Monday, October 30, 2017

Our Favorite Picture Books

This week, I'm sharing some of our favorite picture books . . . .

Bunnies!!! by Kevan Atteberry
A monster searches everywhere to find the things he loves: bunnies!!!

I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black
There is nothing boring about being a kid... but try explaining that to a potato.

Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper
Vanilla cupcake feels plain next to his fancy siblings until he gets help from his new pal Candle to try to boost his image.

Moo! by David LaRochelle
When Cow gets her hooves on the farmer's car, she takes it for a wild ride through the country.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz
As snowflakes slowly come down, one by one, people in the city ignore them, and only a boy and his dog think that the snowfall will amount to anything.


More Favorite Picture Books -- 
Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Blueberry Mouse by Alice Low
A Boy and His Bunny by Sean Bryan
Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep by Barry Saltzberg
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep by Teri Sloat
Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig
Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper
The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
If You're Hoppy by Apil Pulley Sayre
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Mail Harry to the Moon by Robie Harris
Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand
My Father the Dog by Elizabeth Bluemle
My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
Naked! by Michael Ian Black
The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin
Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
Old Mikamba Had a Farm by Rachel Isadora
A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Snip! Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman
Snowball Fight by Jimmy Fallon
A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom
Squids Will be Squids by Jon Sceiszka
Swim! Swim! by James Proimos
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie by Judy Sierra
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka


Check these and more favorites out at the Arnold Branch on display through November 17, 2017.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Once again the indie kids are battling an apocalyptic event.  The Immortals are trying to enter and take over our world.  They're fighting to save not just their lives, but the entire world.

But that isn't this story.

This is the story of the regular kids -- the kids just hoping to make it to graduation before the high school is blown up  . . . again.




This is a great book for a reader of almost any genre.  While it is mainly a story of friendship and family, it also includes elements of the supernatural, romance, and mystery.  It's the story of the apocalypse told through those are not the "Chosen One".

I would also highly recommend listening to the audio version of the book.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Dare to Be Scared!

With Halloween fast approaching, this week I thought I would share some horror books for teens.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accident-prone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother, and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season's dark origins.

Lord Loss by Darren Shan
Presumably the only witness to the horrific and bloody murder of his entire family, a teenage boy must outwit not only the mental health professionals determined to cure his delusion, but also the demonic forces only he can see.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
For three years, seventeen-year-old Cas Lowood has carried on his father's work of dispatching the murderous dead, traveling with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat, but everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.


More Teen Horror Novels --
Bonchiller by Graham McNamee
The Death Collector by Justin Richards
The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Hand of the Devil by Dean Vincent Carter
The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle
In the After by Demitria Lunetta
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link
Runied by Paula Morris
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Samurai Awakening by Benjamin Martin
Slasher Girls & Monsters Boys by April Tucholke
This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall


Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 10, 2017.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Time for a Field Trip!

School has been back in session for a couple months now.  Kids are starting to look forward to field trips.  So this week I'm sharing some great chapter books about school field trips . . . .

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone
Ruthie thinks nothing exciting will ever happen to her until her sixth-grade class visits the Art Institute of Chicago, where she and her best friend Jack discover a magic key that shrinks them to the size of gerbils and allows them to explore the Thorne Rooms--the collection of sixty-eight miniature rooms from various time periods and places--and discover their secrets.

Keena Ford and the Field Trip Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson
Keena and her second-grade class go on a field trip to the United States Capitol where they meet a congressman and Keena makes a big impression, which she documents in her new journal.

Willy Maykit in Space by Greg Trin
When Willy Maykit gets stranded on Planet Ed during a class trip to outer space, he's in for an adventure. But will he be able to outwit the monsters inhabiting Ed and find his way back home?

The Night I Flunked My Field Trip by Henry Winkler
Fourth-grader Hank, while on a field trip aboard "The Pilgrim Spirit," tries to learn knot tying in his own unique way, which causes unforeseen problems.


More Books --
Amelia's Most Unforgettable Embarrassing Moments by Marissa Moss
Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac
Carlos Is Gonna Get It by Kevin Emerson
Clementine and the Spring Trip by Sara Pennypacker
Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger
Field Trip by Gary Paulsen
Magic Pickle and the Creature from the Black Legume by Scott Morse
Martin Bridge On the Lookout! by Jessica Scott Kerrin
Medusa Jones by Ross Collins
Saving Lilly by Peg Kehret
Skeleton Island by Angie Sage
Triple Take by Kenny Abdo 


Check these books out on display at the library at the Arnold Branch through November 3, 2017.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Mary Alice and her brother have spent summers with her Grandma Dowdel in the past.  Now, however, she's spending a whole year by herself with Grandma while her father looks for work and her brother is out west working on a WPA job.  She doesn't know what to expect from the hick town or her outspoken grandma.  All she knows is that is going to be an unusual year like nothing she's ever known before.

This sequel to the Newbery Medal book A Long Way From Chicago shares a year in the life of sixteen year old Mary Alice in a small southern Illinois town.  The stories are full of hometown characters and humor.  Grandma Dowdel is a woman unlike anybody else and one that you definitely want to get to know.  The audio version would be great for a family car trip.

Monday, October 2, 2017

Colorful Stories for Preschoolers

One thing that every child needs to know before starting school is their colors.  So this week I'm sharing some of my favorite pictures books about colors . . . .

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson
While taking a walk with Mouse, Bear meets many other friends and sees colors everywhere.

The Black Book of Colors by Merena Cottin
 This title invites readers to imagine living without sight through remarkable illustrations done with raised lines and descriptions of colors based on imagery. Braille letters accompany the illustrations and a full Braille alphabet offers sighted readers help reading along with their fingers.

Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book by Pamela Duncan Edwards
As some warthogs spend a rainy day painting their kitchen, they make a mess and learn about mixing colors.

Press Here by Herve Tullet
Instructs the reader on how to interact with the illustrations to manipulate yellow, blue, and red dots.

Vincent Paints His House by Tedd Arnold
In this playful picture book homage to artist Vincent van Gogh, a house gets a brilliantly colorful paint job.


More Books --
April Wilson's Magpie Magic: A Tale of Colorful Mischief by April Wilson
Baby Shoes by Dashka Slater
The Black and White Factory by Eric Telchin
Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Elmer by David McKee
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Hello, Red Fox by Eric Carle
I Like Black and White by Barbara Jean Hicks
I Know a Wee Piggy by Kim Norman
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs
It's an Orange Aardvark! by Michael Hall
Kitten Red, Yellow, Blue by Peter Catalanotto
Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Magic Colors by Patrick George
Mis Colores, I Mundo = My Colors, My World by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Ned's New Home by KEvin Tseng
Nighty-Night, Little Green Monster by Ed Emberley
A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors by Danna Smith
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
Red, Red, Red by Valeri Gorbachev
Red Sings from the Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman
The Wonders of the Color Wheel by Charles Ghigna


Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through October 27, 2017.