Bear Can't Wait by Karma Wilson

Bear is back in another great picture book from Karma Wilson.

This time, Bear has planned a surprise birthday party for his good friend Hare and just can't wait for it to start.

This is another solid entry in the Bear series by Karma Wilson.  It perfectly captures the excitement and impatience of waiting for an anticipated event.  

Tales of Courage During World War II: Fiction Chapter Books for Kids

 This week, I am sharing fiction chapter books about World War II . . . .

Island War by Patricia Reilly Giff

In 1942 13-year-olds Izzy and Matt become trapped on an Japanese-occupied Aleutian island when the rest of the American population is evacuated and must survive on their own for the duration of World War II.

Soldier Bear by Bibi Dumon Tak

An orphaned Syrian brown bear cub is adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II and serves for five years as their mischievous mascot in Iran and Italy. 

It Rained Warm Bread by Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet

A fictionalized account of the experiences of a Polish Jew, Moishe, who with his parents, brother, and sister, struggles to survive the Nazi invasion and Holocaust.

Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

When Soviet troops invade Japanese-occupied Manchuria during the last days of World War II, twelve-year-old Natsu Kimura must care for her younger sister as they struggle to survive and return to Japan.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

More Books --

Allies by Alan Gratz

Don't Tell the Nazis by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

A Horse Called Hero by Sam Angus

How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson

In a Flash by Donna Jo Napoli

Into the Killing Season by Michael P. Spradlin

Louder Than Words by Kathy Kacer

Masters of Silence by Kathy Kacer

Village of Scoudrels by Margi Preus

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

A Whale in Paris by Daniel Presley & Claire Polders

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through June 18, 2021.

After Graduation: A Teen Fiction Booklist

 It's graduation season!  Seniors are planning their futures and cramming in one last summer of fun before adulthood.  This week, I'm sharing stories about what happens after graduation.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

When Auden impulsively goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, she gets a chance to recapture the carefree teen life she missed while her parents were going through a divorce.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between by Jennifer E. Smith

High school sweethearts Clare and Aidan spend the night before they leave for college reminiscing about their relationship and deciding whether they should stay together or break up.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

More Books --

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

Every Moment After by Joseph Moldover

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Foreseeable Future by Emily Adrian

Freshmen by Tom Ellen
Gap Life by John Coy

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan

Kill All Happies by Rachel Cohn

Me Myself & Him by Christopher Tebbetts

Say Yes Summer by Lindsey Roth Culli

Start Here by Trish Doller

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

Summer of '69 by Todd Strasser

The Summer of Us by Cecilia Vinesse

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through June 11, 2021.

The Bookstore Cat by Cylin Busby

The bookstore cat is an adorable cat.  

The bookstore cat is a bossy (very bossy) by cuddly cat.

And so we learn about the the bookstore cat.  As we go through the alphabet, we learn about another characteristic of the bookstore cat.

This is a cute book for preschoolers wanting to learn their abc's as well as those who love cats.
 

Mother Goose's Songs & Rhymes

 This week, I'm sharing some nursery rhyme picture books.  This includes traditional Mother Goose rhymes and songs along with newer rhymes.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington

Expands on the traditional counting rhyme, revealing exciting things the second set of toes does which inspire the first set to try more "fun stuff" too.

After the Fall by Dan Santat

After falling off the wall, Humpty Dumpty is very afraid of climbing up again, but is determined not to let fear stop him from being close to the birds.

Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger

Find out just why this Yankee was so cranky in this hilarious take on a traditional nonsense song every child learns in school but doesn't understand.

Mary Had a Little Lamp by Tim Harrington

Mary takes her "bendy," gooseneck lamp wherever she goes, much to the dismay of her parents and classmates, but after leaving it at home during summer camp, Mary finds that she has outgrown her need for her odd companion.

If You're Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre

In rhyming text reminiscent of the traditional song, "If you're happy and you know it," presents various animals that are hoppy, sloppy, growly, flappy, or slimy, scaly and mean.

More Books --

5 Little Ducks by Denise Fleming

The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey

The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock by Jim Aylesworth

A Dog Needs a Bone by Audrey Wood

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo and Flo! by Laurel Molk

The Farmer in the Dell by John O'Brien

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush by Jane Cabrera

If You're a Monster and You Know It by Ed Emberley

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

Jack and Jill by Daniel Kirk

Little Miss Muffet by Iza Trapani

Mary Had a Little Lamb by Mary Ann Hoberman

The Neat Line: Scribbling Through Mother Goose by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Gus Grimly

Over the Moon by Rachel Vail

A Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes by Salley Mayor

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort

Three Little Kittens by Barbara McClintock

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car by Kate Dopirak

Check these and more nursery rhyme and song books out on display at the Arnold Branch through June 5, 2021.

Once Upon a Time . . . Fairy Tales Retold

 I love to read fairy tales -- especially if it is a new twist on an old favorite.  This week, I'm sharing some fairy tale retellings.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler
Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is a princess and that her twelve sisters love her, and so when she discovers they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them. Inspired by the Grimm fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville

Presents the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" from the perspective of governess bear Ursula Brown, who worries about the mysterious sounds she hears at the Vaughn estate while falling for the imperious Mr. Bentley.

The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

Annie, younger sister of the princess who would be known as Sleeping Beauty, is immune to magic and stays awake when the rest of the castle falls into an enchanted sleep, then sets out to find a way to break the spell.

More Fairy Tale Retellings --
Big Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine

Flight of the Swans by Sarah McGuire

Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk by Lisel Shurtliff

Leaping Beauty and Other Animal Fairy Tales by Gregory Maguire
Little Red Hoodie by Martha Freeman
Princess of the Wild Swans by Diane Zahler
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli

Straw Into Gold: Fairy Tales Respun by Hilary McKay
A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gitwitz

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through May 29, 2021.