Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Roller Girl By Victoria Jamieson Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2015. 240 p. Astrid and her friend Nicole go with Astrid’s mom to “evenings of cultural entertainment”. Usually these evenings are outings to museums or poetry readings and the like. But one night they go to watch a roller derby. Astrid is in love. She wants to become a roller girl and go to roller derby camp. Only Nicole doesn’t. Nicole would rather go to ballet camp. As Astrid has to navigate friendships and a tough new sport—her ego (and her body) get a few bruises. This is a great new comic book. It touches on a few important issues—like all the fears that come from the unknown of heading into middle school or the questions of friendship and can friendship survive different interests. And although Astrid does take a fall or two (which is basically inevitable when learning how to roller-skate), readers will cheer on this feisty, blue-haired girl who is navigating through h...

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...