November Picks

Below are some new books that have been added to the MCS library collection. Come and check them out!


The Tortoise and the Hare, by Jerry Pinkney (Grades PreK-3)

This companion to the Caldecott Medal-winning The Lion & the Mouse is Jerry Pinkney's most stunning masterpiece yet. Even the slowest tortoise can defeat the quickest hare, and even the proudest hare can learn a timeless lesson from the most humble tortoise: Slow and steady wins the race! Here is a superbly rendered journey from starting line to finish that embodies the bravery, perseverance, and humility we can all find inside ourselves. ~Amazon


Flood, by Alvaro Villa (Grades K-3)

Villa’s wordless picture book is a haunting look at a family whose home might be wiped out by a storm. Anyone who has lived through a hurricane will catch their breath at Villa’s unnerving watercolors, generously laid out across long, horizontal spreads. Familiar, nervous moments are found on every page: Dad preparing the windows while the kids, oblivious, play on the floor. The ominous glow of a weatherman delivering his warning soliloquies. Rain-battered volunteers surrounding the house with sandbags. And, of course, the worried family deciding to drive away, waving farewell to their brave, lonely house. The inability to know what nature has in store is quietly gut-wrenching—until a devastating spread depicts the interior of the house as storming with water, furniture being tossed like sticks. Villa’s sole, but significant, misstep is the too-quick turnaround: a single spread of house repair leads to the family enjoying a perfectly restored home. A worthwhile reminder that things are darkest before dawn, though not quite up to the visceral truths that make the rest of the book so moving. ~Daniel Kraus, Booklist


Splat the Cat: I Can Read Series, by Rob Scotton (Grades 1-3)


Splat the Cat Sings Flat
Splat the Cat with a Band and Clang
Splat the Cat: The Rain is a Pain
Splat the Cat: Good Night, Sleep Tight
Splat the Cat and the Duck with No Quack
Splat the Cat Takes the Cake
Splat the Cat: The Name of the Game


The Dark, by Lemony Snicket (Grades 1-4)

Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn't come into Lazslo's room. But one night, it does. This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark. With emotional insight and poetic economy, two award-winning talents team up to conquer a universal childhood fear. ~Amazon




Volcano Rising, by Elizabeth Rusch (Grades 3-6)

Elizabeth Rusch explores volcanoes in their entirety, explaining how they re not all as bad as they re made out to be. Using examples of real volcanoes from around the world, Rusch explains how some volcanoes create new land, mountains, and islands where none existed before, and how the ash helps farmers fertilize their fields. Simple, straight-forward prose provides readers with the basics, while a secondary layer of text delves deeper into the science of volcanoes. Susan Swan s bright and explosive mixed-media illustrations perfectly complement the subject matter they depict volcanoes in all their destructive and creative glory. Complete with a glossary and list of further resources, Volcano Rising is a unique look at a fierce, yet valuable, scientific process. ~Amazon


Bailey School Kids Series, by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (Grades 2-5)

15 of the best Bailey School Kids stories including:

Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots
Mermaids Don't Run Track
Leprechauns Don't Play Basketball
Ghosts Don't Eat Potato Chips
Genies Don't Ride Bicycles 
Cupid Doesn't Flip Hamburgers 
Bogeymen Don't Play Football
Angels Don't know Karate 
Aliens Don't Wear Braces
The Abominable Snowman Doesn't Roast Marshmallows
Unicorns Don't Give Sleigh Rides
Ogres Don't Hunt Easter Eggs
Zombies Don't Play Soccer
Werewolves Don't Run for President
Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp


I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, by Lauren Tarshish (Grades 4-6)

Lauren Tarshis presents a highly personalized narrative of the Battle of Gettysburg. The story follows former slave Thomas and his little sister Birdie as they fall in with Union forces and make their way north. The Union army rolls toward its epic clash in a small Pennsylvania town, and Thomas becomes a unwitting participant in one of the most formative events in American history. Tarshis writes with sharp, clear, emotional language: “There they were, rebel soldiers ready to charge. There were thousands of them—men in front on horseback, waving gleaming swords.” Back matter includes common questions and answers about the Civil War, along with the text of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Others in the I Survived series include high-interest topics such as Pearl Harbor and September 11. ~Erin Anderson, Booklist 


The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, by Richard Peck (Grades 4-6) 

There is a basic philosophy underlying this sweet mouse-out-in-the-world story: “For every human on earth, there is a mouse doing the same job, and doing it better.” A tiny, unnamed mouse, with notched ears and a tail that falls naturally into the shape of a question mark, attends the Royal Mews Mouse Academy, taught by toothy headmaster B. Chiroptera. But after being bullied by other mice and driven by the essential question of his identity, the mouse leaves the academy and hatches a rather unformed plan to visit ancient Queen Victoria, awaiting her Diamond Jubilee, in the hopes that the all-knowing monarch can tell him who he is. Along the way to Buckingham Palace, he rides in the ear of a horse named Peg (it’s very waxy), falls into a punch bowl (it’s very pink), and meets a cast of mice—and bats—who serve the queen. Murphy’s black-and-white illustrations, with pulled quote captions, add charm in spades, and there’s one tipped-in full-color illustration in each of the book’s three main parts. ~Anne Kelley, Booklist


True Stories of the Revolutionary War, by Elizabeth Raum (Grades 4-6)

Step back in time and experience the Revolutionary War through the stories of the people who lived through it. Witness the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. Experience the horror of a sneak attack. Watch a mother risk her life by spying for the colonists. True Stories of the Revolutionary War doesn't just tell you the tales of war. It drops you into the thick of combat. ~Amazon