Chicken Little may have thought the sky was falling but Peter Pika is sure the glaciers are melting and is off to talk to the Mountain Monarch about it. Joined along the way by friends Tammy Ptarmigan, Sally Squirrel, Mandy Marmot, and Harry Hare, they all wonder what will happen to them if the glaciers melt. Where will they live, how will they survive? When Wiley Wolverine tries to trick them, can the Mountain Monarch save them? More importantly, can the Mountain Monarch stop the glaciers from melting?

4-6 pg For Creative Minds educational section in the back

40-60 pg cross-curricular Teaching Activities and 3 Interactive Quizzes available free on the book’s homepage

eBooks with Auto-Flip, Auto-Read and selectable English and Spanish text and audio

My Comments:  My Southern California second graders and I enjoyed this book as we do all of Sylvan Dell books.  It was somewhat hard for them to relate to since they have little to no experience with cold weather, ice, or glaciers.  Nevertheless, it presented great teaching opportunities.  The illustrations were colorful and realistic.  Illustrations are always one of the most important aspects of a children’s book (especially non-fiction).  While reading the children picked up the “Chicken Little” resemblance of the story.  I knew it was familiar, but they nailed the title of Chicken Little.  This aspect made the story more engaging for the children.  It also made it fun to read. The Accelerated Reading level of this book is 3.6, and the interest level is ages 4-9.  We have yet to find a Sylvan Dell book we dislike!

***CONTEST ALERT! *** The publisher ,Sylvan Dell, would like to give away a copy of this book.  If you leave a one sentence comment sharing one topic you would like to see addressed in a children’s non-fiction book,  you will automatically be entered into the contest to win a copy of this book.  Easy, easy, easy!  The contest will close on May 31, 2012.

Follow the photo journal of Carolina, a critically ill loggerhead sea turtle, as she is cared for and nursed back to health at the Sea Turtle Hospital of the South Carolina Aquarium. Just like hospitalized children, Carolina goes through a variety of emotions and procedures during her care and recovery process. When she first arrives at the hospital, she is too sick, weak, and confused to understand what is happening. She has blood drawn, x-rays taken, gets shots, and is fed through an IV…just as ill children may be! As she gains strength, she begins to interact with her caregivers and to, begrudgingly, understand that they are really trying to help. Join her as she interacts with her many caregivers and her sick or injured roommate turtles. Celebrate the happy day she is released back into the open arms of the ocean – a healthy and happy sea turtle! The “For Creative Minds” section includes a craft, game ideas and information on sea turtles. The author and photographer donate a portion of their royalties to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Program at the South Carolina Aquarium.

My Comments:  My second graders LOVED this book.  We read it together and it enabled so much great discussion about illness.  Children, of course LOVE animals and since we live in Southern California and not too terribly far from the Ocean and Sea World, many of the children have seen turtles.  We couldn’t believe how large Carolina was!  The illustrations were superb.  The information was age-appropriate and these books are so educational!  They include other information you can use in the classroom (would be really awesome for homeschoolers too!)  The appropriate age for this book is: 4-9

The Accelerated Reading Level is: 3.6

***NEW ALERT*** The publisher (Sylvan Dell) will be giving away one copy of this book through The Friendly Booknook.  All you have to do is leave a comment telling me  what your favorite sea animal is and why – nothing long, just ONE sentence.  The winner will be chosen at random.  You will have until May 31 to comment on this blog in order to win a copy of the book.  I know you will enjoy it as much as my second graders and I did.

Read chapter 1

A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built a life far removed from her trailer park teen years. Until an interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. Determined to pay her respects while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. So when Bethany is left the land, he must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace she’s not even sure exists?

My Comments:  This book hooked me right in, got slow in the middle and ended well.  I was looking for a little more “scandal” in parts – at least that is how my predictions went, but it was clean throughout and believable problems with faith.  The faith issue was resolved a little easily for me – maybe mine was similar and I felt I struggled more than Bethany, but again believable.  The message on faith was clear and not preachy.  People lived out their faith.  I like that.  Struggles vary in the story, peoples’ experience with faith differs throughout.  Some relationships were not resolved which may possibly result in a series instead of a stand-alone story.  The setting of rural Iowa brought back great memories of living in Iowa for eight years.  This refreshes me after living in Southern California for 9 years!  I look forward to more books from this author!

I received a free review copy from WaterBrook Press.  This book was released on May 8, 2012.  See link above and read chapter 1.

Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she’s finally beginning to heal.

But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave.

A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been.

For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—because her dearest friend was someone else’s husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls’ fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters

who lost their lives that awful November night.

Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy?

As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County’s Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.

My Comments:  I thought this a perfect ending to the series!  In the other two books, it seemed that Susan Marlowe was almost perfect.  She reached out and ministered to others after her own husband died.  This books shows she was flawed and had problems just like everyone else.  Her life was not perfect and neither were her children.  She struggles with issues like everyone else in the story – hers, however, are secret and not known to all.  Pete Brennan struggled as well – not perfect – just human with human faults and frailties.  I hated to see this series end, but it did so neatly and happily.  Most questions were answered and I like that – not to be left hanging at the end of a series.  Ms. Raney is an interesting writer capturing real human emotions.  I look forward to reading more books authored by her!

My Comments: This is a quick sweet read.  The premise of the book is a little hard to swallow – making a town famous for love – but my husband and I honeymooned in Vermont and it IS a romantic state overall!  Snow, skiing, cold biting weather (and we went in April!), and quaint little towns.  Four women from the town of Smitten share their love stories.  Each is different according to the personality of the author.  They share other aspects of their lives as well such as making a go of a new business, and fighting people who don’t agree with their idea of making Smitten a town for love (because of it’s name).  This book would be great to read for Valentine’s Day!  I would overall give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Thank you NetGalley!  This book is already pubished and ready to order.

Just in time for back-to-school, “Dear Teacher” is a collection of humorous letters from a child to his teacher explaining why he cannot go to class. Each subsequent letter describes Michael’s increasingly outlandish escapades. Illustrations.

My Comments: I read this book to my second graders the first week of school and we enjoyed it.  It would serve two purposes in my classroom – writing letters and beginning of school.  The book uses imagination in a fun way and kept my class engaged throughout.  The illustrations are kid-friendly and the cover looks like a large envelope which adds to the appeal.  We also discussed places around the world such as Egypt, Africa, and Asia.  This is a keeper!