BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
The school bus pulls up. Animal kids climb aboard, greet friends, and take a seat. They laugh and giggle. The bus gets stuck in traffic and honks it's horn to say hello. Will the bus arrive on time?
Noisy School Bus is fun and delightful. Children will love to press the soft, silicone buttons on the school bus to hear entertaining sounds. They will also learn new object words, and enjoy finding the squirrel on every page.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - NO
APPEALS TO: SOME
A young girl named Sophie has a secret that lives in her brain. She calls him Ady. The doctors told her dad that it is ADHD. Ady contributes to her being late to school. Sophie's teacher is not very understanding. In school, Ady wants to be friends with everyone, doodles on the page, spills paint, and gets distracted during math. Sophie’s teacher takes her to the principal. What will the principal say?
Ady and Me starts out with wonderful insight into the brain of someone with ADHD, but then takes a wrong turn. The Principal is wonderfully sympathetic to Sophie and her ADHD, but then fires the teacher. I don't think that this is a message that should be supported.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Spread a book wide and pretend it's an airplane and can fly. Put the book on your head, and it can be a hat. You can hold the book up to your face and it can be a monster mask. If you put the book on it's side it could be a pirate ship. What else can you imagine with just a simple book?
I really enjoyed Henson's playful picture book with unique ideas to unlock a child's imagination including interactive flaps and die cuts. I also loved Katie Vernon's fantastical illustrations.
Children with many ethnicities are represented.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
50 States of Love celebrates each state in alphabetical order and something wonderful and enjoyable about each. It is a poetic tribute to the beauty and uniqueness of each state., and the love that unites them all. Many different ethnicities are represented on each page.
I appreciated the way Aronson took inspiration form important landmarks, monuments, and traditions. I also liked her concept that the love across America is big, and bright. Her text and heartfelt illustrations might inspire a road trip.
PGPowers
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Maxine is a dog who needs a job. She visits several of her dog friends and tries to do their jobs but is unsuccessful. Will she ever find the job that is right for her?
Maxine Gets a Job is a sweet book with bright illustrations and a good amount of words on a page for a read aloud. The plot is ok but not terribly exciting. It could be a good introduction into learning about jobs that dogs can do.
Tracie, Elementary School Librarian
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Lily the mermaid loves her pond home. She loves helping the creatures that live in and around the pond. She especially loves taking care of their pond. But, Lily starts to worry that all her hard work won't be enough. When a big storm comes, Lily's worries seem to all come true. Will Lily find the strength to confide in her friends and help the pond?
This is a cute story with the added bonus of having an SEL message. It would be a solid addition to a library in that it would appeal to kids who love mermaids, but it's not a must-have in my opinion.
Lily appears to be white
Rachel, Elementary library specialist
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
A girl loves Sundays, because Sundays are wash days. Wash days means lots of time with Mama, special conditioner, oils, braids, and beads. Mama teaches her daughter that taking care of her hair, even if it takes a long time, is about self-love and connection.
This book is endearing and filled with meaningful mother-daughter connection. The mom is patient as she engages with her daughter during their special Sunday time.
The characters are Black
Rachel, elementary library specialist
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Cristina Zenato grew up loving the ocean in her native Italy. During most of the year when she lived in Africa with her parents, she missed being in the ocean. When she grew up, Cristina learned to scuba dive in the Bahamas where she discovered a talent for making friends with sharks! Cristina decided to dedicate her life to educating people about sharks.
This was a fun read. I liked learning that sharks can have distinct personalities and moods. The back of the book includes more information about sharks and Cristina Zenato.
Cristina is white.
Rachel, elementary library specialist
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Meet the dinosaurs from Dinosaur Roar! They all have their own names and something unique about them. Includes a page of facts about the different dinosaurs.
There is no story to this one. It is literally an introduction to the dinosaur characters that are part of The World Of Dinosaur Roar. It would appeal to a dinosaur-obsessed kid, but is nowhere close to a quality book about dinosaurs, in my opinion.
Rachel, elementary library specialist
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Every fairy has a special talent, but Lily hasn't found hers yet. With the help of her human friend, Willow, can Lily discover what is special about herself?
After reading this leveled reader, I plan to get the rest of the Fairies Welcome series for my library. I loved the illustrations and characters with different skin tones and body types.
The characters are Black.
Rachel, elementary library specialist
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Today is Bike's first day as a community bicycle. He is so nervous! What if he gets rained on? Or gets wobbly or tired? Bike carries many different people through the city, having many great adventures.
A Big Day for Bike teaches children about community bicycles and how it is important to serve others. The pictures are engaging but the text is quite small. There are even bike safety rules at the end.
Many different ethnicities are represented by the bike riders in this book.
Tracie, Elementary School Librarian
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Little Emma is so grumpy! She was not invited to the pirate party. Grandma broke her favorite tea cup. She is grumpy as well. Together they set off to have their grumpy experience together. Wise grandma knows just the trick to help little Emma send those "blues" out to sea.
No one listens and commiserates quite like a grandma can! With McFarlane's sweet story and Ainslie's amazing and inviting illustrations, readers will love this wonderful story of how to change a grumpy day into a special adventure. We loved this explorative book on emotions and how easy it can be to change a bad day into a great one. The illustrations are amazing. Little Emma is so precious. We loved that the last page shows readers how to turn a simple piece of paper into a boat. The characters are white.
Reviewer: SL
