​Wei To Go
Written by Lee Y. Miao
Age Level: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 2 – 6
 
Are you looking for adventure? That’s what you get when your mom wins a free trip to Hong Kong, but your dad’s business is in trouble. Black Turtle, a Hong Kong company, wants to take over. Follow Ellie Wai Pettit and her brother Kipp to Hong Kong. They have four days to explore the city and to save dad’s company. Can they do both? You’ll have to read and find out how this adventure ends.
 
My favorite part – how Ellie thinks and talks to her family. This line made me chuckle, “A kid never wants to scare her parents.” Truth! Teenagers are happier without parents knowing their business, especially the adventurous kind.

​Astronaut Handbook
Written & Illustrated by Meghan McCarthy
Age Level: 4 – 8
Grade Level: P – 2
 
I loved this book! It was funny, but spot on about the things you need to know if you want to become an astronaut. I should know . . . I’m from Wapakoneta, Ohio, the hometown of Neil Armstrong, the 1st man to set foot on the moon. I even wrote a book about his wind tunnel dream.
 
This Handbook could be in our local museum. It’s accurate about astronaut stuff from the jobs they do, to the preparation you need to make if you want to become one. My favorite part – the ‘Vomit Comet!’ It’s true!

​​I Love You, Baby!
Written by Claire Freedman
Illustrated by Judi Abbot
Age Level: 4 – 8
Grade Level: P – 3

​From dawn to dusk the text and illustrations show how much animal parents love their babies. This is one LOVELY book! I love it as much as I love my kids and grandkids.

​I Got a Chicken for My Birthday
Written by Laura Gehl
Illustrated by Sarah Home
Age Level: 4 – 8
Grade Level: P – 2

What happens when you want amusement park tickets for your birthday, and your Abuela gets you a chicken? The worst birthday ever! Your grandmother is supposed to spoil you, but then it gets even worse – the chicken takes everything, including your dog, cat, and hamster. URGH! But don’t worry! There’s a happy ending, thanks to the chicken, and one great plan.

​Blizzard
Written & Illustrated by John Rocco
Age Level: 3 – 6
Grade Level: P – K

​I remember the Blizzard of 1978! I was 18, a freshman in college, and the author/illustrator was six. I loved the way he told his story. On the very first page he showed how much snow fell that Monday. He also did an illustration that showed Monday pre-blizzard, and post. The best part – the large spread in the middle . . . John mapped out his tennis racket route to get supplies for the family. I love the way six-year olds think!

​ Bear Came Along
Written by Richard T. Morris
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Age Level: 2 – 5
Grade Level: P – 3  

​This is a simple cause/effect story, and, a beautiful book. A group of animals live in the forest, but they never meet . . . until Bear falls into the river. One by one Froggy, the Turtles, Beaver, the Raccoons, and Duck fall in too. I can’t tell you about the ending, but it was lovely!

Harold Snipperpot’s Best Disaster Ever
Written & Illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna
Age Level: 4 – 8
Grade Level: P – 3

​A cover is a promise, and the story inside delivered on it. I love the illustration Beatrice picked, and the title – too funny! Harold  Snipperpot is just fun to say, and Best Disaster . . . HA! That’s an oxymoron. How could a disaster ever be the best one, let alone the best ever?! But Beatrice told the truth . . . it was the best disaster ever.
 
The beginning starts with the end – another oxymoron! Harold tells us he just had the best disaster ever. Then he goes back to the beginning and tells the story in proper sequential order. It’s Harold’s seventh birthday, and he’s never had a party. Poor Harold! His parents don’t like them, but they agree to hire Mr. Ponzio to plan the party. I won’t tell you how a birthday can become the best disaster ever  . . . You’ll have to read it for yourself!

Dodging Dinosaurs: Time Jumpers #4
Written by Wendy Mass
Illustrated by Oriol Vidal
Age Level:  6 – 8
Grade Level: 1 – 3   

​I loved this story, and I think young readers will too. Its plot – Dynomite! It features kids traveling back in time to save a baby dinosaur. Its egg was switched, and the wrong dinosaur skeleton is in the museum. Can Chase and Ava make things right? You’ll have to read to find out!
 
Dodging Dinosaurs is #4, the last in the Time Jumpers series. I loved it so much it makes me want to check out the other three books.    

​Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching
Written by Laura Gehl
Illustrated by Joyce Wan
Age Level: 2 – 6
Grade Level: 1 – 2

​Meet Peep and Egg. Their problem – a case of opposites! Peep’s lonely and needs a friend. She wants Egg to hatch, but Egg’s afraid of the outside world. She just wants to stay inside her shell where she’s safe and sound. How will these two friends ever solve their problems and get what they need? You’ll have to read and find out. If you like this tale, check out the other three Peep and Egg stories. They’re as good as this one!

A Little Bit of Dinosaur!
Written by Elleen Hutcheson and Darcy Pattison
Illustrated by John Joven
Age Level: 5 – 9
​
Who knew you could have a little dinosaur in you? AND, it’s your mom’s fault! How? Read this book and follow the trail from fossil, to dissolved calcium, to the food you eat. This is a great story to spur your imagination, and to show you the farm to table story. Thanks to this book, I’d like to think I have a little T Rex in me!