September 30, 2015

October Picks

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





This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne (Grades PreK-2)


This book gives new meaning to pictures being lost in the gutter. Bella takes her dog for a walk across the spread. She makes it to the next page, but her pet doesn't—he begins to disappear into the middle of the book. Bella tells her friend Ben what happened, and he tries to investigate but gets lost himself. A dog rescue car, a fire truck, and a police car all come to help but vanish into the middle as well, so the child finally goes in to check it out herself. A note then appears from Bella, telling readers to turn and shake the book. Everything and everyone come out, and all is set right again—almost. Byrne's comical play on the book's gutter will entertain kids and adults. The subtle background is done in a muted palette so the focus remains on the action and the vivid characters in the foreground. This book will make for a good one-on-one reading, giving children an opportunity to save the day. Pair it with HervĂ© Tullet's Press Here (Chronicle, 2011) to afford children the chance to participate actively with the story.—Emily E. Lazio, School Library Journal 

 
I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld  (Grades PreK-6)


Some books are about a single wish. Some books are about three wishes. The infallible team of Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld have combined their extraordinary talents to create this exuberant book of endless good wishes. Wishes for curiosity and wonder, for friendship and strength, laughter and peace. Whether celebrating life's joyous milestones, sharing words of encouragement, or observing the wonder of everyday moments, this sweet and uplifting book is perfect for wishers of every age. --Amazon 



The North Star by Peter Reynolds (Grades 1-4)


This well-meaning and thoughtful book showcases charming ink and watercolor illustrations; it is also somewhat derivative. The narrative opens, "A sweet breeze met the boy as he awoke to his journey. He traveled on all fours for quite some time…and he grew. And he paused." These lines are very soothing and accompanied by pictures that show a baby staring out from under a tree, crawling through some grass, and sitting cross-legged meditatively. Then the lengthy story meanders as the boy follows a rabbit down a path, wonders about a leaf and the stars, and meets a cat who advises him to start his journey so he won't "be left behind." The child replies, "Oh, but I have been on a journey…I've seen many wonderful things. Some I understand, and some I don't…like how that leaf floats on the water." The child continues his travels, meeting other animals who give advice and make pronouncements about the journey of life, a frog concluding that he is content to stay in his bog where he swam as a tadpole and grew into an adult. These philosophical musings, while simply stated, are unlikely to find a wide audience.—Kirsten Cutler, School Library Journal 



 Boris on the Move by Andrew Joyner (Grades 1-3)


Meet Boris, an anthropomorphized warthog who dreams of adventure. He longs to travel and perform acts of derring-do, just like Captain Clive, the hero of his favorite book. He lives in a bus with his parents in Greater Hogg Bay, but the bus never goes anywhere, and neither does Boris. Until one day, it does. Part of Scholastic’s new Branches line, this aims to fill the gap between leveled readers and chapter books by combining elements of the two formats, with heavily illustrated pages supporting a simple and direct plot. There is even a comic-book element, as all dialogue is presented in speech bubbles. Readers won’t be aware that they are being gently guided between reading levels, but they will certainly enjoy this tale of wanderlust. Boris is a relatable fellow, and the disconnect between his idea of adventure and his parents’ is amusingly communicated by the illustrations.-- Kara Jean, Booklist 



AV2 State Books  (Grades 2-6)




 
Calling All Pets! (Pet Hotel Series) by Kate Finch (Grades 2-4)


Twins Meg and Charlie have moved with their parents into the Diamond Hotel, which is owned by their great-great-aunt. They are there to help run the business so their aunt does not need to sell the hotel and move into a retirement home. The family arrives to find a building, although architecturally interesting, in need of repair, and the business faltering. When a neighboring business owner is injured, the twins volunteer to take care of his puppy. That leads another neighbor to ask the twins to take care of her pet rabbit while she is away at a family function. Both pet-sitting jobs go well, and when another neighbor asks for them to take care of her pet, the idea comes to the family to convert the floundering Diamond Hotel into a pet hotel. Simple and engaging, this title and others in the series should appeal to most children, especially animal lovers.  --Suanne Roush, Booklist 



Angus and Sadie by Cynthia Voigt (Grades 4-6)


Mister and Missus go to the animal shelter to choose a dog and come home with two mixed-breed puppies (part border collie, part shepherd, part unknown) that they name Angus and Sadie. The pups explore Mister and Missus' farm in Maine and quickly settle into their routine. Larger than his sister and quick to learn, Angus becomes the leader; Sadie, the runt of the litter and burdened by a cast on her leg, is more timid than her brother. As they grow over the next year, Angus trains hard and participates in dog trials, while Sadie shows her mettle by saving a sheep and standing up to the cats. Children who love dogs may find it fascinating to read a novel that so vividly imagines their thoughts and their communications with each other. Innocent in spirit and illustrated with several small drawings per chapter, this book will also suit younger children who are reading beyond their grade level. Carolyn Phelan, Booklist 


The Only Game by Mike Lupica (Grades 4-6)


On the official opening day of baseball in his small town, Jack Callahan, superlative seventh grade shortstop and arguably the best pitcher in town, surprisingly quits at the end of an outstanding first practice. Jack and his best friend Gus had expected to be strong contenders in the Atlantic League with aspirations of playing in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Believing that an earlier tragedy involving his older brother Brad was all his fault, Jack takes a break from the only game he ever loved. This hiatus is short-lived, and he soon finds himself back at the diamond coaching girls softball. Slowly, he makes it back to his own team. Loyalty, friendship, courage, and teamwork are key components in the novel. Jack and his teammates have a falling out after Jack's decision to quit the team before the season even starts. This leads to new friendships with Cassie, a strong female character, and Teddy, an overweight, friendly guy whom Jack protects from bullying. Various acts of courage are displayed by Cassie, Teddy, and Jack. Lupica lays the foundation for a great sports series where friendship carries the characters through tribulations. Middle-grade readers will easily identify with the four friends. Although the story is sports related, this is more than a baseball book and will appeal to a wide variety of readers. —Glynis Jean Wray, School Library Journal 


Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg (Grades 4-6)



Serafina is an 11-year-old Haitian struggling to keep her dream of becoming a doctor alive. Living in a desolate mountain village, Serafina toils at her daily chores while planning to attend school in the requisite uniform and shoes. Serafina has a warm family, a true friend in Julie Marie, and an encouraging woman doctor, who all 
come to support her vision. Then a flood washes away the family home, and the roaring stampede of an earthquake devastates the city of Port-au-Prince, where Serafina’s father works and Julie Marie lives. In this novel in verse, the author of the acclaimed All the Broken Pieces (2009) uses a lush narrative bouquet, filled with blooms of quiet verse, rhythmic Creole, and Haitian proverbs and sayings that capture life’s poignancy and hardships, including a message that Serafina has learned from an early age: “If you want your eggs to hatch, sit on them yourself.” In Burg’s lyrical tale, Serafina is a force of nature in her own right who carries her family, friends, and dreams to safe ground. --Gail Bush, Booklist 

September 2, 2015

September Picks

Welcome back to school! Below are some new books to check out!


Red: a Crayon's Story, by Michael Hall  (Grades PreK-2)


Step inside the life of a crayon in this funny and poignant picture book. The star of the show is Red, a blue crayon who mistakenly has a red label. His teacher tries to convince him to draw strawberries, but they show up blue. He tries on a red scarf, but it just does not match. His mother suggests he mixes with other colors, but the results are not what he expects. No matter how hard Red tries, his efforts just keep coming out blue. His other crayon friends try to help him reinvent himself, but no matter what they do, Red is still a blue crayon. After much self-doubt and denial, Red makes a new friend, a Berry-colored crayon, who asks him to complete his drawing by adding a blue ocean for his boat. Red gives it a go, and suddenly, he finds his true self and discovers what his other art-supply friends knew all along. The rest of his crayon friends are impressed with his new style, and Red comes to embrace his true identity. Hall's latest picture book is all about staying true to oneself, no matter what others say. The illustrations emulate children's artwork, giving readers a great opportunity to identify colors and new vocabulary. Large, clear text make this perfect for a read-aloud, as well as independent reading. VERDICT Reminiscent of Drew Daywalt's The Day the Crayons Quit (Philomel, 2013), this witty and heartwarming book is sure to become a favorite for children and adults alike.—Natalie Braham, School Library Journal 


Sky Color, by Peter Reynolds (Grades K-2)


Marisol is an enthusiastic artist who doesn't hesitate to share her creations "with the world"-on the refrigerator, through the mail, even on posters. So when the class prepares to paint a mural for the library, she is right there shouting, "I'll paint the sky!" But she is flummoxed when she can't find blue paint. "How am I going to make the sky without blue paint?" The problem gnaws at her until she watches a sunset. That night she dreams she is flying "through a sky swirling with colors," and next day, she mixes paints into "an all-together new [sky] color." Reynolds's familiar fluid drawings, executed in watercolor, ink, and tea, reveal a young girl filled with personality, squiggly hair flying, clothes adorned with contrasting patterns. The burst of color on the front endpaper is the only hint of the delight in store since the artwork to follow is almost devoid of color except for Marisol's creations. Only when readers get to the final spread that reveals the mural with Marisol's dazzling sky as backdrop for the multicolored fish leaping from the water below are they treated to a surprising display of the girl's creativity. This story, along with Reynolds's The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004, both Candlewick), carries the important message that there is an artist inside everyone and that sometimes finding that creative spark means doing the unexpected. In these days of filling in circles on tests, it's an important message to share with youngsters.--Marianne Saccard, School Library Journal


My Bus, by Bryon Barton (Grades PreK-2)


Joe, a bus driver, takes readers on his route through the rolling hills to a little town. Full spreads with minimal text show him picking up dogs or cats at each stop. When the bus is packed with five dogs and five cats, it's time to drop them off at either a boat, train, or plane. Happily, Joe still has one passenger left at the end of the trip: his own dog. The beautiful, bold colors produced in Adobe Photoshop are attractive, while the use of simple, childlike shapes and few words will make it easy for student to concentrate on the new skills of reading and counting. The large, square format is clean and inviting. This book is perfect for independent readers but can also be shared one-on-one or with a group. Parents can encourage youngsters to count the number of pets on or off the different types of transportation.—Diane McCabe, School Library Journal


Hidden: a Child's Story from the Holocaust by Loic Dauvillier (Grades 3-6)


Worried that her grandmother has had a nightmare, a young girl offers to listen to the story, hoping to ease her grandmother’s mind. And for the first time since her own childhood, the grandmother opens up about her life during WWII, the star she had to wear, the disappearance of her parents, and being sent to the country where she had to lie about her name and her beliefs. Every year, more stories set during the Holocaust are released, many for children, and this one is particularly well done. Dauvillier doesn’t sugarcoat the horrors of the Holocaust; instead, he shares them from the perspective of a girl young enough to not quite understand the true scope of the atrocities. Set in occupied France, the story told is honest and direct, and each scene is revealed with care. The frankness of the storytelling is tempered by appealing cartoonlike illustrations that complement the story and add a layer of emotion not found in the narration. A Holocaust experience told as a bedtime story? It sounds crazy, but here it works. --Eva Volin, Booklist  


Nurse, Solider, Spy: the Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero, by Melissa Moss (Grades 3-6)


In ink-and-wash illustrations, Hendrix again displays his knack for visual narrative. The aerial view of Edmonds approaching the Confederate camp is particularly effective. This large-format picture book illustrates Edmonds’ courage and determination while conveying a good deal of information in a highly readable way. –Booklist




Cow Boy: a and His Horse, by Nate Cosby (Grades 3-6)


Ten-year-old Boyd Linney is a bounty hunter, primarily focused on bringing righteous law and consequences to his various family members gone wrong. His hobbyhorse morphs into a double-barreled shotgun when needed, and Boyd demonstrates an unforgiving will that begins as satirical but changing into something grimmer and unresolved. Five short interstitial stories appear between chapters of Boyd's ongoing story, and these are truly comic, brief sketches with unambiguous punch lines. Eliopoulos's art is slightly less clean than his work in the "Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius" (Marvel) series, but it suits the excellent color and design work he's done to make the book feel scruffy, textured, and temporally appropriate. The spare, essentialist facial cartooning is still able to convey subtlety of emotion, but the linework and loose layouts fully support any sense of dramatic tension in the enjoyably ludicrous action sequences. The closing chapter in which Boyd is able to stop being so serious and relate to his grandfather like an ordinary kid is the most successful, but it also highlights the strange morality at the heart of the narrative. --Benjamin Russell, School Library Journal


Stella by Starlight, by Sharon M. Draper (Grades 4-6)


Coretta Scott King Award winner Draper draws inspiration from her grandmother's journal to tell the absorbing story of a young girl growing up in Depression-era, segregated North Carolina. One frightening night Stella and her brother Jojo witness a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan, practically in their own backyard. This meeting is the signal of trouble to come to the black community of Bumblebee. The townspeople must come together to find strength and protection to face the injustices all around them. This is an engrossing historical fiction novel with an amiable and humble heroine who does not recognize her own bravery or the power of her words. She provides inspiration not only to her fellow characters but also to readers who will relate to her and her situation. Storytelling at its finest.—Tiffany Davis, School Library Journal 


Fort, by Cynthia DeFelice (Grades 5-6)


Two best friends build a fort in the woods and defend it from bullies in this fun, old-fashioned story that manages to be fresh and familiar. Wyatt is enjoying the freedom of a summer with his dad in upstate New York. His friend Augie lives there year-round and has many useful skills that include killing squirrels with a slingshot and cooking them over a fire. There are the expected bullies, two older boys named J.R. and Morrie, and an unexpected friend named Gerard, a socially isolated teenager with developmental disabilities. The two friends spend rapturous days building their fort, looking at a car company's girlie calendar, and other country-boy activities unimpeded by smartphones or YouTube, since Wyatt's father doesn't want him plugged into a screen all day. In a low-stakes climax, the two bullies try to destroy the boys' fort but are foiled by an ingenious series of booby-traps. The moral center of the novel revolves around Wyatt and Augie discovering how J.R. and Morrie are mistreating Gerard and how after some hesitation, they find in him a valuable ally. There is a touch of burgeoning sexuality, mostly as Wyatt notices and appreciates Augie's aunt's figure, but otherwise the tone of the novel is remarkably innocent without being cloying or unrealistic. There is a good balance of action and description and well-developed characters, though the bullies are a tad two-dimensional. VERDICT A boy-centered adventure with heart, appealing to a variety of readers.—Kyle Lukoff, School Library Journal 


Listen, Slowly, by Thanhha Lai (Grades 5-6)


 The summer before she turns 13, Mai is planning to spend her time going to the beach and finally talking to her secret crush. She's less than thrilled when her parents make her escort her grandmother to Vietnam instead. New information may have surfaced about her long lost grandfather, who disappeared over 40 years ago in "THE WAR." Mai doesn't know the culture or speak the language, and everything she knows about Vietnam is from a PBS documentary on the Fall of Saigon. While her parents are excited for her to learn more about her roots, the teen doesn't even know the details of her own parents' escape because "random roots are encouraged, but specific roots are off-limits." Stuck in a village with limited internet access, a sulky Mai slowly makes friends due to lack of better things to do and bonds with her grandmother, with whom she was very close as a small child. Mai's character growth is slow and believable, coming in small increments and occasionally backsliding. The sights, smells, and tastes of Vietnam's cities and villages come alive on the page, without overwhelming a story filled with a summers-worth of touching and hilarious moments, grand adventure, and lazy afternoons. With a contemporary time setting, this compelling novel shows the lingering effects of war through generations and how the secrets our parents keep can shape us.—Jennifer Rothschild, School Library Journal