Provo Library Children's Book Blog

READ IN MONDAY BOOK BABIES Nighty Night, Little Green Monster By Ed Emberley LB Kids, 2013.  Picture Book. It's time for bed, so... Nighty night, little green happy face.  Nighty night, little red smiley mouth.  Sweet dreams .  With the turn of every die-cut page, see Little Green Monster's face gradually appear.  Then, as the stars come out, get ready to say good night!  In this delightful follow-up to Ed Emberley's bestselling classic Go Away, Big Green Monster! , one sleepy little monster prepares to say nighty night.  --Publisher READ IN MONDAY CUENTOS No voy a leer este libro Escrito por Cece Meng Ilustrado por Joy Ang Ioqueleo, 2015.  Spanish Picture Book. Este niño tiene muchas excusas para no leer este libro. Pero tal vez algo le convenza: alguien con quien le gusta leer.  --Publisher READ IN TODDLER TIME Yeti and the Bird By Nadia Shireen Atheneum Books for Young Readers,...

If You're Going to a March By Martha Freeman Illustrated by Violet Kim Sterling Children's Books, 2018. 32 pages. Americans have been marching for decades, and sometimes children want to join in too! However, they may not know what to expect and it might be scary at first. This book simply and optimistically describes what a day at a march would look like to the young readers. It talks about who the people at marches are and how their roles in the march differ. This book is filled with colorful pictures of children participating with their guardians and other marchers. It tells children that marching is a way to express your opinion in our democratic country. Read this book with your child who is interested in marches who understanding those who march. It paints a clear picture of how a portion of people in our nation practice their freedom of speech.

P is for Pterodactyl: The WORST Alphabet Book Ever Written by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018. Picture Book. Many of the alphabet books I recommend are perfect for younger children in helping them learn the letters and their sounds as they get ready to read. This alphabet book is something quite different. I would recommend this for older children who are reading well, that is when it is the most humorous. Haldar and Carpenter include words with silent letters as the first letter in the word. "Mnemonic" for "M" and "Czar" for "C". In addition to words that sound like the letter, but don't start with that letter. "Eye" does NOT start with "I". It finishes with "The Worst Glossary Ever!" including a guide for how each word is pronounced--because they can be tricky! It is also interesting for children to pour over the words they didn't recog...

Sweeping Up the Heart By Kevin Henkes Greenwillow Books, 2019. Fiction. Amelia Albright wants to spend her spring break on vacation in Florida like the other kids in her school, but her college professor father is emotionally distant and rejects the idea as too loud and too touristy. Instead he suggests they just have a quiet spring break at home, except he's always at work (even on break) leaving Amelia to escape the quiet, lonely house by visiting the art studio where she quickly befriends Casey the visiting nephew of the studio owner. When Casey claims to see the spirit of Amelia's long-dead mother she's not sure she believes him, but, what if he's right? This is a short, tightly written novel that slowly unfolds and builds to a quiet climax. This is the kind of book where nothing really seems out of place and every word seems intentional. Henkes exhibits a profound understanding of what it feels like to be caught between love and loss, childhood and adultho...

  Lizzy Legend by Matthew Ross Smith New York : Aladdin, 2019. Lizzy is the daughter of a basketball legend, but she doesn't let that stop her from working hard every day to be the best. One day after school, she gets a mysterious phone call, offering her one wish. For Lizzy, it's simple. She wishes to make every basket that she shoots. Skeptical, she tries out her wish, and its true - every shot she takes is a perfect swish, even shots that shouldn't have gone in.  She uses this new-found power to try out for the local pro team. She makes it onto the team, but from the minute she steps foot on the court, her secret is out. She shoots basket after basket. Videos of her go viral, gaining unwanted attention about her perfect shooting average. In a moment of frustration, Lizzy calls the mysterious number back, in hopes of getting more wishes. Instead, the voice on the other end cancels her original wish. Lizzy is back where she started, only this t...

Fly with Me: A Celebration of Birds Through Pictures, Poems, and Stories  By Jane Yolen, Heidi E. Y. Stemple, Adam Stemple, and Jason Stemple National Geographic, 2018. 192 p. This book first caught my eye because of the photographs. I can’t resist a bunch of awe-inspiring photos from those talented National Geographic Photographers. This book is no exception. There are pictures of all sorts of birds (some are even fun like the one that is taken of a bird looking into a camera on the top of a roof). There are photographs of birds in flight, birds on nests, birds showing off bird things (such as wings, beaks, or webbed feet). Basically, this is a candy book of pictures of birds. And yet, the text is pretty amazing as well. There are facts about birds, poems about birds, and all sorts of things that young readers will find interesting. This is one of those giant fact books that a kiddo could read one page on one bird she is interested in or the whole book. Basically, this is...

READ IN MONDAY BOOK BABIES Where the Wild Things Are By Maruice Sendak Harper Collins, 1963.  Picture Book. A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.  --Publisher READ IN MONDAY CUENTOS Los dientes de trino rojo Escrito por Marta Zafrilla Ilustrado por Sonja Wimmer Cuento de Luz, 2017.  Spanish Picture Book. Trino Rojo observa a su dueña lavarse los dientes todos los días. Escuchó un montón de veces lo importante que es tener una boca sana y él quiere cuidársela también. Intenta cepillarse de todas las maneras posibles, pero tiene un gran problema: ¡es un pájaro! La higiene bucal debe enseñarse desde una edad temprana, pero no siempre es fácil. Las cautivadoras ilustraciones de Sonja Wimmer y el humor que envuelve la historia de Marta Zafrilla van a ayudar a acercar a los niños al cepillo de dientes. ¡Y a la sonrisa!  --Publisher READ IN TO...

Secrets from the deep By Linda Fairstein New York, NY : Dial Books for Young Readers, 2018. Fiction, 279 p. This is the 3rd book in the Devlin Quick mystery series and is the perfect book for all those mystery lovers out there who enjoy puzzles, pirates, and history. Devlin Quick and her best friend Booker are on the case again while on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Devlin is working on a school science project and getting water samples from the sea when they find an authentic pirate doubloon in her water sample. They turn the coin over to the local police but no one has declared it missing. Devlin, Booker, and Booker's younger cousin Zee decide to do their own investigating to find out where it came from and who it belongs to. They meet a lot of the local people as they are sleuthing and learn about the history of the island and the pirates who roamed the seas in the early 1700's. Do they find the owner of the gold coin? You will need to read the book to ...

A Case for Buffy Written by Ulf Nilsson Illustrated by Gitte Spee Gecko Press, 2018. J Intermediate, 104 p. Buffy is a persistent and dedicated little mouse. Detective Gordon is a wise old frog who loves to eat cakes and take naps. Together they run a peaceful police station in the forest, where they mostly deal with lost scarves and tiffs between neighbors. But in this fourth and final installment of the series, Buffy and Detective Gordon are joined by two kindergartner trainees as they work together to solve a very personal and important mystery: where is Buffy's mother? The team uses memories, clues, and clever thinking to crack the case. Humorous, philosophical and filled with lots of watercolor illustrations, A Case for Buffy is a cozy, rainy day read that would be wonderful for reading aloud. Check out the entire Detective Gordon series in the J Intermediate section. 

Wildheart: The Daring Adventures of John Muir By Julie Bertagna Illustrated by William Goldsmith Yosemite Conservancy, 2019. Graphic novel biography. Young readers are invited to share in environmentalist John Muir's wonder at the majesty of nature in this comic book biography. From his beginnings in Dunbar, Scotland as a brilliant and easily bored child to his tenure as president of California's Sierra Club - we see John Muir as a man who truly lived a life of adventure. The very cartoony illustrations are at times welcome and vivid and at other times a little disappointing - it's hard to introduce Half Dome in Yosemite to readers without a realistic illustration of Half Dome - but certainly heighten the kid-appeal in a book filled with well-placed humor. This is the kind of educational book that is so expertly disguised that some kids may not even realize they're learning a valuable lesson about the value of our planet - but teachers and parents will find t...

Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth  Written by: Josh Crute Illustrated by John Taesoo Kim Page Street Kids, 2018. Picture Book. Oliver is a beautiful, tall, majestic tree in a national park—but unfortunately, he doesn’t feel all that special, because he is the second largest tree, not the first. Another tree outranks him, and gets all the attention. He even has a sign! Oliver works hard to get bigger so he can beat out his rival, but he learns some interesting and important lessons along the way.  Crute’s story is one of both accepting yourself for who you are (in this case, a smaller tree), but also of how sometimes being special as an individual is less important than contributing to something bigger than yourself. Kim’s fun personification of the trees and the forest make these characters easy to connect with and care about, and their individual looks make them seem unique from each other, even though they’re all part of the forest. “Oliver” is a fun...

Another By Christian Robinson Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019. Picture Book. A girl (in a nightgown with a red planet on it) and her cat (with a red collar) are awoken by another cat (who looks just like the other cat only this one has a blue collar) that comes through a hole in the wall. The blue-collared cat takes the red-collard cat’s toy mouse so the girl and her cat go through the hole into “another” place looking for the toy. In this other world things are topsy-turvy. Gravity is different directions, there are pairs of kids (or “another” kid similar to each of them), and it is a place that looks interesting and fun. Eventually the girl finds her “other” (a girl in a nightgown with a blue planet on it) with her blue-collared cat and the red toy mouse. This wordless book tests the limits of imagination by allowing readers to determine just exactly what is happening, how things are parallel to the “real” world, and just what the title “Another” means. Robinson has cr...

Read in Book Babies Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears Written by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Beth Coulton Illustrated by Nate Wragg G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2014.  Picture Book. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear know how to rock! But they need a new singer, so they audition everyone—the Three Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and more. To their dismay, no one seems just right. Could the perfect lead singer be the mysterious girl sleeping on Baby Bear’s keyboard?  --Publisher Read in Monday Cuentos Un pato en tractor Por David Shannon Traducción por Eida de la Vega Scholastic, 2016.  Spanish Picture Book. ¿Qué pasa cuando Pato maneja el tractor? ¿Qué pensarán todos cuando vean a Pato y a otros animales de la granja encima del tractor? Los lectores volverán una y otra vez a las páginas llenas de detalles divertido. ¡Éste libro es perfecto para leer en voz alta!  --Publisher Read in Toddler Time Waking Beauty Written by Leah Wi...

Door   By JiHyeon Lee Chronicle Books LLC, 2018. Picture Book. In this beautiful, wordless picture book, a boy finds himself with a key to a mysterious door. Beyond the door is a magical, colorful place filled with many different animals and creatures whose words he does not comprehend. Despite the language barrier, he is able to make many wonderful friends on his journey beyond the door. In more ways than one, this book shows that we do not need to speak the same language to understand each other. We can demonstrate friendship and express love in many different ways.

The Van Gogh Deception Written by Deron Hicks Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2017. Fiction, 306 p. This action-packed adventure starts right into the mystery with an altercation in an underground parking garage. The reader is intrigued, nervous and excited to figure out the questions that are being created.  A boy, not yet introduced, is then found in the National Galley of Art with no memory of who he is or why he is there. He is temporarily placed with Camille and her mom until his parents are located. They return to the museum the next day in hopes of triggering something in his memory. He finds a plastic ticket to pick up something the museum is holding. It turns out to be his backpack, but in the process he and Camille are kidnapped. They need to use the clues from his backpack to figure out who he is and why he also happens to have an unreal knowledge of art! This is a perfect fast moving middle grade mystery adventure. It would be especially intere...

Grow Your Own Pizza! Gardening Plans and Recipes for Kids By: Constance Hardesty Provides plans and instructions for growing twenty-six different gardens, with recipes for using what is grown. Gardens and recipes are divided by difficulty level, from easy to advanced. Sow and Grow: A Gardening Book for Children By: Tina Davis Acquaints children with the basics of plant biology, teaching them the meanings of words like "fruit" and "flower" and explaining the roles of light, air, and water in plants' development. Features a calendar of indoor-gardening and related activities, all linked to seasonal celebrations and changes. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together With Children By: Sharon Lovejoy Easy-to-implement ideas for theme gardens that parents and kids can grow together. Illustrated throughout by the author's own lyrical watercolors, each garden includes a plan, the planting recipe -- seeds, seedlings, and growing instruct...

The Lost Girl By Anne Ursu Walden Pond Press, 2019. Fiction. Calling Iris and Lark inseparable doesn't really cover it - they do everything together. And though they are identical twins, they aren't at all the same. Lark is creative, imaginative and dreamy while Iris is practical and logical. Then, they are assigned to different classrooms (for the first time ever) and put in different afterschool programs because their parents are convinced that the only way for the girls to grow as individuals is to grow separately. Iris, who sees herself as Lark's protector, is torn apart when she can't defend Lark the way she usually does. Convinced she is too sensitive, Iris tells Lark lies and keeps secrets from her for the first time in their life - trying to protect her twin from imaginary monsters. Meanwhile, an upsetting series of events plays out involving a murder of crows, missing objects, and the strange owner of an antique shop who insists he's doing magic. T...

Midnight in the Piazza  by Tiffany Parks  New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2018] Beatrice, almost 14, loves her life in Boston. So when her dad comes home and tells her they're moving to Rome, she is reluctant to go. However, upon arriving at their cute new apartment, Beatrice immediately falls in love with their historic neighborhood, especially the bronze fountain outside her bedroom window. One night, she wakes up in the middle of the night to find someone stealing the bronze turtle statues decorating the fountain. When she wakes her dad up to tell him, the turtles have been mysteriously returned.  Beatrice is determined to prove that the real turtles have been stolen, and replaced with fakes. She sets out to find clues, exploring all over Rome and following hints she found in an ancient diary. Her investigation leads her to the forgotten Roman tunnels under the city, where she finds out the true plot involving the turtles and...

Because  Score by Mo Willems Performance by Amber Ren Hyperion Books for Children, 2019. Picture Book. This is a book about cause and effect. Because Ludwig van Beethoven created music he inspired Franz Schubert. Because Franz Schubert created music he inspired musicians. Because musicians practiced they were invited to play in an orchestra. Because the orchestra performed a young girl heard them. Because she heard them she was inspired to dedicate her life to music as well (and on and on). For an author who usually writes clever and funny stories this book goes in a different direction—in fact it is one poignant picture book that almost brought a tear to my eye. Kids who need to understand how their actions (such as if they choose to practice music or not) can have a greater effect on the community or world will enjoy looking at this book. Brilliantly done Mr. Willems and Ms. Ren. Brilliantly done.

Read in Monday Book Babies Life Written by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Brendan Wenzel Beach Lane Books, 2017.  Picture Book. Life begins small, then grows…   There are so many wonderful things about life, both in good times and in times of struggle. Through the eyes of the world’s animals—including elephants, monkeys, whales, and more—Cynthia Rylant offers a moving meditation on finding beauty around us every day and finding strength in adversity. Brendan Wenzel’s stunning landscapes and engaging creatures make this an inspiring and intriguing gift for readers of all ages.  --Publisher Read in Monday Cuentos Walter el panadero Por Eric Carle Traducido por Alexis Romay Simon & Schuster Libros para niños, 2018. A todo el mundo le gustan los panecillos y la pastelería de Walter el panadero, especialmente al Duque y la Duquesa. Pero un desafortunado accidente obliga a Walter a sustituir agua por leche para sus panecillos dulces...

Secrets and Scones: A Secret Recipe Book Written by Laurel Remington Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018. 288 pages. Fiction. Scarlett is sick of her mom writing blog post about her life. She avoids joining clubs and quit her hobbies in hopes to give her mother as little material as possible. So when her elderly next-door neighbor is hospitalized, Scarlett finds solace in the empty kitchen. With amazing kitchen appliances and the chance to be herself without an audience, Scarlett begins baking. Secrets and Scones takes you through the adventures, heartaches, and new friends in Scarlett's life. This book is great for children you enjoy realistic fiction with a dash of humor. If you've read Beverly Clearly or Kate DiCamillo, you'll love Secrets and Scones. Anyone around 8 years-old and older will fall in love with the story and the characters.

The Neighbors Written and Illustrated by Einat Tsarfati New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019. Picture Book. Floor by floor, a little girl introduces us to her neighbors, or at least her imaginative guesses about who they might be behind their closed doors. Each landing in the apartment building gives her an idea about what goes on inside, from a family of circus performers to a jungle explorer and his exotic pets. When the girl reaches her "boring" family's "boring" apartment on the seventh floor, there's a twist ending that keeps readers guessing about what might be the truth after all. Tsarfati's illustrations are packed with dynamic detail. This is a marvelous picture book to pore over, especially in a one-on-one setting. Delightful and charming.

Fly Girls  : the daring American women pilots who helped win WW11 By: Pearson, P. O'Connell (Patricia O'Connell) In the tradition of Hidden Figures, debut author Patricia Pearson offers a beautifully written account of the remarkable but often forgotten group of female fighter pilots who answered their country's call in its time of need during World War 11. Amerlia Earhart  By: Isabel Thomas "Why is Amelia Earhart an aviation hero? she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, broke flying records and wrote best-selling books, and fought for the equal treatment of women. Her disappearance while attempting to fly around the world remains an unsolved mystery. Explore the legacy of one of aviation's most courageous and determind pilots in this fascinating guide to her incredible life." Gal Gadot : soldier, model, Wonder Woman By: Jill Sherman "Israeli actor Gal Gadot played Wonder Woman in the 2017 movie directed by...

Dragon Pearl By Yoon Ha Lee Disney/Hyperion, 2019. Fiction. Min is a thirteen-year-old gumiho - a fox-spirit able to shape-shift and use fox magic, called Charm, to influence those around her. She lives on Jinju an incomplete planet where no one has very much money and her home's filtration systems break down often. Min's adventure begins when an inspector from the Thousand Worlds Space Force shows up at her house looking for her older Jun who has apparently deserted the Space Force in search of the Dragon Pearl. Min runs away from home to clear Jun's name, find the Dragon Pearl - a mystical object capable of creating new planets, and explore the Thousand Worlds for herself. What results is an epic adventure involving run-ins with gamblers, pirates, mercenaries, corrupt Space Force captains, and ghosts. This impressive space odyssey - the newest from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint - seamlessly blends Korean mythology and common sci-fi conventions into a fast-pac...

Julián is a Mermaid  By Jessica Love Candlewick Press, 2018. Picture Book.  Julián can’t help his fascination with the beautiful mermaids that he sees one day on the train. He loves their glamour, and their poise, and how colorful they are. When he gets home he dresses himself up, hoping to capture their beauty. But then his Abuela gets home, and he worries that she won’t approve of his costume.  A picture book all about acceptance of one’s own self-image, “Julián is a Mermaid” is a lovely and sweet story. Although Julián loves his new clothes and the way he feels in them, he’s a little bit scared to reveal how he sees himself to his grandmother. Her love for him makes this story a joy to read. Just as wonderful as the story are the absolutely stunning, colorful illustrations. Everything is bright and beautiful, and reminiscent of water and sea creatures in both color scheme and style. This stunning book will warm hearts of parents and children who are learning h...

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise  By Dan Gemeinhart Henry Holt and Company, 2019. 344 p. Coyote Sunrise and Rodeo Sunrise (her dad) live on a school bus. They travel around the country from place to place to experience life—and possibly to run away from past memories. Only, when Coyote hears from her grandma that the park in her old neighborhood is being torn down in less than a week Coyote declares that she must go back home, even though it is a “no go” for Rodeo. Along the drive from Florida to Washington State the duo becomes a group as they pick up various passengers along the way. This is a heart-wrenching story of love and loss, friendship and family, home and home. Readers who enjoy great characters and a good heaping of emotional development will enjoy reading about this plucky 12-year-old and how she strives to do the impossible to get a bit of her heart back.