SHARKS, PIRATES, AND DEATH!

Fidelia Quail and her family were on their last outing at sea before winter and the beginning of the Undertow, when her parents perished in a storm. Deep in a depressive state over the loss of her family, Fidelia's aunt Julia wants to move to the mainland, but Fidelia doesn't want to move away from Aborley Bay and all she knows and loves.  

But when she is kidnapped by the notorious pirate Merrick the Monstrous, Fidelia is forced to use her knowledge of sharks and her skill in invention to find his most prized treasure. Pursued by Her Majesty's Naval Admiral, Merrick presses Fidelia to finish her underwater breathing invention before time runs out. Will Fidelia ever be able to just go back home to her Aunt Julia? 

Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eager is a thrilling novel about an eleven-year-old's love of sharks, the sea, and her family, told both in the past and in the present.

Ideal for readers in 5th through 8th grades.

TIME WITH GRANDPA

There aren't many stories about grandfathers and these two deserve a special mention.  Check out my all time favorite, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith from a few years ago, too. 

The Lost Picnic by b.b. Cronin is a very unusual and intensely colorful story of going on a picnic with grandad.  Instead of following the classic rhyme of putting something into the basket, something falls out of the basket on each double page spread.  At the end of the story, everyone realizes the basket is empty and they have to go back and search for the picnic food.  Now the reader must retrace page by page to help the family find everything.  See if you can find all the food falling out at each turn and stop.  

My Grandfather's Chair by Jiyeon Pak
Grandpa needs a new chair and so the search begins for that one special chair, but after trying many, many chairs none feel right.  Eventually he gets a brand new custom made chair fitting only him but he worries about bad things happening to the chair, so he puts it away for safe keeping.  Grandpa goes for a walk, a rest and a bit of reading when he realizes he has just found the perfect seat - a tree stump.  

These two books are great reads for preschool up to second grade readers.

A DOG AND TWO CATS

Just sharing some sweet new dog and cat picture books from the collection.   

The Very Very Very Long Dog by Julia Patton Bartelby is a very very long dog who can't see his tail's end and causes mayhem for his friends whenever he goes out.  A creative solution makes for a happy ending for Bartelby.   

I love Cats! by Sue Stainton and Bob Staake is for someone who loves cats: Happy cats, prancing cats, blinking cats, cats, cats, CATS! 

My Lazy Cat by Christine Roussey is another fun book about a girl and her very very round cat who does "nothing" all day long.  

For Preschool through Kindergarten readers. 

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF MRS. WHITE RABBIT

Mrs. White Rabbit (wife of that famous White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland) shares her concerns and many household problems in her diary after having just moved to a new home. First on her list is her oldest daughter, who wants to be a housewife one moment and a scuba diver the next. The twins are always up to something and not always a good thing. She is concerned about all of her other children as well as her husband, the White Rabbit. On top of all this, an invisible cat, probably from Cheshire, just suddenly shows up everywhere in the house, too. 

The amazing thing about this is book are the illustrations and the references to Alice in Wonderland and other fairytale characters, if one looks carefully. In one spread Bachelet draws 100 different carrot dishes from the cookbook 100 Ways to Cook Carrots! Fantastic!  Mrs. White Rabbit by Gilles Bachelet is great fun for parent and child from preschool through second grade. 

A LOVE STORY

Ox writes a letter to Gazelle, raving about her beauty and telling her how much he adores her, but arrogant Gazelle just sends him a generic fan photo, insulting him in letter after letter. Undeterred, or being thick, Ox continues to extol her virtues, intelligence and honesty. Another fun picture book by the team of Adam Rex (author of The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors) and Scott Campbell (illustrator of the Zombie in Love books), XO, OX combines great watercolor illustrations with hilarious word play, making this a good read aloud for kindergartners to adults.  

XO, OX is a thought provoking read right before Valentine's Day. Is this an unrequited love story or an obsessive stalker-ish love? Either way you see it, I love it.  

I LOVE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS

The month of February often brings many families to the library looking for books about Valentine's Day. This month, in addition to the all the typical Valentine's stories, try exploring other books about love and friendship all month long.  

Read and talk about the concepts of family and familial love with your little ones. Authors such as Karen Katz, Eric Hill, Emma Dodd, and Anne Dewdney are just of the wonderful storytellers that write on this topic. Some books you and your little one might like are:

In addition to books about family you might like to read books about friends and what it means to be a good friend. The library also has many great titles on this topic to share and enjoy with your little ones.

TURN A BAD DAY INTO A GOOD DAY!

From the moment we wake up from a good night's rest, we can only hope for a good day to begin.  But what happens when we wake up on the wrong side of the bed?  Georgie knows exactly how this feels and his friends feel the same way.

Ruth Chan's darling story and illustrations capture many examples of what can go wrong in a day.  The message she conveys is that sometimes an unexpected event can really turn things around for the better.  So, with a sprinkle of patience, wonderful friends, and lots of laughter, you can also have a version of Georgie's Best Bad Day!  

For ages 2-5.

LADY LIBERTY IN ACTION

The Statue of Liberty is an enduring symbol of freedom in America, but for such a well known emblem, there is still much to learn about her. How did such a big statue--a gift from France--get from Paris to her home in the New York harbor? Why did she start her life brown and then turn into her signature greenish-blue color? But perhaps the most interesting of these lesser-known details of Lady Liberty has to do with her feet. Specifically her right one, hence the title of this book. If you look closely, you can see that her foot is lifting up as if in mid-stride. That's right, the famous 150-foot-tall statue, representing liberty as she welcomes many immigrants and visitors to American shores, is on the move! Where might she be going? 

Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris, is a fun, fascinating, and deeply affecting portrait of the Statue of Liberty, which posits that her active pose serves as a reminder that liberty and freedom from oppression "require action...courage...an unwillingness to rest." From the first immigrants she welcomed in 1886 to those still arriving today from every country around the world, Lady Liberty's job receiving the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, never ends--and it never should. 

This dynamic and poignant extended-length picture book will make an inspiring read for kindergartners and up.