Reviews

The series features charming illustrations that suit the spooky, fantastical tone of the books and will draw in middle grade readers. The text is very readable, with bold fonts featured…

Part counting book, part tribute to messy good times, Sattler’s exuberant board book introduces five goofy-looking, none-too-clean birds. A long-legged, polka-dotted bird can’t resist a muddy

A humble gray moth opens the story, comparing itself to more notable species. Not as large as the Atlas moth or as cool as the spider moth, it sees itself as ordinary. Meanwhile, a boy is…

Each title sums up its subject’s life in five short chapters, which are enhanced with well-chosen and nicely reproduced photographs.

PreS-Gr 1–Afraid to be home alone during a storm, Raccoon sets out to find a friend to stay with. Turns out that the homes of Possum, Quail, and Woodchuck are too small to share. Cold and…

The sweet face on the cover with it’s big, curious eyes already draw attention and lure in to learn more about a less known animal, the Dik-dik.

This lesser known type of antelope lives in

Phumiruk (Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines) takes readers to the country of her birth in an instructive contemporary fable about kindess, set in a village in Northern Thailand. A

A close-knit family endures the rough life of farming in Colorado in the early 20th century. Hail, snow, locusts, sickness, death—the list of setbacks encountered by the Martin family as they

A child, her father, cat, and dog wake up to an ordinary day in their fourth floor apartment. The family members head down the four flights onto a city sidewalk, over to the park, and back up

A little girl is ready to start her day in this lovely rhyming story that takes readers on her adventures. After a good breakfast, she and her father say goodbye to their cat and walk four…

Maya, a strong female protagonist, shows there is a place for women in the male-dominated sports-reporting world. One of four new releases in the engaging Game Face series.

The urgent question, “What’s this weird but cute animal?” opens each volume of the aptly named Weirder and Cuter series. First up in Horned Lizard is a small, spiny reptile…

With easy-to-read text, this series looks at the impact oral folklore has had on Native American culture. Full color and b&w photographs supplement the text while maps provide tribal…

Thunderstorms are for sharing." Rain poured. /Raccoon shivered. / Thunder roared./ Raccoon quivered." Raccoon is not altogether comfortable alone in his den as the storm outside rages.…

Natural disasters can come as unsuspecting as a fog, and this book explains how The Great Smog of 1952 occurred as well as the effects it had on all of London.

The first sentence opens…

With careful explanations and descriptions, this book gives young readers a glimpse into one of the largest environmental catastrophes in United States’ history.

The first pages set the…

Perdew provides an informative introduction to the problem and discusses a few proposed solutions, while noting that public awareness and responsible plastic disposal are vital. . . . This…

Throughout the book, photos offer glimpses of Franklin, her work, and her world, but the book’s strength lies in its lucid portrayal of her upbringing, personality, and attitudes, as well as…

Each of these new books in the Explore the Countries series gives a straightforward overview of the country it covers. The books are more informative than fun, making them a good resource for

Stutson (Blue Corn Soup) and Krampien (A Book of Bridges) follow a father and daughter through the ups and downs of a day in their city home—quite literally, since they live on the fourth…

Engaging text, strong organization, and highly effective visual layouts are the highlights of this set. High-quality nonfiction with strong visual appeal for upper elementary schoolers.

Each book’s small trim size, white backgrounds, and crisp photographs are all designed to cater to little learners. Full-color photographs match the short texts well. Consider for early…

Comprehensive and well researched, this colorful, organized series offers an abundance of qualitative information for middle schoolers. Throughout the titles, data is richly depicted via…

K-Gr 2–Designed to encourage outdoor exploration, this series takes readers on a “nature hike.” Each title opens with a regional map of the United States along with a list of quick statistics