Reviews
School Library Journal - First Day at Zoo School
PreS-Gr 1—When Amanda heads out for the first day of Zoo School, she sees that everyone has a best friend except her, so she quickly fixes that. “Hey, Gator! Let’s walk to school together! We can be Best Friends!” Poor Alfred, who doesn’t even want to go to… View →
Booklist Review - Rags, Hero Dog of WW1
Mirroring the similarly incredible story behind Ann Bausum’s Stubby the War Dog (2014), Raven’s look at this “small, scrappy gutter-pup” is sweet, exciting, and poignant. It was by chance that Private James Donovan of the U.S. Army’s Fightin’ First Division stepped on the stray’s paw.… View →
Kirkus Reviews - Rags, Hero Dog of WW1
A scrawny mutt is rescued in Paris by an American soldier during WWI, and the smart, intuitive Rags becomes a wartime hero. The true story of the dog’s wartime service is told in dramatic style, with plenty of conflict on Parisian streets and on the battlefields View →
Kirkus Reviews - First Day at Zoo School
Dillard explores friendship between two… It’s the first day of Zoo School. Amanda, a panda, is excited and ready. Alfred, an alligator, isn’t so sure: “Is this really necessary?” When the overbearing and bossy Amanda decides timid “Gator” will be her new best friend, does View →
School Library Journal - Dozer's Run
K-Gr 3—The annual Maryland Half Marathon is a fund-raiser for the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center. Thousands have participated over the years to raise over $1.5 million dollars, but the single biggest booster ran the race only once: Dozer the Goldendoodle has generated… View →
School Library Journal - Rags, Hero Dog of WW1
Gr 1–4—This heartfelt story introduces a heroic and lovable dog that was found in a Paris doorway by an American soldier during World War I. Private James Donovan and Rags became fast friends, and Rags was whisked off into U.S. Army service, where he learned to root out rats and mice… View →
Publishers Weekly - First Day at Zoo School
Dillard makes excellent use of comic-book elements like sequential panels and speech balloons in this witty, well-observed story. Amanda, an exuberant panda, is delighted to be at school, but Alfred, the introverted alligator, who she decides is her new best friend, is less eager. “Why… View →
Booklist Review - Dozer's Run
This is the true story of Dozer, a three-year-old goldendoodle who became a local celebrity when he spontaneously started running alongside participants in a half-marathon fund-raiser for cancer research. Levy and Panza write from Dozer’s perspective and remains true to canine… View →
Kirkus Reviews - Dozer's Run
In this true story, a goldendoodle named Dozer runs away from home and then runs a half marathon, becoming a celebrated canine mascot and fundraiser for cancer in the process. View →
School Library Journal - Ferry Tail
Walter enjoys being a ferry dog. Greeting passengers and posing with babies makes him feel loved, and keeping sea gulls off the deck is just plain fun. But on the day Walter notices Cupcake (the Captain’s cat) has taken his place as the chef’s bacon taster and the engineer’s entertainer, View →
School Library Journal - Hot Dog!
This picture book recounts England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s 1939 visit to America. Eleanor Roosevelt is depicted as an active, tireless, and caring First Lady who can handle stately White House dinners proficiently enough, even though she prefers simpler fare. While… View →
School Library Journal - I Love You Just Enough
When her bus drops her off to begin her summer vacation, Heather is overjoyed with the promise of new adventures. While helping her dad weed the garden, she discovers a baby duckling. She begs to adopt the little fluff ball, but her father warns her about the responsibilities of raising… View →
School Library Journal - Bear and Bird
An unlikely friendship develops between an older bear and a baby bird after one helps the other. Over the years, they spend time together sharing berries and keeping each other safe. Although they hate saying goodbye each autumn, they dream about their spring reunions. One year Bird… View →
Booklist Review - Bear and Bird
When a young robin falls from his nest, Bear helps out by lifting him into a tree, thus cementing a new friendship in this story about the cycle of life. Throughout that season and for many years to come, the young bird and old bear meet in the meadow sharing berries and conversation.… View →
Booklist Review - D is for Derby: A Kentucky Derby Alphabet
The latest entry in the publisher’s alphabet series spotlights the Kentucky Derby, from “A is for Aristides” (the first winner of the Derby) to “Z is for Zeal.” Like others in the series, this picture book presents topics in rhymed couplets accompanied by paragraphs of text in smaller… View →
Hot Dog!
Eleanor Roosevelt was known for lots of things, but her love of hot dogs probably isn’t one of them. This book. When King George and Queen Elizabeth decided to visit the View →
Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom
The Statue of Freedom, which sits high atop the dome of the U.S. Capitol, would not be the symbol it is today without the ingenuity of an enslaved African American laborer. Philip Reid was owned by the renowned sculptor Clark Mills and by 1859 was an experienced foundry worker. When… View →
Ferry Tail
Walter loves his life as the resident dog aboard a ferry, where he befriends the travelers, barks at the seagulls, and helps the crew with their jobs. He does not love Cupcake, the captain’s pampered cat. One day, after Cupcake lands him in trouble, Walter disembarks onto the island. He… View →
Otter Out of Water
Wargin and Bendall-Brunello team up again, this time asking their young readers, “But what if that otter/jumps out of the water?/Would you shout hip-hooray?/Would you ask him to play?/Would you clap?/Would you stomp?/Would you go for a romp?/What if that otter jumps out of the water?”… View →
Digger and Daisy Go On a Picnic
This early reader series features dog siblings Digger and Daisy. In Picnic, Daisy stops to look at things, while Digger likes to smell them. Daisy tells him the name of different objects that catch his attention: flowers, a lemon tree, pie on the neighbor’s windowsill, and hot dogs on a… View →