Reviews
School Library Journal - Cool Vocational Careers
These titles lean toward jobs that are physically demanding, artistic, or require more technical skills than most. Practical and informative, these books weave facts about the nature of the work, earnings, and educational requirements into the narrative. Quotes from real people about… View →
School Library Journal - Odd Jobs
A look at unconventional jobs in a highly visual format paired with simple texts. The repetition of common sight words and short sentences may improve fluency for some students, but the flow will seem choppy to more able readers. Details are authentic and draw on quotes and anecdotes… View →
School Library Journal - D.I.Y. Make It Happen
This appealingly designed series aims to get readers out of the house and into the dirt by showing them how to fund-raise, and get in shape. These volumes are notable for their use of language—ultrasimple sentences and lots of repetition make them easily accessible to View →
School Library Journal - Makers as Innovators
While there are extremely interesting ideas in this series, such as a solar oven and a littleBits night-light, this set is for sophisticated crafters and readers. These offerings are all about decoding written instructions—photos or drawings of the work in progress are scarce. However,… View →
Kirkus Reviews - PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year
PoPo helps her granddaughter learn Chinese New Year traditions in this intergenerational celebration of family and culture. When PoPo arrives from China, preparations for Chinese New Year, a holiday that’s like “Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day all bundled… View →
Publishers Weekly - Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow
Winter, winter, cold and snow;/ Chickadee, Chickadee, who do you know?” Using variations on this refrain, Palermo constructs a chain of animal interactions in a wintertime forest. Each animal responds to the question by describing another creature (“I know Bear, asleep in her den;/ she… View →
Booklist - Books Do Not Have Wings
In the immortal words of Oscar Hammerstein, “A bell is no bell ’til you ring it,” and in this picture book, Barnes and Coelho make a similar case: a book is just a book until it’s opened. Each page is filled with fantastic illusions and meticulously detailed illustrations that… View →
Booklsit - Air Traffic Controller
Clear and succinct, this Cool Vocational Careers series entry briefly reflects upon the history of flight, before going into a more thorough examination of various interconnected air traffic control roles. Labrecque concisely explains the duties, training, physical requirements, and… View →
Booklist - Runs with Courage
Four Winds is a 10-year-old Lakota girl who must find courage after being forced to leave her tiospaye, family community, and attend a boarding school. The novel is set in 1880, and it is evident to the reader from the beginning that white settlers have displaced and coerced the Lakota… View →
Booklist - Anger
It can be difficult for children to identify and process their feelings, and the books in the Feelings series aim to help them do just this. This level-one title targets beginning readers by combining short sentences, simple vocabulary, and expressive photo illustrations of diverse… View →