Tuesday, August 19, 2008

New Children's Books

Big Bad Bunny - Franny Billingsley
When Baby Boo-Boo, a mouse dressed in a bunny suit, becomes lost in the forest, his mother follows the sound of his cries to locate him.

Everybody Bonjours! - Leslie Kimmelman
Describes in rhymed text the many ways to use the greeting "Bonjour" when visiting Paris. Includes brief descriptions of Parisian landmarks at the end of the story.

Hello, Day! - Anita Lobel
Various animals greet the sunrise in their own unique voices, except for the owl who welcomes the night.

Madam President - Lane Smith
A little girl imagines what her day would be like if she were President of the United States.

Farmer George Plants a Nation
- Peggy Thomas
Besides being a general and the first president of the United States, George Washington was also a farmer. His efforts to create a self-sufficient farm at Mount Vernon, Virginia, mirrored his struggle to form a new nation. Excerpts from Washington's writings are featured throughout the book, which also includes a timeline, resource section, as well as essays on Washington at Mount Vernon and his thoughts on slavery.

Wave - Suzy Lee
A wordless picture book that shows a little girl's first experiences at the beach, as she goes from being afraid of the roaring waves to playing on the shore while gulls soar overhead.

On the Farm - David Elliott
Describes all the animals of the farmyard, including a goat, a cow, a rooster, bees, and bunnies, presented in verse and accompanied by woodcut and watercolor illustrations.

Planting the Trees of Kenya - Claire A. Nivola
Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya, where fig trees cloaked the hills, fish filled the streams, and the people tended their bountiful gardens. But over many years, as more and more land was cleared, Kenya was transformed. When Wangari returned home from college in America, she found the village gardens dry, the people malnourished, and the trees gone. How could she alone bring back the trees and restore the gardens and the people?

Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City - Janet Schulman
A red-tailed hawk and his mate build their nest near the top of a Fifth Avenue apartment building and bird watchers gather hoping to see the chicks in the nest.

Monarch and Milkweed - Helen Frost and Leonid Gore
Every spring the monarch butterfly migrates thousands of miles in search of the ideal milkweed plant. When she finds it, she lays her eggs on the plant, so when each egg hatches, the baby caterpillar can feed on the milkweed leaves. The milkweed plant then provides the perfect protection as the caterpillar turns into one of nature's wonders, a chrysalis, before transforming into an even greater wonder: a monarch butterfly. And once the newborn butterfly soars away, the milkweed seeds fly away on the wind and start this cycle over again.

My Heart Glow
- Emily Arnold McCully
Describes the history of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, and the invention of American Sign Language, and includes biographical information on the school's founder, Thomas Gallaudet, and Alice Cogswell, the young girl who inspired the creation.

Alice's World Record - Tim Kennemore
On the way to their grandparents' house, Alice beats her older brother Oliver at the alphabet game for the first time ever, making him so miserable that he reacts in a way that changes him and his status as favorite grandchild.

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