Reviews
A Review of "A Giraffe Did One" in Publishers Weekly
In the tradition of Everyone Poops, Pallotta’s gently mischievous story features cute animals that share one thing in common: occasional flatulence. “A flock of birds flew by. OK, who did it? We’ll never know which one it was.” Meanwhile, a fox, seen peering coyly around a tree, “was… View →
A Review of "The Voyage of the Sea Wolf" in Kirkus Reviews
Ahoy ye mateys! Clamber on board the Sea Wolf for a salty… As the first in Bunting’s new series ended, 15-year-old Catherine, The Pirate Captain’s Daughter (2011), had been marooned on a desolate island with William, cabin boy and love of her young life, and the situation View →
A Review of "Twice as Good" in Golf Digest
William (Bill) Powell’s story is an inspiring one, to be sure: The grandson of slaves who was raised in Minerva, Ohio, and found it difficult to pursue his love of golf because of discrimination. It prompted him to build his own golf course, Clearview Golf Club, which opened in… View →
A Review of "Track that Scat!" in The Midwest Book Review
Track that Scat! is a picturebook about discovering the traces of common woodland creatures, including rabbits, chickadees, red foxes, and Canada geese. A young girl and her faithful dog venture on a woodland hike, and observe the tracks and feces of different animals (sometimes the girl View →
A Review of "Frog and Friends: Best Summer Ever" in Booklist Online
Like the other Frog and Friends titles in the I Am a Reader! series, this installment features three small-scale adventures. In the first tale, Frog and Little Brown Bat compare and contrast their traits and characteristics, declaring that they “do not have to be the same to be friends.” View →
A Review of "Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band" in Washington Parent
With his wild, feathered head and bass-guitar skills, Rooster is one cool cat … er, fowl. And with the big barnyard talent show coming up, he wants to put together the best jazz band ever. Author Kwame Alexander riffs off the names of, and introduces young readers to, jazz greats,… View →
A Review of "Frog and Friends" in Great Kid Books
Finding books that work just right for new readers is a tricky business, as many families know. Children who are new to reading on their own often want humor, surprises and twists in the plot – and yet they need fairly straightforward books that are easy to grasp. The wonderful Eve View →
A Review of "Best Summer Ever" in Kirkus Reviews
Frog and his friends are back (Frog and Friends, 2011) in another trio of early-reader tales, but this time they focus less on humor and problem solving and more on life lessons and… In the first story, Frog and Bat play a game, pointing out the ways in which they are diffe View →
A Review of "Surviving the Hindenburg" in Booklist
The 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster is a good chance to rope in discussion of the 1937 explosion of the Hindenburg, which, as Verstraete’s foreword details, was nearly as long as the Titanic and intended to be “the world’s first flying hotel.” Told from the point of view of the View →
A Review of "Track That Scat!" in Booklist
For young Finn and her hound, Skeeter, exploring the outdoors becomes a somewhat pungent adventure and a vehicle to introduce readers to identifying commonly known animals through their tracks and, particularly, droppings. From the onset, the pair encounters—and sometimes steps in—a… View →