Favorite Book Fridays: Lunch Lady

If you have an elementary school aged child who likes superheroes, but you're concerned about all the extra violence, have your reader try the Lunch Lady Series.  This is one lunch lady who is packed full of punch, who secretly fights crime against the bad guys with all of her secret kitchen tool gadgets, and has a secret lair right outside of the kitchen.  With her sidekick partner, Betty, the two serve justice and lunch!  The series also makes a great transitional book for readers making the leap from early reader books to chapter books.   Plus, this series makes a great read for reluctant readers too!

Favorite Book Fridays: Chasing Lincoln's Killer

In history class growing up, I've always been taught that John Wilkes Booth was the man who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln.  And when I went to Washington D.C. in eight grade for a school trip, I visited the home across the street from Ford's Theater where Lincoln perished from gun shot wounds.  What I NEVER learned was that John Wilkes Booth escaped from authorities and went on a 12-day runaway escapade with his accomplices before he was captured.  I could go on and on about all the pertinent details, but if you've got a reader in 4th through 6th grade who enjoys learning about history, I highly recommend, Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.  Mr. Swanson himself is a Lincoln history buff and is very knowledgeable about this 16th U.S. President.  Be prepared for a fast paced adventure! (And the audiobook is just as good as the print book too!)

Favorite Book Fridays: Steamy Steampunk

Are you a grown up reader with grown up taste? Do you like vampires? Werewolves? The British royal family? Spunky and curvaceous heroines with attitude who sport cleverly engineered attack umbrellas? Do you find improperly tied cravats distressing? Have you ever wondered what a cravat is? Would you love to soar across European skies in a zeppelin? Dude, I totally have the book for you. 

I'm currently reading the fifth book in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, which begins with Soulless. Most of my reading time is devoted to YA books, and though this series has irresistible cross-appeal for mature teen readers, I relish cracking open these grown up books with their promise of fun, atmospheric Victorian fantasy.

Alexia Tarabotti is my hero. Her tongue is as sharp as her wit, she is stylish without sacrificing comfort and practicality, not shy about her fondness for food, calm and resourceful in any crisis (like intra-carriage golum attacks or finding oneself without cake when unexpected guests have arrived), and she is unfailingly infuriating to the man/werewolf who is drawn to her in spite of himself. If you have a fondness for Sherlock, steampunk, supernatural romance, highly decorated hats, and scrumptious tiny sandwiches with the crusts removed, you will love Alexia too.   

Favorite Book Fridays: Double Dog Dare

The best dare I ever made my sister do was to push a ball around the toilet seat with her nose, and if it fell in, fish it out with her teeth. Of course it fell in.

So Double Dog Dare, by Lisa Graff, brought back some fond memories of my childhood, and for sure it is a book that elementary-aged kids will be able to relate to. Some of the dares are laugh-out-loud funny, but there is also a serious, sweet side to the book with both of the main characters dealing with their parents getting divorced.

I highly recommend for about 3rd grade and up.

Favorite Book Fridays: The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

I bet you never knew that Snow White's Prince Charming was a strange, wimpy little guy with no friends. And I bet you never knew that Rapunzel actually had to rescue her 6' 7" runt of the family Prince Charming, not the other way around. And I bet you never knew that Cinderella's Prince Charming would rather spend time preening in front of a mirror than saving princesses and kingdoms. And I bet you never knew that Sleeping Beauty was a spoiled brat that her Prince Charming decided he didn't even want to marry! Well, according to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, that's the truth.

In this action-packed comedic adventure, the lives of the four princesses and their princes intersect, with a real focus on the princes instead of the princesses. A hilarious slant on the traditional fairy tales. I would recommend for about third grade and up.

Favorite Book Fridays: Transportation Board Books We Love

At my house, we read a lot of board books. We've gone through Good Night Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, & The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Lately, it's been all about cars and trucks and things that go. Richard Scarry comes in handy in times like these. We can read the compact, apple shaped Cars and Trucks From A to Z a hundred times, and even us grown-ups are still entertained. Who couldn't love a lemon car or a zippermobile?

When it is time to move on, we like to read Trains Go. Every page offers a new, bright and splashy type of train, and the only words are the whistles and rumbles of the trains themselves. Steve Light has painted the most gorgeous watercolor trains, and the words appear to ebb and flow just like the sounds they describe.

If you are looking for some more good transportation-related board books, you could try Byron Barton's Trains, Trucks, or Machines at Work (yes, he's got the corner on the market), or Freight Train by Donald Crews.

Favorite Book Fridays: Cat Up a Tree

Nana Quimby looked out her window and saw one cat up the tree.  The next time she looked out her window, she saw two cats up the tree.  The story continues with more cats up in the tree.  Everytime she called a local service employee for help, they always respond with saying they can't help her get the cats out of the tree.  After numberous attempts for help, she gives up, throws the phone out the window, and the cats walk along the phone cord from the tree through Nana Quimby's window and into her apartment.  Nana and the cats take a nice nap when the police station, the fire station, the post office, and the library make distress calls with mice invading the city.  It's too late for the cats to help keep the mice population down because they are all too busy purring! 

Cat Up a Tree by John and Ann Hassett is one of my many favorite books that I like to read aloud at preschool story time.  This book has great repetition and I just love the illustrations and the cute whimsical cats.  I hope you'll enjoy it too!!!

Favorite Book Fridays: Steve Jenkins

I pretty much love everything by Steve Jenkins. It's pretty rare that I use non-fiction for story times, but his books are an exception.

Move! introduces different animals and the way they move in their own unique ways. The way an armadillo leaps straight up into the air when it is startled is a little different than the way a crocodile leaps toward its prey. It's hard to believe that the same word can be used to describe a jumping spider traveling through air as it spins its silk and a polar bear reclining on its back in icy waters: Float.

Any guesses what Actual Size is about? If you guessed that it shows the actual size of animals, you were right. See what it might be like to look straight into a great white shark's mouth. Compare the size of the smallest fish in the world (about 1/3 inch) to the largest moth (about 36 times that size!).

I bet you never knew a cricket has ears in its knees or a four-eyed fish can see above and below water at the same time. I didn't either, until I read What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Favorite Book Fridays- The Unwritten

I just finished the first volume in an adult graphic novel series, and I can't wait to read the next. The Unwritten series by Mike Carey and Peter Gross begins with Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity. When Tommy, was a kid, his father cast him (or at least his name and appearance) as the hero of his series of children's fantasy books about kids learning to be wizards while fighting dark forces. Sound familiar? The series becomes hugely popular and Tommy becomes an instant celebrity. When he is a teenager his father abandons him, and he is left to make a living on the convention circuit, signing books for crazed fans who often confuse him with the character he resembles only in name and hair style. However, strange evidence begins to surface, along with a cast of ominous characters, that Tommy may not be the ordinary guy he thinks he is, and magic may in fact be real.

Just imagine if Harry Potter was a real kid who was involuntarily cast in a story that becomes astronomically popular. Then Harry grows up and has to deal with this strange celebrity. Then magical things actually begin to happen to him. How would a lonely, bitter, unfulfilled adult deal with these circumstances? With courage? Cowardice? Disbelief? Read The Unwritten to find out.

Favorite Book Fridays: How Many Jelly Beans?

If your kid wants to know what a million looks like, How Many Jelly Beans?, by Andrea Menotti, is a must-see. Most counting books go to 10, and if you're lucky you may read one that counts clear to 20. This book just does away with 1 through 9 altogether and begins with 10. Two bickering kids and a cute little dog guide you clear up to the big ONE-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH-OH. I have just one request for you if you choose to check it out: Be gentle with the gigantic fold-out page!

Favorite Book Fridays: Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin

When I was in graduate school working on my MLIS, in one of my classes we held a Mock Caldecott competition.  The books we looked at were all of the Caldecott Honor Books that were awarded within a five year period (at the time).  Out of those books, each team in my class had to choose our mock winning title among those books.  Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin was the winner for my team.  I just absolutely love the book with its whimiscal looking musicians (because I'm a musician myself).  The coloring is bright and fun while reflecting the movement of music.  The book also makes a great introduction to music and musical instruments for youngsters.  After reading the book, watch the DVD...as it is just as good, if not better!!!

Favorite Book Fridays: More New Favorites From Amber

I take my reading seriously. I believe that it is my duty to stay current on recently published titles, in case they are worthy of recommending to an enthusiastic, voracious reader, or a reluctant reader for that matter. Recently, I read few titles that leaped out to me as engaging, hard-to-pass-up stories.

Those of you who loved The Secret Garden might want to pick up The Humming Room by Ellen Potter. This story, that takes place on an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence river, is inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic. In the new spin, tiny and wild 12-year-old Roo is sent to live in an old children's hospital with an Uncle she's never met. After wandering the deserted halls and investigating strange noises, Roo discovers she has a cousin, too. An out of control, sickly cousin. Equally stubborn, Roo and her cousin Phillip work together towards healing and sprouting new life within themselves and in their environment. And yes, there is a garden, but you'll have to read it to find out more about that.

In my favorite books, many characters get a chance to tell their version of the story in their own voice. Such is the case with R.J. Palacio's Wonder. First we hear from August Pullman, who is heading to public school for the first time as a fifth grader. Because of severe medical conditions, Auggie's been homeschooled until now. It's a big challenge, considering his facial features are unlike any of his classmates. Just when we get used to August's narrative, we hear from his sister, Via, and what her life has been like as the family member of a kid who has required 27 surgeries and constant attention. Then we hear from classmates and friends of August and Via, expanding the story through their many perspectives, until we can see a complex bigger picture. This book is about accepting extraordinary differences, but it is also about the power of ordinary kindness.

Favorite Book Fridays: Dooby, Dooby, Moo (Audio kit edition)

Doreen Cronin's books just crack me up.  I love how she makes her animal characters come to life and gives each one their own distinctive personality.  I discovered the joys of Dooby, Dooby, Moo when it was released as an audibook kit (book with CD) in 2007.  Randy Travis narrates the story as Farmer Brown prepares his animals for the local county fair.  What he doesn't know is that the animals are preparing for the talen show at the fair and practice in the barn while Famer Brown is asleep at night as Duck wants to win the competition to get a new trampoile.  The music and sound effects on the CD can't be beat!  It's pure entertainment at its best!  That's why it was given the honor of inclusion on the 2008 Children's Notable Sound Recording's List, which is sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.  It is also a 2008 Odyssey Honor Audiobook too! 

Favorite Book Fridays: The "Perfect" Book

In my opinion, Perfect Square, by Michael Hall, is the perfect picture book. I recently discovered it and brought it home to my 4-year-old. We normally talk a lot while we are reading, but the first time I read this book to him, he sat there with a scowl on his face and didn't say a word. I loved the book and was disappointed by his reaction. After I finished, all he said was: "I really like this book. I don't want to return it to the library." Since then, we read it pretty much every night before bed. What I now realize was that the scowl was actually a very serious look of concentration, and he was just very focused.
The square has 4 equal corners and 4 equal sides. It's perfectly happy. But then someone comes along and cuts it and pokes holes in it, and it's not perfect anymore. But instead of getting all upset, it makes itself into a fountain. Each day, something different happens to it, and each day, it changes itself into something great. Eventually, the poor square sits and waits for somebody to do something to it, but nothing happens. Suddenly those 4 perfect corners and 4 perfect sides aren't so perfect after all. But don't worry; the square figures out how to be happy in spite of the rigid corners and confining sides.

LOVE. THIS. BOOK. Can you tell?

Favorite Book Fridays: One Dog and His Boy

I just finished One Dog and His Boy, by Eva Ibbotson. It's a sweet story about a boy who has everything in the world he could want or need except for a dog. Hal's uppity parents agree to get him a dog for his birthday; what they neglect to mention is that they just rented little Fleck, and when they return him, the betrayal drives Hal over the edge. He hatches a plan to get Fleck back. He and his soon-to-be friend, Pippa, embark on a journey with Fleck and a few other rental dogs to save them from the life of not having a real home. Not only do we get to hear from Hal and Pippa's points of view, but we also get to know what the dogs themselves experience. A very sweet book with a very happy ending! I would recommend for about 3rd grade and up. If this book appeals to you, you might also look at A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray, by Ann Martin and for a little younger audience, the Down Girl and Sit series, by Lucy Nolan.

Favorite Book Fridays: Officer Buckle and Gloria

One of my favorite picture books is Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathman.  I'm always suggesting this book to patrons as a fun read.  It not only won the 1996 Caldecott Award, but it's also cute and silly.  All of the children (and the staff too!) at Napville Elementary School always ignore Officer Buckle's safety tips as tons of accidents happen all over the school.  Then one day, a police dog named Gloria accompanies him when he gives his next round of safety speeches.  Gloria hides behind him making all sorts of humorous gestures and mannerisms, which gains the kids attention and they finally take safety at school seriously.  I just love Gloria.  She's so cute!!! 

Favorite Book Fridays: I Am a Bunny

I confess that I didn't know about this 1963 Golden Books classic until I received three (yes, three!) copies of the board book edition as baby shower gifts before my daughter was born in 2009. The text by Ole Risom is rhythmic and pleasantly simple, but the illustrations by Richard Scarry are the real star of the show. Working in a much more realistic style than in his Busytown books, Scarry conveys nature through the four seasons in vivid, saturated color. Each two-page spread is gorgeous enough to frame, with lots of details and critters for kids to discover. Repetition is so important for building early literacy skills, and this is a title you might not mind reading (and looking at) again and again! You can find it in our Board Book bins in the Children's Room.

Favorite Book Fridays: Cold Cereal

Scott Doe and his mom and sister just recently moved to Goodborough where his mom is a scientist at Goodco, the biggest cereal maker around. Scott gets a lot of migraines, and when he gets migraines, he sees things that aren't there. Things like a man with a rabbit's head, a unicat (for those of you who don't know, a unicat is just like a unicorn, but it's a cat), and a leprechaun. Is he really seeing things, or maybe just seeing things that others can't see?

Long-time Goodborough residents and twins Erno and Emily Lutz are also connected to Goodco in a roundabout way (I won't tell you how, you'll find out at the end of the book). They live with their foster father, Mr. Wilson, who always has a puzzle for them to solve, just like any other family, right?

So anyway, Scott, Emily and Erno become fast friends and discover that all is not as it seems with Goodco.

As you will find out on the book jacket, readers will get 75% of their Recommended Daily Allowance of Adventure, 40% Diabolical Schemes, 20% Legend, and 93% Humor. If you like the mythology in the Percy Jackson books, then you are sure to like the Arthurian legend in Cold Cereal, by Adam Rex.

Favorite Book Fridays- A new favorite

I just finished a marvelous new book! In In Zanesville, by Jo Ann Beard, the protagonist and narrator is a 14-year-old girl living in Zaneville, Illinois in the 1970s. The author made the fascinating choice not to explicitly  name her heroine, but you do get little clues throughout about what her name may be. Books about young people for grown-ups are a rare and welcome occurrence, and this one is particularly special. The nameless narrator and her best friend share the kind of bond that we all grow up thinking is impermeable, then something happens. There friendship easily survives accidental house fires, other embarrassing babysitting incidents, equally embarrassing parents, secret kittens and fashion faux pas, but when a cheerleader new to town invites the girls to a slumber party, not realizing that they are not cool enough for the popular crowd, a rift begins to form. I loved this hilarious, tender authentic book about being 14 in Zanesville. If you enjoyed I Think I Love You by Alison Pearson (another one of my favorites), definitely check out In Zanesville as well.

Favorite Book Fridays: New Favorites in Non-Fiction

Who doesn't love a puppet?

Puppets can be made with the most simple of materials- lonely socks, odds and ends of paper, even a napkin! 10 Minute Puppets is a book recently added to the juvenile non-fiction collection that explains clearly how to make a variety of silly, playful puppets. Some of my favorite ideas include little paper puppets that turn your fingers into dancing ballerina legs, sock puppet snakes, and folded paper lion puppets reminiscent of cooty-catchers. It was so inspiring to me that I thought we should probably have a puppet making workshop this summer. Keep a lookout for that. In the mean time, check out the book!

Another new non-fiction addition that caught my eye as I checked it in for the first time was How Cooking Works . It's a cookbook for kids that describes the science behind the recipes. Step-by-step photos and succinct instructions set up young cooks for success in the kitchen, and small notes answer such questions as why corns pops and why beaten egg whites become stiff. The delectable photographs of berry and whipped cream laden pancakes or oven fried sweet potato wedges make me want to race home and set my toddler up with a stool by the kitchen counter. I would hesitate to hand over the chicken or shrimp to younger chefs, though. The first recipe my little guy and I will be making? Savory cookies with cheddar cheese and rosemary. Yum.