gone viral. It is the fall of their senior year. Cole and Meeka’s relationship has gone south, with Meeka feeling that Cole may cause her physical harm. Cole has had a very rough life and is smarter with computers than with people. Holly, Grayson, and Logan felt there was only one way to protect Meeka. A single picture is taken at the murder site that would connect all of them if one were to confess. It was taken as a sort of security blanket, then all phones were destroyed and left with the buried body. Except the picture began to circulate as a meme shortly after the killing. Who else has the picture? Does that person know what happened that night? Could Cole still be alive? All have a point of view to share as narrators of alternating chapters as the story unwinds. Yet Meeka’s is that last voice. While Aaron Starmer’s title is trite, the writing is pretty good and fans of Gretchen McNeil will enjoy this suspenseful tale.

When four newly hatched dinosaurs imprint on Doc and Denise at a rundown dinosaur tourist trap this graphic novel becoming very interesting with overtones of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Doc and Denise’s landlord- Angus- unknowingly awakens the dreaded Armageddon, (buried a millennia past), from his underground hypercrystal prison. Armageddon, then transforms Angus into “THE MALICIOUS MAN-COMET!”

Armageddon sets Man-Comet out to destroy the manosaurs. Presently, the manosaurs are at the dinosaur museum with Doc and Denise, who want to show them about their earthly history. Mayhem at the museum ensues until Armageddon is once again trapped in hypercrystal.

Do not miss Book #2.

Tara Smith is a driven high school girl, the daughter of successful, driven parents. Then one day in a hurry to get to the school bus on time, Tara does not take her morning handful of daily pills. Everything changes from there! Tara can no longer block out the taunts from bullies. In a moment of rage, Tara transforms into a girl with glowing red eyes who spontaneously combusts.

Tara finds herself swiftly whisked off to a school for extraterrestrial high school girls. “…IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL, YOU’LL (Tara) HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN FUTURE GALACTIC ENDEAVORS.” This could very well be Tara’s dream come true.

Now Tara must get used to having a roommate, a new school, and life as an alien living among many other aliens from many other worlds. The BIG question is- ‘can friendship withstand cultural history’? A history where one friend’s world destroyed another friends world.

It seems no matter which world a high school girl is from, there will always be drama.