Provo Library Children's Book Blog

All Year Round Written by Susan B. Katz Illustrated by Eiko Ojala Orchard Books, 2016. Picture Book. All Year Round is a simple picture book with a simple concept that works really well. For each month of the year, a shape is introduced using clever rhymes and unique cut-paper style illustrations. Rich and vibrant colors fill each page as the reader learns to associate a specific shape with each month of the year. One of the final pages acts as a review by displaying a collection of all twelve shapes with a cropped illustration of the month associated with the shape. This book is an effective way to introduce or reinforce the twelve months of the year and twelve different shapes as well as the changing of the seasons.

Shh! Bears Sleeping By David Martin Illustrated by Steven Johnson and Lou Fancher Viking, 2016. Picture Book. The picture book follows a mother bear and her two cubs through the cycle of a year: waking up from hibernation and then enjoying the spring, summer, and fall until they hibernate again only to wake up to another spring. With the rhyming text and soft colors of the oil paintings, it makes it a great picture book to read aloud to a little one. An afterword in the back explains more about bears’ lives and winter hibernation that a parent can read to be prepared to answer questions that a curious little mind might ask.

Lenny & Lucy By Philip C. Stead Illustrated by Erin E. Stead Roaring Brook Press, 2015. Picture Book. Peter and his father move into a house just over a bridge surrounded by dark woods. The woods make Peter a bit uneasy, not knowing what may be hiding in them. He and his beloved dog Henry decide they need protection from whatever might be lurking in the woods. Peter gets to work creating Lenny, a man made out of pillows, blankets, and chair cushions to guard the bridge. Peter and Henry stand back and admire their work and are sure Lenny will do a great job protecting them. Watching Lenny from their window, Peter and Henry begin to worry if Lenny is lonely, outside all by himself with no one to talk to. Peter knows exactly what to do and begins constructing Lucy, a companion for Lenny. With the help of Lenny, Lucy, and a surprising new friend along the way, Peter and Henry begin to realize that maybe the woods aren't as scary as they seem. Readers will be drawn into thi...

We March By Shane W. Evans Roaring Book Press, 2012. Picture Book. The sparse text but powerful word choices accompanied by soft color illustrations portray a family’s participation on the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 where Martin Luther King Jr. presented his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. This perfect picture book choice for introducing the Civil Rights Movement to a preschool audience conveys the hope of a community coming together to make a positive change. Includes an afterword explaining the significance of the event and how it inspired other marches for change.

Seymour Simon A science teacher for 23 years, Seymour Simon began writing for children in the early 1960s and has become one of the world’s most prolific writer of science books for younger children with more than 250 titles. Seymour Simon’s Extreme Earth Records Explores the extreme parts of the planet, from the driest desert and the snowiest mountains to the deepest depths of the ocean and the highest waterfalls. Knights and Castles Knights had to be very strong just to walk around - they were wearing armor that weighed 50 pounds or more. Charge into Knights and Castles to SeeMore! Strange Mysteries from Around the World Features nine strange-but-true stories in which fish and frogs fall from the sky, a treasure remains buried despite its exact location being known, and a crystal skull is framed by a halo of light. Our Solar System Takes readers on an interplanetary tour from the sun to the ever-mysterious Mars, and then, thanks to the Voyager missions, to the p...

The Tournament at Gorlan By John A. Flanagan Philomel Books, 2015. Fiction. 384 pgs In his latest series, a prequel to his Ranger’s Apprentice series, Flanagan takes us back to Halt’s early days as a ranger. Halt has joined Crowley, a loyal Ranger, during a time when Oswald’s kingship is being attacked from within; Baron Morgarath (the enemy that will later cause havoc in The Ruins of Gorlan, first book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series), while pretending to protect the king, is really plotting his overthrow. In his quest to seize the throne, Morgarath is dismissing the Rangers that are loyal to the King and replacing them with his own men. Halt and Crowley, having stood up to Morgarth and becoming branded as traitors, decide to track down the loyal Rangers that have been dismissed to form an army to fight back. Fans of the Ranger’s Apprentice series will enjoy learning Halt’s back story, which includes details such as the first time he met Pauline, how Crowley became the lea...

Nightbird By Alice Hoffman Wendy Lamb Books, 2015. Fiction. 199 p. Twig is a loner in her small town of Sidwell, Massachusetts.  She never accepts invitations to parties or play dates. People think she is odd, but she is only afraid that if she makes a friend she might betray a well kept, and very important, family secret.  One day a family moves into the old deserted house near Twig's home. They have a girl Twig's age who is so friendly Twig can't help but want to be around her.  She knows she should avoid the girl,  but Twig's longing for a real friend overcomes her fear of the past, and gives her the courage to confront the curse that has haunted her family for generations. Hoffman is a New York Times best selling author who has written numerous books for adults, teens and children.  This one is a lush fantasy-mystery full of well defined characters, an interesting small town setting, and just the right amount of suspense. This book is available fr...

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled all of France Written by Mara Rockliff Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno Candlewick Press, 2015. Informational Picture Book. While traveling abroad, Benjamin Franklin stumbles onto a very great mystery that has all of France talking; a man named Dr. Mesmer, who "seems to make the impossible come true." This is the real story of how Benjamin Franklin used his brains (and the scientific method) to figure out the mystery of Dr. Mesmer's magic. This fun and educational book is engagingly written and beautifully illustrated. Young readers will not be able to turn the pages fast enough as they desperately want to learn more about how Franklin solved this very entertaining  historical mystery.

Snow Treasure By Marie McSwigan Illustrated by André LaBlanc Scholastic, 1942. 156 p. In tonight’s Mother/Daughter Book Club we are talking about Snow Treasure, one of the classic historical fiction children’s chapter books published clear back in the 1940s. Peter is a young boy growing up in Norway. His village is worried that Nazi troops will come and occupy their country—and sure enough they do. With German soldiers watching, can Peter and his friends help smuggle out hundreds of gold bars so that Hitler and his men won’t be able to use the gold against Norway? One by one each of the village children sled down a hill past the soldiers—with gold hidden on their sled. They then bury the gold and build a snowman on top so that Peter’s uncle and his fishing crew can find the gold and take it to their boat to smuggle to America. This is an adventurous story where children prove that they too can be as brave and loyal as their parents who are fighting in WWII. Peter and his f...

Super Bowl By Aneel Brar The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. It is one of the most-watched sporting events of the year. Learn these facts and more in this book. Super Bowl Fireworks By James Buckley Super Bowl fireworks come in all different styles: Game-altering tosses. Break-away runs. Bone-jarring sacks. Any or all of these can change the course of the game and create fireworks on the field. Cover-Up By John Feinstein Fledgling fourteen-year-old sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie investigate suspicious activities at the Super Bowl after Stevie gets fired from his co-anchor job on a ground-breaking teen sports show. Super Bowl Super Teams By Tim Gigliotti Introduces the Super Bowl forty-four champions, presents the dynasties including Brady's bunch, how 'bout them cowboys, and the steel curtain, and ponders future winners. Features all-time Super Bowl results and standings. Deep Zone By Tim Green Twelve-year...

Rosie Revere, Engineer By Andrea Beaty Illustrated by David Roberts Rosie is an imaginative and resourceful young girl with dreams of someday becoming a great engineer. She uses various odds and ends to create contraptions one might not expect, like hot dog dispensers and helium pants. However, she decides to hide her inventions after her favorite uncle laughs at one she designed especially for him. Her inventions remain hidden until Rosie's Great-Great Aunt Rose arrives for an extended stay. Her excitement for engineering  re-ignites when Aunt Rose tells her that after all her adventures, “the only thrill left on my list is to fly". In hopes of helping her aunt, Rosie gets to work creating a flying machine. Her first test run fails with only a few second of air time before it comes crashing down. Rosie feels defeated and ready to give up her dream entirely until Aunt Rose helps her realize that her invention wasn't a f...

The Night World By Mordicai Gerstein Little, Brown and Company, 2015. Picture Book. A little boy is awakened by his cat Sylvie and follows her through the dark and sleepy house to the front yard. The boy notices that things look different without the light of day. He also encounters many animals that all anxiously await something that is “almost here.” As they encourage him to “Look! Look!” dawn breaks bringing with it color and light. As the night animals scurry off, the boy and his cat excitedly greet the new day. Caldecott Medalist Mordicai Gerstein writes and illustrates this beautiful book that brings to life the night and the anticipation of daybreak. Shades of gray and black are used to illustrate the night while warm, vibrant colors accompany the sunrise. This is a great book to read to a child at bedtime and children will relate to the “Night World” and how different it can seem when the sun has gone down.

Pax By Sara Pennypacker Illustrated by Jon Klassen Blazer + Bray an imprint of Harper Collins, 2016. Fiction. 280 p. Pax is a fox. Peter is Pax’s boy. Peter is sent away to live with his grandfather while Peter’s father goes off to lay wire for the war effort. As a result Dad forced Peter to leave Pax in the woods so Pax won’t get “underfoot” at Grandfather’s house. Only after the fact does Peter realize that this is wrong. Pax has never lived in the wild and doesn’t know how to survive. While in the woods Pax is confussed and alone. There are many dangers and potential dangers Pax encounters while trying to decide whether he should stay and wait for his boy or go off to find him. Thus begins an incredible journey where Pax and Peter strive to find each other. The journey—like so many others tied to self-discovery and war times—is not easy. There are countless dangers (and smells that tend to distract a clever fox). Both fox and boy must discover what truth is and what it isn’t...

The Chosen Prince By Diane Stanley Harper Collins, 2015. Fiction. 357 p.  Alexos is prince of Arctos, and at his birth an augury reveals that he is the one the goddess Athene has chosen to end a centuries' long curse on his country.  His father does everything in his power to make Alexos strong and ready for the challenge. When Alexos is 12 years old an unexpected event throws into doubt his ability to fulfill the prophecy. Meanwhile, on a distant island, two children grow up in an idyllic setting with a kind and wise father.  Athene is preparing them, as well, for something they cannot foresee or understand. The prince and the children must conquer the greatest challenge of all to fulfill Athene's inscrutable plan. Set in ancient Greece, Stanley's story has elements from The Tempest and The Little Lame Prince . Diane Stanley understands that a good fantasy is not about action, or magic, but about the journey the characters make emotionally. Alexos is a ver...

Mother/Daughter Book Club Snow Treasure By Marie McSwigan An actual incident in which Norwegian children smuggled gold past the Nazis is the basis for this story of courage and patriotism. Mother/Son Book Club The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures By Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater Scholastic Press, 2015. Fiction. 184 p. Pip Bartlett loves learning about magical creatures so she is not too disappointed when her mother arranges for her to spend the summer with her aunt, who is a magical creatures veterinarian.  Pip has a secret; she can talk with animals and she soon becomes a valuable asset at the veterinarian clinic.  Her skills become invaluable when her town is overrun by Fuzzles, little creatures that burst into flame when they are nervous.  Pip, her aunt, and her new friend, Thomas, must race against time to keep the cute little Fuzzles from either burning down the town or being exterminated. This is a fanciful and lighthearted little book that would be appropriate for a fairly young child who is an advanced reader. Pearce and Stiefvater manage to make the story exciting without being scary. Pip is a likable, spunky little girl, and Tomas's funny ...

The 2016 ALSC Media Award Winners for 2016 have been announced, and there were some exciting surprises. Winner of the John Newbery Medal Last Stop on Market Street Written by Matt de la Pe ña Illustrated by Christian Robinson G.P. Putnam and Sons, 2015. unpag. Picture Book A young boy, CJ, rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things. Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal Finding Winnie: the True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattik Illustrated by Sophie Blackall Little Brown and Co, 2015. Picture Book A woman tells her young son the true story of how his great-great-grandfather, Captain Harry Colebourn, rescued and learned to love a bear cub in 1914 as he was on his way to take care of soldiers' horses during World War I, and the bear became the inspiration for A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Funny Bones: Posada...