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The Bear…

by manz

Benjamin Chaud has written and illustrated some lovely picture books for children! I really enjoyed The Bear’s Song, and the next adventures for bear in these new ones in the series are sweet as well.

They are large format with small nearly full-page illustrations, which is perfect for little ones to play “I Spy,” like in Where's Waldo, to follow along in the pictures while the words are read aloud to them. In The Bear’s Sea Escape Papa bear is looking for a place to hibernate and follows Baby Bear to a cruise ship, and winds up on a tropical island. In The Bear’s Surprise Little Bear searches for his father along a forest path that leads him to a mysterious cave, an exciting circus, and a family surprise.

They are all fun little adventure stories that keeps young readers entertained.

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Explore how machines work in a new hands-on book for kids!

by eapearce

Explore the mechanics of simple machines with the help of two zoo animals in the awesome new hands-on book How Machines Work: Zoo Break!. Sloth and Sengi have spent their entire lives in their zoo enclosure and even though it’s pretty comfortable, they both long to see more of the world. So, with the help of some simple machines, they decide to break out! The coolest thing about this book is the lift-the-flap and fold-out features, which allow readers to see how machines work and move. Sloth and Sengi make use of wedges, wheels and axles, levers, inclined planes, screws and pulleys to stage their escape, and it’s fun to see their successes… and their failures. This book presents machines in simple, easy-to-understand language, and the fun storyline will pull kids in. Even the cover of this book is interactive, featuring gears that readers can actually turn to see Sloth get dipped into a pond!

For other cool books about machines, check out The Lego Technic Idea Book Simple Machines, National Geographic’s 125 Cool Inventions and The Kids’ Book of Simple Machines: cool projects & activities that make science fun.

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The Wolf Wilder

by manz

Katherine Rundell writes beautiful youth fiction books. The imagery and feelings her buttery words evoke knock me away and surprise me every time. Her latest book, The Wolf Wilder, follows up Rooftoppers and Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, and this new one once again contains an irresistible female heroine.

In The Wolf Wilder we meet 12 year old Feodora, simply called Feo. She and her mother train domesticated wolves to go back into the wild in Russia in1917. It is a simple, wild and wonderful existence until General Rakov destroys the life she knows and loves, and it is up to Feo to be brave, save her wolves, and put her family and life back together. She meets up with a young runaway soldier from the tsar’s Imperial Army and they set off on high adventure in the cold and freezing snow, surrounded by half wild wolves and eventually other children who want to take part in Feo’s revolution.

It’s a great read if you love strong characters, adventure, historical fiction, survival stories, or animal stories.

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What Do You Do With an Idea?

by Eahagen

“This is a story for anyone, at any age, who’s ever had an idea that seemed a little too big, too odd, too difficult.”

What Do You Do With an Idea?, written by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom, is a delightful picture book with a positive message. The story is simple, but its themes of creativity and confidence are big! A little boy discovers “an idea” that perplexes him. He tries to ignore it, he tries to hide it, but he eventually realizes he wants to help it. And when he does, AMAZING things happen!

What Do You Do With an Idea? has wonderful illustrations. The “idea” spreads color and warmth to the pages, which begin in black and white. Each turn of the page had me smiling!
I recommend this book for readers of all ages – but especially for parents who want to encourage their children to think BIG.

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This Bridge Will Not Be Gray

by manz

With story by Dave Eggers and art by Tucker Nichols, This Bridge Will Not Be Gray is a mild history of the building of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, offering up facts about the construction of the bridge and the big debate about what color to paint it. Most involved figured the bridge would be gray. Gray was serious. Gray was safe. If that was the case, then how did it end up painted International Orange? This book answers that question in a delightful way.

The book backs the idea that standing up for yourself and your ideas is worth something! Even if the idea is bold and courageous and unusual and even strange.

Published by McSweeney’s it has that bit of wit you know and love, as well as whimsical and colorful paper cut-outs as design. Eggers is known for his books for adults, such as Pulitzer finalist A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and is the founder McSweeney’s and co-founder 826 Valencia (which lead to 826michigan!).

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The Seventh Most Important Thing

by manz

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall received a lot of Newbery buzz in 2015, and while it didn’t win the award, it’s still a winner.

"On a bitter November day in Washington, D.C., when everything felt metallic – when the sky was gray and the wind stung and the dry leaves were making death-rattle sounds in the alleys – thirteen-year-old Arthur Owens picked up a brick from the corner of a crumbling building and threw it at an old man's head."

It didn’t hit the man’s head, it hit his arm. Arthur is then sent to juvie and ultimately assigned community service working for the old man – who they called the Junk Man, since he’s often spotted wheeling a shopping cart and digging through garbage throughout the neighborhood. Was Arthur really supposed to pick through trash collecting things for the crazy old man who stole his dead father’s hat?

Arthur is tasked with rummaging for what the Junk Man, AKA James Hampton, AKA St. James, calls the seven most important things: light bulbs, foil, mirrors, pieces of wood, glass bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard. His father has died, his sister is a pest, he has no friends, he gets bullied at school, he spent time in juvie and is now known as a "bad kid," and now he has to work for the Junk Man collecting weird stuff. Eventually Arthur comes to realize the importance of what the trash will become, and this bit of community service ends up being a life-changing experience for all involved.

The book is set in 1960s but you can barely tell. The character of Hampton is based on real-life American folk artist James Hampton who spent over a decade creating his vision of heaven from scraps. While Hampton is based on a real man the rest of the characters and story are fictitious. If you're not familiar with Hampton's art, read the book before you dig for details!

It’s a lovely youth novel, great for middle grade readers and for fans of Gary Schmidt’s books.

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Crossover Graphic Novels January Edition

by gulickb

Another year another wonderful selection of graphic novels that are great for young and old alike. This month brings some awesome graphic novels from some supremely talented artists and authors!

First up is Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll. This book takes the slavic folktale character Baba Yaga and reimagines a world in which she might live, and indeed do well enough to need an assistant. Whoever chose Emily Carroll to do the artwork for this book deserves to be applauded for their forward thinking. The artwork is a wonderful mix of simple and complex. Everything “ordinary” is drawn simply and really gives a sense of the “normalness” of them while Baba Yaga and other such extraordinary things are clearly drawn as different from the normal. The story itself really benefits from this style of art. As for the content of the story, it is more than just another reimagining of a folktale that are so popular at the moment. It truly strives to use the folktale as a frame for the story and not the other way around.
So if you like the weird, the extraordinary and people outthinking the “bad guys” then this book is for you!

The second graphic novel(s) in this month's crossover blog is the wonderful “Chronicle of Claudette” series which include the volumes Giants Beware and Dragons Beware. The first volume follows young Claudette as she goes in search of a local giant to slay and make her mark on the world. The Second follows as she attempts to get the famous sword Breaker that her father lost when trying to slay a dragon. The dragon took the sword along with her father's legs and one arm! The artwork is cute at times, but don’t let that distract you. The story is engrossing and will keep you reading.
So if you like giants and dragons, and awesome young protagonists who do what no one thinks they can, then this graphic novel is for you!

Lastly (and I’ll hope you’ll forgive me for this) I’m not going to point out a new series, but rather highlight that we will be getting volumes 2 and 3 of Lumberjanes!!! So if you’ve read the first volume Beware the Kitten Holy and loved it half as much as I did you should request to be added to the hold list for the new volumes because they are awesome, and if you haven't read the first volume you should go read it as soon as possible! It won lots of awards last year and for good reasons!

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Magazine Shelf: Anorak

by manz

Anorak: The Happy Mag for Kids is one beautiful magazine, with its lush illustrations and thick pages! It began in 2006 and is published in London four times a year, and is aimed at children age 6 and up. Each issue has a theme – such as magic, cats and dogs, history, writing, adventure, to name a few. Topics in the issues include books, travel, film, stories and comics to read, games and more.

The magazine also has a cute website with a blog and other fun! Would also be great for adults who are into pretty magazines.

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Caldecott and Newbery Youth Book Awards Announced!

by erin

Every year librarians, book lovers, publishers and book sellers look forward to the youth and teen book awards announced at the annual American Library Association conference. This year the awards were announced from Boston in a room filled with hundreds of insanely excited librarians - who gasp, groan and scream throughout the entire ceremony. The two oldest awards, and the most widely known are the Newbery and Caldecott awards.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Awarded annually since 1938 by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The 2016 Caldecott winner is Finding Winnie, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, written by Lindsay Mattick. Finding Winnie is an incredible account of the friendship and love shared between a soldier and the real bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. Blackall beautifully interprets this multi-dimensional family story through her distinctive Chinese ink and watercolor art, capturing intimate and historical details perfect for a child’s eye.

Four books were chosen as Caldecott Honor titles:

Waiting, illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes. Waiting delivers an intimate story of five figurines, each anticipating the wonder of everyday moments. Using rich brown lines and a soft pastel palette, Henkes invites young readers to slow down and explore a range of emotions in a world on a windowsill.

Voice of Freedom, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford. In this biography in verse, Ekua Holmes’ illustrations provide children with an intensely visual encounter with Civil Rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer. The repetition of colors and motifs within the richly layered collage create complex images that capture Hamer’s power and bravery.

Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson and written by Matt de la Peña. Readers are transported, along with a young boy and his grandmother, on a journey through the city. Robinson’s illustrations, a colorful mix of acrylic paint and collage, feel both vintage and fresh. The diversity, vibrancy, and beauty of the urban setting are celebrated as CJ and Nana share meaningful moments together.

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery">John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The 2016 Newbery Medal Winner is Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson. CJ’s journey with his Nana is not just a simple bus ride; it is a multi-sensory experience through which he discovers that beautiful music, nature and people surround him. CJ’s questions are familiar, and Nana answers him with gentle wisdom. Right up until their arrival at the last stop on Market Street, Nana guides CJ to become “a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

Three books were chosen as Newbery Honor titles:

The War that Saved my Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Bradley’s powerful plot, remarkably drawn characters and sparse language are outstanding components of this novel about courage, community and conviction.

Roller Girl, written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. Astrid falls in love with roller derby and learns how to be tougher, stronger and fearless. Jamieson perfectly captures the highs and lows of growing up in this dynamic graphic novel.

Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This original fairytale intertwines with historical fiction to explore music and its power to save, heal and set free.

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New Year, New Kids' Music at the AADL!

by eapearce

The AADL has an extensive music collection that we’re always adding to. Most recently, we’ve acquired tons of new music for kids! Here are some of our newest CDs:

Sundrops, by The Harmonica Pocket, features upbeat songs about nature and the outdoors. From singing in the sun to playing in puddles and chasing butterflies, this is a fun album to listen to during the winter when sun and butterflies are nowhere to be found! A particularly cool thing about Sundrops is that The Harmonica Pocket play lots of different instruments, so kids will get to hear ukulele, harmonica, glockenspiel, and the sounds of other unique instruments along with the standard guitar, bass and drums.

I know I didn’t think that I needed any assistance in singing Disney tunes when I was younger, but for little ones who love singing Disney songs, Disney Karaoke Favorites is a cool CD to have. It features instrumental tracks of the most popular Disney songs so kids can sing along in their own voices, followed by the vocal version of the track with the movie characters singing the song. On the CD are “Circle of Life,” “Let It Go,” “Part of Your World,” and many other well-known favorites.

Beatles Baby! by popular children’s musician Caspar Babypants is a fun, kid-oriented take on the most popular Beatles songs. Caspar puts his own twist on hits like “Hey Jude,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” and “Lady Madonna,” making them appropriate and silly. It’s fun for adults who recognize the true version of the songs to hear this CD, too.

Also newly added to our collection: Classics For Bedtime, featuring many lullaby piano sonatas, Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families, an album with lots of different children’s artists playing their songs on it, and many new Kidz Bop albums.