Some New Books for August

Wiener Wolf
by Jeff Crosby

Wiener dog is tired of eating the same old thing and doing the same old things with Granny. Then he sees some wolves on the televsion and he gets an idea. So he gets a ride out to the wildneress, and he goes looking for some adventures with the wolves. The wolves seem confused by Wierner's Dogs sweater, but after he takes it off, the wolves are happy to have Wiener Dog join the pack. He is now "Wiener Wolf." He runs along with the wolves and drinks from the little stream. He even has new squeaky toys in the little wolf cubs. He gets to howl along with the other wolves that night. The next day Wiener Wolf finds something about the wolves that he doesn't really like. What will Wiener Wolf do? Do you think he will go home to Granny where it was nice and safe? What else will he find when he figures out where he belongs?



















Everything I Need to Know Before I'm Five
by Valorie Fisher

Using little plastic vehicles, animals, people, and other little props, the author shows, as the title says, everything that it is important to know by the age of five years old. There is the alphabet, numbers, colors (including what happens when colors are mixed together), opposites, shapes, and weather. What are the interesting things that the animals are wearing and carrying around on the different pages? Each picture on the different pages in book also emphasizes what is being taught, such as there being penguins, a peach, painting, and a pickup on the "P" page in the alphabet section.















Raj: The Bookstore Tiger
by Kathleen T. Pelley and illustrated by Paige Keiser

Felicity Fotherington knew when she brought a little striped tabby cat home with her, that she now had a little tiger, and so Felicity named her little "tiger," Raj. Raj finds out that it is hard work being Felicity's bookstore's tiger. Raj patrols the store rooms, lie in the sun in the front window, and he also greets the customers who come into the bookstore. Raj's favorite time, though, is storytime in the afternoons. Felicity always introduces Raj as the bookstore tiger, and Raj always sits in a child's lap while the stories are being read. Raj really enjoys his life, until the day that Snowball visits the bookstore every day. Snowball tells Raj that he is not a tiger, but he tells Raj that he is just a plain old kitty-cat. Snowball also takes Raj's little pillow that he naps on. What Snowball says really bothers Raj. He spends the rest of the day hiding out. After that day, Raj lays on top of a bookshelf or hides under a chair, and he is very depressed. Raj doesn't even come down for storytime, even though he sees Snowball sitting in one of the children's lap. Then one night, what Felicity is reading catches Raj's attention. Felicity is reading a poem about tigers, and he sits in her lap as she reads the poem to him over and over again. Will Raj feel like the bookstore's tiger again? Will he be able to stand up to Snowball? Will Raj ever enjoy another storytime, and what else will he learn that Snowball might be interested in?















A Flock of Shoes
by Sarah Tsiang and illustrated by Qin Leng

Abby loves her pink and brown with lime green trim sandals. Abby's sandals were perfect for running, walking, skipping, jumping, and hopping. Abby also made heart shapes in the sand when she walked on it in her sandals. Abby and her sandals have a wonderful summer together. When fall comes, Abby's mother tells her that it is time to wear some different shoes, because her feet will be cold, the shoes are getting wore out, and they are getting to be too small. Abby continues to wear her shoes anyway, until one day while swinging at the park, her sandals flip off her feet and fly south. When Abby gets home, she tells her mother what happened to her sandals, but her mother does not really believe her. Instead, she gives Abby some new boots. All winter Abby wears her boots, but she keeps thinking about what her sandals are doing down south. She even imagines what the postcards would look like if her sandals sent them to her. Eventually, Abby really starts to like her boots. Abby's boots are great for stomping, running, kicking, and climbing. What do you think is going to happen to Abby's boots when spring comes? What do you think will happen to her sandals? Will she think about any other messages she might get from her shoes?