Children's Corner at Moore Library

Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month Books

2014-05-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

May is Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Below are some books to help celebrate!

Sarah Hartman / J 745.5095 HARTMAN

Asian-American crafts kids can do!

Susan Sinnott / J 920.009295 SINNOTT

Extraordinary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Valerie Petrillo / J 973.0495 PETRILLO

A kid's guide to Asian American history : more than 70 activities

Karen Sirvaitis / J 973.0495 SIRVAITI

The Asian Pacific American experience

Mother's Day Books

2014-05-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11^th this year. We have some awesome books about mothers!

Stan Berenstain / E BERENSTAIN

The Berenstain Bears and the Mama's Day Surprise

As Mother's Day approaches, Papa Bear and the cubs do their best to surprise Mama with breakfast in bed and a gift, so Mama does her best not to ruin the surprise.

Eve Bunting / E BUNTING

The Mother’s Day Mice

It's Mother's Day and the three mouse brothers, Biggest, Middle, and Little, have only a little bit of time to get their presents.

Anne Rockwell / E ROCKWELL

Mother’s Day
Students share how they will celebrate Mother’s Day with their class.

Martha Simpson / E SIMPSON

What Not to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day

A boy offers advice about what not to give a mom on Mother's Day by providing examples of gifts that would be suitable for animal mothers.

Cinco de Mayo Books

2014-04-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated every May 5^th to honor Mexican heritage and pride. Here’s a few books we have to help you celebrate.

Lisa Bullard / E BULLARD

Marco’s Cinco de Mayo

Marco loves the food, parades, and fun of Cinco de Mayo. This year he's one of the dancers. As he listens to mariachi music, he thinks of the brave Mexicans of the past.

Judy Cox / E COX

Cinco de Mouse-O!

Mouse enjoys Cinco de Mayo, even looking forward to getting candy from a piñata. Will Cat ruin Mouse’s plan?

Margaret Olivia McManis / E MCMANIS

Ole! Cinco de Mayo!

Using the song "Bingo" as an inspiration, this story follows Pablo as he brings a calf named Rodeo to school for its Cinco de Mayo festivities. What will the other kids think?

Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith / J 394.262 HOYTGOLD

Cinco de Mayo: celebrating the traditions of Mexico

Learn all about the celebrations of Cinco de Mayo.

Celebrating Springtime Books

2014-04-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

Anyone else glad that we’re in the midst of springtime right now? It might not be as popular a season as summer is, but it’s definitely worthy of celebration. We think spring is an underdog season that is due for some appreciation by reading books!

Julie Fogliano / E FOGLIANIO

And Then It’s Spring

Beautiful illustrations abound in this book about a boy who worries the seeds he planted won’t grow. Just wait to see what happens when spring arrives!

Will Hillenbrand / E HILLENBRAND

Spring is Here

Mole is so happy about spring arriving, he wants to wake up Bear. When Bear doesn’t wake up, Mole has the perfect plan!

Karen Katz / E KATZ* (in board book section)

Baby loves spring : a Karen Katz lift-the-flap book

Baby goes for a walk on a spring day and explores the world around him.

David A. Carter / ER CARTER

Springtime in Bugland!

Spring has come to Bugland and all the bugs are excited to celebrate.

Sara Pennypacker / J FIC PENNYPACKER

Clementine and the Spring Trip

Clementine has an eventful spring, including a trip to "Ye Olden Times" to learn about pilgrims.

Books to Celebrate National Look Up at the Sky Day

2014-04-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

National Look Up at the Sky Day is April 17^th. How often do you look up at the sky? During the day? At night? What about when it’s cloudy? These books will help you appreciate everything sky-related and more.

Rebecca Emberley / E EMBERLEY

Chicken Little

A retelling of Chicken Little, who, after an acorn falls on his head, runs in a panic to tell his friends the sky is falling.

Peter Reynolds / E REYNOLDS

Sky Color

Marisol’s teacher asks her to help paint a mural for her school library, but there isn’t any blue paint! How will she make a sky without blue? Marisol starts to dream and sees the possibilities.

Andy Runton / E RUNTON

Owly & Wormy : bright lights and starry nights!

On a slightly scary camping trip to study stars in the night sky, Owly and Wormy make new friends.

Alex Shearer / J FIC SHEARER

The Cloud Hunters

In a post-apocalyptic world, Christein wishes to go on adventures in the high skies with the Cloud Hunters, who are defined by the scars on their faces and labeled as outcasts.

F.S. Kim / J 523.8 KIM

Constellations

An illustrated introduction to constellations that explains how constellations are useful, who discovered them, and more.

Anne F. Rockwell / J 551.576 ROCKWELL

Clouds

Tons of information about clouds, from how to identitfy them to how to make your own “cloud” at home!

Books for Poetry Month

2014-04-07T10:07:00.000-05:00

April is Poetry Month! You might be surprised at how great some of the poetry books published in the last few years are. Some people think of poetry as being old, but fresh poetry is being written every day!

Marilyn Singer / J 811.54 SINGER

Follow follow : a book of reverso poems

Lisa Wheeler / J 811.54 WHEELER

The pet project : cute and cuddly vicious verses

Dallas Clayton / J 811.6 CLAYTON

Make Magic! Do Good!

Hope Vestergaard / J 811.6 VESTERGA

Digger, Dozer, Dumper

Drawing Books

2014-03-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

Many kids and adults love to draw. Want to learn how? These books offer step-by-step guides for anyone, whether you’ve drawn before or not.

J 741.2 AMES

The draw 50 way : how to draw cats, puppies, horses, buildings, birds, aliens, trains, and everything under the sun by: Lee J. Ames

J 743.42 KESSELRING

5 steps to drawing faces by: Susan Kesselring

J 743.6 MASIELLO

Ralph Masiello’s Dinosaur Drawing Book by: Ralph Masiello’s

J 743.8629133 BRECKE

Airplanes and ships you can draw by: Nicole Brecke

J 743.89 MCCARTHY

How to Draw Monsters in Simple Steps by: Jim McCarthy

J 743.89629892 ROSIER

You Can Draw It!: Robots by: Maggie Rosier

Superhero Books

2014-03-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

Here's some super superhero books!

E MCLEOD

SuperHero ABC by: Bob McLeod

E COSENTIN

Batman : the story of the Dark Knight by: Ralph Cosentino

E COSENTIN

Wonder Woman: the story of the Amazon princess by: Ralph Cosentino

E ZIEFERT

Mighty Max by: Harriet Ziefert

J FIC KIRBY

Captain Awesome by: Stan Kirby

Multi-Culturalism in Children's Books

2014-03-18T17:06:00.000-05:00

Walter Dean Myers, author of several books, including Jazz (E MEYERS) and Slam! (J FIC MYERS), wrote an opinion article for the New York Times, "Where Are the People of Color in Children's Books?" Mr. Myers, the previous Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, wonders why there aren't more books published for kids that show the full spectrum of ethnicity and culture in America. The article notes, "Of 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people, according to a study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin." To learn more about his take, check out his article here and the study here.

Image by: Christopher Myers

Pop-up Books

2014-03-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

Pop-up books are a popular and fun type of book we get asked about a lot. Here’s just a few we have. You can also do a catalog search for "pop-up books" to find some more. As always, ask us if you'd like more suggestions.

E BROWN

This Old Tree by: Ruth Brown

E EGIELSKI

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by: Richard Egielski

E HORACEK
Animal Opposites by: Petr Horacek

J 569 SABUDA

Encyclopedia prehistorica: mega beasts by: Robert Sabuda

J 629.454 PLATT

Moon Landing by: Richard Platt

St. Patrick's Day Books

2014-03-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17—interested in some books to help celebrate?

E CALLAHAN

The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow by: Sean Callahan

E GIBBONS

St. Patrick’s Day by: Gail Gibbons

E WOJCIECHOWSKI

A fine St. Patrick's Day by: Susan Wojciechowski

J 941.7 DONALDSON

Ireland by: Madeline Donaldson

J FIC OSBORNE

Leprechaun in Late Winter by: Mary Pope Osborne

Women's History Month Books

2014-03-03T13:15:00.000-06:00

Women’s History Month is every March. Here are some excellent books about women’s history.

J 324.6230973 HOLLIHAN

Rightfully ours: how women won the vote: 21 activities by: Kerrie Logan Hollihan

J 355.0082 NATHAN

Count on us: American women in the military by: Amy Nathan

J 796.6082 MACY

Wheels of change : how women rode the bicycle to freedom (with a few flat tires along the way) by: Sue Macy

J B EDMONDS

Nurse, soldier, spy: the story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War hero by: Marissa Moss

J B WALKER

Mary Walker wears the pants : the true story of the doctor, reformer, and Civil War hero by: Cheryl Harness

New Book Font Created Especially for Readers with Dyslexia

2014-02-26T15:50:00.002-06:00

Have you heard of the new font, also known as a typeface, that was created for people with dyslexia to be able to read it more easily than typical fonts like Times New Roman? The new font style works well for readers with dyslexia because it has a heavier bottom, which help the reader not to flip or swap letters around in their heads, which can be a big problem for people with dyslexia. Another great thing about this font is that's totally readable by people without dyslexia, too.

Image courtesy: thebookdesigner.com

The reason why we're letting you know about this font is because we just got a new book, Bookmarks are People, Too! by: Henry Winkler, that is printed in his font. It's the first book in his new Here's Hank series.

In case any of you old-school television fans out there are wondering, yes, the author is the same Henry Winkler who played "The Fonz" on the classic show Happy Days! Helping readers with dyslexia is important to Mr. Winkler because he has dyslexia himself.

Image courtesy: npr.org

Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day

2014-02-24T17:18:00.000-06:00

Did you know that Read Across America Day is Monday, March 3? This is a day when children (and adults) across the country celebrate reading and Dr. Seuss! Click here for more information. Here’s some lesser known Dr. Seuss stories you might not have read, but that are just as good as his better known stories!

E SEUSS

The Bippolo Seed and other lost stories

The “lost” stories in this single book include: “The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga,” "Gustav the Goldfish,” "Tadd and Todd," "Steak for Supper," "The Bippolo Seed,” "The Strange Shirt Spot," and "The Great Henry McBride."

E SEUSS

Daisy-head Mayzie

The title does a good job of describing what this book is about: a girl named Mayzie who grows daisies out of her head!

E SEUSS

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

The Cat in the Hat shows Young Cat how fun reading is.

E SEUSS

I had trouble in getting to Solla Sollew

The hero of this story finds out trouble can find you, even when you do your best to avoid it.

E SEUSS

Yertle the Turtle and other stories

Stories include: “Yertle the Turtle” (of course), “Gertrude McFuzz,” and “The Big Brag.” There’s also two poems, "The Ruckus" and "The Kindly Snather."

President's Day Books

2014-02-17T17:11:00.000-06:00

Today is President’s Day. How much do you know about the presidents? Here’s some good books to learn more.

E ROCKWELL

President’s Day by: Anne Rockwell

A preschool class learns about President’s Day and puts on a play about the presidents.

J FIC GUTMAN

Mr. Macky is Wacky! by: Dan Gutman

A wacky teacher named Mr. Macky dresses up as Abraham Lincoln to get his students excited about U.S. Presidents.

J 324.70973 STIER

If I ran for president by: Catherine Stier

A class of children imagine what it would be like to run for U.S. President.

J 973.099 TOWNSEND

Michael Townsend's Where do presidents come from?: and other presidential stuff of super-great importance by: Michael Townsend

A collection of fascinating and little known facts about U.S. Presidents, including what it’s like to be President day-to-day.

Should classic and older books ever be re-illustrated to look modern?

2014-02-11T15:31:00.001-06:00

This an interesting question for anyone who loves children's books: should old books ever be re-illustrated to look more modern? If a book's pictures are looking a bit outdated, does that mean that the book publisher should hire someone to re-do the pictures? In some cases, the re-illustration is hard to notice, while in other cases it may be more obvious. Some say re-illustrations help the book reach a new audience, while others argue that book illustrations shouldn't be re-done because it is disrespectful. The magazine School Library Journal (SLJ) had an article about this recently you can read here. The article suggests that maybe a middle ground is for both original and newly illustrated books to be available for kids to look at and compare and contrast. If you read an older book, take the opportunity to ask your child if they think the illustrations should be re-done and why or why not. The SLJ article gives a few examples of re-illustrated books, including Flat Stanley by: Jeff Brown (J FIC BROWN). Do you like the old or new version better? Or maybe you like them equally, for different reasons?

Re-illustrated version

Original version

Do you like one more than the other?

Valentine's Day Books

2014-02-10T14:39:00.000-06:00

Can you believe Valentine's Day is almost here? Believe it or not, it's this Friday, February 14th. Reading a fun Valentine's Day book is just as sweet as candy (at least to us librarians)!

E ANDREWS
The very fairy princess follows her heart by: Julie Andrews

E CHOLDENK
A Giant Crush by: Gennifer Choldenko

E KANN
Pinkalicous: Pink of Hearts by: Victoria Kann

E SCHULMAN
10 Valentine friends : a holiday counting book by: Janet Schulman

E SLATER (in board books section)
Pigs in Love by: Teddy Slater

African American History Month Books

2014-02-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

February is African American History Month. Here’s some wonderful books related to African American history.

J 323.1196 LEVINSON

We've got a job: the 1963 Birmingham Children's March by: Cynthia Levinson

J 323.1196073 BLACK

The Black experience in America: from civil rights to the present by: Jeffrey H. Wallenfeldt

J 920 PINKNEY

Hand in hand: ten Black men who changed America by: Andrea Davis Pinkney

J 940.5403 STONE

Courage has no color: the true story of the Triple Nickles: America's first black paratroopers by: Tanya Lee Stone

J 973.346 BLAIR

Liberty or death : the surprising story of runaway slaves who sided with the British during the American Revolution by: Margaret Whitman Blair

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Update: Almost 150 Kids Have Signed Up!

2014-01-29T09:57:00.000-06:00

Since we started in September 2012, almost 150 kids have signed up for the library's early literacy initiative program called 1000 Books Before Kindergarten! Its purpose is to encourage and support the pre-reading skills of children from birth until before they start Kindergarten. Children do not simply learn how to read after they start Kindergarten, but instead have been prepared for reading from birth. Early literacy skills are developed by reading to children as much as possible, but also by talking to, singing with, saying rhymes, and attending library programs with them so they are curious about both learning and reading.

The program is as simple as it sounds: read 1000 books to your child before they start Kindergarten. There is no timeline or end date other than the child entering Kindergarten. You will be surprised at how quickly you’ll reach the 1000 books read point going at a natural pace for both you and your child.

To join the program, a parent or caregiver registers the child in the Children’s Department Monday-Friday 9am-6pm and Children’s Department staff will give them all the required materials and information they need. Parents will get support from the library along the way with help choosing books to read and early literacy tips. There will be some rewards along the way for children, including a book prize at the end. For more information contact the Children’s Department at 409-643-5983.

Groundhog Day Books

2014-01-27T14:36:00.000-06:00

Can you believe Groundhog Day is almost here? This year, it is on Sunday, February 2. Tradition has it that if the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter before spring arrives. It’s said that if he doesn’t see his shadow, then spring will come early.

E CUYLER

Groundhog Stays Up Late by: Margery Cuyler

E GIBBONS

Groundhog Day! by: Gail Gibbons

E HOLUB

Groundhog weather school by: Joan Holub

E MILLER

Substitute Groundhog by: Pat Miller

ER RUELLE

Great Groundhogs! by: Karen Gray Ruelle

American Library Association Announces Award Winners

2014-01-27T09:36:00.002-06:00

The big news today in the world of children's books is that the American Library Association (ALA) announced its children's book award winners for 2014!

Below are just some of the highlights. To view the full list of winners, click here.

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
"Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures," written by Kate DiCamillo (J FIC DICAMILLO)

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
“Locomotive,” illustrated by Brian Floca (J 385.0973 FLOCA)

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“P.S. Be Eleven,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia (J FIC WILLIAMS)

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award recognizing an African American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me,” illustrated by Bryan Collier (E BEATY)

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
“Niño Wrestles the World,” illustrated by Yuyi Morales (E MORALES)

Books about the Great Depression

2014-01-20T15:21:00.000-06:00

The Great Depression was a time of historic hardship in the United States when many Americans were jobless, homeless, and hungry. Here's a few books related to this turbulent time in our nation's history.

J 370.973 GRAVES
Going to school during the Great Depression by: Kerry Graves

J 973.917 GRANT
The Great Depression by: R.G. Grant

J FIC GIFF
R My Name is Rachel by: Patricia Reilly Giff

E WINTER
Born and bred in the Great Depression by: Jonah Winter

Books to Explore for National Hobby Month

2014-01-13T14:42:00.000-06:00

Did you know that it's National Hobby Month? Do you need a new hobby? If you do, here are some out-of-the-box ideas for hobbies you can try!

J 769.56 PRICE
Cool stamps : creating fun and fascinating collections! by: Pamela S. Price

J 745.5973 Ransom
Scrapbooking just for you! : how to make fun, personal, save-them-forever keepsakes by: Candice F. Ransom

J 745.61 HALLIDAY
Creative calligraphy

J 793.8 BESMEHN
Juggling step-by-step

Books to Celebrate Middle Eastern Heritage Awareness Month

2014-01-06T10:42:00.000-06:00

January is Middle Eastern Heritage Awareness Month.

E BAKER
Mirror by: Jeannie Baker

E KHAN

Golden domes and silver lanterns: a Muslim book of colors by: Hena Khan

E MAIR

The Perfect Gift by: J. Samia Mair

E RANIA

The Sandwich Swap by: Queen Rania

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

2013-12-26T10:13:00.000-06:00

Co-authors Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett and have come up with a marvelously subversive take on the classic children's picture book with Battle Bunny, a ~~fluffy tale about how all of Birthday Bunny's friends forgot his special day (but not really)~~ nail-biting thriller about Battle Bunny's seemingly unstoppable Evil Plan.

With this book you're really two stories for the price of one:

There's the ~~boring~~ traditional story with a predictably happy and saccharine ending. The book is even designed to look like an old-fashioned children's book — the kind in vogue 50 years ago — complete with faded, worn edges on the cover and a personal note from "Gran Gran" to the book's owner, Alex, on the inside.

And then there's the story that every kid (and the kid in all of us) will appreciate, the one penned by Alex, who decided to take it upon himself to add his own edits to the story, including adjustments to illustrator Matthew Myers' pictures. The scene in which Birthday Bunny eats his favorite breakfast of carrot juice and a bowl of Carrot Crispies becomes Battle Bunny chowing down on brain juice and a bowl of greasy guts. Alex's scribbles morph Birthday Bunny from an adorable, wide-eyed ball of fur to a piratical villain complete with helmet, eye patch, a scar on the ear, walkie talkie and utility belt.

Sciezka and Barnett send up just about every Golden Book trope in the rewritten story to hilarious effect: They throw in gross details (refer back to the mention of brain juice), weapons (ranging from hacksaws to megatron bombs), questionable values (Battle Bunny sits on a throne that reads, "Power is good, power is mine") and violence (of the silly, cartoonish variety). Battle Bunny's taking no prisoners as he wreaks havok throughout the forest. Who will save the wild land creatures from his nefarious plan? You'll have to read it to find out.

Given the format of the book, this story could be a bit of a challenge to use as a read-aloud. In addition, there's also the possibility that younger kids might misunderstand the drawings and take it upon themselves to doodle over other books. But those caveats aside, Battle Bunny is a fantastic story that will appeal to younger kids for its ingenious way of taking a staid story and turning into a clever heart-pounder.