Mao's Last Dancer
Library Journal: The life of a poverty-stricken 11-year-old Chinese boy was changed forever when he was selected to attend the dance academy of Madame Mao in Beijing. One of a few youngsters chosen, based upon a suitable physique, he did not even know the meaning of the word ballet. Yet a decade later, Li Cunxin […]
The Beach House
Kirkus Reviews: A Nantucket house sparks romance and mystery in the latest from Green (Second Chance, 2007, etc.). Windermere is a glorious beach house on the shores of Nantucket. The home has been the site of riotous parties, romance and tremendous loss. The Powell family has inhabited Windermere for generations. Nan Powell-a woman of a […]
The Magic School Bus Butterfly And The Bog Beast: A Book About Butterfly Camouflage
When Phoebe suggests the Walkersville Elementary Butterflies as the name for the soccer team, the others kids think the name is boring and wimpy. That's when Ms. Firzzle whisks the class off to a bog full of butterflies to learn what those flying creatures are really like.
The Downhill Lie : a Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
Presented by Phyllis Armstrong in memory of Eugene McGregor. School Library Journal: Hiaasen, the Miami Heraldcolumnist and author of some hilarious fiction (e.g., Striptease, Skinny Dip), shares his renewed interest in golf in this departure onto the green. He recounts how easy it is to get sucked into the sport, even when trying not to. […]
Your Developing Baby, Conception to Birth
Presented by Phyllis Armstrong in memory of Eugene McGregor. Library Journal: Ultrasound has become a common practice in pregnancy, both to confirm the health of the fetus and to provide information about gender to the prospective parents. Using 250 diagnostic ultrasound images, Harvard radiology professors Doubilet and Carol B. Benson, with health writer Roanne Weisman, […]
Medical Myths That Can Kill You : and the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life
Presented by Phyllis Armstrong in memory of Eugene McGregor. Library Journal: Snyderman, chief medical editor for NBC News, here examines some common medical myths-e.g., that only old people get heart attacks and strokes, that "natural" means safe-explaining why they have become so prevalent, why they are wrong, and what sensible approaches people can take to […]
Boomerangs; How to Make and Throw Them
Synopsis: Dozens of designs: tumblestick, boomabird, pinwheel, cross-stick, curved-stick boomerang, and many more. Complete throwing instructions included.
Let's Go Rock Collecting
School Library Journal: PreS-Gr 3More than just the title has been changed in this updated edition of Gans's Rock Collecting (Crowell, 1984). The topics are the samebasic rock formation; the characteristics of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks; the uses of rocks in the past (Roman roads, Egyptian pyramids) and the present (cement); and, finally, a […]
Uluru, Australia's Aboriginal Heart
Carolyn Mott Ford – Children's Literature: Uluru is a tremendous rock rising more than one thousand feet high in the Petermann Aboriginal Reserve in the continent of Australia. The sandstone formation is a sacred site to the native Anangu people. The first chapter tells the story of the rock which is now a favorite tourist […]
Look What Came From Australia
Synopsis: The boomerang, the didgeridoo, the kangaroo, the koala, and swimming stroke known as the "crawl" are only a few of the interesting things that come from Australia.