Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill

Fred loves school.  Unfortunately, they can't keep a teacher at their small Alaskan school for more than two months.

Then Miss Agnes comes.

Miss Agnes loves to teach.  She makes learning fun.  She wins over the parents who don't see the need for their kids to attend school when they could be working with their family.  She makes Fred's sister attend school even though she is deaf.

Then Miss Agnes says she is homesick for England.  Will she stay more than just the one year?


This was a wonderful historical novel of growing up in Alaska.  It is a simple story focusing on Fred's time at school while still giving a lot of information about living in Alaska in 1948.  I would recommend this book for those who liked The Little House on the Prairie series and the Sarah, Plain and Tall books.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Travels Through Time with a Good Book

This week, I'm highlighting books that include time travel in the story.  Here are some of my favorite time travel chapter books . . . .

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
Eleven-year-old Miri Gill feels left out in her family, which has two sets of twins and her, until she travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, her own lost twin, and brings her back to the present day.

Archer's Quest by Linda Sue Park
Twelve-year-old Kevin Kim helps Chu-mong, a legendary king of ancient Korea, return to his own time.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
When thirteen-year-olds Jonah and Chip, who are both adopted, learn they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces, each trying to repair the fabric of time.

Beswitched by Kate Saunders
On her way, reluctantly, to a boarding school in present-day England, Flora suddenly finds herself in 1935, the new girl at St. Winifred's, having been summoned via a magic spell by her new dormitory mates.

The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen
While backpacking in the desert, thirteen-year-old Mark falls into a tube of blue light and is transported into a more primitive world, where he must use his knowledge and skills to survive.


More Time Travel Stories --
15 Minutes by Steve Young
11,000 Years Lost by Peni R. Griffin
Herbert's Wormhole by Peter Nelson
The Homeward Bounders by Diane Wynne Jones
Jumpeman Rule #1: Don't Touch Anything by James Valentine
The Lost Children by Carolyn Cohagan
Mickey & Me by Dan Gutman
The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand by Jen Swann Downey
Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson
Walking with the Dead by L.M. Falcone


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through May 13, 2016.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Bunny Drop by Yumi Unita

Daikichi travels back home for his grandfather's funeral and discovers he had a secret.  His grandfather had a young daughter that nobody knew about.  When the family starts to make excuses about not being able to take care of the little girl Ren, Daikichi impusively decides to raise her himself.

Now Daikichi must learn how to raise a child while dealing with work and day care.  Will they be able to manage together?


This is a great family drama manga series for teens.  The first few volumes tell the story from Daikichi's point of view.  Later volumes switch to Ren's point of view as she grows older and becomes a teen.  I would suggest this to girls who like everyday stories about life.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Wacky Weather

Spring is known for its wacky weather.  Just this past weekend, there was massive flooding in Texas, a snowstorm that dropped four feet of snow in Colorado, and beautiful 80 degree sunshine in Missouri.  You never know from one day to the next what the weather will be.  So, here are some of my favorite weather books for your children . . . .

Bear in Sunshine by Stella Blackstone
Bear likes to play in all kinds of weather.

Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Doods
A young child must change clothes many times as the weather goes from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snowy.

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse
A young girl eagerly awaits a coming rainstorm to bring relief from the oppresive summer heat.

Snow Day! by Lester Laminack
Two siblings imagine all the fun things they will do the next day when the big predicted snowfall cancels school, but when the morning comes, no snow has fallen, and it turns out someone else wanted a snow day even more than they did.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him.


More Weather Picture Books --
Blizzard by John Rocco
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Dinosaur Thunder by Marion Dane Bauer
Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root
Heat Wave at Mud Flat by James Stevenson
Kite Day: A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand
Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack
One Rainy Day by Valeria Gorbachev
Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman
Snow by Uri Shulevitz
The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats
The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow
Straight to the Pole by Kevin O'Malley
Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle
When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan
Winter Woes by Marty Kelley


Check out these and more weather picture books on display at the Arnold Branch through May 6, 2016.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

President Squid by Aaron Reynolds

Squid would like to be your president.

Obviously, he would make a great president.  Let him tell you all the ways he would make the best president ever.


President Squid is a wonderfully fun book to read during this election cycle.  Kids of all ages will enjoy the reasons why he should be president.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Crime Scene!

This week, I'm highlighting teen books featuring crime stories.  These might be stories of teen criminals, teen detectives, and teen mysteries.  Here are some of my favorites . . .

Nothing to Lose by Alex Flinn
A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.

Invisible by  Mats Wahl
A Swedish teenager is assaulted and killed, but returns as a ghost to find his killer.

Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn
Narrated from several different perspectives, tells the story of the 1956 murder of two teenaged girls in suburban Baltimore, Maryland.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible.

After by Amy Efaw
In complete denial that she is pregnant, straight-A student and star athlete Devon Davenport leaves her baby in the trash to die, and after the baby is discovered, Devon is accused of attempted murder.


More Books --
Blood With Tell by April Henry
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
Gentlemen by  Michael Northrop
Jude by Kate Morgenroth
The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin
The Knife That Killed Me by Anthony McGowan
Looking for Normal by Betty Monthei
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford
Playing in Traffic by Gail Giles
The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes
Shine by Lauren Myracle


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 30, 2016.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Pathfinder by Angie Sage

Alice Todhunter Moon's life has been horrible since her father went missing.  She lives with her horrid Aunt Mitsa who seems to hate her.  Then one night, Aunt Mitsa sends the garmin after her.  This sets Tod on the path to adventure -- rescuing her kidnapped friend, discovering magic, and trying to stop an evil sorcerer.

This is the first book in the Septimus Heap sequel series - the Todhunter Moon series.  It is a great introduction to the new characters that will star in the series while also revisiting favorite characters from the Septimus Heap series.  This is a great fantasy, adventure series for all kids.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Stories of the Past

This week, I'm going to share some of my favorite historical fiction chapter books for kids . . .

Bo at Iditarod Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill
In 1920s Alaska, when five-year-old Bo and her two adoptive fathers move to Iditarod Creek to work at a new gold mine, Bo feels homesick until she realizes there is friendship to be found everywhere--and Iditarod Creek may hold some surprises for her already unconventional family.

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
Fourteen-year-old Eleanor "Peewee" McGrath, a tomboy and automobile enthusiast, discovers new possibilities for her future after the 1914 arrival in her small Indiana town of four young librarians.

Margret and Flynn, 1875 by Kathleen Duey
In the Colorado Territory in 1875, orphan Margret and her older sister Libby are staying with the kind-hearted Mrs. Fredrickson when Margret finds an injured horse which she nurses back to health and wants to keep, while Libby is too mistrustful of people to think that they might possibly have found a home.

Stop the Train! A Novel by Geraldine McCaughrean
Despite the opposition of the owner of the Red Rock Runner Railroad in 1893, the new settlers of Florence, Oklahoma, are determined to build a real town.


More Historical Fiction --
Anna's Blizzard by Alison Hart
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Barn by Avi
Daniel's Walk by Michael Spooner
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mable Riley by Marthe Jocelyn
Prairie Songs by Pam Conrad
The Wanigan: Life on the River by Gloria Whelan
The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt
Worth by A. LaFaye

Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 22, 2016.