Nonfiction Monday: The Best Dogs Ever series by Elaine Landau

978-07613-60780

978-07613-60834

978-07613-60797
all from Lerner, who provided review copies

Have we mentioned how much we absolutely love this series? Yes? Can we say it one more time, then?

There are tons of dog books out there for kids, and plenty of series with breed-specific volumes, but most of those tend to be a little fuzzy on the specific characteristics and needs of each breed. Definitely not so with these! In addition to the individual history of a dog breed, we find out about energy level, personality, and pros and cons of owning each type (mastiffs=slobber). We even read about things like legislation issues, for example in the case of Pit Bulls.

Ah, pitties. We are definitely big dog lovers, and the three featured above are among our favorites. Mastiffs have such sweet big lugs, and the Great Dane on the cover of his book looks just like Miss Ami's "Dude" - who considers himself the mother of every orphaned kitten that comes along. We have a special soft spot for pits, though. Yes, we know, many pits make the news in bad ways, and we don't necessarily want to debate that whole issue. We do want to point out two things:

When Miss Ami was little, German Shepherds were the 'evil' dogs. No responsible parent would let one near their child. Then it was Dobermans, then Dalmatians, etc., etc. In a couple years, we'll be seeing news stories about those dangerous Malteses.

Two patrons JUST had a conversation in front of us (really, as we were typing!) about a problem pit that turned out not to even be a pit. Check out this web site and see if you can do better than us (we never get it right on the first try).

Okay, off the soap box. All dogs, particularly big and strong dogs, do need plenty of exercise and training, and these books are very clear about that. They also give other books and web sites to check out if your readers want more information, as well as basic advice about selecting a new puppy and welcoming it into your home. Be warned about previewing these, though - once you hit the pages of puppy pictures, you are going to want every single one of these dogs! Same great Lerner quality with binding and illustration, they get a

5 out of 5.

More more reviews of nonfiction books for children, check out today's post on Simply Science

Nonfiction Monday: On the Move with Trains, Motorcycles and Ambulances!

by Lee Sullivan Hill
Lerner Publications
978-0-7613-3921-2

by Laura Hamilton Waxman
Lerner Publications
978-0-7613-3922-9

by Lee Sullivan Hill
Lerner Publications
978-0761360261

Review copies from publisher

We reviewed Big Rigs and Fire Trucks On the Move back in November, and loved them - as have our patrons. We were happy to receive review copies of these three books in the series, and plan to fill in the ones we are missing as soon as the cumbersome end-of-fiscal-year-budget-process will allow us to order things again!

We don't really have a lot to add to our previous review of this series (we shouldn't say that, because now they won't send us any more). Same quality binding and great format, with exciting fonts, easy text, and big attractive pictures.

Ah, but Lerner, beware the eagle eye and sharp memory of a four-year-old! Miss Ami was test-driving Ambulances on the Move with her young son, and he suddenly jumped up and ran to his bookshelf. He returned with this book from Scholastic:



and showed her that the photo on page 9 of that book was the exact same photo as that on page 19 of Waxman's. Nothing wrong with two books using the same stock photos, but THEY WILL KNOW. It's all good, though - he was still excited about the book, and he is, of course, and exceptionally perceptive child.

Another 5 out of 5 for this series, perfect for preschool/beginning readers. For more reviews of great nonfiction books for kids, check out today's post at Shelf-Employed (love that blog name!)

Nonfiction Monday: Built for Cold Arctic Animals series from Bearport Publishing

by Stephen Person
Bearport Publishing
978-1-61772-133-5
Review copy from publisher.

by Stephen Person
Bearport Publishing
978-1-61772-1342
Review copy from publisher.

This is another animal series that will probably NOT be including a turtle or tortoise of any kind - and we're okay with that! We do not do cold (have we mentioned our heat lamp? At least a hundred times?), but that doesn't mean we aren't interested in reading about places like the Arctic.

Any place that runs to extremes of one sort or another is bound to fascinate. For those of us living in a place like southern New Mexico, it is hard to imagine living somewhere with sub-zero temperatures and ice and snow as far as the eye can see. Animals such as Polar Bears and Arctic Wolves, however, are right at home!

This series is written for the upper-elementary range, and has immediate appeal for students with its attractive covers and bright, vivid pictures. The text is age-appropriate, and dramatic in places without damaging its usefulness for report writing. (Loved the story of Isobel, the blind sled dog! We were also happy to see Balto wasn't given credit for the entire race to bring medicine to Nome, as has happened in some children's books.) A note for teachers/parents, though: some of the material and images, while accurate and important, may be disturbing for younger children (walrus calves crushed in a stampede, sled dogs killed by elk, etc.)

As we have come to expect from Bearport's nonfiction, each book includes an index, glossary, extra facts, and a web link for more information. We appreciate the way Bearport puts up a page for each book or series, keeping the web sites up to date. Based on what we have seen, we give the series a

5 out of 5.

For more reviews of nonfiction for children, check out the other Nonfiction Monday posts at Jean Little Library

Nonfiction Monday: Is That a Fact? series by Alison Behnke

Lerner Publications
978-0-7613-4914-3

978-0-7613-4913-6
Review copies from publisher.

What does it mean when reading a nonfiction book immediately makes us want to write a fiction book? We're going to say that's a good thing, at least in this case.

Kids love 'factoids'. They also love knowing more than the people around them (as do adults and turtles, let's be honest), and these books are chock full of urban legend-type 'facts' and the truth behind them. At last, the phrase "and called it macaroni" explained!

While each item gets just a two-page spread, it is packed with enough information to move these beyond the grade-school version of a coffee table book. We consider ourselves fairly well-read, but still learned amountain about ancient make-up, cast-iron skillets, and Betty Crocker. Some of the things we learned would be great tidbits to include in a historical fiction novel. Let's say a character in your 16th-century novel dies her hair red (to be like Queen Elizabeth) and experiences unexplained nosebleeds. History buffs will think you're a brilliant researcher for making that connection!

Kids will enjoy these books for their own sake, and won't notice or care when they learn a little science or history along the way (you're going to remember Elizabeth I was a red-head now, aren't you?) For the teacher looking for a little writing motivation, try making each question a story-starter: Is it really dangerous to talk on the phone in a thunderstorm? What could happen to your main character if (s)he did?

Hmm...we feel a good thriller coming on. Excuse us while we go dictate to Miss Ami. In the meantime, you can check out some more great nonfiction reviews at Wrapped in Foil, today's host of Nonfiction Monday.

Fun Adventure Crafts series by Anna Llimos

978-0-7660-3728-1

978-0-7660-3730-4

Oh, we so wanted to like these. Crafts books are always very popular here, not just with our kid and adult patrons, but with Miss Ami, who continually has to think up new and exciting craft ideas! Unfortunately, as cute as the crafts pictured are, they aren't terribly useful for either Miss Ami or her patrons.

Every single craft involves clay, paper and cardboard. While paper is certainly plentiful and used every day, cardboard - especially shaped the way some of these need to be - is a bit unweildy for younger children. Clay can be loads of fun - with one child. A room full? Not so much.

From Enslow's site (bold is ours):

These crafts center on a theme and use simple materials found in the home, or are easily available. All of the projects combine to create one full scene, and are simple enough to make without a lot of parental help. Each book includes hands-on activities. Students can also choose to make just one or several of the crafts. A class group might work together to create the full scene, with each individual student responsible for a different craft.

We have to disagree with that highlighted part. Amazon lists the age range as 4-8 years, but we think that's a bit low. These might be of interest to older children, particularly those who enjoy spending a lot of time on intricate projects. And intricate they certainly are! While children certainly don't have to get as detailed as the examples (the toes on the cabin boy!) they are almost certain to become frustrated and disappointed when their attempts don't match up. The lack of variety was also disappointing - one would expect a book of crafts on a subject to use different media and approaches, while these are just different variations on clay people and structures.
Cute projects, and the instructions are clear, but we don't see these getting much circulation. We give them a

3 out of 5.

Nonfiction Monday:Animal Adaptation series from Lerner, by Sheila Anderson

       

One of the most common questions you will hear from young children when you are reading something particularly interesting to them is, "Is it real?" Nonfiction is huge with the lower elementary set, especially (and please don't bash us for being sexist, because it's true) boys. Trucks, space, dinosaurs, and animals, animals, animals!

Unfortunately, there has been a trend for a long time to skip the science in younger grades - reading and math are SO much more important, we have too many phonics and flashcard drills to do to mess around with science and social studies, except for maybe half an hour on Fridays. By fifth grade, when standardized tests start counting those subjects and we start trying to make up for lost time, many of the kids have lost interest.

Fortunately (hmm, this is starting to read like a popular old story), publishers have started listening to the poor beleaguered teachers waving their hands and saying, "Can't we COMBINE reading and science? I mean, isn't that how we know kids learn best?"

Enter the nonfiction books we refer to at our library as "Junior Readers". These aren't new by any means, but the quality has improved SO much in the past 5 or 10 years - both in substance and in appeal. This is one such series. The pictures are clear and beautiful (we want a porcupine!), the text is just right for, say, a first grader, without sounding too choppy or dull. "Fun Facts" at the end provide just a little more trivia, and a short glossary and index offer an introduction to the parts of a nonfiction book.

Know what animal we would like to see in books of this type, though? People. Not just because many small children don't realize that people are mostly animals (we have known a few that more resembled vegetables), but because children who have grown up exclusively in one type of habitat sometimes don't realize people live amongst the scorpions and roadrunners, or the bighorn sheep. That's just personal commentary, not a negative reflection on this series.



We live in a somewhat unique area that includes all three of the above habitats - in a forest on a mountain range that surrounds a desert. In any given day Miss Ami may see a mountain lion, a skunk, and a deer on the way to work, where she may have to shoo a gecko away from the door. Our young patrons are sure to enjoy this series, and we will be ordering the rest of the titles (covering grasslands, lakes, and the ocean) shortly. We give them a

5 out of 5.

Don't forget to check out the other nonfiction Monday posts.

Series Review: The Magnificent 12, by Michael Grant

Okay, it may be a bit of a stretch to call this a series review when the first book, The Call, isn't due out for another month. But we love it! Think The Grey Griffiths, or Percy Jackson, for slightly younger readers - but just as enjoyable for adults. From the back cover (ARC):

"Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy suffers from a severe case of mediumness...And then, one day, a three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears in the boys' bathroom to deliver some startling news: Mack is one of the Magnificent Twelve, whatever that is. An evil force is on its way, and Mack must track down eleven other twelve-year-olds in order to stop it. But Mack doesn't want to be a hero. Will he answer the call?"

Of course, Mack doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, what with the poison snakes and the golem. His story is told alongside that of Grimluk's sad tale. Geico's cavemen may not be happy with those parts - much is made of the fact that 12 had recently been discovered as an astronomical number beyond most people's comprehension. (Btw, try plugging the words "So simple even a cave man can do it" into your favorite search engine. Talk about capitalizing off someone else's advertising!) This is definitely more lighthearted than The Grey Griffiths series, and contains plenty of humorous situations and one-liners to keep even your most reluctant readers chuckling. We can't wait to read the next in the series! Click on the link above to reserve your copy now, or stop by your local library to make double-triple sure they have it on order. We give it an easy

5 out of 5.

Nonfiction Monday: Media Literacy series from Capstone Press

This series includes the titles:
At the Controls: Questioning Video and Computer Games
Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies
Music Madness: Questioning Music and Music Videos
Pretty in Print: Questioning Magazines
TV Takeover: Questioning Television
Virtually True: Questioning Online Media
What's Your Source?: Questioning the News, and
Yourspace: Questioning New Media
 
On the one hand, these definitely fill a niche. While there have been general books about internet safety out for years now, there aren't too many for kids addressing specific sites like MySpace. Kids (and adults) tend to automatically go to the internet for report information, but do not understand in the least how to evaluate the information they find there. Our library ordered this series to fill that niche, and so far they have been checking out (mostly via parents wanting their kids to read them. Kids already know everything.)
 
On the other hand, we are a bit confused as to what the intended niche/audience is. If a child is computer-savvy enough to set up his own Facebook page, would he really need you to define a "wall post"? At times, the books read as more of a primer for older folks (like Miss Ami) who aren't up to speed on all the new technology and lingo.
 
Language and tone issues aside, these books contain a lot of good information, and give important warnings without sounding too preachy. Readers are shown how to find out who created a web site - and why that matters - and how to spot product placements in TV shows. Both kids and adults may learn some things they didn't know. Warning: reading the entire series back to back can make you extremely paranoid and suspicious of everything you see and hear - which, these days, may not be a bad thing! The layout of the pages is very kid-friendly, lots of sidebars, familiar pictures, and varying page designs.
 
For more great reviews of nonfiction finds, click on over here. And stay tuned - in a couple more weeks, we will be hosting Nonfiction Monday ourselves! (We almost feel like real bloggers!)

Nonfiction Monday: Jamaica and Iran - Lerner's Country Explorers series

Other books from this series have been popular here with report writers, so we were pleased to receive these two to review. The bright, inviting covers (not to mention the manageable size) make them among the first selected off the shelf. The text is simple and short, paired with beautiful photographs and fun sidebars - in the Jamaica edition, for example, an imagined postcard from a visitor faces a guide to speaking patois.

One characteristic we really like about this series is the relevance to kids. Yes, we do learn about climate and imports/exports, but never in a dry fashion. We also learn that schools in both Iran and Jamaica are so crowded, kids have to share the school day, and in Iran boys and girls go to different schools! Those are the kinds of things we would have found interesting as young turtles.

At the end of the book we have those report essentials: a picture of the flag, and a list of 'vital statictics' (population, landforms, etc.), followed by glossary, index, and websites. We like seeing a table of contents and index in shorter books - perhaps not really needed, but they can help kids learn to use them, so that bigger books don't seem so cumbersome later.

A great series for any library or classroom! If you choose to order by clicking on the picture links, we receive a small portion of the proceeds for our library. For more great nonfiction reviews, click here.

Graphic Universe Myths and Legends from Lerner

These links will take you to hardcover editions, but both are also available in slim paperbacks. We always try to get hardcovers of graphic novels for our library, and often they aren't available, so it was nice to see these offered! If you are just buying for your favorite tenn or tween, however, we suggest the much cheaper paperbacks.

This series includes more than a dozenmyths and legends, some familiar old favorites like Ali baba, others less so, like Sunjata: Warrior King of Mali. There is quite a wide variety of cultures and time periods represented, making this a good starter set for your library. It would even make a good book-of-the-month series (do they still have those?) It isn't offered that way as far as I know, but you could certainly purchase and dole them out one at a time, maybe as a fun part of a home school curriculum. Use them as a springboard for different social studies units.

Marwe, for example, would be a much more interesting introduction to East Africa than a map of principal exports! In this legend, a young woman with a good heart makes a mistake, and ends up in the land of the dead. Because she is so kind and hard-working (two themes hit hard through the short story), she earns favor with everyone there, and eventually returns home years later, beautiful and wealthy.

Her hope that "I will be able to find a suitable husband, then everything will be perfect" may make us cringe at first, but it is a great discussion starter. She ends up marrying a man who is not as handsome as the others, but who is also a hard worker with a kind heart (told you that was hit hard!)

In addition to moral and cultural lessons that would be easy to expand on, there are references to languages, Mount Kilimanjaro, wildlife, and agriculture. It almost makes us want to grab a random teen and start planning activities! Pigling, a Korean version of the Cinderella story, is much the same. Both have notes at the front detailing some of the research and fact checking that went into creating that particular book. We will probably be recommending this series to those parents who come in trailing bored-looking middle schoolers, saying "I've decided to home school - now what do I do???"

Nonfiction Monday - Slobodan Milosevic

(From Lerner's "Dictatorships" series.)

Once you hit about third grade, it seems, teachers start assigning book reports on a variety of subjects, usually including biographies. Many kids get stuck in the rut of reading yet another book about Harriet Tubman or Andrew Jackson. No offense to either of the aforementioned, but - yawn! Yes, they were incredible people who led interesting lives and contributed to mankind, but don't you already hear about them in class each year? Give us a good bad guy any day!

This series hits on a few familiar names, such as Saddam Hussein, as well as several villains kids may not know of - Pol Pot, Than Shwe, Mao Zedong. There is a definite bias in the books - no "history will judge" here - but, what would you expect from the series title? Kind of hard to defend a dictatorship (except, of course, the benevolent dictatorship run by Mom. That one goes unquestioned.)

The cover is attractive, and shows Milosevic's trademark arrogant stare (okay, we're not exactly unbiased ourselves). It is actually hard to critique the book without critiquing the man it is about, which I suppose is good, as it attests to how well the writing draws you in. While written at a middle/high school level, it is very readable - even the historical background at the beginning doesn't get as bogged down as in some books - and the personality of the subject becomes very 3-dimensional. We think teens or adults who read this one will come away from it feeling they are familiar with a person they perhaps didn't know anything about to begin with. definitely a series to add to your middle or high school library. Rather than that 16th book on Abraham Lincoln.

Nonfiction Monday (on Monday this time! Yeah us!) - reviews by Freaky

Nonfiction Monday is a chance for bloggers and readers to see what's new in the world of...well....nonfiction! We are going with some animals books today, all 3 from Lerner Publishing and each part of a series.



Personally, I think Lerner is just asking for angry e-mails with this series. They currently have titles for beagles, German shepherds, labs, Portuguese water dogs, and yorkies. That leaves a WHOLE lot of breed owners who are going to want to know why theirs wasn't first on the list! I mean, golden retrievers, hello?! Great Danes? Mutts???

That said, these are great books, judging from this one on boxers. Their personality is captured immediately:

You hear the doorbell and go to answer it. But your dog gets to the door before you. He's excited and eager to see who's there. When your guest comes in, your dog warmly welcomes him. Your pooch jumps up and plants a wet, sloppy kiss on the visitor.

Your fully grown dog has a puppy's spirit. He's always full of energy and loves being around people. You've fallen for the clown of the dog world. You have a boxer.

Many series on dog breeds turn out to be very general - they give the same advice about exercise, vet care, etc., for every dog of the same size, and just change out the pictures. This one has some very specific boxer traits and needs mentioned, such as the way they become attuned to their owners' feelings, and the fact that they can be "Velcro dogs". I was also pleased to see white boxers mentioned in a side bar - since they can't be shown (genetic predisposition to hearing issues), they make great pets. Many never get that chance, so it was good to see a little plug put in for them.



Wherever you live, you probably have pigeons around, making this an easy book for youngsters to identify with. This series, which also includes bats, brown bears, iguanas, prairie dogs and snails, is very simply writen, making it a good source for first reports. The print is huge and often makes use of color change or curved text, with no more than a paragraph or two per page. Great pictures (honestly, I would have thought it would be a challenge to find that many pictures of pigeons without them all looking the same) help make this a very visually appealing book.



As one who is more on the prey end of the animal kingdom, I personally don't see the appeal in reading about predators, but there is no denying kids love them! In addition to the leopard seals (800 pounds? I'm, like, one!) this series takes on crocodiles, eagles, foxes, sharks, grizzly bears, killer whales, mountain lions, owls, polar bears, rattlesnakes, and wolves. Okay, any one of those could eat me and not even notice.

Just look at the cover photo: people think of seals as cute little things, but there is nothing cute about those teeth! Even the one on the title page looks smug, like he just ate your uncle Fred and he's sizing you up for dessert. Yeesh. Those pictures are nothing compared to those to come, however. These are definitely books about predators, so do not expect warm, fuzzy feelings. And definitely do not give this one to a fan of penguins! Kids who like blood and gore will love these, for the pictures and the text, and will learn a lot along the way.

Nonfiction Monday, by Freaky

It's Halloween week, so we'll go with something in the fantasy realm that still qualifies as nonfiction. We LOVE Halloween, although it is hard to find little turtle costumes anywhere. Stores have whole sections for dogs and cats, but nothing for reptiles - what is up with that?

We recently received two books from Lerner from their "Fantasy Chronicles" series:



and:




Aren't those covers gorgeous? Different illustrators, both fantastic. A quick look online at the other titles in the series tells me these will fly off the shelves just on face appeal. (I could SO be a hydra, by the way - just use my shell as a base, add a few stuffed heads...I'm telling you, there is a huge, untapped market out there!)

The text is even better than the cover art. So many books of mythical creatures just go for the shock appeal and make a quick list with brief history. These give so much more history and background, including the reasons people may have started telling stories about each creature, lessons to be learned, etc. There are some great lines, like "That's when you realize that this is no Tinker Bell you are dealing with."

You'll want this series for your upper elementary, middle, or high school students!

Nonfiction Monday...on Tuesday

Honestly, first she gets sick, then our typist cracks a rib coughing and thinks that should get her out of work as well! Humans just never run out of excuses, do they? She is also behind on remodeling our tank, needed badly since somebody whose name we won't mention (Yoda) is getting a little too big and taking up all the swimming space.

That's nothing compared to these guys, though:



These cousins of ours are HUGE - as big as a walrus! This book is part of Bearport's "Super Sized" series, which also includes books about komodo dragons, anacondas, and giraffes, among other cool creatures. It is very simply written, around a 2nd or 3rd grade level, with a short photo-glossary in the back. This would be a good set for youngsters just learning to do research and write or give reports.

(Thanks to Bearport for the review copy)

A new series from Lerner that is sure to be a hit with the boys is the "Gross Body Science" set. Lerner very graciously sent us the titles Crust and Spray, Clot and Scab, and



Tell us your preteen boys (and many of the girls, let's not stereotype completely)won't snatch that up after seeing the cover! They may realize full well they are being tricked into learning some good health facts, but they probably won't care. The text will grab them just as quickly: from the beginning of Clot and Scab,

"Have you ever fallen off your bike and dragged some poor body part along the pavement? Yow! Not only does it hurt like crazy, it looks nasty too. But don't worry. While you made hamburger out of your knee or elbow, your body got busy repairing the damage."

I wish we could figure out how to change font on here, because Lerner does - making phrases like "While you made hamburger out of your knee or elbow" stand out nicely. The next page delivers salient facts about bone marrow while letting readers know what it TASTES like. We'll take their word for it!

Readers who are easily distracted may find the business of the pages...well, distracting, but these are fantastic for the kid who CAN read, he just doesn't WANT to. Just try to hide the smug grin when he starts reading parts out loud to those around him! A good glossary, index, and list for further reading round out each of the books.

Librarian alert: these books are gross. The pictures are gross. The factoids are gross. The suggested activities (like keeping a fart journal) are gross. Parents will object. Kids will read. You decide. We're ordering the rest of the series, ourselves!

Nonfiction Monday and Series Review - Celebrations in My World from Crabtree, as reviewed by Yoda

Ten years ago, it was hard to find any children's books on holidays beyond the Christmas/Halloween/Thanksgiving fare. As cultural diversity gets more of a place in school curriculae, publishers are starting to catch on and offer more variety. This series so far covers Chinese New Year, Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Constitution Day, Day of the Dead, and Diwali. We recently purchased the latter three for our children's collection.

Written around the 4th or 5th grade reading level, with large print and beautiful pictures, these are attractive books. The Diwali book is so beautiful, in fact, I found myself ignoring the text and just looking at the pictures in places. One might get the impression that all Hindu people are spectacularly gorgeous! The Day of the Dead of course offers a sharp contrast, with skulls of every size and material - but still great pictures.

The text is worth looking at as well, of course. The history behind each celebration is given clearly and succinctly - a brief history, because these are your usual 32-page children's books, but enough to get the general idea. Different aspects of the celebrations - the lights at Diwali, cleaning graves on the Day of the Dead, a swearing-in ceremony for Constitution day - are explained, so that readers understand the whys in addition to the whats.

A nicely done and needed addition to our collection. We look forward to seeing the rest of the series.

Series Samplings from Bearport, as reviewed by Yoda

Today we are looking at three new nonfiction offerings from Bearport, each representing a new series for the Fall. First up:



While the cover you see above does not match the copy we have, if you click on the "Look Inside" link you do get the correct cover. Both are cute, so I don't think it matters much - but it's worth clicking on and enlarging to full size just to see that big ol' face staring out at you!

Like many of Bearports' series, this one from their "Spectacular Animal Towns" is extremely accessible for the reluctant or beginning reader, with the pages dominated by colorful pictures and text broken into small chunks and fact boxes. I am personally still stuck on the idea of a prairie dog town covering 16 million acres! My tank suddenly seems way too small. Other books in the series look at ants, bats, bees, beavers, and coral reefs (now there's a home for a turtle! Er...except for the whole salt water thing).

Next up:



part of the "Going Green" series, a popular topic these days. In fact, we are looking at remodeling a bit in our library to save on energy costs, so it was interesting to see all the different things that can be done. Freaky was excited to see the photo of Chicago's City Hall, which is covered in a huge garden - what a great place to take your lunch break! (see his post about The Curious Garden by Peter Brown) Often pictures of just buildings can get dull, but the different angles and perspectives used keep these buildings from blending together in the reader's mind. Very nicely done! An extra feature in the back of this one tells readers how they can "live green" without reconstructing their entire house.

Last but not least:



Again, Amazon's photo does not match the final cover, but no biggie. This selection from the "X-Moves" series contains plenty of close-up high-action pictures to appeal to our adventurous readers (and for their moms, there is a page illustrating safety gear at the end). I haven't been on too many bikes, myself - hard to find one my size - so I learned a lot from this one. Thank goodness for the glossary, which the books in all three series contain - as well as bibliographies, index, recommended reading, and a link to Bearport's site where you can find up-to-date internet links for more reading. Other titles in this series cover snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, motocross, and rally cars. This series in particular would be a great one for school libraries, especially those with upper elementary or middle school students. Click on any of the covers above to order yours.

Thanks to Bearport for the review copies!

Series Review, Native Americans by ABDO, reviewed by Yoda

I do so hate to give a bad review, but I also hate to be disappointed.

The topic of Native Americans is one of those perennial favorites, both for writers and for teachers assigning reports. The history, culture, and present struggles of each nation are fascinating enough to capture anyone's attention, and colorful enough to keep it.

Or should be. This series, I'm afraid, gives meaning to the expression, "Never judge a book by its cover." The covers are absolutely gorgeous - colorful, expressive photographs bordered with bright designs that are repeated on the title page. And then you open the book.

In this series I reviews the titles Caddo, Blackfoot, Arapaho, and Gabrielino, all written by Barbara A. Gray-Kanatiiosh and illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden. Gabrielino? Never heard of them - and that is precisely why I was so interested in this series. There are a million and one books about the Cherokee, the Navajo, and the Apaches, but I was looking forward to a series that explored some of the lesser-known nations. In that respect, these books did not disappoint. For very basic information, these fit the bill. As far as reading for pleasure or interest, however; not so much.

Let's get back to the appearance. The covers, as I said, are very nicely done - but are there no photographs in existence of Caddo clothing? Blackfoot tipis? All illustrations up until the final chapter are drawings, and - with apologies to Mr. Fadden - I think children will find these lifeless and flat.

The text itself is very basic, and reads stiltingly at times. Facts are presented rather formulaically - count how many times you see the "first, then, finally" pattern repeated. And, didn't someone's grammar teacher tell them not to start sentences with "and"?

While the books contain a glossary and an index, they miss the opportunity to enforce some new words particular to each nation. Xinesi? Conna? Gorget? These are used in the book about the Caddo and are explained in the text, but not in either the glossary or index.

All in all, a disappointing series that I had high hopes for. Still useful for the school library, especially those titles that are more obscure, but not expected to rate highly for pleasure reading.