Reviews
A noteworthy review of The Smart Kid's Guide to Everyday Life from Booklist on October 1, 2014
In what might be the most poignant entry in the Smart Kid’s Guide to Everyday Life series, Petersen takes on the unavoidable—and unavoidably sad—topic of pet death. Beginning with a history lesson (humans befriended wolves about 32,000 years ago), she goes on to explain View →
A noteworthy review of Life in Water Biomes from Children's Bookwatch on October 1, 2014
‘Life In Freshwater Lakes’ is an intriguing educational book from the Life In Water Biomes series for elementary students. Beginning with chapters on the formation and definition of freshwater lakes, this colorfully illustrated text goes on to explore different lake levels,… View →
A noteworthy review of True Animal Stories from Booklist on October 1, 2014
Lions and tigers and bears . . . together? Everyone loves a story about unlikely friends, and this volume in the True Animal Stories series covers, among other things, a heartwarming partnership between a cheetah and a dog (Sahara and Alex, to be exact); a gorilla who adopted a rabbit;… View →
A noteworthy review of The Great Outdoors from Children's Bookwatch on September 1, 2014
Canoeing is a great introductory illustrated manual for juveniles from an outdoor sports series for middle grade kids from The Child’s World. Beautiful color photographs show scenes of canoeing out on the water, different types of canoes, life jackets and safety equipment or gear,… View →
A noteworthy review of Fairy Tale Collection from Library Media Connection on August 1, 2014
An afterword in each book in this series offers and historical note about the origin of the fairy tale at hand and discusses different versions of the story over the years. Each book also mentions the lesson to be learned. For example, in Beauty and the Beast, the lesson is that love… View →
A noteworthy review of Take a Closer Look from Library Media Connection on August 1, 2014
In this great series, each book introduces a body part, tells how it works, its function, problems related to it, and how to keep it healthy. The clear, understandable text is accompanied by pictures and many well-labeled diagrams that show just the right amount of detail. Additional… View →
A noteworthy review of Healthy Kids from Library Media Connection on August 1, 2014
Each concept in this series is covered in brief chapters. Real photos are laid out with extra spacing between lines of text making it eye-appealing. Each topic covers the basics with adequate depth. Vocabulary and topic headings are in red, aiding in reading comprehension. With the… View →
A noteworthy review of Simply Math from Library Media Connection on May 1, 2014
The books in this series cover basic math skills for students in the primary grades. With large font and photographs, the books are appealing to young readers as well as a valuable resource for teachers. By providing real life examples for each concept, the reader can make connections… View →
A noteworthy review of Habitats from School Library Journal on April 1, 2014
These books show just how diverse habitats such as prairies, forests, and deserts are, through spectacular full-page photos that show their breathtaking beauty and through informative captions and informational sidebars written in short, accessible sentences. Young readers can further… View →
A noteworthy review of People in Our Community from School Library Journal on April 1, 2014
Going beyond the ‘usual suspects’ when it comes to community helpers, this series profiles 12 different careers in 12 separate books, which will be sure to help fill in any collection gaps. Simple, clear writing is used to paint a complete picture of the community helpers,… View →
A noteworthy review of United States Landmarks from Booklist on April 1, 2014
Temple introduces Arlington National Cemetery as America’s ‘most important burial ground,’ the final resting place for many American soldiers and others who have served their country. Though still in use today, with several burials each week, the cemetery will probably… View →
A noteworthy review of Big Machines at Work from Booklist on April 1, 2014
There’s no doubt that children will be drawn to this attractive book because of their fascination with tractors, though they might come away with a few questions. Part of the Big Machines at Work series, this features farm and lawn tractors but also muddies the water by inserting… View →