This book is par for the course for the series.  It starts with Nelson Mandela’s Young life and goes all the way up until his most current issues. It gives a basic understanding of who the man was while glossing over and making everything seem happy and nice. It skips the harsh and the bad stuff which I they would not do.   I think even kids can understand that not all famous people had it easy. 

 

This graphic novel was a lot of fun. It’s about young Whit who loves to take photos and his new school. We find out through the story that his father has passed while doing his job and it has made Whit’s mother a very anxious person. Whit is trying to adjust to his new school and keep himself hidden behind his camera and as such gets sentenced to the yearbook club. He finds things are darker in the school than he thought. There is a condemned adjoining school that has still not been torn down and every time he takes a picture, ghostly images appear.  It’ll be up to him and the yearbook club to figure out who those ghostly images are and how to set them free. For the most part this book was lots of fun, and has great illustrations.  Kids are going to love it. As an adult see holes in the story that weren’t filled in but overall this was an enjoyable book solid for great for any library collection. 

 

Once again typical of this series you have a short biography of Picasso from birth through the end of his life, hitting all the major points that are happy. His blue period was mentioned, so you do know that Pablo did have sad points in his life but the book covers over many of the bad things. Overall this is a great introduction to kids who know nothing about the artist but as an adult I find it quite a bit boring. 

 

This was a fun and lovely rhyming story with excellent heart. It’s about a kid who doesn’t want to sit still and be patient, he wants to explore, finding things play with, animals etc. And the world wants that for him as well. The rhymes and the cadence a spot on, the book flows nicely, and will be a great addition to any storytime collection. 

 

This nonfiction book takes a look at a little known scientist Alexander von Humboldt. He was an all over general scientist who explored the world and gave us the beginnings of ideas we know today such as plate tectonics are ways to measure etc. This book is quite lovely to look at and decently well done. Don’t go into reading it thinking it’s going to be a story it’s not it’s much more biographical information points, along with other ideas, and things to study. It actually at times feels a bit like an info dump or an idea dump.. However overall I think it works. This is part of the great mind series and I wouldn’t like wouldn’t mind seeing what else they have in their collection. 

 

This book while it does have words it basically uses the pictures to tell the story. And I like the pictures more than I like the story. The story has very few words and is very repetitive and just overall this book does not work for me. I do like the illustrations but not enough to actually add this book to my collection. 

 

This book was part graphic novel, part picture book. It involves an older gentleman and a young man who literally running into each other trying to see a bird. They go on a grand little adventure to see a snowy owl, end up stuck in a tree, and find mutual respect and admiration for each other. This book was entirely unique. It’s about a subject not normally found in picture books. But the relationship between the young and the old is one of pure love that will last for the ages. 

 

Mortimer is a little rabbit and his friend is feeling sick so their picnic is canceled. Being the best friend Mortimer packed a picnic basket, a get well card, and took a story book to go see his friend. However the way from his house to his friend is not easy and he came across a snapping crocodile and growling wolf, and a bridge troll. Mortimer’s friend Oogy is very thankful in the end. This book was so much fun. That would be fun to do as a puppet show or a story time read aloud. This is so much fun that it will be used over and over again. It feels like nursery rhymes and classic stories you know told all together at once in a new way . 

 

This wonderful story is a side of Amelia Earhart that most kids do not learn about.  She was a style icon. She wanted to dress for success, but still dress for work and comfort.  And like the saying goes, if you can’t find what you are looking for, make it yourself.  Amelia did just that.  This book has wonderful illustrations and a great story.  I am sad to say the author passed away, but here book will be a staple in some library collections for years to come. 

 

This is the second or third book I have read by this author.  Just like his other book Gifts of the Magpie, the story is short and sweet.  But the found object art helps propel the story and keeps readers interested.  I really appreciated the back matter that talked about the author and his friends hunting for old metal, and questions for the readers that will have them exploring for tiny details in the pictures.  Overall this book is well done and a fun read.