Title: Baby s First Words Animals Author: Lesley Grainger Illustrator: Lesley Grainger Publisher: Bloomsbury Activity Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Copyright: 2015 Ages: 2-5 Board Book Animals The board book, Baby s First Words: Animals, includes animals that young children may be or will soon be familiar with. On each page along with the animal are printed the sound that particular animal makes. Great participatory book for children learning animals, animal sounds, and colors. It is colorful and has an interesting shape. The edges of each page are receding. Each page is a different color and has a contrasting colored animal. Title: Otter Hello, Sea Friends! Author: Sam Garton Illustrator: Sam Garton Publisher: Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ages: 5-6 Primer Garton, Sam Otter Keeper takes Otter to the zoo, and Otter takes his Teddy. They get to see the animals, and Otter shares his lunch with Teddy. They get to see penguins eat their lunch and Otter likes the penguins the best. When Otter gets ready to leave the zoo he goes into the gift shop and chooses a new friend to take home the penguin. Otter: Hello, Sea Friends! Is an I Can Read! Book, a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers. It has short sentences and very colorful illustrations. It is one of three Otter books in the system. We also have Otter books in picture books. Title: Itty Bitty Kitty: Firehouse Fun Author: Joan Holub
Illustrator: James Burks Ages: 7-8 Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Reader Holub, Joan Ava takes her kitty, Itty Bitty Kitty, with her to visit the firehouse. Itty Bitty Kitty is not itty bitty. He eats all the cookies, and chases the firehouse dog. They learn to stop, drop, and roll, and to crawl on the floor under smoke. In the end Ava, Firefighter Smitty, Itty Bitty Kitty and the firehouse dog have become friends. The illustrations are colorful and clearly show the emotions of the characters in the story. Itty Bitty Kitty: Firehouse Fun is an I Can Read! Book, a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers. This is the first Itty Bitty Kitty Reader book in the system in addition to the Itty Bitty Kitty picture books we have available. Title: Lola Gets a Cat Author: McQuinn, Anna Illustrator: Beardshaw, Rosalind Ages: 2-5 Publisher: Charlesbridge Copyright: 2017 PicBk McQuinn, Anna In the latest of Lola's adventures, she has her heart set on getting a pet. Lola loves cats. She wants a real one. Mommy says looking after a cat is a lot of work. (pgs.1-2) Lola is eager to find out more and does her homework. At the library she finds books about cats and pet care and learns as much as she can. Lola pretends her stuffed kitty is real and practices taking care of it. Finally, Lola is allowed to adopt a cat of her own. When Lola and her mommy arrive at the animal shelter, there are three cats to choose from. Before Lola can decide, one little cat chooses her! (pg. 9) Through preparation, patience and care, Lola helps her kitten adjust to its new surroundings and settle in to its new home. This is a thoughtful story for young children on pet ownership. And, in my opinion, it is another wonderful addition to the Lola series. Title: Super Happy Party Bears: Gnawing Around
Author: Colleen, Marcie Illustrator: James, Steve Ages: 8-11 Publisher: Imprint (A part of Macmillan Children s Publishing Group) Step-Up Colleen, Marcie The Super Happy Party Bears are happy all the time. They like dancing, doughnuts and spreading happiness. However, the grumpy townscritters in the Grumpy Woods find them annoying. When the river water turns up missing, the Super Happy Party Bears are on the top of the list of suspects. However, it turns out that new neighbors are in town, Beavers. Their wooden house on the river is holding back the flow of the river. This makes the townscritters even grumpier. Who will save the day? Find out by reading this funny delightful chapter book. Looking at the cover, I thought this would be too cutesy for even 8 year olds. However, I believe the characters, humor and antics will draw a variety of readers in. There are many examples of alliteration in the book including the townscritters names: Dawn Fawn and Sherry Snake. Sherry Snake even hisses when she speaks, I wouldn t be to ssssure of that. The Super Happy Party Bears are annoying and clueless, the town critters are delightfully grumpy and sarcastic and the beavers are stubborn and clever. Yet despite the townscritters and beavers attitude, the Bears continue with their happiness party until the very end. The lovable characters, humor and colorful yet simple illustrations definitely make the story enjoyable for both children and adults. Title: Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel Authors: Charise Mericle Harper Illustrator: Ashley Spires Ages: 6-9 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Copyright: 2017 Harper, Charise June and her talking dog, Sammy are looking for a new friend who has to be fun, friendly, and full of adventure. She hopes to befriend the new girl, Mae who lives next door. Meanwhile, June s grandmother, Penny sends a wonder wheel as a gift in the mail. Now, every day becomes filled with adventure as June spins the wheel then selects a matching envelope with little assignments that make
each day fun. Can using the wonder wheel help June become more likeable as a friend? Will Mae think that June is strange because of her talking dog? Title: A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent. Author: Anne Rockwell Illustrator: Floyd Cooper Ages: 4th-5th grade Publisher: Carolhoda Books Bio L159.9r This is a beautifully illustrated biography of a little known slave-turned-hero of the revolutionary war. James signed up to work for General Lafayette. He also became a trusted helper and advisor to the British general Cornwallis. He acted as a double agent throughout the war, feeding the British misinformation, and bringing their secrets back to the colonial army. Apparently, James services helped the colonists win the war. He thought he would be freed for his service, but that didn t come until several years after the war, when General Lafayette recommended freedom on James behalf. This book would be best suited to 4th-5th graders because of the content and also some of the vocabulary. Title: Little Tails in the Jungle Author: Frederic Brremaud Illustrator: Federico Bertolucci Ages: 7-11 Publisher: Magnetic Press Graphic Little Tails v.2 This book tells about the adventures of a puppy and a squirrel as they set out on a journey to explore the jungles of the world. The illustrations consist of blocks of pictures that split most of the pages in half, with the top half showing dialogue and the lower half showing color prints.
Title: The American Heritage Children s Dictionary Authors: By the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries Illustrator: Picture credits are listed alphabetically in the back of the book. Ages: 8-11 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Call Number: Ref Juv 423 A512.5ch 2016 This newly updated dictionary offers listed sections in the beginning for the older reader to explore, which includes sample pages as well as a section on how to use the dictionary. The core of the book is, of course, the A-Z vocabulary section from pages 1 862. Other sections offered are a parts of speech segment, a pronunciation key, as well as phonics and spelling, geography, maps, and measurement sections.