Polar Bears

The Three Snow Bears
by Jan Brett

Aloo-ki loses her sled and dogs at the same time that a family of polar bears decides to go on a walk while their soup cools. Aloo-ki is looking for her sled and dogs when she sees the bears’ igloo, and she decides to go inside. Once inside the igloo she eats the little polar bear’s soup, puts on his boots, and goes to sleep on his sleeping place. While the bears are out, they find Aloo-ki’s sled and dogs and bring them back to their igloo. Will the bears find Aloo-ki in their house? What will they do if she is there?

Little Polar Bear Finds a Friend
by Hans de Beer

Lars, the little polar bear, was lonely. He wanted to find a friend. Then one day he sees another little polar bear, but he finds that the polar bear is made of wood. He explores the box next to the polar bear, but the door shuts and traps Lars. Suddenly, the box falls and breaks and Lars is free to look around. He sees other boxes and cages. He meets Wally, the walrus, and Wally tells him that they might be able to get away from the people taking them to the zoo. Soon Lars and Wally have opened all the boxes and cages, and Lars meets a little brown bear named Bea. The animals find out how to open the door and they all get away. Wally is going to lead them back to the North Pole. When they reach a river, Wally lets the bears ride on his back as he swims. Will the bears and Wally be able to make it back? Will Lars’ parents like Bea?

Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World
told by Juliana, Isabella, and Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Gerald R. Uhlich

A polar bear cub was born on December 5, 2006 at the Zoo Berlin, and Thomas Dörflein, the bear keeper, and Andre Schüle, a veterinarian, had to take care of him when his mother decided not to. For the next few months, Thomas had to take very good care of the little cub by feeding him every two hours and by stroking him a lot. Thomas named the little cub “Knut.” Thomas stayed with Knut all of the time. He did not even leave the zoo until Knut was four months old. Knut loves to play. Then on March 23, 2006, Knut was shown to zoo visitors. Knut had many visitors and many people were very happy to see him. Thomas even taught Knut how to swim, just like a mother polar bear. Soon Knut will be too big for Thomas to be around, but until that happens, they will spend lots of time together. There are some facts about polar bears at the end of the book, such as what they eat and where they live.

A Pair of Polar Bears: Twin Cubs Find a Home at the San Diego Zoo
by Joanne Ryder

In Northern Alaska, two little polar bear cubs are found that have lost their mother. The San Diego Zoo offers them a new home, and the two bears were flown to California. The twin cubs have a strong bond, and they feel safe when they can be with each other. They even discovered how much they like swimming in the small pool that the zoo have for them. The bears loved to look up at the sky when they were finally put into their habitat. The cubs spent lots of time learning their new home by exploring and smelling, and they were named Kalluk and Tatqiq. The bears like rolling in the dirt after swimming, and they also like to watch the people that come to see them. The zoo even made a snowy playground for them, and they had lots of fun.

Some New Books for February

Things that Go Boom or Fly, Float, and Zoom!
by Alan and Gill Bridgewater, Glyn Bridgewater, Julian Bridgewater, Paul Clark, Ian Lambert, Mike Rignall

This nonfiction book contains eighteen do-it-yourself projects to create machines that turn, throw, and fire; swim and fly; walk; and talk. Each chapter begins with the tools and materials that you will need to complete each machine, and then it tells you a little bit about what you can do with the machine. Remember to always have an adult with you when you are working on these projects, and with some of the tools, it is best to let the adult do the work. The first project, a six-volt wind turbine, can be used to charge a cell phone or power a light. There are step-by-step instructions with pictures to follow in both creating and using the machine. At the end of each project, there are some safety tips to follow. Other machines in the book include a Lemon Cannon, Hot air balloon, soapbox go-cart, and a compact theremin. At the end of the book, there are templates that show the actual sizes of the parts of the machines.

Kisses on the Wind
By Lisa Moser and illustrated by Kathryn Brown

A little girl and her family are leaving for Oregon, and even though the little girl knows how to say goodbye to the cats and the farmhouse, she cannot say goodbye to her grandmother. She knows that the trip will take her very far away from her grandmother. She soon goes to her grandmother, who takes her for a walk. While they are on their walk they talk, make a bark boat, and even cry a little bit. Then the little girl and her grandmother run after a robin, and when they get tired they sit down in the grass. While her grandmother braids her hair, she also tells her a story of when she was a little girl. The girl tells her grandmother that she cannot leave, because she will miss all of the stories her grandmother is always telling her. Will the little girl be able to leave? How will she take all of her grandmother’s stories with her when she goes?

A Very Big Bunny
by Marisabina Russo

Amelia is a very big bunny, and she would very much rather be a smaller bunny that would not stand out in a crowd. She was the biggest student in her class, and since the teacher lines them up by height, she is always at the end of the line. During recess, the other girls think that Amelia is too big to play with, so Amelia counts clouds, listens to the wind, and thinks. Then one day, a new student is introduced to the class. Susannah is the smallest student in the class, and the other students tell her that she is too small to play with at recess. So she talks to Amelia, but though Amelia tells her what she is doing, Amelia does not invite Susannah to play, either. Will Susannah be able to get Amelia to let her hang out with her at recess? Will they ever become friends?

Read the Signals: The Body Language Handbook
by Dr. Melissa Sayer

This nonfiction book is full of tips about body language. There are ways of finding how you can read other people’s body language to tell things about them, and you can learn how to use your own body language to make new friends or speak up for yourself. There are also tips on how to do well in an interview, how to handle an argumentative person, how to deal with bullies, and how to overcome shyness and be more outgoing. There are also little “Did you know?” sections throughout the book with fun facts. The chapters of the book are body language, flirting, communication, and be confident.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

Will You Be My Valenswine?
by Teresa Bateman and illustrated by Kristina Stephenson

On Valentine’s Day, Polly the pig notices that she does not have a valenswine. She sees that all of the other animals have someone who loves them the most, and Polly starts to feel lonely. She tells her mother that she has no valenswine, and her mother tells her to think about it, and she would find someone who loves her the most. She asks the roses, a sparrow, and her slop to be her valenswine, but none of these things will do. She tells her mother every time, and her mother tells her to keep thinking about it. Will Polly figure out who loves her most? Who will be her valenswine?













Love, Ruby Valentine
by Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Lynne Avril Cravath

Ruby’s favorite day is Valentine’s Day, and she spends the five days before Valentine’s Day getting ready. Five days before she made all of the cards she was going to give out on Valentine’s Day. Four days before she made heart-shaped cookies and a heart-shaped cake. Three days before she spent the day making goody bad to hand out and tied them all with a bow. With two days to go, Ruby finished up all of her gifts and made sure they were signed. With one day left, Ruby loaded her wagon and made sure she had everyone’s names on her list. Getting everything ready, though, makes her very tired, and she goes to sleep. Will she wake up in time to give out all of the valentines that she worked so hard to make? Will everyone in the town like her valentines?














Mushy!: The Complete Book of Valentine Words
by Lynda Graham-Barber and pictures by Betsy Lewin

This non-fiction book begins with several explanations as to how Valentine’s Day came about. Then the book describes things that are associated with Valentine’s Day, such as Cupid, turtledoves, Bride and Groom, and then describes what the words mean and where they came from. There are also some fun facts about many different things associated with love and Valentine’s Day, such as where the first silk was made and how or how many conversation hearts that Necco makes every year (1.7 billion). At the end of the book there is a timeline of love related dates and other more historic dates.














Gopher Takes Heart
by Virginia Scribner

Gopher does not enjoy his morning walks to school, because every day a bully named Fletcher steals his milk money from him. He does not tell anyone, and he tries everything he can think of to stop Fletcher by leaving early and running away. Nothing seems to work. Then one day the class asks him to make a valentine for their teacher. The class takes up money from everyone, and they give it to Gopher in order to buy the supplies for the valentine. Unfortunately, Fletcher soon demands the three dollars from Gopher. Gopher has to give it to him. Will Gopher be able to get the money back from Fletcher in order to make the valentine for the teacher? Will Gopher be able to stop Fletcher from taking things from him?

February is Responsible Pet Owner's Month

February is Responsible Pet Owner’s Month

What Pet to Get?
by Emma Dodd

One day, Jack decides to get a pet, and his mother asks him what pet he would like. He thinks really hard about it, and then he tells her that he would like an elephant. His mother tells him that they would never be able to take an elephant on vacation with them, and he agrees. So Jack thinks up pets such as a lion, a polar bear, a tyrannosaurus rex, giraffe, rhinoceros, bison, and crocodile, but his mother reminds him of the reasons that these animals would not make good pets. Will Jack decide which pet will be much easier to take care of than a polar bear or crocodile?

Hamsters, Gerbils, Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, Ferrets, Mice, and Rats: How to Choose and Care for a Small Mammal
by Laura S. Jeffrey

This nonfiction book discusses all of the small mammal pets that could become pets, and the characteristics of each of these pets. For example, hamsters should be kept separated from other hamsters, because they will not get along. The book says that you should think carefully about all of the things you will need for the pet, what kind of home the pet will need, where you will put that home once you bring the pet home with you, and what kinds of food you should and should not feed your new pet. There are also fast facts and pet pointers throughout the book with tips on these different small mammals. The book also gives tips about how to take care of your pet, such as cleaning its cage every week, having little pieces of wood for your pet to chew on for its teeth, and how to pick up your pet without being bitten or hurting it.

Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People
by Shelia Keenan

This nonfiction book looks at pets and their owners and starts with some fun facts, such as there are 192 million fish that are pets in homes across the United States and that people spent 37 billion dollars on their pets in 2004. The book then discusses how the process of domesticating animals into pets came about and what kinds of qualities a domesticated animal should have. Then there is a history of pet ownership and how pets came to be a status symbol in the courts of Europe. The first pet shows were held in the 1800s, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in 1866. The book also discusses different types of pets and how their whiskers, noses, and other parts of their bodies work. The book discusses kings, queens, and presidents from all over the world and what kinds of pets they had.

Great Pets!: An Extraordinary Guide to More Than 60 Usual and Unusual Family Pets
by Sara Stein

This nonfiction book starts by discussing how pets became pets after being wild. You can also have a “pet” that is wild, such as ducks or squirrels that you feed in the park, birds that you feed with a bird feeder, or animals like raccoons and ants. There are also tips on how to build a habitat for certain types of animals where you can watch them and provide a home for them without disturbing them. The book discusses different types of animals, including bugs, amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and even crickets. Each chapter discusses the different animals and the special ways those animals need to be taken care of. There are also tips at the ends of each chapter on how to help certain types of animals or how to catch them. The chapters also have common illnesses of different types of animals and what signs to look for to make sure your pet is not sick. In the chapters on dogs and cats, there are also tips on house training your pet and on how to prevent bad habits in your pet.

Some New Books for January

Tutankhamun
by Demi

This biography is about the Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, or King Tut, as he is widely known. Tutankhamun’s father was Akhenaten, and his mother was believed to be a queen named Kiya. He grew up in the city of Amarna, which his father was building. Tutankhamun had many brothers and sisters, and he loved his grandmother, Queen Tiye. He learned many things while he was growing up, including how to hunt and fight. When he was about nine years old, Tutankhamun’s father died, and he was crowned as the new pharaoh. There were two men, Ay and Horemheb, who ruled for him, and Horemheb was not very kind to Tutankhuman. He soon married Ankhesenpaaten. Tutankhamun died at age nineteen, and there are many who wonder how he died. Tutankhamun was secretly buried where Horemheb would never know, and the place was not found again until 1922 (3200 years later). How much could be learned about Egypt through all of the treasures found in his tomb? There are also great illustrations throughout the book.

The Dinosaur Tamer
by Carol Greathouse and illustrated by John Shroades

Back in the “old, old west” there was a cowboy named Rocky. When Rocky was very young, he was able to rope a Stegosaurus blindfolded. He was known as the greatest dinosaur tamer, and he helped out whenever there was a dinosaur problem. Then one day, a really big problem showed up. It was T. Rex. T. Rex was very tough, and he was bothering the townspeople. The townspeople called Rocky by beating his tune on the bongo drums. Rocky came as soon as he heard. He made a really big lasso, and then he threw it over T. Rex. Then T. Rex ran as fast as he could, dragging Rocky behind him. They crossed several states and parks together. Will Rocky be able to tame T. Rex? Can he stop T. Rex’s mischief?

Smile!
by Leigh Hodgkinson

One day, a little girl realizes that she has lost her smile. Since she is usually wearing it and enjoys wearing it, she cannot remember exactly where she left it. Her dad tells her she will just have to go and look for it. She looks under her bed and cleans her room in order to look for it, but she cannot find it there. Then she begins to wonder whether someone, such as the twins, stole her smile, but she decides that they have not. She looks where her mom told her lost things usually are: in the sofa, in her pockets, and the dog’s basket. Then she decides to play a game with the dog. In all of her searching where had her smile been? Will she ever be able to find it?

Family Huddle
by Peyton, Eli, and Archie Manning and illustrations by Jim Madsen

Archie was playing their favorite game, Amazing Catches, with his sons Cooper, Peyton, and Eli in the front yard. Peyton catches the ball, and then their mom, Olivia, comes to tell the boys to get ready and washed up to leave. When it comes time to leave, the boys sneak the football into the car. While they travel, the boys like to play the Numbers Game, where they name a player that wears a certain number. Their first visit is to Grandma Sis, and the boys join a game near the fire station later in the day. They even manage to score a touchdown by working together. The next day, the family leaves to visit the other grandparents. They say hi to their Gan Gan and PaPa. The boys even have some hand signals for plays, and they use one called the Post Pattern. When they get home from their visits do you think they will play some more football together?

Hobbies

Start a New Hobby This Month

What Can You Do with an Old Red Shoe?
by Anna Alter

This nonfiction book has many ideas for how to reuse everyday objects with new and very different uses. Some cool ideas include making an old flip-flop into a stamp, creating a favorite t-shirt that you have outgrown into a pillow, making jewelry out of buttons, and making a lantern out of tin cans. There are also tips at the back of the book for both children and parents on reusing and recycling, such as using a lunchbox instead of a paper bag, using glass or plastic containers for storing other things, or taking a bag with you to the park and gathering up trash or recyclables. There are also tips on recycling for the whole family.














Made by Me
by Jane Bull

This nonfiction book is about knitting, sewing, and embroidery. The first step is creating a workbox, and you can often do this with things you already have around the house. In your workbox you need a pincushion, yarn, thread, pins, needles, scissors, and buttons. The book teaches you the basics of embroidery, such as what thread to look for, how to design the patterns, and ideas for what fabrics to use for embroidery. There are also instructions for creating pouches, lavender bags, broaches, key rings, necklaces, and a doll. The book also shows you the basics of knitting, but it also shows ways of knitting without needles and with knitting dolls and your fingers. The book also shows how to knit a purse, hat, and pom-poms. There is a dolly pattern at the back of the book, if you would like to trace the pattern and create your own doll.















More Creative Crafts for Kids
edited by Alicia Zadrozny

This nonfiction books contains ideas for over one hundred projects including those made with recycled materials. The craft ideas include a bubble wrap crocodile, felt-covered notebooks, paper wig, Egyptian necklace, dragon puppets, and a little African village. There are also ideas for holiday crafts, such as reindeer, egg faces, and dough lanterns. Finally, there are craft ideas made from recycled items, such as paper houses out of old shoeboxes, spoon puppets made out of wooden spoons, city made of cardboard, macaroni, paper clips, etc, and string puppets made of toilet paper or paper towels rolls. Each craft has the materials that you will need listed at the beginning, and there are pictures of the steps of the creation process for most of the crafts.














Show Off: How to do Absolutely Everything One Step at a Time
by Sarah Hines Stephens and Bethany Mann

This nonfiction book breaks down different tricks, projects, experiments and stunts into steps to follow. These fall under Amaze, Investigate, Create, Explore, Cook, and Move. At the beginning of the book are the instructions for how to use the book. The book uses pictures, instead of words, to show you how to “show off.” There is also a list of tools that will be needed to do some of the tricks, projects, experiments, and stunts, and there is a list of symbols that you will see throughout the book. The Amaze tricks include making shadow puppets, tying a one handed knot, and slicing an unpeeled banana. The investigate experiments include squeezing an egg into a bottle, bending water with static, and writing in invisible ink. The Create projects include firing a pen crossbow, making a sea globe, and rolling up a duct tape rose. The Explore projects include setting up a solar compass, learning a dog’s body language, and drying and pressing flowers. The Cook projects include pulling taffy, baking stained-glass cookies, and folding fortune cookies. Finally, the Move stunts include building a go-kart, setting up a bocce match, and moonwalking. At the end of the book, there is more information about some of the experiments, tricks, projects, and stunts found within the book.

Penguins

If You Were a Penguin
by Wendell and Florence Minor

What could you do if you were a penguin? This picture books shows you all of the things that penguins can do, such as “flying” underwater, living on land and in the water, swim in both warm and cold places, and “toboggan” by sliding around on the ice and down hills on their tummies. There are many different things that penguins can do, but can you also do these things, as well? Can you be a penguin, too? At the end of the story are some fun facts about penguins.

Penguins
by Liz Pichon

The penguins at the zoo have a little routine of the things that they do every day. They swim, eat fish, play games, sleep standing up, and look at the people who are looking at them. Then one day, a camera is dropped by a little girl. A little penguin goes to look at it. The other penguins ask him what a camera is, and he tells them it is for smiling at. He soon talks the other penguins into taking some pictures together. They take several pictures together, but soon, the camera stops working. Little penguin puts the camera back where he found it. The next morning, the zookeeper finds the camera and takes it to the lost and found. Will the little girl who dropped her camera be able to find it? Will she be surprised when she sees all of the pictures that the penguins took? At the back of the book are the pictures that the penguins took while they had the camera.

A Penguin Story
by Antoinette Portis

Edna the penguin only sees the color white in the snow and ice, the color black in the night, and the color blue of the ocean and fish. She knows, though, that there must be other colors, too. While the other penguins are playing a game and hunting for fish, Edna is too busy looking for something that is a different color than she is used to seeing. They ask her to come after she gets tired of looking, but Edna never gets tired of looking. Then she decides to go looking for something else, and she finds it. She brings her friends to the orange buildings, planes, and outfits that scientists have. The scientists say hello to the penguins, but it is soon time for them to leave. The penguins help them pack up their things. One of the scientists gives Edna one of his gloves to keep, so she will have the color. Will Edna be able to find any other colors?

Penguins
by Seymour Simon

This nonfiction book tells you many interesting facts about penguins. Their nesting areas are called rookeries, and these rookeries can have thousands of penguin pairs standing very close to one another. There are seventeen different types of penguins, and some penguins can swim as deep as 1,500 feet to look for food. When penguins are babies, they do not have waterproof feathers like the adult penguins. So they have to wait until they develop these feathers to swim. There are many fun facts like these about penguins. There are also pictures of many of the different kinds of penguins. At the back of the book is a glossary.

January is National Soup Month

January is National Soup Month

The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup
by Terry Farish and illustrated by Barry Root

An old man and his cat live together, and even though he does not show it, the old man likes his cat. The old man lives on Chatterpie road, which is named for all of the blackbirds that perch there. The cat would not eat the birds, but she like his potato soup, which made him like her more. When they would go fishing together, the cat would sit at the front of the boat. One winter day, the old man brought home an electric blanket. The cat really liked to lay on the blanket, and she even had the old man bring her soup to her. The next morning, the cat would not go fishing with him. When she woke up, the cat noticed that the man had left. He had never left her before. She leaves the house through a window. When the old man comes back, he cannot find the cat anywhere. He realizes that he misses having her around. Will the cat come back?
















Surprise Soup
by Mary Ann Rodman and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Their mother is in the hospital and will be home that night with the new baby. Daddy is in charge of making dinner, and little Kevie decides that they should make Saturday Soup for their family. Kevie, his older brother, Josh, and their dad gather ingredients for the soup. Kevie tries to help, but he opens all the different cans of beans that they have. Their dad decides to add them to the soup. Working together, though, they finally get all of the ingredients mixed in and cooking. The soup smells really good, but Josh and Dad say that it is missing something. Kevie tells them that it is sugar, but they do not listen to him. He tells them again, and they finally decide to add sugar to the soup. Will the soup taste good after they add the “secret” ingredient? Did Kevie’s mother have a little boy or girl?

Hammer Soup
by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

Kate keeps her house clean and her garden weeded, and she does not like to share her vegetables. Then one morning she hears a banging sound. When she looks out, she sees a giant man building a strange looking house. Bruce invites her to have some dandelion tea, but she does not want any. She decided to fence in her garden. Bruce just goes fishing, while Kate works hard. He sometimes leaves surprises (like fish) outside her door for her, though. She continues to work hard gathering apples, but Bruce puts things off until tomorrow. In the winter, Kate’s house is warm, but Bruce’s house is cold and drafty. Then suddenly, a strong wind blows and destroys Bruce’s house. Kate decides to let him stay with her, but she does not want him to eat up all of her food. He tells her about Hammer Soup, and they decide to make it. He talks her into adding sausage and some vegetables. Will she put her food into the soup? Will they both enjoy the soup that they create with the hammer? What will they do about Bruce’s house?

Duck Soup
by Jackie Urbanovic

Max enjoys making different kinds of soup. He had made Fish Soup with Curry and Pickled Lemon, Squash Gumbo, and Cracker Barrel Cheese and Marshmallow Soup. All of these soups, though, had been created by others, and Max wanted to create his own recipe for soup. As he tries his soup, he knows it is missing something. Then he decides that it is missing chives, and he goes out to his garden to get some. After he leaves, his friends Brody, Dakota, and Bebe come to see him. They decide to try the soup, and they see that one of Max’s feathers is floating in the soup. Thinking that Max fell in the soup, his friends try to get him out. Will they be able to find him before they ruin his soup? Do you think that his soup will turn out okay?

Some New Books for December

Deep-Space Disco
by Erik Craddock

This graphic novel has spaceships, robots, and mistaken identity. One day while Stone Rabbit is playing a game with his friends, a shape shifter named Melvin takes his place and sends him off into space. There he is caught by intergalactic enforcers and faces the crimes that Melvin had committed. When he is found guilty, he is sentenced to a place where robots try to destroy him. Meanwhile, Stone Rabbit’s friends are in danger with Melvin. Will Stone Rabbit be able to get away from the robots? Will he be able to make it home and save his friends and stop Melvin and his plans to destroy Stone Rabbit’s home and planet?

Imogene’s Last Stand
by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Imogene has loved history since she was very small. In fact, her first words were, “Four score and seven years ago…” In school, she lectured about important women in history during show-and-tell. Imogene decided one day to, with the help of her father, clean up the Liddleville Historical Society that was in a old house that was not being used. She cleaned and organized all of the historical items she found in the house, and then waited to give tours to the people of Liddleville. Unfortunately, no one came. Then one day, Imogene finds that the city is going to tear down the house to build a shoelace factory. The mayor believes the factory “will put the town on the map.” Imogene decides to fight for her society building. Will she be able to stop them from tearing the house down? Can she stand against the other members of the town who believe the shoelace factory is the right way to go? At the beginning and end of the book is information about individuals that Imogene quotes to others.

Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle
by Major Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery

There was a dog that lived at a fort in Iraq who had his ears cut to make him a dog of war. This dog was the leader of a pack of wild dogs. Then one day a marine named Major Brian Dennis and ten other Marines arrived at the fort. Major Dennis became friends with “Nubs,” which he named the dog. Nubs liked the belly rubs that he got from Major Dennis, and Nubs stayed with Major Dennis during his turn at guard duty. Soon Major Dennis had to leave, and Nubs could not go with him. When they came back again, Major Dennis saw that Nubs had been hurt, and the Marines helped him to get better. One time after they left, Nubs decided to follow the Marines. It took him two days and seventy miles, but he found Major Dennis. Nubs stayed with the Marines, until someone else told about the dog. Major Dennis was ordered to make Nubs leave. Major Dennis then decided to send Nubs to the United States. It would cost $2,000, though, and Major Dennis and his men worked to raise the money. Was Major Dennis successful in getting Nubs sent to the United States? Where is Nubs now?

The Circus Ship
By Chris Van Dusen

One day, while on a boat traveling to their next show, fifteen animals are stranded in the water when the boat they are riding in smashes into a ledge that no one could see in the fog. The animals manage to swim all night to an island beach. The walk to the village nearby and the people in the village are very surprised to see them. The animals start creating problems for the people in the village by eating their flowers or playing with their laundry. Then one night, there is a fire, and the tiger, which is used to jumping through fire, saves a little girl. The people and the animals get along just fine after this. Then the people hear that the mean owner of the animals is coming to take them away. The people come up with a plan. Will the animals be able to hide from their owner? Will they be able to stay in the village with the people they like so much?

First Day of Winter

First Day of Winter is December 21st!

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder
By Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson, Ph.D. and illustrations by Nora Aoyagi

This nonfiction book talks about snowflakes and how they are made. There are lots of little “specks” in clouds, and one of these “specks” is needed to create a snowflake. The book discusses the step-by-step process of the creation of a snow crystal. The book also tells how snow crystals all have different shapes, and what the different shapes are. The book also tells how many sides a snowflake has, and why it can only have that many sides. Finally, the book tells what happens to a snowflake after it falls to the ground. There are pictures of snowflakes throughout the book that have been enlarged by a microscope in order to see what they look like. At the end of the book, there are tips on how to catch your own snow crystals.















Here Comes Jack Frost
by Kazuno Kohara

A little boy lives in a house in the woods, and he has no one to play with, because his friends are all hibernating. Then one morning he sees strange patterns on the window. He goes outside to see who is making those patterns, and sees a white figure putting frost and ice on his house. The boy asks who the figure is, and the figure replies that he is Jack Frost. Then Jack Frost runs away, and the boy chases after him. The boy ice skates across the pond, and then he sleds over the hill after Jack Frost. Then he and Jack Frost have a snowball fight. The boys ask if Jack Frost will play with him, and Jack Frost will. He tells the boy not to mention anything warm, though, or he would have to leave. Will the boy remember not to talk about anything warm? Will Jack Frost stay and continue to play with him?














Chaucer’s First Winter
by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Henry Cole

Chaucer was a curious bear who liked to look at everything around him. Then one day his friends, Nugget and Kit, tell him that they will miss him during the winter. He asks why, and they tell him that bears usually sleep during the winter. Chaucer’s parents tell him that it is true, but he is not convinced. When his parents went to sleep, Chaucer was not sleepy, so he went outside. He catches snowflakes on his nose and tongue, and as they melt away, he thinks they are magic. Nugget and Kit are surprised to see, and they decide to teach him about snow. They slide down the hill over the snow and slide around on the frozen pond. Chaucer loves winter. One morning, its starts to snow and the wind blows really hard, but Chaucer builds them a safe place to stay. Soon the spring comes, and Chaucer is very disappointed. He goes to tell his parents all about winter, but he soon falls asleep.












Winter is the Warmest Season
By Lauren Stringer

A little boy believes the winter, not summer, is the warmest season. During the winter, he wears warm coats, hats, boots, and mittens. The animals and plants of summer are sleeping under the snow, but the snowmen he builds wear warm scarves. He eats grilled cheese sandwiches, pies, and breads, and he drinks hot chocolate and soup that warm him up inside. During the winter, the radiators keep his house nice and warm, and cats like to sleep in people’s laps instead of the windowsill. There are also fires in the fireplace and candles to help keep the house warm. During the winter, he takes hot baths, and his pajamas have nice warm feet. There are lots of blankets on his bed to keep him warm, people sit closer together to read stories together. This is why he believes that winter is the warmest season.