Here Come the Girl Scouts

Even young monsters on Mars can have trouble adjusting to the first day of first grade. Not only does Horus miss the comforts of Martiangarten, but a know-it-all student harasses him. At his mother’s insistence, a very reluctant Horus returns the next day. Once there, he is able to forget his own problems when he helps a new and even more timid Martian. Characters are vividly colored and peculiarly shaped to create a comical but sympathetic school story of adjustment and emerging friendship.

Not only did Annette Kellerman learn to walk better when her father taught her how to swim, she learned to make waves! Women weren’t athletes in the early 20th century, but this Australian woman not only attempted swimming the English Channel, she invented water ballet and the modern bathing suit for women. Splashy illustrations combine with an engaging narration in this unusual look at a fabulous female.

Nergal and the other first grade Martians from Ms. Vortex’s pod participate in a running competition during health week. Nergal is nervous; he’s not a good runner. But he learns about healthy eating and that doing one’s Martian best is more important than winning. Zany illustrations and text convey a down to earth message in this book from the First Graders from Mars series.

Katie Casey follows her passion for baseball and winds up playing for one of the professional girls’ teams — and wins. The little known opening of a well-known tune, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” inspired this fictionalized look at the professional all-girls baseball league that thrived during World War II.