Thursday, September 29, 2016

New Nonfiction

Pocket Change: Pitching in for a Better World - Michelle Mulder
This book explores how growing a cabbage can fight poverty, how a few dollars can help ten families start their own businesses, and how running errands for a neighbor can help you learn to become a bike mechanic. It asks the question "What if you could meet all your consumer needs while, at the same time, get to know your neighbors and protect the environment?

Bubonic Panic: When Plague Invaded America - Gail Jarrow
In March 1900, San Francisco's health department investigated a strange and horrible death in Chinatown. A man had died of bubonic plague, one of the world's deadliest diseases. But how could that be possible? Bubonic Panic tells the true story of America's first plague epidemic--the public health doctors who desperately fought to end it, the political leaders who tried to keep it hidden, and the brave scientists who uncovered the plague's secrets. Once again, acclaimed author and scientific expert Gail Jarrow brings the history of a medical mystery to life in vivid and exciting detail for young readers. This title includes photographs and drawings, a glossary, a timeline, further resources, an author's note, and source notes.

New Books

Elementary
Full of Beans - Jennifer L. Holm
Ten-year-old Beans Curry, a member of the Keepsies, the best marble playing gang in Depression-era Key West, Florida, engages in various schemes to earn money while "New Dealers" from Washington, D.C., arrive to turn run down Key West into a tourist resort. 


Dog Man - Dav Pilkey
George and Harold create a new comic book hero in Dog Man, a crimefighter with the head of a police dog and the body of a policeman, who faces off against his archnemesis Petey the Cat.

Dara Palmer's Major Drama - Emma Shevah
Dara Palmer dreams of being an actress, but when she does not get a part in the school play she wonders if it is because of her different looks as an adopted girl from Cambodia, so Dara becomes determined not to let prejudice stop her from being in the spotlight.


Middle Grades
Maybe a Fox - Kathi Appelt
An otherworldly fox is born to help eleven-year-old Jules, who is grieving over the death of her sister.

Moo - Sharon Creech
Follows the efforts of twelve-year-old Reena, who has recently moved to rural Maine, to adjust to a new environment while unexpectedly bonding with an ornery cow.


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two - A New Play by Jack Thorne
As an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father, Harry Potter struggles with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs while his youngest son, Albus, finds the weight of the family legacy difficult to bear.


Young Adult
The Memory Book - Lara Avery
When a rare genetic disorder steals away her memories and then her health, teenaged Sammie records notes in a journal to her future self, documenting moments great and small.

New Picture Books

 "Happy Birthday": The Story of the World's Most Popular Song - Nancy Kelly Allen
The story about who two sisters, Mildred and Patty Hill, wrote the music and lyrics to the most popular song in the world "Happy birthday to you."

The Class - Boni Ashburn
Twenty young students, some eager, some nervous, some grumpy, prepare for their very first day of kindergarten.


Return - Aaron Becker
The lonely protagonist returns to her fantastical world for friendship and adventure, where only the most powerful motivations persuade her to return home.

Absolutely One Thing - Lauren Child
Charlie and Lola choose a single treat at the store, count ladybugs, note the lateness of the time, and are introduced to other simple math concepts.


Rain Fish - Lois Ehlert
Through rhyme and mixed-media collage illustrations, 'rain fish'--the varied, colorful, and unique little collections of materials that float along on streams of rain water during storms--come to life.

Have a Look, Says a Book - Richard Jackson
Through illustrations and simple, rhyming text, a book invites its reader to explore fluffy, furry, or squishy objects and creatures, both real and imaginary, that are found within its pages.

Sophie's Squash Go to School- Pat Zietlow Miller
On her very first day of school, Sophie is reluctant to make friends with the other children, preferring to play with two squash she grew in her garden--but when a particularly persistent boy named Steven gives her a packet of seeds as an apology for accidentally ripping her picture, she realizes that it just takes time to grow a friend.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn - Kenard Pak
In a simple, evocative conversation with nature, a young girl witnesses how the season changes from summer to autumn.


School's First Day of School - Adam Rex
It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself.

A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting - Michelle Robinson
A young aspiring bear spotter ventures into bear country. But coming face-to-face with the furry creatures themselves, whether black or brown, can be dangerous, and our protagonist, accompanied by a trusty teddy bear, might need to use some unconventional means to stay out of trouble and avoid being (gulp!) eaten.


Anything But Ordinary: The True Story of Adelaide Herrmann, Queen of Magic - Mara Rockliff
Traces the story of dancer-turned-magician's assistant Adelaide Herrmann, placing her achievements against a backdrop of period conventions about women in the arts and her determination to continue her work after the death of her husband.

Twenty Yawns - Jane Smiley
As her mom reads a bedtime story, Lucy drifts off. But later, she awakens in a dark, still room, and everything looks mysterious. How will she ever get back to sleep?


Raybot - Adam F. Watkins
Raybot doesn't have a best friend. He doesn't have any friends. So, after reading that puppies make good friends, he sets off to find one. Raybot travels the world through forests, seas, farms, and fields meeting all types of animals before he finds his new best friend.

They All Saw a Cat - Brendan Wenzel
In simple, rhythmic prose and stylized pictures, a cat walks through the world, and all the other creatures see and acknowledge the cat.


Wednesday, September 7, 2016

New Picture Books

Douglas, You Need Glasses! - Ged Adamson
After visiting the eye doctor, a near-sighted dog gets glasses.

Thunder Boy Jr. - Sherman Alexie
Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that's all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn't mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he's done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder. But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name... a name that is sure to light up the sky.


The Secret Subway - Shana Corey
In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach invents New York's first underground train.

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel - Janet Nolan
There is a ship, a navy ship. It is called the USS New York. It is big like other navy ships, and it sails like other navy ships, but there is something special about the USS New York. Following the events of September 11, 2001, the governor of New York gave the Navy a steel beam that was once inside one of the World Trade Towers. The beam was driven from New York to a foundry in Louisiana. Metal workers heated the beam to a high, high temperature. Chippers and grinders, painters and polishers worked on the beam for months. And then, seven and a half tons of steel, which had once been a beam in the World Trade Center, became a navy ship's bow. This powerful story reveals how something remarkable can emerge from a devastating event." -- Amazon.com