Read it again, mom!

Fairy Tale Comics

2013-05-01T19:03:00.000-04:00

I love when illustrators are given carte blanche to reinvent classic items (much like Nursery Rhyme Comics by the same publisher). In Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists, 17 (yes, extraordinary) cartoonists fashion their own versions of many classic, as well as obscure, fairy tales such as Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Baba Yaga, and The Small-Tooth Dog.

The illustrators vary in technique, but each is a joy to view – and read! - and brings such a new look to these classic tales. The cartoonist include: Charise Mericle Harper, Brett Helquist, Graham Annable, and Vanessa Davis.

Current TV shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm , plus popular movies such as Snow White and the Huntsman , Red Riding Hood and Beastly have brought about a resurgence in fairy tale literature (ok, really, does our love/fascination with fairy tales ever go away?!). Fractured fairy tales (like And The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon by Janet Stevens) are always popular, plus new takes on old favorites. People love revisiting old friends again and again. So, check out Fairy Tale Comics coming September 2013 to rekindle that love of fairy tales in your child, or even yourself!

Claude in the City

2013-04-30T19:36:00.002-04:00

Claude in the City is an understated British import chapter book. Honestly, when I first saw the cover, I wasn't all that excited about the book - sort of looked like a French dog, but not a poodle, and I was all confused... THEN I got to read Claude's adventures and I was hooked.

Claude lives with Mr. and Mrs. Shinyshoes and his best friend is a sock named Sir Bobblysock. I would have loved to have seen more illustrations (other than the cover), but the quirky humor and fun story kept me reading more. In the first chapter, Claude is a hero and saves the day. At the beginning of the second chapter, Sir Bobblysock does not wake up so Claude whisks him away to the hospital. Due to a slight mix-up, Claude is thought to be a doctor and is sent out into the waiting room to take care of a group of wrestlers who had all come in complaining of a mystery illness. Everyone in the waiting room ended up getting it! OH NO!

Judging by the placement of the text in the galley I read, I am guessing this is a highly illustrated chapter book/beginning reader. The text is great for the 4-9 age range with a story you wouldn't mind sharing with your young one

*review based on a galley copy with no illustrations

Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping

2013-04-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

Alright, I admit it - I honestly do not even have to pre-read a Scaredy Squirrel book to know that I am going to purchase a copy for my library. I mean really, look at that face! Who could possibly pass up Scaredy Squirrel?

Ok, the writing is awesome too. Watt doesn't stray from the formula (this is what, book 6? 7?), but manages to keep the stories fresh and fun.   In this current adventure Scaredy Squirrel goes camping (well duh, that is the title).

I love that his motto is to be prepared and that he plans out what he is going to wear and going to do ahead of time. In this particular book, Scaredy een has a warm-up routine! Scaredy Squirrel also practices (an obstacle course!) and charts weather conditions (great science example!) as well as usually always having prepared a map. Typically something that is "not part of the plan" happens to Scaredy Squirrel and in this case, it is a real surprise (I won't spoil it for you).

If you have not yet discovered the pure joy from reading a Scaredy Squirrel book, head on down to your local library (or bookstore!) and pick one up!   This new Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping is perfect for the upcoming summer months!

Batman is Brave!

2013-04-29T14:30:00.000-04:00

Superheroes are not going away. As a mother of a 5 year old boy (and hey, even my 13 year old daughter has her favorites), I have had to jump in and start figuring out the names for all of these beings in tights. Thankfully I had a basic knowledge from my own childhood (and two older brothers). I know Batman. Ah yes Batman. Adam West was intelligently adorable.

Batman Is Brave! is a new DC board book written by Donald Lemke and illustrated by Ethan Beavers featuring that caped crusader, Batman. Robin isn't mentioned, but if I understand correctly, in later years he went off on his own?! Ok, don't shoot me down if I got that wrong, all I know for certain is that it is perfectly acceptable for Batman to have a book to himself.

To keep many fans happy and to educate parents like me, DC has been putting out a plethora of books, from toddler/board book level through chapter books. Thankfully even though they have mass appeal and seem to come out in record time, the quality is still there which keeps kids reading and reading and reading.

Batman Is Brave! packs it's 16 pages with bright and bold illustrations and an easy to read text which sends a nice message: "Batman is brave and so are you". Check it out for your future superhero!

Bunny Craft

2013-03-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

Spring is the perfect time for a bunny craft! There are hundreds of ideas online, but I opted to make my own template and cut out pieces using scrapbook paper and felt. Add some pom-poms and chenille stems and the results are simply delightful!

Duck! Rabbit!

2013-03-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

If you have not yet checked out Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (illustrated by Tommy Lichtenheld), then do it now! This perfect spring time book will have you questioning Is it a duck? Or is it a rabbit? You decide! Then argue your stance with people who have an opposing view :)

Perfect for reading aloud to all grades. I've shared it with preschoolers and I've read it to 5th graders (as a team with my daughter - she was "duck") and they have all enjoyed it. Something about the trick of the eye gets the creative juices flowing, as well as the debating!

Duck! Rabbit! Homepage

Things to do with Plastic Easter Eggs

2013-02-28T04:00:00.000-05:00

Where I work, we used to have an annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was always such a fun event - to plan and implement! However, the bad economy has impacted us all - some programming had to go; that included the Easter Egg Hunt! That's ok really, but we are left with around 1000 plastic Easter eggs! What to do with them?!?!

I scoured the net and found a few ideas (plus a cute bird craft I have done before in storytime - check it out here). Check them out:

A Herd of Eggimals - includes a template for creating cute animals using felt and plastic eggs.
Diving Dudes - This site uses real, hardboiled eggs, but it would be just as cute and last longer with brightly colored plastic eggs.
Egg Sheep - Again, they used a real, hardboiled eggs, but the plastic ones would work just as well.
Plastic Egg Critters - You can make monsters AND bunnies!
Plastic Snake - Make a cute snake (or caterpillar?!) using plastic eggs.
Plastic Teacups - Such a cute idea! Make a set of teacups with your extra eggs.
Lite-Up Fireflies - I love this idea! Great for a summer night. Check out craft stores or dollar stores for cheap glowsticks to use.

Why We Broke Up by David Handler

2013-02-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

I admit, it has been 30 years since I graduated from high school. A heck of a lot has happened in those 30 years that has given me a different perspective on my high school life, but something that all the time in the world cannot change are the feelings. Trust me, they stay with you, and all it takes for them to come rushing to the front of your brain is a song, a photo, or maybe the smell of leaves and dampness and popcorn and sweat at a football game.

Because of this inability to totally forget, even though you always tell people "oh yeah, I don't remember anything about that", is why I was able to listen to (yeah, the book on CD) Why We Broke Up and know exactly what Min, Ed, Al, Annette and everyone else was going through; I knew people and situations just like them.

David Handler and Maira Kalman nailed it. How? They are near my age. I'm guessing they too have the inability to totally forget.

High school stinks. Yeah, there can be some totally awesome times that will bring back happy memories later on, but there will also be the most heart-wrenching, gut churning, emotionally charged times too. The ones you'd wish you could forget, but will ultimately help define you; help make you into the person you are to become, if you let them - and if you get through them with friends, family and in a positive manner.

Alright, no lecturing here... The story. The story is about Min and Ed and why they broke up. I kept expecting some big twist ending, but no, no huge twist - just the truth seen in the light of day. Sometimes the truth is way worse than a twist; or actually it can feel like a twist... right to your heart.

Min is seen as "artsy" - a label she definitely hates and does not believe suits her. Ed is the co-captain of the basketball team. Through a letter being written to Ed explaining why they broke up, Min relates the intensity, the love, the challenges, the frustrations of dating someone out of your regular circle of friends.

My teenage daughter listened to a bit of the book with me (you can't help it if you're in my van - you have to listen) and she was totally annoyed by the readers' voice. She said it sounded "too high (pitched) and yakky", but the story was ok. If you love old movies, good food; if you ever dated someone outside the circle, different; if you ever have broken up with someone, pick up the book, you'll probably get hooked after a few pages.

Check out the Why We Broke Up Project. Oh how I wish that had been around 30 years ago.

Easy Valentine's Day Craft

2013-02-04T04:00:00.000-05:00

This is a sweet and simple Valentine's Day craft for the entire family. I've posted pictures of the craft before, but here is a nice video showing how to do it and recommending a couple of books:

Also check out:

Valentine's Day Storytime

Easy Valentine's Day Stain Glass Hearts

Picture Books that Express LOVE

My Tweet with John Green

2013-02-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

When I first heard of John Green, I thought he was a male librarian - something rare in this line of work, trust me. My friends (also librarians) would talk about him as if he was a collegue - a confidant - a busom buddy and lifelong pal. They all seemed to KNOW him and oddly enough, know so many details about his life.

Ok, this was back in 2006 or 2007. I was (and still am) a youth librarian and actually had not read one single John Green book - yes, really. I know, my friends couldn't believe it either.

I was on a committee to organize a conference for other people who work with youth in libraries. It is always such a fun and energizing experience - putting the conference together AND our long, hysterical meetings where I would learn such fascinating things like John Green has a brother Hank and they started this thing called Brotherhood 2.0 and were going to spend a year only communicating via vlog posts.

How weird is that?

Well, I could not be left behind, so I dove in to youtube vlog posts and tried to stay hip and cool. At some point I began to "follow" John Green on twitter and at least read reviews of his books (well, my focus is on 0-12 year olds) Yeah, didn't quite work (being hip and cool), but at least I now knew for certain that John Green is not and has never been a librarian (but I think he thinks we're pretty cool).

The conference planning went great and it took place in April of 2008. Maureen Johnson was there, as well as Hank and John Green (yeah, there's a photo on MYSPACE... the program was that long ago). I heard it was a super cool event and everyone had a fantastic time, but I couldn't be there.

You see, sometime amongst all the giddy planning, I became pregnant (with my husband, mind you). Being 42 at the time and having previously gone through 6 miscarriages, and had totally given up even trying when I turned 40, this was quite a shock (I blame Johnny Depp, but that's a whole other story). The planning meetings were a blessing; it kept my mind occupied - busy. The due date was in February and the conference wasn't until April - all would be perfectly fine by then, right? Well, not exactly.

My dad reassured me over and over that the baby was going to be perfectly fine - and a boy - his first grandson (my brothers and I have been blessed with many girls!). Though I worried for the better part of 9 months, my little boy was born healthy on Feb. 6, 2008 - Ash Wednesday, and the day after dad's 84th birthday. They had six weeks together, my baby Joe and my dad. A mere 6 weeks to get to know each other - must have been enough though, because my boy still talks about his "Papa" as if he knew him all his life. Dad took ill suddenly with pneumonia in early March. On Good Friday, March 21, 2008 dad said his final good bye, with his family around him and his faithful dog Max, as well as his little grandson Joe, on his bed.

It's been 5 years.

I finally had the guts to try being on the conference planning committee again - we're in the exciting throws of the final stuff now. Joe's talking about his birthday, stores are beginning to advertise paczkis and the youth book awards were just announced too; I guess eveything combined got me thinking about my tweet with John Green (as well as many other things). Why? It was such a little thing really; I don't completely understand how it can hold this whole story. Or maybe it's that I am trying to stuff this whole story into that little tweet. I don't really know; all I do know is that I look at his words and I think, "I don't know a lot either, I'm just guessing."

Make Ice Cream in a Ziploc Bag

2013-02-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is such a fun project, and very easy to do - besides, who doesn't like ice cream!??! (alright, I know people like that exisit, but not in my reality).

To start off, you only need a few ingredients that you probably have around your house. It's great to do this in the winter because more than likely someone has a bag of rock salt handy, especially if you live in the north!

What you need:

1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup of Rock salt (roughly)
1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag
Ice cubes

How To Make It:

Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully.
Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes.
Wipe off top of small bag, then open and enjoy!

It tastes pretty bad if you get the salty water in the ice cream, but just wipe off your little ziploc bag before opening and all should be fine. On a side note, I've found that the storage bags with the sliding lock work best, and it's worth it to buy good quality ones. If a bag breaks, it can be messy! With young kids, have them wear mittens or gloves for the shaking and maybe strenghten their bags with duct tape!

Transportation Storytime

2013-02-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

Transporation always seems to be a popular theme with boys and girls alike. It doesn't matter if you are talking about cars or bikes or boats, or planes and trains, children have heard of them before, have more than likely seen them before and have a good basis of knowledge about them to answer simple questions, therefore boosting their own confidence and enjoyability. A fancy way of saying, if you have the slightest idea of what is being talked about - some frame of reference - then you might enjoy it!

Suggested songs:

Wheels on the Bus (any version you are comfortable with!)

Big Red Car - The Wiggles

Down by the Station (any version you are comfortable with)

Suggested Informational Books:

Transportation (Picture Reference) by David Glover
Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout

Suggested Story Books:

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by Jonathan London
I'm Fast! by Kate and Jim McMullan
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
What Do Wheels Do All Day? by April Jones Prince

Suggested Craft:

Personally, if I was at home, I'd grab some old cardboard boxes and with my kids, start fashioning cars and trucks out of them to play with in the house (it is winter here right now). But alas, I needed a craft project for a few kids at a time, so I created a plain paper with a road at the bottom out of construction paper, and then since we are lucky enough to have an Accu-Cut machine, I cut out various transporation shapes. I used blue textured paper for ponds and cut green paper strips for grass, plus cut coffee filters for clouds. Just let the kids glue the pieces on! To make it a bit more challenging, have a stack of magazines ready and let the kids hunt down the various modes of transporation. Great cutting practice too!

Timeout Timer

2013-01-29T04:30:00.000-05:00

A parent over at MY CRAZY BLESSED LIFE came up with a fantastic idea for an entertaining timeout timer. Take a look at her examples and directions here:

Timeout Bottle Timer

And the Winner is...

2013-01-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

The youth media awards were announced this morning at the American Library Associations annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. Here are the biggest award winners:

Caldecott Medal (Illustrations): This is not my hat by Jon Klassen

Newbery Medal (childrens or teen): The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Coretta Scott King Illustrator (African American): I too, am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Coretta Scott King Author (African American): Hand in hand: Ten black men who changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Printz Award Winner (teen book): In Darkness by Nick Lake

Sibert Medal (NF book): Bomb: The race to build and steal the world’s most dangerous weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Geisel Award (Beginning Reader): Up, tall and high! By Ethan Long

For a complete list of the award winners plus the honor books, check out the ALA Youth Media Awards.

PW Article About the Caldecott & Newbery Awards

2013-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

There's a great article from PW (Publisher's Weekly) with contributions made by 10 past Caldecott and Newbery award winners. Considering the books for 2013 will be named this morning, it seems fitting to share this glimpse into what the awards have meant for the different authors (and also kill some time while I'm waiting for the announcements). Check it out:

The Call That Changes Everything – or Not

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

2012-12-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Darth Vader and Son and be sure to look for Vader's Little Princess coming out later this year!

Books I Want to Buy My Nieces

2012-12-10T07:40:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year when we frantically search for just the right presents for our loved ones, and in my case, beg and beg for lists or suggestions! Well I have two nieces who are both in college - what do you get 20somethings for Christmas?! I asked and one said "books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (which is one I love, but not exactly a genre I read often), so I asked co-workers and googled and searched Amazon and finally put together a good list of books... but now, what do I choose?!? I can't get them all, can I?

My one thought was to buy them all, put them in one box and let them pick out the ones they want to read and then share... not sure I can do that realistically, but I'm having a hard time weeding down the list. Books to me are like potato chips - you can't have just one! Well, here is the list... what do you think?

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he’s just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping—until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Dash and Lily, 16, find themselves on their own in Manhattan at Christmas. Dash is alone by choice–he's told each of his divorced parents that he's spending the holiday with the other, leaving them both to take vacations out of town. Lily's parents are taking the honeymoon they couldn't afford when they got married. They think that Lily is in the capable hands of her older brother, but he's less interested in her than in his new boyfriend, and then he gets sick and spends most of the holiday in bed. He does, however, start in motion the activity that is central to the story. It involves a red Moleskine notebook with a list of literary clues that Lily leaves in the stacks at the Strand bookstore. Bookish and erudite Dash finds it and is intrigued enough to follow Lily's lead and leave some clues of his own. The dares in the book's title refer to innocent things such as going to various crowded places like Macy's and FAO Schwartz to pick up messages. As the dares go on, the teens reveal more and more about themselves in the pages of the notebook, until they finally meet under the worst possible circumstances.

Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has been one long nonevent - no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real friends. Seeking what Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps," he leaves Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, AL. His roommate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius scholarship student with a Napoleon complex who lives to one-up the school's rich preppies. Chip's best friend is Alaska Young, with whom Miles and every other male in her orbit falls instantly in love. She is literate, articulate, and beautiful, and she exhibits a reckless combination of adventurous and self-destructive behavior. She and Chip teach Miles to drink, smoke, and plot elaborate pranks. Alaska's story unfolds in all-night bull sessions, and the depth of her unhappiness becomes obvious. Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between Miles and Chip. His descriptions and Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the comprehension of sensitive teen readers. The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" what readers surmise is Alaska's suicide. These placeholders sustain the mood of possibility and foreboding, and the story moves methodically to its ambiguous climax.

Ok, any suggestions?!?!

Have fun, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

2012-12-10T04:00:00.000-05:00

Over 10 years after the publication of Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon , Patty Lovell and David Catrow have teamed up to bring us some fun. Real fun; fun from yesteryears gone by – the get dirty, no electricity needed type of fun. Fun that many kids are lacking now-a-days.

Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon is a simple lesson in playing - and making friends while sharing wonderful experiences with them.

Catrow's wonderfully fun illustrations bring to life spunky Molly Lou while Lovell's simple text conveys the unmistakable wisdom that can be gleamed and expanded upon when listening to the words of elders.

A sweet story to share with your young one! We can all learn a bit from Molly Lou and her grandma!

Preschool Christmas Craft Santa Down a Chimney

2012-12-08T04:00:00.000-05:00

Our wonderful daycare lady did it again. She said she saw this on Pinterest and just cut out the pieces for the kids to color and paste on. Isn't it adorable?! It is decorating our kitchen cupboard at the moment :) Try it - you can do this craft too!!! Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect - it just has to be fun!

If you Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond by Robert Burleigh

2012-12-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

A few decades ago I had to read Walden by Henry David Thoreau while in college (among many other things, being an English major). I loved it. I loved his fantatically detailed writings which explored a simple life. I loved the ideas presented in Civil Disobedience and that he spent 2 years living in a little cabin out in the woods.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Now Robert Burleigh has brought Thoreau to the young in a straight foreward depiction of what a day would be like if spent with Thoreau on Walden Pond. The illustrations by Wendell Minor (Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream ) are as much a part of telling the story as the words by Burleigh.

Check it out, as well as the other historical biographies for the young written by Burleigh and illustrated by Minor.

Favorite Christmas Books

2012-12-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

When it comes to the Christmas holiday, I have to say that I do not have as many favorite books as one would think. Oh, there is a good size list, don't get me wrong, but considering the number of Christmas books available, there aren't a ton that I want to be certain to read each year!

Every year when we are getting out our Christmas decorations, I find one of my favorite books nestled safely in it's box, right on top of my 1970's edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas(TM) . I can't help but smile when I see the cover of The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Zillah Lesko, 1953 . For as long as I can remember, I have either read that book or had the book read to me. When the pages open, I can feel myself sitting with my dad in his big arm chair, the warmth from the fireplace touching my cheek; the smell of mom's candles filling the room.

Even when for a mere .99 cents I can purchase a copy that looks "never used", why would I want to?! I love my book! Just as with an elder loved one, my book has earned every wrinkle and crease it has. So what if you need to gingerly open it, and be careful of the torn spine, the words are still there, and the smiling Santa shown smoking away on his pipe, winks knowingly at me.

The Night Before Christmas Pop-up by Robert Sabuda
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-up by Robert Sabuda

Cupcake Cup Christmas Tree - Preschool craft

2012-12-05T09:01:00.001-05:00

Another fantastically creative idea from my son's daycare lady! On a large sheet of construction paper they glued cupcake paper cups (well, silver tin in this case) into the shape of a Christmas tree! Little Christmas stickers decorate the inside. The kids drew on a tree truck and added a star. What a cute and clever idea!

Favorite Books of 2012

2012-12-05T04:00:00.000-05:00

There have been quite a few childrens books to zoom past my desk this year - a few I had to stop and at least take a peek at and other's I won't soon forget. A few of my favorites are listed below. If you like to purchase books as Christmas gifts, take these as recommendations!

Picture Books (ages 0-8)

Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail
Liam is a piglet who wants to be the Easter Bunny when he grows up, but no one believes he can do it until, with a lot of practice and some help from his grandparents, he shows them all.

Z Is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

Moose is terribly eager to play his part in Zebra's alphabet book, but when his letter passes him by, Moose behaves rather badly until Zebra finds a spot for him.

Oh, Nuts! by Tammi Sauer

Chipmunks Cutesy, Blinky, and Bob want the same kind of attention people pay to other animals who live in the zoo, but when one of their plans succeeds, they see that being noticed is not always a good thing.

Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

When a pair of chopsticks get separated, after some traumatic moments the two friends eventually learn to stand on their own.

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

A tiny fish wearing a blue hat hopes not to wake up the trouble that might be following close behind.

Good News, Bad News by Jeff Mack

While on a picnic, Bunny and Mouse see everything that happens to them from opposite points of view--Bunny sees only the good, while Mouse sees only the bad.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

Pete the cat loves the buttons on his shirt so much that he makes up a song about them, and even as the buttons pop off, one by one, he still finds a reason to sing.

Chapter Books (ages 9-12)

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: An Origami Yoda Book by Tom Angleberger

McQuarrie Middle School's students miss Origami Yoda when Dwight leaves for Tippett Academy, but he sends Sara a paper Fortune Wookiee that seems to give advice just as good as Yoda's--even if, in the hands of girls, it seems preoccupied with romance.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunts and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

Mr. Sulu Beams into Riverdale

2012-12-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mr. Sulu in Riverdale? Oh my!

Actor and equal rights advocate George Takei, whose portrayal of the Star Trek character in television and film has made him a science fiction legend, is crossing a new frontier this week by appearing as himself in issue No. 6 of Archie Comics' "Kevin Keller," a series about Riverdale's only gay teenager.

Christmas Bulletin Board - Match Game

2012-11-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Match-game bulletin boards have proven very popular in our library! We put a new one up each month and try to relate it to an event, holiday, program, etc. Obviouisly this is the time of year for a good old Christmas television show/movie match up game! You just need a printer and some imagination!