Book Review: The Great Pet Escape

THE GREAT PET ESCAPE by Victoria Jamieson is a hilarious graphic fantasy about what class pets do at night.

When hamster, inventor, and class pet GW (George Washington) escapes from his cage in the second grade classroom, he sets off to free his friends. However he soon finds out that many of his peers like being class pets. Along the way, GW and his friends discover an evil plot by the Harriet, the fourth-grade mouse and must save their school.

Designed for beginning chapter book readers, the simple, colorful panels and engaging storyline will appeal to the target audience.

Although some of the humor may be “over the heads” of younger readers, they’ll “get” the general sarcastic tone. Librarians will find children asking for a sequel. Until then, connect this book with the many other beginning graphic chapter books published the past couple years. Readers of this title are likely to enjoy the Toon Books early chapter books too.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.victoriajamieson.com/.

Published by Henry Holt on February 16, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: My First Book of Football

MY FIRST BOOK OF FOOTBALL by Beth Bugler and Mark Bechtel is a fun way to introduce buddying sports fans to the world of NFL football.

Published by Time Inc. Books and Sports Illustrated Kids, this colorful picture book will attract even the most reluctant reader. Following the four quarters of a game, the book features photographs of NFL players, coaches, and officials. Readers follow a young cartoon football player who follows the action and learns about the game.

From explaining basic vocabulary such as scrimmage to identifying the parts of the playing field, this well-designed book introduces and reinforces key concepts to young readers.

From the large font and speech bubbles to the bright colored background and action photos of players, children will be drawn into the informational narrative. A bit of humor enhances the appeal.

Librarians will find a large audience for this first book in the new A Rookie Book series. Although no female characters are represented, young sports fans aren’t likely to complain. However, librarians creating a sports display might want to seek out a companion book with a female character.

Published by Time Inc. Books and Sports Illustrated Kids in Fall 2015. ARC courtesy of publisher.

Book Review: The Cowboy

THE COWBOY by Hildegard Müller is an adorable picture book about friendship, acceptance, and helping others.

Designed for beginning readers, the story follows Anna and her toy dog Toto on their adventure to the beach. When a large wave carries Toto out to sea, a young cowboy comes to the rescue.

The large, attractive illustrations will appeal to young children and the simple, clean font is easy to read. Part of the I Like To Read series, librarians will find this to be a popular option for beginning readers.

The publisher website contains Common Core standards connections, flash cards, and discussion questions athttp://www.holidayhouse.com/title_display.php….

Published by Holiday House on May 1.