If You Give a Dog a Donut

The newest Laura Numeroff book is called If You Give a Dog a Donut. 

You know what happens if you give a mouse a cookie right?  He will want some milk to go with it!  If you give a pig a pancake, he will want some syrup to go with it!  Well, what happens if you give a dog a donut?  He'll ask for some apple juice to go with it of course! 

In this newest book, we meet a boy and his dog.  Everything about this book follows suit of Numeroff's past books.  Every event has a consequence and the simple illustrations float us through the story.  The boy will go to any lengths for his dog and soon enough, something reminds the dog of apple juice.  Which means... he'll need a donut to go with it!

Fly Guy vs. the Flyswatter

Fly Guy is back for his latest installment, Fly Guy vs. the Flyswatter, written by Tedd Arnold.

In this book, Buzz and Fly Guy go to school together.  When they get there, they find out they are going on a field trip!  That sounds like fun, right?  It's a field trip to a fly swatter factory!  Oh no!  Fly Guy will have to hide in Buzz's pocket and try not to get swatted!

At the factory, Fly Guy ends up being a hero but you'll have to read it to find out how!

Wimp Yourself

Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, is coming out with a new book in November!  It is going to be called Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever!  It will look like this:

I visited Wimp Yourself.  You can make a character like in the books!  It was funny!  Here's what I made myself look like:

Go try it out! 

Zita the Spacegirl

Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke came to our libraries last spring.  I did not get the chance to read it when it first came in but she captured my attention on the shelf yesterday so I sat down right then and there to read it.  She is so fun!

Zita and her friend Joseph are playing outside when they discover a large crater.  At the bottom of the crater is a thing with a red button.  What do you do when you see a button?  You push it of course!  Joseph and Zita both end up in another world.  Joseph is kidnapped and it is Zita's job to find him.

She begins looking but no one will help her.  Eventually she starts meeting some very interesting characters.  She brings them along on her journey and before you know it, she has a team of characters all looking for Joseph.  They have to battle the bad guys to get through and make some surprising discoveries along the way.

Zita is a graphic novel that moves along quickly and has awesome illustrations.  You can check this book out at any of our libraries (741.5 HAT) and you can check out her website HERE.

Squish: Super amoeba

One of our newest books in the library is Squish: super amoeba by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm.  (They are brother and sister.)  The Holms are the same authors who wrote the Babymouse series.  I know a lot of students love the Babymouse books!

This book is about a blob named Squish, who is an amoeba.  He has two best friends, Pod and Peggy.  Peggy is always happy and talks to anyone.  When she starts to talk to the class bully, Lynwood, she doesn't realize he is about to eat her!  Squish must do something!  Will he be able to stand up to Lynwood and do what's right?  Read this awesome graphic novel to find out!

The Great Moon Hoax

Today I read a book called The Great Moon Hoax.  It is written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Josee Bisaillon. 

This book is about two boys who sell a newspaper called the New York Sun.  The boys line up every morning to purchase 100 copies of the newspaper.  If they are lucky, they will sell all of the copies by night time.  

The paper starts to print stories about discoveries on the moon.  The pictures in this book show blue goats and a giant red and white striped water snake.  Have you ever heard of animals on the moon?  Or animals that look like that? The next day, the illustrations show people reading about exploding volcanoes and beavers that hold their young like human do.  Something strange is happening... 

This book is a wonderful way to learn about how newspapers were sold in the 1800s and the stories they would print.  Could you sell a newspaper standing on a corner shouting out the headlines?

Press Here

A really fun book was sent to me over the summer.  It is called Press Here by Herve Tullet. 

A yellow dot is the star of this book.  On the first page, you are told to press the dot.  On the second page, now there are two yellow dots!  Press again and there are three yellow dots!

How about shaking the book?  Oh my!  Now there are dots everywhere!

This book is really a fun one that will make you giggle as you complete the action and then turn the page to see what happened.

The Hunger Games trilogy

WOW!  I read the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins a few weeks ago.  I was amazed!  These books were awesome!

In the first book, The Hunger Games, we meet Katniss and Peeta.  Katniss lives in a future version of our country.  She is selected as one of the kids that has to go to the Hunger Games. 24 kids are chosen to go to battle every year and they fight until only one person is left alive.  Peeta is the boy that is chosen from her town.  She knows him, but not very well.  In an interview before the Games, he says he loves her!  Katniss doesn't know what to think but the Games are starting and she has to go fight.  Doesn't this book sound crazy?  I cannot imagine this happening!

As soon as I finished the first book, I went to the library to get the second one.  When I finished the second one, I just about ran to the library to get the third one!  They are so very good in my opinion. Have you read them?  What do you think?

I would recommend this book for the end of the year for some of my fourth grade readers.  We do not have any of the Hunger Games books in our elementary libraries but they are available at the public library and the middle school library.  Maybe this is a book to keep in mind for when you move up to the middle school.  I just loved it so much that I had to add it to my blog!

Welcome to the 2011-12 school year!

Welcome to a new school year everyone!  I hope your summer was super fun and you are ready to learn this year!  We will be having some fun things happening on the blog, including some comment contests every once in awhile!  If you leave a comment on one of the book reviews I do, you will be entered to win a prize.  More details about that will come later.  

Library reminders:

Kindergarten can check out 1 book. 

First through third graders can check out 2 books. 

Fourth graders can check out 3 books. 

Computer lab rules:

1. Be quiet enough to hear the directions. 

2. Only touch your own computer. 

3. Keep your hands out of weird places. (Don't spread your germs!)

4. Always log out! 

Let's have a great year!

Owly & Wormy: Friends all aflutter

Owly is now in picture book form!  I am very excited about this.  Owly was created by Andy Runton.  He started out as just a cute cartoon on a Post-it note.  Eventually he became entire stories, which we have in the library.  They are in the graphic novel section, 761.5 RUN.  Owly never speaks.  They are wordless novels but so funny!  Owly has a friend named Wormy and they go on all sorts of adventures.  Now they are in a picture book!





Friends All Aflutter starts out with Owly and Wormy's friends the butterflies flying away.  Owly and Wormy plant some flowers to try to get the butterflies to come back.  Instead two fat green bugs move in.  While at first Owly and Wormy think this is horrible but eventually they become friends with these green bugs.  Then one day the green bugs disappear!  Owly and Wormy are sad again.  But something is happening!!  It has a lot to do with science but is an adorable cartoon story.  Check it out today!

The Sissy Duckling

Do you know the story of the ugly duckling?  Most of us do.  How about the sissy duckling?  No?  I had never heard of it either! 

In this book by Harvey Fierstein, Elmer is a duck who is a little bit different.  He doesn't like to do all the same things as the other boy ducks.  He doesn't want to play football, he would rather draw.  He doesn't want to box, he would rather build sand castles.  Some of the ducks start calling him a sissy.  They are bullying Elmer but he doesn't understand why.  His mama tells him he is a wonderful boy and someday he will "amaze them all".  Even Elmer's dad calls him names and thinks he isn't a very good son.

When Elmer hears his dad say that he is not a good son, Elmer runs away.  When all of the other ducks fly south for the winter, his dad is shot by hunters.  Elmer is going to try to save him but no duck has ever survived a winter before.  Will Elmer be able to help?  Can a different duck make a difference? 

Emma Dilemma

The sweetest book has just arrived in the library!  It's called Emma Dilemma and it's by Kristine O'Connell George. 

If any of you have a little sister, you will really like this book.  Emma is Jess's little sister.  She is always following Jess around, playing with her things, and just being a big pain.  Jess is sick of it.  This book explains Jess's feelings with short poems.  All of the poems together form a story about what it is like to be a big sister.  Jess thinks Emma is just a big bother, but what will happen when Emma falls and gets hurt?

This book is so awesome that I called up the book store and ordered my own copy for home!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday!  Although he is not alive anymore, schools all around the country celebrate this special day every year.  Read Across America is also on this day.  Most schools take time out of their day to have the whole school read at the same time.  Have you read yet today?  You are reading this blog right now!

Leave me a comment with your favorite Dr. Seuss book!  Although it is very hard to pick, my favorite is Green Eggs and Ham.

Frankly Frannie

Frankly Frannie by AJ Stern is a book that will make you smile.  Frannie is an elementary school kid who just wants to help.  She also wants to be a grown up.  This means she tries to act like a grown up all the time.  (Most times it doesn't work out.) 

In this adventure, Frannie's class is about to go visit a radio station.  Frannie is seriously in love with offices and anything professional looking.  She is more excited than anyone else in her class.  Things are going well until Frannie has to go to the bathroom. Everything goes downhill from there.  She's just trying to help but will her help be wanted? 

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the mysterious howling

This chapter book is wonderful for mischievous kids and the ones who always follow the rules.  How can a book be for both types of kids?  In The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: the mysterious howling, we meet Penelope Lumley who has just graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females.  She is 15 years old and is going to an interview to be a nanny for 3 children.  She doesn't find out anything about the children until after she accepts the job.  The three children were raised by wolves!  Miss Lumley has to go out to the barn to meet them, where Lady Constance and Lord Fredrick have been keeping them.

As we keep reading the book, we get to know Miss Lumley and the three children.  She works very hard at getting them to behave like normal little kids, all leading up to the big Christmas party Lady Constance is throwing.  It seems like someone in the house wants these three children gone though.  Who could it be?  Who is trying to get rid of them? 

This must be the beginning of a series of books too, because the ending isn't totally clear.  What will happen to the children?  Where was Lord Fredrick during the party?  And is there someone living behind the wall in the attic?  We'll have to keep reading the next book to find out!

I Love Knuffle Bunny!

I just received the newest Knuffle Bunny book, Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems!  Of course I had to read it right away!  It is so good and so cute!  Knuffle Bunny has been the subject of two books before this one.  Both of those books won the Caldecott Medal! 

Knuffle Bunny is the stuffed animal that belongs to a little girl named Trixie.  In this story, Trixie is going to visit her grandparents in a far away place.  Knuffle Bunny is coming along for the ride but when he gets left on the airplane, Trixie must decide what to do.  Her final decision is so heartwarming that you can't help but smile.

I know you want to know what happens and read the third great adventure of Knuffle Bunny so go to your library and check it out!!