IT'S BEDTIME CUCUY! ¡A LA CAMA, CUCUY!

Cucuy is a little monster that doesn't like to go to bed. He does everything he can think of to avoid bedtime. All he just wants to do is jump around and play. Every night he kicks and screams, jiggles and wiggles, complains that he's hungry, he's thirsty, he need to go to the bathroom..... He refuses to give in but Mom also refuses to give up.... until finally Cucuy was overcome by sleep.

Bilingual picture book that touches on a subject familiar to all children and their parents. For readers K-2. Written by Claudia Galindo, illustratred by Jonathan Coombs.

WHAT IF YOUR SISTER DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW YOU?

Sunny Skyland has run away from her foster home to find her long lost twin sister, who she hasn't seen since she was three years old. Sunny's had a rough road, and think that reuniting with her twin will make everything better. Along the way across three or four states, Sunny finds a dog who teaches her a lot about love and communication, and she begins to regret leaving her latest foster parent without saying anything. When she finds her twin, Starr, things don't exactly work out like she's planned. RUNAWAY TWIN by Peg Kehret is great for 4th-8th grades.

THE PESKY BIRD

THE PESKY BIRD is not really about a bird. It's the story of a young Armenian girl who loves to climb trees. However, there was a time that girls had to conform to certain types of social standards, and believe it or not, climbing tress was not an acceptable for young girls. However, Mariam was not to take those rules seriously because she was smart and wanted to experience all that she could, including climbing trees. Once, when she was hiding on top of a mulberry tree, she got confused for a pesky bird, however when she got caught things did not turn out as bad as one would think. This is a simple story with water color illustrations that is ultimately about social acceptance. THE PESKY BIRD is by MARIANNE MARKARIAN and the illustrations are by MARGARET MARKARIAN WASIELEWSKI.

For grades 2nd and up.

THE LITTLE MOON PRINCESS

A charming little princess lives alone on the Moon surrounded by flowers and sparking jewels, but when she looks up in the blackness of the sky, she still gets scared of the dark. One day a sparrow comes to visit her, and the sparrow suggests they pick the jewels and scatter them in the sky for light. The Moon Princess then takes her most precious jewel from her crown and lets the sparrow fly it up to the last spot in the sky. Now, when the little princess looks up in the sky, she isn't scared anymore.

Good bedtime story for kids afraid of the dark and for kids who love the stars as well. Beautiful illustrations drawn by the author Y.L. Lee. Kindergarten 5-6

SUPER COOL SOCIALLY MISFIT SPIES!

Braces. That's how Jackson, a once popular kid turns into one that the popular kids pick on. He loses his identity & cool standing but this gives him the opportunity to observe his classmates, discovering that the nerds are really spies operating right from inside the school! When Jackson himself accidentally becomes a spy and is reluctantly inducted into N.E.R.D.S. he realizes that all their supposed nerdish qualities have been retooled to become their greatest weapons and that includes his wicked new braces.

N.E.R.D.S: National Espionage, Defense and Rescue Society by Michael Buckley is very funny spy book with all the great gadgets and action of Alex Ryder and the humor of The Sisters Grimm. For readers in 5th -8th grade.

MEET FERDINAND!

Ferdinand is the bull in the story that prefers to stay in the beautiful fields, smelling flowers rather than going and fighting other bulls in the bullfights. He gets picked to participate in a bull fight out of a lot of bulls because of his presents and his attitude, however all is misleading because even though he is a bull which personifies courage and bravery, he still does not care about impressing or actually fighting, he still wants to be in peace, smelling flowers and just being in the moment. The book is unique because of its fine black and white illustrations which add so much depth and character to the story. THE STORY OF FERDINAND is by MUNRO LEAF and the illustrations are by ROBERT LAWSON.

For grades pre-K.

ARE PEOPLE REALLY THIS PERFECT?

Willa Havisham lives in a small town in Cape Cod with her mom and step dad and they run a popular bed and breakfast. Her grandmother owns a candy/bookstore down the road. Willa has a cute boyfriend and goes to the local beach every day for poetic inspiration, and to check on the endangered species of birds. But her world just absolutely falls apart when her boyfriend decides to go to Florida, and her best friend is hanging out with another girl while Willa has to work, and the endangered plovers are getting shoved off their beach. But not to worry - Willa will save everything by the end of the book. FORGET ME NOT by Coleen Murtagh Paratore is a great entertaining quick read that will drag you through all aspects of teen angst including eco-footprints and wedding planning, and is part of a series. For grades 5-8.

ONCE UPON A TIME: TRADITIONAL LATIN AMERICAN TALES: HABIA UNA VEZ: CUENTOS TRADICIONALES LATINOAMERICANOS

This collection of seven Latin American folktales features is retold in English and Spanish and includes descriptions of the origins and meaning of each tale. Characters such as El Gallo de Bodas – The Wedding Rooster, La Madremonte – The Madremonte or the Mother of Forest, La Cucarachita Martina y el Raton Perez – Martina, the cockroach, and Perez the mouse, are among the classic folktales presented in enjoyable bilingual versions in this book. Tales are funny and cute and will entertain adults and children alike. Beautiful watercolor illustrations by Raul Colon appear throughout this book which was written by Rueben Martinez. An excellent resource for a Spanish storytelling session. For ages 5 and older.

WINNERS - WORTH READING STILL?

This is my third attempt at reading Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary. First attempt: ran out of time, only read about 10 pages. Second attempt: I read about 50 pages and was bored by it.

Third attempt: WOW! I get why this won the Newberry in 1984. It's a boy who starts off writing letters to his favorite author as part of a class assignment who winds up unloading his thoughts about the author, his lunch, and his father in a diary (yes, there was a boy writing in a diary before Diary of a Wimpy Kid). I love the ending, because it's a happy ending, but not one that is expected. Leigh grows, befriends a classmate, learns his lessons, fields dissapointments, not all neat and tidy but we get a glimpse of his life during one year of diary entries. This is a sensitive and thoughtful look at a middle school age boy at a time in which life, his parents' divorce, is just too confusing.

This is the book group's selection for the month of June. Join Snacktime Readers on Wednesday, June 23 at 7:00 in the Children's Room of the Central Library, 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale, CA 91205, (818)548-2035.

NERDS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

It's amazing these kids get along! In THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY by E.L. Konigsburg, Noah, Ethan, Nadia, and Julian have nothing in common, except that they are all loners for one reason or another. They are as different as North, South, East, and West. Things change one Saturday when Julian, a small boy originally from India, invites them all to tea. It's not long before the four form firm friendships, which only become stronger when their teacher Ms. Olsinki, who's in a wheelchair, chooses them to compete in the Academic Bowl. This story isn't like other stories, because it jumps from one person's point of view to another, and each one sees the things happening in their lives differently. Great for 5th - 8th graders.

SUNFLOWERS/GIRASOLES

Seven-year-old Marisol, helps her Grandpa make a garden in the spring. They plant vegetables, watermelon and sunflowers for Grandpa because their blossoms make him happy. And he also likes to eat the seeds! One day, when Grandpa gives Marisol a bag of sunflower seeds to eat, she decides to plant them instead in her neighbor's yards. As days pass, Marisol almost forget about the seeds she has planted until one day she hears her neighbor exclaim at the sunflower in her yard. Tender and loving relationship between grandparent and grandchild. For readers 3-7. Author Gwendolyn Zepeda, illustrated by Ann Guadalupe Gambino

RETHINK HOUDINI

ESCAPE! THE STORY OF THE GREAT HOUDINI by SID FLEISCHMAN

Like a lot of biographies, this book also starts from the birth of the person:) The book is divided into different chapters and each chapter has some great pictures that add to the story's realness. You will find out in great detail about Houdini's many secret tricks and the reaction that he got from the public. The book also has a good message as well. That someone as unprivileged and poor like Houdini (whose real name is discussed in the book) overcame a lot of obstacles to achieve all that he did, and by doing so, he also made it possible for other people to think of magic and its many possibilites.

For grades 4th and up.

ANIMAL RESCUE

Griffin and Ben are back in another Gordon Korman adventure. Luthor, the guard dog from Swindle is now in the care of Savannah, animal lover and whisperer extraordinaire. Luthor and his best friend Cleo, a capuccin monkey, are inseparable until Cleo goes missing. All attempts to find her turn up empty handed until a class field trip to a miserable floating zoo finds Savannah and her classmates face to face with the missing pet. Mr. Nastase, the owner of the zoo refuses to acknowledge Cleo as Savannah's pet so what's a girl and her friends to do but to hatch an escape plan.

Operation Zoobreak doesn't go as planned when Savannah wants to rescue ALL the zoo animals. When her place to shelter the animals falls through, everyone has to hide them anywhere they can. Griffin, Ben and their friends are once again involved in a hilarious adventure to free not just one but forty animals.

Zoobreak by Gordon Korman is animal lovers in 4th -6th grade.