Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen
Written by Candace Fleming
Illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                             
​Grade Level: 3 – 7

This is a Cinderella story of a German dog who becomes an American movie star. Etzel’s taken away from his mother and litter mates as a puppy. Play and kindness are trained out of him to make him into a police dog.
 
Then Larry Trimble appears on the scene. He’s looking for the right dog to appear in his movies, and he sees something in Etzel, but it took his secretary/co-writer Jane Murfin to unlock it. How? She taught him how to play again. Jane’s also the one who renamed him Strongheart.  
 
That was the beginning of his film career. He made 6 movies, and people are still amazed by the emotion he showed on camera and in real life when he was falsely accused of attacking a girl. From the beginning to the end, this story is as full of heart as the real Strongheart. I loved every page of his story!

The Dandelion Seed’s Big Dream
Written by Joseph Anthony
Illustrated by Cris Arbo
Age Level: 4 - 10                                                           
​Grade Level: 1 – 2

​The local garden club gave this book to the library. It’s the story of a little seed’s dream to become a flower, then grow new flowers. It reminds me of THE TINY SEED by Eric Carle, which is one of my favorite books.
 
It’s also got great end pages with a short encyclopedia article, a labeled diagram, and a debate about whether a dandelion’s a weed or a flower. You can decide  which for yourself. Then try out the DIY activities with a magnifying glass, a life cycle study, and an interview about the book.
 

                                       

Babies Ruin Everything
Written by Matthew Swanson
Illustrated by Robbi Behr
Age Level: 4 - 7                                                                    
Grade Level: 1 – 2

​What happens when your mom brings home a new baby? For one big sister, it ruins everything. Kids will giggle at the trouble one small baby can get into. They’ll be surprised how one red marker can change a story. This is a great gift for big brothers and sisters who are wondering about the changes a new baby will bring.  

​Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School
Written & Illustrated by Richard Terry
Age Level: 3 – 6                                                                   
​Grade Level: PS – 2

The pictures are OK, but the story’s great! Imagine your first day of school, and you wake-up as a dinosaur. You’re ready to make friends, but there’s not a dinosaur in sight. A trio of princesses turn their noses at you. What’s a dinosaur to do? Don’t worry! Ally-saurus is Ally-creative. Enjoy!

PS – if you liked this story, try out it’s sequel, ALLY-SAURUS & THE VERY BOSSY MONSTER.

Applesauce Day
Written by Lisa J. Amstutz
Illustrated by Talitha Shipman
Age Level: 4 - 8                                                             
​Grade Level: P – 3

​Come take a trip to an apple orchard and Grandma’s kitchen. Turn the pages and watch how a family makes homemade applesauce. I’ve never done it, but the author’s family has. It’s probably what inspired her to write this book.  
 
Don’t stop reading till you reach the very end! The author added in her own recipe for applesauce, and some amazing apple facts. Please take a picture walk through the book. For early readers it’s a great step towards literacy, and the illustrations are as cute as the front cover.

Stay Alive #1: Crash
Written by Joseph Monninger
Age Level: 8 - 12                                                            
​Grade Level: 3 – 7

​I loved this book. It reminds me of the  I SURVIVED series, but it’s definitely for older kids, with a readability score of 5th grade. Boys will love it, but girls will too!
 
The story starts with a team of kids flying to Alaska as part of a student news team.  Their plane crashes killing the pilot and a student. Her twin sister survives. The rest of the story is about the survivors, and how they fight to stay alive in the Alaskan wilderness, without phones or internet.
 
Side note- somewhere in the book is a list of 4 survival tips. It’s a good addition, given the theme of staying alive. 

What if You had Animal Ears!?
Written by Sandra Markle
Illustrated by Howard McWilliam
Age Level: 4 - 8                                                                         
​Grade Level: PS – 3

Take a look at another in the What If series of nine books. This one lets you imagine having the ears of eleven different animals. Some I’d heard of. Some I hadn’t. With each animal you’ll discover a trick only their ears can do,  a fact about how they work, and a what if question to help you imagine what life would be like, with those ears.
 
Back matter includes what makes our own human ears special, how they work with your brain to help you hear, and how ears keep you balanced. Animal ears finishes with tips to keep your own ears healthy.                                       

​I Am Farmer: Growing an Environment
                               Movement in Cameroon
Written by Baptiste & Miranda Paul
Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
​Age Level: 7 - 11                                                                   
Grade Level: 2 – 5

​Farmer is fantastic! It's the true story of Tantoh, a young boy from Cameroon, who just wants to farm. His family discourages him, but Tantoh studies agriculture in college until he gets Typhoid from bad water. It takes seven years to recover, but Tantoh turns his problem into a solution by bringing food and water to his village. Take a trip to Cameroon, and read how one boy made a difference. Farmer is fantastic!

​Boxitects
Written & Illustrated by Kim Smith
Age Level: 4 - 7                                                
Grade Level: P – 3

​I’d love to be a boxitect! What’s that? An architect who uses boxes. Life is great until two girls both decide they should be in charge.  It gets worse when they’re forced to work together. What can they do? Work separately? Work together? You’ll have to read to find out how this one ends!
 
Bonus: the STEAM connection in this story and the back matter. It explains what’s so great about cardboard and offers a few suggestions for want-to-be boxitects like me!

Born to Fly
Written by Steve Sheinkin
Illustrated by Bijou Karman
Age Level: 10 - 14                                                             
​Grade Level: 4 – 6

​​I discovered this book at a writers’ conference. It was recommended as a model for  nonfiction. The details the author uncovered from a century ago were incredible.
 
In the first third you’ll meet fliers like Amelia Earhart, Marvel Crosson, Louise Thaden, and Elinor Smith as little girls. You’ll read about the kinds of things they did  as kids, the things that shaped them into the women they’d become.
 
The second third follows them into the 1929 Air Derby, the first  women’s race across the US. Women had just earned the right to vote in 1920, and now they were fighting to fly an airplane. The public believed women weren’t capable of flying, let alone doing it cross country.
 
The final third follows our heroines past the race and into their future. It’s the end to each of their stories. The back matter will show you the author’s source notes and photo credits. BORN TO FLY is well done from the start to the finish line!