For the Youngest Readers (Toddlers to Kindergarten)

WITHOUT YOU
Written and illustrated by Geneviève Coté (Kids Can Press)
Friendships require a bit of sacrifice and compromise, which is a message found in this charming story. This is a good read-aloud book for any preschool classroom.

SEASONS
Written and illustrated by Anne Crausaz (Kane Miller Books)
The remarkable illustrations, use of color, and carefully crafted text in this book radiate a sense of truly feeling each season.

ABC IS FOR CIRCUS
Written and illustrated by Patrick Hruby (Ammo Books)
Black silhouettes in the background are layered with bright colored circus highlights, making an attractive board book for young children. Readers get a chance to learn their alphabet and visit the circus simultaneously.

For Readers (Kindergarten to 2nd Grade)

A CALL FOR A NEW ALPHABET
Written an illustrated by Jef Czekaj (Charlesbridge)
Our friend letter X is tired of the same old alphabet and always being third to last. He proposes a new alphabet that is going to make readers stop, think, scratch their head, laugh, and smile as the idea goes to vote in Alphabet City.

THE RAIN TRAIN
Written by Elena De Roo, illustrated by Brian Lovelock (Candlewick Press)
The clever use of onomatopoeia in this book, combined with a splash of imagination, will get readers moving up and down and right along with the moving train. 

SMALL SAUL
Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
Saul is not your ordinary pirate. Fitting in with a bunch of dirty, rough and ornery shipmates becomes Saul’s doom, and overboard he goes. Arrrrgh, it’s not long before they begin missing Saul’s ways, but it may be too late to find him alive at sea.

For Readers (3rd to 6th Grade) 

MICRO MANIA: A REALLY CLOSE-UP LOOK AT BACTERIA, BEDBUGS, AND THE ZILLIONS OF OTHER GROSS LITTLE CREATURES THAT LIVE IN, ON, AND ALL AROUND YOU
Written by Jordan D. Brown (Imagine Publishing)
Yep, the title reveals enough details for what readers can expect in this nonfiction eye catcher. You will find many good reasons in this book for washing your hands thoroughly and frequently. 

TOTALLY HUMAN: WHY WE LOOK AND ACT THE WAY WE DO
Written by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson, illustrated by Dianne Eastman (Kids Can Press)
There is a reason for your body to do things you seem to have no control over. This book, filled with funny drawings, will come in handy not only to explain your behavior, but also to find solutions to some of the other mysteries surrounding your body and mind.

STORM RUNNERS
Written by Roland Smith (Scholastic)
Hang on! This high action, fast-paced first book in the series puts Chase and his new female friends in the middle of a hurricane they won’t forget.  

Book reviews provided by BSU professor Stan Steiner, the Bookman. For more suggestions and reviews, visit his web page at http://education.boisestate.edu/stansteiner. Book Nook is archived at treasurevalleyfamily.com.