Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Have you ever wondered what monsters are scared of? Well, if you read Trick or Treat on Monster Street , you'll learn that the best scary costume for monsters is anything that looks like a cute, little kid! The hero in the story accidentally finds Monster Street on Halloween. He hooks up with, can you guess?, MONSTERS! They go trick-or-treating together (the things put into trick-or-treat bags on Monster Street are a little different) and end up at a Halloween Party. There's a traditional costume contest and guess who wins? The best part about the story, written in fun rhyme, is the friendship developed between the hero and the monsters. They realize just how "alike" they are. The second best part is the sweet justice in the turn of events between the hero and his two older brothers who find endless pleasure in scaring him. His new friends help teach his brothers a lesson about just what it feels like to be scared by real monsters! The beautiful, bold, full-spread il...

Petra Kronos lives in a world of magical mechanical wonders. Petra’s father, a metalsmith who creates living clockwork creatures for a living, is hired by the teenage prince of a neighboring kingdom to work on a special project. This single event soon draws Petra and her talking tin spider, Astrophil, into a dangerous world filled with dark magic, political intrigue, and a cabinet full of wonders. I found the world Petra lived in intriguing and the clockwork animals her father created charming. The people she meets during her adventures were colorful characters you can’t help but love—or hate, as the case may be. However, I would have liked a little more information about certain aspects of the story that didn’t always make sense. (For example: I would have liked to know more about the nature of brassica oil why it gave the metal creatures life when it was fed to them. Why did Iris’ skin ooze acid? Was she born that way or was she cursed later in life? And why did Astrophil suddenl...

Melvin Might? , one of the books in Jon Scieszka's Trucktown series, is about poor, worry-wort Melvin. His friends, Pete, Jack, and Rita, want him to join in their rather daring stunts but Melvin just isn't sure if it's safe enough. When one of his friends has an accident, does Melvin let his worries consume him, or does he go to the rescue? Read Melvin Might to find out! Scieszka's books are always funny and good fun, and this book is no exception. The bright, interesting pictures by the 3-team of artists--Shannon, Long, and Loren--make the story even more engaging and will especially delight boys with the images of trucks zipping and zooming around town. Coupled with a great message about conquering your worries when it counts, this is a story that manages to be fun and helpful together.

Max has a great imagination and loves to act out his visions. He is Superman , King Kong , and Evel Knievel all in one, until he decides to be... Mighty Max ! Mighty Max can do anything, but his forte is saving the day, of course, which he does multiple times. Hooray for the Mighty Max in each little boy! In this funny picture book, Ziefert vividly details the active nature and enthusiasm of young boys, perfectly accompanied by Kreloff's scribbly illustrations and collage. This is a book that can be appreciated and enjoyed by parents and children alike.

When good old dependable Leo inherits a beautiful, antique music box from his great-aunt, his life is turned upside-down. First, his annoying, headstrong cousin Mimi comes to stay with his family with her horrible little dog, Mutt. When Mimi decides to break the first of a set of rules that have been handed down with the music box, strange events are set into motion. A powerful witch is released and the music box is revealed to be much more than it seems. Leo and Mimi must embark on a difficult quest to save Mutt as well as an entire world from destruction. Filled with adventure, friendships, magic, and betrayals, this is an exciting and thrilling story sure to please any fantasy fans, especially those seeking stories about magical worlds and creatures. I loved the twists and turns introduced in the book and was very pleased to find the story intriguing, fast-paced, and well-written. The characters are believable and well fleshed-out. If you choose to read this story, you will never lo...

THE ULTIMATE WEAPON: THE RACE TO DEVELOP THE ATOMIC BOMB ; Edward T. Sullivan; New York: Holiday House, 2008. 182pp. Juvenile/Young Adult Non-Fiction. This book was so interesting I wished it had had even more information than it does, particularly about the physics of the creation of the atomic bomb. Most of us older types know a little bit about the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos, even about the first atomic pile experiment in the squash court under the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. But Sullivan adds texture and detail to what we know, and shares a wealth of information beyond that. Although the race to build the A-bomb was intended to beat the Germans to the punch, spies on the project were actually feeding information to the Soviets, who would have nuclear weapons shortly after the end of the war, and German's project fizzled after its Finnish heavy water plant was blown up. Two "cities" besides Los Alamos sprang up almost overnight as farmers and townsfolk ...

I think the front cover alone describes what a neat and fascinating book Sabertooth is. Sabertooth by Patrick O’Brien is about many different prehistoric animals but mainly stars the Sabertooth Tiger and its descendents. In this short, but informative book readers can learn about the animal’s teeth, when they lived, what they may have looked like, what they may have eaten and where many of their bones have been found. It was a very interesting book and I learned in prehistoric days there were rodents that were bigger than cows! (This shows that I definitely could never have been a cave woman!) This is a short book that reads like a picture book and is a great resource to use to introduce children to the wonderful world of nonfiction.