Father's Day Books

Father’s Day is almost here (this year it is Sunday, June 16). Here are some good books about fathers.

I love my daddy

E ANDRAE

That's Papa's way

E BANKS

Piglet and Papa

E WILD

My father knows the names of things

E YOLEN

Greek Mythology Books

Are you interested in Greek mythology? Here’s some awesome Non-Fiction and Fiction books about the ancient Greek heroes and more!

Michael Townsend's Amazing Greek myths ofwonder and blunders : welcome to the wonderful world of Greek mythology

J 292.13 TOWNSEND

The Golden Fleece : and the heroes who lived before Achilles

J 292.13 COLUM

Treasury of Greek mythology : classic storiesof gods, goddesses, heroes & monsters

J 398.20938 NAPOLI

Greek Myths

J 398.20938 TURNBULL

The mark of Athena

J FIC RIORDAN

Books about Summer

Is anyone else glad that summer is almost here? The Children’s Department is happy about it and we bet you are, too!  Here’s some books to help celebrate this fun time of year:
 

 

Summer is summer by: Phillis Gershator

E GERSHATOR

 

Now It Is Summer by: Eileen Spinelli

E SPINELLI

 

Summer Days and Nights by:Wong Herbert Yee

E YEE

Frog and friends : best summer ever by: Eve Bunting

ER BUNTING

Minn and Jake's almost terrible summer by: Janet S. Wong

J FIC WONG

Poems in Reverse

It's not every day that we can say we were around when a new form of poetry was invented! Author Marilyn Singer has done just that in her two poetry collections Mirror Mirror (2010) and Follow Follow (2013).

Singer calls her new poetry style the reverso. Read the poem one way, and you get one story. Read the poem backwards, changing only the punctuation, and you get another view entirely! For example:

Isn't	A fairy tale
this	this
a fairy tale?	isn't …

It's fascinating how the paired poems can convey two entirely different perspectives, sometimes from the same narrator, other times from a different narrator. Both Mirror Mirror and Follow Follow rely on fairy tales and folk tales such as The Emperor's Clothes and The Ugly Duckling as their starting point. From there, Singer weaves her free-verse magic, spinning personality, emotion and wit into their fabric.

Although poetry is a writing form that often produces a sense of dread in adults, children are naturally drawn to their rhythm and rhyme. Singer fills these poems with a rollicking energy. Josée Masse's clever, colorful illustrations only add to the fun.

These two books make for wonderful additions to the canon of children's poetry and that of poetry in general. Read them aloud for the best effect; each poem has a distinctive voice. They are short and easily understood while still packing a punch due to Singer's brilliant, carefully calibrated use of language. Kids will already know the stories; these poems will make them see those stories in a new light.

Books about the Beach

It’s now the time of year when people are starting to go to the beach more. Here’s some books about the beach.

Miranda’s Beach Day

E KELLER

 

Magic Beach

E LESTER

Ladybug Girl at the Beach

E SOMAN

Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach

E WATT

Shells! Shells! Shells!

E WALLACE

Camping Books

Have you ever been camping? If you haven’t, you’re probably curious about what it’s like! Here are some awesome books about camping for all ages, whether you’ve been camping before or not. 

 

Camping Day

E LAKIN

Olivia Goes Camping

ER HARVEY

Tiny goes camping

ER MEISTER

 

Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping

ER PARISH

 

Piper Reed, campfire girl

J FIC HOLT

Alvin Ho : allergic to camping, hiking, and other natural disasters

J FIC LOOK

Mother's Day Books

In celebration of Mother’s Day (this year it is Sunday, May 12), below are some great books about 
mothers.
 

The Berenstain Bears : we love our mom! by: Jane and Mike Berenstain

E BERENSA

 

A Present for Mom by: Vivian French

E FRENCH

Mother's Day by: Anne Rockwell

E ROCKWELL

 

Mother's Day Mess by: Karen Gray Ruelle

ER RUELLE

Wake up, Emily, it's Mother's Day by: Patricia Reilly Giff

J FIC GIFF

Cinco de Mayo Books

Cinco de Mayo is almost here!  Here's some books to help you celebrate May 5th.

Marco's Cinco de Mayo by: Lisa Bullard

E BULLARD

 

Cinco de Mouse-o! by: Judy Cox

E COX

 

Fiesta!: Cinco de mayo by: June Behrens

J 394.2684 B 

Cinco de Mayo by: Mary Dodson Wade

J 394.26972 WADE

Cinco de Mayo crafts by: Carole Gnojewski

J 745.594 GNOJEWSK

Books about Being Honest

Honesty is a popular topic for children's books. Here are a few books about telling the truth:

  

Princess K.I.M. and the lie that grew by: Maryann Cocca-Leffler

E COCCALEF

 

Doug-Dennis and the flyaway fib by: Darren Farrell

E FARRELL

 

Betty Bunny Didn’t Do It by: Michael Kaplan

E KAPLAN

 

Fancy Nancy: My Family History by: Jane O’Connor

ER OCONNOR

Zig Zag Kids: Big Whopper by: Patricia Riley Giff

J FIC GIFF

Video of illustrator Eric Carle working in his art studio

We think you'll be fascinated to watch this video of Eric Carle, illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other classic books, at work in his studio.  His illustration style is unique and it's fascinating to see how he does it!  It's a great way to teach kids about how the pictures in books are made and what it means when we say, "This book is illustrated by..."