Friday, September 30, 2011

A WEALLY WEALLY CUTE WABBIT BOOK

The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett is an adorable book full of rabbit fun and mayhem. It is perfect for those who love to pore over the tiniest detail.

In January, one rabbit is feeling lonely n Fibonacci's Field until a friend comes and stays. Next month, as a result of the "friendship" between the two rabbits, two baby bunnies show up in the field and with each consecutive month the rabbits multiply until so many rabbits are in the field that it is bursting with...the rabbit problem!

For preschoolers to adults.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A BOOK FOR BLACK-EYED SUSAN


This is a touching story about a 10-year old girl named Cora and her family leaving from Missouri to head west on the Oregon Trail. Cora's mom dies in childbirth on the wagon trip, and the baby sister is given to aunt Alma to take care of. Cora name her baby sister Susan because of her black eyes and blonde hair that reminds Cora of a yellow daisy like wildflower and were also her mother’s favorite flowers.
During the long wagon trip, on a stormy night going thru her mother’s sewing box, Cora finds pieces of fabric in different colors and she starts sewing quilt squares creating images of her home back in Missouri. Eventually the wagon trains split up with some families heading towards California and some heading towards Oregon. Cora, knowing that she will never see her sister again, rushes to the wagon to finish the little gift she has for the baby. It would be her baby sister first book. Cora and her father move into Oregon Territory where in time Cora becomes a teacher. Cora is offered a position in a new school. Since the school could not provide books to the children, they’re asked to bring their own. As Cora register her new students’ names, eventually she comes to a dark-eyed blonde girl holding a fabric book who tells her, "My name is Susan and I have a book."
Beautifully written by Judy Young, illustrated by Doris Ettlinger. Ages 6-7.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

LITTLE CROC'S PURSE

One day Little Croc playing kid and seek with his friends finds a large pink and white purse. Little Croc opens the purse and he finds that is full of money. His friends try to persuade him to keep it but Little Croc is determined to do the right thing by bringing the lost purse to the police station. When Little Croc found the owner, she is not concerned about the money in the purse, but is relieved to find a locket with a picture of her husband inside. She rewards Little Croc for his honesty by giving him money. He then divides the money into three envelopes: Spend, Share and Save and with it he gets a treat for himself, make a charity donation, buys lemonade for all his friends and starts saving up for a cowboy hat!

Great story to teach the value of honesty. Perfect bedtime story. Bright and cheerful illustrations. Written and illustrated by Lizzie Finlay.Ages 3-7.

Monday, September 26, 2011

THREE STRIKES, YOU ARE OUT!


Gregory and his mother, little sister Jeanine, and imaginary friend Joey USED to live on a Navajo reservation. Now they live in a motel. Only his new friend Matt, in his new school, tells him its really a shelter, not a motel, and if they're not careful, Mr. Hass will give them three strikes and they're out! Not in the baseball way! The only saving grace for Gregory and his new set of circumstances is art class, where he can escape from all the problems and worries he has to deal with. BIRD SPRINGS by Carolyn Marsden is a quick read for a reluctant reader that's complex and adventurous enough for any reading level. For grades 4 and up.

Friday, September 23, 2011

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AT BOARDING SCHOOL

Another fun Pride and Prejudice redux set in a boarding school in New England. The usual misunderstandings, prejudices and snobby attitudes are had by everyone at the Longbourn and Pemberley until each romantic lead realizes that they have been at fault and have made monumental errors in judgement.

A fun and fast read for teens who wants romance, fashion, spunk and piano music. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg is for 6th graders -high schoolers .

Thursday, September 22, 2011

WEIRD, WEIRD AND MORE WEIRD!

There are some really crazy and weird things that are happening all around us, however, things such as a baby -jumping event, where men are dressed as the devil, carrying whips, leaping over them is something that I never thought would be possible. Well...I guess it is possible and in fact, there is a festival just for that and it's called El Colacho.

How about this one...in the month of September, their is a festival for air guitar players, where the competitors are given a classic guitar tune to follow by the judges...Cool ha?
If you could have a festival of any type of an event, what would it be?

Perhaps, you can start one after reading this really weird book...
WORLD OF THE WEIRD by TRACEY TURNER.
For grades 4th and up.




















WORLD OF THE WEIRD by TRACEY TURNER








Wednesday, September 21, 2011

HUDSON HATES SCHOOL


Hudson cannot stand school especially on Fridays because that is spelling test day and Hudson has not learned his spellings. All his classmates laugh at him when he gets his spelling wrong and that makes him hates school even more. Fortunately, Hudson’s teacher recognizes signs of Dyslexia and Mr. Shapland is called in to help Hudson. He takes Hudson to the study room to give him some special tests. Mr. Shapland explains him that he has a learning difficulty called dyslexia. Soon Hudson begins taking lessons with children who also have dyslexia, and he starts to like school.Dyslexia is a learning disability in children affecting reading, writing and spelling. The last page of the book contains a short list of dyslexia disorders.Written by Ella Hudson. Beautiful ink and watercolor illustrations. Ages 4-8.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

READING CENTRAL (TUESDAY, OCT. 4TH)

Have you ever told a lie in your life? What if you have never, and I mean never told a lie. You won’t tell a lie even to save your life. Your philosophy in life is to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Wallace Wallace is that person. He has never told a lie in his entire life. For better or for worse, Wallace is learning that being too honest actually might hurt some people.

Read NO MORE DEAD DOGS by GORDON KORMAN to find out what it is that finally causes such a big change of mind that he has to lie, why he lie and the many outcomes of his lies. While a book that mentions death in the title may not sound like a fun book, this one is. It will keep you reading with its elements of family drama, school drama, boy and girl drama and even book drama! You have to read to find out the very poignant observation of books about dogs!

For grades 4th and up!








Monday, September 19, 2011

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO GET IN THE MOOD...


Today is "Talk Like A Pirate Day" and here are some of your favorite authors to get you started. Also celebrate by reading a pirate story in your best pirate voice. My favorite is Mem Fox's Tough Boris a story about a very fierce brigand with a very soft spot for his pet parrot.

You can check this out along with other great pirate tales at any of the Glendale Libraries.

Friday, September 16, 2011

SILLHOUETTED BY THE BLUE

Since the death of her mother in a car accident, Serena finds herself trying to hold the family together. Her father falls into a severe depression and Serena just want to spend time with her friends and lives a normal life, but instead she has to take care of her little brother and maintain the household, cooking, cleaning, laundry, finding time for homework, does grocery shopping and all of it. Serena tries to respond to her challenges with strength and determination until they begin to overwhelm her.

Chosen for the lead in the middle school production “The Wiz” and Serena's happy because she loves to act and sing. However, things at home are getting worse. Her father spends weeks not showering or eating. He cries and sleeps all the time and she has to force him to drive her to the bank so they can buy groceries. Serena recognizes her father illness so she must find a way to get help before it’s too late. She calls the family, but her grandma has Alzheimer’s and her uncle is away on business in another country. Powerful, moving and realistic story recommended for middle school students ages 10-14. Written by Traci L. Jones.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

LEAVE NO READER BEHIND!

Your school principle will dye his hair purple and spend the entire night on the school’s roof if the students end up reading 1000 books by the end of the school year! Do you think this will be possible? But what if there are some people who do not like to read at all?

Here is the story of a boy and his friends who like to spend all their free time playing with video games. Miss Malarkey, the very patient and kind teacher, tries her best to offer just the right bait – books containing jokes, poetry, fantasy, explorers, and even scary stories. One by one, the boy’s friends fall prey to Miss Malarkey’s suggestions, but not to the one boy whose stubbornness might cause the entire class to lose the bet... MISS MALARKEY LEAVES NO READERS BEHIND by JUDY FINCHLER and KEVIN O'MALLEY.



For grades k-up.



Monday, September 12, 2011

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

In this sequel to Claudia Mills’ Losers, Inc. Julius Zimmerman is stuck in French class. He’s sworn never to love a girl. He’s never going to be good in school like his brother. In fact, he’s just going to baby-sit all summer and deal with being twelve. Against his wishes, he starts to like Olivia, but only because of her beautiful singing voice, and excels at caring for three-year-old Edison Blue. YOU'RE A BRAVE MAN, JULIUS ZIMMERMAN deals with a boy whose mother has huge expectations, and she pushes him to succeed in those areas without acknowledging the strengths Julius demonstrates and things he does well. Julius tries to meet her expectations while still becoming his own person, as he transitions into adolescence. For grades 5 and up.

Friday, September 09, 2011

SMALL IS ONLY SMALL TO BIG


Avon the snail is leading an uneventful life. He reads books all the time, and all the characters have GREAT BIG adventures while he has none. So one day Avon decides to have an adventure of his own, and along the way meets Edward the Ant. Avon and Edward have a very interesting adventure and make many new friends on their path. In THE END OF THE BEGINNING by Avi, both characters learn many things about themselves that might seem pretty funny to a lot of readers. The illustrations are very nice as well. For grades 2-5.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

WORLDLY WOMEN WIZARDS!

Everybody needs a wizard in their life. Kit and Nita are just two new wizards in a big big world, and spend practically every waking moment together, practicing their craft. That is, until Nita's parents decide she needs a break from wizardry and ship her off to Ireland! No wizards there, right? WRONG! Turns out Nita's Aunt Annie is herself entrenched in the wizardly ways of Ireland, and it isn't long before Nita is embroiled in a great wizard's adventure. A WIZARD ABROAD by author Diane Duane is just one installment in her fantastic Wizardry series that is bound to delight most fantasy lovers. Each one has a little hint of romance which make it very appealing to that "tween" kid who's not quite ready to give up the imaginary worlds of talking trees and magic, but are still interested in a little love... For grades 6 and up.

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

RATFINK!

Logan had many troubles... A very humiliating photo, an embarrassing grandfather, a mysterious backpack, an experimental dog poop (yes, you read it correctly) and on top of all these, a girl named Emily from his school who is the meanest and the snottiest that he has ever met that seems to only exists to drive him crazy...


But the truth of the matter is that he really is trying to change his ways of doing things, in fact, he was hoping that the new school year in the fifth grade would permit him to showcase his mature side. Boy, was he wrong about these things...




RATFINK is by MARCIA THORNTON JONES.

Friday, September 02, 2011

FIND THE RED-HEADED FROG!

Shoe repair guy, Johnny, is so poor and desperate for money that he is willing to help a beautiful princess find her brother, a frog with red hair. Yes, that's right a frog! Really, he was a PRINCE who was turned into a frog by an evil witch and is now somewhere in Florida. She's desperate and would even marry him if he can find her brother! What sane guy would turn down an offer of money and marriage to a hottie of a princess? Not Johnny.

Cloaked by Alex Flinn is an action packed fantasy adventure chockful fairytale characters, talking animals, and of course, romance.

For readers in 6th-8th grade.