Provo Library Children's Book Blog

  Diary of a Mad Brownie: With Supporting Documents By: Bruce Coville Random House, 2015. Fiction. Angus Cairns is a brownie, a magical creature with a fastidious nature. Alex Carhart is the messiest eleven-year-old in the United States of America. Together, this unlikely pair embarks on an unforgettable adventure. The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World's Worst  Samurai By: Tim Collins Jolly Fish Press, 2021. Fiction. Suki is a 14-year-old girl in 16th century Japan who wants to become a samurai warrior like her father and brother. Despite her disastrous training, when a party of bandits threaten her village whilst the men are away at war, Suki has to defeat them. Will she prove herself a legendary samurai, or will it all end in disaster? Diary of a Fly By: Doreen Cronin Joanna Cotler Books, 2007. Picture Book. A young fly discovers, day by day, that there is a lot to learn about being an insect, including the dangers of flyswatters and that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. My

Did you know that we have two parent/child book clubs every month at the Provo City Library? They are for children ages 9-12 and a caregiver. This month they will meet November 18 (guys) and November 23 (girls). Preregister under the  Kids Corner/Program Registration  tab on the library website. We have two great books to discuss this month: Girls Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster By Jonathan Auxier New York: Amulet, 2018. Historical fantasy. Nan Sparrow is a ten-year-old orphan girl who spends her days working as a chimney sweep. Because she is small and quick, she is one of the best "climbing boys" in all of London. One day, when climbing up a flue, she gets stuck and is certain she is going to die when another climbing boy starts a fire in the fireplace. Instead, the mysterious lump of coal she carries in her pocket is brought to life by the burning fire. Her lucky "char" becomes a golem named Charlie and the two misfits become responsible for one anothe

Read in Toddler Time The Right One for Roderic By Violeta Noy Templar Books, 2019.  Picture Book. All ghosts wear white sheets. That’s just what ghosts do. White sheets are good for haunting people, and they make the ghosts feel like part of one big family. But one little ghost named Roderic wants to wear something different. He tries all sorts of things: a bag, a rug, a boot. Can he find the right one for him? Find out in this colorful picture book from debut author-illustrator Violeta Noy.  --Publisher Read in Preschool Time Gustavo the Shy Ghost By Flavia Z. Drago Candlewick Press, 2020.  Picture book. Gustavo is good at doing all sorts of ghostly things: walking through walls, making objects fly, and glowing in the dark. And he loves almost nothing more than playing beautiful music on his violin. But Gustavo is shy, and some things are harder for him to do, like getting in a line to buy eye scream or making friends with other monsters. Whenever he tries getting close to them, he re

  The Mountain Written and illustrated by Rebecca Gugger and Simon Rothlisberger NorthShore Books Inc., 2021. Picture Book. One thing that can be hard for children is to try an understand a person's different perspective. That's hard for adults too. This book is all about looking at a view from another person's eyes, without jumping to conclusions. We can each probably look at a time when we thought we were right, and learned that the answer was something completely different. Each animal has their own opinion of what the mountain is like. The bear says it's very green and full of trees. The octopus says it's wet and full of fish. The ant says it's earthy with lots of tunnels. All the animals argue about it until the bird has had enough. He asks who actually has been to the mountain. None of the animals have, so they each plot to make their way up the mountain and prove the others wrong. But when they get there, the see that it's simpler than they imagined. 

As Halloween is approaching, it is a perfect time to read about supernatural beings. Beings such as, witches, aliens, werewolves, ghouls, and more, here are a few of the best new supernatural graphic novels from this year. Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse By Stephanie Cooke Boston : Etch/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. Abby lives in a town filled with supernatural creatures. Her best friends are a wolf-girl, a ghost, and a pumpkin-head. When a vortex opens up to another land and a hoard of rabid chaos bunnies enters their world, Abby and her friends must work together to save their town before it is too late.  Long Distance By Whitney Gardner New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. From the author of  Fake Blood , comes a fun read that will take you out of this world! Vega is sent away to summer camp to make some new friends. Strange occurrences begin to happen, that make Vega and her campmates question what kind of summer camp they have been shipp

I thought that it might be fun to do a spooky blog post for October and find the most chilling book covers in our library. But oh boy was I wrong. Fun is not be the word I would use to describe this little project that I naively gave myself. I haven't even read any of these books and the covers alone gave me actual goosebumps. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but I totally do and these look absolutely terrifying. So if you're looking to read something very scary, this cover-judging post is for you. Enjoy! The Girl in the Locked Room By Mary Downing Hahn Boston ; New York : Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. Fiction. 193 pages. Mary Downing Hahn is known for writing children's ghost stories like The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall, Guest, and her most recent book The Thirteenth Cat. I could have made a chilling book cover post solely about her books, but decided on a variety instead. You should check out the rest of her book covers if you get the chance. All

The Awakening Storm (City of Dragons #1) By Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong New York: Graphix, 2021. Graphic novel. Three years after she loses her father to cancer, Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mom and stepdad. She's not exactly excited about the move, or about being the new kid at a super-fancy private International school with lots of super rich kids. Not long after school starts, a mysterious old woman approaches Grace on a school field trip and gifts her an egg -- an egg that contains a baby dragon. Grace and her new group of friends are determined to care for the dragon and discover why the egg was given to Grace in the first place. Their search takes them on a journey through Chinese mythology as they fend off dark, mystical forces and an evil corporation determined to recover the dragon themselves. This is a fun and exciting graphic novel series opener that is sure to appeal to readers looking for a fantasy series. Grace and her friends, a diverse and multiethnic group,

 National Pumpkin Day is today, October 26th and I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for Halloween these orange round gourds probably wouldn't be as famous. Halloween, no doubt, is the best thing that has happened to pumpkins. Who hasn't carved a pumpkin at least once or used a pumpkin as part of a Halloween tradition? In honor of  National Pumpkin Day here are five picture books that will help create some special memories for little pumpkins. Pick a Pumpkin Written by: Patricia Toht Illustrated by: Jarvis Candlewick Press, 2019. Picture Book. Pick a pumpkin from the patch. A wonderful rhyming book about the holiday tradition of going to a pumpkin patch, choosing the right pumpkin, bringing it home, and carving it into a glowing Jack-o-lantern.  10 Spooky Pumpkins Written and Illustrated by: Gris Grimly Orchard Books, 2021. Picture Book. A Halloween countdown as 10, not just 5, little pumpkins sitting in a line wait for their turn. You will discover spooky twists and turn

  Cows Go Boo!   By Steve Webb  Illustrated by Fred Blunt  Andersen Press USA, 2021. Picture Book.  This book made me laugh out loud! And then I ran around and read it to all the library storytellers since I needed them to know about the gem of a book! There is a farm that is run by Farmer George. As readers go around the farm they learn the various sounds that different animals or things make (i.e. “pigs go oink!” or “the tractor goes vroom!”). However, those silly cows are always missing—or are they since observant young readers can spot a clue as to where the cows are hiding—and the cows don’t say what they are supposed to. Seriously, this is hysterical. And if there is a young reader who likes the idea of being scared around Halloween…but doesn’t actually want a scary book, then this is the perfect read for them!

Movie Characters By Mark Stewart Pleasantville, NY : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2010. Informational. Sometimes all it takes is one character to turn a movie into an unforgettable classic. This book features ten of the most memorable characters in film history.    Audrey Hepburn   By Ma Isabel Sanchez Vegara New York, NY : Frances Lincoln Children's Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group, 2017. Informational. This book presents information about Audrey Hepburn, from her youth in Nazi-occupied Europe, through her rise to stardom in some of the era's most popular films, to her dedication to UNICEF.    Who Was Alfred Hitchcock? By Pam Pollack New York : Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2014. Biography. Profiles the life and accomplishments of the British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, known for his distinctive style of directing and his films that featured suspenseful and surprising plots.    Filmmaking By Todd Downing New York, N.Y. : PowerKids Press, 2011. Inf

Read in Toddler Time Bee Frog Written by Martin Waddell Illustrated by Barbara Firth Candlewick Press, 2007.  Picture Book. Bee Frog is not a frog — she’s a dragon! A not-nice, very fierce dragon! But Mom and Dad Frog are too busy to notice. They don’t even pay attention when Bee Frog hops off to practice her dragon noises all by herself. Is it possible that a scary dragon like her could get lonely? The acclaimed team of Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth (who brought us Can't You Sleep Little Bear ?) returns with a gentle tale of a little frog who learns that being yourself can bring the warmest rewards.  --Publisher Read in Preschool Time I Don't Want to be a Frog Written by Dev Petty Illustrated by Mike Boldt Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2015.  Picture Book. Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives'a wolf who HATES eating frogs'our hero decides that being himself isn't so bad after al

  Trying   Written by Kobi Yamada Illustrated by Elise Hurst Seattle, WA : Compendium Inc., 2021. A little boy comes across an older man who is an accomplished sculptor. The boy wants to be just as good as the man but fails over and over when he tries to sculpt. The man teaches him the power of trying again and again especially when mistakes are made. Realizing that it is in the trying where the growth takes place. He teaches the boy not to be afraid of failure.  This inspirational picture book has beautiful illustrations and a message for all who have ever been afraid to try something new. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy books like,  You Are Special by Max Lucado or  My Heart by Corinna Luyken. 

We are almost to Halloween! Since the spookiest day of the year is less than two weeks away, maybe you're feeling like you don't have time to commit to reading a whole book -- and I get it. Or, maybe you're wanting to tell a scary ghost story every night from now until Halloween -- an amazing idea. Or, maybe you want to read a really scary story, but want it to be over sooner rather than later. If you fall into any of these categories, have I got a list for you. Here are some of the best collections of ghost stories to scare your pants off. Hide and Don't Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories By Anica Mrose Rissi Illustrated by Carolina T. Godina New York: Quill Tree Books, 2021. Horror. This collection of 20 short stories has nods to all the classic scary story tropes in a way that transforms even the happiest childhood experiences into moments of terror. The illustrations are perfectly atmospheric and a mix of scare levels ensures readability for all types of crowds. Per

  Sisters of the Neversea Written by: Cynthia Leitich Smith Heartdrum, 2021. Fiction. Lily and Wendy are best friends who share everything including a younger brother, Michael, and a bedroom because they are also stepsisters. Lily is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and Wendy is British. Despite their different cultural backgrounds Lily and Wendy have always gotten along until their parents begin to disagree and Wendy's father takes a job in New York. Now their friendship is in trouble as well as their family. Wendy prepares to move to New York with her father and Lily refuses to visit and make the trip because of her fear of flying. The night before leaving Wendy is packing her suitcase when a boy named peter flies into their room. Peter who is looking for his shadow convinces Wendy and Michael to fly to neverland. Lily soon follows after she learns that Peter isn't who he claims to be. A fantastic retelling of the traditional story Peter Pan with indigenous characters. T