New Books of the Month – January

Skunked!: Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet

by Jacqueline Kelly (Author), Teagan White (Illustrator), Jennifer L. Meyer (Illustrator)

When soft-hearted Travis discovers an abandoned baby skunk, he can't help but bring him home and take care of him. Stinky, as Travis names him, settles in pretty well. But when Travis discovers Stinky's litter-mate, Winky, who is in need of some help, things get complicated around the Tate house. One skunk is a piece of cake; two is just asking for trouble. Will Travis and Callie be able to keep the critters away from Mother's careful eyes—and nose?

Best in Snow

by April Pulley Sayre (Author, Photographer)

Discover the wonderful world of snow with this companion to the celebrated Raindrops Roll!

With gorgeous photo illustrations, award-winning author April Pulley Sayre sheds sparkly new light on the wonders of snow. From the beauty of snow blanketing the forest and falling on animals’ fur and feathers to the fascinating winter water cycle, this nonfiction picture book celebrates snowfall and the amazing science behind it.

Dino-Racing

by Lisa Wheeler (Author), Barry Gott (Illustrator)

Allo and Stego speed down the strip in the drag race. Maia and her all-girl crew navigate around rocks and deep sand in the off-road race. Meanwhile, at the stock-car track, an all-star lineup gives fans a high-speed thrill as Diplo and Tricera put the heat on T-Rex, the reigning champ. Buckle your seatbelt, these dino-racers are sure to set prehistoric records.

How to Be a Hero

by Florence Parry Heide (Author), Chuck Groenink (Artist)

Once upon a time, there was a nice boy and his name was Gideon. He lived in a nice house, and he had nice parents and lots of toys. But Gideon wasn't satisfied. He wanted to be a hero. You know, a hero, with his name on the front page of the newspaper. That sort of thing. So how does anyone get to be a hero, anyway? Heroes have to be strong. Heroes have to be brave. Heroes have to be clever. Don't they? With wry humor, Florence Parry Heide and Chuck Groenink explore how we choose our idols in a witty story that leaves it to readers to decide the real nature of heroism.

Dory Fantasmagory: Dory Dory Black Sheep

by Abby Hanlon (Author)

Ever since Dory met Rosabelle, a real true friend whose imagination and high spirits match her own, school has been pretty good. But now the class is learning to read, and it's proving to be a challenge for Dory. While Rosabelle can read chapter books in her head, Dory is stuck with baby books about a happy little farm. Dory wishes for a potion to turn her into a reader but things don't go as planned. Suddenly, a naughty little girl who looks an awful lot like Dory's imaginary nemesis, Mrs. Gobble Gracker, shows up. And a black sheep leaves the pages of the farm book to follow Dory to school. It really needs her help, this seems like a job for a superhero! And it would help if she knew how to read.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Hit the Slope

by Cynthia Rylant (Author), Arthur Howard (Illustrator)

Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, like winter. But when the snow is deep outside and there’s nothing to do inside, even a cozy winter day can be a little slow. Not for long! When Mrs. Teaberry and her good dog, Zeke, pull two sleds out of the garage, the four friends head for the sledding slope for the wildest ride ever. Maybe winter is not so slow after all!

Gertie's Leap to Greatness

by Kate Beasley (Author), Jillian Tamaki (Illustrator)

Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind. There's just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

Bunny Slopes

by Claudia Rueda (Author)

Time to tackle the bunny slope! Shake to help Bunny make it snow, tilt to help Bunny ski down the slope, and turn to help Bunny escape a cliff in his path. Is there any obstacle Bunny can't conquer? Bringing grins and guffaws with each turn of the page, readers will find Claudia Rueda's innovative bookmaking as entertaining as the twists and turns of a ski slope—and as satisfying as a cozy cup of hot cocoa.

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love

by Michelle Edwards (Author), G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

Mrs. Goldman always knits hats for everyone in the neighborhood, and Sophia, who thinks knitting is too hard, helps by making the pom-poms. But now winter is here, and Mrs. Goldman herself doesn’t have a hat—she’s too busy making hats for everyone else! It’s up to Sophia to buckle down and knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman. But try as Sophia might, the hat turns out lumpy, the stitches aren’t even, and there are holes where there shouldn’t be holes. Sophia is devastated until she gets an idea that will make Mrs. Goldman’s hat the most wonderful of all. Readers both young and old will relate to Sophia’s frustrations, as well as her delight in making something special for someone she loves.

A Long Pitch Home

by Natalie Dias Lorenzi (Author)

Ten-year-old Bilal liked his life back home in Pakistan. He was a star on his cricket team. But when his father suddenly sends the family to live with their aunt and uncle in America, nothing is familiar. While Bilal tries to keep up with his cousin Jalaal by joining a baseball league and practicing his English, he wonders when his father will join the family in Virginia. Maybe if Bilal can prove himself on the pitcher’s mound, his father will make it to see him play. But playing baseball means navigating relation-ships with the guys, and with Jordan, the only girl on the team—the player no one but Bilal wants to be friends with. A sensitive and endearing contemporary novel about family, friends, and assimilation.

Leave Me Alone!

by Vera Brosgol (Author, Illustrator)

An epic tale about one grandmother, a giant sack of yarn, and her ultimate quest to finish her knitting.

One day, a grandmother shouts, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and leaves her tiny home and her very big family to journey to the moon and beyond to find peace and quiet to finish her knitting. Along the way, she encounters ravenous bears, obnoxious goats, and even hordes of aliens! But nothing stops grandma from accomplishing her goal―knitting sweaters for her many grandchildren to keep them warm and toasty for the coming winter.

Juana and Lucas

by Juana Medina (Author, Illustrator)

Juana loves many things — drawing, eating Brussels sprouts, living in Bogotá, Colombia, and especially her dog, Lucas, the best amigo ever. She does not love wearing her itchy school uniform, solving math problems, or going to dance class. And she especially does not love learning the English. Why is it so important to learn a language that makes so little sense? But when Juana’s abuelos tell her about a special trip they are planning—one that Juana will need to speak English to go on—Juana begins to wonder whether learning the English might be a good use of her time after all. Hilarious, energetic, and utterly relatable,

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.