DUCK FOR PRESIDENT?

This is a really laugh out loud funny book about a duck who gets tired of doing his ducky duties on the farm and decides to take over his farmer's job. He organizes an election and overthrows the farmer. After he is a farmer for a while he gets tired and realizes that it is not as easy as he thought it would be and decides to run for Governor, while being a Governor he decides again that he deserves to have a better job and decides to run for president.

I am not going to tell you what happens next, however I will tell you that the story is really funny and everyone can read and enjoy it, adults as well as children. DUCK FOR PRESIDENT by DOREEN CRONIN and the illustrations by BETSY LEWIN gets my vote as one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time.

For ages 9 to 100.

WHAT IF...

...you could live forever. Think that it would be a good thing? Maybe yes, but then again maybe it would not be so wonderful. Ken is used to always getting his way and will not settle for anything less and after the death of his best friend he decides that death is not something he wants to do. Most people know there are certain things that just can't be change and death is one of them. It comes to us all. But when Ken meets Cheri Buttercup he discovers an startling alternative. Good thing or bad thing, you will have to decide when you read William Sleator's, The Boy Who Couldn't Die.

For grades 5 and older.

SO B. IT

I loved reading this book from the moment I opened it, from the title until the very last sentence. It is about one brave twelve years old girl who knows nothing about her family and her mentally challenged mother can not even say her own name to save her life. However, since their neighbor has helped them ever since she was a week old, things seemed to be not as bad for her. Their rent gets paid on time in a mysterious way and she can choose to live her life just the way it is. However, an old photograph prompts her to find more about her mother's past which will help her to learn more about her own self. You will go on to this journey rooting all the way until the end in hopes for her to find her identity among other things.... SO B. It by SARAH WEEKS is a book not to be missed.

For grades six and up.

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Any alumnus of STR out there? If so please send Theresa an email (trobinett @ci.glendale.ca.us) to get the details about the celebration and to receive your invitation to a night of books--an author! and food, of course. Hope to hear from you.

SEEDS SEEDS PUMPKIN SEEDS!

This is just the perfect story to read since Halloween is just around the corner. Before you carve the pumpkin, go ahead and guess how many seeds are in it. MARGARET McNAMARA who is the author of HOW MANY SEEDS IN A PUMPKIN? says , "small things have a lot going on inside of them." You will be surprised to find out that some of the bigger pumpkins do not have as much seeds as some of the smaller once. There are also some other important facts that you will find out about them before you purchase your Halloween pumpkin for this year. The illustrations are done by G. BRIAN KARAS with very soft colors that will make your eyes relaxed and calm.

For ages four and older.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD FRIENDS

Annemarie Johansen lives in a Nazi occupied Denmark. While she does not understand why there are soldiers on her streets, she knows they make her feel very uncomfortable. Life takes an interesting turn when Annemarie learns her Jewish friend's family, the Rosens, must go into hiding. This opens her eyes to many things and she learns to be brave and compassionate as she and her family smuggle the Rosens out of Denmark. This is a Newbery Medal winner, and is one of the shortest books to win this award. I wish the book would've told me more about the characters because I didn't feel I got to know them very well. But let me know what you think! Post a response below...
For 4th graders and up.

FAIRY TALE FEASTS

One of my first loves is food, so it’s not unusual that learning to cook comes a very close second. One of the new books in the collection is Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers & Eaters, a storybook, fact book and cookbook rolled in a nifty package. It is fun and interesting to read because other than the stories, there were recipes that children could try at home, like Very French Toast. Because the recipes are kid-friendly, a lot of them are simple no-meat offerings. The book was also peppered with various trivial facts that would catch children's attention, like facts about eggs, carrots and grapes to name a few. The book is nicely illustrated with colorful artwork on glossy pages that can be easily wiped clean in case of a spill accident while trying the recipes. Check this book out and try one or two recipes. I tried the Very French Toast recipe, and serve the toasts with eggs, bacon and fruit. We had a wonderful breakfast…a sure hit with my family. Great for parents and their kids ages 4-8.

Dora, Children's Room Intern

IN DAYS OF OLD

Eleven-year-old Piers tired of working in his father's blacksmith shop leaves home to to become a knight's page in the adventurous story of PARSIFAL'S PAGE by Gerald Morris. Raised on the tales of his mother's time in the French court he has a very idealized picture of what a real knight is like but after spending time with the clueless Parsifal that is changed. He finds that the road to knighthood is not easy or smooth but nonetheless full of magic and adventure.

This was a Snacktime Reader's selection for January 2007 and was rated an average of 8.5, ten being the highest, by the group.

For grades 4 and older.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?

THE BALLAD OF BELLE DORCAS by William Hooks is a dark and mystical old folk tale from the time of slaves in the Deep South. Belle Dorcas, the daughter of a white man and a black woman, is free-born, meaning that she is not born into slavery. She falls in love with a slave named Joshua and marries him, and together they work on the same plantation with a kind master. When a new owner takes over the plantation where Joshua is enslaved and threatens to sell him, Belle Dorcas seeks the help of a local conjure woman, that some might call a witch, who turns Joshua into a tree so that they may be together without the threat of slavery tearing them apart. Great for a little bit of black history, a greater bit of magic and a mysterious twist that makes Joshua more than a tree every night. Ages 9 and up.

A PINK REFRIGERATOR?

...Yes, Dodsworth really did find a pink refrigerator with strange directions posted to the door under a mysterious magnet.

The note said MAKE PICTURES one day.

The next time READ MORE was written on a piece of paper.

This is strange. Very strange indeed because you see, Dodsworth loved to do nothing! His motto was to "Try to do as little as possible".

Will Dodsworth take the refrigerator up on its challenges?

A curious picture book readers in preschool through 2nd grade.

The Pink Refrigerator by Tim Egan

LEARN ENGLISH FROM BASEBALL

With a name like Shirley Temple Wong, something's bound to go wrong! Shirley Temple Wong has just moved from China to New York. She has a hard time getting adapted because she doesn't speak English very well and everyone treats her differently. When she makes friends with the toughest girl in the class by accident, she learns how to play stickball, and becomes a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan. BROOKLYN DODGERS?!?!

IN THE YEAR OF THE BOAR AND JACKIE ROBINSON by Bette Bao Lord is set in 1947, when the Dodgers still played for Brooklyn, and even though it takes place 70 years ago, you'll see that kids are still pretty much the same. An easy to read chapter book for 4th grades and up.

TIME FOR A CLASSIC!

If you like sea adventure, pirate treasure hunts, villains, lost maps, and lots of other crazy stuff, than this is the perfect book for you. No wonder it has become a classic. Just hope that you don't get seasick and enjoy one of the coolest rides of your life. The illustrations in this book make it more interesting to flip the pages and they do help you to have a more visual understanding of the story.

This particular abridged edition of TREASURE ISLAND by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON and the illustrations by FRANCOIS PLACE can be checked out at our library.

For grades six and up.

IF YOU LIKE SCARY STORIES...

THE INTRUDERS by E. E. Richardson

Joel can't get the chant out of his head, asleep or awake...

IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE.

IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, I PRAY THE LORD MY SOUL TO TAKE.

A tale of families

A tale of horror

A tale of mystery

For readers in grades 6th - 8th.

OUT OF THE DUST

In this gut-wrenching story written in a free-verse, you will find a twelve year old girl to be such an observant and brave being that you will root for her from the beginning to the end. Her thoughts and her insights are so well developed and poignant that you will know she will be fine no matter what happens to her. She will be able to crawl out of the dust with grace and dignity in a very poetic way. OUT OF THE DUST by KAREN HESSE is a Newbery award winning novel that should go on your must-read list.

For grades four and up!