Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Scholastic Press, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Although Jonty has a happy life at the zoo, he’s intrigued by the stories his aunts tell him about life at the South Pole. One night, Jonty slips through a hole in the fence and heads off on a polar adventure. He sees some poles, like a flagpole and a tent pole, but they don’t seem quite right. Finally, he discovers the ocean and swims until the water starts to grow cold. He finally makes it to the pole…only to learn that it’s the North Pole! A tern offers to guide him south, and they set off together, the tern flying and Jonty swimming. Some scientists on a boat help him make it through the last leg of his trip, and Jonty is thrilled to discover a place with penguins galore. He soon finds his place among the gentoos, and the tern is able to notify his aunts that Jonty has found happiness at the South Pole. Includes additional information about Arctic terns and Gentoo penguins.

This rhyming story from the creators of The Gruffalo has catchy text and colorful cartoon-style illustrations that beautifully portray the landscapes and animals that Jonty encounters as he travels around the globe.

A Moving Story by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld, illustrated by Tom Booth (HarperCollins, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Pete and Tiny may be big bears, but they’re gentle movers who take extra care with their clients’ possessions. So when the littlest panda discovers that her pet turtle has gone missing, the bears know what they have to do: unpack everything they’ve just loaded onto the moving van. The turtle is nowhere to be found, although the panda parents appreciate the effort, and the truck is repacked. As Pete and Tiny start to drive away, they hear a sound coming from their lunchbox. it’s the turtle! The bears get a big hug from the little panda, “because nothing and no one was too big to wrap up tight and treat just right.”

The team behind Stick and Stone have created another feel-good story that emphasizes kindness and going the extra mile that will prove reassuring to kids facing a move. Pete and Tiny have an admirable work ethic, and the whole packing/unpacking/packing again ordeal is rendered perfectly with illustrations depicting various perspectives including an aerial view of everything unpacked.

Animal Countdown by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Neal Porter Books, 32 pages, ages 3-8). Page 1 has the word “ten” printed on a background that looks like a watery animal habitat. A window cut on a flap of the facing page shows a small rectangle that looks like the number 10. Lift the flap to find ten sea otters. The countdown continues to one, introducing numbers, number words, and ten endangered animals. End matter gives additional information about each one, as well as a list of five additional resources.

Seeger’s work is always beautiful and creative, and kids will have fun trying to figure out the animals that are hiding behind the flaps. Unfortunately, the flaps make me think the book itself may become an endangered species in a public library.

Published by Balzer + Bray

Summary: Frank is a monster with a passion for chicken nuggets, especially the ones Celeste sells on her food truck. Since Frank isn’t exactly an ideal customer (scares away other customers, doesn’t pay, terrible table manners), Celeste is desperate for a way to get rid of him. Some library research gives her an idea: the 30-Day Double Nugget Challenge. Each day the number of nuggets offered will doubled, and anyone who can eat them all wins free chicken nuggets for life. Seems easy enough on the first few days but by day 14 (8,192 nuggets), Frank is the only customer left. On day 30, he starts in on the pile of 536,870,912 nuggets and makes it all the way to the final one, and then…. Includes an author’s note and additional information on exponential growth. 40 pages; grades K-3.

Pros: Similar stories have been told for ages (as the author acknowledges in his note), but this is a particularly fun one with humorous monster illustrations that really bring home the concept of exponential growth.

Cons: The interesting endnotes were printed on the back cover, where the taped-down dust jacket obscured approximately one-sixth of them.

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  Ana and Harwin are best friends, a relationship that Ana likes to chart through infographics.  She starts with a Venn diagram of the two girls, showing what is unique to them and what they have in common.  Other charts and graphs show how they spend their time and how they work out disagreements.  When Harwin announces she is moving far away, both girls are devastated.  Ana shares her emotions through a bar graph, then makes a flowchart to weigh the consequences of packing herself in Harwin’s suitcase.  The move goes ahead, but the two girls make plans (with charts) for staying in touch and for adventures they will have together when they’re older.  Includes additional information on twelve different types of infographics.  40 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  There’s a lot of mathematical information packed into this cute friendship story, providing a fun way to introduce infographics that could serve as a springboard for kids making their own.

Cons:  This could be slow going as a group read-aloud since each page may require a lengthy explanation.