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Library Blog

Information on events, library related happenings, and other deep thoughts from our library staff.

International Sloth Day

Thursday, October 20, 2016 is International Sloth Day.  S   e   i   z   e . . . t   h   e . . . d   a   y.  R   e   a   d . . . a . . . b   o   o   k . . . a   b   o   u   t . . . t   h   e   s   e . . . a   m   a   z   i   n   g . . . a   n   i   m   a   l   s.

Kyle Goes Alone by Jan Thornhill (2015)
E  599.3  THO

A Little Book of Sloth by Lucy Cooke (2013)
J  599.3  COO

Mervin the Sloth Is About to Do the Best Thing in the World by Colleen A. F. Venable (2016)
E  VEN  NEW BOOK

Sloths by Megan Borgert-Spaniol (2016)
E  599.3  BOR  BEGINNING READER

Slow, Slow Sloths by Bonnie Bader (2016)
E  599.3  STE  BEGINNING READERS

Snoozefest by Samantha Berger (2015)
E  BER

Sparky! by Jenny Offill (2014)
E  OFF

Target Age: 
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Katiem

Crow Smarts

The latest Scientists in the Field book is perfect for this time of year --  the season of scarecrows around every corner.

Crow Smarts: Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird by Pamela S. Turner
J  598.8  TUR
It’s no longer an insult to be called ‘bird brained.’ Scientists have discovered that New Caledonian crows deserve a spot alongside dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees in the ranks of super-smart animals. Yet even within this elite crowd, New Caledonian crows stand out. These birds not only use tools, but manufacture a whole crow toolkit. And their puzzle-solving abilities invite the question: Is a crow smarter than a second-grader? Join scientist Dr. Gavin Hunt and his team in New Caledonia as they investigate the mysteries of crow smarts. How do New Caledonian crows learn to use and make tools? Is it possible that crows are improving their tool technology and passing the improvements on to the next generation—an achievement long thought unique to humans? Where is this tool use driving the crow brain, and what can crows teach us about the evolution of intelligence?

Check out the educator's guide and GoPro Video on the official website!

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If You Give a Mouse a Brownie

Laura Numeroff, the master of chain-of-events picture books, has a new addition!  She's given a mouse a cookie, a moose a muffin, a pig a pancake, a cat a cupcake, and a dog a donut. But what happens If You Give a Mouse a Brownie ?  Kids and parents alike will eat up this delicious new story as Mouse starts a band, does arts and crafts, and plays in the rain. Giving Mouse a brownie is only the beginning!

Find the rest of Numeroff's books in the picture book room.  Look for E  NUM.
Find fun activities inspired by the books on the official website.

 

Target Age: 
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Katiem

I'm not really going to list 13 reasons for you to read Jay Asher's new book, What Light.  Thirteen Reasons Why was the title of Asher's breakout first novel.  See what I did there?  I am the QUEEN of title mash-up blog posts.  Anyway, I'm sure I could come up with 13 reasons if I really needed to, but I think a short plot summary will be just as effective.

"Sierra’s family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it’s a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other. Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other. By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb’s past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love."

This fall we started a new Saturday program called Crafty Characters.  In September, Johnny Appleseed visited the library to share his story, which inspired everyone to get crafty.  They created Appleseed pot hats and an applesauce pot-headed Johnny.  This Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 10:30 a.m., we're hosting another Crafty Characters.  Bring a real or craft pumpkin with you to the library.  After you hear The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything tell her tale, create your own storybook pumpkin.  We'll provide all of the decorating supplies.  You can then enter your pumpkin in our annual contest.  If you can't make the event but want to enter a pumpkin, simply bring your decorated pumpkin (NO CARVING, PLEASE) to the Kid Zone October 15-30, 2016.  Each pumpkin will be displayed in the library and entered into a drawing for a grand prize.  The drawing will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 31, 2016.

I Don't Want to Be Big!

My favorite stubborn frog has a new picture book!  
I Don't Want to Be Big by Dev Petty
Frog does NOT want to grow up. Doesn’t need to be tall. Doesn’t want to be able to jump high enough to see the tree frogs. He’s just FINE being small. Besides, if you grow up, you don’t get to do fun things like jump in mud puddles with your best friend, Pig. Do you?

Missed the first book somehow?  Or just want to read it again (and again and again)?
I Don't Want to Be a Frog
Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that being himself isn’t so bad after all.

Target Age: 
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Katiem

Perfect Pair #27

This month's perfect pair is something to howl about.

  • The Wolf's Boy by Susan Williams Beckhorn (2016)
    J  BEC  NEW BOOK
    Kai burns to become a hunter and to earn a rightful place among his people. But that can never be. He was born with a clubfoot. It is forbidden for him to use or even touch a hunter's sacred weapons. Shunned by the other boys, Kai turns to his true friends, the yellow wolves, for companionship. They have not forgotten the young human they nurtured as an abandoned infant. When Kai discovers a motherless cub in the pack, he risks everything to save her, bringing her back to live with him. But as winter draws near, Kai's wolf grows ever more threatening in the eyes of the People. When the worst happens, Kai knows that they must leave for good. Together, they embark on a journey into the north-a place of unimaginable danger-that tests the power of friendship and the will to survive
  • From Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs by Hudson Talbott (2016)
    E  636.7  TAL
    How did dog become man’s best friend? Dogs come in such a variety of shapes, sizes, and breeds, that it is hard to believe that they all have a common ancestor--the wolf! Hudson Talbott takes readers on a fascinating journey through history to see how wolves’ relationships with humans sparked their development into the dogs we know and love today. Striking paintings, from an adorable wolf pup to a wide range of modern-day dog breeds, illustrate this insightful story of teamwork and friendship. Through the eyes of a prehistoric boy and a lone wolf pup, we see how the bond between our ancestors and these wild animals may have developed. Starting as enemies competing for food, the wolf and the boy realize that they’ll eat better and be safer if they team up. Over time, others catch on, and as many of the wolves become more domesticated, the humans breed them for skills like hunting, herding, pulling, and rescuing. And today, there are more breeds of dog than of any other animal, all thanks to this relationship that started so long ago.
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The Capybara Conspiracy

Only Erica S. Perl could skillfully weave the world's largest rodent, middle school sports, and kidnapping into one well-crafted novel.  Did I mention she also constructed it as a play?

The Capybara Conspiracy: A Novel in Three Acts
Seventh-grade playwright Olive Henry is frustrated by her sports-obsessed middle school. While the principal drones on and on during morning announcements about the sports teams’ victories, all non-athletic club meetings are relegated to the school basement, never to be mentioned on the loudspeaker. So Olive and her best friend, Reynaldo, hatch a plan to kidnap the school’s capybara mascot, planning to return it, heroically, just in time for the school’s pep rally and claim a reward: permission for their drama club to practice in the auditorium. And, hopefully, some overdue respect for the school’s non-athletes. But when an animal-rights student activist and an undercover athlete with murky motivations join in the conspiracy, their plans—along with Cappy the capybara—veer wildly out of Olive’s control. This book practically begs to be read aloud or staged (and provides extensive back matter to support those who decide to go for it!).

Don't miss Perl's other two novels!
1. When Life Gives You O.J.
2. Aces Wild

Target Age: 
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We Found a Hat

Author and illustrator Jon Klassen must like hats.  His 2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book was called I Want My Hat Back.   His 2013 Caldecott Medal book was called This Is Not My Hat.  And now he's completed his hat trilogy with We Found a Hat.  Two turtles have found a hat.  The hat looks good on both of them.  But there are two turtles.  And there is only one hat.  Uh-oh.

Want to learn more about Klassen's hat obsession and creative process?  Read this interview from The Guardian

1. Why hats?
I like hats in these stories for lots of reasons. I think it started because they are very clear visually. You always want a visual problem in picture books and a hat, or a lack of a hat, is a really visual problem with a really visible solution. As I got more into making these books I also liked how unnecessary hats are. It’s not like money or food, where you could sort of see the justification for stealing it - it’s just about the character really wanting it, so it becomes more personal.
2. A bear, fish, now tortoises. Are tortoises more emotionally expressive than fish?
They have slightly more range because they have legs, but that’s it. It’s still mostly about the eyes.
3. And does that make the task of telling their story any easier?
A little bit. There is some creeping and walking in this one. I think you could probably stage the same story with fish, but the action is kind of deliberately chopped up to suit tortoises. I actually really like tortoises because of how limited they are. It focuses the viewer on their face right away because you know going in that 80 percent of their body isn’t even capable of bending or changing so you’re not going to get any new information there.
4. How did you create this book?
The writing of it took quite a while. I wanted to follow up the other two books with something suitable and different and it took a lot of tries. It was a harder story to get at because it’s more about an existing relationship than strangers stealing things from each other like the other books are, but you don’t want to tell the audience “this is a relationship” - you have to show that and earn it and that takes time. The story itself and the ending is something I don’t think I would’ve tried without having done the other two books before it. The artwork itself was done a little differently this time also. The other two books were done with Chinese inks, and this one was done with powdered graphite and water. The look isn’t too far off, just a little dryer to suit the desert location.
5. Are you through with hats? What next?
I might be through with them as the main thrust of the story, but they keep finding ways of creeping into other story ideas I have through side doors, even longer story ideas that are meant to be very different. But that’s ok. Some things are hard to leave behind, I guess.

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Katiem

Teen Read Week 2016

Teen Read Week is coming October 9-15, and it challenges you to Read for the Fun of It!  You don't have to read something your teacher told you to read.  You don't have to read something your parent wants you to read.  You don't even have to listen to your local librarians' reading suggestions.  You can choose absolutely anything you want!  But, since this can be overwhelming, here's a link to help you out.  Other than that, I won't try to sway you in any particular reading direction.

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