Reviews
“Nine stories, based on interviews with the grateful survivors, describe how brave animals rescued people in catastrophic circumstances. Each edgy retelling reveals details that only the participants could know, including sounds, smells, sights, and the knowledge that at any moment View →
The Iranian Revolution
“Iranian Revolution is the stronger of these two books. It begins with background on the role of Islam in Iranian history and describes the 20th-century conflict between the Iranian Shahs who wanted to embrace Western culture and the ultraconservative clerics, such as… View →
An Australian Outback Food Chain: A Who-Eats-What Adventure
“The interconnections created by the choices effectively illustrate the complexity of food webs while providing information about the plants and animals that form the components. Lively, engaging writing helps sustain interest. The back matter will assist report writers, and the… View →
A Tundra Food Chain: A Who-Eats-What Adventure in the Arctic
“The interconnections created by the choices effectively illustrate the complexity of food webs while providing information about the plants and animals that form the components. Lively, engaging writing helps sustain interest. The back matter will assist report writers, and the… View →
Wayne Gretzky
“‘The Great Gretzky’ played for Team Canada at the 1998 Olympics (the first in which NHL stars were allowed to compete) and coached the team to a gold medal in 2002. Gretzky made his greatest mark on hockey during his 20-plus years in the… View →
Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog
“Longtime friends Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog have fallen into comfortable, lazy routines, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. When they can no longer fit on their couch, they ignore what is happening to them. And when they outgrow their house, they tell themselves that it has… View →
Elmer's Special Day
“McKee does a great job of creating the jungle environment and the festivities in vibrant, exciting colors. The textures and the patchwork-quilt look of the jungle will invite readers to take a closer look. The impact of the creatures coming together as a community to celebrate… View →
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
“. . .the fall-down funny story of a cheerful nonconformist finding a way to be himself. Written in a style somewhere between A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Captain Underpants the story owes it humor as much to Ross’s line… View →
Swing around the Sun
“A well-loved collection of seasonal poems, first published in 1965, is revived for a new generation, creating a rich, vibrant reading and viewing experience. An exceptional marriage of poetry and art that will encourage children to write and illustrate their own seasonal poems,… View →
“Readers of Spy Technology will be delighted to learn that such ingenious gadgets as pistols in lipstick cases are not just the stuff of James Bond, but have been used by organizations like the CIA and the KGB. . . This… View →
The Fall of Constantinople
“Iranian Revolution is the stronger of these two books. It begins with background on the role of Islam in Iranian history and describes the 20th-century conflict between the Iranian Shahs who wanted to embrace Western culture and the ultraconservative clerics, such as… View →
Cooking the Vietnamese Way
“The narrative pieces are smoothly written and offer interesting tidbits. The authors are either natives or have some family connection to the country under discussion. All in all, these are good resources for reports and for older kids who want to add something new to their… View →
The Purim Surprise
“When Naomi Levin moves to a new town three days before her seventh birthday and the Jewish holiday of Purim, she struggles with the discomfort of being a stranger in a strange place. Her mother suggests that they break the ice with their new neighbors by giving them traditional… View →
Willy the Scrub
“Willy’s vulnerability and his desire for peer acceptance make his story appealing. Writing with humor, McEwan weaves these themes into the narrative in a natural way and endows several supporting characters with refreshingly non-stereotypical traits and interests. Short… View →
The Best Birthday Parties Ever!: A Kid's Do-It-Yourself Guide
“Ross, a veteran author of theme and holiday craft books, has come to the rescue of children and parents short on money but long on creativity. This do-it-yourself guide includes ideas and instructions for invitations, hats, decorations, cakes, favors, and games. Themes include… View →
Crafts to Make in the Spring
“Twenty-nine crafts inspired by spring and holidays are shown on double-page spreads and illustrated with full-color drawings. The directions are framed by border paintings that relate to the projects. The crafts include pussy willows made from cotton swabs, a rather novel… View →
Crafts to Make in the Fall
“Twenty-nine craft projects with autumn themes, including a school bus picture frame, a fall tree lapel pin, a soft sculpture pumpkin, a leaf-print banner, and a tree puppet that changes color. Two projects can also be used for Jewish holidays. . . The full-color drawings are… View →
Let's Celebrate Valentine's Day
“Each double-page spread in this introductory volume opens with a question, such as ‘Why Is Cupid a Valentine Symbol?’ to explain the origins and traditions of the holiday. . . The riddles, trivia, instructions on how to make a pop-up Valentine’s Day card, a… View →
Emergency!
“An engaging subject and bold, colorful illustrations guarantee this picture book an enthusiastic audience. When at last all of the emergency calls are over and ‘the rescue vehicles are all tucked away,’ odds are good they’ll be called out again by eager… View →
A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah
“A worthwhile addition for any library looking to expand picture book content on powerful women.” View →
Abraham's Search for God
“This simply told tale is an excellent introduction to the concept of monotheism, and would be a great discussion starter for talking about God.” View →
“The language is modern and approachable…Children will be intrigued by this welcome addition to religious collections." View →
Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
“Cheerful illustrations depict the sights and scenes of Israel with nostalgia and charm…this delightful title [will] also appeal to train-loving children.” View →
Harvest of Light
In this wonderfully different Hanukkah book, an Israeli family harvests olives to be processed into the oil. The daughter provides a simple narrative, which is clearly written and accompanied by full-color photographs de-picting each step in the process from gathering and sorting the… View →