Provo Library Children's Book Blog

The Midnight Tunnel by Angie Frazier Scholastic Press, 2011. 283 pgs. Fiction Suzanna Snow' has always wanted to be a detective. But back in the year 1905, girls were not encourage to pursue such an unladylike career. Most of her friends just laugh at her dreams. When a young girl is kidnapped from the hotel Suzanna's parent's work for, she is determined to show everyone how serious she is about her goal. Using her personal detecting skills, she begins to hunt down the person responsible, but quickly discovers that detective work can be extremely dangerous. Can Suzanna survive her first real mystery? A fun and exciting story for all middle-grade mystery lovers.

  Fortune's Folly by Deva Fagan Henry Holt, 2009.  260 pgs. Fiction Life for Fortunata and her father has become difficult since her mother died. Fortunata finds herself forced to make a living telling fake fortunes and pretending to be a ghost in pretend séances that prey upon the grieving and gullible. Then comes the fateful day when she makes up a fortune for a handsome prince. A fortune that she later discovers must come true or there will be dire consequences. Forced to go along with the prince on his travels to make sure her predictions come true, Fortunata must pave the way for her fanciful prophecy to become a reality. Can one clever girl find a way to shape the destiny of an entire kingdom? This simple story has the feel of a fresh new fairytale. Light-hearted with fun twists and turns in the plot, this story keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what kind of trouble Fortunata will get up to next.

Sounds Spooky Written by Christopher Cheng Illustrated by Sarah Davis Random House Australia, 2011.  Unpaged.  Picture Book.  This book features what has got to be the CUTEST ghost in the whole world. She is in her haunted house alone and there are spooky noises coming from downstairs. But she's a ghost--she's not scared. Or is she? This fun Halloween picture book is a delight to look at. Every little detail of the haunted house and its sprawling rooms has been lovingly recreated in miniature by the artist, Sarah Davis. The darling dolls that star as the main characters in the story are utterly adorable in every way. Readers will want to linger over each page taking everything in. The story is full of descriptive onomatopoeia sounds that kids will enjoy reading as they explore the haunted house right along with its characters. Are you brave enough . . . ?

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee Scholastic, 2012.  Unpaged.  Picture Book.      "When I bought my rhinoceros," says the hero of this delightful picture book, "I didn't really know what I was getting into."  What he got into was a pet who was nice--and quiet.  Didn't run away or bark all night.  But he also wouldn't chase a ball, a stick, or a frisbee, roll over, or play dead. A local rhinoceros expert reveals that the only thing a rhinoceros will do is pop balloons or pierce kites with his horn, making the young man and his friend a hazard at the park.  Had he bought a clunker of a pet? He thinks so, until the BANK ROBBERY, when one crook tries to escape by balloon and another by hang glider and the rhino springs into action. So the rhinoceros turns out to be a terrific pet after all, for another even better reason than that he can pop balloons and ravage kites.

                                                  Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns:  A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini Chronicle Books, 2012.  Unpaged.  Picture Book      A lovely introduction for children to the art and traditions of Islam, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns takes a color-coded look Ramadan, Eid, the Arabic language, and traditional Middle Eastern dress. The text rhymes:  "White is a kufi, round and flat./ Grandpa wears this traditional hat," and each familiar color introduces Western children to the mostly unfamiliar constituents of Islam.  Orange is the color of henna , Yellow is the color of the box where zakat , gifts for the poor, are dep...

Chloe, Instead By Michah Player Chronicle Books, 2012. Unpaged. Picture book. Molly imagines that her younger sister will be just like her and will want to do everything the same way--she has dreams of them playing the piano nicely, side by side. Instead, little sister Chloe likes to POUND on the keyboard, enjoys eating crayons, and chewing on books--exactly the opposite of Molly! But Molly realizes that different can be special and wonderful, just like Chloe. This was a wonderful book about siblings and family love. The story was warm, friendly, and funny. The illustrations have a great retro-modern vibe and are bright, vivid, and appealing to children and adults. This is a book that can be enjoyed by the whole family and is especially good for an older child experiencing difficulty adjusting to a younger sibling.

                                                                                Randy Riley's Really Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen Candlewick.  Unpaged. Picture Book      Randy Riley stinks at baseball, but he likes it and keeps trying.  What he doesn't stink at is science--especially robotics.  Both his really good skill and his not so good skill come into play (literally) when his little town is threatened by a fireball from Outer Space. While the townspeople shrink in terror, Randy gets busy in his lab, puts together a gigantic robot who tears the smokestack ...

Homer by Elisha Cooper Greenwillow, 2012.  Unpaged.  Picture Book.      Homer is a dog well-named, because he likes to stay home. When the others dogs want him to chase and race around the yard he politely declines.  When little sister wants him to explore the field he says no, and when older sister invites him to the beach he says he's fine. Mom invites him to go swimming and Dad asks him to run to the market, but he is fine right where he is, resting on the porch and watching the world go by. "Do you need anything?" his family asks.  No, he replies, in his doggy heart and mind.  "I have everything I want.  I have you." Elisha Cooper's straightforward text is perfectly matched to his evocative, peaceful water colors. What a beautiful story about a faithful pet and a loving family.

Vote For Me! By Ben Clanton Kids Can Press, 2012. Unpaged picture book. With the election year heating up, I had hopes that this picture book by Ben Clanton would be a fun way to include children in the political conversation. This book features a campaign between (appropriately) Donkey and Elephant. Rooted in truth, these two argue, insult each other, and use smear tactics to sway the reader-voter. There are some puns that are sort of funny, but there are too many pages of "Big, STINKY pooper scooper," "Snot Sucker," etc., as the characters literally fling mud at each other. For parents who have children who argue and name call, this will only add to your headache. I like silly humor, but this felt never ending and laborious. Although I didn't care for the story, I loved the artwork. The illustrations are colored with muted patriotic tones,  and the characters and drawings are reminiscent of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie. The election result is a ni...

The Family Tree by David McPhail Henry Holt, 2012, unpag. picture book A pioneer, clearing the land to start his farm, decides to leave one tree as shade for his house.  As years pass, the tree grows and silently watches as the pioneer's son inherits the farm, and then his grandson.  The town grows up around the house until one day it is time to widen the road. The construction crew says the tree must go, but the pioneer's great-great-grandson stands in the way. He, together with some woodland friends, are able to convince the road workers to make a detour around the tree. Veteran author/illustrator, David McPhail shares a subtle and child-friendly message about conservation.  Some things are worth saving and if people work together they can find solutions. The simple story is illustrated with McPhail's familiar water color and ink artwork.

Larf by Ashley Spires Kids Can Press, 2012. Unpaged. Picture book.  Larf is a shy Sasquatch who really likes the fact that nobody believes he exists. He prefers to spend his days in happy seclusion while gardening, jogging, and taking his pet rabbit, Eric, for walks. Then one day he reads about a another Sasquatch who will be making a public appearance in the city. Larf can't help but wonder what it would be like to have someone else around who was just like him. So hoping to meet up with this new Sasquatch, Larf heads into town sporting a bad disguise and packing Eric the rabbit in an up-front baby carrier. That's when his real adventures begin. A fun romp of a story that preschoolers will giggle over again and again. I think Eric the rabbit, with his deer-in-the-headlights blank stare, is by far my favorite part of this adorable story.  Check it out for yourself!

Brothers at Bat:  The True Story of an Amazing All-Brothers Baseball Team by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Steven Salerno Houghton Mifflin, 2012.  40 pgs.  Nonfiction.     The really amazing thing about the Acerra family baseball team is that with nine boys on a baseball team, the Acerra family had seven kids left over.  Actually, all twelve of the Acerra boys played on the team--nine on the field and three in the dugout at any given time. Not only were there plenty of Acerra boys for a team, there were plenty of good ones--Jimmy had a knuckleball hardly anyone could hit; Anthony hit a couple of home runs into the Atlantic Ocean from a waterfront stadium. At one time, the Acerra boys ranged in age from 32 to 7, and the oldest nine boys started their own semi-pro baseball team. As the longest-playing all-brother baseball team in history, they were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown where you can see their pictures today if you...

The Grave Robber's Apprentice by Allan Stratton Harper, 2012.  275 pgs. Fiction      When a baby boy comes ashore in a bejeweled wooden chest with a royal crest rampant, Knobbe the Bent, a grave robber gloms right on for the gems' sake, but when he finds the baby in the chest, he decides to keep him to help him in his grim enterprise. Hans, as he is called, grows up with little skill in the grave robbing business because he can't stand the smell and the miscellaneous gooshiness, but he is a sturdy, loyal lad nonetheless who suddenly finds himself helping the young Countess Angela von Schwanenberg escape Archduke Arnulf and the terrible Necromancer all the while trying to rescue Angela's parents.  Helped along the way by Peter the Hermit and his fellow monkish types, Hans and Angela make their way to the castle through multiple dangers using their talents (marionette craft?) and courage to save the day.  Shakespearean references abound, as do puppe...

  Dog in Charge by K.L. Going Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012. Unpaged. Picture book. Dog is smart. Dog is obedient. When his family takes a trip and leaves him in charge of the five cats, he figures they will all just SIT and STAY the whole time the family is away. But the cats have other ideas. Dog only turns his back for a moment--and the mischievous cats vanish. Dog has to find them and stop them from wrecking the whole house before their family gets home and tells him he is a BAD DOG for not doing his job. This is a darling book with a simple story and colorful pictures that will make even the youngest of preschool readers smile.

ConfectionatelyYours: Save the Cupcake! by Lisa Papademetriou Scholastic, 2012.  231 pgs. Fiction This is the first book in a new series for middle grade girls. Seventh grader, Hayley is a girl whose life has begun to spin out of control.  After her parent’s divorce, and the move, nothing is the same anymore. Her best girl friend is drifting into the more popular crowd at school and her best guy friend has begun acting weird now that the two of them aren’t little kids anymore. Hayley finds sweet escape from all her problems by baking gourmet cupcakes of every variety and selling them at her Grandmother’s tearoom. The best part of this book is that whenever a specific kind of cupcake is mentioned, the recipe is included. I must admit that I was sorely tempted to put down the book and try baking a couple of these because they sounded so delicious in the story. The other delightful thing about this book is Hayley’s “confessions”.  Following a chapter, Hayley w...