Harriet and George's Christmas Treat

Here's a fun story to share at Christmas.  Harriet and George are looking forward to the holdiay, except for one thing: Ms Hoozit is making fruitcake (again!).  Terrible memories of past year's flash before their eyes and they try every way possible to avoid Ms Hoozit.  Finally, on Christmas Eve, they see other kids getting fudge and other treats from Ms Hoozit, but they are too late to get any, and the only 'treat' left is last year's fruitcake! For lovers of fruitcake of all ages, this tale written and illustrated by Nancy Carlson, is perfect for the season.

Hamster Magic

The Willow family has just moved from their suburban home to the country.  Celia is the youngest and smallest of the four children.  One day, her hamster surprises everyone by announcing that he has the power to grant wishes, and Celia blurts out that she wants to "be big"! But she didn't want to be furry at the same time. Will her big brothers and sister be able to hide her from their parents while they try to reverse a bit of hamster magic?  Read this easy chapter book, written by Lynne Jonell, to see what happens.  The illustrations by Brandon Donovan add to the humor of this adventure.

Bink and Gollie

Written by two favorite Minnesota authors, Alison McGhee and Kate DiCamillo, with illustrations by Tony Fucile; this book is a collection of three interconnected stories. 
Gollie is a self-confident girl who lives in a fashionable contemporary house.  Her friend Bink, is somewhat rumpled, but is also an adventure seeker. 
The first story is about Bink's selection of socks; the second sends Gollie on an adventure into the Andes; and in the third Gollie is jealous of Bink's new pet fish.  Despite their quirks, these girls know the value of friendship. 
The book is almost a hybrid of a picture book, graphic novel, and early reader.  Fucile's cartoon-like illustrations add to the adventure.  There is great fun and imagination here.

Can't Sleep Without Sheep

A little girl named Ava sometimes can't fall asleep at night.  Her mother tells her to 'count sheep'.  She gives it a try, but it still takes so long that the sheep get tired and quit.  They promise to find replacements, but that isn't easy either as each new animal adds to the confusion and havoc.  Written by Susanna Leonard Hill, with hilarious illustrations by Minnesotan Mike Wohnoutka, this will be fun to share with young children.

The Shadows (Books of Elsewhere #1)

This is a first book by a new Minnesota author, Jacqueline West.  It is also the first in a series called: The Books of Elsewhere.  It's the story of Olive Dunwoody, a curious 11 year old whose family has just moved into a big spooky old Victorian house.  The house is full of dark old paintings, and one day Olive finds a pair of glasses that allow her to travel inside the artwork to "Elsewhere".  As the story progresses, Olive begins to understand some of the house's mysteries -- but it's a BIG house -- so say tuned for the next volume.

I Hear the Wind

As I write this, it is a blustery day in November.  It feels like Winter, but the calendar says it is still Fall.  That's the feeling one gets by reading this book, written and illustrated by Greg Budig.  Here the cold Fall (almost Winter) wind is seen through the eyes and imagination of a child as it whistles past the house at night, making a variety of sights and sounds.  The wind is everywhere, and you will see and feel it through the words and pictures of this story.

Big Belching Bog

Minnesota is known for its many beautiful lakes.  No so much for the peat bogs that are scattered across the northern part of the state, including the Big Bog just north of Upper Red Lake.  This is the largest peat bog in the lower 48 states.  This (appropriately large format) book, written by Phyllis Root, introduces readers to the plants and animals that live in a bog.  Woodcut illustrations by Betsy Bowen add to the atmosphere of the bog.  More information about the plants and animals is found in the end notes. This book will be a useful addition to classes studying plants, animals, and Minnesota geography and environment.  Do bogs belch?  No one knows for sure, but this book will pique your curiosity.

Grandfather's Story Cloth

Chersheng and his family live in an American city.  His family are Hmong and they emigrated to the United States after the Vietnam War.  His grandfather is showing symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  Chersheng's mother presents him with a story cloth stitched by his grandfather, and Chersheng creates his own art project to help is grandfather remember his life and family in America.  Written by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Minnesotan, Stuart Loughridge (his first children's book); this bilingual story can be a resource for cultural units.

Why the Owl Has Big Ears

No one is supposed to watch Rawens as he creates the plants and animals.  Yet, for the impatient lump of clay sitting in a tree; patience is running short, and it asks Rawens to "make me now".  This book tells the Iroquois story of how the rabbit and owl were created, and teaches a lesson about patience and listening.  Written and illustrated by the Minnesota team of Mike Preble and Shawn McCann, this is one to add to your folklore collection.

The Peace Bell

Although fictionalized, this picture book tells the story of the Peace Bell that is now located in Isumi City, Japan (formerly known as Ohara). 

During World War II, many Japanese temple bells were donated to the war effort, to be melted down into materials needed for the war.  This bell was discovered intact in a shipyard after the war, by crewmen from the USS Duluth. They presented the bell to Duluth, Minnesota, where it was displayed in City Hall until 1954, when it was returned to the city of Ohara, and renamed the American-Japanese Friendship Peace Bell.  In 1991, Ohara presented Duluth with a replica of the bell, and the two cities became sister cities. 

Written by Margi Preus, illustrated by Hideko Takahashi, this might be a resource for elementary social studies classes.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night

In her latest book, Minnesota poet Joyce Sidman, features nocturnal animals and other sights and sounds of the woods at night.  Beautifully illustrated with linoleum cut designs by Duluth artist, Rick Allen, this is very comparable to Song of the Water Boatman, which won a Caldecott honor.  This will be an excellent classroom resource for elementary science classes.

Henry and the Bully

Henry loves to play soccer with his first grade classmates - at least until Sam, the second grade bully shows up and kicks the ball off the playground.  Henry tries to get help from his teacher, and mother - to no avail - and he has to find his own way to show Sam that he isn't afraid of a bully. There is a little surprise tucked in this picture book written and illustrated by Nancy Carlson.  It could be part of a discussion about school and playground rules at the start of a new school year.

Julia Gillian (and the Dream of the Dog)

The story of Julia Gillian continues as she enters middle school, and must deal with harder classes, trying to perfect her free throws, big scary 8th grade students, and a reading project with an uncooperative 3rd grader.  To top it off, her dog, Big Foot, is getting older, and showing signs that he might die soon.  Readers of the previous installments of this series (Julia Gillian (and the Art of Knowing) and Julia Gillian (and the Quest for Joy)) will want to follow her latest adventures in her south Minneapolis neighborhood.  This is another well-written book by Alison McGhee that deals with common life problems of tweens and pre-teens.

The Secret of Zoom

This book made the news this summer when President Obama bought a copy for his daughters at an Iowa bookstore.  It is the story of ten year old Christina, who lives a very sheltered life in an old mansion.  Her father is a mathematician who expects her to follow in his footsteps (she hates math!). Her mother, a scientist, disappeared when Christina was just a toddler.  After discovering a secret tunnel from her house to the forest, Christina learns that children from a local orphanage are being held in prison-like conditions and forced to mine a substance called zoom (a fuel). Zoom lies dormant until someone sings a sequence of notes with perfect pitch (none of the children have perfect pitch).  Only pitch-perfect Christina can save the day in this imaginative adventure story by Lynne Jonell.  This could be a good read-aloud for middle grades.

One Pup's Up

The daily life of a group of puppies is the focus of this counting and rhyming story by Marsha Wilson Chall.  From the first puppy to awake in the morning ("one pup's up"), to ten puppies who tussle and "show off a peppy puppy grin". But, they eventually tire, and fall back to sleep---until---one pup's up! The watercolor and ink illustrations by Henry Cole add to the energy and spunkiness of this simple story.  Fun to share with young children.

Whiteout

Need an instant cool-down on a hot summer day?  Maybe the first few sentences of this book will do the trick:

      Alone. Completely Alone. That's how it feels when you're in a whiteout blizzard.  You can't hear anything but the wind and the crunching of your feet on the snow.

Set in the fictional town of Greenville, Minnesota, this mystery is the third installment of the "Hunted" series by Walter Sorrells.  Sixteen year old Chastity and her mother have been running away from her father's killer for the previous two volumes, set in San Francisco and Alabama (it's not necessary to read these to enjoy volume three). Life feels nice and normal in rural Minnesota until Chastity finds her new music teacher shot to death in the school parking lot in the middle of a Minnesota blizzard.  This page-turning mystery will have teen readers staying awake to see if the killer is caught before it's too late for Chastity, her mother, and her new friend Katie.

The Princess and Her Panther

In this story, two young sisters decide to camp out in their backyard.  The older sister is a brave princess, while the younger one is a panther (who tries to be brave).  They venture across a vast sandy desert (a sand box), and set up a red velvet tent among the trees.  When it gets dark the spooky sounds start, and even the princess is having a hard time being brave.  Written by Wendy Orr, with acrylic paint illustrations by Minnesota's Lauren Stringer, this will be enjoyed by young girls especially.

The Me Nobody Knew

Shannon (the author of this book) was 13.  She hated her parents, her friends, her body, her life in general.  She struggled with drinking and drug experimentation. She was sexually assaulted, and tried to starve herself.  Sounds like a teen problem novel in the extreme, right?  It isn't--it's the author's autobiographical account of her teen years and how she found ways to survive the pain, and gradually find peace with the world and her life.  The book is written by Shannon McLinden, who tells the story of her teen years growing up in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Overall, it's a hopeful, honest book (and a fast read) especially for girls who can have tremendous mood swings during their teen years.  A discussion guide is included for use by teachers, counselors, or book clubs.

A Fabulous Fair Alphabet

This is the newest book by Minnesota author and illustrator, Debra Frasier--and it is fabulous!  She has visited the Minnesota (and others) State Fair and photographed thousands of signs and letters.  From those photographs, she has designed 26 alphabet pictures that follow activities at the fair.  It's fun, it's very colorful, and just fabulous!

  Debra will be the Minnesota State Fair Artist-in-Residence this year (2010). Visit her booth and play the Fabulous Fair Alphabet game.  More information at: http://www.afabulousfairalphabet.com/.

The Very Little Princess

Zoey doesn't know she has a grandmother until the day she and her mother suddenly leave Minneapolis for a drive to the country and grandmother's house. Almost immediately, Zoey's mother and grandmother start arguing. Zoey escapes by running upstairs to a bedroom where she discovers a dollhouse with a tiny doll inside.  When a tear from Zoey's eye falls on the doll, it sneezes and comes to life.  Now, Zoey has dreamed that someday one of her dolls would come to life. But in her dreams, the doll didn't order her around like a servant. Here is the latest from Marion Dane Bauer, a story of friendship, family, love, loss, joy, and humor for good measure.  Girls will love it.

Split

Sixteen year old Jace Witherspoon has been kicked out of the house by his abusive father.  He gets in his car and drives across country from Chicago to Albuquerque, New Mexico where his older brother Christian fled five years earlier. However, two abused siblings do not make the best roommates, and they must work through several emotional issues, in addition to dealing with fear for their mother's safety.  They are helped by Christian's girlfriend, Mirriam, a teacher; and Dakota, a clerk in the bookstore where Jace finds a job.  This book is an interesting character study of family members in an abusive situation. It also shows that domestic violence happens to families at all levels of society--the father is a judge--and the family is probably upper middle class. The author is Swati Avasthi, who has experience working in a domestic abuse shelter, and she brings an understanding of the difficult questions related to that topic to this book.  Ultimately it is a story of personal growth, of overcoming bitterness and fear, and moving ahead in life. This is the author's first novel, watch for more.

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky this Way Comes

Mercy's newest adventure happens at a drive-in movie theater.  Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy, and the Lincoln sisters (plus other familiar characters) all decide on a movie for a night out.  The real attraction though, is the smell of buttered popcorn--which Mercy is poweless to resist.  It's another rollicking adventure (not to miss) from the team of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen.

How to Steal a Car

Kelleigh Monahan is a fairly typical suburban 15 year old girl.  She shops at Ridgedale and Byerlys.  During the summer, her life starts to change and several events happen:

• she discovers that her father is having an affair
• she tries to figure out if her boyfriend is gay--or just shy
• she rescues her best friend from a very bad date
• she reads Moby Dick--all of it!
• she gets her learner's permit, and
• she steals several cars!

This book has no chapters, and is an interesting human story told from Kelleigh's viewpoint. It deals with the contradictions and issues that teens face everyday and shows how even good kids sometimes do bad things.  The title is derived from an essay she knows she will be writing when school starts again.  This is another thought-provoking book from Pete Hautman.  Personally, I love how he uses Minnesota settings in his books.  It makes his stories feel like they could happen to any kid in any neighborhood.

Flood!

It's summertime and time for occasional nasty weather including floods, whether small flash floods or large ones with major damage.  This book is part of the series Learn About Natural Disasters.  It is a brief beginning reader that provides basic information about how floods happen and how we can try to avoid them.  Written by Marion Dane Bauer, with illustrations by John Wallace, the book includes some interesting facts about floods and general tips for what to do in a flood. It can be used as supplementary reading in primary science units about the weather.

Creak! Said the Bed

It's the middle of a very dark night and everyone is in bed.  That is, until Evie got scared in her room and came to sleep with Mom and Dad.  (Creak! said the bed.) Soon, Ivy was too cold in her room, so she joined them too.  (Creak! said the bed.) Soon, brother Mo was at the door, reporting that his room was spooky, and he joined them (CREAK! said the bed.) When Fred the dog also wants to join the sleeping party, things get even more interesting.  Read it for the funny ending.  This quirky tale is the newest by Phyllis Root.  The illustrations by Regan Dunnick, are spot-on for conveying the sounds and humor of the story.