Reviews
I Am a Dancer
“Graham’s beautiful oil paintings are filled with solidly built children on the move, while some of the backgrounds are almost ethereal. Even the brushstrokes convey action. This book is a lovely merging of art and poetry and gives a delightful sense of joyful… View →
Touchdown: The Power and Precision of Football's Perfect Play
“The blend of history, trivia, and statistics is ideal for browsing, and readers who want to learn more can refer to the appended list of print and electronic resources. With its eye-catching cover, this volume won’t spend much time on the shelves.” … View →
Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim: A Passover Story
“The digitally prepared, mixed-media illustrations utilize muted yellow, orange, and brown tones to depict the sweltering heat of the desert and bright blue and green tones to illustrate the celebration of freedom. They complement and enhance the text marvelously. A wonderful,… View →
Lay-ups and Long Shots: Eight Short Stories
“Whether the stories are based on the authors’ own childhoods or not, these protagonists are engaging, and middle schoolers will find much to relate to in the reassuring reminders that perfection is highly overrated. A great way to introduce reluctant readers to some… View →
Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist
“Craig Orback’s illustrations use strong opaque paint, which reflect the many sides of Banneker’s life. This short biography is an adequate introduction to this very important life and work which teachers will find useful in unit on slavery, civil rights history, and… View →
Will and Squill
“A sweetly told tale about the friendship between a boy named Will and a squirrel named Squill. . . Lively watercolor-and-colored-pencil artwork keeps the message simple and soft. The repetition in the text makes the reading predictable and pleasurable and suitable for young… View →
“. . . Soft, full-page watercolor illustrations lend a glow to the gentle text, which guides readers through the birth, life, death, and reuse of an oak tree and well as the travels of a drop of water. . . A valuable addition to early earth-science units.”… View →
“This entry in the ’It’s Time’ series of Jewish holiday photo-essays is a charmer. Adorable preschoolers, including children of Asian and African descent, take a pretend trip to Israel to celebrate Israeli Independence Day, a common practice in Jewish schools… View →
Lazily, Crazily, Just a Bit Nasally: More about Adverbs
“Wacky illustrations in bold colors complement a bouncing rhyme as the zany cats of Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What Is an Adverb? (Lerner, 2005) take another humorous and instructional look at the part of speech ‘that describes when, how, where, how often, and… View →
Stand Up!: Be an Upstander and Make a Difference
“Considering the recent flood of advice books for young adults penned by social media influencers, it’s a huge plus that this one is written by a highly experienced clinical psychologist. Give to tweens who want to take action and become positive forces in their… View →
Girl Power in the Mirror: A Book about Girls, Their Bodies, and Themselves
“Cordes cuts to the quick with these spirited, no-nonsense, yet still gentle and approving self-help titles [Girl Power in the Mirror and Girl Power in the Classroom] for young teenage girls. . . a lively design, a very engaging style, and substantive lists of resources.”… View →
Late for School!
“Rhythm and rhyme follow a tardy Mr. Bungles as he races to be on time. From end pages that trace his route to brightly colored angles of each page, this book shouts MOTION and encourages listeners to fill in the rhyme with each turn of the… View →
Accordionly: Abuelo and Opa Make Music
“Members of multiracial families may have more in common than expected . . . . Even more, the boy’s problem-solving abilities offer an opportunity to talk to children about situations that trouble them, and possible solutions. A thoughtful picture book for storytime and one-on-one… View →
Remembering Ethan
“Broaching a difficult but important topic, this heartbreaking story takes on a family’s loss in a delicate and relatable way. . . . [T]he work encourages communication and connection in desperate times. . . . This is an important work on mental health, for any collection aimed at… View →
Monster Songs
“These realistic. . . stories address some of the frustrations and fears of childhood. . .In Monster Songs, Hal is afraid of the creature that sings under his bed until his brother Jack helps him conquer his nighttime fears. . . [The books ueses] a limited vocabulary, making… View →
“This gentle tale is both comforting and effective as an explanation of the mezuzah. Noah’s emotional arc rings true, and information is smoothly woven into the narrative. The art is warm, welcoming, and interesting with its combination of watercolor, collage, pen and ink,… View →
Willie McLean and the Civil War Surrender
“These beginning readers offer basic historical overviews in story format. Both books have clear, unencumbered texts complemented by serviceable period art in color and an author’s note. These books offer perfunctory descriptions and interpretations for readers just… View →
Hunter's Heart
“Like many 14-year-old boys, Simon is fascinated by weapons and wilderness survival, but his fascination transcends the norm and his obsession with hunting fills the early pages of the novel with a powerful sense of foreboding. . . the compelling characters and story will keep… View →
Apple Cider Making Days
“The realistic illustrations are soft with autumnal colors and show the process that results in that glass of cider. Although listed as fiction, there is more straightforward information than story. The addition of the children makes this book more personal for young students. A… View →
Honestly, Mallory!
“Mallory’s friends take a backseat in this episode, as she faces the internal turmoil that comes with knowing you’ve done something wrong, and young readers will empathize with her. . . Recommend this book to fans of Amber Brown, Judy Moody, Junie B. Jones, and the… View →
Captured by Pirates: Book 1
“Pirates allows readers to control where the story goes, using both fairly lengthy prose and comic-book-style pages to move it along. The medium works well with the second-person narration, and Witt’s illustrations provide an excellent reflection of the tone… View →
Sail Away, Little Boat
“Ishida’s brilliantly colored spreads, done in mixed media, cast a swirling, whirling spell of balanced design. Working together in perfect pace, both text and illustration explore the natural world. . .The book supports standards in science, art, and language arts while… View →
Rhyme and PUNishment: Adventures in Wordplay
“The puns are in bold print and a different color than the rest of the text, and potentially unfamiliar words are explained at the bottom of the page. . . Sandy’s lighthearted cartoons add to the silliness, and make this a good choice for either browsers or for… View →