(4) 4-6 Native American Oral Histories series. Each book provides information about the Native American tribes of the region, retells several traditional stories, and quotes contemporary Native storytellers discussing the tradition. Color photos and maps break up the accessible texts; researchers may find the writing prompts and links in this Common Core–focused series distracting. There are four other fall 2017 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Native American Oral Histories titles: Traditional Stories of the Southwest Nations, Traditional Stories of the Great Basin and Plateau Nations, Traditional Stories of the Arctic and Subarctic Nations, and Traditional Stories of the Northeast Nations.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) YA As finalists on a musical reality show competition, Lucy and her bandmates spend a summer in L.A. preparing for the show's finale. The girls become celebrities, perfect their album, and find romance, but they also uncover the dark side of fame. The jarring murder of one of the girls seems incompatible with the rest of the rock-and-roll wish-fulfillment story.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Word Families series. Illustrated by Amy Cartwright. Each choppy but mildly humorous story highlights members of a single word family (e.g., "handed," "hunted," and "wanted" in the "-ed" family). Friendly, animation-like illustrations supply characters' personalities and occasionally elaborate on the narratives. Each volume ends with an oversimplified definition of "word families," followed by a list of the book's featured word-family members. Review covers the following Word Families titles: Dan Can!, Go to Bed, Ted!, The Map Trap, Stop, Pop!, When, Jen?, and Win, Min!

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Vowels series. Each formulaic, easy-to-read title introduces sounds (long or short) and placements (at the beginning, middle, or end of a word) of a specific vowel. The vowel's unique features are also highlighted (e.g., "A can even be a word by itself"). Bright, full-page stock photos accompany the approachable language-arts lessons, but the books don't rise above their intended purpose. Review covers these Vowels titles: What Good Is a U?, What Good Is a Y?, What Good Is an A?, What Good Is an E?, What Good Is an I?, and What Good Is an O?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(3) 4-6 Native Nations of North America series. Each book introduces the major Native American nations of its geographic area. The straightforward texts touch on traditional way of life; well-known members such as artists or prominent citizens; controversial history with the U.S. and Canadian governments; and contemporary economies. Historical and modern photos round out the cleanly designed presentations. There are three other fall 2015 books in this series. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Native Nations of North America titles: Native Nations of the Great Basin and Plateau, Native Nations of California, Native Nations of the Arctic and Subarctic, Native Nations of the Northwest Coast, and Native Nations of the Plains.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(4) K-3 Punctuation Station series. Illustrated by Anthony Lewis. Through a brief story, each book demonstrates multiple uses of one punctuation mark: Ahmed, for instance, uses exclamation points when he makes the soccer team (Exciting!). Different-color type effectively highlights each in-text use of the featured punctuation mark. The stories are slight, but the repeat characters' enthusiastic, friendly faces may engage readers. A list of each mark's key functions is appended. Review covers these Punctuation Station titles: "What Did You Say?", Stop Right There., Take a Pause, Paul, This Is Exciting, We're Going to the Smiths' House, and What Is That?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Punctuation Station series. Illustrated by Anthony Lewis. Through a brief story, each book demonstrates multiple uses of one punctuation mark: Ahmed, for instance, uses exclamation points when he makes the soccer team (Exciting!). Different-color type effectively highlights each in-text use of the featured punctuation mark. The stories are slight, but the repeat characters' enthusiastic, friendly faces may engage readers. A list of each mark's key functions is appended. Review covers these Punctuation Station titles: "What Did You Say?", Stop Right There., Take a Pause, Paul, This Is Exciting, We're Going to the Smiths' House, and What Is That?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Punctuation Station series. Illustrated by Anthony Lewis. Through a brief story, each book demonstrates multiple uses of one punctuation mark: Ahmed, for instance, uses exclamation points when he makes the soccer team (Exciting!). Different-color type effectively highlights each in-text use of the featured punctuation mark. The stories are slight, but the repeat characters' enthusiastic, friendly faces may engage readers. A list of each mark's key functions is appended. Review covers these Punctuation Station titles: "What Did You Say?", Stop Right There., Take a Pause, Paul, This Is Exciting, We're Going to the Smiths' House, and What Is That?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Punctuation Station series. Illustrated by Anthony Lewis. Through a brief story, each book demonstrates multiple uses of one punctuation mark: Ahmed, for instance, uses exclamation points when he makes the soccer team (Exciting!). Different-color type effectively highlights each in-text use of the featured punctuation mark. The stories are slight, but the repeat characters' enthusiastic, friendly faces may engage readers. A list of each mark's key functions is appended. Review covers these Punctuation Station titles: "What Did You Say?", Stop Right There., Take a Pause, Paul, This Is Exciting, We're Going to the Smiths' House, and What Is That?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox

(4) K-3 Punctuation Station series. Illustrated by Anthony Lewis. Through a brief story, each book demonstrates multiple uses of one punctuation mark: Ahmed, for instance, uses exclamation points when he makes the soccer team (Exciting!). Different-color type effectively highlights each in-text use of the featured punctuation mark. The stories are slight, but the repeat characters' enthusiastic, friendly faces may engage readers. A list of each mark's key functions is appended. Review covers these Punctuation Station titles: "What Did You Say?", Stop Right There., Take a Pause, Paul, This Is Exciting, We're Going to the Smiths' House, and What Is That?.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox