Reviews
SLJ Review of Personal Finance: Need to Know)
This series delivers straightforward financial information to readers. Topics covered include credit scores, interest rates, budgeting, and saving. The author relates each subject to a real-life money situation, such as saving for a computer or investing birthday money. The books feature View →
Booklist Review of Ice Cream Cones
This installment in the Oops! Accidental Inventions series (6 titles) dives into the invention of not ice cream itself but of the now-ubiquitous waffle cones used to carry it around. In large fonts and simple declarative sentences ideal for emerging readers, the text tells the story of… View →
SLJ Review of Oops! Accidental Inventions
Readers who’ve never heard the iconic Bob Rossism “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents” will see that concept come to life in this clever, engaging series. Some of these accidents, like bubble gum, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream cones, have led to the invention of… View →
Booklist Review of Thanksgiving
Starting with a quick version of the traditional story of the origins of Thanksgiving (with a glancing nod to contemporary Indigenous people’s alternate gathering to “remember those who died after colonists arrived”), this Holiday History series (7 titles) volume still manages to offer a View →
SLJ Review of Seedlings: Community Helpers (Semillas del saber)
In a continuation of their previous series, these books provide basic information about 10 common careers: engineer, mail carrier, librarian, mechanic, police officer, bus driver, coach, firefighter, doctor, and garbage collector. Each book is divided into chapters that don’t exceed four View →
SLJ Review of World Festivals (Festivales del mundo)
Festivals celebrated around the world are summarized in this series. Through brightly colored photographs that accompany short paragraphs, the informa- tion about each festival is easily described. Starting with a table of contents, vocabu- lary words are in bold and in a different color View →
SLJ Review of Unsolved Science
Science is all about answering questions, and this series looks at ongoing investigations. Each book introduces read- ers to its theme and includes a reminder of the scientific method. The text then covers what scientists have already learned as well as current explorations. Captioned… View →
SLJ Review of The Secret Lives of Cryptids
Students seeking a lighthearted, fact-filled series on this popular topic will want to check this out. Succinct but not choppy sentences make for fast-paced, smooth reading, and a comfortable number of short sentences (roughly four to eight per page), with plenty of white space and… View →
SLJ Review of Baby Animals in the Wild! (¡Animales bebés en la naturaleza!)
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 milk!” While… View →
SLJ Review of Sports Illustrated Kids: Game Day!
This series spends time shedding light on all the people who make our favorite games possible from behind the scenes. In “Homers and Hot Dogs,” readers learn that it’s not just the trainers and coaches, but the grounds crew, concessions workers, and even the fans who make game day come… View →
Booklist Review of All About Teeth
The My Teeth series (4 titles) helps kids get acquainted with their chompers and different activities surrounding them, from going to the dentist to keeping teeth clean and losing baby teeth. This volume examines the tooth itself, providing large, labeled diagrams of the tooth’s four… View →
First but Forgotten - School Library Journal
Before Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks, there were Larry Itliong and Sarah Keys Evans. These are two of the civil rights pioneers spotlighted in this series of unsung heroes who fought against unfair labor practices, racist transportation policies, school segregation, and, in the case of… View →