Some New Books for March

Open Me Up
by Laura Buller, Julie Ferris, Niki Foreman, Fran Jones, Susan Kennedy, Ashwin Khurana, and Richard Walker

This nonfiction book is all about the body. The book is divided into eight sections: Being Human, Outside In, Moving Framework, In Control, Fueling Your Body, Maintenance and Transportation, Malfunctions and Medicine, and Life Story. These sections cover all of the body systems, parts, and other interesting facts about how the body works. There is also discussion of how people in the past looked at the human body, and how the body has affected life. There are also discussions about DNA and reproduction. Throughout the book are colorful pictures and illustrations to help understand different parts of the body and how they affect a person’s life.

I Can Help
by David Hyde Costello

One day a little duck gets lost in the tall grass, but a monkey says that he can help. While helping the duck, a limb breaks and the monkey starts to fall, but the giraffe is there to help. Then the giraffe has trouble reaching the leaves in a very tall tree, but gorilla is there to help pull the tree down to where the giraffe can reach. Each nice thing, which an animal does for another, leads to that animal also needing help. Will there be another person there to help everyone who tries to help someone else?

The Intrepid Canadian Expedition
by Sara Pennypacker and pictures by Macky Pamintuan

Flat Stanley is back for another adventure. Stanley’s flat shape makes skiing hard for him, but there are lots of advantages that come from being flat, too. However, Stanley’s shape has started to make him feel lonely, because there were no other kids like him. Then Stanley’s brother, Arthur, hurts his ankle on the ski slope, and Arthur tells Stanley to take Nick, the boy who helped him with his ankle, with him to the World Snowboarding Championships in Arthur’s place. Stanley believes he might make a new friend. Nick tells Stanley that he is really good at snowboarding once they get to the competition and Stanley volunteers to be his snowboard. They make quite a team. Then Stanley and Nick launch themselves into the air, but they are unable to come down. They keep gliding along with the wind. When they finally land, they are met by an Inuit man who takes them to his home to get warm. They learn from an Inuit shaman that they must make a journey to Niagara Falls to find their families. Will they be able to make it that far? Has Flat Stanley found a new friend?

Wendel’s Workshop
by Chris Riddell

Wendel is an inventor, and he is so busy inventing that he does not have time to tidy up his workshop. Then one day he builds a robot to help him out, and he names the robot, Clunk. Unfortunately, Clunk was very, very bad at tidying up. He could not seem to get anything right. He put tea cups in the sock drawer and poured Wendel’s tea into a boot. So Wendel throws Clunk out onto the scrap heap. Wendel spends that whole night creating a new robot, the Wendelbot. The Wendelbot worked better than Clunk, but he took tidying up too seriously. Suddenly, Wendelbot decides that Wendel is not tidy enough, and the Wendelbot throws Wendel out onto the scrap heap. Once Wendel is on the scrap heap, he finds Clunk. They work together to make more robots in order to stop Wendelbot. Will they be successful at stopping Wendelbot? Will Wendel treat Clunk like he did before?

Spring

Spring Begins on March 20, 2010

Wake Up, It’s Spring!
by Lisa Campbell Ernst

It was a long winter, but one day, the sun rises and tells the earth to “Wake Up, It’s Spring” as it warms the earth up. Then the earth tells an earthworm to wake up. The earthworm tells the seed to wake up, and the seed sprouts out of the earth. Then the seed tells the ladybug to wake up. The ladybug flies over to rabbit and wakes rabbit up by ticking its ear. Rabbit then jumps up and tells bird to wake up. The animals continue to tell each other to wake up, and then the dog tells the baby to wake up. The baby tells her family, and then everyone enjoys the spring together.














The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth
By Ellen Jackson and illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis

This nonfiction book begins by discussing the basics of the spring equinox. Then there is information on what civilizations from the past did to celebrate spring or the ceremonies they would perform to bring about springtime. The book talks about the Mayans and their fire ceremony that they believed would end the winter and begin spring, the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Iranian festival of No Ruz, the Indian holiday of Holi, and the celebration of Easter. The book even discusses how Easter customs came from the Old World (Germany). Finally, the book talks about the Bambara of Mali and even Earth Day in the United States. At the end of the book is “A Spring Story” about how the name “Easter” came about from an Anglo-Saxon myth and some spring activities and recipes.
















Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop
by Mary Quattlebaum

Jackson Jones works in the community garden on the plot that his mother rented for him for his birthday, even though he does not think that the garden is necessary. You can get fruit and vegetables at the store, and he is tired of eating the zucchini from the garden. The bully at school also likes to tease him about his work in the garden. Then one day, he hears the news that the garden is going to be shut down by the company that owns it and an apartment building will be built there, instead. Jackson’s friends decide to protest the bulldozing of the garden, and he agrees to help. Then the bully calls a news station, and Jackson and his friends tell the story of the garden. A visit to a knot garden convinces Jackson that the garden is a good thing. Will they be able to save the garden from becoming an apartment building?
















Fletcher and the Springtime Blossums
by Julia Rawlinson and illustrations by Tiphanie Beeke

As Fletcher is walking through the woods towards the orchard, he is taking in all the sights and sounds of spring. When he gets to the orchard, though, he sees snowflakes falling through the branches. He knows he has to warn everyone. He tells two birds that they have flown north too early. They tell him that they should go back south, but they want to warn Porcupine first. Porcupine is just waking up when they tell him that the snow is coming. He will go back to bed, but he wants to warn squirrel first. When they tell Squirrel, he decides that he must hunt for more food, but he wants to warn the rabbits. The rabbits decide they want to play in the snow. Was it really snowing? Is spring really not here?

Luck

Fiona’s Luck
by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Kelly Murphy

Once upon a time there was luck all over the place, because the leprechauns made a lot of it. Then bigger people came to Ireland, and they started taking the luck, too. The leprechauns grew worried that there would not be enough luck left for them. So the king of the leprechauns told them to gather up all of the luck and bring it to him. He would give it out when he wanted to. Unfortunately, the leprechauns took all of the luck, and there was none left for the people. The cows had no milk, hens had no eggs, and the potatoes were no longer growing. Then one day a clever girl named Fiona figures out how to get some of the luck back from the leprechauns. She buys a cow and some chickens. She then pretends to get two buckets of milk from the cow every day, and she brings a basket full of pinecones (covered with a cloth) from the hen house. Soon the other people are all talking about her luck. The leprechaun king soon hears, and he sends leprechauns to bring Fiona to him. He asks her where she got her luck from, and she tells him that she has none. He gives her tests to prove that she is lying, and agrees that if she is not lying he will give her the value of her luck. All of the tests prove that she does not have any luck. Will Fiona be able to get any luck from the king?

Good Luck Bear
by Greg Foley

One day as a little bear lies in the grass, he finds a clover with three leaves. Mouse tells him that a clover with four leaves means that he has good luck, and little bear decides that he wants to find one. Monkey tells bear that there is no such thing as a four leaf clover, and turtle tells him that it will take forever to find one. Little Bear still keeps looking, though. Elephant tells him that he saw one, but he cannot remember where, and Squirrel tells him that he likes the three leaf clovers. Little Bear is not able to find a four leaf clover, and he feels very unlucky. Mouse soon calls to Little Bear, but will does Mouse know where a four leaf clover is?

With a Little Luck: Surprising Stories of Amazing Discoveries
by Dennis Brindell Fradin

This nonfiction book talks about different discoveries that were made with a little luck. One of the discoveries discussed is Isaac Newton and his discovery of gravity. Isaac Newton was a student at Cambridge University, and he had to leave there when the plague was spreading around England. He spent time on his family’s farm. There he was thinking about the force that kept the moon and planets orbiting around the sun. Then he watched an apple fall off a branch and onto the ground. This inspired him to discover that the force that caused the apple to fall is the same one that made the planets stay in orbit. The force was named “gravity.” He discovered gravity with a little luck that came from an apple. Some other discoveries discussed in the book are anesthesia, penicillin, Pluto, nuclear fission, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Each chapter discusses the people who helped in the discovery and the story of how the discovery came about with a little luck.

The Real Lucky Charm
by Charisse K. Richardson

Mia has supported her twin brother, Marcus, at his basketball games. Then she finds out that they are going to let girls play basketball, too. She decides to join, because she also enjoys basketball. Not enough girls sign up to have a girl’s team, and so the boys and girls are combined into one team. She decides to right about the experience in her newspaper. Her dad gives her a basketball charm for her bracelet, and tells her it is like his lucky penny. She rubs her charm like her dad rubbed the penny before her games and finds out that she is pretty good at basketball. It also seems that her basketball charm is good luck for her school work, too. Unfortunately, Mia notices that her charm is missing from her bracelet. Will Mia be able to find her lucky basketball charm? Will she be able to play basketball or do her schoolwork well without it?

Apples

Apples
by Jacqueline Farmer and illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

This nonfiction book covers the basics of apples and how they grown by grafting the scion (so that farmers will know what kinds of apples they will be growing), how they have to be pruned to become healthy trees, the best places to grow apple trees, how farmers set up beehives in order to spread the pollen from tree to tree, and how apples start to grown from that process. The book also looks at how apples are harvested and the different ways that the apples are used, such as for applesauce or cider. There is a description of the different varieties of apples and even says what the different apples taste like. There are nutrition facts and even a history of the apple (including Johnny Appleseed). Finally, there is a recipe for apple pie at the end of the book.

The Apple Doll
by Elisa Kleven

Lizzy loved to play and pretend in her apple tree. She also loved eating the apples that came from it. On her first school day, Lizzy takes her favorite apple from the tree, makes her a body of apple twigs, draws a face on the apple, and names her Susanna. Susanna is now her apple doll and special friend. The other children think that Lizzy should have a real doll instead of Susanna, and this makes Lizzy very sad. After that day, Lizzy leaves Susanna at home, but she is lonely in school. Soon Susanna begins to get softer and softer. Lizzy asks her mother whether she can make a new dried-apple doll. They peel an apple, soak it in lemon juice, and then dry her out for about a week. As she dried, the doll became more and more wrinkled, and Lizzy added blue bead eyes, cotton hair, and a pipe cleaner body that was bendable. Her mother suggests that she show Susanna to the rest of her class for sharing day. Will the other children like her new doll?

Easy as Apple Pie: A Harry and Emily Adventure
by Karen Gray Ruelle

Harry likes apples, but his sister Emily does not. Harry and Emily’s mom and dad decide to let Harry and Emily stay with their grandparents in order to go and pick some apples with them. After their grandmother and grandfather pick them up, and they stop at the apple orchard. Even though Emily does not like apples, she and Harry have fun picking them from the trees. Once they are at their grandparents’ house, they sort the apples into those for the pie and those for snacks. That night, Emily is too scared to sleep. Then Emily and Harry smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. They see two pie crusts, without apples, lying on the table. Soon they have eaten both of the pie crusts. In the morning, Emily and Harry feel so bad and they tell their grandparents about eating the pie crusts. Their grandparents are not upset with them, and soon they are making the apple pies. Will Emily still decide that she does not like apple pie?

Tucker’s Apple-Dandy Day
by Susan Winget

Tucker’s class is taking a trip to visit Farmer Sam’s apple orchard, and he is very excited. His mother and father tell him to bring some apples home for an apple pie. The students get to ride on a big wagon filled with hay that is attached to Farmer Sam’s tractor to get to the orchard. While the other children are picking apples, Sam stops to admire Farmer Sam’s tractor. Then he sees that some of his classmates need help picking apples. He helps his friend Millie climb onto a crate to reach the apples, helps Scout move his bag, and helps Beverly by pulling down a branch. Suddenly, it starts to rain. Everyone runs back to the wagon, and Tucker’s teacher tells him to get on the wagon, too, even though he has not had time to pick any apples for himself. In the barn as they wait for the storm to pass, Tucker’s classmates discuss how many apples they had picked. He tells them he does not have any. How will Tucker get some apples to take home to make apple pie?

March is National Noodle Month

March is National Noodle Month

The Story of Noodles
by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by YongSheng Xuan

The Kang boys, Pan, Ting, and Kùai like to have food fights, but they find that rice is very hard to pick up. Then one day their mother asks for their help to make her dumplings for the annual cooking contest. Their mother has to go find one of the family’s pigs, and while she is gone, the children continue to cook. Unfortunately, the table breaks, and the dough is a mess. The children cut the dough into long strips and boil them in water, and when their parents come home, the “noodles” are everywhere. Their mother is not happy, but the children soon show her three ways of eating the new food. They also have to take the “noodles” to the contest, because there is no time to make any dumplings. Will the new food of “noodles” when the contest? What will the prize be this year?













Spaghetti for Suzy
by Peta Coplans

There are a lot of things that Suzy likes, such as dogs, balloons, and crazy bows in her hair, but Suzy likes spaghetti more than anything. In fact, Suzy likes spaghetti so much, that she does not want to eat anything else. Then one day a cat asks her for some of her spaghetti in the park to make a string for fishing, and a pig asks her for two pieces of spaghetti in order to make laces for his tennis shoes. Finally, a dog asks her for some spaghetti in order to knit a sweater. The animals are so grateful to Suzy, that they all bring her some fruit. Will Suzy eat the fruit that her new friends brought her? Will she like it as much as she likes spaghetti?















Oodles of Noodles
by Diana Hendry and illustrated by Sarah Massini

Ben and Ava’s mother receives a pasta-making machine for her birthday, and she is very excited about making all kinds of noodles for her family. Ben and Ava, however, prefer burgers and fries. As she prepares the dough to make noodles with, she thinks of garlic and sauce, while her children are still unconvinced. After Ben and Ava have left for school, their mother starts to use the machine. When she says “oodles of noodles,” though, the machine begins to make noodles on its own. Soon, Ben and Ava’s mother is completely wrapped up in noodles. The noodles soon make their way all over the house, and though she tries saying as many words as she can that rhyme with noodle, the machine will not stop. Soon the noodles are spreading all over town, and people are gathering them up with their pans. When the noodles get to the school, Ben and Ava know their mother must be in trouble. Will they be able to stop the noodle machine from making noodles? What will they do with all of the noodles?













Siggy’s Spaghetti Works
by Peggy Thomson and pictures by Gloria Kamen

The children have come to see how Siggy makes all of the spaghetti, macaroni, seashells, little bow ties, and lasagna and pack it into boxes. He explains that it all starts with flour and water, and that those two ingredients are all you need for spaghetti. The trick, he tells them, is in how much water you add, because it has to be just the right amount. He shows them how he gets the flour from a train and how he stores it in a silo to keep it dry. He shows them the machines that press the dough and create the spaghetti noodles. After it dries for a day, the spaghetti is moved onto conveyor belts where it is weighed and put into the boxes. The other noodles are made and boxed in similar way, and then the little boxes are put into bigger boxes and go onto trucks on the loading dock. There are parts of the machine, called dies, which control what kinds of noodles are made by that machine. There is also a list of different kinds of noodles and the words that describe them, and little bit of history about pasta and people like Marco Polo and Thomas Jefferson.