Adaptive Blue Love

I just emailed Adaptive Blue last week and asked for new widgets for this year's Newbery and Caldecott winners and the obliged so kindly!!! So I put them in my side bar and I'm sharing them with you all!! Thank you Adaptive Blue - you are AMAZING!!!

Newbery
Caldecott

Annick Press Goodies

This box, from Annick Press, had some fun titles I wanted to share.

Nibbling on Einstein's Brain by Diane Swanson is a very fun science title. It asks the question, "Did you know faulty or phony science can creep into your life in a lot of different ways?" Then it goes on to explain how kids can become "science watchdogs" by showing them how to sort the good from the bad. I liked this and I think kids will too - it just LOOKS fun!

Big or Little by Kathy Stinson is a book that will resonate with young children. Kids want to feel big, but sometimes they do things that just plain make them feel little - all kids will relate!

My Friend Mei Jing by Anna McQuinn - I LOVED this one. Want to know why? Because with a daughter adopted from China - I love anything that helps people to see how much the same we all really are - even though we have some fun cultural differences. That is exactly what this book does - geared to younger children. One of my favorites in this box!

The Bears We Know by Brenda Silsbe and illustrated by Vlasta van Kampen is such a fun book. What if you had bears living in the house at the end of your street?? How much would you know about them?? This was a fun romp - LOVED the illustrations!

Animal Aha! by Diane Swanson will be a hit with all of our readers that beg for new animal books! It is written on a little older level, and shares some fun new discoveries in wildlife science. I learned some interesting new facts from this book - I know this one will be a hit!!

Pharaohs and Foot Soliders: One Hundred Ancient Egyptian Jobs you Might Have Desired or Dreaded by Kristin Butcher hardly needs me to say a word! It is WONDERFUL - kids will LOVE it. Great for those ancient Egypt units! My boys LOVED it.

Oh yes!!! Gotta Watch This!

So I'm kind of excited about this!! Can you tell!?!?!

Lerner Newbies!

Lerner Publishing sent me a box that is FULL of good stuff. I have to share some of my favorites:

Jackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride: America's First Cross-Country Automobile Trip by Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff and illustrated by Wes Hargis is great fun! This story takes place in 1903 and is based on Jackson's own account of the first automobile trip across the U.S. It all started when Dr. Horatio Jackson overheard a stranger saying that it was just plain impossible to drive across the U.S. in one of those "unreliable, newfangled automobiles" - thus begins Jackson's mission - to prove that stranger wrong! I loved this - very fun and one I know kids will enjoy!

Singing Crickets by Linda Glaser is another book that will intrigue kids. This is such a great Glaser-way to learn some science while having fun. Tess Feltes has done a beautiful job on the illustrations as well. We don't have many books on crickets for kids - this will be well-read!

Monkey with a Toolbelt and the Noisy Problem by Chris Monroe is a fun book that all Bob the Builder Fans will LOVE! A monkey with a toolbelt can fix ANYTHING - and this book sets out to prove it. The illustrations are wonderful in this book - Monroe has created adorable Chico the monkey that kids will find very fun!

Jazzy Jewelry, Pretty Purses, and More! by Kathy Ross is another in her craft collection of books that is sure to please. There are some fun crafts in her latest book - Chloe already wants us to check it out and "get crafting!"

Barefoot at It's Best

GO check out their amazing books - we LOVE so many of them in our library!! AND if you order between March 28 and March 31 you will get FREE SHIPPING!! Just click through this image to get to the site and order!
Make sure to check out Little Leap Foward ~ Boy in Beijing - wonderful!!!

Cleary's Sounds Like Reading Series

Brian P. Cleary has a new series! (Couldn't resist that rhyme there - if you know Cleary, you will understand!) Cleary is famous for his math books - Math Is CATegorical and his word books - Words Are CATegorical - but now, his latest series, Sounds Like Reading, is another set that will make teachers and parents so happy! Probably one of the requests I get the most in the library are books for beginning readers - with not too many hard words in them. That is what Cleary has given us - each book focuses on a sound - long vowels, short vowels with consonant blends, etc. Complete with Cleary's fantastic style and Jason Miskimins' illustrations - I am excited to recommend these to parents and teachers, alike.

Handle With Care

Jodi Picoult is truly one of my favorite adult authors - I LOVE her writing style and her topics are usually very interesting to me. Her latest, Handle With Care, is no exception. This is a very tender story of marriage, family and children - told from all different perspectives - another thing I LOVE about Picoult. This novel deals with a baby born with OI - osteogensis imperfecta - a disease I was previously unfamiliar with. It is the story of what that disease does to their family and how they deal with it - each in his/her own way. I was torn apart at the breaking up of a family when they needed each other most - and as usual - the ending was heart-wrenching. Thank you, Picoult, for another page-turner.

Chronicle OVERLOAD!!!

Chronicle sent me a box that our library staff is STILL laughing at me for! I got this box, opened it and jumped up and down - ok, you'd have to be a librarian to understand the excitement of NEW BOOKS - and I am not just talking any new books - these are WONDERFUL!!!

Let me share some with you:
Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar! by Bob Barner - another Bob Barner HIT!!! You just can't go wrong here - the illustrations are WONDERFUL - even though I may not agree with the way he says it all happened - I like the concept - dinosaurs and butterflies together - but not for long.

The Chore Board by Sarah Malarkey - what a fun idea for any home - a clever chore chart that will BE SURE to have kids wanting to work! (It sounds good anyway!!!) It is a very fun format and I know my Chloe would be dying to be SWEEPING BEAUTY!!!


Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld - Ok - this is one of my favorites in the box - hold the book one way and you see a duck - hold it another and you see a rabbit - how can you not LOVE this!?!?!? And the way the authors argue back and forth had Chloe and I rolling with laughter! MUST SEE this one!

B is for Baseball - Running the Bases from A to Z - this is sure to be a "hit" with all those kids wild about all things baseball. Ok, I'll admit it - I liked it and I'm not even wild about baseball! The illustrations are a mixture of photos and drawings and I love it when they combine those two mediums. It is a great alphabet book, with new information to uncover from A to Z!

Tony and the Pizza Champions is another book in this box that I just fell in love with. Tony Gemignani has teamed up with Matthew Trueman as the illustrator and created a book that is a fun and lively "pizza" story. The illustrations are WONDERFUL, the story is so fun, AND it's based on the true story of Tony Gemignani and his world-champion pizza-tossing team - what more can I say!?!? Oh, I know - there are pizza recipes and dough-tossing instructions in the back - I am thinking we HAVE to try this at my house! I can't wait to use it in my next PIZZA story hour!

Cream of the Crop

So I can't let today go by and not tell you about some "hits" at our house and at our library.

What kind of a day is it when Jeremy Tankard comes out with a new book!?!? A GOOD ONE!!!
And it was just that last week when Boo Hoo Bird came in. You already know how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Bird - and this one is no exception. It came on a perfect day for it - as I sat reading it to my 4 year old with my heart hurting - I just cried and cried as I was reading - because I knew how Bird felt and he is right - friends DO help when you are hurting. GO GET THIS ONE!

Laurence Yep's latest is Auntie Tiger and yes, we are buying this one for home too. Chloe and I LOVED this one - a wonderful story of a Chinese "Little Red Riding Hood"!!! Chloe thought the illustrations were wonderful - Insu Lee drew those - and yes, we MUST own this one.

The Vermeer Interviews

Bob Raczka is making my summer reading program planning very easy!! His art books are just great additions to our theme this summer! His latest, The Vermeer Interviews: Conversations with Seven Works of Art is perfect! Raczka has taken seven of Vermeer's works and then conducts "an interview" with Vermeer or the character in the artwork. I LOVED this - his sense of humor really shines and yet, it's a wonderful way to teach children how to analyze works of art. Do not miss this one!

Sprout Your Own Sweet Scents

Chronicle Books sent me this fun kit: Sprout Your Own Sweet Scents - I am so excited to start sprouting that I can hardly stand it! Chloe and I are going to grow Cool and Fresh Spearmint, Tangy Lemon Balm, and Zingy Cinnamon Basil - all in these cute little pots that come in this set. THEN, I see they also have Sprout Your Own Leafy Wonders - this kit includes a Sensitive Plant, A Polka Dot Plant, and a Lamb's Ear. What a fun idea - a great way to throw in some science - AND a new way to celebrate spring! (We'll have to show you some pics when we start growing!!)

Body Battles

Having three boys - I am WELL-AWARE of the world of non-fiction - I believe we've read most of them at our house!! Vicki Cobb is already one of the world's greatest non-fiction authors, in my humble opinion, but this new series - Body Battles - is just superb! I love a fun way to teach science, and she has captured it! Be sure to check out her wonderful super heroes fighting our body battles!!

Your Body Battles a Broken Bone
Your Body Battles a Cavity
Your Body Battles a Cold
Your Body Battles a Skinned Knee
Your Body Battles a Stomachache
Your Body Battles an Earache

Spring Reading Thing

Spring Reading Thing is hosted by Callapidder Days - this is always such a great challenge - I love to take part. Because I am a youth services librarian - my list this spring is particularly heavy on that end! I am excited to get reading!!!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
Adopting the Hurt Child by Gregory Keck
Parenting the Hurt Child by Gregory Keck

Little Oink

So I'm already a fan of Little Pea and Little Hoot (both by Amy Krouse Rosenthal) - so when I saw that Chronicle Books was now sporting Little Oink - I was plenty excited! What I didn't know is that Little Oink is a carbon copy of ME!!!! (Not from the pig aspect, mind you!) Poor Little Oink does not like to make a mess - in fact, his parents have to TELL him to mess up his room - see why I LOVE this little guy!?!?!? I have a found a new favorite and now I just need a stuffed Little Oink for my desk!

Shattered Reality

I was given the opportunity to review a book by Kimberly Cheryl called Shattered Reality. I always enjoy new authors and the topic of the book was one that made me think "I should read that" as well. Cheryl has written a book that explores the whole topic of children being sexually abused. She has approached this topic with an honest, open spirit as she has been through the experience within her own family. I have to tell you - I was caught up in the book right at page one. This is just something I have not read a lot about, and it was a book that had a lotof good information. Her transparency is so valuable as a parent - and to parents who have gone through this - I am sure it is even more helpful. There is a wonderful resource in the back of the book for more information on sexual abuse - websites, books, etc. She also has a website to promote her book as well as give more information HERE. The whole book is just a very valuable resource and tool - it opened my eyes and gave me a lot to think about as a parent.

The Puppet

Eva Wiseman's The Puppet is sitting right at the top of my list. It is a MUST-READ in my opinion. A great book set in a Hungarian village in 1882. Julie, is a little girl that gets caught up in the middle of a court case because her best friend, Esther, is the one that is "murdered". That is the crux of the book - did the Jews "murder" her or how else did she end up dead in the pond? There is a little bit of everything in this book - friendship, growing up, history - this is a wonderful read that even though readers may not relate through time and place, they will relate through the trials Julie goes through. It is tender and real - a great read. Oh yes, and it's based on a real court case that took place in Hungary in 1883.

Twittering with Authors

Yes, I got sucked in the online community of Twitter - gotta say, I enjoy it although it could be LOTS of time! I limit myself to how much I am on, but have already gotten some great ideas from being a part of it. SO - in case you are interested - I have a list you can get by clicking HERE to show you authors that "Tweet" as well!! This is a fun way to keep track of them and learn new and exciting things!! (There are a wide range of authors on this list adult, YA, and even some children's authors.)

The Truth: I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein has written The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything). She sent me a copy to read and review, and I am thrilled with this little book. This will be a fast read for kids, but it hits at the heart of what girls this age are thinking. It is a young girl's account in her diary of her thoughts and feelings. It is presented in such a way that I think girls will laugh and empathize with the girl in this book. It's right where they are, and it is a book that will encourage them to be all they can be "right where they are". With her 25 years of being a psychologist, Dr. Holstein, really knows the mind of a young teen - I think she's right on!

Paperback Frenzy

I got an email about this website and was thrilled at another book review website. You will love it - book reviews for all genres and all ages.

Weebeasts

Micah Linton sent me a box of books, and I was introduced to the fascinating world of Weebeasts. Linton has created a world where beasts rule and have adventures. There is one hardback book he sent, Plight, that actually has words and tells a story. But the boxed set he sent, Weebeastology Vol. 1, are all wordless graphic novels. I can see kids LOVING these. You can make up your own stories over and over just by looking at the pictures. They are geared for ages 9-12 but I think the possibilities are endless. Oh yes, and I even received an actual Weebeast - beware, there is now a Weebeast in our library!


Check out their cool website. And their blog. Thank you, Micah for the set - I have enjoyed them, see kids totally loving them, and will tell the next young'un through the door about them!

Thought This was Fun!!!

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