Some More New Books

What Are You Doing?

by Elisa Amado and illustrated by Manuel Monroy

Chepito’s mother tells him that he has to go to school right after lunch, so it is important that he comes back on time. Chepito does not want to go to school, though. Soon Chepito sees a man reading the newspaper, and he asks the man what he is doing. When the man tells Chepito he is reading the newspaper, Chepito wants to know why. The man tells him that he wants to see who won the game. Chepito soon sees a laughing. He asks her what she is doing, and she tells him that she is reading a comic. Chepito asks her why, and she tells him that the Mafalda comic is really funny. Chepito soon meets a young couple, and he asks them what they are doing. They tell him that they are looking at their guidebook, and when he asks why, they tell him it is because they are lost. Chepito asks the mechanic what he is doing, and the mechanic tells Chepito that he is reading the car manual. Chepito asks why, and the mechanic tells him that he is trying to figure out what is wrong with the car he is working on. How many more people are Chepito going to see reading? Will he decide that school is where he wants to go? Will he soon be able to be found reading, too?

Extreme Rainforest: Amazing Encounters with Incredible Animals

by Kingfisher Publications

This nonfiction book shows you up close pictures of many of the animals that would be encountered in the rainforest. Some of these animals include: black jaguar, three-toed sloth, emerald tree boa, giant centipede, red-bellied piranha, Brazilian salmon pink (spider), boto, and many others. Each page shows you pictures of the different animals and their superpowers, equipment, weakness, and cool facts. Each page also shows you where the animal can be found, its enemies, prey, and it stats (when it comes things like agility, speed, strength, and endurance). You can also learn a lot about the rainforest and the many dangers you will find there. What kinds of animals would you like to see if you were to visit the rainforest? What animals would make you nervous?

Eddie’s Toolbox and How to Make and Mend Things

by Sarah Garland

Eddie yells out to his mother that the new neighbors have arrived. The new neighbor has a little girl that can be a new friend for Eddie’s little sister, Lily, but there are no other children for Eddie to be friend with. Eddie’s mom makes some cup cakes with Lily’s help, and then they all take the cup cakes over to the neighbors. They all find out that their new neighbors are Tom and Tilly. Tilly and Lily decide to collect snails together, while Tom asks Eddie if he would like to help him build a few things. They decide to start with Tilly’s bed. Eddie just watches at first, but soon he helps Tom with measuring the wood and sawing it. Lily has to go home and take a bath. Eddie tells Tom that Lily hates baths, and then Eddie decides to make Lily a little boat to play with in the tub. This makes Lily much happier. The next day, Tom asks Eddie if he wants to help put up some shelves. After putting up the shelves, Eddie uses the left over wood and hooks to make something to hang up his favorite things to keep them safe from Lily. During a picnic out on the yard, Pusskin, the cat, has a surprise that causes a big fuss. What idea will Eddie come up with to keep Pusskin from doing that again? Everyone helps get this ready, but will the birds like what Eddie and Tom has built for them? Will Eddie soon be ready to fix and build other things? What would you build if you had the chance? What present does Eddie’s mom and Tom buy him? Do you think he will use it a lot? At the end of the story is a discussion about the different tools that Eddie uses and what kinds of things that you can put out for the birds to enjoy, too.

The Spaghetti Detectives

by Andreas Steinhöfel

Rico is really smart and rememberS little things that he sees, but he is also easily distracted. His mother calls him a “proddity.” One day Rico finds a piece of spaghetti lying on the sidewalk outside his building. Rico decides to find out how it got there. He starts questioning the other people who live in his building, but the neighbor he does not like, Mr. Fitz, eats it. When Rico gets home, his mother talks to him about Mr. 2000, a man who is kidnapping children for smaller ransoms. Rico and his mother live in Berlin, and his mother works in a night club. So she is not able to take Rico to school or pick him up, and she is worried that he might get kidnapped, too. Rico does not think that he would be a target, and he tells her not to worry about it. At school, Rico has a special teacher, Mr. Meyer, that tries to help him figure out how his head works, and Mr. Meyer gives Rico a special writing assignment to do over the summer. He wants Rico to keep a journal of his summer activities. So Rico decides to do the assignment, and then he meets Oscar. Oscar is really smart, but he also seems to be afraid of a lot of things. He wears a blue helmet all of the time, so he can avoid hurting his head. He does not like to do anything that might get him hurt or into trouble. Rico thinks Oscar is weird, but he decides to be Oscar’s friend, anyway. Then Rico’s mother needs to go away for a few days, and she trusts Rico to take care of himself. Rico finds out that Mr. 2000 has kidnapped Oscar, and he decides that because Oscar got kidnapped while coming to visit him, it is up to Rico to save him. So he leaves his mother a note on the computer and goes to rescue Oscar. He finds out from one of the other kidnapping victims that Oscar must have known where to go to find the kidnapper. Will Rico be able to find Oscar and save him? Does Rico actually know the kidnapper? Will Rico get a chance to tell the police about Mr. 2000?