How Big is your Water Footprint?

Mason, Paul. How Big is your Water Footprint? Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. 2010. ISBN: 978-0-7614-4417-6.

How Big is your Water Footprint? is about how much we are use water. It talks about ways we can conserve water in the garden, outside, and anything else in our everyday lives. It tells you how more and more people are using water, and leaving "heavy footprints" on the Earth. Also, it lists ways to leave a lighter water footprint on the Earth, and what could happen if we don't. The pictures in this book are all photos, relating to the ways to conserve our water. I personally like this book because it showed me many ways that I am overusing water that I could fix. It shows the effects we will someday have on Earth if we keep using so much water, which makes me want to save the Earth's water even more. I don't think there is any definite age group for this book, but it would probably be most interesting/helpful to grade school kids. It lists ways we overuse the water that are most common, so in a way, we can relate, even if it is just telling our parents about how much water to use when they wash the dishes, take a shower, or do the laundry.

L.P., St. Pius X Scholl, 7th grade

The JellyBeans and the Big Book Bonanza

Numeroff, Laura, and Nate Evans. The JellyBeans and the Big Book Bonanza. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Abrams Book for Young Readers. 2010. ISBN: 9780810984127.

The book The JellyBeans and the Big Book Bonanza is about Anna and her best friends. It shows and talks about how much Anna likes to read and where she reads. Anna always wanted her friends to go to the library with her. One day, their teacher assigned a book report. Each student had to read a book about something they loved then write a report on it. So Anna and her friends went to the library but had problems finding their own books. What I liked most about this book was how close Anna was to her friends. I also liked how much Anna loved to read. One of the things that will catch the readers eye on every page is the illustrations. They are fantastic! The illustrations are water colors. The words are also amazing. Kids will definitely want to keep reading. I would recommend The JellyBeans and the Big Book Bonanza to kindergartens through fourth graders. They will love this book because of the words and because of the colorful and fun pictures.

E.C., St. Pius X School, 7th grade

Motorcross

Stealey, Bryan. Motocross. Marshall Cavendish Benchmark: 2010 ISBN: 9780761443865.



The book I read was about motocross. Motocross is a popular and extreme sport. You race on dirt bikes against other people on a narrow track. There is another type of racing in which contestants compete on a four-wheeled ATV. In this book you will find out about two different bikes, the 450 class and 250 class. You will also find what you need to wear to be safe. There are also a couple different tracks to race on. You will also read about some "Motocross Heroes". There is also a women's motorcross, it is not just a guy's sport. I liked this book a lot, I did not know any thing about motocross before. This book was a great book for me to read when I had no idea what motocross was. There was nothing that I disliked about the book. I would recommend this book to children who like motocross and also to children who want to get to know about motocross, around 4th to 7th graders.



S.R. St Pius X School, 7th Grade

The Taming of Lola: A Shrew Story

Weiss, Ellen and Jerry Smath. The Taming of Lola: A Shrew Story. Illustrated by jerry Smith. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2010. ISBN: 9780810940666

The Taming of Lola: A Shrew Story is about Lola a shrew who lived at the edge of West Meadow. Everytime Lola didn't want something that her parents did want, she had a fit. Lola always got her way because her parents did not want to fight with her. One day at dinner, Lola's parents made an announcement that her cousin Lester from the East Meadow was going to stay with them for awhile. Lola had four hundred and twenty-three cousins but had never met Lester. Eventually, she gave in. Lester was just like Lola, if he didnt want something such as spider pie, he would not eat it. Both Lola and Lester got into a screaming fight because Lola said that she was the only one that could talk like that in her family. After awhile their voices began to get tired although they began to fight again over which bed to sleep in and what to do the next day. The family then left them at the house to go on a picnic. Lola and Lester started to get hungry and Lola began to realize something very important. I really enjoyed reading the book The Taming of Lola: A Shrew Story because it takes me back to when my brother and I constantly fought about silly things. The story also has a very important point to it saying that its not fun to fight and you miss out on some very important things. Plus the story had GREAT pictures! That really brought the whole book together. The age that would benefit from the story The Taming of Lola: A Shrew Story would be seven year olds. The story teaches them how to not fight because you can miss some important things in life. Starting out young is the best way for kids not to be so selfish and learn that peace is better than fighting.

S.C., St. Pius X School, 7th grade

The Easter Egg

Brett, Jan. The Easter Egg. The Penguin Group. 2010 ISBN: 9780399252389.

The Easter Egg is about a little bunny named Hoppi who wants to win the best Easter egg. Hoppi goes around his neighborhood hoping to get some ideas. As he looks at each egg, he grows more and more sad. When Hoppi gets to the woods, he finds a blue robin's egg. Hoppi promises the mother he will take good care of her baby and that he does. The artwork in this story is awesome! The pictures are extremely detailed and I would like to see more of this artwork again. I did not like this book, I loved it! The artwork is amazing and it must take a lot of time to make. The story has a beautiful ending. I would like to read more of the author's books. I would recomend the book The Easter Egg to anyone because this book has a great meaning.

J.T., St. Pius X School, 7th grade

My Friends the Flowers

Lach, William, Doug Kennedy. My Friends the Flowers. Illustrated by Doug Kennedy. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2010. ISBN: 9780810983977

Have you ever thought about how many friends a bee would have? Well in the book My Friends the Flowers, you will discover all of a bee's friends. From flowers to cactus's, a bee always has someone to hang out with. The art work in this story is very bold and bright. To a kid, these pictures would catch their eye and they would want to keep reading! However, of you don't really like the story in this book, you can look in the back. The back of the book is filled with different types of flowers and information on how to grow them. This book would be a great book for younger children. In the book My Friends the Flowers, I personally liked the pictures in the book. The pictures were very fine and bright. It always kept me going to see what picture was going to come next. Although the book was a little young for me, I very much enjoyed it. The first page in the book really caught my attention. It was very bright and beautiful. It really brought you into the story and kept you wanting to read. I think kids between the ages of 4 and 7 would enjoy the book My Friends the Flowers. I think girls would like this book. Young ages would like this book as well for the pictures and the older ages would like this book for the interesting facts at the end.

C.K., St. Pius X School, 7th grade

The Scandinavian Vikings

Love, Timothy, and Louise Park. The Scandinavian Vikings. Marshall Cavendish Benchmark Books:2009. ISBN: 9780761444459.

My book was about the Vikings who terrorized Europe for many years. Vikings sailed on ships called long ships. They carried swords, battle axes, spears and daggers. They believed in Norse mythology. Some of those Gods are Oden, Thor and Loki. Today Vikings do not exist, but their legend will live on forever. I liked this book. It taught me many things about Vikings I did not know like where Vikings started out at and when they were defeated. Another thing that I didn't know was that the first European to touch North America was a Viking. The one weakness in this book is that some people will find it boring. The people who would most enjoy this book is people who want to learn about Vikings and people who want to learn about history. The age group who would enjoy this is middle school.

A.W., St. Pius X School, 7th Grade

Portugese Water Dogs

Wheeler, Jill. Portuguese Water Dogs. ABDO: 2010. ISBN: 9781604537840.


This book is about Portuguese water dogs. Why this particular breed of dog you might ask. I think it's because they are so popular right now since the president has one. The book tells you what the type of dog is like and how to take care of them. It says to me "this dog would make a good dog for you". I think this is a very informative and interesting book. It tells you what having a Portuguese water dog is like without being boring. I feel the book talks to you about the dog instead of just telling you. I think I might get one of these dogs. I think this book would be good for anyone who can read because it's informative, but not so informative it overwhelms you and bores you.

A. St. Pius X School, 7th Grade

Green Wilma, Frog in Space

Arnold, Tedd. Green Wilma, Frog in Space. Dial Books for Young Readers. 2009. ISBN: 9780803726987.

My book is about a spaceship landing on Earth and leaving with a frog instead of their alien child. The aliens thought the frog was ill because he wasn't blue like them. All kinds of crazy things went wrong in the spaceship. They went back to Earth and kicked out the frog and picked up Blooger, their kid. The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish. The pictures are in colored pencils and ink pen. My favorite picture was when the aliens booted Wilma out the door. It was a purple spaceship with yellow lights. The drawings were funny. My favorite part was when they picked up the wrong alien. It was funny when they picked up a green frog instead of a blue alien. I would recommend this book to a 3 year old because they would like the blue aliens, the frog, and the spaceship. The story has cartoonish aliens and a frog taking a dip.

D.Y., Kenwood School, 3rd grade

All God's Critters

Staines, Bill. All God's Critters. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 2009. ISBN: 9780689869594.

My book is about all the animals noises. It rhymes but not every word. The song is all music. It's about animals in an animal choir. The book has all animal characters. The illustrations are watercolors. Some pictures are bright and some are darker. My favorite part was the whole thing because I love animals! I would recommend this book to any person who loves animals because the book is full of them. Also for people who like to sing and to second graders.

M.S., Kenwood School, 3rd Grade

Killer Ants

Nirgiotis, Nicholas. Killer Ants. Holiday House. 2009. ISBN: 9780823420346.

My book is about killer ants. Killer ants sometimes have to eat their eggs to survive. All killer ants develop from four different stages. They go get food in an army. It shows what the major worker looks like, how the ants work underground, and how fire ants stand guard to keep away enemies. The illustrations are fabulous. When I saw the illustrations I was astonished. The illustrations look shiny with the color brown. The illustrations are colorfully bright. They look so real like you took the pictures.

T.C., Kenwood School, 3rd grade

Looking Like Me

Myers, Walter Dean. Looking Like Me. Egmont USA. 2009. ISBN: 9781606840016.

My book is about a boy who lists all of the things he is. The illustrations are kind of weird because there is a picture of someone jumping into the boy. I'm pretty sure it's a collage. My favorite part is when heads are sticking out of other heads. I would recommend this book to little kids because it is really easy to read.

S.G., Kenwood School, 3rd grade

Amy's Light

Nutt, Robert. Amy's Light. Dawn Publication. 2010. ISBN: 9781584691280.

My book is about a little girl named Amy who wishes that it was daytime. She goes outside and catches fireflies in a jar. She takes them to her room but the lights dim. She lets them go and they light up again. The illustrations are nice because they look like somebody's real house. I think that Robert Nutt did a very good job illustrating this book. I love looking at Amy's face on the front cover and all the other illustration in the book. My favorite part was when Amy let the fireflies out of the jar and they lit up again because Amy learned something. I think it is cool that the fireflies would not light up in the jar, only outside of the jar. I would recommend Amy's Light to little kids because they might understand how Amy feels and it might make them want to catch fireflies and see if they dim their lights.

I.B., Kenwood School, Third Grade

14 Cows For America

Deedy, Carmen Agra. 14 Cows for America. Peachtree Publishers. 2009.

ISBN: 9781561454907.

My book is about a tribe that loves their cows.

J.H., Kenwood School, 3rd grade

Tractors

Becker, Ann. Tractors. Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. 2010. ISBN: 9780761444060.

My book is about tractors. It tells you about all sorts of tractors, like a tedder, a tiller tract, and a cutter tractor. The illustrations are photographs because the pictures are all zoomed in on the tractors.

C.G., Kenwood School, 3rd grade

In the Belly of an Ox: the Unexpected Photographic Adventures of Richard and Cherry Kearton

Bond, Rebecca. In the Belly of an Ox: the Unexpected Photographic Adventures of Richard and Cherry Kearton. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 2009. ISBN: 9780547076751.

My book is about two people who love nature and photograph it. The illustrations are water colors, pen, and ink. My favorite picture is the one where Richard has his apartment window and a cat is coming in his apartment because I like cats. My favorite part is when they get in the belly of an ox because it's silly to be in the belly of an ox. I would recommend this book to everyone because it is silly and it also has history.

K.K., Kenwood School, 3rd Grade

The Banshee

Bunting, Eve. The Banshee. Clarion Books. 2009. ISBN: 9780618821624.

My book is about a boy who talks about a ghost and he gives a feather to the banshee but it is all in his head. The illustrations are very good because they have lots of detail to them. There are different shadings to the illustrations. My favorite part is when the young boy tells about his friend Colin who saw the banshee and when Mr. Caffery was very sick. After Colin saw the banshee, Mr. Caffery died. The boy thought the banshee killed him. I would recommend this book to 7-10 year olds because it is kind of scary and they would enjoy the story like I did. It is exciting but sad. I would recommend it to 6 year olds too but the banshee would be over-rated.

M.S., Kenwood School, 3rd Grade

Happy Birthday Bad Kitty

Bruel, Nick. Happy Birthday Bad Kitty. Roaring Brook. 2009. ISBN: 9781596433427.

My book is about a cat that likes to sleep and it was the cat's birthday. The owner made the cat's favorite food and he ate it all. Then he went back to his bed and he burped out loud and got his first present.

D.V., Kenwood School, 3rd Grade

The Marshmallow Incident

Barrett, Judi. The Marshmallow Incident. Scholastic Press. 2009. ISBN: 9780545046534.

My book is about two towns and each town thought it was the best. A right-handed person crossed the yellow line. Then they started to throw the marshmallows at him. They shot with catapults full of marshmallows. They even used sling shots. My favorite part was when the knights started throwing marshmallows at people. I would recommend this book to everybody because it's really funny.

J.B., Kenwood School, 3rd Grade

Elephants

Schwabacher, Martin. Elephants. Marshall Cavendish Benchmark 2010. ISBN:9780761443438.

This non-fiction book is about elephants living large in the first chapter. In the second chapter, it's about elephant families. In chapter 3, it's about the last giants. The illustrations are photos of elephants painting, eating, and mating (which means they're finding their mate). My favorite part is when the book shows the baby elephant and the mama elephants finding a water hole. I would recommend this book to 6th graders because it gives a lot of information. I would say that this is a great book.

S.P. Kenwood School, 3rd grade.