Some New Books for October

Ten Rules You Absolutely Most Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus
by John Grandits and illustrated by Michaell Allen Austin


On the first day of school, a little boy's big brother, James is walking him to the bus stop. James considers himself an expert on the school bus, and James is willing to share ten rules with his little brother that should make riding the bus a lot easier for him. The little boy is determined to follow these ten rules, because he does not want to get beat up on by a bully or have his lunch money stolen. The boy drops his backpack when a bigger boy bumps into him, and he is the last one on the bus. He sees a seat in the first row, but James's first rule is: "Do not sit in the first row." Unfortunately, there are no other seats except at the back of the bus, and James's second rule is: "Never sit in the last row." Because the little boys wants to obey rule three: "Never, ever make yourself stand out in any way," the little boy breaks rule two and sits in the back row seat. The little boy wants to look at the person sitting next to him, but then he breaks rule four: "Never make eye contact." The big kid sitting next to him did not like being looked at, so the little boy suddenly looks down again. When the little boy breaks rules five and six: "Never touch anyone's stuff" and "Never talk to big kids," the big kid kicks him out of the seat. The little boy ends up sitting with a little girl, and then he breaks rule seven: "Never talk to girls." The little girl talks to him the whole way, but the little boy is glad to get to school that day. Then the little boy sees the girl that was talking to him on the bus at kickball time. It turns out, she is the captain of one of the teams. The little girl tells him that he can be on her team the next day. The little girl also saves him, because after school, the little boy has trouble finding his bus, and the little girl yells at him to let him know where it is. What other things are the little boy's brother going to be wrong about? What will the little boy tell James about his rules?













Mario and Baby Gia
by Mario Lopez and illustrated by Maryn Roos


It is only a few days until Mario's birthday, and he wants to tell someone about his ideas for his party. He looks for his sister, Marissa, but she is playing with Cousin Rosie and does not want any boys around. Then Mario goes to see what Chico is up to, but Chico hurries out and tells Mario that he is late for baseball practice. Then Nana finds Mario and asks him to help her by watching little Gia while she is baking something. Mario is reluctant, but he agrees to help his Nana. Gia calls Mario, "Marigold," and Mario takes her outside and shows her how to throw a ball. Gia is not very good about throwing the ball back to Mario, though. Mario asks Nana if he can help her, but Nana asks him to give Gia her snack. Gia dumps the bowl of crackers on to the floor instead of eating them, and Mario is not happy to have to clean them up. Nana then suggests that Mario read Gia a story, but Gia pulls on the first page until it rips. Is Mario going to be really mad at Gia? What is Nana baking for? Is it a special occasion?














The Pumpkin Mystery
by Carol Wallace and illustrated by Steve Björkman


Mocha and Scruffy (a cat and dog) notice that the family is planning something. Then they see Aden and Leah ask Daddy if they can plant pumpkins again this year. Their Daddy tells them that the pumpkins will have to be planted in June in order to have them in time for Halloween. On this day, however, the family is getting the garden ready to grow beans and corn. Mama is looking for stakes, which confuses Mocha, who thinks she mean "steak." Scruffy explains that stakes are put in the ground to add string to and follow in a line for planting. Mama tells Mocha that he can help the family dig. Mocha seems to get a bit carried away with the digging, though. Everyone in the family takes part in the planting. Daddy and Mama raked the dirt, Aden and Lead count the stakes, Daddy drives in the stakes, Mama puts up the string, and Aden and Leah plant the seeds. Then it is Mocha's job to make sure that the rabbits do not get to the garden. When Mocha cannot reach the rabbits through the fence, Scruffy helps him chase off the rabbits. Everyone continues to work hard on the garden by watering the plants, pulling the weeds, and keeping the rabbits out. Then comes the time to plant the pumpkins. The seeds for the pumpkins had to be under big mounds of dirt. Unfortunately, the pumpkins are not growing very well. There are only a few weak looking pumpkin plants. Aden and Leah are very disappointed that their friends will not get to pick their own pumpkins, or that there will not be enough pumpkins to have a pumpkin toss, like the year before. Then, Mocha and Scruffy learn that one of the rabbits has some very important information about pumpkins. What does the rabbit know? Will he tell Mocha and Scruffy, and if he does, what will he want in return? Will there be any pumpkins for decorating or a pumpkin toss?












Too Many Turkeys
by Linda White and Megan Lloyd


One rainy day, Fred and Belle find a little lost turkey on their tiny farm. Belle is worried that the turkey will eat the garden, but Fred says the turkey won't, if they feed him. Fred names the turkey Buford, after his uncle, and Fred builds Buford a house and feeds him. Belle is also happy, because Fred cleans up after Buford. Because of Buford, Belle has a new ingredient to add to her garden, and the garden grows better than it ever has before. Belle tells the gardens who stop by and want to know her secret that she has a "special" fertilizer that she makes for the garden. Soon, Belle leaves for an annual birdhouse convention, and she tells Fred to take good care of her garden. Soon, Fred sees a little wild hen turkey trying to get into the garden to eat the plants. Fred manages to run her off, but the next day, there are even more turkeys in the garden. Fred tries to scare them away with music, but the turkeys like the music so much that they start dancing. Fred "turkey" walks the turkeys back to the woods. He works on cleaning up the mess they made, when he hears a big fluttering. There are turkeys everywhere! Suddenly, Fred grabs Buford's food and throws it into the back of his truck. The turkeys jump in and ride for twenty miles. Then Fred drops them off. Will the turkeys stay away? How will Fred get rid of the turkeys if they do come back? Will he have enough time to fix Belle's garden? Will the neighbors ever find out Belle's secret to her garden?