Published by Beach Lane Books 

Summary:  On the title page, three scientists are seen arguing about who will call Pluto; we then travel to the outskirts of the solar system to meet Pluto, a friendly fellow, who introduces himself as the ninth planet.  While he’s giving a tour of his part of the universe, he gets the call. He is no longer a planet. Devastated, he seeks out advice from other planets, who turn out to have their own distinctive personalities.  Neptune is a bit slow on the uptake; Saturn is gushing with charm and just might have a crush on Pluto; Jupiter is a big bully. Finally, Pluto heads for the big guy–the Sun–who tells Pluto to enjoy being himself.  “You’re still a planet to everyone who was too short to ride the Ferris wheel…to all the people picked last for kickball.” Besides, scientists are still debating. At one point in history, they said there were 23 planets. Two pages of planetary facts round out this wacky tour of the solar system.  48 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  I laughed out loud more than once, enjoying the planets’ personalities (“People talk about Uranus for reasons I don’t really want to get into.”  “Aww, shucks, you must mean my charming personality.”) There’s plenty of information tucked into the text and illustrations; kids will be having so much fun, they won’t even notice that they’re getting educated.

Cons:  48 pages seemed a little long and rambling to me.

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Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  It may seem alarming to think that every person you’ve ever seen has a skull, but this is a good thing.  Skulls might look a little scary, but they protect our brains. The holes in our skulls allow us to see, hear, and eat.  They give our faces shapes, allow us to open and close our jaws, and hold our teeth in place. By the time you reach the last page, you will be thanking your skull for all it does and shouting along with the girl in the book, “I love my skull!”  Includes a page of cool skull facts. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Pair this book with Kim Norman’s Give Me Back My Bones! to make an excellent story hour for Halloween or any time.

Cons:  In this age of concussions, some safety tips for protecting your skull would have made a nice addition.

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  A pile of bones on the ocean floor slowly reassembles itself into a pirate with the help of some sea creatures.  “Help me find my head bone, my pillowed-on-the-bed bone, the pirate’s flag-of-dread bone–I’m scouting out my skull.”  He continues working his way down, each rhyme ending with the name of the bone he’s seeking: from mandible and clavicle all the way to tibia, fibula, and phalanges.  At last, he’s ready to don his pirate’s hat, and climb aboard his shipwrecked ship where he’s sure he’ll find treasure–”I feel it in my bones!” The endpapers show the separate bones on the front and a labeled skeleton on the back.  40 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  Although this has the feel of a preschool-to-primary-grade picture book, older kids would find this a humorous introduction to different bones.  The rhymes are catchy and the skeleton is oddly endearing. It could even be a nice alternative to traditional Halloween reading. Great fun!

Cons:  Back matter about the skeleton with additional resources would have been useful.

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Published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Summary:  Before the Industrial Revolution, most peppered moths had speckled wings.  The ones that were all black didn’t blend into tree bark as well and were more likely to get eaten.  But the smoke and soot from burning coal turned tree bark black, and before long, there were more black peppered moths than speckled ones.  After clean air laws were passed in the middle of the 20th century, the proportions started to shift again as tree bark returned to its original color. Includes additional information that explains defines evolution, natural selection, and adaptation.  48 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  How do you explain evolution and natural selection to a 7-year-old?  Isabel Thomas has done an amazing job here, ably assisted by Daniel Egneús collage-style illustrations.  The blue and silver cover is particularly eye-catching. This belongs in the science section of every elementary library.

Cons:  No photos of the real moths.

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Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Steve Jenkins and Robin Page take a tour of different habitats–coral reefs, trees, the Arctic, etc.–and show how animals blend in to hide themselves in each one.  There are two cut-paper illustrations for each animal, one against a white background and one in which the animal is camouflaged. Each page has a couple sentences of introductory text; the rest is brief captions for the illustrations.  Additional information about each of the 36 animals is given at the end, along with thumbnail illustrations. Also includes books and websites for additional research. 40 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  As you may already know, I’m a big fan of Steve Jenkins books (I’ve only reviewed nine), and this one includes many of his beautiful trademark collage illustrations.  As usual, the information is fun and accessible for primary grade readers.

Cons:  This lacked the wow factor of some of my favorite Jenkins books like Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and  Animals By the Numbers. 

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Published by Clarion Books

Summary:  Ninita is a pygmy marmoset, the smallest kind of monkey in the world, who was born deaf and abandoned by her parents after a few weeks.  Rescued by humans, she found a new home at the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation in Florida, where she thrived. Eventually, she was introduced to a male pygmy marmoset, Mr. Big, and the two now live together at the Foundation.  Includes additional information about pygmy marmosets and the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, along with a couple of photos of Ninita. 32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This cute animal story with its messages of love and friendship will undoubtedly appeal to a wide variety of young readers.  

Cons:  There’s quite a bit of anthropomorphism, e.g., “Ninita wished she had a marmoset friend to share her adventures.”

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