Getting Excited to Go Back to School

August 21, 2014July 25, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

It’s time to start thinking about going back to school, starting school, or starting at a new school. Here are some fun books to help soothe the nerves and get some of our younger kids eager to set off to school come the last week in August.

It’s Back to School We Go: First Day Stories from Around the World by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis

Back to School, Mallory by Laurie Friedman; illustrations by Tamara Schmitz

Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty-Pants by Elise Primavera;

illustrated by Diane Goode

Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George; illustrated by Merel Eyckerman

Robert and the Back-to School Special by Barbara Seuling; illustrated by Paul Brewer

Back to School by Maya Ajmera, John D. Ivanko; with a foreword by Marilyn Jachetti Whirry

Back to School for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos; illustrated by Nicole Rubel

Back to School with Betsy by Carolyn Haywood

Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton; text by Laura Bergen

Pinky Dinky Doo: Back to School is Cool! by Jim Jinkins

I Don’t Want to go Back to School by Marisabina Russo

Arthur’s Back-to-School Surprise by Marc Brown

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in August

August 12, 2014July 25, 2014 / Louise / Leave a comment

Thrills, history, fantasy, and a bit of romance are all coming to Cheshire Library shelves in August. Just the thing to get us through the lazy, hazy days of summer!

Every month, librarians from around the country pick the top ten new books they’d most like to share with readers. The results are published on LibraryReads.org. One of the goals of LibraryReads is to highlight the important role public libraries play in building buzz for new books and new authors. Click through to read more about what new and upcoming books librarians consider buzzworthy this month. The top ten titles for August are:

One Kick by Chelsea Cain
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom
Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Lock In by John Scalzi
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Truth about Leo by Katie MacAlister
An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd
The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

Summertime Picturebooks to Share

August 5, 2014July 25, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

I know that while the summer heat is beating down on us we might want to hide away in the air conditioning and avoid the heat and sun. However, there are plenty of great things about summer, especially when you are a child. Here are some great picturebooks about summer for young readers to explore on their own, or for you to share with them, that will make you forget about the heat and enjoy the good things about summer together.

The Twelve Days of Summer by Jan Andrews. On each successive day of summer, a youngster finds an increasing number of animals and other natural wonders in the surrounding world and leaves behind a remembrance of the day’s discovery.

Carl’s Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day. Although told to take a nap by her parents, Madeleine and her favorite canine companion, Carl, head out to explore their surroundings and have fun taking a canoe ride on the lake, picnicking under the trees, and eating tasty blackberries straight off the bush.

The Summer Visitors by Karel Hayes. During the summer a family of bears enjoys the comforts of life at a cottage by a lake, alongside the human visitors.

Now it is Summer by Eileen Spinelli. A young mouse is encouraged by his mother to enjoy summer while waiting for autumn to come.

Summer: an Alphabet Acrostic by
Steven Schnur. Describes the summer season, with its recreation, heat, insects, and garden vegetables, and when read vertically, the first letters of the lines of text spell related words arranged alphabetically, from “awning” to “zodiac.”

Looking for more? We currently have a display for summer related books in the children’s room, and I have further suggestions here. Summer is Summer by Phillis and David Gershator, It’s Summer! by Linda Glaser, A to Z of Summer by Tracy Nelson Maurer, Lionel in the Summer by Stephen Krensky, The Summer Playground by Carl Emerson, Summer Beat by Betsy Franco, What Happens in Summer? by Sara L. Latta, Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse, and Before the Storm by Jane Yolen.

Tooth Fairy Books for First Time Donors

July 17, 2014July 17, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you have a child that has lost their first tooth, is celebrating their first wiggly tooth, or has questions about the Tooth Fairy and other related mythology? Parents of all generations have faced the dilemma of how to deal with it, and just what stories to share in their families. Well, here are a selection of picturebooks for you and your child to peruse to see what best fits your family.

1. Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions From Around the World by Selby B. Beeler; illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Consists of brief statements relating what children from around the world do with a tooth that has fallen out. Includes facts about teeth.

2. Tooth Tales From Around the World by Marlene Targ Brill; illustrated by Katya Krenina. Explores how different cultures have viewed losing teeth and how the idea of the Tooth Fairy originated.

3. The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood; illustrated by Janice Nadeau. Introduces readers to the Tooth Mouse, France’s version of the tooth fairy, and to Sophie, a sweet young mouse who must prove she is brave, honest and wise enough to take over this important job.

4. Madlenka by Peter Sis
Madlenka, whose New York City neighbors include the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the South American grocer, and the Chinese shopkeeper, goes around the block to show her friends her loose tooth and finds that it is like taking a trip around the world.

5. Amanda Pig and the Wiggly Tooth by Jean Van Leeuwen; pictures by Ann Schweninger.
Amanda Pig has her first ever wiggly tooth and she can not wait for the Tooth Fairy to come. But her loose tooth will not fall out. Father offers to pull it out for her, but Amanda thinks that might hurt too much. Instead, she decides to ignore it and one day discovers that her tooth has fallen out on its own. But where is it. Will the Tooth Fairy still come if Amanda has lost her tooth.

6. Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth by Charlotte Middleton. A young girl tries everything she can think of to make her loose tooth fall out in time to leave it for the Tooth Fairy.

There are plenty of other books that feature both new and well-known characters dealing with the first loose tooth. Here are some more books you might want to check out: Dear Tooth Fairy by Karen Gray Ruelle, Silverlicious by Victoria Kann, I Want My Tooth by Tony Ross, Franklin and the Tooth Fairy by Paulette Bourgeois, Fancy Nancy and the Too-Loose Tooth by Jane O’Connor, The Berenstain Bears and the Tooth Fairy by Jan & Mike Berenstain, The Very Beary Tooth Fairy by Arthur A. Levine; illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen, A Visit from the Tooth Fairy by Sarah Albee; illustrated by Karen Craig,
I Lost my Tooth! by Hans Wilhelm, Bear’s Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson; illustrations by Jane Chapman, and Gilbert and the Lost Tooth by Diane deGroat.

Great Graphic Heavy Books for Reluctant Readers

July 13, 2014July 10, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

Do you have a reader that is sad to find the majority of their books are missing the illustrations that initially drew them to reading in the first place? Or perhaps you have a reader that is a bit intimidated (but refuses to admit it) by books with so much text, and so few illustrations? Perhaps they just think that reading is boring or not fun. Thankfully, graphic heavy books and graphic novels for this age group are increasing in both quality and quantity. This means that there are books out there with an extra dash or excitement and silliness available for readers of all ages.

Here are some great books that just might capture your reader’s eye with graphics, and keep them reading because of the story. The majority of theses books are the first in a series, so if your reader gets hooked, you should have a few books to go before looking for the next title. I have broken the lists down by age group, and by amount of text, to make finding the perfect book just a little easier.