Geo Librarian

COULD A PENGUIN RIDE A BIKE?...and other questions by Aleksei Bitskoff and Camilla de la Bedoyere QEB Publishing, 2015 ISBN:978-1-60992-734-9 Ages 4-8 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Could a Penguin Ride a Bike? provides a fun introduction into the life of a penguin. By imagining animals in everyday scenarios readers can learn about their size, diet and other features. For example, what if a baby penguin came for dinner? Make sure he doesn't eat everything! Chicks eat, and eat, and eat. An adult penguin eats about 50 fish a day, but a chick needs to eat about 200! That's because chicks grow a thick layer of fat to keep them warm in the icy winter. The engaging question and answer format will keep young readers entertained and help them to understand and retain animal facts REVIEW I love the idea behind this book.  Sharing facts about king penguins through silly questions.  While the questions a...

ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-525-42937-8 Ages 9-12 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK For fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. For most of her twelve years, Astrid has done everything with her best friend Nicole. But after Astrid falls in love with roller derby and signs up for derby camp, Nicole decides to go to dance camp instead. And so begins the most difficult summer of Astrid's life as she struggles to keep up with the older girls at camp, hang on to the friend she feels slipping away, and cautiously embark on a new friendship. As the end of summer nears and her first roller derby bout (and junior high!) draws closer, Astrid realizes that maybe she is strong enough to handle the bout, a lost friendship, and middle school… in short, strong enough to be a roller girl....

LUCKY STRIKE by Bobbie Pyron Arthur A. Levine Books (February 24, 2015)  ISBN: 978-0545592178  Category:  Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Magic, Friendship, Bullies  Tour Date: April 1-May29, 2015   Available in: Print & ebook, 272 Pages  ABOUT THE BOOK By the award winning author of 'The Dogs of Winter', Bobbie Pyron. A rich, southern voice tells the unforgettable story of two vulnerable outsiders, the lightning strike that turns their world upside down and the true meaning of lucky. Nate Harlow has never had a lucky day in his life. He's never won a prize, he's never been picked first, he's never even won a coin toss. His best friend, Genesis Beam (aka Gen), believes in science and logic, and she doesn't think for one second that there's such a thing as luck, good or bad. But only an extremely unlucky person could be struck by lightning on his birthday... and that person is Nate Harlow. By some miracle, though, Nat...

IN THE TIME OF DRAGON MOON Wilde Island Chronicles #3 by Janet Lee Carey Kathy Dawson Books, 2015 ISBN: 9780803738102 Ages 12 and up Source: author for review (Thanks!)All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK On the southernmost tip of Wilde Island--far from the Dragonswood sanctuary and the Pendragon Castle--live the native Euit people. Uma, who is half Euit and half English, and not fully accepted by her tribe, wants to become a healer like her Euit father. But the mad English queen in the north, desperate for another child, kidnaps Uma and her father and demands that he cure her barrenness. After her father dies, Uma must ensure that the queen is with child by the time of the Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake. Terrified and alone, Uma reaches out to her only possible ally: the king's nephew Jackrun, a fiery dragonrider with dragon, fairy, and human blood. Together, they must navigate through a sea of untold secrets, unveil a ...

IZZY & OSCAR by Dan Stark, Allison Estes illustrated by Tracy Dockray Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2015 ISBN: 9781492601500 Picture Book Ages 4-8 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Octopuses make the best pets! Discover why in this charming picture book from an acclaimed author/illustrator team Pretend pirate captain Izzy is looking for a pet when an adventurous little octopus squiggles into town. Oscar isn't exactly warm and fuzzy, but Izzy decides to take him home anyway. Young readers will be tickled by Izzy's attempts to teach Oscar to behave like a dog, a parrot, a pony-and gratified by Izzy's realization that in the end we love others for who they are, not who we want them to be. Besides there's one thing octopuses are really good at...octohugs. ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR Allison Estes has written more than a dozen books. Izzy & Oscar is her first picture book, and was...