March 2018

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: This nonfiction picture book describes the 1963 Children's march for civil rights in Birmingham, Alabama. It depicts the courage of the children, from young to teens, and how their efforts helped to bring changes for African Americans. Loved the illustrations! They really made the story personal for the reader. I also loved the clever timeline, told by children holding signs that begins inside the front cover and carries through to the inside of the back cover. The only drawback of this is that dust jackets will be taped down and will cover the very beginning and end of the timeline. Verdict: Buy it! You need this for your library!

Curricular Use: Civil Rights Movement, Nonfiction Picture Books, African Americans, The Children's March

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: #8 in "My Weirdest School" series is a hit! It is Grandparent's Day at Ella Mentry School and it is flooded with old fogies. Each grandparent tells about themselves in front of the class. Alexia's grandmother invented something and it gives the kids an idea that they can make lots of money with a new invention. They settled on a heated, scented, talking toilet seat that glows. Then they name it the "Party Pooper." It was such a good idea, the teachers wrote checks to support the company. After production of 1000 seats, the kids had to sell them for $99.99. No luck. After advertising and sending out hundreds of seats. A report came in that one toilet seat burned up and fired up a butt. They had to refund all the money they made.

Wow! What a crazy story for kids. They will laugh and laugh. Verdict: This series by Dan Gutman is a little easier to read for the younger reader and it is more hilarious. A must have in the library.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library, Kelso

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: This story is of a dog's faithfulness to her young master in the face of extreme challenges. I enjoyed the writing style but found the "local" dialect challenging at times. The story held my attention at all times and could easily be enjoyed by both boys and girl. Verdict: Lassie Come Home is an excellent read for a child and can even be appreciated by an adult.

Curricular Use: An English class would find this an excellent edition. It would be a good title to add to a summer reading list due to the good writing style, life lessons and even some insight into dogs.

Reviewer: Grace Kraft, Guest Reviewer, Cathlamet Public Library

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: What a great idea! This book is full of poems and the parodies written by Mr. Lewis. A parody is a poem that imitates another poem in style and subject matter. The purpose is not to better the poem, but more of an echo with a twist.

Example: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers writes a famous poem, "Keep a poem in your pocket" which I have focused my poetry unit in the library for years and years. Mr.Lewis writes, "Keep a Pocket in Your Poem." Both focus on the joy of a poem and its imaginary images. Or, Hughes poem, "Winter Sweetness" about the snow on a house looking like sugar. And, Lewis writes "Winter Warmth" about the warmth of cocoa with marshmallows.

One must, must have this fabulous book to share aloud with kids and then as Lewis states in the introduction to challenge yourself to write a parody of your favorite poem.

The soft, adorable illustrations match the fun of this book perfect. Verdict: Buy this!

Curricular Use: Poetry unit

Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: Beautiful color detailed and up-close photos of penguins make this book a fabulous read. The African Penguins were once in danger of being extinct. Causes are human involvement. Now the recovery is caused by human involvement. African penguins form colonies and group together to raise their young. Humans came in and cleaned up the bird poop-guano-area which provided burrow material. Penguins were forced to nest in the open and became too warm and vulnerable to predators. Secondly, the fishing industry has limited the food supply for the penguins. Thirdly, oil spills have damaged the flock.

Now rescue missions are in full swing with bird cleaning, zoos taking in many penguins and saving them, and humans have created a breeding colony on Robben Island. Now global change has affected many other breeds of penguins.

This book brings all the information and truth forward so we can be aware of how we treat the environment to save such animals. Verdict: Beautiful book for teachers to use teacher conservation, appreciation, and animal awareness, I recommend this one.

Curricular Use: Endangered species unit

Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library, Kelso

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: The book Spiders by Laurence Pringle provides detailed information about spiders. It provides technicalities such as what family, class and species a spider belongs to. The illustrations of over-sized spiders show the parts of the spider, the cephalothorax, jaws, abdomen and of course, legs. The enlargements of spider heads are fascinating to look at and maybe scary to some. Spiders even have hair. They learn from their environments through sensors that they have on their legs. Some spiders are harmful to humans or animals. The book provides insights into the life of a spider. A section about spider webs is included as well. Spiders live in all kinds of environments. The only continent it cannot survive on, at this time, is Antarctica. The text is wordy, but includes a lot of fascinating information about spiders. This book may turn you into a person who likes spiders, like Lynne Kelly, who turned from an arachnophobe into an arachnophile. Verdict: This book is well worth the price. It has loads of information and fascinating illustrations.

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Reviewer: Sonja Sample, Child and Family Liaison, Lower Columbia College Head Start

Grades 4 - 5: Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Katherine was very intelligent and had a special interest and strong capabilities in numbers. She moved through school quickly and entered High School in a different town at age 10. Her favorite classes were Astronomy and Geometry. Attending college she was 14 and she focused on Math and French. After graduation she married, had kids, and became a math teacher. In 1953 she was chosen to work for NACA as a Human Computer. Being an African American woman she was not treated fairly as a professional. After the passing of her husband she was forced to continue to get better jobs. Discovering her talents she was promoted to Space Task Force in NASA. She married US Military Officer, James Johnson and continued to rise in the NASA team becoming a part of the first flight of an astronaut into space. In 1969, Johnson was a part of the team to send a team to the moon. She calculated the position of Earth in relation to the moon and more importantly, she had to calculate the trip back to Earth. Johnson received honors for her work and a movie of her work was released in 2016.

This biography is easy to read and motivating for all students. Verdict: This biography was an easy to read with interesting facts.

Curricular Use: Biography unit. Women in history.

Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library, Kelso

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: This nonfiction picture book tells the story of four African American women who broke barriers working for NASA and helped to improve our space and aeronautics programs. Fabulous illustrations add to the joy of this book. I especially liked the women's space themed ear rings.While it is picture book size, the text has an approx. fifth grade reading level, making a good story for upper elementary students. Verdict: A great addition to elementary and middle school libraries alike. Buy it - your students will read it!

Curricular Use: Nonfiction Picture Books, NASA, African American Women, Mathematicians

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8, Grades 9 - 12: A book of coding is the perfect next step to playing all the pre-set games. Kids are ready to create their own adventures. Using SCRATCH kids can create their characters and movements. The directions are detailed and clear including colorful detailed illustrations. Then at end it can be downloaded and saved.

It is so detailed and descriptive I believe even the untrained can do this. Yet, I know kids who love coding will be never return this book to the library. Verdict: Use in addition to coding lessons.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library, Kelso

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: This historical fiction picture book brings the reality of the underground railroad to life for young readers. Told through alternating viewpoints of two slave siblings who run from their master in hopes of finding their older brother farther north, and those that help them along the way, it describes their dangerous journey to freedom. The prose is heartfelt and inspiring and the illustrations convey the mood of the siblings. It makes a good read aloud for younger grades and an interesting quick read for older readers. Verdict: A great addition for elementary and middle school libraries!

Curricular Use: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Underground Railroad Fiction, Slavery Fiction

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

P - K, Grades 1 - 3: In this nonfiction book the author, who has spinal muscular atrophy, answers common questions that he knows children have about him and his condition. His explainations are honest, frequently humorous and provide just the right level of information for elementary students. Verdict: This book would make a good read aloud for starting conversations about people with disabilities.

Curricular Use: Nonfiction, Disabilites

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: The Enchanted Files book 3. Cody's enchanted adventures continue when he discovers a troll, Ned, working as a securty guard for his dad's company. Cody's magic is further awakened after shaking hands with Ned and after some family research, learns the Ned is really the lost troll princess, Nettie. He helps Nettie get back home to Troll Mountain to right a wrong doing from the past, and rescues his grandfather in the process. Detailed illustrations enrich this humorous stories. Verdict: Told from mulitple persepectives, this fantasy adventure will appeal to a wide audience.

Curricular Use: Fantasy

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

P - K, Grades 1 - 3: Hello, Hippo! Goodbye, Bird is a humorous story about a bird who is desperately trying to make friends with a hippopotamus. Bird tries to get Hippo’s attention in numerous ways and annoys Hippo. Bird tries for Hippo to see how useful he can be as a hat or umbrella or how fun he can be as a joke teller. Hippo almost runs out of air under water when he tries to escape from the annoying bird. When Hippo gets in trouble when he disturbs some bees in a tree, Bird comes to the rescue and eats the bees. But Hippo still does not want anything to do with him until he gets scared in a thunderstorm needing an umbrella. Finally, the two of them become friends.

The illustrations capture the animals’ emotions well. The text is written in a cartoon-like format.

Verdict: This is a fun book about friendship that lends itself to explore emotions.

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Reviewer: Sonja Sample, Child and Family Liaison, Lower Columbia College Head Start

P - K, Grades 1 - 3: Princess Pearl and Gadabout the Great fly around on Zog the dragon to help treat and heal all kinds of beings, from mermaids to lions, until her uncle, the King, finds out. He thinks a princess should do girly things and locks her in the castle. The King changes his mind when he becomes sick and Princess Pearl makes him well. The illustrations greatly add to this humorous story. Verdict: A good message for young children about girls being able to do all sorts of things. Kids will be rooting for Zog to make a safe landing.

Curricular Use: Pleasure Reading, Picture Books

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: This picture book sized biography tells about the life of Miriam Makeba who fought against South Africa's apartheid by singing around the world to draw attention to the horrible injustices happening there. It describes the prejudices that blacks faced and how the world took notice and helped force change. The text is interesting and at an appropriate level for young readers. The colorful illustrations really reflect the mood of the story. Verdict: This would make a good read aloud during a civil rights unit. The content is also appropriate for upper elementary/middle school students who need content at a lower reading level.

Curricular Use: Biographies, Civil Rights

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: The League of Beastly Dreadfuls book 3. The Dreadfuls: Anastasia, Ollie, Gus and Quentin live in the underground community of Nowhere Special along with other Morfolk (those who can morph into animals). A war with the Witches appears to be brewing and Anastasia finds herself in trouble with the school's head mistress. The friends discover the hidden case that holds the magical hammer that can pulls the nails from the chest that holds her kidnapped father, but they can't open it. Strange things seems to happen whenever Anastasia is around and she soon discovers that the Queen's snow globes are magical portals and her and the Dreadfuls can now secretly travel around the world. However, when their attempt to find the hidden chest puts them deep in Witch country they get much more than then bargain for by meeting Anastasia's grandmother and learn that Anastasia is half Witch, leading to a whole slew of new problems. Verdict: This is a fun fantasy adventure with flavors of the Series of Unfortunate Events.

Curricular Use: Fantasy

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: This is a poignant story of two fifth grade neighbors and best friends, Clover and Danny. The pair are inseparable until Danny begins to get sick. At first, it appears to be a bad cough and they hope his visits to the doctor will fix him. Danny feels better whenever Clover is around, but is overall getting worse. The duo soon devise a plan to see snow in Vermont (they live in Florida) and to take Danny to a clinic there. The kids secretly hitch a ride in Clover's dad's big rig, and once discovered, her father agrees to take them to the clinic where they learn Danny has a genetic autoimmune disease. Danny's gets his wish of seeing snow before he passes away. Verdict: A heartbreaking story of friendship, loss and hope for upper elmentary and middle school students.

Curricular Use: Grief Fiction, Friendship Fiction

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: Five Elements book 2. Gabe and his friends are trying to destroy the parallel world of Arcadia before the evil Dawn can further open the breach between the worlds for good. But when one of his friends is secretly taken over by the evil Thorne, they are tricked into using their powers according to Thorne's evil plan. All appears lost when San Francisco is merged with Arcadia, leaving the kids shocked and wondering what to do. Verdict: This is a fun fantasy series. I enjoyed this one more than the first one in the series.

Curricular Use: Fantasy

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

Grades 4 - 5, Grades 6 - 8: The book, Yard Wars is set in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The main character in the story is a twelve year old boy named Trip. He loves football and discovers that the maid's son Dee has a great throwing arm. The problem arises in that Dee is African American and the neighbors do not like their children playing with him. The situation gets worse when Trip tries to make others accept Dee. It is a heartwarming story about friendship, courage, and racial injustice. The family relationships are also a key part of this story. The adults in the story end up learning a lesson about doing what is right even if it is not accepted by others. Kids will enjoy the action surrounding football, snakes, and fighting. It is a story that will make the reader think as well as feel emotions. Verdict: Kids will relate to the sports in the story and learn about racial effects on kids.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary Library, Kelso

Grades 1 - 3, Grades 4 - 5: This title is the third in a series of Franklin School Friends. Izzy is a fabulous athlete in the third grade. She loves to run. She has a rival though that challenges her and always seems to have better shoes. At school the kids were to choose a famous person that they wanted to follow in their footprints. Izzy chose Wilma Rudolph, a famous black woman who overcame a disability to become the fastest woman in the world. She read her report to the class with enthusiasm and price. Unfortunately for Izzy the weekends at home were taken up with her step brother, Dustin who was a star athlete and the apple of her father's eye. The focus was on him more than her. When she asked her dad to come to her events, he said he had to go to Dustin's. He asked him for new running shoes. He did not want to agree until Dustin spoke up for her. He bought her the new shoes, but actually she did not like them and tried to give them away. But, she retrieved them feeling badly. Izzy's mom came to her softball game while her dad went to Dustin's soccer game. But the big race was Saturday and she knew her friends nor her dad would be at the race. She won the race and she was surprised to see her friends in the crowd with a banner and her mom, Dustin, and her dad all screaming for her. He dad apologized for not being at her sports events. Verdict: This book could be used with kids to talk about sports, friendship, and step brothers and sisters relationships.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library, Kelso

Grades 4 - 5:

This is a heart-warming story of friendship and friendliness. Caitlin lives on an Island, the only young person. She was miserable living in this stinky place without young friends and just her parents. Then appeared: Perijee, a shrimp. Then a frog-like thing. Then, a shape like an octopus and then as an alien shape. Then this new alien friend has provided some excitement for Caitlin. She teaches him to talk and about friends, and family. Then the misery began when Caitlin's father told her he was divorcing her mom. At the same time he discovers Perijee and tries to hurt it. Her father reports this alien to the Army. Perijee responded by growing into a monster. And the soldiers took Caitlin and her mom away. Caitlin escapes the camp to find and save Perijee. She is befriended by a girl, Fi, who helps her return Perijee to a way to his home. Verdict: This story turns into a complex plot, but with good messages and a good ending.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary School Library

Grades 1 - 3: Fancy Nancy stories are a big hit in my library. This "I Can Read" story is adorable and a great way to introduce Chapter book stories. JoJo and daddy are baking a cake. Daddy is the helper. But who is it for everyone asks. JoJo is not telling and she zips her lips. They go through all the steps of mixing, baking, decorating. At the end after adding embellishments it is presented to Daddy for being the best dad and helper. Verdict: This series will be a good addition to the library shelf.

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Reviewer: Debbie Johnson, Library/Media Specialist, Wallace Elementary Library, Kelso

Grades 4 - 5: China: Land of the Emperor's Great Wall is a Magic Tree House "Fact Tracker" book, packed with facts on Chinese history, culture, and customs. Illustrations are grey-scale (black & white). The book also contains B&W photographs. This non-fiction book is nicely divided into chapters and sub-headings, and it includes a table of contents, index, pronunciation tips for Chinese words, and definitions written in the margins. At the end, the authors list tips for researching and visiting Chinatowns, and they offer suggestions on other China-related research materials such as books, museums, DVDs, and websites. Verdict: China: Land of the Emperor's Great Wall is very informative and fun to read.

Curricular Use: Great for research, social studies, history, and general interest in Chinese culture.

Reviewer: Minette Smith, guest reviewer, Cathlamet Public Library

P - K, Grades 1 - 3: The book Super Simple Experiments with Mass includes a table of contents, pictures and instructions to guide the reader step-by-step to follow the experiments that include mostly common materials for easy re-creation to explore what mass is and how mass differs between materials.

I like that the book also includes an open-ended activity that encourages the reader to work and think like a scientist by following the scientific method. First, you write down a question. Second, you take a guess and write down the answer to the question. Third, you experiment. Fourth, you analyze and fifth, for the conclusion, you write down how the experiment went and why the guessed answer may have been right or wrong.

A short summary about Sir Isaac Newton is included as well. The photos of the needed materials are very helpful. The instructions seem easy to follow. Color photographs provide visual instructions and complement the step-by-step written instructions. A glossary is included at the end of the book.

Verdict: This book assists scientists-in-training to explore mass and encourages experiments and critical thinking.

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Reviewer: Sonja Sample, Child and Family Liaison, Lower Columbia College Head Start

Grades 2 - 4: King Flashypants book 1. When young King Edwin runs out of money, his very happy peasants become grumpy without their weekly chocolate. The Evil Emporer seizes the opportunity to take over Edwin's kingdom, with the help of Edwin's own peasants. Humorous adventures ensue as Edwin tries to get his castle and kingdom back. The black and white illustrations add humor and depth to the story. Verdict: This is a fun story that will appeal to fans of highly illustrated novels. Also works for middle school students who need a lower reading level.

Curricular Use: Humorous stories, pleasure reading

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

P - K, Grades 1 - 3: When a famiily of moles runs out of food, they wonder what to do. None of them listen to the youngest mole and the rest of them dig deeper into the ground. The youngest mole digs upward and discovers a whole new world above ground. He makes new friends and they help collect the moles an abundance of food. Verdict: An unusual story about believing in yourself and taking risks.

Curricular Use: Pleasure Reading, Picture Books

Reviewer: Debby Iverson, Library Media Specialist, Coweeman Middle School

P - K, Toddlers: Thank you Bees is written by a local author and illustrator from Washington State. Toni Yuly creates appealing art work out of paper and crayon using collage technique. The illustrations with implied texture take us along on a thankful journey. The simple text allows young talkers to follow along with the story and repeat the words. Toni Yuly includes a thank you to the earth for providing us with our home and she includes an important message in the sleeve of the book “to nurture the awareness that we are part of this planet and that the gifts all around us cannot be taken for granted.” Verdict: Love this book and its beautiful message to treasure our planet and to help children to connect to nature. The book could also be used to help English Language Learners to read.

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Reviewer: Sonja Sample, Child and Family Liaison, Lower Columbia College Head Start