WE ARE CLOSED...

FOR THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND, Saturday, Aug. 31- Monday, Sept. 2.  We will be open Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013.  The buildings are closed, but you want a book?  Why not download an ebook from our catalog to your phone or device.  

WHO DOESN'T LOVE A PRINCESS FAIRY TALE?

Diane Stanley is a beautiful storyteller who can magically capture readers only to be released at the end of the book, rubbing their eyes and wondering where the time went. She continues this captivating legacy in her latest book THE CUP AND THE CROWN. Slightly clairvoyant Molly is assigned the task of finding a "loving cup" for King Alaric, which binds two people together when they both sip from it. Despite Molly's grandfather once being a creator of these loving cups, Molly and her friends Winifred and Tobias must search far and wide to locate this coveted chalice for the king. They encounter mysterious friends and foes, and discover something very unexpected! An intriguing sequel to The Silver Bowl, and good for 5th-8th grades.

JUNE 2013

CAPTAIN AWESOME IS AWESOME

Fans of Zapato Powers and other empowering boy stories will really enjoy this new series Captain Awesome by Stan Kirby.  

Eugene is the new boy at school and already freaking out.  His nemesis, The Queen of Stinkypants a.k.a. his little baby sister, in diapers, has followed him to his new location and at school he has to wade and evade all kinds of foes.  Since he is the new kid in class, the teacher puts him in charge of Turbo, the class hamster.  But awful Melanie says it's her turn and suddenly, Turbo is kidnapped.   

Only Captain Awesome can find Turbo, so off Eugene goes to the bathroom to change into his costume and assume the identity of CAPTAIN AWESOME!

Captain Awesome to the Rescue! is a short beginning chapter book with lots of great drawings for readers in 2nd-4th grades.  

DEAR JOURNAL... UGH!

13 year old Henry never wanted to start writing in a journal. But then again, he never wanted any of the things that have happened to him in the past year. In fact, everything would have been fine if his brother Jesse had never…

But, Henry doesn't want to talk about that. He wants to start over at a new school, in a new town where no one has ever heard of his family. He wants to have a normal life- watching his favorite wrestlers on “Saturday Night Smash Up” and not getting noticed by the bullies who roam the halls of his new school. And he definitely doesn't want to join “Reach For The Top” – the nerdy trivia team at his new school. But, life for Henry is far from normal. Especially after “IT” happened.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen is a powerfully moving story of  a young teen trying to make sense of tragedy and rebuild the walls that are crumbling around him. This is an important story. It touches on the devastating consequences of bullying and how much it can mean to stand up for someone else.

Grades 6 and up

ANOTHER STILTON ADVENTURE

A review from our guest reviewer Srikar:

Title: The Karate Mouse

Author: Geronimo Stilton

Geronimo Stilton and his friends Shorty Tao and Bruce Hyena take Stilton to karate class.  His teacher Yama Mouse teaches karate to Geronimo Stilton.  There will be a tournament taking place the next day so Stilton was very excited and well prepared.  

In the first round of tournament Stilton fought against this huge guy who is tough and fierce.  Stilton was ready to fight when he did a powerful side kick on this guy and the big guy fell down.  Finally, Stilton won the tournament.  His friends who came to tournament were extremely happy after Stilton won.  Now he is ready to go on another adventure with his friend Bruce Hyena.

I really enjoyed reading this book and laughing out loud.  I would definitely recommend this book to kids who are in grades 3, 4 and 5.

PEARLS OF WISDOM

A book review from Mr. B of the Grandview Branch: 

On the first day of 5^th Grade, Pearl Littlefield’s class gets homework: the dreaded “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” essay. And, it has to be outlined, in Roman Numerals. Pearl isn’t sure she wants to write about her summer. It’s the summer her father lost his job at the university. Because of that, it’s the summer her older sister Lexie had to work as a counselor-in-training at their summer camp; and she was in charge of Pearl’s group. It’s the summer she and her best friend James (JBIII) spent most of the summer not speaking. (Well, Pearl did accidentally push JBIII and break his elbow.) It’s the summer the family vacation to the Great American West had to transform into the Great New York City Staycation (well, some of that wasn’t so bad, but it wasn’t, you know, the Old West.) It’s the summer nearly everyone in the family saved money and found jobs right away, except Pearl (and her professor father). Oh, but wait, it’s also the summer Pearl and JBIII (with the healed elbow) started a business together. 

Pearl puts all this and more into her essay (the whole book except for the first chapter is that essay, with the outline attached at the end), which she calls Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far). Newbery Honor Winner Ann M. Martin has created a warm and timely solo read or read-aloud in this sequel to “Ten Rules for Living with My Sister.”

Age: 10-12

PUZZLES GALORE

Let's face it, Winston has become a puzzle addict.  He's getting in trouble and missing out on special things with his friends because all he can think about is puzzles.  Maybe it's time to give it up.  But can he?  He gets an opportunity to go away for a puzzle filled weekend at a mansion.  Will this be his last hoorah?    

While puzzling away, there's another mystery afoot.  A coveted prize goes missing and everyone is pointing fingers at the obvious suspect, but Winston and his friends think it's someone else.  Everyone is acting suspicious and more than one person has a motive.  

Come join Winston, his friends and a house full of famous guests for a weekend of puzzles and mystery in Winston Breen and the Puzzler's Mansion by Eric Berlin, the third book in the Winston Breen series.  For readers in 6th -8th grade. 

 - SPOILER ALERT - someone will die.  


  

GRADE A DETECTIVES

While some sixth graders these days don’t even get to go on one field  trip, Catalina (“Cat”), James (“Gum”), Edward (“Egg”), and Samantha (“Sam”) go on many field  trips with their sixth grade class.  To date, they have gone on at least 16 field trips (in 16 books) to such places as Yellowstone Park, New York City, San Francisco, and Mt. Rushmore.  On each of these trips, something mysterious has happened, that these four detective friends have solved.  They have found stolen payroll cash, caught a purse snatcher, unmasked a phony Native American spirit/ghost, even solved a kidnapping. 

These exciting and often dangerous adventures are written as reports from the various friends and published by Capstone Press as Field Trip Mysteries.  Author Steve Brezenoff cleverly writes these books in four different voices.  Each 80 page mystery manages to include real information about its locale or subject and there is a glossary at the end.  Such titles as The Village That Almost Vanished, The Crook Who Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, The Burglar Who Bit the Big Apple, and The Symphony That Was Silent, can be read in any order with equal enjoyment.

RL: 3-4

READING THE YEAR AWAY

The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng is a sweet book about growing up and growing apart. Fourth grade has brought all kinds of changes for Anna. When her best friend, Laura, starts hanging out with a new group, Anna finds comfort and friendship in the books she finds at the library or her classroom.  Things aren't much better at home- Anna is struggling to learn Chinese at the language classes she has to attend and thinks her mom is embarrassing.

But, Anna finds that she needs more than books to truly make her happy. Throughout the year she finds friends in unexpected places and learns that maybe she hasn't been the greatest friend herself.  Sprinkled with whimsical illustrations and directions on how to sew a lunch bag  play tangrams, and fold a won ton, this is a great story for kids who know the power of a good book.

Grades 3 and up

A DELICIOUS CAKE TALENT

Everyone has a talent.   Cady's talent is figuring out what kind of cake is right for a person.  Orphaned for what seems like forever, Cady is the only one left at the orphanage until an accident leads her to a special building, an old peanut butter factory, where one person is searching for her talent, another steals talents but where everyone seems to be tangled together somehow.  In this fantastical tale by Lisa Graff, A Tangle of Knots,  the knots become untangled as Cady finds the family she is meant to be with.  
The book includes recipes for each person's special cake.  I haven't any of them yet, but you can check out the book and try one out...maybe Miss Mallory's Peach Cake or something more unusual like Zane's Garlic Cake. 

For readers in 4th-6th grade.  

SPUD VERSUS SPIFF

Prince Puggly of the Kingdom of Spud is unfashionable to say the least.  Nothing he wears matches, and cleanliness is certainly not a priority for him.  When he's invited to a lavish, fashionable party in the Kingdom of Spiff, he's surprised and elated and excited to be included - that is until he gets there and is laughed out of the party for his clothes.  Prince Puggly is feeling pretty bummed until he meets Francesca, the bookish Princess of Spiff, who only wears pajamas and reads books.  Between the two of them, they devise a plan to get back at the other kingdoms for focusing only on fashion and not on the more important things in life.

Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff by Robert Paul Weston is a novel told in rhyme with fun surprises galore in font, graphics, and format.  This is a fun and light book with a moral for kids in grades 4 and up.

A RIGHTEOUS LITTLE BOUNTY HUNTER

Young bounty hunter, Boyd, is chasing down his outlaw father and sending him to jail, no matter what.  Boyd hasn't had an easy childhood you see.  His older sibling weren't the cuddly kind and his ma wasn't the gentle sing you a lullaby at night type either.  So, Boyd sets out to set things right by bringing his no good dad and the rest of the family.  

Warning:  
Though the atmospheric illustrations sets you up for a great western tale and the illustrations are cute and cuddly looking,  the story  contains serious and mature themes: racism, sex, violence and etc.  

This is a great graphic novel for mature readers in grades 6th-8th.  Cow Boy:  A Boy and His Horse, a Western Graphic Novel  by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos is not for the faint of heart.  You can read an excerpt online by clicking on this link.  

MAGIC AND MYSTERY

Remember Stuart Horten? Tiny Stuart from Lissa Evans' first book Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms: Magic, Mystery & a Very Strange Adventure? Well, now that he's located his Uncle's miraculous mechanisms, he's back in a new book called HORTEN'S INCREDIBLE ILLUSIONS: MAGIC, MYSTERY & ANOTHER VERY STRANGE ADVENTURE to see what those mechanisms do. As usual, his friend and neighbor April is by his side helping him unravel the mysteries that lie waiting for discovery. But danger is around every turn with these kids, and you never know what's going to happen next! This is a great continuation of an intriguing, quick-paced series. 

For 4th-8th grades.

MAY 2013