Review - The Smoky Corridor by Chris Grabenstein

 

If you haven't read The Crossroads or The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein, then you haven't met Zach Jennings. Here is the perfect opportunity to meet this sixth grade ghost seer hero. Zach is starting sixth grade at a new school. Unfortunately, his new school comes with come interesting characters - of the ghostly kind. The Smoky Corridor is an action adventure, mystery, thriller, funny ghost story with zombies.

The Smoky Corridor by Chris Grabenstein
Grade Level: 5 - 8
Lexile Level: 690
*****(5 stars)

Winnie the Pooh returns to the big screen

This Friday, two big movies are being released. One, which most of us have been waiting for, is the final Harry Potter film. The other is ...Winnie the Pooh. Yes, Pooh, Piglet and everyone in the Hundred Acre Woods are back in a new Disney film, with new adventures for children young and old.


 Pooh first appeared in 1926 in A. A. Milne's short story collection,  Winnie the Pooh, with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. The character got his name from a stuffed bear that was owned by Milne's son, Christopher Robin (who was the basis for the Christopher Robin character. In fact, most of the toys featured in the tales were owned by Milne's son.) A second collection of stories, The House of Pooh Corner, was released in 1928. In the 60's, Disney acquire the rights to characters and since 1966, when Winnie the Pooh and the Honey was released,  they have produced countless products, including animated films, TV shows, stuffed animals and so on. ( By the way, I'm a Piglet fan with a hint of Eeyore and Roo.)  In 2009,  an authorized sequel, Return to the House of Pooh Corner by David Benedictus with illustrations by Mark Burgess, was released. ( I'd read this book, and both Benedictus and Burgess do a great job of capturing Milne's writing and Shepard's artwork.)

One more side of everyone's favorite silly old bear is the musical side. Besides the music of the Disney films and TV shows ( which, over the years,  has been done by Richard and Robert Sherman, Carly Simon, and for this new film, Robert Lopez, the songwriter of the Tony-winning musical ,The Book of Mormon), singer/ songwriter Kenny Loggins wrote a song called " The House of Pooh Corner" in 1970. In 1994, he not only rewrote the song, but also decided to put out children's album called Return to Pooh Corner. ( A sequel was released in 1998, featuring the song " Your Heart Will Lead You Home" which Loggins co-wrote with the Sherman brothers for The Tigger Movie. Both albums are great for bedtime, whether you have children or not.)

Most of the books and music items that I have mentioned are available at the library for you to check out. Please use the library catalog or an librarian to see which branch (or branches) have theses items ( especially the Disney-related Pooh books, which are by various authors).


And now to close with a quote from the 1977 film, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh:

Tigger: T-T-F-N: ta-ta for now!

Bookworm List- Polar-tastic Books

Welcome to July. We are into the final four weeks of One World, Many Stories ( SRP 2011). The last day is July 30th. We still have a few programs and movie days left ( coming next week: Tron Legacy.)

This month, two of our programs, Arctic Blast ( next Tuesday at 10 am and 2 pm for ages 4-5) and Polar-tastic ( July 28th at 4 pm for grades K-5 and families) focuses on life in the North and South Poles. We also have a display of polar bear and penguin books at the entrance of the Children's Dept.

Did you know....( all facts courtesy of EnchantedLearning.com)

• Polar Bears are large, meat-eating bears who are well-adapted for life in their frozen Arctic environment. They are powerful swimmers who hunt seals in the water. Polar bears can run in bursts up to 25 mph (40 kph). 

• A polar bear's stomach can hold up to 150 pounds. Polar bears don't drink water.

• All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere (south of the equator). They live in climates ranging from the warm tropics to the frigid Antarctic. 

• There are 17 species of penguin. The largest is the Emperor Penguin, weighing in  at 65 lbs.

Here are some books to continue  your journey:

• Polar Opposites- Erik Brooks
• Tacky and The Three Bears- Helen Lester
• Playful Little Penguins- Tony Mitton 
• Mr. Popper's Penguins- Richard Atwater
• Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World- Juliana Hatkoff
• Great Crystal Bear-Carolyn Lesser
•  Arctic Song- Miriam Moss

Happy Summer! Keep Reading!

Bookworm List- Books to Celebrate the 4th of July

Hi all, this is a new feature to the blog.

So today at 4 pm for K-5 and families, we are having a four days early 4th of July celebration ( because like most public places, we will be closed on the 4th since is a federal holiday).
Here are some books for celebrating our Nation's birthday ( 235 this year, standing strong):

• Journey of One and Only Declaration of Independence- Judith St. George: In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. But would you believe this important piece of parchment had more homes than a traveling circus? Find out in this incredible story.
• On the Day the Tall Ships Sailed-Betty Paraskevas:  Follow a bald eagle as he flies in the sky as ships of all shapes and sizes sail into New York Harbor on Independence Day.
• Happy Birthday, America- Mary Pope Osborne: Join a young boy and his family at a small town American celebration with a pet parade, fireworks, and more.
• Revolutionary War on Wednesday- Mary Pope Osborne: Using the Magic Tree House, Jack and Annie travel back in time the American Revolution and help General George Washington cross the Delaware River.
• Judy Moody Declares Independence-Megan McDonald: After befriending an British girl and learning about the American Revolution during a trip to Boston, Judy Moody decides to write her own Declaration of Independence in hopes of getting more freedoms, like her own bathroom and a higher allowance.
• Meet Felicity-Valerie Tripp:  Nine-year-old Felicity rescues a horse from a cruel owner in Williamsburg in 1774. 
• Yankee Doodle America- Wendell Minor: Learn about the American Revolution through the alphabet.  
• Jake Johnson: Story of a Mule- Tres Seymour: Poor Farmer Puckett! His new mule refuses to move an inch and the fireworks need to be delivered to the town. Is the 4th of July celebration doomed?

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!! Keep reading!!

Review- Elephants can Paint Too!-Katya Arnold

 

Kayta Arnold is an art teacher who teaches art in two different schools: one at a private school in Brooklyn, the other.. in the jungle. Some of these students have hands, others... have trucks. In Elephants can Paint Too!, Arnold shows she teaches elephants to paint amazing works of art ( plus her human students in the city).

I love that the book shows the elephants at work ( and that like human artists, they too can get messy.) I also like that the print is big and simple for a child to read, and that there are elephant facts for the the adult to read to the child ( such as an elephant's truck is both a hand and a nose, and that it has 150,000 muscles.) Arnold also provides information about the elephant art project ( called Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project in the back ( such as the website www.elephantart.com where one can learn more about the elephants and purchase their artwork.)

Elephants can Paint Too!-Katya Arnold
Age Range: 3 and up
Lexile: 660   
***** ( 5 stars)

One World, Many Stories-July Programming

Here are some programs that will happening next month in the Children's Dept at the Central Library. Please visit Library Events for information and to register.All branches will be closed July 3 and 4. The last day of the Summer Reading Program is July 30th.

Mother Goose on the Loose - Tuesdays, July 5 and 19 at 10 am or 2pm.
Audience: Infants 6-23 Months and caregiver.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr Olds- Mondays at 10am or 2pm.
July 18-Home in Your Heart
Audience:2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr Olds- Tuesdays at 10 am or 2pm.
July 12- Arctic Blast!
July 26- Whoever You Are
Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

School-Age-Thursdays at 4pm.
July 7-Viva Mexico!
July 14- One World, Our World
July 21- Welcome to Korea
July 28- Polar-tastic
Audience: K to 5th grade and families

Family Movie Day ( Wednesday at noon)
Patrons can bring a lunch or snack. No red or dark colored drinks!
July 6-Sorcerer's Apprentice
July 13-Tron Legacy
July 20-Megamind
July 27-Tangled
Audience: All Ages.  Children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult age 18 or older.


Hope see everyone soon. Happy Summer!!

Every Child Ready to Read-Letter Knowledge

Letter knowledge is when children understand that letters of the alphabet are different from each other and  that the same letter can be written different ways.Knowing the names and sounds of letters helps children figure out how to say written words.

Some tips on practicing letter knowledge with your child:

• Sing the alphabet song together and play with rhymes.
•  Let your child play with blocks or puzzles with letters on them and/ or have them make letters with clay, crayons, etc.
• Read alphabet books. (Note: For children ages 0-3, reading the whole book might be a bit much. You might want to just focus on a few letters, such as the letters in their name.)

Here are some recommended books with letter knowledge ( for more, please see 
http://www.lcplin.org/children/ecrr-letter.htm )

• ABC Doctor-Liz Murphy
• Kipper's A to Z-Mick Inkpen
• Bad Kitty- Nick Bruel

Review- The Umbrella- Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

 

In The Umbrella, a little Scottie dog find a red umbrella on a very windy day. But -WHOOSH!- the wind picks up the doggie like he's Mary Poppins, and off he goes. Off into the sky, what awaits him nobody knows.

The pictures are very rich and vivid. And , being a wordless picture book, one can create a story and add special effects ( I did this book for a daycare visit today and the children really loved me going  " Brrrr" when a pelican drops him off at the North Pole and some seals are going " ARF, ARF".) There is a happy ending for our furry traveler, and a cute  twist, too!


The Umbrella- Ingrid and Dieter Schubert.
Age Range- 2 and up.
Lexile: NA
***** ( 5 stars)

Review-Dino-Basketball-Lisa Wheeler

 

It's March Madness, and all the dinosaurs are heading out the basketball arena to see the Grass Clippers ( the planting-eating dinosaurs) battle the Meat ( the meat-eating dinosaurs) in the championship game. The cheerleaders are getting the crowd ready. The dodo ref throws the ball.... and the game begins.

 Dino-Basketball is a really clever book . I love how each team player is named after a dinosaur ( and that the team's colors are used to identify what team they play for: red for Meat, green for Clippers). The play-by-play is done in rhyme ( and also we get  basketballs terms, so this would a great book for doing two Every Child Ready to Read Skills- phonological awareness and vocab ). We even get a half-time show with a dino-pyramid, mascots jumping on trampolines, and a dino-Elvis impersonator.  I think children who like dinosaurs and sports would like this book. And if they really like it, it's part of a series ( which includes Dino-Hockey, Dino-Baseball, and Dino-Soccer, which the library does have, please check our catalog to see which branch they are at. And based on the last page, we get an early peak of Dino-Football.)

Dino-Basketball-Lisa Wheeler
Age Range- 4 and up
Lexile: 300
***** ( 5 stars)

Every Child Ready to Read-Print Awareness

Print awareness is noticing that  the printed word is all around us. This skill focuses on how print is used,how to handle a book and  knowing how to follow the words on a page. We know that every book has a cover, a title page, and a spine, and that we read from left to right, from front to back. Becoming familiar with the printed word helps children become comfortable with books and that print is useful.

To help develop print awareness, here are some tips:

• Show children that print is all around them. Point it out in signs, on menus, and in books and newspapers. 
• Point to some words as you say them, especially words that are repeated.
• Turn the book upside down and see if child notices and corrects you; if not, do it yourself.

Some recommended books on Print Awareness (see
http://www.lcplin.org/children/ecrr-Pr-Aware.htm for titles):

• Hurry! Hurry!-Eve Bunting
• Wiggle-Doreen Cronin
• Book!-Kristine George