Provo Library Children's Book Blog

If you have a young child who will be riding the bus to school for the first time this fall, please read this book to them. The Bus Stop is a simple story about different children all having their first experience riding the bus. They each bring something from home to take to school. This is common, as familiar things bring comfort to children who are doing something for the first time. Stoeke's well written text is in rhyme: "Miranda Cook has a library book . . . " The illustrations show the children walking to school with a parent (Thank you, Janet, for including a dad!). I like that Stoeke included the bus driver. She has a verse all to herself: "Mrs. Simpson-Russ got a brand-new bus." In the end, the bus, which took them all away from home to school, brings them back again, safe and sound.

WHISPERS IN THE GRAVEYARD ; Theresa Breslin; London: Egmont, 2007; 182p. Juvenile/Young Adult fiction. Solomon is dyslexic, the butt of jokes from classmates and an abusive teacher. His mother has left; his father is alternately a cheerful pal and a mean drunk, and he takes such solace as he can find in the graveyard among the cool shadows and ancient stones. But one part of the cemetery is frightening beyond the usual--nothing lives there except an ancient rowan tree, no birds, no flowers, nothing. When workers come through to move the bodies to make way for a diversion canal, they pull up the rowan, and something is unleashed. Is it the smallpox that killed many of the people buried there? or something older and even more ominous? Whispers in the Graveyard is intense and frightening, a good choice for older elementary age children and young adults who ask for something "really scary." The book has just a bit of strong language, but also many good messages: hard things can ...

Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman is an entertaining book about a field trip to the zoo gone wrong. Throughout the book the animals act so silly that the class doesn’t keep an eye on the anaconda sneaking up behind them until it is almost too late. It is up to brave Molly to save the day. This book is great for any child who loves animals, the zoo, or simply a silly story. The illustrations are great! While reading, make sure you pay special attention to the animals in the background.

Circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and even semicircles are presented in this colorful, bouncy, rhyming book. Each shape gets shaken out of a box and a group of multicultural children play and demonstrate different things you can do with that shape. The rhyming text is simple, yet fun and active. The last few pages are pictures made up of all the shapes forming various things; rockets, dragons, boats, and race cars. Falwell does a wonderful job with cut paper, paint, and ink. Her writing is engaging for young readers. A great book, not only for teaching shapes, but for developing phonemic awareness as well.

In a beautiful and charming retelling of an Aesop's fable, the sun and the wind argue over who is the strongest. They decide to challenge each other to see who can take the coat off a traveling man. The wind blows his very hardest and coldest and the sun shines warmly. Who do you think wins the contest? With beautiful, unique, and vibrant illustrations, the story really comes to life. This is a fun story about how force is not necessarily the best way to achieve one's goals.

BUSTER GOES TO COWBOY CAMP ; Denise Fleming; New York: Holt, 2008; unpaged. Picture Book When Brown Shoes leaves town for the weekend, Buster has his choice of staying with Mrs. Pink Slippers (who loves cats) or going to Cowboy Camp. He chooses Camp only as the lesser of two evils and is not comforted by Mr. Red Boots kindness, nor by the snoring, drooling dog in the next bunk. His bed is lumpy, things don't smell right, and he misses Brown Shoes and Betty. But soon Buster makes friends, does paw painting with the other dogs, accidentally has fun playing catch, and eats beans and bacon for supper. Buster has such a good time, in fact, that pretty soon he is the dog dreaming, snoring, and drooling. Fleming's bright Southwestern colors, and funny little canines make Buster the cowpoke a delightful exemplar of what can happen when you have to to Something New.

NEVER TEASE A WEASEL ; Jean Conder Soule; illus. by George Booth; New York: Random House, 2007; unpaged. Picture book. George Booth is one of the all-time great cartoonists of this or any age, so what a treat it is to have Jean Soule's classic text reissued in company with Booth's hilariously scraggly mules and moose, and his toothy, soulful frogs. Soule's jouncy text is a delight as well, as she tells interested children all the things one may do with other animals ("You could give a mule a pool/And some jaunty swimming trunks, Send a case of Spanish lace/To a pair of lady skunks"), but always with the warning that you mustn't tease a weasel "not even once or twice. A weasel will not like it--And teasing isn't nice!"

When Charmain Baker is sent to house-sit for her Great-Uncle William, things do not go as planned. Obsessed with reading, she thinks she will have oodles of time to devour books without any interference. How wrong she is! Charmain ends up sharing the house responsibilities with a rather magically inept apprentice wizard and they find themselves faced with the obstacles of cleaning enormous piles of dirty dishes and loads of laundry. Aside from the challenges of cleaning, Great Uncle William's house bends space and time, which provides its own difficulties. Charmain encounters a dangerous lubbock, is hired as an assistant for the king, meets Sophie and the Wizard Howl, and joins them in a cryptic search for something called the Elfgift. Read House of Many Ways for the full adventure! A sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, this is a fun, fast-paced, exciting adventure. Some of the adventures are on the tame side, such as laundry mishaps and bubble troubles, while others are a little ...

Olus, youngest of the Akkan gods, is lonely despite his power to control the winds. He finds himself fascinated and drawn to mortals, especially young Kezi, who loves weaving and dancing. As he spends time watching over her unseen, he overhears her make a statement that puts her life in jeopardy. Olus's feelings for Kezi cause him to try and intervene in order to save her life and they both embark on an adventure that will challenge their courage and dedication to one another. I loved Ella Enchanted, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, and Fairest, all written by Gail Carson Levine. Ever did not enthrall me as much as Levine's previous work, to my disappointment. It was an interesting idea and I did not dislike it, but I was expecting a story and characters that would interest me more than that in this book. The characters felt a little flat and two-dimensional and the plot didn't always seem to flow very smoothly. I would have preferred more depth and length to Kezi's and O...

Alice loves the color blue. As she is bouncing on the bed, her mother tells her it is time for bed. Alice tells her that she can only go to sleep in a blue room, which is a problem because her room is yellow. Alice's mother tries everything to soothe her daughter: a warm drink, cozy comforter, flowers. Finally, she sings a lullaby to Alice and turns off the light. Immediately the room is bathed in blue moonlight. Alice can relax and drift off to sleep in her blue room. Wonderful illustrations. The words are lyrical. One of the best bedtime books ever.

Eyes of the Unicorn By Teresa Bateman Holiday House, 2007. Unpaged. Picture book. Do you have someone in your family who still believes in unicorns? Then Eyes of the Unicorn is a must. Tanisa the serving girl has heard the rumors of a unicorn in the realm and is sad when her childhood friend Chris decides to join the hunt to kill it. Can Tanisa save both the unicorn and keep her friendship with Chris? The pictures of this book are a strange yet beautiful combination of photographs and paintings which gives the book a surreal dreamlike quality. The unicorn itself is so gorgeously rendered that any young girl will fall in love with it in an instant. Make a unicorn lover happy and check out this book.

Sticky Burr is an outcast in his village in Burrwood Forest. He just isn't prickly enough. He prefers playing his ukulele and painting to chasing squirrels. He inadvertently embarks on an adventure with his friend Draffle the dragonfly. They become lost in the mysterious Maze Tree. Will Sticky Burr have enough prickles to get them out of the situation? Meanwhile, what is happening back in the village? A fun graphic novel for the younger crowd, Sticky Burr has humorous illustrations and simple text making it easy to follow. The character started as an on-line comic strip and he even has his own website. Check it out if you are interested. http://stickyburr.com/main.html I look forward to reading more of Sticky's adventures, maybe next time he will go for a wild ride on a grizzly bear!

Who would've thought there would be a book that would teach you about horseback riding as well as dinosaurs?! That is exactly the kind of book Ridin' Dinos with Buck Bronco is. Buck Bronco's Mesozoic Ranch got its start from some "loco-lookin' eggs" he found. Now he is an expert dino rider whether it's a biped or a quadruped. Buck can help you choose the most appropriate ride for you based on size and personality. His method of getting in the saddle is quite creative (and life-threatening depending on the species of dinosaur). McClements story is a creative way to give basic information about numerous dinosaurs as well as how to saddle and take care of them - which is essentially how you would treat a horse. The text is entertaining, but the fun and quirky illustrations are the best.

Lulu (don’t you love that name) has a problem. She’s bored and her older brother refuses to play with her. Left to her own devices, Lulu quickly becomes LADYBUG GIRL, climber of trees and defender of small insects! With her loyal sidekick, Bingo the basset hound, Lulu sets out to discover what kinds of secret powers she might possess. This lovely little story about finding your own self worth is a charming work of art. The fun pen and ink and watercolor drawing are whimsical delights full of fun little details that make the story much more than the sum of its written parts. When Lulu claims there is nothing to do, she stands amid a messy bedroom strewn to bursting with toys. When Lulu first realizes her calling as a superhero, she strikes a stance with a dead serious Bingo at her side, his very large ears blowing in the wind like a cape—I couldn’t stop laughing. This is a great book for any girl who knows she is meant to change the world, one giant puddle jump at a time.

A VISITOR FOR BEAR ; Bonny Becker; illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton; Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2008; unpaged. Bear is pretty sure he doesn't like visitors--sure enough, in fact, that he posts a sign: NO VISITORS ALLOWED. So when a small gray mouse with bright eyes knocks on the door, Bear tells him to get lost and gets "back to the business of making his breakfast." But when he looks for bread, there is the mouse! when he goes to get his bowl out of the cupboard, there is the mouse! even when he looks in the refrigerator, the mouse is there. Bear finally agrees to treat the mouse to breakfast and a fire in the fireplace, and when the mouse keeps his word and walks out the door, Bear changes his mind about visitors. A Visitor for Bear is a delightful story about the making of a friendship and about how being polite and persistent will often carry the day.

Never Take A Shark to the Dentist (and other things not to do) is a humorous book about some things that you should just not do. For example: Never take a goat with you to the library. The illustrations are superb and add to the quality of the book with their bright colors and fun details. They also add to the text by describing what could happen if you do take a goat to the library, etc. This book is written by the same author who wrote Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing. Each book is comical, fantastic and a must read!

In this story, a young boy travels with his family to Peru. Although he enjoys the journey, tragedy strikes when his father passes away. While the rest of his family grieves, the boy, Paul, is unable to understand the situation but still feels the sadness. He discovers his own way to cope with the loss of his father and to find hope. Mr. Gauguin's Heart is supposedly based on the life of young Paul Gauguin, a world-famous impressionist painter. I found the text to be a little strange but also touching. Aside from the text, the illustrations are what truly make this book shine. They are strikingly original, blending crisp graphic shapes and painterly details, making a this a beautiful book.

In a retelling of the old tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," a young girl who has gained the ability to communicate with animals is given the challenge to live for a year in an ice palace with a polar bear. In exchange, her family will be blessed with wealth. However, all does not go smoothly and the young lass must attempt a long and difficult journey to repair her mistakes. This re-vamped fairy tale was well-paced and lovely to read. George's writing style has evolved considerably in comparison to her "Dragon Slipper" novels. Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow reminded me a bit of Susan Fletcher's work, which I love, and yet retained its own unique style. For those who enjoy fairy tale adaptations, this is definitely one to read.