IT'S A PARK DAY

Monsters frolic and play in this rhyming picture book about a sunny park day. An eager young blue monster and his dad are off to the playground, where they discover swings, rings, and spinny things. As with any typical toddler day there are ups and downs: triumphant climbs and brave slides, as well as scraped knees and reluctant departures. But daddy monster’s big soothing hugs (and promises to return another day) take the sting away.

Join the colorful array of young monsters from author illustrator Annie Bach’s Monster Party!, as they return to play, share, and snack together in Monster Park. A lovely, lively read for ages 0 to preschool.

ACTIVATE ROBO-BOOK!

BEEP BOOP BOOP BEEP. You've never seen a book quite like this before. Popular picture book author-and-illustrator team Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri are back with Robo-Sauce, an inventively hilarious story that packs a resounding robo-punch. 

Like many kids, the main character of this book loves to play robot... but what if there were a way to become a real robot--with lasers for eyes, rockets for feet, and a supercomputer for a brain--and never have to eat steamed beans or take baths ever again? Enter Robo-Sauce (recipe included)!

But the downside about real robots? It's hard for them to play with their friends or family or dog for fear of wreaking havoc on those they love with all that robot extra strength. So what's an all-powerful but ultimately lonely robot to do? 

This wildly entertaining story takes readers on an unexpectedly interactive ride, and the warning sticker on the book's cover--"WARNING THIS BOOK TURNS INTO A ROBOT"--is meant to be taken literally. It's a perfect read-aloud or one-on-one share for the preschool through second-grade set.  

THE WITCH'S CURSE

The Kingdom of Wrenly blamed the weather as the possible reason for the kingdom's destruction. If only they had known it was something more powerful than that. After days of gloomy skies and wet land, Prince Lucas was becoming bored . The more time Prince Lucas spent in his room the more he was becoming suspicious that the heavy rain was caused by a wizard and King Caleb was becoming increasingly frustrated very desperate. But was the king desperate enough to seal a deal with the witch of Bogburp?

Read The Kingdom of Wrenly: The Witch’s Curse by Jordan Quinn to find out if the Kingdom of Wrenly survived the extreme weather in this fourth book in the series. Don’t miss out on other exciting adventures with Prince Lucas.  The moral of the book is not to judge someone without knowing them.

For readers in grades 2 - 4

A DELICIOUS ZOMBIE TREAT

Reginald is not your average zombie. The rest of his fellow fiends only have one thing on their minds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner: brainsssss! But Reginald would much rather feed on sweet and sticky peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he's convinced that if his zombie cohorts just gave them a try they'd never hunger for brains ever again. But how can Reginald persuade the entire population of Quirkville's undead that they can leave the living alone since a good PB&J is all they really need? 

Peanut Butter & Brains by Joe McGee and illustrated by Charles Santoso is a delightfully creepy but not-too-scary picture book that preschoolers through second graders will enthusiastically devour.  

MAYHAPS THE MAYPOP TEA?

The Maypop Kidnapping is set in a small coastal Maine village filled with eccentric locals. When 13-year-old Quinnie's beloved teacher, Blythe Stilford, doesn't show up for their first day of school, Quinnie sets off to search for her.  She sees what she believes are clues showing foul play; perhaps a kidnapping because why else wouldn't she be home.  

Her mother, the town sheriff (also the town realtor, postmaster and mayor) doesn't believe her and decides to let her handle it.  Quinnie, believing that time is of the essence and outraged that the sheriff won't listen to reason, enlists the help of two friends to follow any suspicious people and viable clues through the town to figure out what happened to favorite teacher.  

C.M. Surrisi  has put together a wonderful small town who dunnit with a great main character in Quinnie, who is full of righteous fervor.  

For readers in grades 6th - 8th.  

A DOG LIKE THAT!

 A Dog Like That! by Janene Cooper is a simple picture book about a girl who loves her unusual dog.  She’s always been told by those around her that a normal dog behaves and looks a certain way, and her dog is everything but normal according to their standards.  While certain dogs follow commands and look well groomed, her scruffy looking dog does as he pleases.   

This book is illustrated by Evie Kemp covered with basic sentences that define the illustrations. While one side page spread describes how dogs should behave the other page describes how this little girl’s dog does the exact opposite.  A fun book for ages 2-5.

ROAD TRIP ANYONE?

Did you have a road trip this summer with your family? Take your pick of these two books about a road trip where both are titled Are We There Yet? by two veteran authors, Nina Laden and Dan Santat.  

In the first Are We there Yet? by Laden, the sights get more and more interesting during the drive but our traveler's only response when he arrives at grandma's was that the trip was boring. Boring?! I think not. He must have slept during that portion through outerspace!

Our second road trip, also going to grandma's for her birthday, our young backseat traveler is feeling bored and asks that classic question "Are we there yet?" But this time strange things happen as time slows down and goes literally backward.  An added feature in Santat's Are We There Yet? include QR codes for readers to discover the secret coded messages. An unusual story to really sit down and scour the pages for every detail.  

For readers in preschool and older.  

(LIFE IS) AWKWARD

On her first day as a new student, Middle schooler Penelope “Peppi” Torres will accidently catch the attention of mean-spirited students by tripping over her own feet. In a moment of panic, Peppi will push a quiet boy and scramble away, leaving him to endure the taunts of their classmates. This brief moment will be seared into Peppi’s memory as, even weeks later, she agonizes incessantly over how to apologize.

Peppi knows moving to a new town and school is rarely easy. That’s why she is horrified to break cardinal rule #1 for surviving school on her very first day: don’t get noticed by the mean kids. Luckily, there’s Art Club. There Peppi finds her place among young artists, sharing ideas, bemoaning artist’s block, and commiserating with them over their long-standing rivalry with the Science Club.

Peppi gradually develops an awkward friendship with the quiet boy, a “rival” from the science club, but finds it difficult to navigate between social groups. A highly publicized competition between the two clubs to earn a coveted spot at the annual school club fair ultimately tests her loyalties.

Though the rivalry between the two clubs can feel forced at times (I imagine there are plenty of kids who appreciate both art and science), Svetlana Chmakova’s graphic novel Awkward deftly explores themes of loyalty, friendship, and morality, while remaining true to its middle grade target audience. Give this to readers who are eagerly awaiting Raina Telgemeier's next book (Ghosts in September 2016).

Grades 4+

PETE'S DRAGON EBOOK WIN

HERE’S A CHANCE TO WIN A DOWNLOADABLE APPLE iBOOK OF DISNEY’S JUNIOR NOVEL, PETE’S DRAGON.    

Did you have an invisible friend?  Pete has an invisible friend.  Check out his invisible dragon friend in this new novel Pete’s Dragon, based on the movie of the same name. 

The library is giving away 10 digital* copies of the Pete’s Dragon Junior Novel courtesy of Walt Disney Studios! Read the book and watch the movie. 

For your chance to win, comment below with your favorite childhood book that celebrates friendship and adventure. Screenshot your comment and send it via email** with the subject line “Pete’s Dragon” to cpham@glendaleca.gov .Please include your name. Winners will be selected at random and notified by email only. LAST DAY TO ENTER IS 8/17 @ 6PM!

* Digital download for use on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch devices. 
** We will not be collecting your name or email for any outside purposes of the drawing.

‪#‎myglendale ‪#‎petesdragon ‪#‎disney

AMELIA BEDELIA: BY THE YARD

Young Amelia Bedelia’s parents love to hold yard sales to clear out their clutter. At first Amelia is hesitant to sell their belongings but as potential buyers browse around, she becomes intrigued with the whole idea of garage sales. Amelia puts her good customer service skills to use as she agrees to dig up the flowers in their yard to sell to a neighbor; even though, the yard itself is not for sale!

By the Yard is part of the young Amelia Bedelia series by Herman Parish, great for beginning readers.  This book concentrates on family, community and helpfulness, while enhancing readers' vocabulary. 

Ages Preschool- Grade 3

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS FLOPSY BUNNIES

Beware of magic hats that come with warning labels.

Word-loving Mole adores labeling pretty much anything. Armed with a pencil and a plethora of sticky labels, he and his best friend, the Lumpy-Bumpy Thing, make their way through the forest assigning names and descriptors to everything they see. So when the two friends encounter a flopsy, fluffy, white bunny and a mysterious black top hat labeled “Warning! Do not touch!” cautious Mole is instantly alert. What dangers might befall them?

Together Mole and the Lumpy-Bumpy Thing unleash a magical storm of adorable, flopsy, white bunnies. One cute, cuddly, chubby bunny seems harmless enough, but what starts out as a bit of fun quickly morphs into a raucous affair with naughty bunnies everywhere.

Warning! Do Not Touch! by Tim Warnes is silly fun for ages 4 through second grade. And as an early literacy aside, naming and talking about all the things you see throughout the day with your child is a great way to introduce new vocabulary.

ALLIGATORS ALL AROUND

Alan's Big, Scary Teeth by Jarvis
Who has the biggest, snappiest set of teeth?  Alan the alligator that's who!  But someone discovered his secret and stole his set of scary teeth so he wouldn't be able to scare everyone anymore.  Alan makes a promise to only scare during a special hour - the scary story hour!  GRRR.

Hurry Up, Alfie!  by Anna Walker is a new series about Alfie the Alligator who avoids doing things he has to like getting dressed by asking questions and lingering over things as long as possible.  An adorable preschool age book that all parents will understand.

In this last alligator story, Gator Dad by Brian Lies an all male alligator family enjoys the day together doing what normal guys would do together.  This is a really sweet tale of a father and his three boys bonding.  

For readers ages 3 and older.

TURN IN YOUR SUMMER READING LOG

Have you forgotten your summer reading logs under your bed?  Don't worry.  Dust it off and bring in your finished logs to the Central Library during the next two weeks and get your prizes.

There's also still time to register online all those books you are reading for school.  It’s a chance to win a gift certificate to the children’s bookstore, Once Upon A Time Bookstore. The drawing will be at the end of August. Good luck and happy reading! 

BEE DANCE

What will it take to make honey? The bee dance! Honeybees do what they do best—follow the sweet scent and sip away at the nectar. The honeybees do the waggle dance movement in a figure eight pattern.  Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski is a non-fiction book with simple text and colorful illustrations for a great read aloud. Don’t miss out. Read about these small insects found everywhere. 

For preschool through third grade.

THE BEST VACATION

Herman's Vacation by Tom Percival finds our friend Herman trying to create the best vacation for himself and Henry. But of course things do not go as planned and Henry is not happy.  Herman, through a series of postcards asks for help and equipment to make it all better.  What would you do to make a friend happy?  Check out the other Herman and Henry book, Herman's Letters, for another fun read.

For readers ages 3 and older. 

SORRY, WE'RE CLOSED TODAY!

Due to an extensive power outage in the area, the Central Library is closed today, and our Pete the Cat Book Bash is cancelled. Sorry patrons and Pete the Cat fans! We should resume normal hours tomorrow, and hope to see you then. 

LAST CALL FOR THE SUMMER

Pete the Cat Book Bash 
Pete the Cat crafts and activities.
Tuesday August 2, 3pm
Central Library, Children's Room

Actors and Others for Animals 
A pet safety presentation for ages 4 and older.
Thursday, August 4, 1pm
Central Library, Children's Room