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A peek through Fairy Tales for Mr. Barker by Jessica Ahlberg takes a jump through different fairy tale locations--literally--through a hole in each page when a little girl runs after her dog, an escapee from her bedroom, into the three bear's house because he didn't want to listen to another a story. As the reader turns the page, the dog leads him/her into a new fairy tale until they all end up back in the little girl's bedroom where she now has a larger audience who will listen to her stories.
For readers ages 3 and up.
These are two more children's cookbooks from the library's collection and with the holidays and vacations coming up, take a through some of these recipes to see if there's some fun cooking to be had with your family.
The Piccolo Chef Cookbook : Healthy Cooking With Your Kids by Fanelli Moraccini and Lilian Palmieri from the children's culinary school in Los Angeles. This book is full of easy recipes for children to follow.
Chop Chop: the Kid's Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family by Sally Sampson is the bound book version of their magazine's recipes for kids. On top there's a bar that tells you prep time, cook time and if adult help is needed (mostly yes).
Florian, a 7th grader, is once again at another new school in a new city, despairing about his predicament when the neighbor across the street forces herself into his house and befriends him after demanding to be shown how TOAST works. TOAST is Florian's methodology of Schedule
observation which helps him adjust to new situations in his life. While testing out his observational method, the two inadvertently stumble onto the mystery of stolen paintings at the National Gallery where both of Florian's parents work.
Framed! A T.O.A.S.T. Mystery by James Ponti is for those who love a good mystery, Sherlock Holmes and a dash of international spy thriller--you will love this book.
For readers in 6th - 8th grades.
In Mighty Jack: Book One, Ben Hatke twists the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk into a more diabolical tale where the plants are not helpful tools leading Jack to fame and fortune, but evil forces to be reckoned with. The author gives Jack an autistic younger sister, responding only to the seeds and plants that come alive in their yard. Jack also has a another female spitfire in a new home-schooled neighbor, who loves fighting with cool weapons and dragging Jack headlong into anything that looks like an adventure.
This is for readers in 4th - 6th grades, especially lovers of graphic novels and Ben Hatke. Keep an eye out for the sequel.
A story told from two points of view, Joe and Ravi.
Ravi is a star pupil just transferred from India.
Joe, a student needing a little extra help in school.
Ravi wants to be liked by the only other Indian boy in the class.
Joe just wants the other Indian boy in the class to leave him alone.
Ravi's mom cooks his lunches everyday.
Joe's mom feeds him constantly.
The two are not so different after all.
Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan are two amazing authors with one amazing story about friendship.
For readers in 4th - 6th grades.
In this new Lauren Child book, Absolutely One Thing Featuring Charlie and Lola, the story captures a young child's understanding of counting and
numbers, especially if that thing is something you really really want.
The Bunny Burrow Buyer's Book - A Tale of Rabbit Real Estate by Steve Light is an unusual story of a bunny couple looking for just the right burrow for their rather large family. The story is very similar to the Fairy tales for Mr. Barker by Jessica Ahlberg, where there are holes in each page leading to a burrow or scene of different characters.
Both are highly recommended for preschoolers and up.
Kate Di Camillo and Chris Van Dusen have partnered up once again for a third Tale From Deckawoo Drive: Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? Baby Lincoln, whose real name is Lucille, strikes out on a necessary journey after an inspirational dream. She packs her suitcase with a few necessary items and sets off to the train station to go as far as she can with the money in her pocket. With the help of Stella, Baby Lincoln sets off for the town of Fluxom, on her own without her bossy older sister. During the train ride she meets new people and makes her own discoveries about life, herself, family and friends.
The creative duo has created another sweet and touching offshoot for the people connected to Deckawoo Drive and fans of the Mercy Watson series.
For readers in grades 1st to 3rd.
Chuck befriends Scooter the squirrel who is a great artist and baker who now outshines him as the best in the forest. Chuck is not so happy with his new friend or himself once he realizes how badly he's behaved. With the help of his many forest friends, Chuck gets a reality check and they help him to see his talent and joy in making art.
A well written story for those almost ready to start reading a chapter book solo or a great family read aloud. What's Up, Chuck? by Leo Landry is a sweet tale of morality.
For 1st through 3rd graders.
Here's Erin Gleeson's forest feast for younger cooks featuring some fabulous photos and vegetarian recipes. Set with large text, these very easy recipes are for kids who are adventurous eaters. Recipes such as Kale Tacos or Pesto Pepper Pizza may be easy but kids with difficulty reading or not yet fluent will need adult help since each recipe is in a different font style, size and have directional arrows pointing to things may make it difficult to track.
All in all, Forest Feast for Kids : Colorful Vegetarian Recipes that are Simple to Make is a very stylish and visually appealing cookbook like its adult counterpart. Look through this cookbook for some holiday cooking choices along with the children's cooking magazine Chop Chop.
For 4th-8th graders.
Suspects: Fowler the Owl, Porcini the Pig, or Hot Dog the Dog?
Victim: Miss Rabbit
The Case: The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake by Robin Newman Illustrated by Deborah Zemke
Our hardworking mice detectives are on the hunt for the thief who stole Miss Rabbit's Carrot Cake. Doggedly following all the crumbs and interviewing all suspects the two detectives track down the cake thief and it's not who might have suspected. This is a fun beginning reader with lots of puns and word plays.
For 1st - 2nd grade readers.
Ah-Choo! A big brother wants a pet but his little sister is allergic to animals so off they go to find one that won't make her sneeze. A silly romp through the zoo and the alphabet is what they do until they find an unusual animal from Mrs. Grey's Pet store that has no hair, feathers or fur. Written by Lana Wayne Koehler & Gloria Adams and illustrated by Ken Min.
A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummins surprises us all with lion's choices. A fun and unexpected choice for everyone.
The Sloth Slept On and on and on until he finds himself in an unfamiliar place having slept through everything. Frann Preston-Gannon's story of a "lost" sloth who through many helpful hands makes it back "home", or is it home?
For ages 4 and up.
The Silver Spoon for Children: Favorite Italian Recipes by Phaidon is presented in the style of the Moosewood Cookbook series, with simple text and illustrated cooking techniques easy enough for the beginning cook to follow. There are great classic recipes like potato gnocchi, leg of lamb, and stew, just to name a few. It's a beautiful book with photos of each finished dish so you can see what the dish will or should look like at the end of the cooking process. It's a slim, large formatted book which will lay flat so that it is easy to read from as you cook, just put plastic over it so the next person can enjoy it stain free.
For ages 10 and up.
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.
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!
O
ur 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.
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.
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.
In The Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage nothing goes as planned and everything goes sideways before Mr. Macon even sets foot in the courtroom to stand trial where Dale, his youngest son, must testify against him. In this third story of Mo and Dale, of the Desperado Detective Agency, set inTupelo Landing, NC, the two must solve multiple crimes seemingly linked to Mr. Macon, but Dale is sure that his father is being framed. After all, a professional criminal such as Mr. Macon would never leave such obvious clues at the crime scenes to incriminate himself.
Sheila Turnage, the author of Three Times Lucky and The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing tells another amazing story of these two best friends and the cast of characters living in their small town.
For readers in grades 6th-8th.
The Classy Crooks Club by Alison Cherry stars our soccer fiend, AJ, or Annemarie as her grandmother prefers to call her. She must spend a month with her disapproving wealthy grandmother when her parents have to go to the Amazon for work. She only gets to go to soccer practice, she can't have her dog or sleepovers, or hang out with her best friend, but she does get etiquette lessons. Whoopee. The only silver lining is that Stanley, grandmother's hunky chauffeur, drives her to soccer practice and she is the envy of all.
AJ thinks that her grandmother's friends just get together and play bridge, but they are really "liberators". The ladies liberate lots of things from their undeserving or bad owners like a macaw who doesn't get any love. Even AJ gets liberated, unwillingly.
There's a mean girl and her crew, a misunderstanding with friends but it's a fun and mostly predictable adventure with a twisted ending. Great for readers who love a good spunky girl story.
For readers in 6th - 8h grades.
BUBBLEMANIA
Bubble fun for ages 4 and older. A few more performances left in July at the following branches.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 6:30 pm
Pacific Park
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 1:00 pm
Central Library, Children's Room
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Casa Verdugo
This is a very silly book about transporting a lawnmower by all modes of transportation in order to mow one eensy weensy little patch of grass on a teeny tiny island on a Thursday. Tom Angleberger strikes again with his wicked and sly humor about a toad riding a lawnmower.
The illustrations by John Hendrix are so much fun to look at. This is the book for children who love all things transportation.
McToad Mows Tiny Island by Tom Angleberger and illustrated by John Hendrix.
For ages 2 and up.
