Provo Library Children's Book Blog

  Earmuffs for Everyone by Meghan McCarthy Simon & Schuster, 2015. Biography. Unpaginated Chester Greenwood is considered the inventor of earmuffs.  There is even a Chester Greenwood day that is celebrated every year in his home town of Farmington, Maine.  But did Greenwood really invent earmuffs?  Well, not really.  Other people invented things that were like earmuffs, but Greenwood made an improvement that helped the earmuffs work better and be more popular.   McCarthy includes other examples of inventors who are credited with inventing something, when they really only made critical improvements on someone else's idea.  The book is illustrated with colorful cartoon drawings of people and places mentioned in the text. McCarthy includes a insightful end note about her research journey. This is an interesting picture book biography that gives a real world example of how history is not always clear cut.

Zombie in Love By Kelly DiPucchio When all his efforts to find a sweetheart fail, Mortimer the zombie decides to place an ad in the newspaper. Go Away Big Green Monster By Ed Emberley A scary green monster begins to disappear, piece by piece and page by page, in a die-cut picture book that lets youngsters take control of the monsters in their lives. Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance By Keith Graves Frank the monster indulges his love of dancing by strutting his stuff on stage until his head unzips, his brains flop out, and he continues to lose body parts. Always Listen to Your Monster By Florence Parry Heide When a new neighbor moves in next door, Ernest's mother, who always insists that he obey all the rules, encourages them to play together every day. Even Monsters Need Haircuts By Matthew McElligott At night under a full moon, a child operates a barber shop with a monstrous clientele. I Need My Monster By Amanda Noll When Ethan checks under the bed...

The Black Stars  By Dan Krokos Starscape, 2014. Fiction. 304 p. In his first adventure ( The P lanet Thieves , 2013) Mason Stark and his cadet crew saved earth from a terrible war with the Tremists. Now the Earth Space Command wants Mason to attend the Tremist Rhadgast school as a gesture of peace, but also to act as a spy to check out rumors that someone at the school is developing a weapon to use against Earth. At the school Mason and fellow human cadet, Tom, must overcome prejudice and earn the Tremist's trust.  A threat from the students' common enemy, the Fangborn, unite the teens just in time for them to face their greatest challenge yet. This is a new, fast paced, science fiction series for tweens.  Mason is a likable hero, and the other characters are interesting and well developed. The setting is very like the futurist world of Star Trek.  This is a great book to give to kids who have enjoyed the adventures of Percy Jackson or Alex Rider.

  Firebird by Misty Copeland Illustrated by Christopher Myers G.P. Putnam Sons, 2014. Picture Book Misty Copeland is one of the leading ballerinas at the American Ballet Theater.  She writes this book to encourage young ballerinas to keep working even though they feel that "the space between you and me is longer than forever." She assures her young readers that with practice and time, some day they will be the ones the young dancers look up to. The writing is brief and lyrical as Copeland uses imagery from nature and dance to describe the glory of motion.  Myer's illustrations are a stunning combination of painting and collage. His use of line and color to show both the gracefulness and strength of ballet won him the Coretta Scott King award for illustration last year.  This is a great book to share with any aspiring dancer.

  The Flying Dutchman (Jr. Graphic Ghost Stories) by Jane H. Gould PowerKids Press, 2015. Comics 24 p. This new short graphic novel tells the story of the ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman. Captain Vanderdecken wants to sail his cargo ship from India to Europe faster than anyone has before so he makes a deal with the devil.  As he tries to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, the ship is lost in a storm.  Because of Vanderdecken's bargain, the ship is doomed to sail forever, causing disaster to anyone who sees it.  Gould recounts several instances where people, including the prince of England, have claimed to see the ghost ship.  Unfamiliar terms are defined in a glossary in the back of the book.  Gould illustrates the story with full color, but in a graphic novel format.  This is a good choice for a reluctant reader who likes spooky stories.

A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat By Emily Jenkins Illustrated by Sophie Blackall Schwartz & Wade Books, 2015. Picture Book Do you want a fun activity to do with your children this weekend?  Check out this book.  It presents four different families and shows how they each make a dessert called Blackberry Fool.  The first family, from 18th century England, picks the berries, milks the cow, whips the cream with a whisk made of twigs, and cools it in an ice house.  The next family are slaves in 19th century America. They use a wire whisk, and have to serve their masters before they eat, but the dessert is the same. The 20th century family has an ice box and a rotary mixer.  The modern family buys their berries at a grocery store, and mixes it with a food processor, but each time the dessert is delicious. The author includes the recipe for Blackberry Fool in the back of the book.  Both author and illustrator have his...

I am Jackie Robinson , I am Rosa Parks (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015.  Biography (unpag.) February is Black History Month.  These new picture book biographies celebrate two famous people who worked for racial equality.  Rosa Parks, a quiet middle-aged black woman, inspired the Montgomery Alabama bus strike when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. Jackie Robinson was an amazing athlete who was able to break through the color barrier in professional baseball.  In these inspirational books, the characters tell their story first person. They talk about the discrimination they suffered as they grew up, and how they stood strong to make a difference. The books are illustrated in a child friendly, comic book style with both linear text and speech bubbles. These are appealing and accessible introductions to the lives of two remarkable people for grade school age rea...

Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman illustrated by Rick Allen Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.  32 pgs.  Nonfiction      Joyce Sidman's reliably beautiful poetry and Rick Allen's amazing linoleum block prints (digitally scanned and layered) make Winter Bees . . . an instant classic of children's nature books. Tundra swans sense the imminence of their migration in the opening poem of the book:  . . . " That night, we dreamed the journey;/ice-blue sky and the yodel of flight,/the sun's pale wafer,/ the crisp drink of clouds./We dreamed ourselves so far aloft/that the earth curved beneath us/and nothing sang but/a whistling vee of light." Besides Allen's lovely pictures, each animal is given a paragraph of detailed explanation of why and how they do what they do. Art and science combine in this fine volume for nature lovers, young and old.

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen Candlewick, 2014. Unpaged. Picture Book      Sam and Dave decide to dig a hole and they will not stop until they discover something spectacular. Nothing odd about that, but magic realism seems the order of the day in this delightful, Caldecott-honor-winning picture book. The boys dig a good distance straight down in a beautifully squared off hole that doesn't seem to require piling dirt anywhere else. Spectacular items in the form of cut diamonds of all sizes lie a mere shovelful away from the boys' search, but they veer off just before making the discovery - let's split up, they say, or go in another direction. They fortify themselves with chocolate milk and animal cookies, and then, tired out, go to sleep. The digging continues when they awake, but soon they break through and fall through the air . . . to land in a place you will never suspect. Lots of fun from two masters of the genre.

The Princess in Black by Dean and Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham Candlewick, 2014.  90 pgs. Intermediate      Princess Magnolia, dressed in pinkety-pink-pink-pink is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when the call comes in on Magnolia's glitterstone ring ( Brring! Brring! ). A monster has invaded the kingdom and Princess Magnolia must swiftly and secretly ditch the duchess and become The Princess in Black, the masked crusader who alone can save the two frightened goats who are about to be swallowed by a large blue monster. The P in B has no problem driving off the monster; her trouble now is that the nosy duchess is searching the castle in her absence to discover whatever secrets she can (everybody has them) about Princess Magnolia. Magnolia hastens home, but too late to keep Duchess Wigtower from discovering a pair of black stockings! What to do? The Hales' sparkling early reader has a "whew!" of an ending, which young readers sho...

The Madman of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic Press, 2014. Fiction, 363 p. Benji is an African Candian boy from Buxton, and Alvin is an Irish Canadian boy from the nearby town of Chatham.  Alvin and Benji meet and strike up a friendship. Their friendship is solidified when they both meet the mysterious and legendary Madman of Piney Wood. Their unusual friendship, and their experience with the mysterious shadowy "madman" gives them strength and insight to understand the adults in their lives that are dealing with ghosts from their past. This is a companion novel to Curtis' Elijah of Buxton . It takes place 40 years after the first book and some of the adults in this book were children in that.  In both books Curtis shows his amazing insight into human nature and his ability to create sympathetic and likeable characters who effectively deal with difficult situations.  Parents should be aware that this book contains a brief description of wartim...

The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus Book 5) by Rick Riordan Disney Hyperion, 2014. Fiction, 516 p. This is the last in "The Heroes of Olympus" series.  The seven demigods have split up in their final desperate attempt to stop Gaea from rising.  Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge are trying to transport the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half Blood, while the rest-- Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason and Hazel-- travel on the Argos II in search for the Physician's Cure that will raise a person from the dead before facing the giants at Olympus. Of course, as they pursue their quest they fight monsters, outwit minor gods, and explore their relationships with each other and with their parents.  Although there are few surprises, fans will enjoy this satisfying end to a very popular series.

Henry Holton Takes the Ice By Sandra Bradley Illustrated by Sara Palacios Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. Picture Book Henry Holton’s family eats, sleeps and breathes hockey. Even at a young age, Henry was such an accomplished skater that his parents just knew once he got a hockey stick in his hands he was going to be the next Gretzky. The problem was, once he got a stick in his hands he lost all coordination and was an embarrassment to his family and team. Then one day he goes to an ice dancing competition and realizes that was what he wants to do. At first his parents tried to argue that they were a hockey family, but in the end they help him achieve his dream of becoming an ice dancer. This picture book illustrated with a combination of colored pencils, graphite, cut paper, water color, and Photoshop elements creates a great picture book to help children understand that it is okay to be yourself.