Reviews
SLJ Review of Human Behind the Hero
Young fans of superhero movies will learn some facts about their favorite actors in the various heroic roles. Anthony Mackie is a Julliard graduate who originally portrayed “The Falcon” in other movies, Brec Bassinger was in beauty pageants, and Elizabeth Olsen was a good student as well View →
SLJ 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 milk!” While… View →
Booklist Review of Giraffe Calves in the Wild
Preschoolers and early readers will benefit from the large photographs and simple, repetitive text in this adorable entry in the Baby Animals in the Wild! series (8 titles). The book accompanies a giraffe calf as it is cared for by its mother, grows, runs, eats, and finds protection from View →
SLJ 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 in- dividually and talking through the experiences, both chemical and biological. The families and children depicted across these titles come from diverse backgrounds. Most… View →
Booklist Review of Brilliant Bodies
The Brilliant Bodies series (5 titles) quickly surveys the form and function of individual body parts with an upbeat, affirming tone. Here brows of all colors and shapes arch, quirk, and furrow. The book’s cartoonish design zooms in on photos of people’s faces—young, old, and of various… View →
SLJ Review of Brilliant Bodies
Charming easy readers that utilize areas of the body in focus to teach young readers about themselves in easy to comprehend sections. Bodily differences are addressed, and there is also some social-emotional content embedded in the text for the younger audience. Illustrations take up… View →
SLJ Review of Festivals and Celebrations
International festivals and celebrations are highlighted in each title. Each volume opens with a table of contents and uses colorful borders and large photos with a paragraph of text to describe the topic. A short quiz, glossary, and index are included in the back matter. Vocabulary… View →
Booklist Review of Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos is a celebration that is becoming more widely known in the U.S., and this colorful title describes the two-day celebration by tracing its ancient roots (originating with Mexico’s Nahua people) to modern festivities and highlighting traditional elements and… View →
SLJ Review of Math and Me
These books use very short sentences in outlined text boxes that seem to jump off the page. Each concept is introduced on one page and an example is given on the facing page. For instance, a statement about weight is followed by pictures of things that are light or heavy (complete with… View →
SLJ Review of Dangerous Jobs
Some of the world’s most dangerous jobs, and the brave people who do them, are highlighted in this hi-lo series. Readers will marvel at the action-packed visuals which showcase the thrilling daily lives of smoke jumpers, fighter pilots, ice road truckers, race car drivers, stunt per-… View →
Booklist Review of Underwater Construction Workers
Aptly named, the Dangerous Jobs series (6 titles) presents the history, challenges, and reality of more difficult career paths. Here readers dive into the world of underwater construction, where they’ll get a glimpse of this occupation’s daily work (tightening bolts, using power tools)… View →
SLJ Review of Science Questions
For young readers who often ask “why?” and “how?”, these subjects are explained in an easy-to-comprehend way, with simple sentences and visual references. There are real pictures of familiarly ques- tioned concepts, such as blue skies or rain- bows, paired with their scientific… View →