Sales, Leila. Once Was a Time. Fiction. Chronicle, 04/2016. 324pp. $16.99. 978-1-4521-4009-4. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 4-7. In 1940 England, ordinary British schoolgirls and best friends Lottie and Kitty make a plan to meet again should the [continue reading]
Review
Among a Thousand Fireflies Review
Frost, Helen. Among a Thousand Fireflies. Rick Lieder, Illus. Poetry. Candlewick, 03/2016. [26]pp. $15.99. 978-0-7636-7642-1. OUTSTANDING. GRADES K-3. Using short, evocative free verse, Frost describes how fireflies use a wide variety of flashing light patterns [continue reading]
Radioactive! Review
Conkling, Winifred. Radioactive! How Irene Curie & Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World. Non-fiction. Algonquin, 01/2016. 227pp. $17.95. 978-1-6162-0415-0. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 8-12. In the 1930s, “the world of physics was exploding with exciting [continue reading]
Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs Review
Park, Linda Sue. Yaks Yak: Animal Word Pairs. Picture Book. Jennifer Black Reinhardt, Illus. Clarion, 03/2016. [40]pp. $16.99. 978-0-544-39101-7. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 1-4. Eighteen animals are joined with their homonymic and homographic verbs, sometimes doubled, sometimes [continue reading]
Wooden Prince Review
Bemis, John Claude. Wooden Prince, The. Fiction. Out of Abaton Series, Bk. 1. Disney/Hyperion, 03/2016. 313pp. $16.99. 978-1-4847-0727-2. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 5-9. The fairytale of Pinocchio, the puppet who becomes a boy, is thrillingly twisted in [continue reading]
Cat’s Colors Review
Anderson, Airlie. Cat’s Colors. Airlie Anderson, Illus. Picture Book. Child’s Play, 08/2016. [32]pp. $16.99. 978-1-84643-761-8. OUTSTANDING. GRADES Toddler-1. A cat transforms a gray day into something colorful and miraculous. She collects colors from nature—a green [continue reading]
Platypus Review
Whiting, Sue. Platypus. Mark Jackson, Illus. Non-fiction. Candlewick, 2016. 29pp. $16.99. 978-0-7636-8098-5. OUTSTANDING. GRADES K-3. Marvelous mixed-media illustrations capture the life of the unusual platypus. Habitat and daily habits are described. The story of a [continue reading]
Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph Review
Orgill, Roxane. Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph. Francis Vallejo, Illus. Poetry. Candlewick, 03/2016. 56pp. $18.99. 978-0-7636-6954-6. OUTSTANDING. GRADES 4-8. This collection of 21 new original free-verse poems celebrates the landmark photograph of [continue reading]