(3) 4-6 Savvy: Girlology series. A series of infographics creates a snapshot of current social-media use, leveraging its prevalence among tweens to discuss pitfalls such as hacking, cyberbullying, and phone addiction. A final discussion of positive uses provides a counterbalance to the overall cautionary tone. The tables, graphs, timelines, trivia bits, and photographs of a diverse set of tween girls create a visually engaging, magazine-style volume.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) K-3 Pro Sports Biographies series. Each slim biography briefly introduces the career and personal life of a sports superstar. Short, simple sentences and a large, uncaptioned color photo appear in every two-page chapter. Headers in oversize type, plenty of space between lines, and occasional fact boxes help early readers learn nonfiction text conventions, but fans of these athletes won't learn much about them. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Pro Sports Biographies titles: Bryce Harper and Cam Newton.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Pro Sports Biographies series. Each slim biography briefly introduces the career and personal life of a sports superstar. Short, simple sentences and a large, uncaptioned color photo appear in every two-page chapter. Headers in oversize type, plenty of space between lines, and occasional fact boxes help early readers learn nonfiction text conventions, but fans of these athletes won't learn much about them. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Pro Sports Biographies titles: Bryce Harper and Cam Newton.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes the way each mammal constructs a home, with information on food, mating, and reproduction given in the context of home-building. The texts are engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; though the cartoony illustrations portray the animals' habitats accurately, photos would have shown readers signs to notice in nature. Includes a habitat map and a building activity. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Animal Builders titles: Bears Make Dens, Beavers Build Lodges, Orangutans Build Tree Nests, and Rabbits Dig Burrows.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes a honeybee swarm leaving a crowded hive to find a new home. The text is engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; cartoony illustrations show how bees build, populate, and protect their hive, but a photo would help readers understand hive complexity. A habitat map and a hive-building activity are included. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes the way each mammal constructs a home, with information on food, mating, and reproduction given in the context of home-building. The texts are engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; though the cartoony illustrations portray the animals' habitats accurately, photos would have shown readers signs to notice in nature. Includes a habitat map and a building activity. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Animal Builders titles: Bears Make Dens, Beavers Build Lodges, Orangutans Build Tree Nests, and Rabbits Dig Burrows.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes the way each mammal constructs a home, with information on food, mating, and reproduction given in the context of home-building. The texts are engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; though the cartoony illustrations portray the animals' habitats accurately, photos would have shown readers signs to notice in nature. Includes a habitat map and a building activity. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Animal Builders titles: Bears Make Dens, Beavers Build Lodges, Orangutans Build Tree Nests, and Rabbits Dig Burrows.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes the way each mammal constructs a home, with information on food, mating, and reproduction given in the context of home-building. The texts are engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; though the cartoony illustrations portray the animals' habitats accurately, photos would have shown readers signs to notice in nature. Includes a habitat map and a building activity. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos. Review covers these Animal Builders titles: Bears Make Dens, Beavers Build Lodges, Orangutans Build Tree Nests, and Rabbits Dig Burrows.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Animal Builders series. Illustrated by Romina Martí. Raum describes how five different species build their nests with emphasis on the reason all birds build nests: to keep eggs safe. The text is engaging but occasionally anthropomorphic; though the cartoony illustrations portray the animals accurately, photos would help readers better understand the nests' complexity. Includes a habitat map and a nest-building activity. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 4-6 Smithsonian: Exploring the 13 Colonies series. Straightforward, informative histories of four of the original thirteen colonies each explore the colony's unique characteristics, settlers, leaders (colonial and Native American), and events leading to involvement in the Revolutionary War. A balanced mixture of paintings, charts, documents, and maps effectively complements the narratives. Common Core–related questions are appended. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Smithsonian: Exploring the 13 Colonies titles: Exploring the Virginia Colony, Exploring the Georgia Colony, Exploring the Pennsylvania Colony, and Exploring the New Hampshire Colony.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Natural Disasters series. This series provides a clear, introductory description of each disaster, its causes, and its effect on communities. The books also include examples of historic disasters; basic details of how scientists predict, measure, and issue warnings (or in the case of Wildfire!, how firefighters control fires); and tips on staying safe. Stock photos, captions, and question-and-answer footers will help engage reluctant readers. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disasters titles: Blizzard!, Earthquake!, Flood!, Hurricane!, Tornado!, and Wildfire!

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) K-3 Poisonous Animals series. Each superficial volume opens with an attention-grabbing description of a venomous fish stinging a swimmer. Choppy texts provide some information on physical attributes, diet, defense mechanisms, threats to survival, and relationship to humans. Full-page, captioned photos on each spread provide resting points and often contain close-ups of relevant physical attributes. Interspersed Q&As provide additional facts. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Poisonous Animals titles: Stingrays and Stonefish.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Poisonous Animals series. Each choppily written volume opens with an attention-grabbing scene highlighting the featured animal, then provides some information on physical attributes, diet, defense mechanisms, habitat, reproduction, threats to survival, and relationship to humans. Bright, captioned full-page photos provide resting points on every spread. Interspersed Q&As provide additional facts. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Poisonous Animals titles: Poison Dart Frogs and Taipans.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Poisonous Animals series. Each superficial book opens with an attention-grabbing anecdote about the featured animal. Choppily written two-page chapters provide information about physical attributes, diet, defense mechanisms, threats to survival, and relationship to humans. Captioned full-page photos on each spread provide resting points and, when relevant, feature close-ups of physical attributes. Interspersed Q&As provide additional facts. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Poisonous Animals titles: Black Widow Spiders, Blue-Ringed Octopuses, Box Jellyfish, and Scorpions.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Poisonous Animals series. Each superficial volume opens with an attention-grabbing description of a venomous fish stinging a swimmer. Choppy texts provide some information on physical attributes, diet, defense mechanisms, threats to survival, and relationship to humans. Full-page, captioned photos on each spread provide resting points and often contain close-ups of relevant physical attributes. Interspersed Q&As provide additional facts. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Poisonous Animals titles: Stingrays and Stonefish.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox