Saturday, May 25, 2013

Have You Checked Out Our Children's Section Lately? Here's a Look at the Latest Additions...



Plantzilla by Jerdine Nolen

Mortimer Henryson loves Plantzilla, the plant he's been taking care of all year in his third-grade classroom. He loves him so much, he takes him home for summer vacation. What could go wrong with a . . . plant? But life in the Henryson household soon takes a strange turn. A pot roast disappears, then steaks from the grill--and where has Mrs. Henryson's prize Chihuahua gone?

In this hilarious story told ingeniously through letters, Jerdine Nolen and David Catrow team up to show that when there's enough love, even the most unlikely character can become part of a family.


Fancy Nancy: the 100th Day of School by Jane O’Connor

With the 100th day of school just around the corner, Nancy finds herself utterly stumped. She can't think of anything exciting, special, or imaginative enough to bring in to class to commemorate the day. Just as Nancy begins to lose hope, she finds inspiration from an unexpected source--and learns that even sad events can bring with them a glimmer of beauty.

This is a sweet and touching addition to the Fancy Nancy I Can Read series. With simple text, eye-popping illustrations, and a glossary of Fancy Words in the back, this is a perfect choice for young readers everywhere.

Bebe’s Bad Dream by G. Brian Karas

Bebe has a problem. Aliens are trying to eat her for dinner. She can see their beady eyes. She can hear their slurpy lips. They are everywhere, and they are out to get her.It doesn't matter to Bebe that her mother and her friends and ever her mean older brother, Walter (talk about a problem ), are telling her that the aliens are just a bad dream. Bebe KNOWS.

Just as she finally knows it is up to her to send them back to deep space, forever.


First Night by Harriet Ziefert

First Night is a fast-growing holiday celebrated in towns and cities all over America. What could be more fun than dressing up, marching in a parade, and heralding in the new year with music and fireworks! Leading this parade is the lucky little Amanda Dade. With baton in hand, she keeps a cast of one-of-a-kind, humorously-clad characters in line.
 
Zoom! by Diane Adams

A timid young boy joins his eager father for a ride on a roller coaster. After zigzagging through the line, the pair boards the DinoCoaster for a fast-paced ride that takes them upside down, lurching and tilting round and round. When the roller coaster finally comes to a stop, the excited young boy is ready for another ride?but his queasy father has other ideas.  
 
Is My Friend at Home by John Bierhorst

Here are seven interconnected stories about making and keeping friends, jewel-like tales originally told to the youngest listeners at Native American firesides in the Hopi country of northern Arizona. In John Bierhorst's authentic re-creation of a Pueblo storytelling session, readers and listeners will find out how Coyote got his short ears, why Mouse walks softly, and how Bee learned to fly.  
 
Flicker Flash by Joan Graham

Light can be dynamic, exciting, dramatic, comforting, fascinating, and welcoming. Turn on the light and open this book to see and feel the energy, emotion, and surprise of light in its many forms! Flicker Flash is a poetic exploration of a mutable yet omnipresent part of the world around us. 

From the flicker of birthday candles to a flash of lightning, from the bold bright sun to the calm full moon, from the steady beams that pulse from a lighthouse to the glow of a lamp that illuminates the pages of a book lovingly held by a child, all forms of light are given shape in this remarkable collection of poetry. 

Young readers' eyes will be opened to an amazing new way of perceiving poetry in everyday life.
 
The Steel Pan Man of Harlem by Colin Bootman

The city of Harlem is overrun by rats. One day, a mysterious man appears with a steel pan drum, promising to rid the city of its problem--for a price. The mayor has no choice but to agree. The steel pan man plays the sweetest melody anyone has ever heard and dances the rats out of the city.
 
Lupe Yargas and Her Super Best Friend/Lupe Vargas y Su Super Mejor Amiga by Amy Costales

Lupe and Maritza are super best friends. When they?re together, they can be anything they want?pirates, scientists, or heroes. When they?re apart, well, life just isn?t as fun. 

This is the story of two girls who make each day a new adventure. And when they get into a spat?which is inevitable even among the most super, best of friends?they have to find a way to make it right. And luckily, with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, they do. Lupe Vargas and Her Super Best Friend brings the wonder of childhood friendships to life and captures the essence of what it means to be a kid? pirates? caps, magic potions, and all.
 
This is a multilingual edition that tells the story in English and Spanish.

Bearcub and Mama by Sharon Jennings

Bearcub follows his mama wherever she goes. By Mama's side, he discovers how to catch a fish and dig for grubs. With Mama's help, he learns to climb a tree and find honey. One day, Bearcub is exploring the high country when the sky darkens and a storm blows in. But this time, Mama is not there. Frightened and alone, Bearcub must rely on himself -- and all that his mama has taught him -- to weather the fierce winter storm.
 
Money Madness by David Adler

This brightly illustrated picture book introduces the concept of money, first by looking at its development as an alternative to bartering and then by explaining the many forms of money, from primitive rocks, feathers, and metal lumps to the familiar coins and paper bills to alternatives such as checks, credit cards, and digital forms of payment. 

Pattern Bugs by Trudy Harris

Patterns galore! In this book for young children, the concept of patterns is delightfully introduced with both graphics and text. The text indicates the pattern to be discovered through repeated words, and the illustrations reinforce the pattern with many different cues such as the other objects in the scene and the borders around the first piece of art in each pattern. An additional learning readiness skill -- prediction -- is also effectively used in this book.