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Bear and Duck
by Katy Hudson
You might recognize Katy Hudson from some of her other works such as Best Easter Egg Hunt Ever and Animal Teachers. This time Hudson is illustrating her own work in Bear and Duck . Bear doesn’t want to be a bear anymore. After all, who wants to sleep all winter, wear hot fur in the summer, and be attacked by bees every time one goes to gather honey? Trying to decide what to do next Bear hears some ducks go Quack. “The sound was music to his ears.” So Bear decides to be a duck as well. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t do so well with the rules: Nest Building, Swimming, and Flying. He can’t lay an egg, his swimming splashes too much, and he definitely can’t fly. With Duck’s help, Bear realizes it isn’t so bad being a bear especially when you have friends like Duck. With both spreads and spot illustration surrounded by plenty of white space, the illustrations are simply delightful. Even though stories about Ducks and Bears are plentiful right now (see Room for Bear by Ciara Gavin), this one stands out and deserves a place on your shelves. Recommended for ages 3 to 6.
--Tracy Gallagher, MLIS, Collection Development
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Bulldozer’s Big Day
by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann
Ready to do a birthday themed storytime? Bulldozer’s Big Day is a perfect birthday story for the construction loving kids at your library! While the plot might seem familiar: no one remembers it’s my birthday/disappointment abounds/surprise! happy ending arrives, the talented words of Candace Fleming together with the amazing pictures of Eric Rohmann delivers a perfect pairing of text and illustration. Even though the pages might be small, I still think this one will carry well throughout a storytime group due in large part to Rohmann’s clean block prints. As for reading it out loud, Fleming’s text has enough rhythm and repetition to flow through multiple performances. Highly recommended for ages 3 to 6.
--Tracy Gallagher, MLIS, Collection Development
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When the Wind Blows
by Stacy Clark
A STEM picture book at your fingertips! This colorful title full of rhyming text begins with a summer beach scene as all are chasing a beach ball blowing across the sand. Next is a skipper at the helm of his boat with his dog’s ears standing straight out from the wind as he looks overboard at the waves. Clark then leads her readers to the wind rotating the gears of a wind turbine with the repairman inspecting it high above the ocean. Magnets, magnetic forces and electrons are simply introduced while the electron power flows through power lines to light our nation, keep our homes warm and cool, power our railroad tracks and feed into our factories. She ends her title with again a beach scene as the wind power supplying energy to our whole nation blows through a girl’s hair. Recommended for ages 5 to 8.
—Jeanne Martin, M.Ed., Collection Development
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The Hiding Place (young reader’s edition)
by Corrie ten Boom
For many years, Cornelia ten Boom’s memoir has been a classic for adults and required summer reading for high schoolers. Baker Publishing now gives an adaptation of the story for a younger audience. Miss ten Boom lived with her older sister and father in the Netherlands during the German occupation. As a Christian, she initially struggled with the dilemma of working with the underground movement to provide safe haven for Jews; wasn’t this, after all, an activity involving the sins of lying and stealing? But how could protecting innocent people against persecution, torture, and execution be a sin? She didn’t deliberate long; she and her family knew they had to help the Jewish families in their community remain safe. They developed a myriad of ways to work around the German police. A secret room was built in Miss ten Boom’s bedroom; in fact, the ten Boom home became the headquarters for the underground movement in their town of Haarlem. Since her family ran a watch sales and repair shop, they soon worked out a code so they could communicate with others regarding someone in need of help. “We have a woman’s watch here that needs repairing” meant “We have a Jewish woman here who needs a hiding place.” A particular sign would hang in the dining room window if it was safe for messengers to enter the shop; if a policeman was present, the sign would be taken down. Ultimately, though, the police learned of the ten Boom’s activities and several members of the family, including Corrie, her father, and her sister Betsie were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Sadly, her father and sister perished. Corrie was released in error and never stopped spreading the message of love and forgiveness. In terms of important historical memoirs, The Hiding Place ranks with The Diary of a Young Girl and Night; having this young reader’s edition will help set a foundation upon which your customers will begin learning of the world and the actions and experiences, for better or worse, of those inhabiting it. Recommended for ages 9 to 12. (Illustrations not seen)
--Becky Walton, MLIS, Collection Development
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Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula paperback, hardcover
by Andi Watson
Princess Decomposia has a problem. Her father, the king, is an invalid and, besides being difficult to please, he leaves the tedious work of running a kingdom to her. When the royal cook quits, the vampire Count Spatula, who has a flair for baking, steps into the position. The pair do their best to keep up with and cook for visiting ambassadors, all while their affection for each other grows. When the king hears that his daughter is taking advice on matters of state from the Count, he demands he be fired. In the end, the king must admit that he has been taking advantage of his daughter and starts to pull his weight. This cute story from British author/illustrator Watson is a quick read with a nice message. The black and white art is simplistic with interesting characters; love the bat wings for hair on the princess. It is highly recommended for ages 11 to 14.
--Jenny McCluskey, MSIS, Collection Development
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A School for Unusual Girls
by Kathleen Baldwin
Baldwin's YA debut opens in Regency England and Napoleon has just been exiled to Elba, but our protagonist Georgiana Fitzwilliam has bigger concerns, mainly, she is being banished to notorious Stranje House to be reformed into a marriageable daughter after burning down her father's stables in a failed experiment. Feeling lonely, betrayed and dreading her fate, it doesn't take long for Georgie to discover that Stranje House doesn't deserve its carefully cultivated reputation for harsh discipline; rather she is exhilarated to discover her interests and talents are finally valued, indeed vital to King or, erm Regent & Country. It doesn't hurt that secretive, handsome, young, single ally of Stranje Lord Wyatt assists Georgie in this vital experiment. While a bit frothy on the romantic front, the latter half of the novel gives way to more serious themes and questions of "what if", especially as deals with turning points in modern European history. Hand this Stranje House series opener to fans of Wrede's Sorcery & Cecelia and Carriger's Finishing School and Parasol Protectorate series, recommended for ages 12 to 17.
--Jill M. Barton, MLIS, Collection Development
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Idiot’s Guides: The Common Core Standards
by Jared T. Bigham
The Common Core – for some this leaves a good taste in the mouth for others not so much. Either way it is always a smart move to have the correct facts in hand in order to form an intelligent opinion. The Idiot’s Guides: The Common Core presents the facts first within the section of “How Did We Get Here?” explaining the history behind it as well as the members of the initial founding group and how states are implementing the reform. Next the title devotes a section to the Literacy Standards and another section to the Math Standards breaking them down into grade levels and by topics with clear expectations of each. In conclusion, assessments, implementation and what is expected moving forward are addressed as a look back at the four years the Common Core has been in place is examined. This is a must for parents wanting to know more as well as patrons who want to know what it is all about as this has become a main topic on the political agenda. Recommended for adults.
—Jeanne Martin, M.Ed., Collection Development
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This season is atwitter with books about birds and bees! Here are some we’re buzzing about. (Look closely and you may see some cross-pollination of authors and illustrators!)
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Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski
A Bird Is a Bird by Lizzy Rockwell
Birdology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Birds by Monica Russo with photographs by Kevin Byron
A Chicken Followed Me Home by Robin Page
Egg: Nature’s Perfect Package by Robin Page and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Explore Honey Bees!: With 25 Great Projects Hardcover and Paperback by Cindy Blobaum and illustrated by Bryan Stone
A Nest Is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long
Noisy Bird Singalong Hardcover and Paperback by John Himmelman
Place for Birds, revised edition Hardcover and Paperback by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Higgins Bond
Sweep Up the Sun by Helen Frost with photographs by Rick Lieder
Woodpecker Wham by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
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