Reviews
Signs of the Season
This series highlights salient aspects of each season with descriptive text and a pleasant array of photos: colorful leaves, animals in snow, green buds, and bright blue skies… the books are appropriate introductions for the targeted age group. Suggested activities in each volume, such… View →
The Work of Heroes
This well-organized series explores the education, specialized training, and daily responsibilities of the featured first responders. Photographs capture the action and enhance the accessible texts, which include details about routine as well as extraordinary incidents, notable rescues,… View →
The Work of Heroes
This well-organized series explores the education, specialized training, and daily responsibilities of the featured first responders. Photographs capture the action and enhance the accessible texts, which include details about routine as well as extraordinary incidents, notable rescues,… View →
Weather Wise
This solid series is a commendable approach to weather studies, meeting early elementary standards for science education. The pleasing photos (illustrating the smallest water droplet to the largest puffy white cloud) and colorful format will hold readers’ interest. The descriptive… View →
Animal Loudmouths
These volumes cover standard topics including habitat, young, homes, and defense. Large labeled photos, informative fact boxes, and clean design help enliven the main texts. View →
Derrick Rose
This entry in the Basketball Heroes Making a Difference series profiles one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. The quick biographical section talks about how, as one of the smaller players on the rough courts of his childhood Chicago neighborhood, Rose learned his electrifying… View →
Amar'e Stoudemire
Stoudemire fits neatly into the Basketball Heroes Making a Difference series. His good works match his excellent on-court performance. Sandler begins with the power forward leading the New York Knicks to an eighth straight victory in 2010. The section ends with Stoudemire telling his… View →
Booklist Review for A Butterfly's Life
Part of the Animal Diaries: Life Cycles series, this book chronicles the mysterious and colorful sequence of a butterfly’s maturation. Formatted as a series of late-summer diary entries written by an inquisitive young boy, the book describes events from two butterflies mating in… View →
The Hole Truth!
Large, clearly labeled photos and diagrams introduce readers to animals that spend part of their lives underground. Engaging texts explain how holes, burrow, and dens provide places to avoid predators, store food, raise young, and hibernate. Relevant questions and suggestions for things… View →
School Library Journal Review for Animal Diaries: Life Cycles
With an unusual format but conventional content, these volumes are framed as animal-observation journals from children. Several clear, bright color photos enhance each spread. Beginning with calls, egg sightings, or other indirect signs of a mating season in progress (“Today I saw… View →
Gross Body Invaders
Disgusting Food Invaders and Gross Body Invaders were named to the Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year list for 2012. View →
Basketball Heroes Making a Difference
These consistent titles begin with details of game-winning moments and continue on to introduce the athletes’ childhoods, challenges overcome, and their successful NBA careers. The entries each conclude with the subject’s charitable work, such as the View →