IN THE NAME OF TOURISM

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt is a Newberry Honor book based on the Malaga community in Maine at the beginning of the 1900's. Isolated, Tucker is more aware than ever that he is not the son his father would wish for, dutiful and obedient. Worse, after a spurt of temper, he must redeem himself by reading to a crotchety old lady who wants to make sure that someone will be there to record her last words for posterity. Things seem brighter when he is befriended by another outsider living on a beautiful island offshore which everyone in town wants to turn into a tourist destination to boost the local economy. But then where would Lizzie Bright and her community of black freed and runaway slaves who have been there for over 100 years go?

For mature readers in grade 5 and older.

WHOOOO's IN THE SHOWER?

Borden's father is a logger, and he hates the owls. It's the owls that have kept Borden's dad out of work. Borden decides he hates them too, until one day he stumbles upon a baby owl. He is convinced it isn't a spotted owl, the endangered species whose life is threatened by the logging community, because how could anything so cute and helpless threaten people's jobs? It isn't long before both Borden and his father Leon, learn a lot from the baby owl Bardy. THERE'S AN OWL IN THE SHOWER by Jean Craighead George, shows how logging affects the world we live in, and how things can change for the better. For 4th grade and up.

EVERYTHING YOU LOOK AT HAS ART

Chances are that you have seen the now famous paintings of Campbell's soup cans. But when Mr. Warhol had decided to paint them no one thought that it was a good idea except for him. Andy Warhol said "everything you look at has art" therefore he made art out of ordinary things in life. He experimented with a lot of different materials and techniques and made people see ordinary things in life with a whole new perspective. ANDY WARHOL: POP ART PAINTER by SUSAN GOLDMAN RUBIN will either inspire you to start making art or to start appreciating the ordinary things in life more.

For grades fifth and up.

MYSTERY IN THE HLLS

The Hollywood Sisters: Backstage Pass by Mary Wilcox is a new mystery series about the Ortiz sisters newly plunked into their rented Beverly Hills mansion from more humble digs in Anaheim. Jessie, the shy and younger sister of the now famous Eva, is determined to stop the bad press, but she seems to only be getting in the way and creating ill feelings with the crew and cast members instead.

For readers in 4th-6th grade.

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY...

...to start reading Weedflower, our One Book/One Glendale book for younger readers. The author, Cynthia Kadohata will be joining us to talk about this great book on Thursday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Central Library.

There will also be a discussion group meeting on October 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Children's Room of the Central Library.

Best for grades 4 and up.

LET IT SHINE!

The illustrations in this book are so well done that at first glance you would think that you are looking at an art book. The colorful cut-paper collages are really beautiful with a lot of intricate details. At times you will find yourself wondering if you too can start making similar paper-cuts as well. The book itself contains three classic well loved spirituals. So if you don't want to read them you can just look at the art work and it will be guaranteed that you will not be disappointed. LET IT SHINE by ASHLEY BRYAN can also be viewed as an art and craft book for it's cut out shapes.

For ages four through eight.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Here are five humorous short stories about Edward and his brother Jason as they experience the school year and its many adventures. One is concerned with Halloween costumes, while the other is trying to learn the secret language of girls. They each get a pet rat and non-birthday presents from their aunt. Sometimes they get on each others nerves, but mostly they get along and have many funny things happen throughout the book. If you are just starting to read chapter books, RATS by Jane Cutler is a fun and exciting collection of stories, and is the sequel of Jane Cutler's book NO DOGS ALLOWED! Ages 7-10.

STUMP... I MEAN, ALISTAIR

This is how Alistair became "Stump" and back to Alistair again. You take an angry kid with one leg, send him to a rich place in California for the summer, force him to spend time with his estranged dad and new double amputee stepmother, throw in a chance encounter with a beautiful actress, and an opportunity for personal growth by way of a crotchety old swim coach.

Funny and biting novel for mature readers in 6th -9th grade. The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California by Mary Hershey is a fast-paced novel, unlike its long-winded title.

GIRLS ROCK!

We have always known that girls rock at whatever it is that they set out to do. But to rock in a sport where the dominating majority of it's athletes are males is one to call for a celebration. In the racing world, there is a new girl whose name is Danica Patrick and she is probably winning car races as you are reading this. The good news is that she is not the only girl in this sport. New girls are emerging rapidly. In the book RACER GIRLS by BOB WOODS you will learn more about her journey and about other women drivers before her that inspired her to follow her passion. Each day more women get interested in this sport. And maybe you too can start thinking about it after you read the book.

For ages 9-12.

KIDS FOR LUNCH

The biggest crocodile in all of Africa is out to find a tasty child for lunch. He considers himself to be quite an intelligent crocodile as he has devised many secret plans for capturing his meal. Unfortunately he shares these plans with many other jungle animals along the way, and they all end up ruining his great ideas and his lunch! Roald Dahl, author of THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE is always a fantastic author and talks about the slimy, yucky, creepy things that are often funny, sneaky, and a little crazy. Quentin Blake illustrates most of Dahl's books and does a wonderful job of capturing the character of the sneaky mean crocodile.

LEMONADE FOR SALE!

What started out as a friendly end of summer activity for brother and sister, Evan and Jessie, has turned into a very unfriendly competition when Evan finds out that his super smart sister will be skipping a grade and be in his fourth grade class. Evan and Jessie have their own worries about this news and it brings out the worst in each.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies is a great short read for third through fifth graders.

THE BOY BEHIND HARRY POTTER

When you are done reading the last Harry Potter book and would like to know more about the boy who plays him in the movie versions than this small book is for you. While the 'real' Harry Potter was trying to live his miserable life with his bad aunt and uncle. Daniel Radliffe who plays Harry, lived a very good life with his family in England. The only problem that he had was to convince his parents that he could take the role and that it would not interfere with his growing up. After making the movies, now he is one of the richest kids in the world. Guess what, he is only a teenager and has already played the role of a lifetime. DANIEL RADCLIFFE by JOHN BANKSTON is a quick read with some pictures of the actor when he was just beginning to act in the very first harry Potter movie.

For ages 9-11.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SATURDAY

THE SATURDAYS by Elizabeth Enright can give you some great ideas! Every week the Melendy family, Miranda, Oliver, Mona, and Rush, gets their allowance. Separately, there's not much to do with it except save up for something big. However, the four come up with a great plan to pool their money. Each week, on Saturday, one of the siblings gets to go on their very own adventure with all the money they've pooled. Each brother and sister has a unique and exciting excursion. Even though this book was written a long time ago, the kids do things on their adventures that you can still do today! For 3rd grade and older.

WE ARE ...

ON MONDAY, SEPT. 3

Please check out our Homework Help or Online Resources links if you need research information.

WE'LL SEE YOU ON TUESDAY.

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY...

... to start reading Weedflower, our One Book/One Glendale bok for younger readers. The author, Cynthia Kadohata, will be joining us to talk about this great book on Thursday, November 15 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Central Library.

There will be a discussion group meeting on October 24, 7 p.m. in the Children's Room of the Central Library.

Best for grades 4 and up.