Provo Library Children's Book Blog

The Word Collector / La Coleccionista de Palabras By Sonja Wimmer Cuento de Luz SL, 2011. 32 pages. Picture book. Luna loves to collect words, it is her passion. She loves the way she feels when she reads them and she sets about to get as many beautiful, funny and fun words as she can. Then one day the beautiful words stop and she decides to do something about it. This book has great illustrations and message about the power of words in all of our lives, how we need to cherish them. A delightful book you want to read to children many times over. A Luna le encanta y apasiona coleccionar palabras. Le fascina como la hacen sentir cuando las lee y se embarca a atrapar a tantas palabras bellas, chistosas y alegres como puede. Hasta que un dia ya no las encuentra y decide hacer algo. Este libro tiene lindas ilustraciones y mensaje acerca del poder de las palabras bellas en nuestras vidas, como debemos gozarlas. Este libro es encantador y uno de los que le gustaria leerlo a sus niños re...

Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street by Peter Abrahams Philomel, 2012. 294 pgs. Mystery/Fantasy When Robbie (Robyn) heads out for school one cold morning, the homeless woman often seen begging on her street has tipped over on her side. And immediately the reader knows the essence of Robbie: no one else "had gone to her yet. So I did." As the woman is loaded into the ambulance, Robbie sees a braided leather bracelet with a silver heart charm fall off her wrist, but by the time she picks it up, the woman is gone. Thus is launched a noble band of four kids, who, with the magical power of the bracelet, have the rich's riches fall into their hands and deliver them up to the poor. Robbie and her Mom volunteer at a soup kitchen which is suddenly out of business when the landlord doubles the rent; their favorite Thai restaurant is going under for the same reason, as are the Red Goat Saloon and Rewind, a record--yes, vinyl LPs--store. Active only in the presence of i...

Mother Goose Picture Puzzles By Will Hillenbrand Marshall Cavendish, 2011. 40 pages. Picture Book. Classic nursery rhymes are like old friends and in this book readers get to see them again, all dressed up for a new generation. This collection of 20 of the most familiar rhymes are presented as rebus stories. Certain words in each rhyme appear as pictures. Even very small children will have a fun time following along as a parent reads and supplying the missing words. Each nursery rhyme gets its own page and is printed in a large font on top of full page, color illustrations. Hillenbrand's mixed media illustrations, done with soft, muted lines and colors, are whimsical and fun. In each picture he gives visual clues to the next nursery rhyme, pulling the reader forward through the book. This is a great choice for parents and children to read together.

Dude: Fun With Dude and Betty By Lisa Pliscou Harper, c2011. Unpaged easy reader. Follow Dude (a "way cool guy"), his dog Bud (a "most excellent dog"), and Dude's Friend Betty (a "righteous surf Betty") as they head to the beach to surf and soak up some rays. It doesn't use as much repetition or simple vocabulary as the Dick and Jane books, but is still a really funny book to read together out loud. The glossary of surfer terms is helpful and entertaining. I love the last couple of pages, because Father and Mother look like Dick and Jane all grown up- even though they are brother and sister in the originals!

Buzz Beaker and the Outer Space Trip By Cari Meister Stone Arch Books, c2011. 31 pages. Easy reader. I love the Buzz Beaker series by Cari Meister! Buzz is a young, African American inventor with big dreams and a taste for adventure. In The Outer Space Trip , Buzz works long and hard on inventing a working spaceship so that he and his dog, Raggs, can explore the moon. When he isn't able to create the ship, Buzz goes to bed tired and frustrated. In the night, a spaceship full of alien dogs lands in his backyard. Buzz and Raggs sneak on board, and get to explore the aliens' planet. It's all a dream of course, but a fun adventure nonetheless!

Ducks Go Vroom By Jane Kohuth Random House, c2011. 31 pages. Easy reader. Ducks Go Vroom is one that I would recommend for very new readers, especially those wanting a few simple words per page. There are rhymes, repeated phrases, and sound noises, which are important literacy tools for developing readers. These ducks are tiny and cute, but act like crazy teenagers- they vroom and zoom in their convertible, they quack and yak on their cell phones, they plop and flop all over the house, and generally cause chaos wherever they go. Eventually they leave, and there is a great sense of relief as Mom waves them away.

Aggie Gets Lost by Lori Ries, illustrated by Frank W. Dormer Charlesbridge, 2011. 48 pgs. Easy Reader When Ben takes Aggie to the park he knows she will be a good dog and fetch his ball back whenever he throws it for her. Trouble is, the last throw is too far. Aggie chases the ball but doesn't come back. Ben looks everywhere. She is not by the swing set or the pond. Ben is afraid that Aggie will never be found--and then he is afraid that she didn't get lost, but ran away because he wasn't good enough to her. After a sleepless night Ben goes back to the park and enlists the aid of an unlikely helper who knows how to listen for Aggie. When Aggie comes running back, she is really stinky, but Ben doesn't care and as they head for home,"Aggie gets a head start." A gentle story of a beloved pet, with a satisfyingly happy ending.

See Me Run by Paul Meisel Holiday House, 2011. Unpaged. Picture Book. In a picture book that could double as an easy reader (reminiscent of Dick and Jane), the lead dog runs and runs with many dogs running after him. When they run into mud, they have a good time. They have a good time romping in the brook as they wash themselves off. But when they dig, dig, dig up some skeletal remains--remains that are not happy to be dug up--they run, run, run some more, hoping to get away! Kids should love the repetitive text with the surprise ending of this fun dog story about a pack of canines who bite off a bit more than they can chew.

Bravo! by Philip Waechter and Moni Port, translated by Sally-Ann Spencer Gecko Press, 2011. Unpaged. Picture Book. Helena has a pretty good life--she is a talented trumpet player, she loves her little brother, her Mom is gentle and patient. But Helena's father ALWAYS SHOUTS! There is no end to his loud demands and complaints: WHO ATE ALL THE ORANGES? WHO LEFT THEIR SOCKS IN THE HALL? MY EGG IS TOO RUNNY! When Helena asks her mother why her dad is so loud, she is told that he just comes from a family of shouters and perhaps Helena will grow up to be a shouter, too. Helena doesn't want to be a shouter, so she moves away to live with the lady on top of the hill. Helena's father is totally bereft. He promises never to shout again if Helena will come home. Everyone misses her so much they are excited to pieces to see a poster announcing Helena's trumpet concert. At the concert, Helena's father shouts again, but this time he shouts BRAVO! That's the kind of shout Hele...

Tales for Very Picky Eaters By Josh Schneider Clarion Books, 2011. 47 pages. Easy reader. Congratulations to Tales for Very Picky Eaters , 2012's Geisel Award winner! This is a laugh out loud book for early readers. The chapter titles say it all: Tales of Disgusting Broccoli, Smelly Lasagna, Repulsive Milk, Lumpy Oatmeal, and Slimy Eggs. Dad is desperate to get James to eat something- anything!- and finds that humor is the way to do it. Don't like the broccoli? Fine, try some pre-chewed gum, or a sweaty sock, for starters. James eventually learns that perhaps trying the dreaded food placed before him might be more appealing than the alternative. Of course, he ends up liking the food he tastes. A great story for picky eaters and the parents they torment.

My Bear Griz by Suzanne McGinness Frances Lincoln, 2011, Picture book. Billy and Griz are the best of friends. They go everywhere together and like to do they same things. In Billy's imagination, Griz is a huge grizzly bear, but from the beginning the reader senses there is something else going on and the final page reveals the bear's true, cuddly, nature. In the watercolor and ink illustrations the bear is huge compared to the boy, but rounded lines and pastel background makes him non-threatening. McGinness' text is simple and child-like. The main text is printed in large font, with side comments written in a child's scribbly hand throughout. This is a lovely look into a child's imagination and the power of friendship.

Body of Water By Sarah Dooley Feiwel and Friends, 2011. Realistic fiction. At twelve years old, Ember Goforth-Shook has a lot to deal with. Her dad was a born again Christian who converts to Wicca for his tarot-card reading wife. This does not go over well, and in their stiflingly religious town, the Goforth-Shooks are not exactly looked upon with fondness. They lose their trailer to arson, and become homeless for many months. They live in the local lake campground, barely surviving on a few dollars a day. Ember is a bright girl, who becomes frustrated with her parents' halfhearted attempts to find employment. She is motivated to sift through the ashes of her life, literally and figuratively, to find a better existence. Ember has a lot to deal with: homelessness, loss of a best friend, religious questioning, being overweight, sibling frustrations, teasing at school, and more. It can feel overwhelming, but I think that it speaks to the tween audience, because there are a lot o...

Frog and Friends   By Eve Bunting Sleeping Bear Press, c2011. Easy reader.   This is the first in Eve Bunting’s new series. It features three short chapters and is great for new readers who aren’t ready for longer chapter books. This is my pick for the Geisel award this year because it has just the right touch of humor, age appropriate text, and nice illustrations. The first chapter is my favorite, in which Frog and his pond friends wake up to find a big, orange, thing with a tail floating in the pond. They argue whether it is a hippo egg, a big bubble, or a humongous seed, and finally decide it is just a THING. The thing is actually a balloon. Frog grabs on to its tail, and gets carried off into the wind. It hits a tree branch and pops. Frog and friends give the thing a somber funeral, lamenting that they will never know what it was.

The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout Bloomsbury, 2011. 212 pp. Juvenile chapter book. Fisher is born, half-grown and imprinted with specific skills and knowledge, into a wild world where he must navigate unknown dangers with only a custodial robot, Click, and a mild-mannered mammoth, Protein, as his companions. As his own society has been destroyed, he might even be the last existing human. He and his companions journey across the dangerous wilderness in search of another Arc, similar to Fisher's destroyed society. Fisher must employ all his skills to deal with the ferocious "gadgets" and the aggressive land and creatures, some that have evolved in frightening ways. This book has a wider appeal than just those who like science fiction and dystopian novels. Kids who enjoy adventure and survival stories will eat this up as well. It's a snappy, quick read with plenty of unusual circumstances and adventures to keep the reader involved and interested. ...

Paul Thurlby's Alphabet by Paul Thurlby Templar Books, 2011.  What started out as a personal project quickly became viral as artist Paul Thurlby posted his new alphabet letters online as he made them, creating lots of buzz and interest in design and illustration communities due to his attractive, creative "transformed letters." It is only appropriate to begin such a book with the letter "A" and that letter, respectively, standing for "awesome." That one word sums up the entire book! Filled with beautiful "retro modern" styled illustrations of each letter of the alphabet, Thurlby brings a crisp graphic design edge to his playful take on the alphabet. This is an excellent choice for parents wanting an alphabet book that has a very prominent visual approach.

Bigger than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder Random House, 2011. 223 pgs. Juvenile Fiction. When Rebecca's mother gets fed up with her dad and hustles Rebecca and her brother off to Atlanta to live with their grandmother, Rebecca is angry. She loves her father. Her mother's need to be away from their home in Baltimore seems selfish and foolish. But as Rebecca explores Gran's house she finds an old breadbox which gives her whatever she wishes for--that can fit inside a breadbox. Money, an iPod, a cellphone, a jacket just like the one the most popular girl at school wears appear when she asks, but when Rebecca figures out from whence the magic breadbox summons all these items, things take a sharp turn for the worse. Despite its magical elements, Bigger than a Breadbox is not really a fantasy novel. It is about parents and children making mistakes. Of really fouling things up, but continuing to try and gaining the wisdom and perspective that comes from both good and bad expe...

Around the World: Three Remarkable Journeys by Matt Phelan Candlewick, 2011. 235 pgs. Graphic non-fiction. Matt Phelan does Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg three better in his graphic retellings of the globe-circling exploits of Thomas Stevens, wheelman (1884); Nellie Bly, girl reporter (1889), and Joshua Slocum, mariner (1895). Former miner Stevens went around the world on a bicycle, for crying out loud, and not one of today's rugged, close to the ground dirt bikes or racing bikes, but one of those bicycles with the giant front wheel. Give me shelter. What an achievement. Nellie Bly wanted to beat the fictional Phileas Fogg's 80 day round trip by circling the globe in 74 days--she made it in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds. Phelan's most tender and nuanced work is saved for the story of Joshua Slocum, a New England and Canadian ship's captain who sailed a small sloop/oyster boat named the Spray around the world, the first to make such a voyage alone. In Ph...