That's A Possibility!: A Book About What Might Happen

That's A Possibility!: A Book About What Might Happen
by Bruce Goldstone
Henry Holt and Co. (June 4, 2013)

Review copy from the public library

This book was mainly about possibility. Stuff like: impossibility, probability, certain, and other types of math things. It showed examples of what was possible and impossible. This book was mainly about math!

What I Liked Best – There were a lot of colorful examples. It’s easy for anyone to understand. It also taught a lot about math! Our favorite page was: Squidgy teddy bear!!! He was so cute!  --S/D

Fog Island

Fog Island
by Tomi Ungerer
Phaidon Press (April 16, 2013)
Review copy from the public library

Finn and Cara, two young siblings, venture off one day in their curragh. They accidentally get taken away by strong currents, and into fog island. *insert dramatic music here* There they meet the fog man. He shows them how he makes the fog, and promises to take it away in the morning for Finn and Cara to go home. In the morning, the fog man is gone, so Finn and Cara set off home. They get caught in another storm, but this time their parents retrieve them and they all live happily ever after.

I think the moral of this story was that adventures are sometimes nice. Finn and Cara still got home, even though they had been scared of the fog island in the beginning. They met a very nice man and there was no harm done. The illustrations were wonderful, and I liked how the author put the text on the bottom of the page.  --SA

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery

The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery
by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin
illustrated by Eric Velasquez
Walker Childrens (January 8, 2013)
Review copy from the public library

This book is about how three runaway slaves go to Ohio from Kentucky. One of them gets caught but the people in the town come out and get the man back. This is a really good book that shows people should care for one another and live in peace.  --SR

America the Beautiful: Together We Stand

America the Beautiful: Together We Stand
by Katharine Lee Bates

illustrated by Bryan Collier, Jon J. Muth, Mary Grand Pre, Raul Colon, Sonia Lynn Sadler, Yuyi Morales, Leuyen Pham, Chris Soentpiet, Diane Goode, John Hendrix, and Jon J Muth

Orchard Books (January 1, 2013)
Review copy from the public library


America the Beautiful is about peace. On the pages you can sing along with the lyrics. There are some quotes on the pages too. There are facts about the Constitution and Democracy. The pictures go with the lyrics. There is a flag made out of kids which shows their differences.  --FA

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great
by Bob Shea
Disney-Hyperion (June 25, 2013)
Review copy from the public library

I LOVE THE BOOK! Probably because it’s some what about unicorns… but to be serious, the book is pretty funny. I recommend this book for all ages, I think it’s just a quick, fun, short read.

This book is about a goat being jealous of a unicorn. In the beginning, the goat lists things about a unicorn he’s jealous of. In the middle, the Unicorn shows up and lists things about the goat he’s jealous of. In the end, the goat thinks they should be a team.  --NA

Goat is awesome and amazing at the beginning, but when Unicorn pops out of nowhere, everything is ruined. Unicorn can fly, turn stuff into gold, AND EVEN MAKE CUPCAKES RAIN!! I mean, who wouldn’t want that? Goat doesn’t like Unicorn at all. Then, all of a sudden, Unicorn starts complimenting Goat about how amazing Goat is!! Goat doesn’t believe it, then he goes all like “We’d make a great team!” And they become best friends!!!

What I Liked Best – FINALLY A BOOK ABOUT UNICORNS!!! I love Unicorns so much, and Municorns even more *dreamy face* (Municorns are a monkey and unicorn combined.) This book was really funny, and it was a great read. I recommend it to 2nd and 1st graders, AND BOYS TOO BECAUSE THERE ISN’T JUST A UNICORN.  --SA

Goat used to think he was pretty cool, that was until unicorn showed up. Goat made marshmallow treats, and unicorn made cupcakes rain! It was so UNFAIR, how come everyone liked unicorn? How come everyone wanted to be friends unicorn? So what if unicorn could make stuff gold, and won the talent show. Blah. Blah. BLAH! Can goat ever be friends with unicorn or will goat always hate the great and wonderful, thinks he’ so great unicorn?

Review; Personally I really liked this book; mainly because I like anything involving  unicorens. This book was just perfectly Disney. I would rate it a 4 out 5 stars. If I were the author though I would have added a bit of more sparkle inside the book. This book is a fiction book, because goats don’t really exist.  Anyways, if you’re looking for a unicorn book, read this fabulous, awesome book.   --SS

Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball

Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball
by Charise Mericle Harper
Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 14, 2013)
Review copy from the public library

This book is pretty weird… but that’s what makes the book AWE-SOME! I recommend this book to early readers because it doesn’t have much words. This book is a simple read, but it’s very enjoyable!

This book is about Beandog (an oval figure) and Nugget (a circular figure) trying to get a ball back.

Beandog got a new smooth and shiny ball, he went to show it to Nugget. Beandog wanted to play catch but threw it at Nugget when she wasn’t ready. The ball got “stolen” by a big, green and scary bush. They tried, and tried to get the ball back but nothing was working. In the end, Beandog and Nugget got the ball back by dressing up as a hero, and a ninja, and by hitting the bush with a rake and a broom. --NA

White Fur Flying

White Fur Flying
by Patricia MacLachlan
Margaret K. McElderry Books (March 19, 2013)

This book is about a family who cares about pets and shelters them in their house until they find an owner or someone else to care of them. Next door a new family moves in. They are very quiet. The two families become a little friends. Phillip (in the new family) is very quiet and doesn’t talk at all. He loves dogs and Alice and Zoe like to hang out with him. The girls love pets too. Once one dog called May leaves and Kodi, the family dog, is left alone. Another day 2 new dogs come and soon the puppy called Jack goes missing and so does Phillip. So Zoe's mom and Kodi search and find them both and surprisingly Phillip talks and keeps on talking. Then Jack goes to live with Phillip and his family.  

--S.R.

Sugar

Sugar
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 7, 2013)
Review copy from the public library

This book is about an African American slave who is named Sugar. Sugar and her mother get freed and her mother dies shortly thereafter. Sugar’s dad was sold. She cuts cane in Louisiana and gets taken care of by the Beales who live next door. Sugar is wild and often gets in trouble and she and the ex-master's son end up being friends. Mr.Wills, the ex owner, doesn’t approve it and arguments break out.

One day people from China called Chinaman come to work on the cane fields. They and the ex-slaves soon become very close friends and look after one another. Soon Billy gets really sick and the Wills had to let Sugar in so she can make Billy feel better. After a couple of days he gets well and the master treats his workers well while they work on cutting cane. Mr. Will fired Mr. Peter the one who whips slaves. He got fired because he smacked Beau, a Chinese man. He got revenge by starting a fire and burning all the cane. Mr.Will had no money for the next year’s crops so he sold the farm to someone else and left for New Orleans. Sugar and the Beales go north in hopes to find their daughters. --SR

Ferdinand Fox's First Summer

Ferdinand Fox's First Summer
by Mary Holland
Sylvan Dell Publishing (March 5, 2013)

This book is about Ferdinand who is a red fox. It’s his first summer and he hasn’t come out of his den yet and hasn’t seen the world. One day Ferdinand goes outside of his den with his 4 brothers and sisters. As he gets older he has to learn how to do stuff on his own like find food because their mother growls at them if they want their mother’s milk. They also learn to leap so they can catch their food. In the end of the book it talks about Ferdinand and his siblings sleeping in cold weather and that they curl up in a ball. --FuO

The King of Space

The King of Space
by Jonny Duddle
Templar (March 12, 2013)

This book is about a kid named Rex who wants to be the king of space. He lives on a small moon in the Gamma Quadrant, on his parents moog farm. At school everybody laughed at him for explaining his plan to be the king of space, The next day he brought his warbot to school and said he would make 1000 of them and conquer the universe. When he made them he crushed the resistance in the Western Spiral. Then he crowned himself king of space and the Galactic Alliance was annoyed. So he captured princess Kooki and the Galactic Alliance came to get her back. In the end he told his mom to tell them he was tired and didn’t want to play anymore.

I think the artwork is good. It was made on a computer. I like and recommend this book. J.J.

The Fellowship For Alien Detection

The Fellowship for Alien Detection
by Kevin Emerson
Walden Pond Press (February 26, 2013)

This book is about 2 kids who try to save the world from aliens. In the beginning Haley explained in school about missing time in towns where there were abductions. Then she went on a trip to see a fireworks show. On the 4th of July aliens tried to abduct her but a guy named The Alto saved her.

While that happened Dodger was being used as a radio with his powers that he got from when he was abducted by aliens as a kid. Soon he got tired of it and controlled the radio lunch box to hit the kids who were using him as a radio. Then he went to some mines to find a map to the town of Juliete. After that aliens came but he drove them off using his crystal he found in the radio lunch box.

Towards the end Haley and Dodger met. Soon more aliens came and Dodger controlled one of the spaceships with his crystal. They then went to the town of Juliete and saved the world.

I like this book because it has sci-fi action with aliens. I would recommend this book to teens.  --J.J.

Seeds, Bees, Butterflies, and More!

Seeds, Bees, Butterflies, and More!
by Carole Gerber
illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
Henry Holt and Co., (February 5, 2013)

This great book is about seeds, bugs, and plants and it is actually a poem book. What I like about it is illustrations. They are beautiful and colorful. I also liked the poems because you could learn something from them like germination and what some bugs eat and also how seeds get around. It had some personification in it too because there were bees talking to each other and plants were talking and one poem had a plant talking to a rabbit and the rabbit ended up eating the plant. I think this book is good for maybe Kindergarten, first, second, and maybe third. I thought this book was a great book, and if you read it, I think you might like it too! R.Y