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Recommendations

by: 
Rachel, Golden Library

The Hindenburg was the world’s largest airship, built in Germany in 1931. The airship as a type of travel and transport came to be used earlier, around 1900. Airships were also used throughout World War II to carry heavy loads long distances and to spy on enemy armies and navies.  In Germany, some airships dropped bombs on London and other locations. Their main purpose was to carry goods and passengers across the Atlantic Ocean, however.

Many airships had light, metal, oval skeletons that made up their interior structures. Airships were filled with gases like helium or hydrogen which are lighter than air, making it possible for them to fly. The Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen and was 804 feet long-longer than two-and-a- half football fields! It would be taller than the Washington Monument if stood on its end!

It was important to keep weight carried on an airship to a minimum, since they needed to float easily. For this reason, furniture for passengers was made of aluminum and sinks were made of plastic. On most flights, passengers could play an aluminum piano, though there wasn’t one on the Hindenburg’s flight.

On the evening of May 6, 1937 the Hindenburg was getting ready to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It had taken off from Frankfurt, Germany. This journey took two-and-a-half days. As it descended, a fire began in the back of the airship and soon flames engulfed the whole thing. Thirty-six people died in the crash and 62 survived.

The cause of the Hindenburg explosion is still not known. Some speculate that the fire fueled by the paint used on the outside of the ship. This paint was made of the same type of material that is used to power rockets. Others say some kind of spark made the hydrogen gas catch fire. Another explanation is that lightning struck the ship, though no witnesses saw any lightning.

The Hindenburg crash marked the end of airship travel, though it did not keep people from wanting to fly. Soon airplanes became the preferred method of travel through the air. Airships are used for little more than advertising and filming at sporting events these days and are called blimps. These blimps are filled with helium, because it is much less flammable than hydrogen. They don’t have a metal skeleton like the Hindenburg did either.

Read more about this fascinating event in history in one of the books we have about the Hindenburg disaster.

by: 
Rachel, Golden Library

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd in the United States. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin first proposed Earth Day. He wanted to encourage respect for all life on Earth and to stress his concern about pollution of soil, air, and water.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in San Francisco, California on April 22, 1970 and 20 million people took part in helping to raise awareness about caring for the planet. Since its creation, Earth Day has helped to inspire the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Check out these fun Earth Day facts!
-You can light one 100-watt bulb for four hours with the amount of electricity that is saved by recycling one glass bottle!
-Over 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered in the United States every year.
-Some office supply stores have begun selling office paper made entirely without trees.
-Tin pop cans are made of steel. Every year, Americans throw away enough steel to build all of the new cars in the United States.
-The Chinese made the first piece of recycled paper out of old, used fishing nets in 200 B.C.

Check out some books about Earth Day and ecology for kids! 

by: 
Kristin, Columbine Library

Have you heard of Amy Krouse Rosenthal?  If you haven't- you should read all of her books today!  She is one of my favorite authors and has written many fun, creative books for kids.  Amy's imagination is unlimited and it shows in everything she does.  If you have a few minutes, check out her blog which includes ideas for books, cool videos and lots of other fun stuff.    

Amy's most recent book is titled Exclamation Mark and it is every bit as clever and fun to read as her other books.  

Exclamation Mark just doesn't fit in.  He tries everything to be more like the other puncuations, but his enthusiam just makes him stand out.  Once he meets Question Mark, he discovers maybe it's not so bad to be different?   Maybe it's okay to be enthusiastic?!  A perfect book about celebrating individuality-- and kids might learn a little about punctuation, too!

 

by: 
Caroline, Columbine Library

Who doesn’t love a good dog book? Curl up with your pup and try one of these:

Rrralph by Lois Ehlert
Ralph the dog can talk! --appropriately saying words such as "roof," "rough," "bark," and "wolf."

Three Stories You Can Read To Your Dog by Sarah Swan Miller
Share stories for  dogs and written from a dog's point of view, featuring such topics as a burglar, bones, and running free!

Chihuawolf: a Tail of Mystery And Horror by Charlee Ganny
Tired of being a member of the smallest dog breed and hoping to impress a silky Afghan hound, Paco the chihuahua decides to transform into a werewolf.

by: 
Susan, Belmar Library

Pigeon STILL Wants to Drive the Bus!

On April 1, Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus turned 10, no fooling. This picture book continues to delight readers young and old with its quirky illustrations and charming dialogue.

About his Caldecott Honor book, Willems says, "I've been asked on occasion if I ever dreamed that the Pigeon would eventually spawn multiple books, activity books, games, toys, apps, animiated films, and fabrics. The answer is, of course I dreamed that. I also dreamed that I would get a flying pony that always had convenient parking spots.  I just never expected it."

Check the book out and see if Pigeon can convince YOU to let it drive your bus. While you're at it, take home some other terrific books Mo has created over the years, such as Knuffle Bunny books, the Elephant and Piggie series, or other stories starring Pigeon.

Join the party on Pigeon's web site, where you'll find games, activities, and more to delight and entertain, just like Pigeon's books.

Also, Mo's web site is a place for tapping in to books, games, and even videos featuring Mo's many friends .
Want to know what Mo Willems is up to today? Peruse his blog .

And, look for Mo's newest creation, That is NOT a Good Idea! coming at the end of April!

by: 
Trish, Belmar Library

If you are a fan of smart, funny, precocious fourth-grader Clementine, you may already know about her clever creator, Sara Pennypacker.  You are probably already enjoying Clementine’s SIXTH adventure, titled Clementine and the Spring Trip.

If you haven’t met Clementine yet, you should!

Besides the Clementine series, Pennypacker has written fun books about eight-year-old Stuart, as well as four books in the Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures series. 

Sara Pennypacker was a shy girl who loved reading, gardening, going to the beach, getting presents, riding horses, and cake!  (She says she still likes all of those things.)  When she grew up, she started painting, and then writing children’s books.  On her website, she says, “Kids ask me all the time how they could know if they're going to be a writer.  The first thing I tell them is this: "If you write for pleasure, you already are a writer."

Two of my favorite books of hers are picture books, and not part of a series, but they tell amazing stories.  One is Sparrow Girl, which is based on a true story of a girl in China who saved beautiful birds from being destroyed.  The other is Pierre in Love, about a shy rat feeling "bloopy and love-swoggled", and trying to show the ballet teacher how he feels. 

No matter which of the characters you meet in Sara’s world, you’re bound to find you’ve made a new friend! 

You can learn more about Sara and her books at her website

Happy reading!

by: 
Rachel, Golden Library

Do you always think of superheroes when you hear about comics and graphic novels?  Think again!  The graphic novels listed below, and many others, have nothing to do with Superman!  Some are stories on their own; others are illustrated retellings of books previously written in chapter book format.

Are you wondering what’s so great about graphic novels?  Look no further!  These help reluctant readers who might be hesitant to pick up longer books become interested in reading.  They can also improve reading development and comprehension in students struggling with learning language, as they provide clues through pictures as to what is being conveyed with words.

Bake Sale by Sara Varon

Bake Sale is a graphic novel about a cupcake that owns a bakery and plays in a band.  His friend, Eggplant, invites Cupcake to go to Turkey with him but Cupcake doesn’t have enough money to buy a plane ticket.  Read it to find out what he does! This book also includes recipes!

Benjamin Bear In Fuzzy Thinking by Philippe Coudray

Benjamin Bear faces many problems in this book but he always comes up with funny and creative solutions for them.  For example, when Benjamin is washing his dishes in a waterfall, his friend Rabbit offers to help him dry.  Benjamin uses Rabbit’s fuzzy body to dry the dishes, instead of handing him a towel.

Binky The Space Cat by Ashley Spires

In this book, a cat named Binky thinks he is a space cat, though he is really just a regular house cat.  He plans to leave the space station, also known as his house, to blast off into outer space, or outside.  Here he will conquer aliens (bugs) and explore unknown places.  Will he survive this dangerous journey?  Read this and other Binky books to find out!

Goosebumps, 1. Creepy Creatures

This is the first title in the Goosebumps Graphix series, based on the stories from Goosebumps chapter books!  Here The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, and The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena are all told in illustrated format!

A Wrinkle In Time: The Graphic Novel by Madeline L’Engle and Hope Larson

This is an illustrated retelling of the chapter book with the same name.  In this story Meg Murry and her little brother Charles search for their lost father, who is doing secret time travel work for the government.  Along the way they encounter lots of interesting characters.

Find these and many more great graphic novels at your local library!

by: 
Donna, Columbine Library

Tired of listening to the same old versions of classic children’s songs? You should check out Eric Litwin’s CD, The Big Silly

Litwin, the author of the popular Pete the Cat books, has put a twist on a few of the classics and has created a some original songs, dances, poems, and stories everyone can get into.

Wheels on the Bus is now sung in a Ska style, and the ABC song is done with a Hip Hop groove. With a different style of music for each track there’s something to please everyone in the family! Check out some song clips from this CD!

by: 
Connie, Lakewood Library

What do you get when you cross a vampire with a snowman?
FROSTBITE!
 

Why did I just tell you that silly joke?
Because April is  NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH!

What is the funniest book you ever read?
One of my favorites (and it was hard to choose just one) is:

STOP THAT PICKLE!
by Peter Armour
When Mrs. Elmira Deeds waddles into Mr. Adolph's deli and asks for a pickle, chaos erupts!  The pickle escapes from the jar and a cast of zany characters joins in the chase to stop the pickle as it attempts to run away. This book is so fun to read aloud. I especially like to talk like the "seventeen toasted almonds"!

Have you heard this one?

When does B come after U?
When you steal some of its honey!

A funny author I love is Jon Scieszca.
All of his books, from picture books like, The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales,
to his chapter books like, The Time Warp trio,  can always make me laugh.

Check out his hilarious (and slightly weird) website.

Okay, here is my last joke -

Knock, knock
(who's there?)
Cows say
(cows say who?)
No silly, cows say Moo!

Do you have a favorite funny book or joke to share?

by: 
Tisha, Evergreen Library

Do you know anything about the Vietnam War? I had a vague idea of what happened during that complex time period, and learned more about it in this easy-to-read and comprehensive book:
Vietnam War: Living Through The Vietnam War, by Cath Senker

One of the more famous events at the end of this war was the airlift of Vietnamese orphans out of the capital of Saigon. This fascinating story of one baby’s journey was written after the author interviewed the now-grown girl and pieced together amazing details about her young life in Vietnam. Read her story in Last Airlift: a Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War, by Marsha Skrypuch.

Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy, by Andrew Warren, tells the story of a young Amerasian boy who is rescued during the same airlift, though he is a much older boy and remembers more.

Great fiction has also been written about Vietnam and the war:

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam, by award-winning author Cynthia Kadohata, chronicles the journey of Cracker, a bomb-sniffing dog, and Rick, a hard-headed, difficult-to-get-along-with young man, as they learn to rely on each other for their lives.

Inside Out and Back Again, winner of a Newbery Honor Award, by Thanhha Lai, chronicles a family’s journey to America during the uncertain last days before the Vietcong take over Saigon.

Dogtag Summer, by Elizabeth Partridge, is the story of a young Vietnamese girl whose adopted American father fought in Vietnam and has secrets he is not ready to share.

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