Thunder Bay Titles For Fall: Must Reads

Earlier this summer I received an email from Thunder Bay books advertising some new fall titles they had coming out.  After looking at the titles a little more seriously, I realized that there were many I was really interested in.

And then I did something I have never done before. I emailed Casey at Thunder Bay books and asked if I could look at some titles.

I was thrilled when Casey kindly arranged a few titles to be sent to me to review and I was not disappointed with any of them.

In fact, I'll be sharing these with my library colleagues as soon as school starts back up.

A Tower of Giraffes: Animals in Groups by Anna Wright
I think I have a minor obsession with the interesting names given to groups of animals. This book features a different animal on each page, giving the collective name of each animal with a brief paragraph about the animal featured. The illustrations are highlighted by unique patterns, feathers, and knits.  This is a great book to add to my collection of animal books.

Clothesline Clues To Sports People Play by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies
Each page features a rhyming text giving hints about the sport featured in the illustrations on each page. Baseball, soccer, tennis, fencing and football are a few of the sports featured.  This is a fun book, great for read alouds and getting kids thinking about the various sports and the equipment needed to play them.

I'm New Here by Anne Sibley O'Brien
Three new students share their feelings about being the new student at a school where the language and customs are unfamiliar.  The author draws from her own experiences as a new student in a foreign country when she was a child.  Just as with the author, the children in this book now find a place in the United States they can call home.

Poppy's Best Paper by Susan Eaddy, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
This is a cute story about Poppy, who plans to be a writer someday. When her class is given a writing assignment, she is sure hers will be the paper that the teacher will pick to read aloud. Unfortunately, it is her best friend, Lavender's paper, that is shared.  Poppy is extremely jealous of Lavender and vows to have her writing shared the next time.  Except things don't go exactly as Poppy planned. I love this story and am excited to use it as a read aloud at school, knowing that students will identify with Poppy.

The Inventor's Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
As soon as I saw this story I knew exactly which grade would enjoy it and where it would fit in the curriculum.  Our fifth grade spends a lot of time on inventions and reading this picture book would be a great springboard for this unit.  I appreciated that this book provides a glimpse at the friendship between these two important men, something I knew nothing about.  Also provided are additional notes at the book's end that give a better picture and more detailed information about the inventors and inventions shared in this book.  I love The Inventor's Secret!

Thunder Bay books impressed me wholeheartedly.  I loved every single title and can imagine various classes or lessons to use each book with.  I will be telling the librarians in my district about these books, but also investigating other titles that they have coming out. I could easily purchase their entire collection for my library and am already excited to see what they have coming out in spring 2016.

Thanks again to Casey and Thunder Bay for these five titles.  Although I received the books in return for my review, the opinions expressed are my own.