Reviews
Jellies: The Life of Jellyfish
“Gorgeous full-color underwater photos and a simple, readable text provide a fascinating introduction to some little-known and often unheralded marine organisms. Less detailed than Elizabeth Gowell’s equally spectacular Sea Jellies (Watts, 1993; o.p.), George’s… View →
Kathy Ross Crafts Letter Sounds
“These attractive books present hands-on projects to accompany phonics and letter recognition lessons. . . Sounds presents phonics activities such as a ‘Most Marvelous Moose’ made from a brown lunch bag for the letter M. . . [Includes] ideas for supplemental… View →
Crafts from Your Favorite Children's Stories
“Children will like these 20 imaginative projects. . . Each one is covered in a two-page spread, with a materials list followed by a numbered list of steps. The directions are clear and well illustrated with cartoonlike watercolor art. . . As a supplement to storytelling or for… View →
Christmas Presents Kids Can Make
“Ross offers 29 handmade gifts for children to create for their families and friends. Most of the materials can be found in the home and often involve recycling items (old felt-tip pen caps, film canisters, laundry-bottle caps, Christmas catalogs). . . Although there are a… View →
All New Crafts for Valentine's Day
“Colorful, child-friendly,watercolor paintings take readers step-by-step through 20 easy crafts. The materials needed are easy to find and are show at the beginning of each spread. Most projects involve cutting and gluing. Some also require simple drawing and hand lettering a… View →
Nature's Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse
“The art is lovely – a snow-covered wall in black and white melts into a spring pastel with the blurred edges of chalk. Summer’s blue sky deepens with a purple cast as the watercolor warm days become a frenzy of oranges and golds carrying youngsters full circle to a… View →
Hanukkah Moon
“With a golden palette and a soft tone, this lovely story highlights a tradition overlooked in most Hanukkah literature. . . Soothing watercolor and crayon illustrations in shades of gold and purple beautifully convey the affectionate relationship that develops between the child… View →
“The cheerful watercolor illustrations enhance the text and add to its gentle sweetness. . . Readers who have a relative of a different religion will especially appreciate how this book reflects and validates their own families, but all youngsters will gain an understanding of… View →
Almost to Freedom
“A compelling story told from the point of view of an enslaved child’s beloved rag doll. This accessible story. . . makes its impact without frightening or overwhelming readers. It is ultimately a story of hope and resilience, love and friendship. The evocative oil… View →
Sometimey Friend
“A heartwarming, humorous sequel to Sylvia and Miz Lula Maye (Carolrhoda, 2002), set in South Carolina in 1978. . . Flood’s characters are likable, and the realistic dialogue lends an appealing ethnicity to this charming story about a loving African-American family.… View →
Read Anything Good Lately?
“From ‘an atlas at the airport’ to ‘a yoga book in the yard’ and ‘the zodiac at the zoo,’ a little girl moves playfully along through biography, comics, dictionary, encyclopedia, magazine, poetry, quotations, recipes, and a variety of genres.… View →
Dino-Hockey
“In this fast-paced and wild hockey championship, the carnivores in red jerseys (Meat-Eaters) take on the herbivores in green (Veggiesaurs). Clever rhyming couplets keep the game lively and slip in facts about dinosaurs (‘Socks and jerseys keep them warm/cold-blooded beasts View →
Mallory on Board
“Readers will enjoy the details of the cruise and the fancy wedding arrangements on board. The book is well designed, and the frequent black-and-white illustrations enhance this easy chapter book. There is bonus end matter, featuring Mallory’s spring break report and a… View →
“. . .there have been a number of books for young readers about African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. This volume, written in engagingly fresh prose and attractively laid out in large, clear type, is one of the best. . . Probably the most objective look at this highly… View →
Hush Harbor: Praying in Secret
“Banks’s highly stylized paintings are wonderfully expressive and amplify the deep emotion of the situation. Her palette of yellows and browns shows people who are swathed in moonlight yet avoids the dimness that night scenes sometimes have. An extensive author’s note View →
Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot
“Stewart and Kennedy offer an engaging history of the sport, followed by profiles of some of the most impressive shots of all time and the players who made them. Whether they are discussing amazing feats at the college or professional level, the tone is conversational and… View →
Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors?
“Large pen-and-ink illustrations feature cartoon cats rendered in bold, vibrant colors. The style is fun and inviting. The text, which appears in an oversize, whimsical font, is spare, ranging from 9 to 15 words per page. Large pictures and uneven placement of the text keeps the… View →
“Based on a legend, this intriguing slice of converso life offers a thoughtful hero and a suspenseful plot. The warm, opaque paintings are expressive and create a strong sense of place. Although the religious significance of the shofar is never explained, the story conveys its… View →
Dino-Soccer
“Gott’s vibrant illustrations increase the suspense and fast pace of the rollicking narrative. The expressive faces of the players and the frenetic energy of the pictures add a bit of humor to the story. Sports fans and dinosaur lovers will delight in this follow-up to… View →
Day of the Dead
“Non-Latino youngsters will enjoy the links between Halloween and the Day of the Dead traditions and will shiver with pleasure at the decorations and treats that may seem slightly ghoulish to those unfamiliar with the holiday. Knutson’s lively illustrations reflect Mexican… View →
The Nice Mice in the Rice: A Long Vowel Sounds Book
“Cleary does a masterful job of explaining such potentially dry topics as ‘long vowel sounds with consonant digraphs’ and ‘inflectional endings’ by using comic, incongruous situations to get his point across. . . In his introduction, Cleary states that:… View →
Stop, Drop, and Flop in the Slop: A Short Vowel Sounds Book with Consonant Blends
“Cleary does a masterful job of explaining such potentially dry topics as ‘long vowel sounds with consonant digraphs’ and ‘inflectional endings’ by using comic, incongruous situations to get his point across. . . In his introduction, Cleary states that:… View →
The Peaches on the Beaches: A Book about Inflectional Endings
“Cleary does a masterful job of explaining such potentially dry topics as ‘long vowel sounds with consonant digraphs’ and ‘inflectional endings’ by using comic, incongruous situations to get his point across. . . In his introduction, Cleary states that:… View →
The Clown in the Gown Drives the Car with the Star: A Book about Diphthongs and R-Controlled Vowels
“Cleary does a masterful job of explaining such potentially dry topics as ‘long vowel sounds with consonant digraphs’ and ‘inflectional endings’ by using comic, incongruous situations to get his point across. . . In his introduction, Cleary states that:… View →