THE ROOSTER WHO WOULD NOT BE QUIET! by Carmen Agra Deedy. Illus. by Eugene Yelchin.  New York:  Scholastic Press, 2017.  48p.  ISBN 978--54572288-9 hc. $17.99      Gr. K-3     E PIC

Written like a folktale, the story begins in a small village that was so noisy it was overwhelming.  No one could concentrate on their work during the day or sleep at night.  The residents fired the mayor and hired a new one who outlawed singing or noise of any kind.  Most people complied, but one day a little rooster began to crow.  The mayor tried various punishments for the rooster, but the rooster kept crowing.  When the mayor threatened to make the rooster into soup, the village decided to stand up to the oppresive mayor and sing songs of their own - the ones they had silenced years ago.  The little rooster's voice inspired the residents to let everyone's voices be heard.  The lines between good and evil are further illustrated through Yelchin's mixed media drawings of the righteous rooster's awesome plumage and the menacing body language and greenish complexion of the mayor.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

APEX PREDATORS: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present by Steve Jenkins. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.  32p.  ISBN 978-054467160-7 hc. $17.99    Gr. 1-4    J591.5

What does it take to be the top (apex) predator?  What kind of body parts act as weapons to kill and eat other animals?  This book answers these and other questions about the food chain - past and present.  Jenkins dedicates a page each to information about  modern-day predators such as the shark, electric eel, and Siberian tiger, leaving plenty of extra pages for extinct predators, including dinosaurs and sea creatures that are larger than life.  Readers are treated to scale drawings of each animal in relation to a 6-foot man.  The comparison is awesome and a bit frightening.  Jenkins' characteristic  cut paper collage illustrations give readers a good idea of each animal's appearance.  This is non-fiction at it's best.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI  49855

TUMBLE & BLUE by Cassie Beasley.  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017.  390p.  ISBN 978-0525428442 ARC   Gr. 4-6   JUV FIC

Blue Montgomery, cursed to lose any competition, has recently been dumped on Granny Eve's doorstep by his father, a race car driver who wins every race.  Blue just wants to go home.  He doesn't even have a room at his grandmother's house because she's already the primary caretaker for three of his cousins, who have family curses of their own.  The Montgomery family curse centers around a golden alligator named Munch who appears in the Okefenokee Swamp during the bloodred moon to grant the power of greatness to anyone brave enough to make the journey.  Walcott Montgomery and Almira Lafayette fought over the fortune many years ago, leaving half their families cursed and half lucky.  As the bloodred moon approaches, all kinds of Montgomerys gather at Granny Eve's house to vie for a chance to change their fortunes.  Meanwhile, there's a new neighbor with a hero complex whose reckless behavior always gets her into trouble.  Her name is Tumble, and it seems that her mother, unaware of the curse, is a Lafayette.  Readers will turn page after page to find out if two new friends can put an end to an old family feud.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI

ROUND by Joyce Sidman. Illus. by Taeeun Yoo.  New York:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.  32p.  ISBN 978-054438761-4 nd. $17.99     PreS - Grade 2    E PIC

Sidman celebrates everything round in nature with a poem that flows throughout the book.  The descriptive language helps readers visualize the roundness of raindrops, rocks, and bubbles in their own experiences, in addition to the uncomplicated illustrations in the book. Read past the poem's end to find out why round shapes are sustainable and often found in nature. 
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI