We just bought a bunch of new board books for our library.
I'll be talking about a few favorites over the next couple months
This week, it's all about animal books - which are perfect for this year's summer reading theme of Tails and Tales
I'm a sucker for Momo books and this one is super cute. Lots of bright colors and things to find in these photographs.
A great introduction to many different pets and a little bit on how to take care of them. I love this series for their bright colors, their information, their sidebar questions, and their inclusivity.
* there's one on Rainforest Animals too, which is also wonderful.
Doggies can be noisy, especially when there are 10 of them! A loud but cute counting book.
A Pete the Cat version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - cute and perfect for just before bedtime.
Lots of information in this very attractive book - might not be best for public libraries with the lift-the-flaps. Great for gifting/personal libraries.
I love this book - lots of great photographs and not very wordy. I wish it was a little big bigger in size.
* If you like this one, there are lots of other Busy animal books.
Animal babies and their mothers. I love the photographs and the names of the baby animal and the adult animal. Lots of sweet moments here...
Hugo wonders why the Impossible Thing is impossible. He asks all his friends if they've ever tried it. But no one has. Everyone just knows it's impossible. Hugo doesn't like that answer and he decides to try it.
A great message about thinking for yourself, trying new things, and team work. The illustrations are charming.
Library Recommendation: Highly Recommended for your school and public libraries - and of course it's perfect for this year's summer reading theme.
Pawcasso is a basket-toting dog who does his family's grocery shopping on his own. When 11-year-old Jo is mistaken as his owner by a group of kids, she goes along with the lie in the hopes of making new friends. Soon the town becomes divided over whether Pawcasso should be allowed to roam free, and Jo worries that her lies will be exposed—and endanger Pawcasso and her new friendships.
About the Author:
Remy Lai writes and draws stories for kids. She lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she can often be found exploring the woods near her home with her two dogs, Poop-Roller and Bossy Boots
Jennifer's Favorite Dogs in Children's Books
I love dog books - but of course not if something bad happens to them. I'm not going to read books where the dog dies. That's so sad.
I have lots of favorite dog picture books, but here are some favorite dogs from chapters books and comics.
Marmaduke - probably my first favorite. My Grandfather got me into Marmaduke.
Odie - Garfield's loveable sidekick
Prince from Whatever After series
Ranger from Ranger in Time series
Bo from Good Dog series
Momo (ok this is a cheat, but Momo is seriously the BEST)
Bo is the sweetest dog, and he has lots of energy.
In the first book, he looses his tag and has to retrace his steps to find it. We're introduced to lots of characters. In the second book, he tries to help Comet - the new foal - by teaching her how to be the perfect horse (even though he's a dog). In the third book, Bo learns how to herd sheep and it comes in handy after one of his friends becomes stuck.
A sweet new series about friendship, belonging, and having a home. I love spending time on the farm with Bo and his friends. Plus this series is perfect for this year's summer reading theme! The illustrations are cute.
Bear had a car accident; he needs a new light. He hopes his friend Rabbit will be able to help. They pick up a few more friends and make tracks towards the junk tree. Could the part they need be there?
A really fun road trip with friendship, overcoming fears, and being hungry. It's not a full road trip without snacks. I loved the cars driving on trees. And the illustrations were really fun. I'm hoping this is the start of a new series.
Library Recommendation: A great picture book for your school and public library collection.
It's that time of year again to start planning the Teen Summer Reading Program.
I have a bunch of craft ideas to choose from this year. I'm not sure teens care about the theme as much, so my crafts don't always follow that.
We're virtual again this summer, so we're creating Take & Make craft bags.
We talked about crafts and food. My favorite nonfiction books. Nonfiction books that I plan to order.
This week is the last week and I'm diving into a program that we do at the library for kids and teens. It's been our most popular program during the pandemic.
It's is a costly program. The Friends of Cragin Library generously pays for it. We've been doing these programs monthly, but in the summer, they are weekly.
Foodie Fun is a cooking program. Or rather, a baking program. We pick out a recipe, purchase the ingredients, bag up the ingredients, and film a video. If it's a very common household item, we don't include it. Then the kids/teens/parents pick up a bag, watch the video, and make the sweet treat.
We hand them out on a Saturday. A video of instructions drops that morning.
We usually have between 30 and 40 bags. They are gone by Tuesday.
What do we make?
Usually sweets. We pack each bag enough for a serving. If they like it and want to make more, they have the instructions. We do seasonal themes - the picture above is bags from our turkey Oreo pretzel. I like making different Chex Mixes or variations on chocolate bark.
Two squirrels spot a donut truck and they want to try those amazing smelling treats. How can they get their paws on them?
I really enjoyed the way these squirrels problem solved their way into tasting donuts. Who wouldn't want to taste the donuts? A really fun graphic novel that's perfect for summer reading theme. And it looks like this will be a new series! Happy to read more about these funny determined squirrels.
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for schools and public libraries.
It's that time of year again to start planning the Teen Summer Reading Program.
I have a bunch of craft ideas to choose from this year. I'm not sure teens care about the theme as much, so my crafts don't always follow that.
We're virtual again this summer, so we're creating Take & Make craft bags.
Last time we talked about crafts and food. And my favorite nonfiction books.
This week is also all about books, but books I'm planning to purchase for the collection. Again, teen books don't have animal books in the same way as Children's books. So these are again all nonfiction.
This week it's all about books. I don't have as many books as I did for the kids. It's harder to buy animal books for teens, but the nonfiction ones do well at my library. More coffee table books and National Geographic Books.
Here are a few favorites.
There are a couple of Momo books. You have to find him in all the pictures.
Super Cute! Very funny. And fun to look at with other people.
