Wacky Weather Picture Books to Share

Even without the snow filled and freezing cold winter we have just had weather is always an interesting topic to discuss with your children. From snow storms and the school free days they often bring to sunny days at the beach weather is always with us and affects our daily lives and activities. Here are some picturebooks about wacky weather than can make children of all ages laugh and start a discussion about nature and weather in your house.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett; drawn by Ron Barrett. Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers–until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds; pictures by Sachiko Yoshikawa. A young girl and her cat must change clothes many times as the weather goes from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snowy.

Aunt Minnie and the Twister by Mary Skillings Prigger; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. After a tornado rearranges their Kansas house, Aunt Minnie and the nine nieces and nephews living with her add on a much-needed new room.

Un-brella by Scott E. Franson. In this wordless book, a little girl uses her magic umbrella to give her the weather she wants, regardless of what the conditions really are outside.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. The King, tired of rain, snow, sun and fog, commands his magicians to make something else come down from the sky, but when oobleck falls, in sticky greenish droplets, Bartholomew Cubbins shames the King and saves the kingdom.

As usual, there are too many great books to limit myself to the size allotted here, so I will offer a few more and invite you to offer more suggestions in the comments. My other suggestions include; Sector 7 by David Wiesner, Miss Mingo Weathers the Storm by Jamie Harper, Sun, Snow, Stars, Sky by Catherine and Laurence Anholt, Mouse & Mole and the All-Weather Train Ride by Doug Cushman, and The Magic School Bus Kicks up a Storm adaptation by Nancy White and illustrated by Art Ruiz.

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in April

Another month, another list of new books to look forward to!

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 April are:

  1. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
  2. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
  3. And the Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass
  4. Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James
  5. By its Cover: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mysteryby Donna Leon
  6. The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn
  7. Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home by Nina Stibbe
  8. The Axe Factor: A Jimm Juree Mysteryby Colin Cotterill
  9. Family Lifeby Akhil Sharma
  10. On the Rocksby Erin Duffy

Honoring Hans Christian Andersen and International Children’s Book Day

Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2, is celebrated as International Children’s Book Day. While he was wrote plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is most remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen’s stories explore ideas and themes that transcend age and nationality. In fact, his stories  have been translated into more than 125 languages, become embedded in the West’s collective consciousness. They have inspired plays, ballets, and a number of films.

In honor of International Children’s Book Day and Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, I would like to offer up a selection of the best fairy tale collections including Andersen and then some great books inspired by his work.

From Andersen:
1.Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

2. Little Mermaids and Ugly Ducklings: Favorite Fairytales

3. Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

4. The Snow Queen 

5. Eric Carle’s Treasury of Classic Stories for Children by Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm

Tales retold or inspired by Andersen:
1. The Steadfast Tin Soldier retold by Cynthia Rylant

2. The Ugly Duckling retold by Jerry Pinkney

3. The Pea Blossom  by Amy Lowry

4. The Tinderbox by Stephen Mitchell

5. King Long Shanks by Jane Yolen

6. The Uglified Ducky by Willy Claflin

7. The Princess and the Peas and Carrots by Harriet Ziefert

8. The Red Shoes by Gloria Fowler

Do you have a favorite story from Andersen’s collections, or perhaps a favorite version or a classic tale? Share it in the comments and it might just becomes someone else’s new favorite!

On Our Shelves: New Cozy Mysteries

mysteryThe latest cozy mysteries are in!  Is your favorite series among the new titles?

Keeping Mum (A Garden Society Mystery) by Alyse Carlson

Spinning In Her Grave (A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery) by Molly MacRae

Iced to Death (A Gourmet De-lite Mystery) by Peg Cochra

Dead Between the Lines (A Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery) by Denise Swanson

Pearls and Poison (A Consignment Shop Mystery) by Duffy Brown

Inherit The Word (A Cookbook Nook Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

How To Paint A Cat (A Cats and Curios Mystery) by Rebecca M. Hale

A Biscuit, A Casket (A Pawsitively Organic Mystery) by Liz Mugavero

A Reading List for Divergent Devotees

Do you love Divergent (the book series and/or the movie)? Were you there opening night, or are you still waiting to go watch the movie? Have you already read the series and love it, or are you trying to get your hands on the book and waiting for your turn with a library copy? Well, there are some books with similar themes that might make waiting for the book or movie more enjoyable.

Pulse by Patrick Carman
In the year 2051, when most Americans live in one of two gigantic, modern States, Faith Daniels, part of a dwindling group that lives between, learns that she, like other misfits, has unusual abilities that could help when the inevitable war begins.

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job, and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels. The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to-girl to lead a revolution”

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, she falls in love.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Sixteen-year-old Ruby breaks out of a government-run ‘rehabilitation camp’ for teens who acquired dangerous powers after surviving a virus that wiped out most American children.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Aria and Perry, two teens from radically different societies–one highly advanced, the other primitive–hate being dependent on one another until they overcome their prejudices and fall in love, knowing they can’t stay together.

Legend by Marie Lu
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-old Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Sixteen-year-old Malencia (Cia) Vale is chosen to participate in The Testing to attend the University; however, Cia is fearful when she figures out her friends who do not pass The Testing are disappearing.

But wait, don’t go anywhere yet! You should no by now I have trouble limiting my lists and have more for you. Here are some more books that I think fans of Divergent will enjoy; The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness,  Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie,  Enclave by Ann Aguirre,  Blood Red Road by Moira Young, Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, Breathe by Sarah Crossan, The Line by Teri Hall, XVI by Julia Karr, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Article 5 by Kristen Simmons, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Wey.