Published by Holiday House

Summary:  Everyone in the neighborhood knows where to go when they hear, “Meet me at Big Tree!”  Big Tree provides shelter, shade, and hiding places.  But one night, a thunderstorm hits the town, and the tree is destroyed by lightning.  The huge branches take down some wires, resulting in a neighborhood blackout.  The process of removing the tree and wires is shown, with plenty of interesting-looking vehicles.  Neighbors are sad to lose their beloved tree, but enjoy the firewood and mulch left behind.  The final page shows a family planting a sapling named Little Tree to replace their old friend.  32 pages; ages 4-7

Pros:  A perfect read for Arbor Day or Earth Day, celebrating community trees.  Fans of construction vehicles and other trucks will enjoy the illustrations of police cars, cherry pickers, dump trucks, and more.

Cons:  Some tree-related back matter would have added to the educational value.

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  When Rescue hears his trainer say, “You aren’t meant to be a Seeing Eye dog.  The service dog team is better for you”, he’s worried.  He doesn’t want to let anyone down.  When Jessica hears, “You’re an amputee now.  You have to wear a prosthetic leg or use a wheelchair for the rest of your life”, she’s worried; her whole family is concerned about her, and she doesn’t want to let them down.  Fortunately, Rescue and Jessica find each other, and a whole new world opens for both of them.  They learn how to do new things together, and each one thinks the other is amazing.  Even when Jessica loses her other leg, Rescue is by her side, helping her get back on her feet again.  “You rescued me, Rescue,” says Jessica at the end.  The last page: “But the truth was, they had rescued each other.”  Includes a note from the authors, a husband-and-wife team who lost their legs (both of Jessica’s and one of Patrick’s) at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, that tells about their real-life dog, Rescue.  32 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  A powerful story that will captivate kids and maybe inspire them to support the NEADS World Class Service Dog organization described in the author’s note.  The illustrations are adorable, and the final one of Jessica and Rescue crossing a bridge over the Charles River into Boston is beautiful.

Cons:  I want to read this to kids, but I can’t even proofread this review without choking up.

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Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  A girl offers a stream-of-consciousness meditation on the world around her.  It begins with colors: “They say blue is the color of the sky. Which is true today! They say the sea is blue, too. It certainly looks like it from here.”  From the beach, she moves to a meditation on colors she can’t see, but knows are there like the golden egg yolk or her red blood. Later, her thoughts turn to the changing seasons, as she imagines herself a tree, first green, then brown, then covered with white. Finally, she moves back home, where she thinks of black, the color of her hair and of the crows she sees from the window as her mother braids her hair.  40 pages; ages 5-8.

Pros:  Caldecott honoree Jillian Tamaki has created beautiful (potentially award-winning) illustrations on every page , her colors and bold strokes of acrylics on watercolors perfectly rendering the various seasons and setting the narrator imagines.  The wandering narration captures the spirit of children’s conversations.  

Cons:  Some readers may struggle to figure out what this book is about.

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:  A girl imagines what it would be like to have a horse.  At first, both she and the horse would be shy, but gradually they would become friends and learn to work together.  She pictures the horse helping her to make friends with other horses and their riders, but still keeping their own unique identities.  By the end of the book, the girl is visualizing herself standing on the horse’s back, fearless enough to do anything.  The illustrations are all in silhouette, with the dark figures of the horse and girl against a watercolor background that goes from the pink of early morning to the purple of twilight.  40 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  The unique illustrations are Caldecott-worthy, and the brief text is inspiring.

Cons:  Readers expecting a “horse-ier” book may be disappointed.

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Published by Schwartz and Wade

Summary:  A man living at the top of a steep hill is tortured by wind.  The shutters bang, the tea spills, and dust flies all around.  “What to do?” cries the man.  Fortunately, his neighbor at the bottom of the hill, a girl named Kate, has a solution.  Hauling a wagon filled with saplings, she helps the man plant the trees around his house.  Years pass, the trees grow, and so does Kate.  A grown-up Kate comes back to visit, and enjoys a peaceful cup of tea with the man, the wind no longer a problem thanks to the trees.  Includes an author’s note that tells the many ways trees help the earth, gives kids ways they can make a difference, and includes a few tree-related websites. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A good choice for an Earth Day story time.  The poetic text would be fun to read aloud, and follow-up activities could help kids learn more about trees.

Cons:  It seemed like the man had a long time to wait before his wind problem was solved.

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Published by Dial Books

Summary:  “Every kid in Lola’s school was from somewhere else.”  When Lola’s teacher assigns the class to draw a picture of their country of origin, Lola isn’t sure what to do.  Unlike her classmates, she has no memory of the island where she was born. She asks her cousin, her mother, and her grandmother about the island, and they tell her about beautiful beaches, fun music, and delicious fruits.  The island sounds so idyllic, Lola can’t understand why her family left it.  Then she talks to Mr. Mir, the superintendent in her apartment building.  He describes the monster that terrorized the island for 30 years until brave men and women “got tired of being afraid and fought the Monster.”  By the time she’s done with her interviews, Lola has enough material to create a book of pictures, which she enjoys sharing with her classmates the following day.  48 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  Apparently, Junot Diaz is some big-shot writer at MIT, which I didn’t know since I never read books for adults anymore.  His story of Lola is a beautiful meditation on immigration, memory, and the history of the Dominican Republic, which is the island that both Diaz and Lola come from.  The busy, colorful illustrations should be considered for a Caldecott.

Cons:  Since I am also ignorant of Dominican history, I didn’t recognize the Monster as dictator Rafael Trujillo, and I’m guessing many young readers won’t understand this part of the story either.

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