Review- Little Bea- Daniel Roode

 

Up, up, up comes Little Sun. It's time for Bea the bee to start to her day. She has friends to help, and friends to play. Such a busy bee! Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!


Young children and parents will love Little Bea and her friends. The illustrations are cute and it's very simple story. Parents will also  want to check out the author's website( http://danielroode.com/), which features more cute artwork and videos, plus previews of  Roode's upcoming books.


Little Bea-Daniel Roode
Age Range- 2 and up
Lexile: 50
***** ( 5 stars)

Review- Are You Awake?-Sophie Blackall

 

It's Edward's bedtime, but he's not sleepy. So he wakes up Mommy and asks her a lot of questions. Most of her replies to Edward's questions are " Because it's still nighttime." Will she or Edward ever get back to sleep?

Kids ( and parents) will laugh their heads off at this bedtime book. I especially love the part where Edward asks his mother if his father is still awake and she says she hopes so because he is flying a plane. I'm definitely planning to use this book for daycare visits and story times, including next year's summer reading program, Dream Big-Read.




Are You Wake?-Sophie Blackall
Age Range: 2 and up
Lexile: 200***** ( 5 stars)

The Underneath by Kathi Applet

 

This book is a blending of three stories into one. It is a story about the friendship between a bloodhound named Ranger and calico cat who is about to have kittens. It is a story about Gar-Face, Ranger's cruel owner. It is also a story about Grandmother Moccasin who has lain dormant in a glass jar for a thousand years. The Underneath is a leisurely-paced summer read.



Grade Level: 5-7
Lexile Level: 830
****(4 stars)

August 7th is Sister's Day

This coming Sunday is Sister's Day. Celebrated on the first Sunday of the month in August, having or being a sister is truly unique. By definition, a sister is a female sibling who have the same parents as another person. But it can also mean a close female friend (s) or associate(s) (ie, someone who you feel is a very best friend, or VBF,  for all you lovely people that love to text, and perhaps share a bond that's like a sisterhood.) Sure, there might be quarrels and arguments, but in the end, whether you are an older or younger sister or sister of friendship, it's an everlasting bond. So celebrate your sister, this Sunday and every day. (To those wondering if there is a day that celebrates brotherhood, it's May 24th.)

Here are some books that celebrate sisterhood ( for more, suggested key words include "sisters-juvenile fiction", " sisters-fiction", "brothers and sisters-juvenile fiction"):

• Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
• The Penderwick series by Jeanne Birdsall
• A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban
• Froggy's Baby Sister by Johnathan London
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares (Note: Additional titles in Young Adult and Adult)

 Happy's Sister's Day. Keep Reading.

Lego Club

The Children's Services Department at the Central Branch of the Lake County Public Library will host a monthly Lego Club program beginning September 2011. The library was awarded a grant from Altrusa International, Inc. of The Indiana Dunes to purchase a basic collection of Legos. In order to build our collection and thereby service more children, the library will gladly accept Lego donations. Our first Lego Club program will be held on Thursday, September 8 at 4 pm for children grades 2-6.

Please register online for this program two weeks in advance of scheduled date at http://www.lcplin.org/. Click on "Library Events" at the top of the library's homepage.

For more information call Children's Services at 769-3541 x360.

Youth volunteers give a thumbs up for the new Lego collection.

Bookworm List- Christmas in July

With all this fun, hot, rainy weather we've been having, I decided we need a little Christmas ( plus I had a Christmas CD playing while setting up for today's program. Hey, it's Polar-tastic, and the Poles are full of ice and snow, so why not?)

 So here are some of my favorite Christmas books ( and actually I favor a lot, so I may think about revisiting this topic come November-December, maybe  25 book reviews or something for the holiday season):

• My Penguin Osbert by  Elizabeth Kimmel- Santa finally give a young boy the right present, but  the boy soon learns that asking for a pet penguin might not have been a good idea after all.
• Christmas Lights by Ann Fearrington- A family takes a nighttime ride to see displays of light on Christmas Eve.
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg- A boy takes a magical train ride to the North Pole to get a special gift from Santa. A Christmas classic.
• The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket- A hilarious tale from the writer of Series of Unfortunate Events about a piece of coal that dreams of being an artist.
• I Want  A Hippopotamus for Christmas by John Rox- An illustrated version of the popular 1950's Christmas song about a child who wants a hippopotamus for Christmas.
• Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer- Join Olivia the Pig as she and her family get ready for Christmas ( and hopefully not hurt Santa in the process.)
• Santa Duck by David Milgrim- When Nicholas Duck find a Santa hat and coat, all the other animals mistake him for Mr. Claus ( Note- There is sequel called Santa Duck and his Merry Helpers, also by David Milgrim.)
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney- Sometimes the holidays can be a too much, as Llama Llama discovers until Mama reminds of what the holiday truly brings.

Just a reminder....

This is the last week of summer reading. Saturday, July 30th is the last day to turn in books for prizes. Please return all books to the main Circulation desk in August. Thank you to all who took part this year.


Happy Summer! Keep Reading!!
 

Just a Reminder...

Just a reminder...

Next week is the last week of Summer Reading program 2011-One World, Many Stories. We hope everyone had a good time and that everyone keeps reading and coming to the library. Saturday, July 30th is the last day to turn books in for prizes. Please return all children's books to the book drop at the Circulation desk in August.

Here are our final three programs. Please register via the Library Calender at the www.lcplin.org or call 769-3541 ext 360.

Whoever You Are ( 4-5 yr old program) Tuesday, July 26th at 10 am or 2 pm

Family Movie Day (Tangled) All ages, please no dark or red-colored drinks- Wednesday July 27th at noon

Polar-tastic ( K-5 and family program)- Thursday, July 28th at 4 pm


Coming this Fall- Lego Club ( September 2011)

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!