Reviews
Does It Really Take Seven Years to Digest Swallowed Gum?: And Other Questions You've Always Wanted to Ask
“[S]cience and mathematics don’t come in a much slyer package, and an engaging layout with full-bleed pages, dynamic photos, and cartoony drawings makes it all the more fun. This is a rare sort of book that will add pizzazz to science classes.”—Booklist View →
Hot Pursuit: Murder in Mississippi
“In this short, gripping book, the authors juxtapose chapters that are fictional, centering on this tense decision, with chapters that explain the background of the segregated South and the civil-rights movement. The photo-realist style of the full-color illustrations ratchets up… View →
The Punctuation Station
“The young audience will enjoy learning the concepts as they pore over the details in the cheerful, wittily detailed cartoon art. . . . [O]verall, this offers a fun entry point to the rules of punctuation.”—Booklist View →
The Meeting: Book 1
“Quality translation and art production, along with a hardcover binding that lies flat, are details that suggest this book can be a popular mainstay in collections for a long time. A delight on many levels, it is also big enough to share with small groups and detailed enough to… View →
“More fun than most books aimed at teaching the sounds of letters, this picture book is a good read-aloud option for anxious parents and a natural for classrooms that celebrate ‘A’ week.”—Booklist View →
Book One: The Shadow Door
“Combining the fantasy genre with the graphic-novel format adds up to a package with all kinds of young-reader appeal. The books below each involve life-changing journeys, suspenseful plots, and inventive storytelling, all steeped in magical realms and loaded with high… View →
Hamster and Cheese: Book 1
“Young readers will appreciate the zaniness of the pet shop and the fun mystery, and Yue’s colorful art uses a straightforward panel design that’s easy to follow.”—Booklist View →
The Horrors of Andersonville: Life and Death Inside a Civil War Prison
“This well-researched book describes the notorious Confederate prison camp known as Andersonville, where more than 45,000 Union soldiers lived in deplorable conditions and some 13,000 died, beginning in 1864. . . Illustrated with many captioned photos and prints and enlivened… View →
Goal!: The Fire and Fury of Soccer's Greatest Moment
“Following the same attractively designed format as the authors’ Long Ball: The Legend and Lore of the Home RunSwish: The Quest for Basketball’s Perfect Shot (2009), and Touchdown: The Power and Precision of Football’s Perfect Play (2009), this well-written book… View →
Dino-Baseball
“[T]he play-by-play action in the acrylic paintings and the rhyming text (“Green Sox need to change the score. / Their only hope? Apatosaur!”) will captivate young baseball fans, while the humor in each incongruous scene will widen the book’s audience to sports-ambivalent… View →
The Dark Divine
“Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated.” —Booklist View →
“Trevor’s anger and tenderness are heartbreaking, and readers will appreciate that he is realistically flawed, especially in his attempts to get into the rich crowd.” —Booklist View →
Looking Like Me
“This very contemporary work is encouraging, energetic, and inspired.” —starred, Booklist View →
Harvest of Light
A young girl living near Safed, Israel, describes how her family grows and harvests olives to make the oil they use each year in their Hanukkah menorah. In the spring the trees bloom and tiny green olives form; in early fall the family picks and preserves a few green olives for eating;… View →
Sarah Laughs
The Old Testament says little about Sarah’s feelings, so this moving picture book draws on midrash (legend) and on modern biblical commentary to imagine the inner life of Abraham’s wife. Warm, clear, rhythmic acrylic double-page spreads show the close bond between husband and wife, as… View →
Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing
“A sure bet for reluctant readers.”—Booklist View →
The Warriors
“Gr. 5-8. Jake, who grew up on an Algonquin Indian reservation, becomes a lacrosse star at his highbrow Washington, D.C., boarding school. Following a school shooting, he organizes an all-school game to help his classmates cope with the tragedy. A thought-provoking novel about… View →
Marsh Music
“Berkes turns the night songs of all kinds of frogs into a concert, with a bullfrog, Maestro, assuming the role of conductor. As the illustrations move from twilight to dawn, Maestro supervises a symphony of frogs plunking spider webs, playing pond instruments, and making sounds. View →
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal
“An exciting subject captured with narrative panache and visual swagger, Bass Reeves stands to finally gain his share of adulation from kids drawn to the rough-and-tumble Old West.” —Booklist View →
I and You and Don't Forget Who: What Is a Pronoun?
“An energetic, cheerful addition to grammar lessons.” —Booklist View →
Choo Choo Clickety-Clack!
“Noise! Movement! Trains, boats, and planes! Little ones love motion, and this book brilliantly captures that rush in raucous words and eye-popping art. . . What fun this will be to read aloud; kids will no doubt be inspired to come up with noises and movements of their… View →
“Teens who can’t fathom why songs such as ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ make their elders go all misty-eyed may come away from this entry in the Lerner Biography series enlightened. . . the overall spirit of rebellion and uncompromising emotional honesty –… View →
From Idea to Book
“Perfect for preparing very young children for an author’s visit or launching a classroom bookmaking project, this title stands out within the extensive Start to Finish series.” — Booklist View →