We just got our first big shipment of books last week which means this week we will do a “book tasting” to preview and make a “to be read” list for books we want to read and put on hold. Lifelong readers make a reading plan so we will practice the routine to form a habit.
The first book I’d like to highlight came out on October 18th and I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release. It’s on my radar for the literary award season.
Finding Perfect, (2016)
by Elly Swartz
Goodreads summary: To Molly Nathans, perfect is:
• The number four
• The tip of a newly sharpened number two pencil
• A crisp, white pad of paper
• Her neatly aligned glass animal figurines
What’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are often broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Slam Poetry Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with table cloths. Molly’s sure her mother would never miss that. Right…?
But as time goes on, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly’s world from spinning out of control.
Read an interview with author Elly Swartz about Finding Perfect here.
Read a Washington Post article about what obsessive-compulsive disorder in children looks like in school here.
This next book is a 2017 Rhode Island Children’s Book Award nominee. As a kid I could not read scary books and that hasn’t changed as an adult! However, I know lots of students who really enjoy this genre. With Halloween almost here this seemed like the perfect time to highlight it.
Took: A Ghost Story, (2015)
by Mary Downing Hahn
Goodreads summary: “Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years—then lets her go and takes another one.” Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . . a “stuck-up snot” from Connecticut. But Daniel’s seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”?
Watch a Took: A Ghost Story book trailer here.
This next book is on our radar for a Newbery. It is a poetry book and it’s brand new to our library.
When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons, (2016)
By Julie Fogliano
Goodreads summary:
december 29
and i woke to a morning
that was quiet and white
the first snow
(just like magic) came on tip toes
overnight
Flowers blooming in sheets of snow make way for happy frogs dancing in the rain. Summer swims move over for autumn sweaters until the snow comes back again. In Julie Fogliano’s skilled hand and illustrated by Julie Morstad’s charming pictures, the seasons come to life in this gorgeous and comprehensive book of poetry.
Read an interview with Julie Fogliano to see which popular author/illustrator helped her become a children’s writer here.
This next book is new to our library. Written by the husband/wife team of Cece Bell and Tom Angleberger, this mystery series is sure to be a hit with our readers!
Inspector Flytrap in The President’s Mane is Missing, (2016)
by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell
Goodreads summary: Welcome to Inspector Flytrap’s Detective Agency, home to the world-renowned solver of BIG DEAL mysteries. Inspector Flytrap, a Venus flytrap, works tirelessly with his assistant Nina the Goat, a goat, on his community’s unsolved cases. There’s no case too big, but there are definitely cases too small for this endearingly self-important plant detective. In book two, Inspector Flytrap and Nina the Goat return in a set of mysteries involving the president of the United States and a very large horse statue that mysteriously attracts a threat from outer space. This wacky, illustrated early-chapter-book series combines the masterful humor of Tom Angleberger with the critically acclaimed art of his wife, author-illustrator Cece Bell.
This next book is a highly anticipated picture book. When you read Mother Bruce you’ll realize Ryan Higgins writes it for both childen and adults to enjoy. In fact, Ryan Higgins won the 2016 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor for Mother Bruce. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, be sure to get your hands on it. Thankfully, now Bruce is back!
Hotel Bruce, (2016)
by Ryan T. Higgins
Goodreads summary: When Bruce gets home from a southern migration trip with his goslings, he is tired. He is grumpy. And he is definitely not in the mood to share his home with the trio of mice who have turned his den into a hotel.
There’s a possum pillow fight wreaking havoc in one room, a fox luring guests into a stew in the kitchen, and a snuggly crew of critters hogging the bed. Bruce growls and grumbles and tries to throw them all out, but the entrepreneurial mice just can’t take a hint. Bruce is in a little over his head, especially once the goslings join the staff. Will this grumpy bear ever get his quiet, peaceful den back to himself?
***Halloween Bonus***
I cannot help myself. It’s almost Halloween and there is a book you need to know about. When you watch the trailer you won’t be able to shake the catchy tune!
Halloween Hustle, (2013)
words by Charlotte Gunnufson, pictures by Kevan Atteberry
Goodreads summary: In the dark, a funky beat. / Something white with bony feet. / Skeleton dancing up the street, / Doing the Halloween Hustle. Skeleton is dancing his way to a Halloween party but as he grooves across town, he keeps stumbling, tumbling, and falling apart! Can Skeleton stay in one piece long enough to make it to the party?
Watch the Halloween Hustle book trailer here.
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