Fuzzy

Sometime in the maybe-not-so-faraway future, a robot named Fuzzy is starting school. Of course, just because he is the first robot student doesn't mean he's the first robot in the school. Duct cleaners, garbage emptiers, even the vice principal are all robots! In fact, Vice Principal Barbara pretty much runs the school.

Max is a big fan of robots, so when Fuzzy starts school, she rushes to meet him. She takes one look at him. He takes one look at her. He keels over and completely freezes. Oops.

After a reboot, or whatever it is you do to unfreeze a robot, Max is summoned to Robot Integration Program HQ, formerly the school's auditorium before music and drama were done away with. Now the fun and excitement begin...

Failed tests, discipline tags, robot-nappers, fuzzy logic, out-of-control robots, space travel, a little of everything.

Read Fuzzy, by Tom Angleberger (of Origami Yoda fame) and Paul Dellinger. I recommend for about 3rd to 8th grade.

National Poetry Monty: Fresh Poetry Picks

Check out these fresh new poetry books during National Poetry month!

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons
by Julie Fogliano

Starting and ending with a bird "poking / a tiny hole / through the edge of winter" on the vernal equinox, readers can feel the taste, sights, sounds and smells of the four seasons through experiences of a small girl interacting with nature.

Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmer's Market 
by Irene Latham

Cucumber submarines, blueberry fireworks, potatoes as "Crooked as / a "come here" / finger.",  and mouse-sized okra swords. A bountiful farmers market feast awaits readers.

Amazing Places: Poems 
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Travel to some amazing American landmarks and meet some talented American poets all without leaving your favorite reading spot. You may come away with an idea for a new family vacation destination or a new favorite writer!

A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young 
by Michael Rosen

Nonsense words, silly sounds, and bouncy rhymes that beg to be read aloud and danced to, are what makes this new poetry book for the preschool set so fun.

What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? 
by Judith Viorst

Daily joys, annoyances, hopes, and fears are brought to life through witty poems and the humorous illustrations of Lee White. My favorite, "Places I'd Like If..." explores the places a kid would like to visit if it weren't for all the scary stuff that can happen.  "How soft and rainy woodland feels, /  If bears did not eat kids for meals, /  I'd like forests."

Synchronicity

I just read three books in a row that all just so happened to have main characters in them to whom running was an important part of who they were. And they were all so great that I just had to share them.

First up: Maybe a Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee. Jules' sister Sylvie's burning wish is to "run faster so that..." but when she disappears, Jules never learns what would complete that sentence. At the same time that Sylvie disappears, a fox is born and she seems to have some connection to Jules' family. After already losing their mother, now Jules and their father are grieving the loss of Sylvie. Will Jules ever learn why Sylvie wanted to run faster? What is the connection between the fox kit and Jules?






Next: Far from Fair, by Elana K. Arnold. Odette Zyskowski runs a mile so fast, the school track coach tries to recruit her for the team. But it's too bad she won't be able to be on the team, because she'll be on a different kind of coach with her family. Her parents have sold their house and replaced it with a set of wheels; they'll be doing "road school" from now on. And on top of leaving the house, friends and school she has known her entire life, she also has to deal with the threat of her parents divorcing and the fact that her beloved grandmother is very ill.



And last but not least: All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, by Leslie Connor. One of Perry's favorite things to do is sprint down the hall and jump into his mom's arms for the swing-around. And with his new cross trainers, he is fast! The only thing unusual about this is that the hall happens to be in Block C of a prison. Perry was born and raised in a minimum security prison and the "rezzes" are like family to him. When an ambitious DA gets wind of Perry's situation, his mom's probation hearing is postponed and Perry is placed in foster care with none other than the ambitious DA himself, who also happens to be the step dad of his best friend in school. A school assignment leads Perry to want to tell the inmates' stories, including his mom's, but her story just doesn't quite add up. What really landed her in prison? Will they be able to continue their lives together on the outside as they both have dreamed?

I highly recommend all three of these books for upper elementary to middle school kids.

Amber's Favorite Seek and Find Picture Books

To celebrate the end of Picture Book Month, I wanted to share some of my favorite picture books that have a seek-and-find element to them. You've probably seen the I Spy books. But have you seen In the Town, All Year 'Round? For every season, there are characters to spot and story lines to follow. Turning the pages brings you through each part of town, from the country to the town center. You can watch the kindergarten building being constructed, the pond at the park ice over for skating, and friendly relationships forming over time.

When I was a kid, there was nothing more absorbing than a thorough read of Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo. Nobody knows environmental print better than Mercer Mayer, who inserts biplanes creating "brush your teeth" skywriting and flashy signs advertising one way tours the edge of nowhere at every brushstroke.

And if lovely artwork is what you need to make it through another search for a hidden object, check out Britta Teckentrup's spotting books. They are packed with cute animals and soft, rich colors. Happy hunting!

Kari's Favorite Picture Books!

Slugs by David Greenberg was an all-time childhood favorite of mine. It is a perfect mix of delightfully gross and disgustingly hilarious. In rhyming verse, Greenberg imagines more and more creative and horrible things people can do to the slimy slug while Victoria Chess's illustrations make you want to laugh and cringe at the same time. My favorite part of the book however, comes when the slugs take their revenge!

The basis for the 2007 film Meet the Robinsons, A Day With WilburRobinson by William Joyce was another childhood favorite of mine. A search for Wilbur's grandfather's false teeth leads the reader through the strange and fantastical world of the Robinson family. What I really enjoyed about the book as a young reader was that most of the action and humor took place in the illustrations. For example, the text merely mentions Cousin Pete walking the cats, but the accompanying illustration enlightens careful readers to the fact that the cats in question are in fact tigers. These delightful and often humorous details kept me coming back to re-read the story again and again to look for details I might have missed! 

What's the title of that book again?

Oh yeah. It's How Lunchbox Jones Saved Me From Robots, Traitors, and Missy the Cruel, by Jennifer Brown. I may not always correctly remember the title of this book, but the story itself is very memorable!

Luke is depressed and angry because his big brother, Rob, is abandoning him to become a Marine (hence the "traitor" part of the title). He doesn't really want to do anything other than play Alien Onslaught with his online friend, Randy.

Luke's Life Skills teacher, Mr. Perry, specifically seeks him out to join the Forest Shade Middle School robotics team (hence the "robots" part of the title). Considering Forest Shade is the losingest middle school in history, Luke doesn't think the team has a chance at winning, and plus, he would much rather slaughter aliens with Randy. But he doesn't have much choice when Mr. Perry ropes his dad into his plans to recruit Luke.

So Luke joins the robotics team, and to his horror learns that the scariest guy in school, Lunchbox Jones (hence the "Lunchbox Jones" part of the title) is part of the team, and so is the meanest girl, Missy the Cruel (hence the "Missy the Cruel" part of the title).

Does Luke dare to team up with these two and the other ragtag team of kids? Will this ragtag team indeed be able to build a robot to the point that it could possibly stand up in competition? And what makes Lunchbox Jones so scary, anyway?

Becoming Nicole

Wayne Maines was a man's man who was raised in a rural community with conservative, moral values. His wife, Kelly, came from a similar background. After multiple miscarriages, the opportunity to adopt fell into their laps. And when they found out they were having twins, they couldn't have been happier.

Wayne dreamed of the day when his identical twin sons, Jonas and Wyatt, would be old enough to experience the male bonding that goes along with hunting and fishing. Jonas seemed right on track to help him fulfill this dream. But from the age of 2, Wyatt began to show signs that the dream may never come true. As the years passed, it became apparent that Wyatt was not like most boys. Though Kelly followed Wyatt's lead and supported him every step of the way, Wayne just could not bring himself to terms with the idea that one of his sons may actually be his daughter. Until he realized that he really had no choice.

Through bullying, discrimination, court orders, lawsuits, counseling, medical interventions and family growth, Wyatt became Nicole, the girl she had always been.

In my opinion, the one weakness of the book is the way the author refers to Nicole as being "born a boy." She never was a boy. She was assigned male at birth but was always a girl. Becoming Nicole, by Amy Ellis Nutt, is a look at the transformation of a family, and in a way, a community and even a country. It also is a great source of information regarding the science of being transgender and the way the American culture and other cultures view transgender people.

Tractor Time

 

It seems like tractors have been growing in popularity these days, along side the other popular pieces of machinery like trucks, planes, and trains.  This popularity has resulted in a number of tractor picture book stories that is sure to please the youngest of readers.  Check out some of these new and older titles:

Following the Tractor
by Susan Seggall
Follows the story of a tractor as it plows, sows, and harvests the fields throughout the course of a year, with a little help from some other farm machinery.

Big Tractor
by Nathan Clement
For kids who really like looking at tractors more close up, this book is for them.  Readers can watch the farmer drive his tractor, named "Ol' Partner" working on farm chores around the farm such as planting, cultivating, and harvesting.





Otis
by Loren Long
When Otis was first introduced back in 2009, I was very impressed to learn of a character who is a tractor.  Years later, he has become one quite popular literary piece of machinery.  So in this first Otis the friendly little tractor  tale, he gets cast away behind the barn when a big new yellow tractor arrives.  But when trouble occurs, Otis is the only one who can help and save the day!
 


Stanley the Farmer
by William Bee
It's going to be a busy day down on Stanley's Farm, as Stanley the hamster and his friends Shamus and Little Woo have a lot to do!  They've got to work on plowing the field, planting seeds, and harvesting the wheat.

The Rusty Trusty Tractor by Joy Cowley
Mr. Hill of Hill's Tractor Sales bets Micah's Grandpappy that his rusty old tractor won't make it through another hay season.  But Micah learns that Grandpappy's tractor, like an old friend, doesn't let him down!

Beginning Readers 101

"Help! My kid is learning to read. Where do I go?"
We hear this often in the Children's Room. The intensity varies according to the happenings of the day. We also see bewildered caregivers roaming the stacks eager, but wondering where to start first.
We're here to help!

The Tigard Youth Services staff have created a little brochure (coming soon!) to help you with choosing books for your beginning reader.
Some important things to think about when looking for books for your new reader:

• Different publishers have different leveling systems.
• Let your child read at her interest level as well as her reading level.
• Don't worry so much about literary merit at this stage. Children who are learning to read don't necessarily care about the quality of the writing or plot. They are more motivated to read about favorite objects or characters.
• When your child is first learning to read, look for books that have pictures in the story that match the text. This is part of the decoding process.

There are five phases your new reader will go through:

Phase 1: When your child knows the alphabet and is eager to begin reading, you know she is ready!

First Readers will have big type, easy words, picture clues, familiar objects or characters and require a lot of adult help. Keep it relaxed, though. Nothing quashes a child's enthusiasm for reading more than a critical listener.

Phase 2: Once your child is comfortable reading the First Readers, he will be ready to move on to books with easy sight words, simple plot and dialogue about familiar topics and themes. He will still need some parental help.

Phase 3: Now that your child is reading really well, she can begin reading books on her own. The books will have longer sentences, smaller type and high-interest vocabulary words.

Phase 4: Your child is completely reading on his own in paragraphs. The books are longer and the story plot is more complex. The books will have challenging vocabulary and difficult sentence structure.

Phase 5: Your child is ready for First Chapter books!

Evan's Picks #10

And Evan's current favorites:

Third Grade Angels, by Jerry Spinelli
Leopard and Silkie: One Boy's Quest to Save the Seal Pups, by Brenda Peterson
Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff
Families, by Susan Kuklin
I Am Jazz! by Jazz Jennings
Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle, by Brian Dennis
Ivy and Bean, by Annie Barrows

Coby's Picks #10

And some of Coby's latest favorites are:

Dogs Don't Brush Their Teeth! by Diane DeGroat
Meno series, by Tony and Angela DiTerlizzi
Flat Stanley Early Reader series, by Jeff Brown
Dojo Daycare, by Chris Tougas
Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi

STEAM Saturday

At the heart of every scientist, mathematician, musician, or artist is a person who is willing to tinker.The scientist tests and retests (or tinkers with) theories. A musician will work and rework (tinker with) a song before it's finished.
Which leads to me to recommend one of my favorite new books for parents who want to nurture the "tinkerer" in their child. It's called Tinkerlab: A hands-on guide for little inventors by Rachelle Doorley

Doorly poses that the only way to really get to know a subject or process or material is to work with it long enough, over and over again, so that to the tinkerer gets to the place where she can see it or use it in new ways. There are so many fantastic ideas in this book and on her blog! I especially like her quote,

"When children are encouraged to solve problems on their own, they learn a great deal through the questions and hands-on experiements that lead to a solution."

If you use this book for nothing else, use it for the 10 Tinkerlab Habits of Mind

• Make room for creativity
• Encourage questions
• Listen actively
• Be curious
• See mistakes as gifts
• Embrace a good mess
• Accept boredom as a tool for self-discovery
• Step back ad enjoy the flow
• Spend time outdoors
• Think of everything as an experiement.

What are you waiting for? Get tinkering!

The Map to Everywhere

Twelve-year-old Fin is a master thief of the Khaznot Quay. He is also utterly forgettable. That's probably why he...wait a second, what was I talking about?

Well, anyway, twelve-year-old Marrill just got news that her mom has a life-threatening illness, and she just has to get out for some fresh air. She finds herself in an abandoned mall's parking lot, when suddenly a ship looms above her. Yes, in the parking lot. And that parking lot is now full of water. And a true magician just so happens to be on this ship. So if there are magicians, there must be magic, and if there is magic, then maybe there is hope for her mom. She boards the ship to try to make her case, but when she looks behind her, the parking lot is gone and the ship is surrounded by water as far as the eye can see. She soon learns she is in the Pirate Stream, and the only way back is with a certain map. Problem is, they first have to find all the pieces.

The Map to Everywhere, by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis is the first in a trilogy for about 4th grade and up.

STEAM Saturday

Are you looking for a charming and funny non-fiction picture book about...um...disgusting critters?
Well, they're only disgusting because of their bad reputation, because these guys are important!
Find out why when you read Elise Gravel's Disgusting Critters series.

While reading aout The Worm, I learned that there is a worm that can grow to be over 98 feet long!
It's called the Ribbon Worm.

STEAM Activity:
Take a tape measure out and mark off 98 feet! How many inches is that? How many centimeters does that equal. How many meters is 98 feet?
You can let us know what your results were by leaving a comment.

Bo at Ballard and Iditarod Creeks

I just want to give a shout out to Kirkpatrick Hill for Bo at Ballard Creek and Bo at Iditarod Creek. These are great books about a little girl named Bo whose two papas are gold miners.

Mean Milly, who didn't want the job of mama, thrust little newborn Bo into Arvid's arms and got on a boat and left town. When Jack could see that Arvid didn't know the first thing about babies, he decided to help out. So what could the two of them do but raise her? So Bo grew up with two papas and no mama in a village of Eskimo friends. And then along came Graf. Graf had lost his mama and papa, so what else could they do but raise him, too?

'Bout this time, the mining dried up, so they all loaded up and rode down some rivers to Iditarod Creek. This crazy town looked like someone just plopped a bunch of houses down by a bunch of big piles of gravel. And in fact, that's exactly what they had done. Each time they needed to dig for more gold, they just towed a house out of the way with a big ol' Caterpillar tractor! And Iditarod Creek didn't have many kids like home in Ballard. So this town took some getting used to for Bo and Graf.

If the books follow any sort of pattern, I have a feeling the next one will be Bo at Mammoth Creek. I can't wait for it to come out!

Evan's Picks #9

And now for my just-turned-7-year-old's current favorites! I just realized I can no longer label this post as Ages 0-6! Where does the time go?

• Junie B. Jones, First Grader series, by Barbara Park
• Tiny Titans chapter book series
• DC Super Pets series
• The Book With No Pictures, by B. J. Novak
• Me Hungry, by Jeremy Tankard
• Skippyjon Jones series, by Judy Schachner

If you have been paying close attention, you may notice some overlap between Evan and Coby's most recent favorites. You can still read picture books to your chapter book-reading 7-year-old; at least I do. And they might just catch nuances now that they never would have caught when they were younger.

Coby's Picks #9

Here are some of my 3 1/2-year-old's current favorites. Sorry it's been so long since my last Coby's Picks post!

• The Farmer and the Clown, by Marla Frazee
• This Orq: (He Cave Boy), by David Elliott
• Me Hungry, by Jeremy Tankard
• Naked, by Michael Ian Black
• The Birthday Box, by Leslie Patricelli
• The Book With No Pictures, by B. J. Novak

STEAM Saturday

Did you know that solving puzzles strengthens cognition abilities? Being able to solve puzzles is the same part of the brain that works math and music as well. So, to celebrate this fact, here's a puzzle for you.

'We eat what we can, and we can what we can't.'
Can you explain who could make this statement?

To find out the answer, check out the book The Puzzle Emporium Presents Amazing Brain Teasers: mathematical diversions, lateral thinking puzzles, riddles, conundrums, and more by Erwin Brecher.

STEAM Saturday

Meep, meep!
Have you ever watched the Looney Tunes cartoons with Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner?
Poor Wile E.! He tries to outsmart the Road Runner with all kinds of contraptions that never work. Why don't they work? Sometimes it's a combination of his impatience and the laws of physics!
And what a fun way to learn about physics. Take a look at these books

Smash!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments With Simple Machines by Mark Weakland
Splat!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments With States of Matter by Suzanne Slade
Thud!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments With Forces and Motion by Mark Weakland
Zap!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments With Energy by Suzanne Slade

Then, the next time you enjoy some of his cartoons, you'll appreciate that he is a physical science genius.

Ziptang!

STEAM Saturday

It's STEAM Saturday, once again, where we give you ideas to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics into your daily activities.
Remember David MaCaulay's The Way Things Work? It's exciting to know that some of the content from that book has been repackaged as Non-fiction Early Readers, making the concepts accesible to the beginning reader crowd. The books are full of MaCauley's signature detailed artwork.
The series is called How It Works.