Number Eighteen

Fix-It Duck (Board Book) by Jez Alborough. (Kane Miller; 16 pages; ISBN: 1933605308; Ages: Infant-5.)

Duck is back and this time he's on a mission: to fix his leaky roof. Needing a ladder, he visits Sheep. While there, Duck attempts to fix Sheep's window—with disastrous results. When the rain begins to blow through the broken window on Sheep's trailer, Duck decides to drive the mobile home (with Sheep inside) to Goat's shed. Things do not quite go as planned and Sheep and his trailer end up in the lake.

Alborough's rhyming text and large, colorful illustrations are simply hilarious. The animal's expressions and antics will make this a favorite with your primary students.

Who Likes the Sun? (Exploring the Elements) by Etta Kaner; Illustrator: Marie Lafrance. (Kids Can Press; 32 pages; ISBN: 1553378407; Ages: 4-8.)

Who Likes the Sun? is a "just right" book for the primary student interested in exploring earth science.

On the left-hand side of each double-page spread a child makes an observation about the sun. "I like the sun because it warms me up." On the right-hand page he or she asks a questions about the observation. "I wonder how the sun warms me when its so far away."

The reader then opens a half-page flap to find the answer. "The sun is a giant ball of fire. It is very hot. Its surface is about 55 times hotter than boiling water. The sun sends out very strong rays of heat and light. These rays warm you even after they travel about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) to get to Earth." The explanation is accompanied by spot art which illustrates the answer.

Questions include: I wonder how icicles are made; I wonder where dew comes from; I wonder how grapes turn into raisins; I wonder how the sun makes rainbows.

The simple, accurate explanations and large black type make this a wonderful choice for independent reading.

How Animals Move (Kids Can Read; Level 3) by Pamela Hickman; Illustrator: Pat Stephens. (Kids Can Press; 32 pages; ISBN: ; Ages: 4-8.)

Divided into seven chapters, How Animals Move provides readers with information about swimmers and floaters, fliers and gliders, slippers and sliders, and more. We learn, for example:

The manta ray's body is
flat and thin, like a pancake.
This body shape lets it move
easily through the water.

On each side of its body, the manta ray has
two large fins that look like wings. These
fins help it swim. The long, thin tail helps
with steering.

Watercolor illustrations of each animal extend the well-written text.

Stuff to Hold Your Stuff by Ellen Warwick; Illustrated by Bernice Lum. (Kids Can Press; 80 pages; ISBN: 1553377451; Ages: 9-12.)

Got a LOT OF STUFF and no
way to carry it? Does your
bag look like it should be RUN
OVER instead of worn down a
runway? Do you wanna have
loads of FUN CREATING bags
and purses in your own COOL
style? Well this book is full of
IDEAS and advice for making
all kinds of toting devices.

Indeed it is. Warwick offers up sixteen well-designed projects for making party purses, knapsacks, wallets, lunch bags, and more. Each project includes a list of items the crafter needs along with easy-to-understand directions accompanied by colorful diagrams and photographs.

As with the the first volume in Warwick's Planet Girl series, in*jean*uity, this book is sure to be a hit with pre-teens.

Quick Knits by Judy Ann Sadler. (Kids Can Press; 40 pages; ISBN: 1553379632; Ages: 9-12.)

A year or so ago, knitting became quite popular with our students—so much so that we now have a knitting club after school. While looking for quality knitting books for our library, we were delighted to find this beautifully designed and well-written title. It has become one of our most popular knitting books.

Sadler includes knitting basics such as casting on, types of stitches, increasing and decreasing stitches, casting off, and a "fix it" section explaining how to correct common knitting mistakes.

Also included are ten projects from a "sassy scarf" to a "puffy pillow" to "silly slippers." Each project lists the materials needed and provides colorful, illustrated step-by-step directions.