Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Float  By Daniel Miyares Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015. Picture Book. In this simple yet beautiful wordless picture book a young boy takes his paper boat out to play in the rainy weather. As the heavy storm gradually clears up the boy experiences the joy of jumping in puddles and racing his boat down the street. However, when the boat floats down a sewer drain the boy is left feeling devastated. After a depressing walk home, the boy dries off, warms up and gets ready for his next adventure.  In this Caldecott contender, Miyares creates an engaging story that is full of emotion by using stunning illustrations filled with grays and blacks that bring the stormy day to life. The boy in the bright yellow rain coat, whose feelings are unmistakable, invites the reader to share in his ups and downs. Young children who are not yet experienced readers will love the wordless format which is used seamlessly to construct an extraordinary book centered on an or...

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom By Christopher Healy Walden Pond Press, 2012. Fiction. Ever wanted to know what happened to the famous princes in the fairy tales after their stories end with Happily Ever After? Of course not; everyone cares only about the princesses and never even knew the princes’ names—they’re all just called Prince Charming. That is about to change when four princes form the League of Princes to fight the evil witch trying to destroy their kingdoms, fighting bandits, dragons, and trolls to get to her. But how did they all end up in the forest to begin with? Prince Liam is a well-loved hero of his kingdom until he decides not to wed the mean, selfish Sleeping Beauty and has to escape the kingdom’s wrath. Prince Duncan and Snow White are in love but Snow needs some space from her hyperactive husband so he decides to go on a walk and gets lost. Prince Frederic is afraid of everything and would rather stay at home but when his fiancé Cinderella le...

  Ms Rapscott's Girls by Elise Primavera Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. 262 p. fiction Ms Rapscott runs a school for daughters of very busy parents.  Four students arrive at the school in flying boxes, but one box shows up empty. One of the students has gotten lost in rout because her parents were so busy they forgot to stick down the adhesive tab once she was inside of the box. Ms Rapscott takes the remaining girls on a number of magical journeys in search of the lost student, and in the process, the girls learn about making their own way in the world. Ms. Rapscott is part Mary Poppins, part Ms. Frizzle. Primavera includes lot of tongue in cheek humor, but also a healthy dose folksy wisdom.  This is a great choice for middle grade independent reading or to read aloud to a children ages, 5-10.  (262 p.)

Every year the American Library Association for Library Services to Children gives awards to outstanding examples of children’s literature.   One of the awards is the Caldecott medal, given to the most distinguished illustrations of a book written for children ages 0-14. In conjunction with that, every year the Provo City Library has its own “Mock Caldecott” event where public and school librarians look at some of the best picture books from the year and decide which we think should be the winners.     The Provo Library Mock Caldecott was Tuesday, Jan 5th and these were the books we chose as our winners. Winner   The Whisper By Pamela Zagarenski Houghton Mifflin, 2015, Picture Book Her magical book of stories is wordless until a whisper in the wind tells a little girl to imagine a story for each page.   Honor Books Float by Daniel Miyares Simon and Schuster, 2015. Picture Book "Wordless picture book about a boy who loses his p...

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel illustrated by Jon Klassen Simon & Schuster, 2015. Fiction. 244 p Steve is worried about his new baby brother.  He was born with congenital defects and is not doing well. Steve has other emotional challenges as well, and deals with a lot of anxiety.  One night he has a dream that some creatures--he thinks of them as angels--come to him and promise him that they can "fix" his baby brother. The dream recurs and after a while, Steve realizes that the creatures are actually the wasps who are building a large nest outside his home. The wasps promise just what Steve has been hoping for, but are they as friendly as they seem? Oppel has created a chilling tale that poses complex moral and ethical questions. Would we, as a society, be willing to trade a potentially disabled children for the chance of having a physically perfect ones?  How eager would we be to correct our own physical imperfections, if given the chance, and how would t...

Nightmares! By Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller Delacorte Books, 2014. Fiction Charlie knows his stepmother is a witch and it is not only because they had to move into her spooky purple mansion; he is certain something is just not right with her. Even though no one believes him, he becomes more convinced when his little brother is mysteriously kidnapped and Charlie must enter the Nightmare World to try to save him. Charlie and his friends have to conquer their own fears and ally themselves with unusual creatures that fill children’s nightmares if they want to escape and return home. A spooky middle school read with a mixture of humor and adventure. Highly recommend listening to the book which is narrated by the author Jason Segel who is a professional actor. It is available for download on Overdrive.

Icefall By Matthew J. Kirby Princess Solveig and her siblings are trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen fjord, along with her best friend and an army of restless soldiers, all awaiting news of the king's victory in battle, but as they wait for winter's end and the all-encompassing ice to break, acts of treachery make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. All Hail the Queen  By Erika David Adventurous Anna and snow magic-wielding Elsa explore the mountains, fjords and palace of their kingdom while getting to know each other as sisters. Now that the castle gates are open, Anna and Elsa are thrilled to be finally getting to know their kingdom. Anna bubbles with enthusiasm for all the things to do and the people to meet in Arendelle, and Elsa loves using her magic to help the town. But ruling a kingdom can be tiring-- and more than anything, the sisters want to spend time together! Icebreaker By Lian Tanner Petrel, an outca...