Reviews
Booklist Review of Science Behind the Colors
The eye-catching Science behind the Colors series uses pigment and patterns as an inroad into studying some of the animal king- dom’s most curiously colorful creatures. Each title is broken into short chapters, with only a few sentences per page, that explain how each… View →
Booklist Review of Whole Wide World
These new books in the Whole Wide World series present exciting destinations around the world to young readers. Each book focuses on one large, famous structure, describing its parts, its construction, and what visitors can see there… Angkor Wat explains how the world’s View →
SLJ Series Made Simple Review of Baby Animals in the Wild
Basic information about the lives of young wild animals is ably supported by excellent photographs. Short, declarative sentences cover food, grooming, play, and social groups, often with a single fact or two about each topic: “Tiger cubs are born! They drink their mother’s… W View →
SLJ Series Made Simple Review of Fairy Tale Phonics
Through the lens of fairy tales and magical creatures, this series presents different phonics concepts through short, narrative stories. Each book shares an original, fictional tale that focuses on one phonics area, such as word families and consonant… Readers are invited to View →
SLJ Review of Science Behind the Colors
Photographs in this series showcase the colors of various animals in beautiful detail. Easily understood text explains the causes of and reasons for the colors, such as camouflage, mating display, or even as a warning to enemies. Nonfiction features include labels on the photos, “Did You View →
SLJ Review of Spot the Differences
Engaging animal comparisons are presented in a question-and-answer format. Text provides simple facts about the two animals. Readers examine the accompanying photograph, then try to identify it based on the words and image: “A frog has webbed feet. A toad does not. Which is this?” (Frog… View →
SLJ Review of Meet the Community Helpers
Early readers will love to learn about how veterinarians, bus drivers, construction workers, and garbage collectors work hard to serve people and animals in their communities. Each book features common situations associated with each job: Dr. Jenny has a busy day treating animals at her… View →
SLJ Review of Mindful Cooking
Moving beyond deep breaths and yoga mats, these titles incorporate mindfulness practices into common middle grade activities like dancing and crafting. It is a clever expansion that builds on a secular understanding of mindfulness and its uses in daily activities to boost mental… View →
SLJ Series Made Simple Review of Brainpower
Answer the question of what is going on inside a person’s brain when they feel strong emotions by looking at each individually and talking through the experiences, both chemical and biological. The families and children depicted across these titles come from diverse… Mo View →
SLJ Review of Los trabajos de los perros (Dogs on Duty)
Repetition, early words, and simple narrative structure are major strengths in this series about the many service functions performed by working dogs. Herding dogs, military dogs, search and rescue dogs, and service dogs are profiled in these Spanish/English books for early readers who… View →
SLJ Review of Whole Wide World
This series continues to balance information with an eye-catching format, highlighting landmarks around the world. There are about three chapters that are six pages long and contain full-page pictures that accompany short paragraphs throughout. The beginning of each title starts with… View →
SLJ Series Made Simple Review of Holiday History
What is the background of holidays? What traditions are associated with them? How are they celebrated around the world? This series addresses these questions in short paragraphs and large-scale images with helpful… Text boxes ask “Did you know?” or “What do you think?” and t View →