Sea Turtles

Sea Turtles
by
Martha E. H. Rustad
Gail Saunders-Smith, consulting editor
children's fiction, ages 2-6

This is a colorful, simple book about sea turtles. Wonderful photography and easy to read fonts make this a great choice for early nonfiction reading. You will want to dive in with the turtles!
There is a word list and index, word count, and early intervention level (5) listings. There is a glossary, bibliography, and recommended internet sites list.

Others in the set are:
Corals, Crabs, Dolphins, Octopuses, Parrotfish, Rays, Sea Anemones, Sea Horses, Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, Seals, Sharks, and Whales. It is a good set to round out a children's nonfiction collection.

Whose House Is This?

Whose House Is This? A Look at Animal Homes - Webs, Nests, and Shells
by
Elizabeth Gregoire, Derrick Alderman and Denise Shea
Nonfiction children's picture book, ages 4-8
Part of the "Whose Is It? Science" series of books

This book teaches about different habitats for critters found around North America. Each odd page shows an animal's home then the flip side discusses the animal that lives in that sort of cave/nest/etc. The illustrations are cut paper and color drawings.
It includes instructions for making a craft piggy bank that looks like a house (a house for a human, that is), a glossary, bibliography, index, and website links. These are all aspects of a book that librarians like to see.
This would be a good book series for a campground or state park library or a classroom or school library.

Save the Tree!

The Big Green Help
Wonder Pets!
Save the Tree!
adapted by Kermit Frazier
illustrated by Amy Marie Stadelmann
children's fiction, ages 3-6

The Wonder Pets television show follows the same format each episode - the Wonder Pets get a call from an animal that is in trouble and the Wonder Pets save the animal (usually a baby animal). This book changes the format, however, and has them save an urban tree that is in an abandoned city lot. The plot is awkward because the song says that the animal in trouble has to get on a telephone to ask for help. Trees can't get on the telephone and trees aren't animals. This book and episode is part of Nick Jr.'s Earth Day celebration - The Big Green Help. Why didn't they have the Wonder Pets save an endangered bug or snake or something instead?
Other than that, this book is charming, as is the entire operatic series.

Wonder Woman The Rain Forest

Wonder Woman The Rain Forest
Festival Readers - 1st grade reading level
written by Nina Jaffe
illustrated by Ben Caldwell
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Caldwell
children's manga
ages 4 - 7

I was pleased to find this paperback book on the shelves of my library. Fondly I remember Lynda Carter jumping around with her magic lasso fighting evil from the 1970's television show.
In a laughingly simple plot, Wonder Woman saves the rainforest by talking loggers and forest people into helping one another. Oh, how I wish it were so! That is what our superheroines are there to accomplish - inspire us to do good deeds, save the planet, love one another, etc.
I plan to see if my library has more of these books. My audience enjoyed this book and so did I.
As a note to feminists - in an effort to make Wonder Woman family friendly I see that she has a practical spaghetti strap shirt on and a midcalf to knee length skirt on. Her belly button is covered. Her tall boots are flats, not heals. Sorry, Dads. This is not sexy Wonder Woman but Save the Rainforests while Accompanied by Kids Wonder Woman.
Pow!
Crack!