MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Apparently, moo is the word. In this hilarious book, the cow goes on to his amazing journey and gets in trouble and expresses his troubles and his sorrows in the most beautiful way possible.  He uses the word Moo, or Moo-Moo or Mooooooooo or Mooooooooooooooo.  

This very rhythmic and repetitive story allows the reader to see what with just one word, so many different emotions can be expressed, be it excitement, sadness or pure joy.  The cow, who we have established that loves the word Moo, is always in the center of the page, always doing or saying something to make us all laugh out loud.   Even though the book literally has the word Moo, the reader will feel as though a full story was developed and written for the little once.  Really fun read and highly recommended.  

Moo!  by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

For Pre-k -1st

TOY STORIES

The Montrose branch library hosted a stuffed animal sleepover on January 26^th.  Children dropped off their favorite stuffed animals at the library and returned the following week to see pictures of the adventures their friend had while the library was closed. They were amazed to see pictures of their stuffed animals checking out books, hiding in the shelves, using computers, and even taking a field trip to Andersen’s Pet Store.

Toys (especially stuffed animals) are an important part of childhood. They inspire imagination, encourage creativity, and create memories. It’s not uncommon for children to come up with personalities for their stuffed animals and imagine what kind of adventures they must have when we are not watching.

In Hooray for Harry, written and illustrated by Kim Lewis, three stuffed animals have quite an adventure while their owner is not around. Wanting to take a nap, Harry the elephant, is distraught to discover that his favorite blanket is missing! Recruiting help from fellow stuffed animals, Ted the teddy bear and Lulu the lamb, they set off into the yard while retracing their steps from a very active afternoon. Will the blanket ever turn up so Harry can take his much needed nap?

Sometimes disaster can befall our beloved stuffed animals, as we see in Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale written and illustrated by Mo Willems. A routine trip to the Laundromat for Trixie and her stuffed rabbit quickly turns perilous when Knuffle Bunny is left behind. Readers will quickly figure out what is about to happen to Knuffle Bunny as the illustrations reveal Knuffle Bunny peeking out from the laundry basket as clothes are loaded into the washing machine and later peering out from behind the machine’s glass window. Poor Trixie quickly realizes her friend has been left behind, but like any frustrated pre-verbal toddler, can’t seem to make her daddy understand what has happened. Will Trixie and Knuffle Bunny ever be reunited?

What Does My Teddy Bear Do All Day?,  written by Bruno Hachler and illustrated by Birte Muller, follows a little girl who is determined to see her teddy bear’s antics for herself. She believes that by staying home for the day and spying on her bear, she will catch him in the act of jumping on her bed, painting pictures, dancing to the radio, or whatever it is that our stuffed animals do during their unobserved hours. She’s so focused on the teddy bear that she fails to notice what her other toys are getting up to behind her back. Just when it seems that the teddy bear is going to sit very still all day, something happens when the little girl’s back is turned while retrieving a jar of honey…

Ages 3 and up; Great for storytimes!

MEET FERDINAND!

Ferdinand is the bull in the story that prefers to stay in the beautiful fields, smelling flowers rather than going and fighting other bulls in the bullfights. He gets picked to participate in a bull fight out of a lot of bulls because of his presents and his attitude, however all is misleading because even though he is a bull which personifies courage and bravery, he still does not care about impressing or actually fighting, he still wants to be in peace, smelling flowers and just being in the moment. The book is unique because of its fine black and white illustrations which add so much depth and character to the story. THE STORY OF FERDINAND is by MUNRO LEAF and the illustrations are by ROBERT LAWSON.

For grades pre-K.

.~* BOOKMARK CONTEST 2010 *~.

It’s time for the Glendale Public Library’s Annual Bookmark Contest! Amateur artists of all ages are invited to design an original bookmark illustrating their interpretation of this year’s theme, Make a Splash @ Your Library. Stop by any Glendale Library location between January 25 - February 7 during open hours to create and submit your own special design for our 33rd annual Bookmark Contest. This is the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your artistic abilities, and this year’s bookmarks will be printed in FULL COLOR! Your bookmark entry may become an official Glendale Public Library bookmark for 2010 to be reproduced and distributed throughout the Glendale Library system and beyond! Winners will be selected in five age categories and will each receive 50 copies of their bookmarks at a celebration on March 13, 2010 with special guest artist Jim Gilbert. Complete information and materials are available at all Glendale Public Library locations. For more information, please call (818) 548-2035.

WRITING WITHOUT WORDS

Juno lives with his parents and a dog named Sam. His grandmother lives far away in Seoul, Korea, but she writes him letters. Juno cannot read the words she writes as they are in Korean, but he knows what it says because of the items that accompany the letter. When Juno decides to write a letter in return, he draws pictures of his life and sends a leaf from his swinging tree. Juno learns to interpret meaning through a language outside of writing. Even though they don't speak the same language, they can still communicate with images from the world around them. DEAR JUNO by Soyung Pak is a beautiful story for pre-k through 3rd grade.