Destination Rain Forest
Author: Jonathan Grupper
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 31
Reading Level: 3
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction
Rating: ****

Summary:
Exactly as the title alludes to, destination rainforest takes to the rainforest and drops us off. Each page is filled with pictures to the brim and what you are seeing, and hearing on your day through the rainforest is explained. When you look up you see the howler monkey the treetops. To your right is a tree frog. At night you turn on your flashlight and see the activity is still going on and there are seven million leafcutter ants wrapping up their work all around you. In the morning you learn all about the food chain, thanks to the grumbling appetites of the forest animals. It is hot out, but you don’t dare get into the river. Not with the piranhas, caiman alligators, otters and anaconda! In the afternoon you see a jaguar and a macaw, and spider monkeys and sloths. The rain comes in suddenly and then just as quickly is gone, but is replaced by the sound of a tree being cut down! More quickly than ever the rainforest is being destroyed, there won’t be much left in a few years at this rate. Then there are birds, everywhere…a third of all birds live here. And then night comes, and with it all the nocturnal animals of the rainforest.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Young kids would be captivated by the pictures and any kids that love animals and are interested in the rain forest would really enjoy this book. A quick read with great pictures!

Potential problems/conflicts:
If you are in the lumber company you may be offended by the negative spin this book gives to those that are cutting down the trees. Some of the animals are also on the creepy side, but if you don’t like it you can quickly turn the page.

My reaction:
The pictures in the book are….AMAZING! I also really liked how they made it seem like you were traveling through the rainforest and seeing different things as they went. They not only explained the animals, but what time of day you would see them and where in the rainforest. The facts were also interesting. I couldn’t believe that each year the cut down an area of forest the size of Washington State! That is huge! There really won’t be a rainforest in a century or two at that rate and with it will go most of the world’s animals.

Are You My Mother?
Author: P.D. Eastman
Publisher: Beginner Books-Random House
Copyright: 1960
Pages: 64
Reading Level: 1 or 2
Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction
Rating: *****

Summary:
A mother bird is sitting on her egg, when she feels it move beneath and she knows it is getting ready to hatch. So off she flies to get some food for her new baby. While she is off looks for worms though, the egg hatches and the little bird look up, and down but he couldn’t find his mother. So off he set to look for her. Since he could not fly yet, he walked. As he walked he looked for his mother. First he met a kitten, but the kitten was not his mother, neither was the hen, or the dog, or the cow and how could they be. They were cows, and cats, and hens and dogs, not birds. But the little bird keeps looking, this time running. He finds an old car and he knows a car could not be his mother, nor the boat, plan or crane. That crane though it wasn’t his mother carried that baby bird up and up. And the baby bird could not get down, but then the crane (snort) stops and the baby bird calls for his mother, and then suddenly the crane down him, right back into his nest. Just then his Mother comes back and asks if he knows who she is. Well of course he does, she is a bird. Not a cat, dog, hen, cow, boat, plane or snort. She is his mother.

Who would benefit from reading this?
This is a great book to teach kids their animals, but I think any child, old or young would enjoy it. Young kids can even read it themselves, which makes it even more fun.

Potential problems/conflicts:
A crane is called a snort, so for a non-fiction book some parents may be annoyed that it isn’t the proper name. There are no other problems I can think of though.

My reaction:
I loved when my grandma used to read me this book. It is so simple, but a favorite of many none the less. There is just something about that little bird making his way around looking for his mother that all of us love. The pictures are very simple, but great at the same time. I love this book, definitely a favorite as a kid and still now.

The Truth about Dangerous Sea Creatures
Author: Mary M. Cerullo
Publisher: Chronical Books
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 40
Reading Level:
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: *****

Summary:
Giant Squid, Jellies, Stonefish, surgeonfish, whale shark. The list goes on. All these sea creature and more are showed up close and personal in this book all about dangerous sea creatures. With each animal you learn where its found, why it is dangerous, how big it is, have up close pictures and more. This books gives you all the true facts on those creatures that live deep down. For example, did you know that the most feared animal by divers is not sharks, but a spiny sea urchin? Their long brittles spines break of easily and lodge in your skin. Trying to get them out though is the big task, often when they spines are pulled out they will break again and be implanted in the skin for weeks or months and can lead to infections. This book tells you about every scary sea creature you have ever wondered about and some you have never even heard of. Prepare yourself to get lost in it for hours!

Who would benefit from reading this?
Anyone who loves animals, especially sea creatures and loves to know facts would love this book! It is full of so many interesting and random facts as well as some amazing pictures!

Potential problems/conflicts:
Some of the pictures in this book may be scary to kids, because let’s be honest some of these sea creatures are just creepy.

My reaction:
I was surprised by how much time I spent reading this book! I wanted to show and tell everyone about all the cool facts I was learning. And the pictures, those are a whole different story. Not only do you see the pictures but you have more of an idea just how big some of these creatures are when you see them compared to divers. For example the whale shark or basking shark…the full grown diver in the picture is only maybe a fourth of the length of the shark and a twentieth of the circumference. Those things are huge! I want this book! Very fun to read and all educational! Who would have guessed it?

Touch and Feel SHAPES
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Book
Copyright: 2000
Pages: 10
Reading Level: Kindergarten
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: ****

Summary:
This book is all about shapes. Circles are round, like a compact disk, an orange, balls, and a plate. Squares are like: dice, presents, building blocks, buttons, and silky cushions. Triangles are like: flags, and some buttons. Rectangles are like: fluffy pencil cases, and combs. Ovals are like: a tortoise, coconut, and balloon. Hearts are like: buttons, sunglasses and a cookie. Diamonds are like kites, and Stars are like magic star wands. Not only does this book teach shapes though, you can also feel some of them. Like the bumps on the orange, the fluffy pencil case, the smooth glasses, and the silky cushion.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Great for little kids learning their shapes. Especially good for those that can’t read yet because they can feel the things you are reading to them about and the book is mainly pictures.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The only problem I can see it that buttons fall under just about every category of shape, so that may confuse kids, but other than that there is nothing I would consider a problem in here.

My reaction:
I loved these books when I was a kid. We never had them in my home, but I was always jealous of the other kids at church that had them. They make learning the shapes fun and interactive. Especially good for those that are kinesthetic learners. Simple and short which is great for those that are young, because it doesn’t require a very long attention span. I will invest in these book for my kids without a doubt.

No One Told the Aardvark
Author: Deborah Eaton and Susan Halter
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Copyright: 1997
Pages: 30
Reading Level: Ages 2 and up
Genre: Children’s Non Fiction
Rating: *****

Summary:
We meet a little boy who thinks sometimes, it would be more fun to be an animal. Why is this? Because of all the things they can get away with doing and he can’t. His father tells him not to eat with his fingers and to use a spoon, but Chimpanzees eat with fingers and toes! His brother tells him to tie his shoes; horses don’t have to tie their shoes because they are nailed on. His mother tells him to take smaller bites and chew his food. Boa constrictors don’t have to chew their food they swallow it whole. Hermit crabs don’t have to clean their rooms, they just find new homes. And the animals goes on and on. You learn about all different kinds of animals, an elephant, a fish, a crab, a raccoon, a kangaroo, a horse, a whale, snake, crocodile, snail or aardvark. Sometimes he wishes he was an animal, perhaps sometimes they want to be him.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Fun for all kids, it teaches you so much about animals but not only that, it show kids how animals are like them. A great book for younger kids.

Potential problems/conflicts:
I honestly don’t see any problems with this book. Very factual. The only problem is you might make your kid smarter than you want:)

My reaction:
I loved how this book compared the animals to the boy. It made it so that animals are just animals, but they are things not so different than us. I thought it was a great book to teach kids things, but also keep their attention. There are also great pictures that fill the page. The title was what caught my eye for this book, but I was impressed by just how fun it was to LEARN!

Millions to Measure
Author: David M. Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 28
Reading Level: Ages 5-12
Genre: Children’s Non Fiction
Rating: *****

Summary:
How did we decide what a foot was? A pound? Inches? In this book you get to follow from the beginning of time to the present how we came to have all the measurements we do. It starts off by taking the reader back in time to the prehistoric time where they had no idea how to measure distances and volume, size and weight. So someone decided they would use their feet to do height and distance, and stones for weight. But the problem was that everyone had different size feet and used different stones. You then travel forward in time and see Kings declaring that all measurements should be according to their feet, their cup, and their weight choice. After some time all people around the world come to agree on what one foot is. Which it shows is 12 inches. You then learn all about a ruler. You learn there are 5.280 feet in one mile, and that Mt. Everest is 5.5 miles high…so how many feet is that? 29,000! Then we learn about weight and volume. How at cup is, ounces, that there are two cups in one pint, two pints in a quart, and four quarts in a gallon! It even teaches about the metric system! It talks about liters, grams and more. It ends by letting explaining that many think the USA will eventually switch over to the metric system like the rest of the world, but whether they do or not doesn’t matter because we already learned all about it!

Who would benefit from reading this?
This book is great to teach any kid the standard measurements! Heck it was good for me! I had no idea how many feet were in a mile or that two cups equaled a pint and so on. A fun way to learn the basic math we use in our everyday life!

Potential problems/conflicts:
The only problem that I can think of is that there is A LOT to learn from this book. You might have to read it several times to get it all down.

My reaction:
I was surprised how great this book was. I would highly recommended it to parents to read to their children, and learn a thing for themselves as well. I know that I don’t know about pints and quarts, nor enough about the metric system. This book has a fun and laid back way of teach you all about math for the real world. They don’t teach this stuff in school, but kids need to know it. This book was even better than I expected. It covered everything, from measurements for height, distance, volume and more. A great book, I was surprised myself at how much I really didn’t know and how much I learned!

The Great Gilly Hopkins
Author: Katherine Paterson
Publisher: Harper Trophy
Copyright: 1978
Pages: 178
Reading Level: Ages 10 and up
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Rating: ****

Summary:
Gilly is eleven, smart and witty, and more of a handful than any foster home can handle. Transferred once again she is taken to the Trotters. They aren’t your typical family though. With a small house and a bedroom she can hardly turn around in. Not to mention a foster brother that is shy and slower in school. To top it all off Trotter also feeds a blind black man every night. But it is all only minor details to Gilly, because she is determined to get out of there and back to her mother who is beautiful and wants her back…or so she thinks. As time goes on though, Gilly finds that despite how much she wants to hate Trotters, it is unlike any other place she has been. And the day Trotter stands up to CPS after Gilly has ran away is the day Gilly finally let herself really get comfortable. She began to love them, they weren’t just a foster family, they are HER family! Each and every one of them, from her brother who she teaches to fight and stand up for himself, to Trotter and the old man they are part of her and she is part of them. During Thanksgiving week everyone gets very sick, and Gilly jumps in to take care of all of them. But then everything changes with a knock on the door. When Gilly opens it there is an older woman standing there, who says she is her Grandma and has come to get her. When Gilly had first arrived she wrote her Mother a letter and told a bunch of lies about how horrible it was and to please come and get her. And the Mother had sent the Grandma. Just as suddenly as Gilly was given to Trotter she was taken away. The only thing is, Gilly doesn’t want to leave. She loves Trotter and she knows Trotter loves her and she wants to say. The law disagrees though and she goes to live with her grandmother. Her Mother though, is just as much out of her life as she was before though. Finally though, at Christmas her Mother comes to visit, but only for a couple days. That is when Gilly realizes her Mother is not who she has thought. Her Mother didn’t love her, and her Mother was far from beautiful. Running away to the bathroom she makes a phone call to Trotter and says she is coming back, but Trotter tells her she has to say. Because even though Trotter loves Gilly, her grandma needs her now.

Who would benefit from reading this?
This book is great for anyone who had a less than easy childhood. As well as those that didn’t. It shows each of us just what true love looks like. All of us could learn a thing or two from Gilly.

Potential problems/conflicts:
Gilly can have a rough mouth at times and take the Lords name in vain. She is also violent from time to time. I would also say this is a book for older kids, not younger ones to be reading.

My reaction:
A first I didn’t see all the lessons that Gilly teaches us, so I was so so about my feelings on the books. After I finished it though, and looked back I realized just how much we learn from Gilly. I think all of us like her can be hard at times and not want to let others in or have our eyes so focused on something we can’t see things for what they really are. But through Gilly we learn the meaning of true love, and just how important people are. A good book, any book that can make you analyze your own life is a book worth reading. Just like Gilly was surprised at the fact that she fell in love with her new family, you will be surprised at how quickly you fall in love with them too!