The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest - and Most Surprising - Animals on Earth

The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest - and Most Surprising - Animals on Earth
By Steve Jenkins
Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Books For Children, 2013, Ages 6-12

Steven Jenkins brings animals both living and extinct to life in this book of facts. Jenkins starts the book with a general definition of what an animal is, continues through the different animal's lives and deaths, and ends with the beginning of it all. The lucky individual that picks up this book will enjoy reading every page of it.

Jenkins writes this story full of enthusiasm and information. Reading about the different animals in this book, it's clear that Jenkins has a love for science. 

The images throughout this book give any young reader an appropriate and fun visual of what each named animal looks or looked like. With a section full of actual sized animals, any reader can find themselves looking into the face of a Siberian Tiger or comparing their hand to that of a gorilla's. Filled with a variety of diagrams, timelines, and general pictures, anyone reading this book of animals will find it difficult to tire from turning the pages.

Reading this book I found myself glued to the pages. Learning about animals I had never heard of had me searching for more information. The actual sized animals and their features section had me comparing my own eyes and hands to these monstrous beings. I would recommend this book to any child between the ages of 8 and 12. Though a younger reader might enjoy it as well, I think the older children will take away more. The facts listed throughout this book are interesting enough to make any child want to read more.

Reviewed by Kelsey Hadding

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig
By Chris Kurtz, Illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, Ages 10-13

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz is about a adventurous pig named Flora. Flora tells the story from her point of view and while she is not like the other pigs she seeks a voyage out of the pig pen. Flora lives with her mother and siblings and one day gets the adventure she wants when she volunteers herself to be captured by a man wanting a piglet. She sees this as the start of an adventure but it is really a dangerous journey. She envisions herself finally getting to be a sled pig. Flora assumes she will be part of the sled dogs she is traveling with, but as the readers find out she is planned to be made into an entree. Flora meets many other friends, gets in dangerous situations and conquers many tasks along her journey on the ship.

Chris Kurtz writing style in this book was definitely a narrative style. He writes this novel to entertain and tell the story of Flora and her adventures. He writes in 38 fairly short chapters with much dialogue and some description. The characters are well-developed. 

The cover is Flora surrounded by her three friends and some of the other characters. There is white space and snow flakes where there is not illustrations or words. The criss-crossed font for the title and names of the author is a adventurous and will grab children's attention. The illustrations within the novel are in black and white and help to understand what is going on. While some take up half a page, others only take up a quarter of the page. The illustrations are placed randomly throughout the novel, but they enhance the children's understand of the book, as they did for me. 

I thought this novel was throughly entertaining and I enjoyed it. Although not realistic and I was not informed much on the South Pole or the type of pig that Flora was I enjoyed the story that this novel had to tell. I would recommend this book to any teacher trying to read aloud to their students in the classroom for entertainment purposes. The story demonstrates bravery, friendship and many other great qualities. It makes me think twice about eating pig meat. I do not usually enjoy hearing stories from an animal's point of view, but I thought this was a really good novel. 

Reviewed by Olivia Webb 

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
Elizabeth Eulberg
New York: Scholastic Books, 2013, Ages 14-18

Lexi, a junior in high school, works hard at her job to help support her younger sister, Mackenzie, and single mother, though she is frustrated with their expensive beauty pageant habit. Longing for the visibility enjoyed by the more popular girls at school, Lexi takes some hints from her younger sister's personal beautician and learns some lessons about what beauty means- and doesn't- along the way.

The novel is written in the first person, so readers know what Lexi is thinking. It is also entirely in the present tense, which is fairly unusual and gives a sense of being in the story as it happens. I like the realism of this book as a whole. The tension in Lexi's dysfunctional little family comes out loud and clear, particularly between Lexi and her mother. Lexi's character manages to sound put-upon without coming across as cloying or overly pessimistic, and the compassion she has for her younger sister shines through beautifully. Their love/hate sibling relationship rings true to me, even though I have never been in Lexi's particular situation, and I appreciate the author's ability to forge connections with readers.

There are no illustrations except for the cover. The title is written in dark red lipstick against a white background. The lipstick tube lies at the bottom, and symbolizes the extent to which appearance is emphasized in the book, whether it is in Mackenzie's beauty pageants, her mother's insistence on appearing like she has everything together, or with Lexi herself.

Since the protagonist of the book is halfway through high school, I would recommend this book to upper junior high students and high school students. Those who are interested in beauty pageants (positively or negatively) will probably enjoy this character's "outsider" take on them. One of her friends, Benny, is gay, but to be honest, the character feels token and out of the blue, as though he is only in the book because Ms. Eulberg's editor strongly recommended that a gay character be added in order to emphasize awareness. That said, the author manages to devote too much time to Benny's subplot to the point of taking away from the main storyline, and those who are uncomfortable may shy away from that part of the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was heartfelt and funny and sad, sometimes all at once.

Reviewed by Abigail Kruse

Pink: Pop Singer & Songwriter

Pink:  Pop Singer & Songwriter

Rebecca Rowell

Minneapolis:  ABDO, 2014, Ages 10-16

This story is about a troubled teen named Alecia Moore and how she matured and became the pop star Pink. Pink was not always the pop star that she is known as today, but this book gives her fans some insights into the sort of person Pink really is. This book tells of the defining and life changing moments in Alecia Moore /Pinks career. There are a lot of things that could have changed Pinks career for the good or bad, but since Pink always stayed true to who she was and gave it her all she has always made it out on top and has been successful. 

The writing style is very easy to read and pulls the readers in with nice details. It reads similar to a captivating magazine article.

There were no illustrations in this book but there were many pictures that were excellent quality that helped tell Pink’s story. 

I really enjoyed this book it was very informational and had great pictures. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that has interests in music or likes learning about people. This book is a great read and it could capture the attention of non-readers too with its great graphics, interesting facts, and great writing style. I feel that this book is best for ages 10 and up, it would not be appropriate for anyone younger than the age 9 because it does talk about pinks troubled past. 

Reviewed by Rebecca Rowell

Eight Dolphins of Katrina: A True Tale of Survival

Eight Dolphins of Katrina:  A True Tale of Survival 
By Janet Wyman Coleman, illustrated by Yan Nascimbene
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, Ages 11-15

This story is about eight dolphins who survived the disasters of Hurricane Katrina. These eight dolphins lived and were raised at the Marine Life Oceanarium in Mississippi. Before the storm hit the trainers moved some of the dolphins to safer locations but the last eight dolphins had no other place to go and had to be left. When Katrina hit it destroyed the Oceanarium and those eight dolphins were washed back into the Gulf. The trainers were worried they would not be able to survive on their own but insisted on searching the Gulf for them. Miraculously, all eight of them turned up and were healthy and unharmed because they stayed together.

This is a nonfiction book and written as an expository. This means that the book was written to share an event that happened and it was not written in first person but has a lot of details. Coleman did not experience this situation first-hand but she interviewed the doctor and trainers and got the information first-hand. Along with gathering a lot of first-hand information, the author does a great job at capturing emotion and keeping the readers interest. It is an easy read but because of the knowledge the reader must have about what Hurricane Katrina was, I think it was meant for a 4th or 5th grade student. 

While the book had a great story line, I think what I liked best was the pictures. The book's cover shows a real picture of two dolphins in the water smiling up at you. This picture is what pulled my attention to the book in the first place before I even read the title. The book starts off as illustrated drawings and they are perfectly portraying what is happening in the story. They are vibrant, detailed, and really grab the reader’s attention. The pictures even do a good job at capturing the emotion that the trainers and readers must be feeling about these missing dolphins. At the end it also includes real pictures of the dolphins, trainers, rescue helicopter and the Oceanarium to give the readers an exact picture.

In my opinion, this book deserves 5 stars. I think that it shares a lot of content about what really did happen during Hurricane Katrina, gives a good story line and provides a lot of detailed pictures. The book for me was easy to read and kept my interest the entire time, which is why I think it would appeal to lower middle level students. The only reason that the book may not appeal to some readers is if they did not know what Hurricane Katrina was, how big of an impact it had, and how incredible it was that the dolphins were actually rescued.

Reviewed by Amanda Monschein

 

Jackpot

 Jackpot 
Gordon Korman
New York: Scholastic Books, 2014, Ages 9-13

The action-filled novel titled Jackpot, by Gordon Kormon is the 6th novel in the mystery series Swindle. A young and ambitious Griffin Bing, also formerly known as the “man with a plan” competes over a lottery ticket. His competitor, the new “man with a plan” Victor Pheonix, is the latest addition to the city, Cedarville. There is an unclaimed lottery ticket worth $30 million dollars that is lost and soon to be expired. Friends have to overcome emotional obstacles in this novel, all the time hoping to find the lottery ticket that is lost somewhere in Cedarville. Jackpot captures middle school friendship drama realistically.

This fictional novel reflects Korman’s style very well. It is mainly a narrative tale, as it is largely trying to tell a short story. Korman is also a very descriptive writer, especially when developing his characters throughout the novel. There is much dialogue, showing conversation among characters, to further their development. 

There are not many pictures throughout Jackpot. However, the book cover is something that can catch the younger student’s attention. Pointing his head through the dollar bill is a picture of Savannah’s dog, Luthor. Throughout the novel the protagonist, Griffin, feels a companionship with Luthor. Both of these characters have been sent away from their friends by Victor. The cover of the novel clearly suggests that it is a narrative that will have to do with currency.

I thought this was a great book by Gordon Korman! It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, with all of the action going on. I would say it was a page-turner, always getting me to want to know what happens next! I thought the novel was very action-packed, and I just wanted to know who had the lottery ticket! The book made me feel like I was in it because the characters were thoroughly developed. The shifting point of view and the foreshadowing captured my attention very well. There was much description and anticipation built up. I feel that Jackpot is meant for the younger middle school students, although I thoroughly enjoyed it as a college student. 

Reviewed by Olivia Webb 

Revenge of the Flower Girls

Revenge of the Flower Girls
 Jennifer Ziegler 
New York: Scholastic Books, 2014, Ages 9-15

Triplet sisters take turns telling the story of their older sister's wedding. Or rather, how they try to stop the wedding, and why. They love social studies as much as they love their sister's ex-boyfriend, and get up to all sorts of antics as they work together to try to get the two back together and stop the wedding.

The author manages to make the three girls' perspectives different from each other, in keeping with each girl's personality and temperament as described by the other two. Ms. Ziegler used highly effective descriptors to get inside the heads of her characters. One of my favorites was the following; to express a moment of the disillusionment that accompanies change, particularly for preteens: "As if someone grabbed the world and shook it like a snowglobe, stirring everything up."

There is one picture on the front cover depicting the wedding. The bride and groom have their backs turned. In front of them stand the three girls in pink dresses matched with high-top tennis shoes. One looks like she's plotting something, one looks miffed, and the other looks amused. Since all three wore all of these expressions throughout the book, it's hard to tell which is which. Maybe that's the author's intent!

I enjoyed this book thoroughly! The three narrators evoke the reader's empathy. The ways they talk about their struggles- dealing with the aftermath of their parents' divorce, the change of their sister getting married, and just being eleven- ring very true, even if they adore U.S. history and government more than any sixth-graders I've ever met. I recommend for all ages, but especially for grades 5-8.

Reviewed by Abigail Kruse