Kids Music Friday: "Another Good Year" by Lori Henriques

Another year has passed and it's time to remember and celebrate! Kick off your New Year's playlist with Lori Henriques' catchy tune, "Another Good Year." I bet you can't listen to it just once!

Happy New Year!

--Andrea W., H.Q.

P.S. If you'd like to hear another song from Lori Henriques, check out the album "Science Fair."

Lullabies and Goodnights

The first ever U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky, has done it again with "The Silver Moon: Lullabies and Cradle Songs". Prelutsky is best known for his nonsensical poetry for elementary age children. “The Silver Moon”, written for younger children, contains 20 bedtime poems. At the end of the book for the musically inclined are two pages of sheet music that includes four lullabies.  Prelutsky includes sections for different voices; two poems for mothers, two for fathers, and one each for grandfather and grandmother. “Sleep in peace, my precious baby, never shed a tear. You are the one in all the world your mother holds most dear.”

Jui Ishida’s illustrations are calming, sumptuous and spellbinding. Her art work is done in acrylic and then completed digitally. She uses many shades of green, blue, and purples that encourage a twilight sleepy time feel.

Other recent poetry titles include “Digger, Dozer, Dumper” by Hope Vestergaard. This title contains sixteen poems about various vehicles and the jobs they do. “CatTalk” by Patricia MacLachlan contains thirteen poems told from the perspective of different cats.

--Robbin O., Headquaters

 

 

Kids Music Fridays: "Now Let's Dance" by Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, and You are My Flower

Come hipster children! Gather around and dance to Dan Zanes on the auto harp in "Now Let's Dance" from the album "Turn Turn Turn." If you're not at least tapping your toe by the end, it's not my fault.

---Andrea W., H.Q.

P.S. Check out the new album by clicking on the link above!

Dewey Discoveries: "Ouch!" by Joe Rhatigan

Have you ever wondered why your bruises turn green? Or what makes pink eye pink? Look no further than Joe Rhatigan’s compendium of medical pain, “Ouch!: The weird and wild ways your body deals with agonizing aches, ferocious fevers, lousy lumps, crummy colds, bothersome bites, breaks,bruises and burns and makes them feel better!” Packed full of useful and humorous pictures, this book will get you up to speed on the causes and treatment of all normal forms of illness and accident.

Dewey Number: 616.0472

--Andrea W., H.Q.

"Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo

When Mrs. Tickham receives a Ulysses Super Suction, Multi-terrain 2000X for her birthday, the lives of her next door neighbor, Flora, and an unassuming squirrel will never be the same.

It begins with an accident and a book of poetry. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but Flora Belle Buckman is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) will be born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry -- and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope.




Kate DiCamillo's "Flora and Ulysses" features a nice mix of comic book-type illustrations and short chapters that both move the plot forward.  I really wish we could have seen more of Mrs. Tickham...aren't you intrigued by a woman who has no problem reciting poetry to a squirrel? The vocabulary words in this one are somewhat daunting (malfeasance, capacious) so give this to fourth and fifth graders.

--Desiree S., H.Q.

Staff Review: Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

You’ve all heard the story of Rumplestiltskin, right? You know, the evil little man who steals the beautiful lady’s firstborn in exchange for spinning straw into gold? I’m going to bet that you don’t know why Rumplestiltskin could spin gold or why he was so short. Lucky for you, Liesl Shurtliff decided to let us all know the true story of Rumplestiltskin in her book, “Rump.”

In a town where names determine who you become, Rump feels a bit robbed. His mother died before she said his whole name, and now he will forever be known by a name no one should ever be called.  Rump lives with his grandmother and spends his days digging unsuccessfully for gold in the town’s mine. When his grandmother becomes desperately ill and the miller refuses to give them food on credit, Rump discovers a magical secret—he can spin straw into gold.  What he doesn't know is that even though magic comes easily to him, there are weighty strings attached to all things created by it. So as Rumps spins more and more straw into gold, his life begins to spin out of control. When his grandmother dies and the mischief has been done, Rump sets off to fix the problems he caused and hopefully discover what his true name really is.

Through the unraveling of Rump’s past and a desire to change the present, Shurtliff lightly leads the reader to delve into ideas of becoming, belonging, and character without becoming too heavy. Filled with humor, compassion, and danger, “Rump” delightfully turns the old fairy tale inside-out with not-so-sinister results. This title is great for grades 3-6.

--Andrea W., H.Q.

Sweet Gingerbread Stories

The story of the Gingerbread Man has been told for generations.  Its rhyming text makes it fun to read.  There is also the excitement of the Gingerbread Man running as fast as he can!  
"The Gingerbread Man" by Eric Kimmel
This is my favorite traditional retelling of the story.   It's the classic tale of the Gingerbread Boy who runs away from the woman, man, and animals in the village. 
"The Gingerbread Girl" by Lisa Campbell Ernst
The Gingerbread Boy's younger sister is determined not to get tricked like her brother.  She has a plan to escape before she becomes a snack.


After reading a gingerbread book, you could make gingerbread play dough.  Here's a recipe:

Gingerbread Play Dough Recipe

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tsp vegetable oil
Spices: allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
Mix all dry ingredients, add spices until you have reached your desired scent and color. Mix oil and water together and then add to dry ingredients and stir. Cook the mixture for three to five minutes on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. You will know it is finished when the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and forms a large ball. Take the dough out of pan and knead until it is smooth and soft. When cool, store in an airtight container.

This is the time of year for a holiday gingerbread book.
"The Gingerbread Pirates" by Kristin Kladstrup
A young boy decorates his gingerbread man cookies as pirates and wishes that they were real.  When Santa comes that night, the cookies jump to life and prepare for battle against the big red man. 







"The Gingerbread Doll" by Susan Tews
Rebecca gets everything she wants for Christmas.  She has lots of beautiful dolls.  But the one she loves most is her gingerbread doll because it is made with love.  This is how Rebecca learns the true meaning of Christmas.








If you're looking for a non-traditional retelling of the story, try one of these:

--Angie RH, HQ

Kids Music Friday: "Thingamajig" by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Put your dancing shoes on and pull out your dictionary! If you're not doing a jig or pushing a perambulator by the end of "Thingamajig" by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, you'd better check your pulse because you're probably not alive. Check out a Lucky Diaz album by clicking on the link above.

--Andrea W., H.Q.

Staff Review: "Up the Creek" by Nicholas Oldland

There is nothing more exciting than going on an adventure with friends. Except maybe going on an adventure with friends in a canoe! If you need proof, check out this CD/DVD or pick up Nicholas Oldland's latest book, "Up the Creek."  In it we find beaver, moose, and bear "who were the best of friends, though they often disagreed" planning a canoe trip. It's trouble from the start when they all three try to steer, then paddle on the same side of the boat. When they hit a beaver dam, there is much arguing over how to get over, and their arguing eventually gets them into a boat-load of trouble. Bear, moose, and beaver have to work together to get out of some sticky situations and still remain friends.

With comical illustrations simply rendered in lovely earth tones and an adorably argumentative cast of friends, this comedy of errors will tickle the funny bone of any preschool reader. It's also a great tool for teaching proper canoeing concepts and skills, which, in my opinion, should be at the top of everyone's to-do list!

--Andrea W., H.Q.

P.S. Be sure to check out the further adventures of beaver, moose, and bear by clicking the links below.

Big Bear Hug

Making the Moose Out of Life

Spotlight on FLIP: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear"

Have you noticed the black bags with blue or green labels at your local St. Louis County Library branch? Those bags are part of an awesome program called FLIP (Family Literacy Involvement Program). FLIP was developed by the Houston Children’s Museum in partnership with the Houston Public Library. SLCL received a grant to create a limited number of kits for six branches in 2011. The kits proved to be so popular we had to create more! Now FLIP kits are in all 20 SLCL branches. 

FLIP kits contain everything needed for parent and child to have a great shared literacy experience. Each kit contains a book, activity sheet and supplies.

FLIP KIT: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Ages: PRESCHOOL (3-5 years)

This kit contains the classic "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin Jr. The reading activity talks about rhyming words and colors. After reading the book, your child can create their own bear with the decorating materials provided.

--Desiree, HQ

Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Every year here at SLCL we receive requests for gift recommendations for the special kids in people's lives. So here's a list of recommendations for all the kid readers in your life. We have recently published book suggestions selected by our expert staff divided into four categories: board books, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade chapter books. Click on the titles to look at the books in our catalog.

BOARD BOOKS

"I Know a Lot" by Stephen Krensky

"Alphablock" by Christopher Franceschelli

"Roadwork" by Sally Sutton

PICTURE BOOKS

"Journey" by Aaron Becker

"Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great" by Bob Shea

"I'm a Frog" by Mo Willems

"A Little Book of Sloth" by Lucy Cook

"Count the Monkeys" by Mac Barnett

EARLY CHAPTER BOOKS

"Battle Bunny" by Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka

"Bink and Gollie: Best Friends Forever" by Kate DiCamillo

"The Year of Billy Miller" by Kevin Henkes

"Galaxy Zack: Hello Nebulon!" by Ray O'Ryan

"Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat" by Anna Bradford

"Fortunately, the Milk" by Neil Gaiman

MIDDLE-GRADE CHAPTER BOOKS

"Locomotive" by Brian Floca

"Road Trip" by Gary Paulsen

"Bluffton" by Matt Phelan

"A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff

"The Animal Book" by Steve Jenkins

--Andrea W., H.Q.