Kids Music Friday: "Dynamite" by the Alphabet Rockers

Everybody get up and get moving to "Dynamite" by the Alphabet Rockers! It's a fresh new take on "Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and features some pretty fun dance sequences. So get your groove on!

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Dewey Discoveries: "Bike Safety: A Crash Course" by Lisa J. Amstutz

Learning to ride a bike opens up a whole new world for a child!  But it's important to know the rules of the road before you hop on and ride away.  "Bike Safety: A Crash Course" by Lisa J. Armstutz  is a helpful guide for beginning riders. It explains how to properly wear a helmet, dress for high visibility and use hand signals.  I love the photos of children and families riding and smiling!  This is a great read for children in preschool through first grade.


Dewey number J 796.6

--Angie RH, Headquarters

Staff Review: "The Beatles" by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

I always say that you can tell a lot about a person by their favorite Beatles album.  My Mom's is Abbey Road, but my Dad's was the White Album: evidence that opposites attract. Personally, my go-to is Rubber Soul. It's their sixth alum with songs you might recognize: Michelle, In My Life, Drive My Car, Nowhere Man.  I was raised with the songs of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.  

"The Beatles" by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom is a great introduction for children who want to learn about the band.  It starts with their childhoods, how they met, and the humble beginnings of The Beatles.  The format reminds me of a scrapbook with comics and historical background information in the sidebars.  The author describes the history and eventual breakup of the band in a way that children can understand without talking down to them.  There is a glossary in the back to define words they are unfamiliar with such as "record" and "hippie".  I like the soft lines and bold colors of the illustrations, but the one thing that would have made this book better is photos in the back.  

School Library Journal recommends this book for grades 3-5.

--Angie RH, Headquarters

War Dogs

Your dog might know a trick or two, but there are dogs who work in the military.  For more than 150 years, dogs have had important specialized jobs to help humans on and off the field.  Here are a few books to learn all about these dog heroes.

"War Dogs" by Meish Goldish

Learn what it's like for dogs Sasha, Rufus, and Target in the U.S. military.  Their sharp senses are used to guard weapons and soldiers.  A dog's excellent sense of smell can sniff out bombs or a missing person.  They're trained to attack anyone who might harm their troops.

"Patriotic Pals: Tails of Civil War Dogs" by Chris Stuckenschneider 

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of two doggie friends who take a road trip to learn more about dogs in the Civil War.  Readers learn about Brutus who is rumored to chase bullets to play fetch.  Also, read about General Stonewall Jackson's brave terrier and President Lincoln's trusty dog, Fido.

"Dog Heroes" by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce

This is a Magic Tree House non-fiction companion to "Dogs in the Dead of Night" by Mary Pope Osborne.  It has lots of information about jobs dogs might have like therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs and acting dogs.  Chapter five is all about Famous Dog Heroes.  Stubby is the most decorated dog in World War I and went into battle with soldiers over seventeen times.  

These brave pooches deserve to be honored for their hard work, dedication and bravery!  

--Angie RH, Headquarters

Book Trailer: "Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla" by Katherine Applegate

She won the Newbery Award in 2013 with "The One and Only Ivan," a tender tale of a shopping mall gorilla and the friends who rescued him. Now Katherine Applegate has written "Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla," which is sure to please all those who loved her Newbery book. Be sure to have tissues on hand!

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Kids Music Friday: "Wired" by Recess Monkey

Grab a bag of your favorite sugary treat (but feel free to eat veggies instead!), hop on your Segway, and join Recess Monkey in their latest music video, "Wired." Keep your eyes peeled for their new album of the same name, to be released soon.

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Schools for Unusually Gifted Students

The new school year is just around the corner!  Soon you'll be buying school supplies, meeting your teacher and choosing your first day of school clothes.   What if instead of math worksheets, you were saving the world from a criminal mastermind?  Here are a few books about students who get a much different education than you.   

"The Hypnotists" by Gordan Korman

Twelve-year-old Jackson Opus is descended from two powerful hypnotist bloodlines, but he has just begun to realize that he can control other peoples' actions with sometimes frightening results--especially when the head of the Sentia Institute plans to use Jackson for his own benefit.

 

"The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trent Lee Stewart

After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

"Ordinary Magic" by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

In a world where everyone possesses magical abilities, powerless twelve-year-old Abby, an Ordinary, is sent to a special school to learn how to negotiate a magical world with her unmagical "disability"--and to avoid becoming a victim of kidnappers, carnivores, and goblins ready to prey upon the Ords.

 

"School For the Insanely Gifted" by Dan Elish

Eleven-year-old musical genius Daphna Whispers embarks on a global journey to find her missing mother, only to uncover a shocking secret about the Blatt School for the Insanely Gifted where she is a student.

  







"The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

  



  

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

--Angie RH, Headquarters

Crazy Pets

Pets can be a wonderful thing. They play with you, they cuddle, they let you know you're important (unless you have a cat). At some point in all our lives, everyone has wanted a pet of their very own. This phenomenon is widely celebrated in children's literature, but some literary pets are just a bit stranger than others. Click on the titles below to reserve some of my favorite stories about strange and silly pets.

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Picture Books

"A Pet for Petunia" by Paul Schmid--Sweet and sassy little Petunia really really really wants a pet. But how can her parents say yest when the pet she wants is a skunk?

"Peanut" by Linas Alsenas--In a case of hilariously mistaken identity, a little old lady meets something in the park that she thinks is a dog and takes him home. 

"Sophie's Squash" by Pat Zietlow Miller-- Who says your best pet has to be an animal? In this sweetly odd little book, Sophie finds companionship with a special squash named Bernice.

"Children Make Terrible Pets" by Peter Brown--For a real twist on weird pets, see what it would be like to be a pet for someone else! When Lucy the bear finds a little boy in the woods, she begs her mom to keep him, then finds out that maybe it's not the best idea.

"Sparky" by Jenny Ofill--A little girl really really wants a pet, but her mom says she can only have one "as long as it doesn't need to be walked or bathed or fed." So after a little research at the library, she decides to get a sloth. But having a sloth for a pet turns out to be a little bit different than she thought.






"The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman--For the older grade-school student there's this hilariously weird book about a boy who trades his dad for two goldfish. Can parents be pets?

"Capyboppy" by Bill Peet--Have you ever heard of a capybara? They're the largest rodent in the world and native to South America. Author and illustrator Bill Peet and his family had a capybara for a pet, and he wrote and illustrated this delightful book about it.









Chapter Books

Judy Moody series by Megan MacDonald--The ever delightful Judy Moody has not only a toad for a pet, but a venus fly trap.

"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White--This book is such a classic that it may not seem weird to have a pet pig like Fern, but how many people do you know who have their own Wilbur?

"The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings--In another wonderful classic tale, a boy befriends a fawn. That's hard to imagine around here, isn't it?

"Icefall" by Matthw Kirby--In this chilling tale of suspense in a frozen fjord, Solveig has to pick out the traitor in the midst of friends with the help of her pet raven, Munnin.

"Flora & Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo--For a pet that's not just strange but also quirky in personality, pick the 2014 Newbery Award winner starring Ulysses, a squirrel who writes poetry.

"Rascal" by Stirling North--This is a lovely and true story of a boy who raises a baby raccoon.

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling--I couldn't leave out Harry and his friends with their special messenger pets--Hedwig the owl, Scabbers the rat (who turns out to be a bit of a surprise), and lets not get started on Hagrid's beloved menagerie of magical creatures.

Dewey Discoveries: "100 Inventions That Made History" by Tracey Turner

Can't get enough info in your life? You've come to the right place! The library is chock full of books filled with interesting and weird facts. In the latest release from DK, "100 Inventions That Made History" by Tracey Turner, readers learn about 100 different inventions (I bet you couldn't guess that one!) that have had a significant impact on humanity. From toilets to microchips, the curious kid in your house will love learning about all the people and products that have changed our lives. Related in small snippets interspersed with photos and humorous artwork, any grade-schooler will love leafing through this book.

Dewey Number: 609

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Staff Review: "Love You More Than Anything" by Anna Harber Freeman

In “Love You More Than Anything,” a family of adorable, anthropomorphic chipmunks enjoy a summery day of outdoor adventures and family fun, all to the rollicking rhythm of the rhyming text. Not only is the verse competent and clever, but the playful words drip with toddler appeal. With passages like, “Sprinkle, twinkle, mix and bake. Love you more than chocolate cake,” little ones will truly understand the enormity of the love described.Young children will identify with the joyful pleasures depicted in the illustrations of an afternoon in the park, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, and making a bubbly mess in the bathtub. “Love You More Than Anything” makes for a perfect lap-read at the end of a busy summer day.

--Kelly B., Headquarters

Maker Monday: "Brick by Brick" by Recess Monkey

Calling all makers! Rock out to this fabulous building song by Recess Monkey, "Brick by Brick," then grab your bricks and get building! For some great ideas, click on the link to request "The Lego Ideas Book."

--Andrea W., Headquarters

Summer Reading Club Ends

Have you been reading all summer? Have you gotten your prizes yet? Summer Reading Club ends Saturday, August 2, 2014. Hurry in to your local branch to pick up your prizes!

Congratulations to those who have completed the club! And don't forget to sign up next year!

--Desiree S., Headquarters