Beaver and Otter Get Along . . . Sort of by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Meg Sodano (September, 2021)

The author of this book tries to cover a variety of subjects-- neighbors, the environment, and the creation of wetlands. The pictures are charming and the "Explore More" section at the back of the book is helpful and will appeal to students interested in science and animals. While older children will enjoy it, it may not hold the attention of younger readers or preschoolers.

Too Crowded, written and illustrated by Lena Podesta (April, 2021)

Gil the goldfish gets tired of his house because he believes it is too crowded. It's full of his stuff, his castle, his plant and the 138 pebbles he cleans daily. So, he sets off to find a less crowded home. Gil packs his bag and goes into the world to look for a new, less crowded home. Along the way, he meets new animals in their homes and discovers something not-quite-right (for him) about each of the homes. The brightly colored pictures will delight young children. A good companion book for this would be Hoberman's A House is a House for Me.

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater (August, 2021)

A silly squirrel with a bad memory gets upset with the change of seasons because he is convinced someone is stealing his leaves. His friends bird, owl, and mouse remind him that the leaves disappear each year but squirrel wakes up each day in a tizzy because he sees fewer leaves. Children will be fascinated by the vivid colors as well as squirrel's dramatic worries about the changes. Recommended for teaching about the seasons, and about change.

Sourcebooks Publishing has been kind enough to send me ARCs of new books that will be coming out for children. Here are a few of them:

Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell, Available July 2021 This book about turtles explains they are found everywhere BUT Antarctica. As well as many other animals, who also do not live in Antarctica. But, Turtle thinks they should be everywhere and sets out for the continent. Along the way, he collects some friends, and, they do all make it to Antarctica. Upon arrival, they meet a lot of penguins, who do actually live in Antarctica. With bright pictures, this read will appeal to young readers, especially those who like animals.

Lobstah Gahden by Alli Brydon & Eg Keller. Available April 2021

This book, written in the 'Bahstan' vernacular, tells the story of two lobsters who are unhappy with the pollution they are finding in their gardens. Aside from the fact that it is making it difficult to prepare for the annual gardening contest, it's just trashy. The lobsters, Walter and Milton, work together to deal with the pollution. The brightly colored, cheerful pictures will appeal to readers of all ages, though the 'accent' may be a bit confusing for younger readers.

 

So, everyone teaching about GOOGLING needs a good pair of Google shoes! Right? Here are mine.

Google is marvelous, but you need to know how to 'google' properly to get significant results. For example, did you know?

~every result has TOOLS, Settings, and More? Explore those settings to narrow your search and get the results you're looking for.
~DON'T 'google' questions--for example if you are searching for how fast cheetahs can run, don't use the search term "How fast can cheetahs run?". You are searching for answers so you want to look for the words you expect to find in the answers, like "cheetahs run at speed".
~When searching for images, you can refine your search (with the TOOLS) by color, size, usage rights, type (faces, clip art, line drawings, and more) and how recently they were added online. Of course, there are also other tools to use for refining your search.
~Search by domain.
~Remember that not all .edu sites are authoritative. The sites with a tilde (~) in the URL are student sites. Some may be excellent, but others are likely sites of students just learning about their subject and may not be valuable.
~There are oodles more great tips for using google search, but they do change things around a lot so you have to stay updated on the latest features.
~Don't forget Google Scholar if you need peer reviewed materials!

Grendel's Guide to Love and War by A.E. Kaplan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tom Grendel is the only teenager in the neighborhood-- until his neighbor moves to Florida and her niece's family moves in. With teenagers who like to party. Party loudly. Tom's father suffers from PTSD and can't stand loud noises. The other neighbors, Tom's lawn mowing customers, are all elderly and not thrilled with the noise and commotion either. Along with Tom's best friend Ed, they band all together to try to calm things back down, with some hilarious (to read, but wouldn't want to live through) results. And, of course, there's a girl...Willow, whose brother holds all the parties.

Tom learns a lot about himself and his family during the experience. He, his father, and sister are all still trying to come to grips with the death of his mother. Tom interviews his elderly neighbors to try to preserve parts of their lives since he didn't know his mother as well as he would have liked. And searches to learn more about his mom.

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Book Review: Dan vs. Nature by Don Calame. (2016) Candlewick Press: Sommerville, MA.

 

Dan's mother has been dating ever since his dad walked out, but the guys she dates all seem to take advantage of her in some way. Now, she's engaged to a dentist but Dan does NOT want her to marry him. Mistakenly believing the dentist likes to hunt, Dan's mom arranges a week of survival camping for them. Dan and his best friend, Charlie, make plans to run Hank (the dentist) off by creating disasters during the trip. But, they didn't need any additional disasters, there were enough waiting for them in the woods. This book is laugh out loud funny and a must-have for teen boys.