(4) K-3 Neighborhood Sports series. Neighborhood Sports series. “Don’t sit around indoors. Play kickball outside with your friends!” These upbeat volumes provide very simple rules and instructions for the title sports. While the texts’ helpfulness can be questionable (“Kicking is easy. Just point your toes down and kick”), their enthusiasm comes through in exclamation point-heavy writing and clear illustrations of children at play. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Neighborhood Sports series. Neighborhood Sports series. “Don’t sit around indoors. Play kickball outside with your friends!” These upbeat volumes provide very simple rules and instructions for the title sports. While the texts’ helpfulness can be questionable (“Kicking is easy. Just point your toes down and kick”), their enthusiasm comes through in exclamation point-heavy writing and clear illustrations of children at play. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Neighborhood Sports series. Neighborhood Sports series. “Don’t sit around indoors. Play kickball outside with your friends!” These upbeat volumes provide very simple rules and instructions for the title sports. While the texts’ helpfulness can be questionable (“Kicking is easy. Just point your toes down and kick”), their enthusiasm comes through in exclamation point-heavy writing and clear illustrations of children at play. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Natural Disaster True Survival Stories series. In a series about real-life disaster survival, these volumes focus on two earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Asia. In each book, a brief introduction describes the disaster, followed by chapters that detail real individuals' involvement. Gripping, you-are-there narratives are supplemented with primary source quotations (footnoted and sourced); photos and other graphics (maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.) provide additional insight. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Natural Disaster True Survival Stories titles: Indian Ocean Tsunami and Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) K-3 One World, Many Countries series. These serviceable overviews for report writers are liberally illustrated with sharp photos. An introductory chapter in each book often highlights a holiday or festival (Israel includes a minor error). Four chapters then focus on land, government and cities, people and cultures, and daily life. A "Global Connections" page is usually devoted to a social issue. Fast facts are appended. Maps, reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these One World, Many Countries titles: India, Israel, The Philippines, China, Japan, and Vietnam.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 One World, Many Countries series. This serviceable overview for report writers is liberally illustrated with sharp photos. An introductory chapter highlights the School of the Air, which now offers education to outback children via computer rather than the original two-way radios. Four chapters focus on land, government and cities, people and cultures, and daily life. A "Global Connections" page is devoted to Australian-developed technology. Fast facts are appended. Maps, reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Our Great States series. These graphically pleasing travel guides highlight the top ten sites to see and things to do in each place. Although the brochure-like books may include quickly outdated information, kids will appreciate the engaging second-person narratives and many photos. A map and facts are appended. There are ten other fall 2015 books in this series. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Our Great States titles: What's Great About Vermont?, What's Great About West Virginia?, What's Great About Kentucky?, What's Great About Alaska?, What's Great About New Jersey?, and What's Great About Michigan?.