Month: July 2022

Vivi Loves Science: Sink or Float

Vivi Loves Science: Sink or FloatVivi Loves Science: Sink or Float by Kimberly Derting, Shelli R. Johannes, Joelle Murray
Published by Greenwillow Books on February 15, 2022
ISBN: 006311657X
Pages: 40
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Early Reader
Goodreads
four-stars

By the authors who wrote the popular CeCe Loves Science (2018), Vivi is featured in her own picture book version with Vivi Loves Science (2021), and now in this early reader style story. Vivi is a girl who loves marine biology. For a class trip to the aquarium, Vivi is ready with a set eight of questions including “Do fish get sunburned?” and “Is a seahorse a fish?” The colorful, contemporary illustrations show off the delights to be found in an aquarium. Vivi and her classmates try a touch tank, learn about the sea creatures living at the aquarium, and explore the concept of density with the staff marine biologist. Vivi’s day at the aquarium teaches her how her goldfish can swim, and readers of the story get to see Vivi’s questions list marked with the answers, as well as try the density experiments themselves with instructions included at the back of the book.

Recommend for Grades 2-4

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Marcia Buker Elementary School

four-stars

Wait–and See

Wait–and SeeWait and See by Helen Frost, Rick Lieder
Published by Candlewick Press on May 10, 2022
ISBN: 1536216313
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Other books from this poet and photographer set include Step Gently Out (2018) and Among a Thousand Fireflies (2016). The book’s text is a poem and it is accompanied by amazing close-up photography of praying mantises. The narrative information at the end lets you know these mantises are the Chinese praying mantis and describes the creature’s life cycle. Each page of the poem text is written with a large font, with just one word or a brief phrase on many, occasionally a complete sentence. What you can find in Wait— and See, or on a nature walk that reading this may inspire, is summed up nicely with the last sentence of the back matter: “The important thing is, if you are patient and watch closely, you will always see something that you would have missed if you were in too much of a hurry to notice.” Do take your time and just enjoy this beautiful book.

Recommend for Grades K-4

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Marcia Buker Elementary School

five-stars

Oceanarium

OceanariumOceanarium by Loveday Trinick, Teagan White
Series: Welcome to the Museum
Published by Big Picture Press on April 5, 2022
ISBN: 1536223816
Pages: 112
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This is a large, oversized book. The digitally-colored graphic and watercolor illustrations are attractive, though it can take a while before realizing the illustrations are not to scale. The book is presented as though the reader is visiting a museum, so the authors are the curators and chapters are the galleries. Each gallery describes a few animals of a certain type, ex.: plankton, arthropods, birds, etc. Most galleries also include a description of a particular habitat, ex.: coral reef, deep sea. For the creatures included in the book, the entry for each includes the common name, Latin name, size, and some descriptive information. The most disappointing portion is the double page oceanic zones illustration. The giant sea spider looks like an extremely interesting creature, but it is not in the index, and research takes time to discover that its true size means illustrations are not to scale. Other animals on the oceanic zones are also not included in the book, making this the most disappointing part of a browsing book that may turn off some reader excitement for those who might otherwise have followed up with the “To Learn More” resources.

Recommended for Grades 4-8

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Marcia Buker Elementary School

three-stars

Nighttime

NighttimeAll Around Bustletown: Nighttime by Rotraut Susanne Berner
Published by Prestel Junior on April 12, 2022
ISBN: 3791374907
Pages: 14
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Board Book
Goodreads
three-stars

Wordless picture book that depicts the folks in Bustletown inside a house, a farm, a railway station, a community center, a marketplace, a department store, and a park with a lake. I felt the illustrations were too busy for this age group. Similar to Richard Scarry’ Busytown but not as much white space. The amusing illustrations will appeal more to older children and adults, but I doubt they would pick up a board book.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

Mako & Tiger: Two Not-So-friendly Sharks

Mako & Tiger: Two Not-So-friendly SharksMako & Tiger: Two Not-So-Friendly Sharks by Scott Rothman, Mika Song
Published by Random House Studio on May 3, 2022
ISBN: 059312071X
Pages: 40
Genres: Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Mako and Tiger are two hungry sharks who compete for food and are definitely not friends. That is until Mako prevents Tiger from biting onto a fish hook. They become cautious friends. They share favorite silly sayings, but I’m not sure they add much to the humor. Do kids even know what girdles are any longer? The illustrations are fun and can be shared with kids followed by a discussion about how to get along with others.

Recommended for grades K-1.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

The Princess Black and the Mermaid Princess

The Princess Black and the Mermaid PrincessThe Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, LeUyen Pham
Published by Candlewick Press on February 1, 2022
ISBN: 1536209775
Pages: 96
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Book #9 in the popular Princess in Black series. Typical fantasy with heroes in disguise, mermaids, hungry monsters, and sea goats in peril. This episode takes place underwater. Besides the over-the-top adventures, there is a powerful message about helping others. Colorful, graphic-style illustrations. This will be popular in libraries where the other Princess in Black books are popular.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

Can You Believe It? : How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts

Can You Believe It? : How to Spot Fake News and Find the FactsCan You Believe It?: How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts by Joyce Grant, Kathleen Marcotte
Published by Kids Can Press on June 7, 2022
ISBN: 1525303228
Pages: 56
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

With a background of journalism and teaching media studies, Grant wants to build up young people’s media literacy. The illustrations on the book cover and end pages show newspapers prominently, but also laptops and smartphones. The look of the book is not a comic book, but it is more text on illustrations than illustrations complimenting text. The Open Sans font used for the book text is a very thin font; some eyes may find this very tiring. Note that p. 24 has a colloquial expression to describe how fans of a ball team could feel about a lost game, “From their point of view, it sucked.” As an introduction to writing for journalism, the book has much possibility. It does introduce the idea of fake news, but whether repeated cautions to be skeptical and check sources leads a reader to then wonder about the book itself is a question.

Recommended for grades 5-8

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Dresden Elementary School

four-stars

Become an App Inventor : The Official Guide from MIT App Inventor : Your Guide to Designing, Building, and Sharing Apps

Become an App Inventor : The Official Guide from MIT App Inventor : Your Guide to Designing, Building, and Sharing AppsBecome an App Inventor: The Official Guide from Mit App Inventor: Your Guide to Designing, Building, and Sharing Apps by Karen Lang, Mit App Inventor Project, Mit Computer Science and Artificial Inte, Selim Tezel
Published by Miteen Press on February 8, 2022
ISBN: 1536219142
Pages: 224
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Chapter Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

MIT App Inventor is a web-based programming environment for creating apps to run on smartphones and tablets. Any middle or high school student who has had a chance to code with MIT’s Scratch should recognize the similarities and feel comfortable moving to App Inventor and try its six apps (a maze game and musical instrument are two of the apps). The book has a thorough Introduction, listing all the things needed to begin your first app. An overall attractive layout design has many screen shots on cream-colored pages with so much white space that personal copies of this book likely have notes scribbled everywhere. Each chapter has its own header color, so it is possible to flip between chapters quickly. True stories of real coders, as young as twelve, pepper the book, and those have color down the length of the page. Once you realize the color significance, any time you need a confidence booster, you could quickly open the book to a coder’s story. The six apps included in the book are intended to use in sequence, the skills learned for one building into the skills learned and used for the next. The Conclusion section, perhaps not the usual next spot for reading after an early chapter, is where any struggling beginner programmer finds mention of tutorials available online.

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Dresden Elementary School

five-stars

Carrimebac, the Town That Walked

Carrimebac, the Town That WalkedCarrimebac, the Town That Walked by David Barclay Moore, John Holyfield
Published by Candlewick Press on March 8, 2022
ISBN: 1536213691
Pages: 40
Genres: Folklore, Historical Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
five-stars

When old Rootilla Redgums and her 9-year-old grandson, Julius Jefferson arrive at the small town of Walkerton, Georgia, residents are suspicious and scared of the old lady because there are rumors that Rootilla is a witch who has magic and who is over 100 years old. Rootilla uses her magic to teach the residents how to weave rugs that never wear down. She also teaches them to create ceramic jugs that never empty, which help the town trade with surrounding towns. Rootilla’s kindness does not go unnoticed. Hate groups arrive in Walkerton and the town must decide what to do about the outsiders. Moore does a fantastic job showing how African Americans were treated after the Civil War, as well as adding a thin layer of folklore. The illustrations are acrylic and the facial features and expressions are beautifully painted. The intended audience is 1st through 4th graders (Ages 6 through 10). This book is useful when introducing youth to systematic racism during the 19th century after the Civil War. This picture book would be a great addition to any public/school library collection and any classroom library.

Reviewed by Brandon Dyer, Auburn Public Library

five-stars

Hat Cat

Hat CatHat Cat by Troy Wilson, Eve Coy
Published by Candlewick Press on February 8, 2022
ISBN: 1536213667
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals, Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Watercolor and colored pencil illustrations delightfully accompany the story of an elderly gentleman with a sweet smile. His daily life includes putting peanuts on a hat and sitting carefully as squirrels come for the nut treats. Picking up the hat from the outdoor bench one day brings a kitten into his life, obviously then named Hat. All along the story, the gentleman worries about Hat running away or chasing the squirrels if allowed outside. The worry repetitions don’t help the story and astute observers may consider the “we all get together” cover as a foreshadowing to the story’s ending. With the gentleman and a male kitten, so many uses of “he” and “him” can confuse the reader which antecedent is appropriate for that particular pronoun use. This picture book could be good for collections wanting a picture book that shows an older person, as well as caring for neighbors (Hat spends a bit of time alone with neighbors caring for him until the gentleman returns).

Reviewed by Betsey Noble, Dresden Elementary School

three-stars