Greetings!

Can You Greet the Whole Wide World?: 12 Common Phrases in 12 Different Languages
by Lezlie Evans and illustrated by Denis Roche


There are kids all over the world who like to do the same things that you every day. This nonfiction book can help you learn some phrases to help make new friends with other children all over the world. The first phrase is "Good Morning," which is "Guten Morgen," in German, "Ohayo Gozaimasu," in Japanese, and "Bom Dia," in Portuguese. See how many of the twelve ways to say this that you can remember (or maybe you already know a few!). After saying hello to your friends, you might ask "How are you?" In Russian, this is Kak Dyela, and in Italian, this is "Come Stai?" Another good word to know in several languages is "Please." In Spanish this is "Por favor," and in Chinese, this is "Qing?" On each page of the book is a situation in which you would use the phrase, a list of the phrases in each language with the words spelled out, sounded out, and the list of the different languages. How many phrases would you like to learn? Do you think you can remember to use them sometimes with your friends, teachers, or parents?


















Say Hello!
by Rachel Isadora


When Carmelita gets up in the morning, her mother is making their favorite breakfast, and Carmelita's mother tells her that they are going to visit Abuela Rosa that day. Carmelita brings her dog, Manny, along to go on the walk to visit her grandmother. As they are walking down 9th Avenue, Senor Enrico calls, "Buenos Dias" to Carmelita and her mother. Then Carmelita and her mother meet Mrs. Rosen and her children, and they greet each other with "Shalom." Next, Carmelita and her mother stop by the Japanese restuarant to say "Konichiwa" with a bow. As they continue on their walk, Carmelita and her mother see Joseph and his parents, and they greet them with a "Jambo." Then Carmelita sees the bakery, and her mother says they can go in for some cookies. They greet the lady in the bakery with a "Bonjour." Manny seems to know all the languages, too, as he greets everyone with Carmelita and her mother. How many other stops will they make along their walk, and how many other "hellos" will they greet the people with.What special treat will Carmelita's Abuela Rosa surprise her with when they make it to visit her? At the end of the book, the author lists all of the "hellos" that were used in the book, with pronunciations and what language these "hellos" are from.
















Say Hello, Vanessa
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Lillian Hoban


Vanessa Mouse lives with her mother and father in a fine old house, but when people come to visit her mother and father, Vanessa does not say hello or look at the visitors. Vanessa also does not have any friends of her own. Vanessa tells her mother that making friends is the scariest thing in the world, but her mother tells Vanessa to give it a try. The next day in class, Vanessa knows how to spell the spelling word, country, but she is too afraid to put her hand up and have everyone look at her. Vanessa tells herself that she will spell the word tomorrow. After class, Vanessa notices that all of the other children seem to belong to one group or bunch. Vanessa tells her mother this when she gets home. Vanessa's mother tells her to look for someone who is all alone and try to make friends with them. The next day, Vanessa is too shy, again, to spell the word, and when she tries to say hello to Lisa Goat, Vanessa speaks too softly for Lisa to hear her. Vanessa's mother tells her to try it again, but Vanessa should talk louder. The next day, other children know how to spell country now, but Vanessa hopes she will get another chance to show the class that she can spell. Vanessa tries to say hello to Sigmund Toad, but she yells it and scares Sigmund away. The next day, Vanessa has decided not to say anything to anyone, but the teacher has a new word to spell, tooth. Will Vanessa raise her hand now and spell the word? Will she ever be able to find a friend?



















Hello, Claudia!
by Barbara Brooks Wallace


Claudia's best friend is Janice, and Claudia makes sure that Janice has a very eventful birthday when they climb under their neighbor's, Mrs. Wisby, house. On her way home, Claudia is stopped by her other neighbors, Maurice, Robin, Robby, and Leonie, who get her to help them in their dandelion selling business. Claudia is reluctant, but she feels bad for Leonie, so she agrees. Claudia talks the children into going to the next door neighbors' house to pick their dandelions. The childrne tell her that they are not allowed to by their parents, but they follow Claudia, when she decides to go over there. When the girls come back around the yard, after following butterflies and accidentally letting the dogs out of the fence, they find that the boys have gone through Claudia's backpack and made a huge mess. Mrs. Hennessy, Robin and Robby's mother is very mad at the children, but she is more mad at Claudia for leading the children off. Claudia is mad at Mrs. Hennessey for not being happy that Claudia was helping the smaller children, and she goes home mad. When Claudia gets home, she learns something very sad. Her friend, Janice, is moving away. Claudia is very upset by this information. Then Claudia finds out her cousin, Sally, will be getting married in her house, which is not good news to Claudia. When Barbara gets asked to be a bridesmaid, Claudia feels that she is being left out (a Claudia Jr.) again. Claudia feels that nobody cares how depressed she is feeling. Claudia does find out after Janice leaves that there are going to be some new neighbors. She meets Duffy and his mother, Mrs. Booth. Duffy is only six years old, but he seems very friendly to the other children. Claudia finds out that it is really hard to write every day, and Janice seems to think the same thing. Letters are not the same, anyway, so Claudia is still very depressed. Her family, friends, and neighbors then throw her a surprise birthday party, but this party just seems to upset Claudia more. Duffy saves the moment by reminding Claudia that this is not a birthday party but a special "three days after your birthday surprise party." Claudia is so confused, she goes along with it, and the adults are all grateful to Duffy. At her first day of school without Janice, Claudia is feeling even more lonely, and she believes that her family does not even care about her anymore. After hearing that Janice has made a new friend in Boston, Claudia is determined that she will find a new friend, too. Duffy keeps trying to get her to hang out with him, but Claudia would prefer someone that is more like Janice. Claudia tries being friends with Justine, a girl in her class, but Justine does not seem to be interested in any of the things that Claudia is interested in. Claudia feels that she has no one to worry about her the way everyone else seems to have somebody to worry about them. Will Claudia feel better about herself and how everyone around her feels about her? Will Claudia be able to meet a new friend like Janice? Will she be surprised about who that friend ends up being?

Weeks 14 and 9 Plant Updates

I Am Special

What's Special About Me, Mama?
by Kristina Evans and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe


A little boy asks his mother "What's special about me?" His mother tells him that his eyes can tell stories without his having to say anything. The little boy tells his mother that everyone says he has her eyes, and he asks her again about what makes him special. She tells him that his skin is the color of the autumn earth, but he tells her that he has the same skin as his dad. When he asks again, his mother tells him that he has special hair, but he tells her that his hair is like his grandmother. Every time he asks the questions, his mother tells him something else that makes him special. What kinds of things does she find special about her little boy? What kinds of things make you special? I am sure that you can find a lot of things.




















What Makes You So Special?
by Eda LeShan


Everyone has something that makes them special, and for most people, the thing that makes them special is like what makes few other people special. In this nonfiction book, there is discussion about what makes people "special" and how it is okay to be different than the people around you, so long as you are being yourself. The book starts by discussing genes and how they do or do not determine the way a person will behave or become. The book goes on to say that experiences also make each individual person different. The next part of the book focuses on how our families make us the special people that we all are. The next chapter discusses how our backgrounds determine how we will handle school, and how school is able to help us develop that special person that we are on the inside. The author discusses some of the people's lives that she has met, and she also makes up some children and their situations to explain how different things make each and every person different. The main point of the book, though, is that everyone is special is some way. In what ways are you special? In what ways are your parents, siblings, teachers, and other people in the world around you special? You may be surprised by asking them!





















Something Special
by David McPhail


Little Sam feels that everyone in his family has a special talent, except for him. Sam's sister, Sarah, is very good at playing the piano, but Sam cannot play they way that Sarah can. Sam's sister, Flo, is good at catching baseballs, but Sam cannot seem to catch anything. Sam's brother, Eugene, is great with computers, but Sam makes Eugene's computer make bad noises. Sam's father is a great cook, but Sam does not seem to be good at that, either. Sam also tries to knit like his grandmother, do a magic trick like a magician on the T.V., but neither of those hobbies work for Sam. Even Sam's dog, Fred, can balance a bone on his nose. Will Sam ever find something that makes him special? What do you think it will be? What special things can you do?



















Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Marla Frazee


Clementine is having a very hard week. On Monday, she gets to go to the art room to work on her "Welcome to the Future" project. During this time, Margaret, a girl in the art room who is a year older than Clementine, goes to the bathroom and does not come back. When Clementine goes to check on her, she sees that Margaret has cut out a clump of her hair with art room scissors. Margaret explains that she was trying to get the glue out of her hair. Clementine and Margaret try to get her hair to look right, but Margaret ends up telling Clementine to cut it all off. The art teacher walks in after this, everyone gets "historical," and Clementine ends up in the principal's office. Then when they get home to their apartment building, Clementine offers to use her mother's permanent markers to make Margaret's hair red. That night, Clementine's parents get a phone call from Margaret's angry mother about her hair. The next afternoon, after a bad day at school, Clementine goes up to talk to Margaret's mother. Margaret's mother is not in a good mood, though, and Clementine goes to talk to her mother about. Clementine tells her mother that she also wants to be an artist someday, like her mother, but her mother tells her that she already is an artist. So, Clementine goes to the park to look for "interesting things" to draw. On Wednesday, Clementine asks her mother to stay home, because she has cut off her hair to make Margaret feel better, but then Clementine remembers that Margaret is going to the dentist that day. After school, she shows Margaret her hair, and Clementine lets Margaret color her hair green. On Thursday, Clementine gets into trouble with the principal again when she tries to glue her old hair on to Margaret's head so they will look alike. Then she gets into a fight with Margaret, and Clementine is very angry again. Clementine's dad asks her to help him with "The Great Pigeon War," to get the pigeons off the building to help her feel better. Friday starts even worse for Clementine. There are "clear parts" in her eggs, she cannot find her homework paper, and Margaret sits with someone else on the bus. Then that afternoon while talking with her dad about the pigeon problem, Clementine gets a great idea for scaring off the pigeons. What will Clementine's plan be for scaring the pigeons? Will she get an even better plan later? Will her family like her plan? Will Clementine be able to be friends with Margaret again? Will Clementine have a better weekend than she had the rest of the week? There are many ways throughout the book that Clementine proves that she is very special. How many do you see?

Weeks 13 and 8 Update Photos

Some New Books for September

One Moon, Two Cats
by Laura Godwin and illustrated by Yoko Tanaka


There is one moon up in the sky, and there are two cats that are not asleep. Both cats yawn, stretch, look, and leap. Then you see that one cat is in the city, and the other cat is in the country. The city cat watches the vans and trucks go by, while the other cat walks beside pigs and ducks. Both cats are exploring though, and they both seem to do the same things, even though they live in different places from each other. Both cats soon smell a mouse, though, and they go chasing after it. They both finally corner their rats, when a loud sound stops them both. Each page has a picture of both of the cats, one on each side. How close do you think the cats will get to each other before the night is over? What do you think the cats will do when the sun comes out? Does your cat like to do the same things that these cats do?











Ten Little Caterpillars
by Bill Martin Jr. and illustarted by Lois Ehlert


Throughout this book are different kinds of caterpillars and flowers. Each page has the name of the different flowers and plants and what the little caterpillar is doing. There are also other little creatures on the pages with the caterpillars, and those little creatures are labeled, too. Each little caterpillar continues until they enter their chrysalis stage, and a few of the caterpillars are frightened by some very colorful birds. What will the caterpillars eventually become? Have you ever seen the little caterpillar's chrysalis before? At the end of the book are a list of the different kinds of caterpillars that you seen in the story, and the kind of insect that they turn in to. Have you seen any of these insects around? What kinds have you seen?












Justin Tuck's Home-Field Advantage
by Justin Tuck and illustrated by Leonardo Rodriguez


People ask Justin Tuck, a defensive end for the New York Giants, how he got to be so tough. Justin tells them that he had to be tough, because he grew up with five sisters! Justin's sisters gave him a hard time, especially his twin sisters, Christale and Tiffany. One day, the twins offered to give Justin a haircut, because they said his hair was getting a little long. Justin is not sure that he wants them to cut his hair, but the twins assure him that they know what they are doing (they have watched their mother plenty of times). Both twins are soon cutting on his hair. The girls keep cutting and cutting and cutting, and soon, Justin is worried that they have cut all of his hair off. When the girls show him his picture in the mirror, what do you think Justin's hair is going to look like? What will Justin's parents think of what the twins did? Do you think that Justin will ever let his sisters cut his hair again?










Bear's Loose Tooth
by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman


All of the animals are eating their lunch, when Bear notices that something in wiggling and wobbling in his mouth. Bear has a loose tooth! Bear is really worried about his tooth. He is afraid he will not be able to eat without his teeth. The other animals assure Bear that another tooth will grow in where this tooth is coming out. Little Wren is the first to try to pull out Bear's loose tooth, but the tooth stays stuck in Bear's mouth. Owl tries next, but he does not pull it out either. One by one, all of the other animals start pulling on the tooth, but there is still no luck pulling out Bear's tooth? Will they be able to pull out Bear's loose tooth? What will happen when Bear sleeps near his tooth? What happens the next morning when Bear starts to eat again?

Where's your library card?

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! Do you have yours?

To get one, print and fill out the MMPL application form (one for each person in your family that's getting a card) and turn it in to our circulation staff, along with showing them proof you live in Texas, like a bill or a driver's license. You won't regret it!

Updates for Weeks 12 & 7 for Gardening and Science Experiments and