New Children's Books

I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices - Paul Fleischman
A collection of poems about birds to be read aloud by two voices.

Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices - Paul Fleischman
A collection of poems to be read aloud by four people, with color-coded text to indicate which lines are read by which readers.

Love, Ruby Valentine - Laurie Friedman
After Ruby Valentine misses her favorite holiday of the year, her parrot, Lovebird, convinces her that every day is the perfect day to say "I love you."

New Puppets

New from Folkmanis:

Barn Owl Puppet

Polar Bear Puppet

Shaggy Dog Puppet

Girl Puppet

Turkey Puppet

Tabby Cat Puppet

Frog Puppet

Beaver Puppet

Hamster Puppet

Baby Emperor Penguin Puppet

Angel Puppet

Polar Bear Puppet

New Teaching Aids

Crazy Faces
This card game, played liked Crazy Eights, is designed to develop matching and organizing skills. For two or more players, ages 3 and up.

Food Pyramid Bingo
This nutrition game is designed for 2-30 players, ages 8 through adult.

New Kamishibai Story Cards

Kamishibai is the traditional Japanese tradition of story-telling through the use of large picture cards.

The One-Inch Boy
An old, childless couple prays for a child. A one-inch son, who never grows any taller, is born to them, and his parents care for him tenderly. Despite his size, when he reaches maturity, Issun-boshi goes out into the world to prove himself. He does not retreat from difficult situations, but uses his knowledge and strength of character to prevail.


Momotaro, the Peach Boy
A baby is found inside a peach by an old couple and grows into a boy of amazing strength. With the help of a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, he rescues his village from ogres.




The Little Crab
A little crab is allowed to go out alone in the ocean for the first time, but is warned by his mother not to use his claws mischievously. The little crab's adventures begin when he disobeys his mother and end when he helps others. The themes of this story are personal responsibility and the importance of choosing to use one's abilities to be helpful, not harmful.


The Old Man and the Fox
In traditional Japanese folklore, the fox is a magically empowered trickster animal. It often asumes the shape of a woman. In this story, an old man happens upon a peacefully sleeping fox. The old man decides to play a trick on him but ends up learning a lesson himself! This comical, safely scary folktale delightfully illustrates the "Golden Rule."

April 2008 CMC Newsletter

CMC 40th Anniversary

The sixth monthly drawing celebrating the 40th anniversary of the CMC was held on March 13. The winner was Brianna Shenk, who received a $25 gift certificate to United Art and Education. Congratulations to Brianna! There is still time to enter the final drawing in April for $40 in cash.

CMC 40th Anniversary Reception

During the library's observance of National Library Week, there will be a reception celebrating the CMC's 40th anniversary. Please join us at your convenience on Thursday, April 10, from 2:00 until 4:00. Hope to see you here!

CMC Website Enhancements

In the Christian Education Resources tab on the CMC website, there are links to PDF files listing some of the CMC's CE resources, such as children's Bibles and devotional books, Christian children's books, Bible curricula, etc. In an effort to make these resources more accessible, we will no longer be updating the PDF files, but rather will be adding links in the Christian Education Resources tab which will take the user directly to the library's catalog and to a list of each resource type. For a sample, click here for a list of our children's Bibles.

Website of the Month

Need book discussion guides for middle or high school kids? Check out the Multnomah County (Oregon) Library's Discussion Guides page. Most of the books on the page are young adult books, and most guides give a summary of the book, a suggested "book talk", and a list of discussion questions.

New Resources

During March, we added over 70 new books and videos to the collection, in addition to over 40 new teaching aids, including games, puppets, flash cards, a new collection of kamishibai cards, and the 2007 edition of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum for grades K-3. Click here to see the complete list of the new books and videos. (Sorry - the teaching aids are not included on this list, but if you click here, you can see the recent blog postings showing the teachings aids.)

New Children's Books

The Lord Is My Shepherd: The Twenty-Third Psalm - Gennady Spirin
Illustrates each line of the Twenty-Third Psalm and features a foldout painting that combines all the previous pictures.

One City, Two Brothers - Chris Smith
To settle an inheritance dispute between two brothers, King Solomon tells a tale of how Jerusalem came to be founded.


Little Red Riding Hood - Jerry Pinkney
A sweet little girl meets a hungry wolf in the forest while on her way to visit her grandmother.

The Great Texas Hamster Drive - Eric A. Kimmel
When Pecos Bill's daughter gets two pet hamsters, they soon multiply into the hundreds, so Bill decides to take them all to Chicago where lots of boys and girls want pet hamsters.

The Missing Piece - Shel Silverstein
A circle has difficulty finding its missing piece but has a good time looking for it.

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O - Shel Silverstein
A missing piece, looking for someone to carry it along, finally develops its own momentum.

Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly - Alan Madison
Velma starts first grade in the shadow of her memorable older sisters, and while her newfound interest in butterflies helps her to stand out, it also leads to an interesting complication.





What Happens on Wednesdays - Emily Jenkins
A preschooler marks the progress of her day, not by the clock but by what happens after lunch, after nap, after swimming, after the library - and after Daddy comes home. She doesn't map her neighborhood by street signs, either. Her morning walk to see dogs in the park takes her past the cat outside the deli, past her friend Errolyn's building and the daycare where she used to go when she was little, and down the block to the bagel store.

A Birthday for Cow! - Jan Thomas
Despite the objections of Pig and Mouse, Duck insists on adding a special ingredient to the cake they are making to celebrate Cow's birthday.

Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books

Presents nine of the illustrator's books of nursery rhymes and other classic rhymes for children, including "The House that Jack Built," "The Queen of Hearts," and "Baby Bunting."

New Nonfiction Books

The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections - Jan Mark
Explores various aspects of museums, such as the word "museum," different types of museums, their impact on science, and reasons people collect things, and discusses such topics as the Elgin Marbles and the dodo.

Pocket Babies and Other Amazing Marsupials - Sneed B. Collard
Learn about the marsupials of the world, including opossums, kangaroos, koalas and others.

Sneeze! - Alexandra Siy
Explains some of the reasons why people sneeze, featuring color micrographs of the air-pollen, dust mites, mold spores, dust, goose down, and other allergens that provoke sneezing.

Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art
Twenty-three illustrators of children's literature discuss their lives, inspirations, and creative backgrounds and present photographs of themselves and their work spaces along with examples of their illustrations.

Birmingham, 1963 - Carole Boston Weatherford
Describes the feelings of a fictional character who witnessed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombings in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963.

Hamas: Palestinian Terrorists - Maxine Rosaler
Discusses the origins, philosophy, and most notorious attacks of the Hamas terrorist group, including their present activities, possible plans, and counter-terrorism efforts directed against them.

How Big Is It? A Big Book All About Bigness - Ben Hillman
Shows just how big several big things truly are by setting them next to other items in illustrations.

New Graphic Novel

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - retold by Michael Burgan

Graphic novel treatment of Mary Shelley's classic novel of a scientist who brings a monster to life.

New Board Books

When I'm Big - Sam McBratney
Little Nutbrown Hare loves playing in spring, when everything is growing and changing, but can he guess what a little brown hare will turn into?

Colors Everywhere - Sam McBratney
Down by the river on a bright summer's day. Little Nutbrown Hare loves playing in summer, when there are colors everywhere. It's hard to decide which ones he like best.

Night Night, Baby - David McPhail
Presents illustrated versions of ten classic lullabies, including "Skidamarink," "Hush, Little Baby," and "Now the Day is Over."

New Award Books

The following books are all Orbis Pictus Award Honor books. The Orbis Pictus Award is given to outstanding nonfiction books for children.

Black and White Airmen: Their True History - John Fleischman
Presents the true story of two men--one African-American, the other white--who lived in the same Ohio neighborhood, went to the same school, joined the Army Air Corps in 1941, and finally became close friends nearly sixty years later.

Muckrakers - Ann Bausum
How investigative reporting was born during the early 20th century.

Venom - Marilyn Singer
Learn about venom and the animals that produce it and use it to survive, including spiders, insects, snakes and other reptiles, frogs and toads, fish, and ocean invertebrates.

New Sports Books

Football in the Big Ten - Gabriel Kaufman
The history of the Big Ten -- The coaches of the Big Ten -- The players of the Big Ten -- The games of the Big Ten

Power in Pinstripes: The New York Yankees - David Aretha
Presents a brief history of the players, managers, and personalities connected to the New York Yankees baseball club.

Burning Up the Court: The Miami Heat - Jeff Young
Presents the history, players, managers, and personalities associated with the Miami Heat basketball league.

Kings of the Court: The Cleveland Cavaliers - David Aretha
Chronicles the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball league, its major players and managers; and includes a timeline and career stats.

New Books about the Seasons

Skip Through the Seasons - Stella Blackstone
A short verse for each month of the year encourages the reader to find objects hidden in the pictures that depict that month's activities, such as ear muffs and pine trees in January, or a scooter and a picnic bench in June.

From the All About Fall series:

People in the Fall - Martha Rustad

Leaves in Fall - Martha Rustad

Animals in Fall - Martha Rustad

Pumpkin Harvest - Calvin Harris

Apple Harvest - Calvin Harris

Scarecrows - Calvin Harris

The Seasons

Winter - Ann Herriges

Fall - Ann Herriges

Spring - Ann Herriges

Summer - Ann Herriges

New Ohio Books

The Ohio Reader - Marcia Schonberg
Modeled after traditional primers, this book includes individual stories, riddles, and poems about Ohio's history, famous people, and state symbols.

From the Heinemann State Studies series; all books by Marcia Schonberg

All Around Ohio: Regions and Resources

Uniquely Ohio

Ohio History

People of Ohio

Ohio Plants and Animals

Ohio Native Peoples

New Children's Music CDs

Totally Math - Jean Feldman
Math is fun! -- Number march -- Five little crabs -- I know an old lady who swallowed a one -- Chant and write -- Sing and spell -- Five little monkeys -- Kitty cat - Position scat -- Spy a shape -- Shape-a-loo -- Days of the week -- Months of the year -- Clock rock -- Found a penny -- Everybody do a pattern with me -- Fraction pizza -- Numbers you should know -- Country countdown 1-20 -- Odd and even number bop -- Techno count to 100 -- Skip counting -- Addition pokey -- Fact families -- Granny's arithmetic -- Growing up

Kiss Your Brain! - Jean Feldman
Kiss your brain -- Twinkle friends -- Shake a hand -- Who let the letters out -- Letter aerobics -- Alphabet's in my mouth -- Bitty bi bo bu -- Vowel cheer -- When you come to a word you don't know -- Singular and plural -- Verbs -- Singing the world wall -- Spelling numbers -- Counting cadence -- Penny, nickel, dime -- Insect's body -- Macarena bones -- Water cycle -- Litter patrol -- Five senses -- Parts of a flower -- Seasons -- World family -- We had a good day

Totally Reading - Jean Feldman
Disc 1. Don't you just love to read? -- Color train -- Deck the room -- Alphabet antics -- Nursery rhyme marathon -- Rhythm rhyme -- Miss Mary fill in the blank -- Pepperoni pizza -- Syllable clap -- Put together compounds -- Word families -- Happy birthday letters -- Who let the letters out? (Open version) -- I know an old man who swallowed a letter -- Letter box -- Letter round-up -- Sweet vowels -- Slide and blend -- Diagraph walk -- The tools of good readers -- Rapping words -- Lifetime words -- Punctuation pays -- Disc 2. Who? What? Where? When? Why? -- It's fact and fiction time -- Where can you go when you need to know? -- Parts of speech hoedown -- Endings -- We can do opposites -- Synonym stomp -- O, those contractions -- Ready to write -- Pencil talk -- Karate writing -- Writing uppercase letters -- Rhyme to write lowercase letters -- Hi ho librario - parts of a book -- Parts of a letter -- Good-bye, friends!

My Green Kite - Pete Himmelman
Feet (3:18) -- My green kite (3:40) -- Another bite of hay (3:20) -- Maybe is a bad word (3:06) -- My father's an accountant (3:00) -- Dozen roses (3:29) -- Have you ever really looked at an egg? (2:58) -- I made it for you (3:56) -- Baseball tips with Professor Buckley (1:09) -- Red rubber boots (3:26) -- Nothin' to say (2:40) -- Watercolor set (4:13)

New Videos

Charlotte's Web (DVD)
In ordinary Somerset County, a young farm girl named Fern rescues the runt of a litter of pigs from her father's ax. Fern names the pig Wilbur, takes care of him, and continues to visit him every day after he is moved to her Uncle Homer Zuckerman's barn across the road. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" when Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web, along with a little help from Templeton the rat and the other barn inhabitants, turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction. Study guide also available.

VeggieTales: Moe and the Big Exit (DVD)
A cowboy finds out he's living better than his family, and stands up to the mayor of the town. A western version of the story of Moses.

Netherlands Cultural Overview (VHS)
Four short films about the Netherlands: Rembrandt (15 min.) -- Vi5ions (18 min.) -- Keukenhof - 50 years of blooming (16 min.) -- Holland waterproof (16 min.)

Dinah Zike's Teaching Science with Foldables (VHS)
Includes background information about Foldables and step-by-step demonstrations of how to make Foldables and implement them into your classroom as reading, study, and assessment tools.

New YA Books

Pandora Gets Jealous - Carolyn Hennesy
Thirteen-year-old Pandy is hauled before Zeus and given six months to gather all of the evils that were released when the box she brought to school as her annual project was accidentally opened.

Tunnels - Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
When Will Burrows and his friend Chester embark on a quest to find Will's archaeologist father, who has inexplicably disappeared, they are led to a labyrinthine world underneath London, full of sinister inhabitants with evil intentions toward "Topsoilers" like Will and his father.

The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep - John Hulme and Michael Wexler
When twelve-year-old Becker Drane is recruited by The Seems, a parallel universe that runs everything in The World, he must fix a disastrous glitch in the Department of Sleep that threatens everyone's ability to ever fall asleep again.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon - Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Fearing that the sinister Lord Ombra was not destroyed, Peter and Molly travel to the land of Rundoon, which is ruled by the evil King Zarboff.

The Redheaded Princess - Ann Rinaldi
In 1542, nine-year-old Lady Elizabeth lives on an estate near London, striving to get back into the good graces of her father, King Henry VIII, and as the years pass she faces his death and those of other close relatives until she finds herself next in line to ascend the throne of England in 1558.

The Tide Knot - Helen Dunmore
Two years after the disappearance of their father, Sapphire and Conor, having moved with their mother to the town of St. Pirans, try to make a new life for themselves, but Sapphire, unlike her mother and brother, finds it increasingly difficult to adjust to her new circumstances and is drawn more and more to the undersea world of Ingo.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat - Lynne Jonell
When Emmy discovers that she and her formerly loving parents are being drugged by their evil nanny with rodent potions that can change people in frightening ways, she and some new friends must try everything possible to return things to normal.

This Is What I Did - Ann Dee Ellis
Bullied because of an incident in his past, eighth-grader Logan is unhappy at his new school and has difficulty relating to others until he meets a quirky girl and a counselor who believe in him.