Kids' Books

Weebeasts Plight by Micah Linton

2009-07-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

The weebeasts are yellow creatures with human-shaped, pot-bellied bodies and heads that resemble those of the crows in the Disney movie “Dumbo.” They are not human, which probably is why they run around naked, except for a bracelet or necklace. Perhaps the yellow is some type of fur, but it looks like skin.
The weebeasts seem to live communally, in places they construct of rocks, with interesting holes and windows, and creative use of levers and other basic tools. They hang hammocks from one rock pillar to another, and sleep in them. There are also a few huts, perhaps for the less sociable weebeasts.
They sound pretty nice. But, this book says, “they didn’t play nice with the creatures who lived nearby.”
As a result, they found themselves having to leave, abruptly. In their lengthy search for a new home, they learn some things, and invent some things, and eventually become much nicer than they were to begin with.
This book has few words but great pictures and a good message.

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

2009-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Imagine a world of tiny people who live in the nooks and corners of your house, inside a clock, or under the floorboards, in the heating ducts and among the plumbing pipes. They seldom see the sun, because the only safe time for them to venture into the domain of human beings is at night, and even then it’s risky. Someone could see them! But venture they must, because it’s the only way they can survive.
This is the world of the Borrowers, as imagined by Mary Norton. Borrowers have to borrow from humans to obtain the materials they need to make clothing, furniture, books, tools, and of course, food. Their greatest fear, aside from being seen, is of what most humans do after seeing them: Get a cat!
Aside from their size, the Borrowers are very much like humans. They look the same, have mostly the same needs, and have very similar feelings. In this first book, Pod and Homily Clock live with their daughter Arrietty. Arrietty is bored with her very restricted life, so when her father decides it’s time to teach her how to become a successful Borrower, she’s terribly excited. But on her very first trip to the outside world, the unthinkable occurs: She is seen by a human boy. And life for the Clocks changes dramatically.

This is a great book! Read it!

Jeremy and the Enchanted Theater by Becky Citra

2009-05-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

This little book is mixes Greek mythology with modern theater to tell the story of a boy who learns how to be brave.
Jeremy’s on his way home from school and he’s scared! He hates going past the house of a mean boy and a house where a mean dog lives. He’s scared of them both, and he wishes he were brave. The mean boy throws a rock at a cat, while Jeremy hides. Little does he know that the cat will be his guide on an amazing adventure!
Jeremy discovers that he’s lost, so he follows the cat into a building labeled The Enchanted Theater. And before he knows it, he and the cat, whose name is Aristotle, have time-traveled back to ancient Greece, where he tries to solve a mystery about the theater. In the process, he has several terrifying experiences, including confrontations with the gods Zeus and Ares, that teach him that he’s braver than he thought.

Bird, by Rita Murphy

2009-05-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

I wanted to read “Bird” because of the picture on the cover. It’s of a house, a cockeyed Victorian with four stories, all seeming to teeter in the wind, and with trees growing around it -- for stability? Atop the house is a fifth floor made of glass and surrounded by a widow’s walk, where a woman could gaze across the ocean to see if her husband’s ship or fishing boat was in view.
The house is called Bourne Manor, and in it live a creepy woman called Wysteria and a very tiny girl called Miranda, who was blown there by the wind. Wysteria takes Miranda into the Manor, which, Miranda tells us, gives its shelter to the lost and aimless. She makes Miranda wear a pair of boots with steel plates in the soles, to keep her from blowing away again. She teaches her the basics of reading and figuring, and has the tiny girl work by mending fishing nets. She basically keeps Miranda prisoner in the Manor, most of which is locked up so the girl can enter only enter a few rooms. As a result, Miranda becomes fearful of the outdoors and the outside world in general.
Then Miranda finds a key. She gains entrance to the glass room and the widow’s walk. She also can enter Wysteria’s dead husband’s room, where she finds several kites. When she flies the captain's kites from the widow's walk, she rediscovers the forbidden joy of letting her hair fly in the wind.

Indirectly, a kite that gets away brings her a new acquaintance, a boy named Farley. And soon afterward, Wysteria becomes ill and Miranda’s life changes dramatically. Among other things, she finds out what she really is.
This is one of the better written children’s books I’ve found. It’s only about 150 pages long, but the story is full and engrossing, mysterious and haunting.

Priscilla Superstar!

2009-05-09T06:50:00.001-07:00

The third book in the Priscilla series by Jocelyn Hobbie and her brother Nathaniel Hobbie is cute and pink, like Priscilla herself. In this book, she's "looking for something to do. Something exciting and different and new."
And she finds it, as this rhyming tale explains. After investigating a dozen or so possibilities, Priscilla and her friend Bettina go to see the Princess Rollerina in action. And Priscilla is hooked. She wants to become the world's next great roller princess!
Both girls sign up to take roller skating lessons at L'Ecole Rolleret. It's painful and exhausting, but Priscilla is up to the challenge. "Hard work and practice. That's what it takes."
Does Priscilla achieve her goal of becoming the roller princess in the school's play? Read the book and find out! Hint: Priscilla learns an important lesson about life, and the book ends happily.

Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me

2009-05-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

This beautiful book is a story that takes place in about half an hour, as a grandfather takes his young granddaughter out to see his apple orchard in bloom.

She tells the story, perhaps to her own grandchild, of how her grandfather smiled and waved at everyone who passed by, and she asked him, "How come you know so many people?"

His classic reply: "Ain't nobody a stranger to me!"

Why? "Cause both me and my heart is free."

Such was not always the case, though. Ann Grifalconi's short book takes the reader on a powerful emotional journey through this country's past of slavery. The grandfather, his wife and baby daughter escaped to the North by crossing the Ohio River into freedom. The kindness of a stranger, a Quaker conductor for the Underground Railroad, taught him that there are really no strangers, and that by trusting the Good Lord, we get through.

The apple trees have significance too. Before his escape, the grandfather would keep apple seeds in his pocket to remind him that the day of freedom would come, when he could plant them on his own farm. He makes his granddaughter promise never to forget the story he's told her. And that's why she tells this story, which is based on a true story.

Nutcracker

2009-04-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It's not Christmas. But the library just got a new copy of "Nutcracker" by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and it is simply gorgeous. The story is the same as always, about the wonderful Christmas toys made by Godfather Drosselmeir for Fritz and Marie and given to them on Christmas Eve, when the Christ Child comes. The Nutcracker is Marie's gift, and she falls in love with him immediately.

It's a beautiful and treasured story. But it's the pictures that really make this book come alive.

This large-size book is full of beautiful and detailed illustrations by Roberto Innocenti. Most of them contain Marie, mice and the Nutcracker, as she dreams fabulous adventures throughout that Christmas Eve night. Read this classic story and enjoy staring the pictures, even if it is the wrong month!

Trixie Belden: The Secret of the Mansion

2009-04-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

I read a few Trixie Belden books by Julie Campbell when I was a pre-teen, hundreds of years ago. So when I happened to see a few books in that old series on the shelves in our library, I decided to reread one of them and see what I think of it now.
Trixie is a 13-year-old tomboy who wants a horse more than anything. Her mother gives her chores to do so she can earn some money. But Trixie is distracted, and with good reason. A new family has moved into her neighborhood – a rich family with children and horses!
She quickly makes friends with the family’s daughter, a girl named Honey (remember, this book was written back in the 1940s). She and Honey decide to explore another neighborhood mansion, an old one that looks haunted and which is owned by an old man, Mr. Frayne, who’s on the verge of death in the hospital. To add to the mansion’s mystique, Honey thinks she saw a face at a window in that house when she rode by it on her house.
The girls decide to go check out the old mansion and see if perhaps a tramp has taken up residence there. Yes, this was an extremely foolish thing to do, and eventually the police point that out to the girls. But not before they have some fascinating adventures and make the acquaintance of a very interesting boy.
I liked it! There were no dragons or wizards, but this is a story that’s realistic enough to actually have happened. Trixie and Honey seem like real people, and I found myself sympathizing with them and caring about them, and even worrying about them when they did stupid things.
I recommend this book, and others in the series. They’re old, but good.

Toy Dance Party

2009-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

What do toys do when their owners grow up?

Toy Dance Party, Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots StingRay, a Courageous Buffalo, & a Hopeful Round Someone Called Plastic, is a fanciful answer to this question.

It's a collection of six stories about Lumphy, a stuffed buffalo, StingRay, a stuffed stingray and Plastic, a ball. They're dealing with increasing abandonment by the Girl who owns them. She has graduated to Barbie dolls and her toddler toys feel it keenly that she no longer loves them. This might sound depressing, but it's not. This book is funny!

In the first story, these neurotic toys decide that the Girl may still love them but has gotten lost. So Lumphy appoints himself to go outside and look for her, even though it's winter and he could get wet. He ends up getting stuck in the snow. StingRay refuses to go dig him out with a spatula because she's dry-clean only. That leaves Plastic to do the job. After all, it won't hurt her to get wet. But Plastic has the perfect excuse: "I can't hold the spatula."

This book is about an inch thick, but it's really fast and fun to read. It's by Emily Jenkins with plenty of pictures by Paul O. Zelinsky.

Dodsworth in Paris

2009-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

In the mood for a quick trip to France? Tim Egan’s new chapter book, Dodsworth in Paris, could make you feel like you’ve been there.
Dodsworth is an animal of some type, perhaps a mole. His best friend is a nameless duck. The two go around visiting various places, and somehow the duck manages to have the best adventures.
On arrival in Paris, Dodsworth makes the duck promise not to cause any trouble. But it isn’t long before the duck manages to bumble his way into several mishaps. He’s a lucky duck, though, and somehow even his worst mistakes always turn out well.Egan’s humor is dry and understated, and his artwork is lovely. This is a great book for early readers.

How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush

2009-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Want to have fun and learn something at the same time? I highly recommend the following book, whose title is so long it deserves its own paragraph.

How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush: An Adventurer’s Guide to the Fabulous Riches Discovered in 1848 was written by Tod Olson and illustrated by Scott Allred, with an afterword by Marc Aronson.

This book is hilarious! And it’s presented in a scrapbook style that never bores or bogs you down. You just switch your attention, limited as it may be, to whatever grabs it on a given page.

The tale is supposedly based on a manuscript written by one Thomas Hartley, who leaves New England and goes California’s gold fields to make his fortune. In Chapter 2, Home Sweet Home, Hartley offers comments, opposed and in favor of his plan, by friends and family members. And he observes, under the title, “O’ New England,” that “It is widely agreed in these parts that farming is an honorable pursuit, for it requires long hours of backbreaking labor with little chance that wealth or comfort will ever corrupt one’s soul.”

In future chapters he offers various bits of essential advice, such as a list of what to bring along, and the cost, how to get there, warnings (“Do not be shocked to see crates of food and other supplies rotting at the docks. The city lacks storage.”), a list of supplies for gold prospectors, directions on mining for gold, and a lot more.
If you read this book, you’ll learn just as much as you would in reading a ordinary nonfiction book about the California gold rush, and you’ll enjoy it a lot more!

Kid Music

2009-03-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Most parents find it easy to entertain children in the car or at home if they have music. The Children's Department has a large and varied collection of CDs for young children, shelved on Aisle 6, next to the children's books on CD.
There are CDs of the music from Disney movies, like Lilo & Stitch or Finding Nemo. There are songs to dance to, go to sleep to, or learn to.
A few examples:
World Playground takes children on a musical trip around the world. Beethoven's Wig Sing Along Symphonies sets silly lyrics to some of the greatest hits of classical music. The Real Mother Goose features classic nursery rhymes set to music. Sing Me to Sleep, Daddy is a collection of original ballads and lullabies that share God's love with children.
The Mozart Effect and Smart Music: Classical Music for Babies help develop the mind, memory and creativity of youngsters. Other CDs are designed to teach basic learning skills like counting and the alphabet.
Parents with young children will find the children's CD collection an invaluable resource for both learning and entertainment.

Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern

2009-03-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a delightful picture book that educates as well as entertains. It is the story of Filippo Brunelleschi, a 15th century architect and inventor in Florence, Italy.
Like many brilliant people, Brunelleschi didn’t get much respect in his earlier years. His inventions were considered silly, giving him the nickname of Pippo the Fool.
Fern describes a little man who’s grouchy and prickly, but also determined to make a name for himself and gain the respect he knows he deserves. Other people may not respect Pippo’s mind, but he knows his own worth. And he’s willing to work hard.
When the city fathers hold a contest to design a dome to complete the city’s new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, Pippo recognizes his chance – and his challenge.
Nobody has ever built such a large dome. Nobody even knows for sure that it can be done. Surely the weight of the building materials would cause it to collapse!
A number of master builders, including Pippo’s arch-rival Lorenzo Ghiberti, enter the contest. The judges are unimpressed with most of the designs, including Pippo’s, which lacks any visible supports. They throw him out, and continue to mull over the various submissions.
But Pippo doesn’t give up easily. He goes home and starts collecting the materials to make a model of his dome. He completes the model and shows it to the judges. Two years after the contest began, the judges make their decision.

So who won the contest? Did Pippo ever earn the respect he craved? You can find out by reading this book!

The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

2009-03-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

I read the “Pippi Longstocking” books by Astrid Lindgren when I was a child, about 45 years ago. I loved them! So when the library got a brand-new copy of “The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking,” which includes three of the books, I decided to re-read it and see if it was as great as I remembered.
In all honesty, it was. This book is hilarious! It was so interesting that I didn’t want to put it down!
Pippi Longstocking is a 9-year-old girl who lives by herself in an old, tumble-down house. Her father, a sea captain, has been lost at sea and is presumed to have died, though Pippi is certain that he is now the king of a cannibal island. Before his final, perhaps fatal voyage, he bought the house and parked Pippi there, along with the treasures she’d amassed during her years of travel with him, and a suitcase full of gold coins.
Not every nine year old would be able to survive on her own, even with all that money. But Pippi is unique. She’s resourceful, generous, uniquely intelligent, enormously strong, and possessed of a bizarre sense of humor. Along with her next-door neighbors, Tommy and Annika, she has the most entertaining adventures imaginable.
For example, when Tommy and Annika have to go to school, Pippi decides to join them. It’s not because she has any burning desire to learn – no, it’s because she figures out that she won’t get any Christmas vacation unless she goes to school.
School becomes a huge challenge for her, though, as is apparent from the moment the teacher asks her what seven and five are. Pippi’s response: “Well, if you don’t know that yourself, you needn’t think I’m going to tell you.”
It goes from bad to worse, and finally Pippi and the teacher part ways, having decided that school and Pippi are not right for each other.I highly recommend this book for kids of all ages.

The Sandman

2009-03-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

Not many children these days have ever heard of the sandman. But there was a time, a couple generations ago, when everybody knew about him. They even wrote songs about him.
The Sandman by Ralph Fletcher is a fun, fanciful story about how the sandman got started doing what he does. He’s a tiny man named Tor, and he rides around in a chariot drawn by a mouse. And he has a problem: He can’t sleep!
But Tor finds a solution, and it has to do with a dragon, a grinding stone, and magical sand.
To find out how Tor finally got to sleep, and how he continues to help a whole lot of kids with the same problem, you can read this book!Or you can ask your grandparents.

2009-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

I’m reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, and so far it’s one of the best books I’ve read all year. It’s actually fun to read! And it’s not boring. It reminds me of Matilda and some of the other books by Roald Dahl. And maybe a little bit of Harry Potter.
The story begins with an unusual ad in the newspaper, an ad directed at children. It reads, “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?”
Reynie Muldoon definitely is. With the help of his teacher, he responds to the ad. Soon he finds himself taking a series of unique tests that are designed to separate the most intelligent, resourceful and gifted children from those who are only moderately so. Reynie makes it through the tests, and so do three other children.
Sticky Washington is so called because his mind retains everything he every reads. Kate Wetherall can come up with a solution to almost everything, using the tools in her bucket. And Constance Contraire is, well, contrary. But creatively so.
These four form the Mysterious Benedict Society, under the direction of the mysterious Mr. Benedict, who gives them a dangerous and extremely important mission.
Interested? Check out The Mysterious Benedict Society and read it! Then write here about what you think of it!

Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls

2009-02-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

Imagine a world in which rats talk to people, and the people understand. Imagine a villainess so wicked that she takes young girls, shrinks them down to 4 inches high, and keeps them in a doll house called the Home for Troubled Girls.
Emmy knows all about the rats, because she’s been bitten by one, twice. The first bite allows you to understand rat language; the second is the shrinker. Emmy has been there, and she knows the danger associated with Miss Barmy, her former governess who now exists as a rat.
Somebody needs to rescue the girls from the Home for Troubled Girls, where they are treated like dolls and slaves. The police are on the trail, but how could they ever come up with the truth when it’s so bizarre?This book is creepy, scary, and also pretty funny at times. It’s by Lynne Jonell, who also wrote Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. Give it a try, and write back to tell us what you think!

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

2009-02-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Princesses are supposed to be charming and lovely, spectacularly so, in fairy tales at least. But the Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne, the seventh of seven princesses, was luckier than most.
Remember “The Sleeping Beauty”? She was cursed by a wicked fairy that when she turned 16, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.
The Princess Amethyst, etc., has a similar experience at her christening party. All the fairies in the kingdom show up and pronounce upon her the expected gifts of wit, charm, courage, health, wisdom and grace. But then comes the fairy Crustacea, old, crabby and semi-deaf. “Good gracious, poor child!” she says. “Well, thank goodness my magic is stronger than anyone else’s! I am going to give you something that will probably bring you more happiness than all these fal-lals and fripperies put together. You shall be Ordinary!”
The king and queen are devastated. But there’s nothing to be done. Within a few years, despite all their efforts to counteract the old fairy’s gift, it’s apparent that the youngest princess is indeed ordinary. Her name gets shortened to Amy, but most people just call her the Ordinary Princess. Her lovely golden curls turn straight and dishwater blonde. Her nose turns up and gets freckles. (She does get to keep the charm, wit, health, courage, wisdom and grace.)
But there are compensations to being ordinary, and the Ordinary Princess manages to discover them in short order. While her six beautiful sisters are busy parading around and looking gorgeous, getting married, etc., the Ordinary Princess gets to have fun and make friends! This is a delightful, beautifully written story. If you like fairy tales, you’ll love The Ordinary Princess.

Sienna the Saturday Fairy

2009-01-31T06:39:00.000-08:00

The audience is bored. Then the clothes come up missing. How are Rachel and Kirsty supposed to do a fashion show with that kind of trouble?

The answer is, magic! If they could only find the Saturday Fun Flag, everything would be perfect. But how to find it when a goblin is thwarting their every attempt to put things right?

Then it's Sienna to the rescue! The Saturday Fairy flutters out of of a glove, gets the Saturday Fun Flag back, and saves the show from ignominious disaster.

If you like fairies, and you're in grades 2 to 6, the Rainbow Magic series by Daisy Meadows may be one you'd enjoy reading. There are seven books, one for each day of the week, and each features a different Fun Day fairy.

You can find the books in the juvenile fiction section of the library, under Meadows. Some of them are in the New Books section at the entrance to the Children's Department.

If you read one or more of these modern fairy tales, write on our blog and tell what you thought of it!

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

2009-01-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

A significant object has been lost in the kingdom ruled by the royal family in the Castle Corona. A pair of peasants, Pia and her brother Enzio have found it, and they don’t know what to do with it. They are aware that the authorities are searching for the object, which is a leather pouch emblazoned with the king’s seal. But something holds them back, keeps them from immediately returning it. Perhaps they are afraid of being accused of stealing it. Or perhaps they are simply fascinated by the pouch and its contents, which include couple pieces of red coral, a lock of black hair tied with a purple ribbon, and a small piece of parchment on which are written undecipherable words.
Meanwhile, the king, the queen and their spoiled children, Prince Gianni, Prince Vito and Princess Fabrizia, ponder the problem of how to find the thief who has stolen the pouch. “A thief wants what he does not have,” a hermit tells the king.
Pia and Enzio have been told by the King’s Men that if they find any significant object, they are to take it to an old woman, Signora Ferrelli. But before they take the pouch, they decide to check the old woman . They visit her, and she gives them a present: a small packet that they might need.
Then more and more objects go missing in the kingdom. This gentle, mysterious and sometimes amusing story is largely about life and the search for meaning. People who live in castles don’t have the happy, perfect lives that we might imagine. And peasants aren’t always what they seem, either.

The Butter Man

2009-01-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

I like stories that teach. The Butter Man, by Elizabeth Alalou and Ali Alalou, is a story like that. It’s a simple tale, not particularly exciting. But through it I learned what life was like a few years ago for the Berbers in Morocco. I also learned some Moroccan words.
At the start, the story is told by Nora, whose father Ali is a native of Morocco. She watches her baba (father) cook a pot of couscous, including meat and vegetables. She’s very hungry, but when she tells him, “I’m starving,” instead of a snack, she gets a story.
The story of The Butter Man.
It’s a story of a time when because of a lengthy drought, there were no crops. Gradually, the amount of bread Ali’s mother gives him to eat gets smaller and drier. And very quickly the butter jar grows empty.
“Ma,” he asks her, “Don’t you have just a little bit of butter for me?”
His wise mother tells him to go outside and wait for the butter man. “If he passes,” she says, “ask for a little bit of butter to go with your bread.”
He goes outside to wait and watch, but the butter man doesn’t come. Still, he manages to eat his small piece of bread without it.
The same scene is repeated day after day: While his daily allotment of bread gets tinier, Ali’s stomach continues to growl, and the butter man doesn’t come.
But someone else eventually comes!
To find out who, you’ll have to read the book. When you do, please write a comment and tell what you learned from this story.

The Sisters 8: Annie's Adventures

2009-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

When I saw the title, The Sisters 8, I knew I had to read this book. I am also one of eight sisters! However, unlike the sisters in this book by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, we were all born on separate days and years. I am 17 years older than my youngest sister.But the Sisters 8 are octuplets!Not only that, but each is an inch taller than the next sister in order of birth. (Yes, that means the last one out is pretty darn tiny.)The last name of the sisters is Huit, which means eight in French, so apparently the circumstances of their birth were a foregone conclusion. But now their parents are gone, “disappeared, presumed dead, actually dead,” whatever that means. So the Sisters 8, who are seven years old, have a double challenge: surviving in their huge, castle-like house, and keeping their state of solitude a secret from the adult authorities.If that’s not enough to get you to want to read this book, consider this: In addition to eight sisters, there are eight cats in this book!And one more thing: a mysterious note has been found behind a loose stone in the wall. The note informs Annie, Durinda, Georgia, Jackie, Marcia, Petal, Rebecca and Zinnia that each of them possesses a power and a gift, which they must discover in order to find out what really happened to their missing parents.
Wow! That’s a great beginning for a book. Read it! I am.

That Book Woman

2009-01-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

It takes only about 5 minutes to read this book by Heather Henson, but in only two pages, I was crying. Yeah, I'm an emotional idiot -- but there's something about this book that touches me deeply. Probably because I'm a part-time librarian and I love books.
That Book Woman is told by a rebellious young man, Cal, who initially has no interest in reading, even though his younger sister, Lark, loves to read. Still, when the Book Woman comes calling every two weeks, on her horse loaded with a bag of books that she lends for free, Cal gradually has a change of heart.
The story is based on a real historical happening. The Pack Horse Librarians, mostly women, were hired by the government during the Great Depression to bring literacy and books to the isolated people of Appalachia.
Learning to read opens new worlds now, as in the past. Spend a few minutes with That Book Woman, and you'll gain a deeper appreciation for reading, for books, and even for librarians.

Piano Piano

2008-12-27T06:52:00.001-08:00

Sometimes parents try to live their dreams through their children. “Piano Piano” by Davide Cali is about a mother like that.
Marcolino has to practice the piano every day at 3, but he hates it. He forces himself to practice for just 13 minutes, but then he escapes to the television.
“Get back to the piano now!” his mother orders.
But in another couple minutes, “Aarrh! I’m sick of this!” he yells.
Marcolino’s mother wants him to practice so he can become a grand pianist. She tells him she used to practice for hours as a child, but she never became a grand pianist because after he was born, she didn’t have time to practice. He feels guilty, even though it really wasn’t his fault. So he practices, but he doesn’t like the piano. He wants to be anything but a grand pianist.
Does Marcolino escape the piano and get to become what he really wants to be?Read this very entertaining book!

The Tie Man's Miracle

2008-12-20T06:28:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas week, but this is also the season of Hanukkah, which this year happens to be celebrated during this same week!
In honor of Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, I read The Tie Man's Miracle , A Chanukah Tale by Steven Schnur.
It's a haunting, beautiful story that doesn't tell you everything. You have to use your imagination.
The tie man is an old Jewish man, Mr. Hoffman, who sells neckties for a living. He comes to Seth's house when the menorah candles are about to be lit to begin the eight days of Chanukah. Seth's mother lets him inside and buys a few ties. The family invites the tie man to stay, and participate in their celebration. He does so, humbly.
He particularly seems fascinated by Hannah, the baby.
Seth asks questions, and finds out why.
Curious? Read the book!

Pollyanna

2008-12-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ever seen the old Disney movie Pollyanna? Did you know it was was based on a book?
I loved the movie when I was a child, and even bought a copy on VHS years ago so my kids could see it too. I have to admit they weren't as excited about the movie as I was, years ago. So it may be a generational thing. Whatever.
I remain confident that the story is timeless. Admittedly, it's a little goofy at times. Pollyanna can be almost Amelia Bedelia in her deliberate misunderstanding of people's words and actions. She's determined to put the happiest, kindest, gladdest spin on everything and everyone she encounters.
This past week I've been reading the book Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, for the first time. I happened to notice it as I was looking for something to read during one of the library's slow times. I found out that the book was first published in 1912 -- almost 100 years ago!
But I still liked it.
Pollyanna Whittier is the daughter of a missionary and his wife, both of whom die fairly young. She's then sent back from the West to a little town in Vermont to live with her aunt. Polly Harrington is wealthy and bitter. She's about 40 and has never married. Pollyanna, with her loving, bubbly and overwhelmingly positive nature, is a shock to Aunt Polly's life, as well as to the entire town.
But it's a good shock. Pollyanna teaches one person after another to find something to be glad about in everything that happens. In doing so, she changes the sour outlook of the village residents, as well as her aunt, to one that's more loving and kind and hopeful.
The story may be a little difficult for elementary school children to understand, but girls in fifth and sixth grade should enjoy it. It even has a little romance!
Has anybody out there read Pollyanna? Or even seen the movie? Write and tell me what you thought of it!

Fairest

2008-12-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

In Ayortha, a kingdom of singers, Aza has the most beautiful, magical voice of all. She has even learned how to throw her voice – a skill she names illusing.
Yet she spends most of her time fretting because she’s not pretty and because, in a country of small people, she is tall – two inches taller than the king.
“Fairest” by Gail Carson Levine is a fantasy about a girl who’s gifted, uniquely talented, but who just wants to be attractive in the most obvious way there is: physically.
Aza wants to be pretty, but in her own view, and that of most of her fellow Ayorthians, she’s ugly.
Still, life gets better, and more complicated, for Aza. She’s befriended by a cat-loving duchess, and the new queen makes her a lady-in-waiting. There’s a prince, too, named Ijori, who seems to like Aza.
Then the king is injured and cannot rule. The people want to hold a Healing Sing for him, but the queen, Ivi, is not a singer. Knowing Aza’s talent, she wants her to illuse for her – to make it seem that Aza’s voice is her own. Despite reservations, Aza finally agrees to do so.
Then Aza finds a magic mirror. When she looks into it, she sees herself as the fairest in the land. To find out how the mirror changes Aza’s life, you’ll have to read the rest of the book!

Wishes

2008-11-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus has everything, right? Well, not quite. When a thoughtful boy writes to Santa, asking him what he wants for Christmas, it turns out that there is something the jolly old elf desires, more than anything else.
A daughter.
And in response to his wish, he and his wife are blessed with a baby girl, Holly Claus, who has “the purest and most compassionate heart of anyone ever born.”
But then the land of Forever, where Santa Claus reigns, is invaded by an evil warlock. He curses the land and encases Holly’s heart in ice. If she ever leaves the frosty land of Forever, her heart will melt and she will die.
Santa, his family and all the inhabitants of Forever are forced to stop their annual travels to the human world. Christmas is suspended, indefinitely.To find out how Holly manages to conquer the curse, save Christmas and find her own destiny, you’ll have to read Holly Claus: The Christmas Princess,

If you had been granted just one wish, what would you wish for? That’s the dilemma faced by a woodcutter in The Faerie’s Gift, a story retold by Tanya Robin Batt, with pictures by Nicoletta Ceccoli. For sure, the woodcutter has plenty of needs and wants. He and his wife have longed for a child for many years. His mother has grown blind in her old age. Life is hard, and every winter his family is cold and near starvation. If you were the woodcutter, what would you do? How would you choose? To find out what the woodcutter wished for, you must read the book!

Hans Brinker lives!

2008-11-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite books from childhood was “Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates” by Mary Mapes Dodge. First published in 1865, the book has long been a classic.
But like many children’s classics, it’s a hard read for today’s kids. It has 289 pages, for one thing. The plot is long and involved, which makes it very satisfying for those with the patience and reading ability to see it through. But it’s a challenge for children who’ve been used to reading Captain Underpants or the Backyardigans.
In my view, it’s a challenge that ought to be taken up far more often. This book is full of old-fashioned morals, character models and useful information – all things that aren’t in high demand these days.
But even the pictures in the book aren’t that great. In the library’s copy, which has a 1945 copyright, some of the reproduction is blurry and the colors are dull.
What a delight it was to find a new “Hans Brinker” book, condensed into only 30 pages and packed with stunning artwork by Laurel Long. The pictures alone would keep any child’s attention. They are simply gorgeous.
The story is retold by Bruce Coville, a popular children’s writer. It’s a very basic, skeleton outline of the original story, but in tandem with the pictures, it’s still touching and inspiring.
Maybe it will even inspire some children to want to read the original book.

The Mozart Question

2008-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes books make us cry. Michael Morpurgo’s “The Mozart Question” did that to me.
It’s the story of a famous violinist, Paolo Levi, who’s being interviewed by a young reporter for a newspaper story. The reporter, Lesley McInley, has been warned not to ask “the Mozart question.” But she doesn’t even know what the question is.
So when she talks to Paolo, she innocently asks him to tell how he got started playing the violin. Because she has kind eyes, and because Paolo was once told “all secrets are lies,” he decides to tell her the truth – the tragic yet beautiful story of how he became a violinist, and the origin of the battered old violin on top of the cupboard in his parents’ bedroom … and why Mozart’s music is off limits.
I can’t tell you the whole story without spoiling it for you. But this wonderful book is one of the best I’ve read all year. The illustrations by Michael Foreman are perfect. If you don’t mind getting a little choked up and sad, read this book!

Lovely books

2008-11-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

We don’t always think about it, but there’s some truly lovely and fabulously imaginative writing in some of the children’s books on the shelves at the library.

Even beginning fiction, which is written for fairly young children.

Consider When the Sky is Like Lace, by Elinor Lander Horwitz. This book was published in 1975, when most of the parents of current young children had barely set foot on the planet yet themselves. But its delightful blend of silliness and dreamy imaginings appeals to this generation as much as the last.

A sample paragraph:

“You will also find that, on bimulous nights when the sky is like lace, the grass is like gooseberry jam. It’s not really squooshy like jam, because then the otters’ feet would slurp around and the snails might drown. It only smells like gooseberry jam. But if you walk barefoot, it feels like the velvet inside a very old violin case.”

Beautiful. You can almost feel the grass.

Another gorgeously written book is Monday by Anne Herbauts. Monday is about the passage of time, days, weeks and seasons. It says far less than it implies. But the implications are enough.

Here’s a page:

“Do you remember Monday?
He waited for Lester Day
and thought about Tom Morrow.
He felt so small, so very small
That he knew almost nothing
about Thursday
or Friday.
On Saturday he smiled dreamily,
Sunday passed in silence.”

Both of these books can be found on the “new” shelves in the Children’s Department. Unless, of course, somebody beat you to them!

Want to read a book in 5 minutes?

2008-11-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

"The Library of Doom is the world's largest collection of strange and dangerous books. The Librarian's duty is to keep the books from falling into the hands of those who would use them for evil purposes."

So begins each of Michael Dahl's series of books about the Library of Doom. In each of these little books (they really do take about 5 minutes apiece to read), the Librarian is the hero as he must figure out how to defeat the Spellbinder, the Paper Bats, the Beast of Books, the Collector, the Word Eater, the Lizard Bookends and the other malevolent invaders of the Library of Doom.

The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library has 12 of these new books, which can be found on the "new" shelves near the entrance to the Children's Department.

The Happy Prince

2008-10-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

I just read The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, retold by Elissa Grodin. It's a sad story, but happy too. It's about a bird and a statue. The bird is a swallow, who happens to see a small park where a statue of the city's former prince is placed. The swallow decides to sleep by the statue's foot, but he soon discovers that the statue is more than just a statue. The prince's heart still beats within the statue, and he's far more compassionate as a statue than he was as a prince, living the good life in his palace and ignoring the problems of his people.
I liked this book. It almost made me cry, though, even though it's a happy ending. Sort of. I'd call it bittersweet.
Anybody else read this book? What did you think of it?

E. Nesbit

2008-10-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite writers is a British woman who died almost 100 years ago. Edith Nesbit Bland used the pen name E. Nesbit. She was born in 1858 and died in 1924. But during her lifetime she wrote some of the most delightful children's books imaginable.
E. Nesbit loved dragons and children (she had five of her own), so many of her books are about dragons and children.
The Deliverers of Their Country is a tale about Effie and Harry, a pair of siblings who live in a time when Britain has been overrun with dragons. With characteristic British pluck and determination, they investigate all sorts of possibilities in order to deliver their country from this plague.
Five Children and It concerns five siblings who accidentally discover a wish-granting sand fairy while on vacation in the country one summer. That may sound like incredible luck, but somehow the children's wishes tend to have unforeseen and not always happy consequences.
The Complete Book of Dragons is a collection of E. Nesbit's short stories about, you guessed it, children and dragons. They're perfect bedtime stories.
Lionel and the Book of Beasts concerns a boy who unexpectedly becomes king of his country at a very young age. Since the previous king, his great-great-great-great-great grandfather, loved books far more than regalia, Lionel investigates the library. He discovers a wonderful book called the Book of Beasts. When he opens the book, he finds that whatever creature is depicted on the page will pop out of the book and come to life! Which is lovely, until he lets the dragon loose.
E. Nesbit wrote many other books, all of which are superb. My all-time favorite is called Melisande -- and it doesn't even have any dragons in it.
Melisande is a princess who shortly after birth is cursed by an evil fairy that she will be bald! Her father the king eventually remembers that he had a wish given to him years ago. He obtains permission to transfer that wish to his daughter. She wishes, understandably, for golden hair a yard long that grows and inch every day and twice as fast when it is cut.
That creates enormous problems. It isn't long before Melisande's hair has become the chief export of her country in the form of stuffing for pillows, hair brooches and girdles. But the consequences of the foolish wish aren't overcome until a determined prince and a fairy get involved.
If you like imaginative and intelligent stories, read those of E. Nesbit, which can be found in the Juvenile Fiction section of the Children's Department at the library.

What-the-Dickens

2008-10-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Dinah Ormsby and her brother Zeke live in a remote part of the world. They are homeschooled by their parents, so they don’t have much contact with other people.
Then comes the visit of their cousin Gage, followed by the storm.
It’s a terrifyingly violent and lengthy storm. It knocks out the power, so everything is cold and dark. And their parents are missing. So Gage decides to distract the Ormsby children by telling them a story.
So begins What-the-Dickens: the Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire.
What-the-Dickens (yes, that’s a name) is a skibberee, aka a tooth fairy. He’s a very tiny fellow clothed only in the webbing that grows on his body, and he’s in love with a cat named McCavity. So in the course of his amazing adventures, he tries to find a gift for McCavity that will win her heart.
A tooth.
Can you imagine the rest? I doubt it! You’ll need to read this book!

Strawberry Girl

2008-10-04T07:50:00.001-07:00

Anybody ever read old books?
I mean, everybody who reads, seems to read the new books like Harry Potter, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and the Spiderwick Chronicles.
But there are lots of old books that are just as good.
I’m an old person, and there are still some books at the library that were there 45 years ago when I was a kid. So I decided to see if Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski was still a book that I would enjoy as much as I did when I first read it many years ago.
The book is about Birdie Boyer, whose family raises strawberries for a living in Florida in the early 1900s. Birdie works hard on the strawberry farm, but she dreams of learning to play the organ. Even going to school is a challenge in a place where the students can beat up the teacher. And the farm is a struggle too, with droughts, animal invaders, grasshoppers and ants, mean neighbors and other challenges. But they have fun too, with candy-pulling and other social events.
At first the book is kind of strange. The people talk in a dialect that some might find hard to understand. But if you keep going, you get used to it. The people are strange too, but they feel like real people because they have the same feelings people have today … feelings like pride, hurt, anger, love and ambition.
Did I like the book? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes, to anybody who likes to learn about how people lived in the past. Strawberry Girl is an American story, about a way of life that disappeared many years ago. And it has great pictures, by the author.Does Birdie get her wish and learn to play the organ? You’ll have to read the book. If you do, please blog here about what you thought of it.

Penderwicks redux

2008-09-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I read The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall. It was OK ... kind of a growing-up story. It takes place in Massachusetts, at a house in the country that the Penderwick family has rented for a month. There are four girls in the family, and their dad, a professor who drops Latin quotations a lot. Their mother died after the youngest girl was born. Oh, and there's also their dog, Hound.
The oldest kid is Rosalind, who has to take care of her younger siblings. She's practical, hard-working and pretty, and on the edge of her first real crush. Batty is the youngest. She's emotionally addicted to the butterfly wings she wears all the time, and to Hound.
Jane is a dreamer who wants to become a writer. And Skye is the rebel.
Throw this lovely family into a guest cottage on an estate, complete with an interesting teen-age gardener, a nasty landlady, and the landlady's son, Jeffrey, and you have a great formula for what should be a wonderful book.
But it didn't do much for me. Maybe the people just didn't have quite enough character? I love Roald Dahl's delightfully nasty characters. But the Penderwicks, for me, were rather flat.
Anybody disagree? Write and tell me why I'm wrong! Or right.

The Penderwicks

2008-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Has anybody out there read "The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Birdsall?
This book looks really interesting to me. The subtitle is, A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. How can you not want to read something like that?\

I notice, too, that it's turning into a series. The second one is called, The Penderwicks of Gardam Street. Yeah, it sounds like something you'd watch on PBS, but I have always liked that kind of literature.

OK, I'm going to read it. If anybody else has read it, please write and let me know if you liked it, or if I'm wasting my time.

Seeking the new Merlin

2008-09-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

“One thousand years have passed since I, Merlin, mighty wizard of the Pendragons, magical defender of the Britons, and wise enchanter of the sword Excalibur, was imprisoned for all eternity in an oak tree by the cunning sorceress Vivienne, whom some call Nimue. One thousand years have passed since wizardology was practised in its true form, for the secret knowledge has grown scarce. Now most of those who call themselves wizards are but meddlers, unworthy of the name, while those who would make the best apprentices squander their time on a host of fledgling sciences.
“I have therefore, by that magic which still remains to me, caused a part of the oak that is my prison to be made into a book, so that at last an apprentice may be found to seek out and learn the old secrets, and by his efforts raise wizardology to its rightful place once more. …”

I discovered these words, and more, on a slip of paper inside a tiny envelope glued to the inside of a book – at the library.

Is anybody out there interested in taking up Merlin’s challenge?

If so, read the book! “The Wizardology Handbook: a Course for Apprentices,” edited for the modern reader by Dugald A. Steer. It’s on the “new” shelves in the Children’s Department, under Y Steer.

And if you read it, please write on this blog and tell the rest of us what you learned … and what you have become.

Is it possible that Findlay, Ohio (or Arlington, or Arcadia, whatever) could be the home of the future greatest wizard in the world?

“As I will, so mote it be!” -- Merlin

This is YOUR blog!

2008-08-21T14:37:00.001-07:00

Hey kids,

If you like books, and want to talk about them with your friends or kids you don't know, this is the place!

The Kids' Books blog is for you. If you're reading a great book, old or new, write about it! Ask questions. Criticize it. Write about what you like or don't like about it. Tell about the other books you've read by this author.

Or write about new books that you know are coming soon. Harry Potter fans -- J.K. Rowling's new book, 'Tales of Beedle the Bard,' will be out in December. So write about how excited you are ... or aren't.

Write about your favorite book, or one that your mother used to read to you when you were little. If there's a book you would like to re-read, but you can't remember the title or author, write about what you can remember. Maybe somebody will read it and be able to help you.

You can use this blog any way you want, so long as it has to do with books. Have fun!

Rose Blanche

2008-08-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

I just read "Rose Blanche" by Roberto Innocenti. I was left feeling sad and thoughtful. It's a short book that you can read in about 10 minutes. The pictures are absolutely stunning with lots of detail.
The book's title is the name of the main character, a young girl who lives in Germany during the second World War. She experiences the war, but she doesn't really understand it. I read in the author's notes that the name Rose Blanche was chosen because it was the name of a group of young Germans who were against the war, and who finally were all killed.
I don't want to tell the whole story, because then people wouldn't want to read the book for themselves. I hope you will read it, and then blog here to let others know what you think.