Stella is not excited about her baby brother. Something said by her father before her brother arrived started her thinking that her baby brother was actually a duck.  But like a good scientist, she makes a hypothesis and starts to investigate. What I like about this book is the creative way it shows children misunderstanding something.  But once it starts that, it doesn’t stop.  So no real conclusion.  

This book comes from the “Story Telling Math” series.  Two sisters are looking at the night sky, and the oldest sister sees and explains the big dipper.  But Usha, the younger sister says she sees a big digger, just like her favorite truck.  Their cousin comes to join them, and they see a kite.  Many different things can be seen in these formations.  Some have cultural references, and some are just the readers imagination.  Looking at things in different ways changes your perspective of what you think something is, and that is today’s math lesson.

Oliver Jeffers knows how to write a simple and sweet story.  In this, a little boy finds a lost penguin and is determined to help him find home.  But in the end, he realizes that maybe the penguin was not lost at all, maybe he was just lonely.  Jeffers is a popular author for a reason and this book does not disappoint.

 

 

This is a lot of fun to read.  The rhyming and the cadence are spot on, the sound of “chick” just elevates the flow.  This would be a laugh riot at story time.  The book is saying that “chicks” or girls can do anything, and yes we can.

This is a lot of fun to read.  The rhyming and the cadence are spot on, the sound of “chick” just elevates the flow.  This would be a laugh riot at story time.  The book is saying that “chicks” or girls can do anything, and yes we can.

This was a really cute idea.  This picture book about mars is an advertisement why we humans should come and visit.  It reminds we of the old Disney shorts from the 60s’.  Similar to like Goofy Learns to swim.  It works really well, the illustrations are lively, and kids will want to read this.  It feeds the want for fiction with the need for non-fiction.

A child has just gotten a pet hamster. It’s slow, and lazy, and makes a mess in its cage that has to be cleaned.  If only the child could have a gryphon, or a unicorn, or a manticore.  But each of those take their own special care as well.  Join the fun rhyming ride as a child makes a pro and con list of various mythical creatures for pets.  It just may make your kids realize that dragons wouldn’t make a good pet.

A penguin is tired of being the small thing among this big friends.  So they develop a plan to go into space and land on the moon. Once there, penguin realizes being all by himself is lonely, so back to earth it is.  This story was nice.  I think it has been done before by other authors and other ways.  It was nice, but it will not be something that is still on shelves in 20 years.

Fabulous Story.  A true story.  I’m not sure I would want to live to be over 120 years old, but what Mary endured and still took time to learn.  She recognized that there was something she needed to be free – the ability to read.  This story is amazing.  It’s a powerful tool to show children you are never too old to learn something new.

The Library Dragon is retiring.  One her last day Mike Krochip takes over her space, packs all the books, and turns it into a cybrary.  Lotta Scales is NOT impressed so out comes the Library Dragon.  Mike is shaking in his shorts, but it will take Molly a former student and new librarian to teach both Scales and Krochip that a library can be both digital, and paper.  This story was nice, but I don’t think it ages well.  It’s 9 years old now and, it just doesn’t sit right.  There is some fun and interesting word play like but not enough to make me want to read it again.