Family

Family Fun Nights: 140 Activities the Whole Family Will Enjoy
by Lisa Bany-Winters

This nonfiction book is full of fun ideas for activities that the whole family can take part in. The activities are broken down into sections which include Talent Night, Circus Night, Poetry Slam Night, Movie Star Night, Giggle Night, Sticky Icky Night, Splash Night, Opposite Night, Animal Night, and many, many more. Each section contains at least three activities. Some of the activities include a parade, rhyme time, movie title charades, trick time, paper towel art, backyard in a bottle, face masks, masquerades, gypsy dance, life stories, around the house trivia, and take the tail off the donkey. Some of the activities are crafts, games, experiments, and many other fun things to do.






















Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer L. Holm

In 1935 Turtle’s mother gets a new job as a housekeeper, but the lady who hires her does not like children and does not want Turtle to live there with them. There is not much of a choice, so Turtle has to go live with her aunt in Key West, Florida while her mother is working. Her mother’s new boyfriend, Archie, has told Turtle that someday they are going to live on “easy street,” but Turtle is not convinced. Turtle is also not a big fan of other children, as they have never been that nice to her, and her aunt has three boys, which does not improve her mood. Turtle learns that her cousins earn some candy by taking care of “bad babies” so that their families can have a little peace. They also have a diaper rash crème that works really well. For this reason, the boys are nicknamed “The Diaper Gang.” Turtle is not impressed by this at all. She spends her days hanging out with the “gang” as they take care of the babies. The boys learn, though, that Turtle is pretty clever when she figures out how to get a free ice cream one night. Turtle finds that she really misses her mother. Turtle also finds out that everyone on the island has a nickname, so she does not feel so bad about hers. When she goes out to find sponges with Slow Poke, Turtle learns the tale of Black Caesar’s treasure. The next day she gets to meet her grandmother, who is not very nice, but she and Turtle come to an understanding. Soon Turtle seems to be fitting into Key West. Will she get to stay there or will she end up living in a new place with her mother? Will Turtle and her cousins find Black Caesar’s treasure? Will Archie be able to give them a life on “easy street?”






















The Name Quilt
by Phyllis Root and pictures by Margot Apple

Whenever Sadie went to stay with her grandmother over the summer, her grandmother would tuck her in at night with the name quilt. The quilt was made of all kinds of little pieces of fabric and had many names on it. For a bedtime story, Sadie would ask her grandmother to tell her about one of the names on the quilt. The pieces of the quilt are fabric from the clothes that the people were wearing when the events of the story happened. Sadie felt close to all of those people whose names she could see on the quilt. Then one day after washing the sheets and quilts and hanging them out to dry, Sadie and her grandmother go fishing. They take a nap, too. When they wake up a bad storm has blown in, and her grandmother tells her get down, because there is a tornado. When they get back to the house after the storm, the quilt is gone. Sadie is very depressed, but her grandmother is just happy that they are both okay. That night, grandmother asks whose story Sadie would like to hear. Sadie did not believe that her grandmother would remember the stories without the quilt, but her grandmother tells her that she does not need the quilt to remember the stories. Sadie remembers names from the blankets, and her grandmother tells her the stories. Will Sadie’s grandmother remember all of the stories of the family members whose names were on the quilt? Can Sadie and her grandmother make another quilt to help them remember the stories?

Say Daddy!
by Michael Shoulders and illustrated by Teri Weidner

At the hospital a mama bear reads a book to her newborn baby bear about life and its wonder. Mama makes sure to say “Say Mommy” to the baby, because she wants “Mommy” to be the baby’s first word. Daddy reads a book to the baby about dreams and wishes. He tells the baby, “Say Daddy,” because he wants “Daddy” to be the baby’s first word. All of the members of the baby’s family: brother, Aunt Grace, Uncle Roy, and Grandma read books about friendship and kindness, adventure, laughter, and families. When they are all finished reading their books, they encourage the baby to say their names as the first word. At the family reunion, the family gives presents to the little bear baby, and the baby speaks for the first time. What is the present that inspires this first word? What do you think the first word is?

Winter

Snow Friends
by M. Christina Butler and illustrated by Tina Macnaughton

Little Bear cannot wait to go out and have fun in the snow. He does have fun playing in the snow, but he wishes that he could have a friend to play with. Then he decides to make a snowman to be his friend. While Little Bear is rolling the snowball to make the body of the snowman, Otter comes up to find out what he is doing. Then Otter asks if he can help. While making the snowball bigger, the two animals hear a voice coming from under the snowball. When they roll the snowball away, Rabbit pops his head out of a hole and asks to also join in. The three friends work on the head of the snowman, and Rabbit draws a smile on the snowman’s face. Then all three of the animals go home to find something to add to the snowman. What will each animal bring to put on the snowman? Will the animals become each others’ friends? Do the animals think that the snowman should also have a friend?

Time to Sleep
by Denise Fleming

Winter time is here, and bear knows that it is time for many of the animals to go to sleep. First bear tells snail that it is time to sleep. Snail sees that frost has been on the ground and agrees with bear. Snail must tell skunk about winter before he can go to sleep. Skunk also sees signs of winter coming and knows that it is time to sleep, but first he must tell Turtle. Each animal tells the next that winter is coming. Turtle tells Woodchuck, and Woodchuck tells Ladybug. Who will Ladybug spread the new to? Will that animal know yet that winter has come? Will that animal be happy with the news?

The Winter Solstice
by Ellen Jackson and illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis

Hundreds of years ago people believed that ghosts, witches, and trolls wandered around the Earth, and a very dangerous time for this was the winter solstice (or the first day of winter). The day of the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and many people believed that the sun may not come back after this night. This was a time when people believed that they had to join together and have ritual and ceremonies to bring back the sun and keep away the bad spirits. Some places, like Stonehenge, were built to mark when the sun would “disappear” and come back. The Romans traded places with their servants, gave each other presents and candles, and brought evergreens into their homes at the time of winter solstice. In the far north, when the first light was spotted after many days of darkness, the people would have a feast of Yuletide where they would burn a Yule log. In northern Europe, people had big bonfires and would place fruit and candles on the empty trees to remind them that spring and summer would come again. Other traditions discussed were those in Peru, Arizona, New Mexico, and the United States. Then the author discusses why the days become shorter in the winter. Finally, the author talks about the traditions that people have now and how they compare to the traditions discussed earlier in the book. There is a solstice story at the end of the book from a Cherokee tale.

The Night the Whole Class Slept Over
by Stella Pevsner

Dan is moving with his family again. This time they are moving to his mother’s home town, and they are going to stay with his grandparents. Dan is tired of moving around. His parents believe that if they keep moving around, one day they will find the perfect place to live, but they do not seem to have found it yet. Dan’s mother tells her parents that they intend to move into a cabin in the middle of nowhere, but her parents are concerned about Dan and his sister Martha. How will they go to school? Dan decides to ask his grandmother to sign him up for school in their town. He hopes that he can convince his parents to let him stay with his grandparents, who he considers much more normal than his parents are. On his first day of school, Dan meets a new friend named Felix. Luckily for Dan, his parents are not having a lot of luck finding the cabin that they were dreaming of. Dan is also enjoying spending time with his grandparents. When he goes over to Felix’s house, he finds out that Felix spends a lot of time alone since his parents work a lot. His parents also had to work during Thanksgiving, so they did not have a family dinner. Dan feels a little sorry for his new friend. On the day of the first snowfall, the children get out early and go play in the snow, but after helping the unpopular girl in class, B.J., Dan ends up on the sidelines feeling like an outsider. The girls, including Amanda, talk him into helping with their “snowwoman,” and he has a good time helping them. Amanda even asks him to help her come up with a design for the snow sculpture for the class for Snowfest, and Dan really does not want to move anymore. His mother, though, seems determined to move. Will Dan’s mother really make them move when no one else really seems to want to? Will Dan be able to keep the new friends that he has made? Will Dan get to enjoy all of the fun of the Snowfest including the sleepover in the library with his class?

Food

What the World Eats
by Faith D’ Aluisio and photographs by Peter Menzel

This nonfiction book is about 25 families in 21 countries and 525 meals that they eat. Each little chapter is about one family and tells you the country that they live in. Each family also has a photograph with a week’s worth of the groceries that they eat and of the area they live in. The author also included a few American families to see how their diets differed from one another. Each chapter lists the different groceries for the family and how much it would cost to buy them in their country and in U.S. dollars. There is also a little story about the families and information about the country and city that they live in. Throughout the book there are also pages of other facts, such as the price of a Big Mac and which countries have a McDonalds. It is interesting to see what is in common with most of the families that live in cities. Can you find a drink that they all seem to enjoy?

Just Grace and the Snack Attack
by Charise Mericle Harper

One of the students in Grace’s class makes fun of the food another student is eating, and so Miss Lois, their teacher, decides to teach the students about different kinds of food that people from other countries eat instead of the insides of a frog lessons that she was going to teach. This makes Grace very excited, as she was not looking forward to learning about the insides of a frog. The students are to write about different snacks that they eat and anything that they find out about foods that people eat in other countries. The next Monday, the class will get to have a snack party where the students will bring unusual or different snacks. Miss Lois even makes a list of snacks that cannot be brought to the party. Grace likes a lot of different foods from all over the world such as sushi (Japan), bulgogi (Korea), moo shoo (China), pad thai (Thailand), and paneer butter masala (India), and her mother decides that they will go to eat a new food at a restaurant that had not been to before. Then Grace goes to visit her friend Augustine Dupre who lives in their building. Augustine is a flight attendant who goes to France a lot, and she gives Grace a “zine.” A “zine” is little comic made from a piece of paper folded into eight pages. Grace loves her present and cannot wait to create her own “zine.” Grace decides that she wants to do her report on different kinds of potato chips from around the world, after Augustine gives her a bag of French chicken-flavored potato chips. While doing research for her report, Grace finds out that there are beef jerky flavored chips in South Africa, ketchup flavored chips in Canada, ham and mustard flavored chips in England, and seaweed and salt flavored chips in Japan. Grace is upset, though, that her dad helped her friend Mimi with her report, but he does not seem even a little interested in helping Grace with hers. This makes Grace feel like a bad friend for feeling jealous of Mimi. Then Mimi walks to school without her, and Grace becomes mad. Will Mimi figure out how upset Grace is and help her feel better? Will the report on potato chips turn out well, even if Grace does not get any help? What interesting foods will the other students bring on Monday? Will Grace’s dad surprise her with any help that she is not suspecting?

Mary Clare Likes to Share
by Joy Hulme and illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

Whenever Mary Clare eats something, she likes to share it with others. Whenever she climbs a tree with Lee, she picks a pear and shares it with him by cutting it into two pieces. At school, she splits a muffin into three pieces to share it with her two friends. When three of her friends come to visit, she cuts a cookie into four pieces so that everyone can have a bite. As the book goes on, she breaks a pie, orange, watermelon, pizza, with each food getting cut into more pieces (five, six, seven, and eight). What event will have Mary Clare sharing ten whole pieces with her friends and family? Will she be able to share it evenly with everyone?

The Sandwich Swap
by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdulliah with Kelly DiPuchhio and illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Salma and Lily are best friends at school, and they have a lot of fun drawing, swinging, jumping, and eating together. At lunch, Lily eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day, and Salma eats a hummus and pita sandwich every day. Both Lily and Salma feel sorry for one another that they have to eat the “weird and yucky” sandwiches every day, but they never say this out loud to one another. Then one day, Lily tells Salma that her sandwich looks yucky. Salma’s feelings are hurt, and she tells Lily that her sandwich looks and smells yucky, too. Both of the girls are mad and do not do anything together that day. The next day, the girls do not sit next to each other at lunch. The other students hear about what happened and take sides. Then the students start calling each other names, until someone yells “Food fight!” After the food fight, Lily and Salma feel ashamed at what happened. Will the girls be able to talk to each other about their feelings? Will they decide to try something new and find out what the other one likes about their sandwich? Will Lily and Salma be able to help the other students try new things, too?

December is National Read a New Book Month

Here Are Some New Books

for December to Try Out!

Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie
by Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Keith Bendis

Calvin is a starling with three brothers, four sisters, and sixty-seven thousand four hundred and thirty-two cousins, so he has a very big family. While his brothers, sisters, and cousins all discover things like worms, grass, dirt, and water, Calvin is different, and he finds books. He teaches himself how to read, and he goes to the library instead of learning how to fly with his brothers, sisters, and cousins. He learns about all kinds of interesting things through books. His brothers, sisters, and cousins made fun of Calvin, because he was different. So he went to the library, the only place where he could be happy. When fall came, though, it was time to leave and fly south. Calvin knows he cannot fly, so he thinks that the other birds will leave without him. Will the other starlings take Calvin with them when they fly south? Will Calvin be able to help his family with something that he learned while reading all of those books?

Children’s Book of Music: An Introduction to the World’s Most Amazing Music and Its Creators
DK Publishing

This nonfiction book is filled with facts about all kinds of music. There is also a CD that has extracts of music that correspond to different pages in the book. The music covered in the book is early music, classical music, and modern music. In these chapters there is information about different instruments, people, and the kind of music that they played. In the early music section some instruments include the lyre, didgeridoo, and the sitar. In the classical music section some instruments include the organ, violin, and the French horn. This section also discusses famous composers and operas. In the modern music section some instruments include the drum kit and the electric guitar. This section discusses recorded sound and artists that have had their songs recorded. At the end of the book there is a glossary and an index of musicians.

Curtain Up!: A Book for Young Performers
by Dirk McLean and illustrated by France Brassard

Amaya loves to sing, dance, and act, and now she is auditioning for a role in a musical. When it is her turn to audtion, Amaya stands alone in front of director and stage manager, and she does so well, they ask her to come back for a second and third audition. Soon Amaya learns that she is going to have the lead child in the musical. On her first day of rehearsal, Amaya and the other members of the cast play a game to learn each others’ names, and then the read through the lines of the play together. The actors get to see a miniature of the set and get measured for their costumes. The director shows them where to stand on their positions on the stage, and the choreographer shows them all the dance moves. Amaya and the other children work really hard learning their lines and their moves to get ready for their performance in a couple of months. During the preview performance, Amaya becomes nervous and forgets her line, but the stage manager whispers it to her, and Amaya makes it through the rest of the performance. Will Amaya be ready for opening night? Will the musical be a success?

Aldwyns Academy
by Nathan Meyer

Dorian is more interested in following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a warrior. His mother, a powerful seer, decides to send him to Aldwyns Academy for wizards, instead. Dorian does not wish to attend the academy, but his mother insists. On their way to the academy, Dorian and his mother are attacked by dire wolves. His mother attacks the wolves with her wand while Dorian throws hot coals on the wolves with his dagger, but the wolves still keep coming. Then they receive help from Archmage Lowder and Professor Blackburn of the academy. Another student, Helene Miridori, is to be Dorian’s tutor in the academy, but she does not want to be. She also has a secret that someone has figured out, and she is worried. She also knows that ghosts have come to the academy, and even the more powerful wizards cannot drive them away. Dorian meets Maverick, a shopkeeper, who tells him of the dangers that have come to the academy lately, and Maverick also gives Dorian a little present and tells him not to tell anyone about it. Dorian decides to prove to the professors and to Helene that he can be a great wizard. He manages to get into trouble his first day, though, and he is not confident that he will be successful at the academy. Helene finds that her familiar was stolen, and she has to find him and get him back. Dorian and his roommate Caleb notice her sneaking off to meet the kidnapper. Both boys noticed that she was not afraid of the ghosts she had seen, and since they are suspicious, they decide to follow her. Dorian runs into a ghost who tells him that someone is after Helene, who is really an elf princess. The ghost tells him that he must save Helene or the person after her will destroy everyone in the academy. Will Dorian and his friend Caleb be able to help Helene? Will they find out what is causing all of the problems at Aldwyns Academy? Will Dorian be able to prove that he belongs at the academy?

Some New Books for November

Ideas that Changed the World
by Julie Ferris, Dr. Mike Goldsmith, Ian Graham, Sally MacGill, Andrea Mills, Isabel Thomas, and Matt Turner

This nonfiction book is full of ideas that changed the world. Those ideas are broken down in the topics of genius, great gizmos, handy gadgets, on the move, explore, and culture. Some of the ideas in the genius section include the lightbulb, antibiotics, vaccinations, x-rays, DNA, and the tin can. Some of the ideas in the great gizmos section include the elevator, electric motor, robots, printing press, battery, microprocessor, and the flushing toilet. Some of the ideas in the hand gadgets section include the microwave, glasses, credit card, zipper, radio, cash register, and cell phone. Some of the ideas in the on the move section include the Ford Model T, steal locomotive, electric car, metro, bicycle, and the submarine. Some ideas in the explore section include the Saturn V rocket, Hubble telescope, scuba, and the MRI. Finally, in the culture sections, the ideas include the ballpoint pen, walkman, newspapers, electric guitar, and sunglasses. Each idea has pictures of the “idea,” and there is information about the person or persons that helped to create or figure out the idea.

The Lost Hero
by Rick Riordan

Instead of focusing on one camper at Camp Half-Blood, this book focuses on three different campers, Jason, Piper, and Leo, and these three campers seem to be connected to one another. The book is separated by the point of views of the three different characters, and there are also characters from the Percy Jackson series. The story begins with Jason. He suddenly realizes that he cannot remember who he is or why he is riding on a school bus and holding Piper’s hand. He also cannot remember anything else about himself. He finds out from his “friend” Leo that he goes to Wilderness School, and that the class is on a field trip. He knows that there is danger around him, but cannot remember what or why there would be danger. Then the coach in charge of him tells him that a team from Camp Half-Blood is coming, and he must be the “special package” they were talking about. Then there is trouble, and after the trouble is over, Jason, Leo, and Piper meet Annabeth and Butch from Camp Half-Blood. They make it to Camp Half-Blood, and they find out that strange things are happening. The gods have been unreachable, and the entrance to Mount Olympus has been closed off. Piper had a dream that her father was in danger and has heard a voice asking for help, but she has no idea what to do. Leo is just having a hard time keeping up with all of this new information, and then he finds out that his ability to create fire as Haphaestus’s son is a very dangerous thing. Then Jason is told by a misty woman in black robes that she released him so he could free her, and that he has until the solstice in four days to do it. It also turns out that he speaks Latin and refers to the gods by their Roman names instead of Greek. It seems that the time of the next Great Prophecy has arrived, and it may be up to these three new friends to help fulfill the prophecy. Where does Jason come from and why is he important to the prophecy? Will Piper be able to save her father and help the other campers with the prophecy? What does it mean that Leo can use fire when the other children of Haphaestus cannot and how is that helpful to fulfilling the prophecy? What will this mean for the future of the gods and the campers?

Presenting…Tallulah
by Tori Spelling and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton

Tallulah is always told that she is the kind of girl who does not get dirty, talk loudly, or make a mess. She is also not supposed to dress like other children, because she is different than the other children. She is never allowed to just take a sandwich for lunch or walk to school (she rides in a limo). Tallulah just wants to be like everyone else, though. The other children tell her that she cannot do what she wants because she will get dirty or ruin her dress. They see her as different, too. Then one day Tallulah meets Max, a boy who dresses up and is not supposed to get dirty either. Then Tallulah and Max save a puppy from drowning, and Tallulah decides that she will keep the puppy and try to do the things she wants to do. Will Tallulah be successful in being who she wants to be instead of being told who she is? Will she get to keep the puppy she names Mimi?

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion
by Mo Willems

One day Trixie takes a trip with her parents, and they go to visit her Oma and Opa in Holland. Knuffle Bunny is there on the plane with her, but Trixie does not notice that Knuffle Bunny did not make it off of the plane with her. When she realizes that she forgot Knuffle Bunny, her father calls the airport, but the plane has left for China. Her parents and Oma and Opa tell her that it may be time for her not to need Knuffle Bunny anymore. Trixie understands, but it is not very fun to do things without her Knuffle Bunny. Then Trixie starts thinking of all the places that her Knuffle Bunny might travel to and all of the children who would be happy to play with her Knuffle Bunny. This cheers Trixie up, and she is able to have some fun on her own without Knuffle Bunny. When Trixie and her parents get on the plane to go home, what surprise will Trixie find? What will she do with that surprise?

Happy Thanksgiving November 25th

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
by Louisa May Alcott and illustrated by Holly Johnson

A large family has had a good year and they have plenty of food from all of the hard work they had put in over the summer. The Bassett family is now preparing things for Thanksgiving. The four girls are helping their mother cook, while the two older boys are out helping their father in the yard. Their grandmother is sick, so they are going to have Thanksgiving at home this year, and the children are going to miss spending time with all of their cousins and other family members. Then a stranger comes to tell Mr. and Mrs. Bassett that Mrs. Bassett’s mother is not doing well at all, and that she should come to her immediately. The children help their mother get ready, and then their mother, father, and the baby leave. The oldest brother and sister are left in charge of the house and the chores. The children all work on their chores, have dinner, and then get ready for bed with a story about their ancestors from England. The next morning the children decide to prepare Thanksgiving dinner themselves. The girls try their best, but they are not completely sure of all of the ingredients or the exact way their mother prepares the turkey and plum pudding. Will the dinner turn out the way the children hope? Will they surprise their father when he gets home that evening to check on things?

Who Stole Grandma’s Million-Dollar Pumpkin Pie?
by Martha Freeman

Alex Parakeet and Yasmeen Popp are playing football when Alex tells her that Zooey Bonjour, a famous television chef, is coming to his mother’s birthday party. Yasmeen wants to know more, and Alex tells her that his grandmother and Zooey have been friends for years. Alex tells Yasmeen that Zooey is interested in his grandmother’s “million-dollar pumpkin pie” recipe, and his dad will be making the pie on her show. At the birthday party, everyone who shows up brings something for Zooey Bonjour to try so they might have a chance to be on her show, but she handles the situation and tells everyone to leave their information with their dish. The next day Alex’s dad discovers that the recipe for the pumpkin pie is missing. Everyone was looking at the recipes the night before, so it would be difficult to know if someone took it. Alex’s dad does not remember the recipe, either, so it is important that they find the recipe. He was also going to make the pie for Thanksgiving. So Alex decides to get the team (the Chickadee Court Detective Agency) back together and solve the mystery of the missing recipe. Alex and Yasmeen discuss who they think could have stolen the recipe and why. Yasmeen believes the person wanted to stop Alex’s dad from going on the show so that they could go on it instead, but they are not sure that this is right. Alex and Yasmeen then find out that Zooey Bonjour had lied about her past and had gotten into trouble about it in the past. It was the reason she had lost her cooking show for a while, but her fans loved her, forgave her, and gave her another chance. However, there are other people at the party that Alex and Yasmeen feel might have stolen the recipe, too. Will they be able to figure out who it is and get the recipe back in time?

Thanksgiving is Here!
by Diane Goode

Maggie’s Grandma and Grandpa get up early on Thanksgiving morning to start cooking the turkey. Then the family starts arriving. Maggie’s family is there first with her parents, Maggie, Peter, and baby Jack. Maggie and her family have come to help Grandma and Grandpa get Thanksgiving dinner ready. As more family keeps coming in, the furniture needs to be moved, and the table has to be set up, so that everyone will have a place to sit and eat. The family chats and helps get the food ready, and then it is time to eat. After everyone has eaten, the table is cleared, the dishes are washed, and some of the family goes out to take a walk. Some of the family stays in to rest. After the walking, the family sits around to talk some more, until it is time for dessert. After dessert is eaten, it is time to go home. Then grandma and grandpa have some time to rest.

Duck for Turkey Day
by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Kathryn Mitter

In Tuyet’s class, the children make pine cone turkey, sing turkey songs, and talk about the first Thanksgiving. As everyone goes home, the teacher tells them to have a great “Turkey Day.” Tuyet decides that she needs to talk to her mother about Thanksgiving and what her family eats. She tells her mother that they need to have a turkey for Thanksgiving, but her mother tells her that they are having duck, instead. This worries Tuyet, because she feels that all of the other children in her class will be having turkey. Tuyet’s Ba Noi arrives that afternoon from New York and tells Tuyet that her family prefers duck over turkey. Tuyet decides that she will buy a turkey herself, but there is no turkey at the Saigon Supermarket that her family goes to. Tuyet puts her pine cone turkey on the table, and she feels better to have a turkey on the dinner table. Tuyet continues to feel bad about not having a turkey on Turkey Day, though. Dinner is great, and Tuyet has a great Thanksgiving Day. She worries, though, what her teacher will think when she tells her that they had duck instead of turkey. On Monday morning, the teacher had a discussion with the children about what they had done over the holidays. Tuyet sadly told her that her family had duck instead of turkey. To her surprise, though, other children told her that they had eaten noodles and chicken, lamb, roast beef, enchiladas, and tofu turkey, instead of turkey, too. Tuyet’s teacher then tells the class that all that is important about Thanksgiving is having a good time with your family and friends. Tuyet feels better about this, and that afternoon, she tells her mother that they should call Thanksgiving “Duck Day.”

Pizza

Pizza for Breakfast
by Maryann Kovalski

Frank and Zelda own a pizza shop next to Mel’s Summer Hat and Glove Factory, and their business was always busy. Frank makes the pizza, and Zelda waits on the tables. They both worked hard, but Frank thought that the kitchen was too hot and Zelda’s feet hurt. Frank and Zelda knew that they should have a plan in case the factory closed, but they never got around to it. Then the factory does close, and there are no longer any customers. Then a man appears one day, and they make him a great pizza. After he eats the pizza, they find that he does not have any money. He does ask them to make a wish, though. Frank and Zelda wish for a thousand customers every day. The next few days, they get their wish, and they are happy. Then there are so many customers, that Frank and Zelda cannot keep up. So they wish for more help. The next day a bunch of waiters appear, but the restaurant is not big enough for everyone. Then Frank wishes for a bigger restaurant. The next morning they have a bigger restaurant. Will Frank and Zelda continue to make pizza? Will they change their minds about all the business?

Dragon Pizzeria

by Mary Morgan

BeBop and Spike decide to open a pizzeria together. BeBop loves to cook, and he wants to make pizzas. Spike loves to go fast, and he will deliver the pizzas. They get their first call the next night. The giant from Jack and the Beanstalk wants a giant pizza with magic beans on top. Spike delivers the pizza in his hot-air balloon. The next call is from a witch who wants her pizza with frogs, snails, and green lizard tails on it. Spike delivers her pizza with his rocket ship. Each time BeBop creates a pizza he says a little poem to himself, and Spike delivers each pizza in a different way. Each character that orders a pizza has something to say, and the toppings that they want on their pizza are clues as to which character is ordering the pizza. Have fun trying to guess who the next fairy tale character ordering will be.

The Pizza Mystery
by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Box Car Children: Benny, Henry, Jessie, and Violet Alden are back to solve another mystery. The children and their grandfather are coming home from a trip, and they decide to have lunch at their friends’ Mr. and Mrs. Piccolo’s Pizza. They find out from Tom at the gas station that the Piccolo’s are having a hard time with their business, and that there are times when the restaurant is not even open. Then they the not-very-nice Mr. Irons who is running the Mighty Mufflers Factory while the owner is traveling. They have a hard time finding the restaurant with the new Mighty Muffler factory. Then they find that the pizzeria is empty. Mr. Piccolo tells them about all of the trouble he has been having. The factory workers had come to the restaurant, but then the gate went up, and then the workers went other places. Then the lunch hours got cut. Now the diggers next door at the factory have “accidentally” cut the gas line, and the couple cannot even make pizzas in the oven. The children’s grandfather leaves them there with the Piccolo’s for a couple of weeks, and the children want to help the Piccolo’s turn things around. Henry goes to the gas company to check and make sure the gas line was getting worked on, and he finds that no one ever called to get the line repaired. The children come up with an idea of little personal pizzas that can be made in the little electric oven in the apartment the children are staying in. Business soon starts picking up. The children notice a lady in a red hat who takes notes of the customer’s favorite pizzas, and after she leaves, the children notice that a menu is missing. The day the gas company is supposed to show up to repair the gas line, the company tells them that a lady had canceled. Then the lady in the red hat starts working for the Piccolo’s, and the children find her looking at Mrs. Piccolo’s recopies one day. Then things start to go wrong. Orders are made with no one to pay for them, and then one night the electricity goes out. Will the Alden children be able to figure out what is going on at the pizzeria? Will they be able to help their friends before they have to close their restaurant for good?

Where Do Pizzas Grow?
by Elizabeth W. Yarbrough and illustrated by Cathy Ragsdale>

This nonfiction book was written by a teacher who was asked by this question by one of her students. She told him that pizzas did not grow, but after thinking about it that night, she told her students the next day how all of the ingredients for pizza were grown. The story is told from the student, Jake’s, view. He talks about how he really enjoys lunch, and how it is pizza day in the cafeteria. Jake asks Miss Dubose this question as he is eating his pizza. Miss Dubose tells him that pizza come already made to school, and that they are just warmed up. Then she decides to turn his question into a lesson for all of the students. Miss Dubose starts by asking them to list what comes on a pizza. Then the students learn where the ingredients come from. When Jake gets home, he can tell his mother what he learned about pizzas that day. At the end of the book there is a list of ingredients for pizza and a picture of the animals and plants they come from. You can try to match the ingredients with what they come from.

Drums

Jungle Drums
by Graeme Base

Ngiri Mdogo is the smallest warthog in Africa. The other warthogs make fun of him because of his size. The warthogs are jealous of all of the other animals who live across the river. The other animals have a Grand Parade every year to give prizes to the most beautiful animal, and the warthogs do not enter. Ngiri goes to play with the other animals, but they make fun of him, too. On his way home, Ngiri meets Old Nyumbu, the oldest and wisest animal in the jungle and tells him that her hates being small. Old Nyumbu gives him a little set of bongo drums and tells him that they will give Ngiri whatever he wishes for. Ngiri plays the little drums all through the night. In the morning, he has not changed, but all of the other animals have lost the things that made them beautiful and the warthogs now have them. The warthogs decide to enter the parade to teach the other animals a lesson, and the other animals are afraid that the warthogs will win all of the prizes. The other animals demand that the warthogs give back all their markings, but the warthogs refuse. The animals say they will come and take them back. Ngiri is worried and plays the drums all night again. The other animals have their markings back the next morning, but the markings are on the wrong animals. They blame the warthogs and go across the river to confront them. The warthogs have also become more like the other animals, and they blame the other animals. As all of the animals are blaming one another, Ngiri admits it was his faults and tells them about the drums. The animals all tell Ngiri that they want to be back the way they were, and he plays the drums all night one more time. Will the animals all go back to normal? Will the animals still be mean to and tease Ngiri?

Drum City
by Thea Guidone and illustrations by Vanessa Newton

A little starts drumming to invite other kids to come and drum with him on anything they can find. The children drum on bowls, buckets, cartons, barrels, pots, and pans. Then the children start marching and drumming, and there are hundreds and hundreds of little drums going. The people in the city hear the drums coming and wonder what the sound is. Everyone all over the city stops to listen to the sound. All of the adults join in with the drumming by drumming on cars or bicycles or just clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The group marches all over the city drumming, and everyone that sees them joins in. Can you join in with their drumming parade?

Abigail’s Drum
by John A. Minahan and illustrations by Robert Quackenbush

Rebecca Bates stood playing her little fife after she finished with her chores. Everyone in her family enjoyed music. Her mother sand, her father played the fiddle, and her sister, Abigail, played a little drum. Her family runs the lighthouse, and Rebecca has lots of work to do since her mother is helping a sick cousin in Boston. Rebecca knows that the War of 1812 has started with England, but it seems very far away from her. Her father sees a boat that is in trouble, and he goes out to save the person in the boat. He is successful in saving the man, but the Rebecca sees a ship coming in with no lights. Her father goes to check on the ship and does not see it. The man he rescued tells him about the ship. Rebecca’s father saw a fire in town and decides to go check on things. The fisherman is concerned that it might be the British. When they get to town, they find a militia group called the Home Guard. They are worried that the British have burned down the boatyard that morning, and the Guard believes that they will keep the town safe. While keeping watch, Rebecca and Abigail practice playing Yankee Doodle like they heard the Home Guard playing. They hear the Home Guard marching away, and Rebecca’s father tells them that everyone should be alright then. While helping her father with the lighthouse, Rebecca notices that a rowboat has come ashore from a huge ship. A British soldier comes up to her and asks for an adult. The British soldier explains that they have come to take supplies from the town, and that the soldiers know that the town is no longer defended. They also inform Rebecca and her father that they are being held to keep the people in the town cooperative. Rebecca gets away from the soldiers and runs off. How will Rebecca and Abigail be able to help their father and the other members of the town? Can they think of a way to scare the British soldiers away?

Two Sticks
by Orel Protopopescu and pictures by Anne Wilsdorf

Maybelle has two sticks, and she drums all over with them. Her parents do not like that she drums on everything. Maybelle would love to have any kind of drum to play on, but she has to drum on anything she can find, instead. She drums outside and across a log, but the sticks make holes in the log. Soon there are so many holes that she falls through the log into the swamp water below it. Alligators surround her, and all she has are the two sticks. She uses the alligators’ teeth to drum on, and the alligators all enjoy the music she makes. The alligators come home with her, and she shows her parents her new instruments. Will her parents buy her that drum that she wants, or will she have to keep her new friends to make music?