Wednesday, October 19, 2016

New Books of the Month - October

Life According to Dani

by Rose Lagercrantz (Author), Eva Eriksson (Contributor)

It's Dani's first summer break, her best one ever! Dani is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. They play all day long. They build huts, fish, and spy on wild animals. They go swimming five, six, seven times a day. But one day visitors arrive, and Dani isn't sure her life is happy any more. Luckily she has Ella to get life back to the way it should be, life according to Dani.

Sam the Man & the Chicken Plan

by Frances O'Roark Dowell  (Author), Amy June Bates (Illustrator)
Sam the Man needs a job. Even his sister gets twenty bucks a pop for mowing people’s lawns! But seven-year-olds aren’t allowed to mow lawns, so Sam decides to ask his next door neighbor if she needs help doing other chores. It turns out she’ll pay him a whole dollar each time he can convince her dad, Mr. Stockfish, to join him for a walk. But it turns out that getting Mr. Stockfish to leave the living room isn’t easy. AND a dollar a pop isn’t going to cut it.


So when Mrs. Kerner, another neighbor, asks if Sam would like to watch her chickens, Sam jumps on the task. You can count on him, yes indeed. Watching chickens is more fun than he expects, and comes with an added bonus: it turns out that visiting the chickens is the one thing that can coax Mr. Stockfish out of the house! But what does a seven-year-old do with all the money he’s earning? It’s too little for a bike, and too much for candy. But wait! It’s just enough for a chicken of his own—the kind that lays BLUE eggs! Soon he has a whole waiting list of kids who want to buy a blue egg. And what does Sam plan on doing with his new fortune? Buy Mr. Stockfish his own chicken, of course!

The Poet's Dog

by Patricia MacLachlan (Author)

Teddy is a gifted dog. Raised in a cabin by a poet named Sylvan, he grew up listening to sonnets read aloud and the comforting clicking of a keyboard. Although Teddy understands words, Sylvan always told him there are only two kinds of people in the world who can hear Teddy speak: poets and children.
Then one day Teddy learns that Sylvan was right. When Teddy finds Nickel and Flora trapped in a snowstorm, he tells them that he will bring them home—and they understand him. The children are afraid of the howling wind, but not of Teddy’s words. They follow him to a cabin in the woods, where the dog used to live with Sylvan . . . only now his owner is gone.
As they hole up in the cabin for shelter, Teddy is flooded with memories of Sylvan. What will Teddy do when his new friends go home? Can they help one another find what they have lost?

Ape & Armadillo Take Over The World

by James Sturm  (Illustrator)
Armadillo is trying to come up with a plan for global domination...but with every new idea, being a bad guy seems a little less fun—especially if ruling the world means losing your best friend. Readers will delight in star cartoonist James Sturm's tender and just depiction of a friendship in peril.

Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit

by Cece Bell (Author, Illustrator)
Rabbit is excited. He is going to surprise his good friend Robot at home. DING DONG! When Robot opens the door, he issurprised. He wasn’t expecting Rabbit. In fact, he is already engrossed in a game of checkers with another friend, Ribbit. Now Rabbit is the one who is surprised, and a bit jealous. While Robot thinks everything Ribbit says is humorous, all Rabbit hears is "ribbit." And Ribbit eats flies with her popcorn. Gross! When Rabbit and Ribbit get mad because they both want to be Cowboy Jack Rabbit, Robot’s Emotion Decoder overheats, leaving him out of commission. Can Rabbit and Ribbit find a way to work together to revive their friend? New readers will find plenty to chuckle over as Robot’s two friends become friends themselves.

Charlie Bumpers vs. the Puny Pirates

by Bill Harley (Author), Adam Gustavson (Illustrator)
Charlie, Tommy, and Hector have high hopes for their soccer team this season until they find out that their new coach isn't all that interested in the fantabulous plays the three friends have worked out together.

Ghost

by Jason Reynolds (Author)
Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.


Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training. If he can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons—it all starting with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems—and running away from them—until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who blew his own shot at success by using drugs, and who is determined to keep other kids from blowing their shots at life.

Piper Green and the Fairy Tree: The Sea Pony 

by Ellen Potter  (Author), Qin Leng (Illustrator)
Piper Green is in for another adventure when she finds an unusual whistle hidden inside the Fairy Tree in her front yard. But Piper doesn’t want a whistle... she wants a pony! On a trip with her dad to check the family’s lobster traps, the whistle attracts the attention of an unexpected friend. Could the fairy whistle working its magic after all?

Because of an Acorn

by Lola M. Schaefer  (Author), Adam Schaefer (Author), Frann Preston-Gannon (Illustrator)
Because of an acorn, a tree grows, a bird nests, a seed becomes a flower. Enchanting die-cuts illustrate the vital connections between the layers of an ecosystem in this magical book. Wander down the forest path to learn how every tree, flower, plant, and animal connect to one another in spiraling circles of life. An acorn is just the beginning.

Don't Call Me Choochie Pooh!

by Sean Taylor  (Author), Kate Hindley (Illustrator)
When you’re a preciously small canine with a big and bold personality, how do you show your doting owners that you want to be treated like an ordinary dog?


The dog in this book doesn't want to be carried in a handbag (how embarrassing!) or eat heart-shaped mini puppy treats (I mean, come on!). And under no circumstances does he ever want to be called "choochie pooh"! If only his owner understood. All this dog wants to do is play with the big dogs in the park—chasing sticks, jumping in muddy puddles, and being a regular part of the pack

The Deadliest Creature in the World

by Brenda Z. Guiberson (Author), Gennady Spirin (Illustrator
Which creature is the deadliest? Is it the insect that bites, the ostrich that kicks, the snake that squeezes, or the shrew that paralyzes? Is it the most venomous, the most poisonous, or the one that infects its victims with a fatal disease? Fascinating facts and spectacular illustrations will inspire young readers to choose which creature they think is the deadliest in this newest picture book collaboration between Guiberson and Spirin.

Mr Moon Wakes Up

by Jemima Sharpe (Author)
Mr Moon always sleeps. He naps during hide-and-seek, passes out on puzzles and dozes during adventure stories. But what would happen if Mr Moon ever woke up? Would he lead us to hidden, dream-like worlds, filled with fantastic friends and exciting games? And if he did, would we remember in the morning?

Doing Her Bit: A Story About the Woman's Land Army of America

by Erin Hagar  (Author), Jen Hill  (Illustrator)

Based on true events, this fictional story traces the history of the Women’s Land Army during World War I. Real-life “Farmerette” Helen Stevens trains to farm the land, negotiates a position for herself and other women, and does her bit for the war effort. This unique book celebrates the true grit of American men and women.

Lift Your Light a Little Higher: The Story of Stephen Bishop: Slave-Explorer

by Heather Henson  (Author), Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
Grab your lantern and follow the remarkable and world-famous Mammoth Cave explorer—and slave—Stephen Bishop as he guides you through the world’s largest cave system in this remarkable homage to the resilience of human nature.


Welcome to Mammoth Cave. It’s 1840 and my name’s Stephen Bishop. I’ll be your guide, so come with me, by the light of my lantern, into the deepest biggest cave in all of the United States. Down here, beneath the earth, I’m not just a slave. I’m a pioneer. I know the cave’s twists and turns. It taught me to not be afraid of the dark. And watching all these people write their names on the ceiling? Well, it taught me how to read too. Imagine that. A slave, reading. But like I said, down here I’m not just a slave. I’m a guide. I’m a man. And this is my story.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

New Books of the Month - September

The Storyteller

by Evan Turk (Author, Illustrator)
Long, long ago, like a pearl around a grain of sand, the Kingdom of Morocco formed at the edge of the great, dry Sahara. It had fountains of cool, refreshing water to quench the thirst of the desert, and storytellers to bring the people together.

But as the kingdom grew, the people forgot the dangers of the desert, and they forgot about the storytellers, too. All but one young boy, who came to the Great Square for a drink and found something that quenched his thirst even better: wonderful stories. As he listened to the last storyteller recount the Endless Drought, and the Glorious Blue Water Bird, he discovered the power of a tale well told.

What To Do With a Box

by Jane Yolen (Author), Chris Sheban (Illustrator)
If you give a child a box, who can tell what will happen next? It may become a library or a sailboat, a palace or a race car. It could just as easily set the scene for a fairy tale or a wild expedition. The most wonderful thing is its seemingly endless capacacity for magical adventure.

Me First!: Prefixes Lead the Way

by Robin Pulver (Author), Lynn Rowe Reed (Illustrator)
The PREfixes in Mr. Wright's classroom are about to make their entrance. It's not going to be a quiet one. 
But instead, something UNusual happens. the Prefixes are OVERshadowed by someone who looks just like Abaham Lincoln. It's UNfair, DISrespectful, and UNthinkable!
Mr. Wright's classroom is in for another wacky grammar lesson, one that will make PREfixes hard to forget.

Coyote Moon

by Maria Gianferrari (Author), Bagram Ibatoulline (Author)
A howl in the night. 

A watchful eye in the darkness.

A flutter of movement among the trees. 

Coyotes.

In the dark of the night, a mother coyote stalks prey to feed her hungry pups. Her hunt takes her through a suburban town, where she encounters a mouse, a rabbit, a flock of angry geese, and finally an unsuspecting turkey on the library lawn.
POUNCE!
Perhaps Coyote's family won't go hungry today

The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation

by Gilbert Ford (Author, Illustrator)
One day, a spring fell from the desk of Richard James, an engineer and a dreamer. Its coils took a walk…and so did Richard’s imagination. He knew right away that he had stumbled onto something marvelous.

With the help of his wife, Betty, Richard took this ordinary spring and turned it into a plaything. But it wasn’t just any old trinket—it was a Slinky, and it would become one of the most popular toys in American history.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

New Books of the Month

Waylon! One Awesome Thing

by Sara Pennypacker (Author), Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
Waylon has lots of ideas for making life more awesome through science, like teleportation, human gills, and attracting cupcakes by controlling gravity. But it's impossible for him to concentrate on his inventions when he's experiencing his own personal Big Bang. 

Arlo Brody is dividing the fourth grade boys into two groups. Waylon would rather be friends with everyone. Well, everyone except the scary new kid, Baxter Boylen.
Waylon's older sister, Neon, is shooting away from the family. He wishes everything would go back to the way it was before she started wearing all black and saying "What's the point?" all the time. 
Just when it looks as though Waylon's universe is exploding, something happens to bring it all together again, and it is, without a doubt, One Awesome Thing.

EllRay Jakes Stands Tall 

by Sally Warner (Author), Brian Biggs (Illustrator)
Third Grade is halfway done, and eight-year-old EllRay Jakes is still the shortest in his class. He wants his classmates' respect, but he knows he has to be good at something to get it. And at Oak Glen Primary, that "something" means sports.
Mr. Havens, aka Coach Havens, has offered to lead pre-basketball practice for the third graders, and EllRay can't believe his luck. This could be his shot! But only if he can learn how to dribble, pass, and shoot. And only if he can get the ball. And what if his new passion isn't shared by one of his best friends, Marco? EllRay just might lose the ball and his friend in one blow. ... He needs to stand tall, in more ways than one!

Among a Thousand Fireflies

by Helen Frost  (Author), Rick Lieder  (Author)
On a summer evening, just as the stars blink on, a firefly lands on a flower. Lights start to flash all around her — first one, then three, seven. Hundreds. Thousands. How will she find just one flash among them? And will he see her flash in return?

The Stone Thrower

by Jael Ealey Richardson (Author), Matt James (Illustrator)














African-American football player Chuck Ealey grew up in a segregated neighborhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. Against all odds, he became an incredible quarterback. But despite his unbeaten record in high school and university, he would never play professional football in the United States.


Chuck Ealey grew up poor in a racially segregated community, but his mother assured him that he wouldn’t stay in Portsmouth forever. Education was the way out, and a football scholarship was the way to pay for that education. So despite the racist taunts he faced at all the games he played in high school, Chuck maintained a remarkable level of dedication and determination. And when discrimination followed him to university and beyond, Chuck Ealey remained undefeated.

Diana's White House Garden

by Elisa Carbone (Author), Jen Hill  (Illustrator)
Diana Hopkins lived in a white house. THE White House.


World War II is in full force across the seas. It's 1943, President Roosevelt is in office, and Diana's father, Harry Hopkins, is his chief advisor. And Diana wants to be part of the war effort. After some well-intentioned missteps (her quarantine sign on her father's office door was not well-received), the President requests her help with his newest plan for the country's survival: Victory Gardens!
From award-winning author Elisa Carbone comes the true story of how Diana Hopkins started her own Victory Garden on the White House lawn under the tutelage of Eleanor Roosevelt. With dedication and patience, she showed the nation that the war effort started first on the homefront.

The Hole Story of the Doughnut

by Pat Miller (Author), Vincent X. Kirsch (Illustrator)
In 1844, Hanson Gregory was thirteen when he left home to sail with the crew of the Isaac Achorn as cabin boy. In just eight years, Hanson became captain of the Ivanhoe, but he's not remembered for his brilliant sailing skill. Hanson earned a medal for bravery from the grateful Queen of Spain for a daring rescue at sea, but that's not why millions are grateful to him. It was Hanson's invention as a young ship's cook that made him deliciously memorable. Find out the hole story of his invention, one you've probably eaten!

Puddle

by Hyewon Yum  (Author)
One rainy day, a little boy is upset because he can't go out and play. His mom comes up with a way to keep him entertained--by drawing a picture of herself and him going outside, playing in the rain, and splashing in a giant puddle. They have so much fun drawing themselves that they decide to venture out and make the most of the rainy weather.

Clara: The (Mostly) True Story of the Rhinoceros who Dazzled Kings, Inspired Artists, and Won the Hearts of Everyone . . . While She Ate Her Way Up and Down a Continent!

by Emily Arnold McCully  (Author, Illustrator)
What was it like to see a baby rhinoceros from India in eighteenth-century Europe?
"Unglaublich! Incredible" declared the king of Prussia.
"Herrlich! Magnificent!" Pronounced the empress of Vienna.
"Schrecklich! Frightful!" people excpaimed. "And yet what a beautiful spirit!"
Yes, Clara - as she was called - was a wonder to behold.
Join Captain Van der Meer and his beloved Clara as hey crisscross the continent - from the orangerie of Frederick II of Germany, to the court of King Louis XV of France, to the crowds of Paris, Rome, Venice, and beyond, amazing all who see her.

Cody Harmon, King of Pets (Franklin School Friends)

by Claudia Mills (Author), Rob Shepperson (Illustrator)
Cody Harmon doesn't love reading, math, spelling, or really any of the subjects that Miss Molina teaches in her third-grade class. But he lives on a farm and he loves animals--he even has nine pets--so when the school holds a pet-show fund-raiser, it should be his time to shine. There's a ten-dollar entrance fee per pet, though, and Cody can't pay it for all nine pets. He'd love to take his pig, but what about the others?

Brave Like My Brother

by Marc Tyler Nobleman (Author)
When Charlie's brother, Joe, is called up to fight in World War II, he promises to write letters to ten-year-old Charlie as often as he can. It won't make up for not being there to help Charlie out with the neighborhood bullies, but it's all Joe can do.


Life is tough for a soldier, and Joe tells Charlie all about it, from long hikes in endless rain and mud to the stray dog his company adopts. But when Joe is sent on a secret mission with the one soldier he can't stand, he will have to face risks that place their mission -- and their lives -- in grave danger.

Charlie knew his brother was strong, but he will discover that Joe is more of a hero than he lets on. Will Joe's letters give Charlie the strength to stand up for himself and be brave, too?

Good Night Owl

by Greg Pizzoli  (Author, Illustrator)

Owl is ready for bed. But as soon as he settles in, he hears a strange noise. He'll never get to sleep unless he can figure out what's going on!

We Came To America

by Faith Ringgold (Author)
From the Native Americans who first called this land their home, to the millions of people who have flocked to its shores ever since, America is a country rich in diversity. Some of our ancestors were driven by dreams and hope. Others came in chains, or were escaping poverty or persecution. No matter what brought them here, each person embodied a unique gift—their art and music, their determination and grit, their stories and their culture. And together they forever shaped the country we all call home.

Circle 

by Jeannie Baker (Author, Illustrator)
Each year, bar-tailed godwits undertake the longest unbroken migration of any bird, flying from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to Australia and New Zealand and back again. They follow invisible pathways — pathways that have been followed for thousands of years — while braving hunger and treacherous conditions to reach their destination. In Circle,Jeannie Baker follows the godwit’s incredible flight, taking us over awe-inspiring scenes as the birds spread their wings above such beautiful landmarks as the Great Barrier Reef and China’s breathtaking cityscapes.

Steamboat School

by Deborah Hopkinson  (Author), Ron Husband (Illustrator)
When James first started school, his sister practically had to drag him there. The classroom was dark and dreary, and James knew everything outside was more exciting than anything he'd find inside.

But his teacher taught him otherwise. 
"We make our own light here," Reverend Meachum told James.
And through hard work and learning, they did, until their school was shut down by a new law forbidding African American education in Missouri. Determined to continue teaching his students, Reverend John Berry Meachum decided to build a new school-a floating school in the Mississippi River, just outside the boundary of the unjust law.

A Piece of Home

by Jeri Watts (Author), Hyewon Yum (Illustrator)
When Hee Jun’s family moves from Korea to West Virginia, he struggles to adjust to his new home. His eyes are not big and round like his classmates’, and he can’t understand anything the teacher says, even when she speaks s-l-o-w-l-y and loudly at him. As he lies in bed at night, the sky seems smaller and darker. But little by little Hee Jun begins to learn English words and make friends on the playground. And one day he is invited to a classmate’s house, where he sees a flower he knows from his garden in Korea — mugunghwa, or rose of Sharon, as his friend tells him — and Hee Jun is happy to bring a shoot to his grandmother to plant a "piece of home" in their new garden. Lyrical prose and lovely illustrations combine in a gentle, realistic story about finding connections in an unfamiliar world.

Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn't Sit Still

by Karlin Gray (Author), Christine Davenier (Illustrator)
Nadia Comaneci was a feisty and fearless little girl who went from climbing trees in the forests of Romania to swinging into history at the 1976 Olympic Games, where she received an unprecedented seven perfect scores in gymnastics. But as readers will see in this first-ever illustrated picture book about Nadia’s journey to Olympic gold, the road from small-town girl to world-class athlete was full of many imperfect moments. 

     Expert illustrations that capture the energy and fluidity of Nadia's exuberant gymnastic routines and referential back matter round out this inspirational story of determination and overcoming adversity. A perfect 10.