What Curriculum resources are available for homeschoolers?

Before seeking out curriculum resources, homeschoolers will want to familiarize themselves with laws and regulations governing homeschooling. Start out by taking a look at the Maryland State Department of Education’s Home Instruction Fact Sheet. The Baltimore County Public School system’s Homeschooling Guide is a particularly valuable guide for homeschoolers. Here, you will find sections on homeschooling procedures, frequently asked questions about homeschooling, and other useful resources. The Baltimore County Public School site also provides a convenient link to the Maryland State Department of Education’s Voluntary State Curriculum. Homeschoolers can view the objectives for each grade level for the subjects that the Maryland Home Schooling regulations require you to include in your curriculum.

Homeschoolers looking for ideas for a curriculum for their children should start at our Home Schooling How-to Guide. Go directly to the section on Curriculum and Lesson Plans and you will find links to a variety of free Web resources. You’ll find several print sources listed as well, which are available for borrowing through interlibrary loan. One of these, Cathy Duffy’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, covers a number of related issues for homeschoolers such as learning styles and age appropriate learning.

It is always helpful to consult with other homeschoolers to see what curriculum and lesson planning resources they have used. You might want to try a national, state, or local homeschooling association. For links to these, go to the section of our guide that asks the question, “Are there home schooling organizations/associations?”. There, you will find information on such organizations as the American Homeschool Association, National Black Home Educators, and Homeschool Connections – Central Maryland.

If you would like more information on homeschooling, e-mail us through our Ask A Librarian service or contact the Social Science and History Department.

SLRC Treasures: Children's Department

There is a number of “hidden treasures” in the Children’s Department. We have a vast selection of retrospective as well as historical books. Some are first editions and some are autographed. We carry Children’s Literature Review for those looking for critical commentary about authors and books.

Did you know that the Children's Department has 49 versions of Cinderella or Cinderella-like tales from around the world? Many different versions of narrated or illustrated fairy tales are available from the Children's Department.

Review Thursday: Children's Books

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal (2009)
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Born a slave, legendary lawman Bass Reeves became one of the most respected marshals to tame the Wild West. He apprehended thousands in his thirty two year career, including his own son, but only had to kill fourteen of them. This arresting (pardon the pun) portrait treats its subject with dignity all the while treading close to tall tale territory in its telling. From a humorous run in with a skunk to Reeve’s powerful response when coming across a lynch mob, Nelson gives a well rounded portrayal. With plenty of colorful turns of phrase and illustrations that show a steely-eyed African American hero, this larger than life biography will capture the imagination of readers and appeal to a wider age range (8-12) than Gary Paulsen’s fictionalized The Legend of Bass Reeves (10-12). A Coretta Scott King Award Winner

A Million Shades of Gray (2010)
Cynthia Kadohata

Set in Vietnam after the Americans have ended their part of the war, we meet 13 year old Y’Tin whose only goal is to be an elephant handler. His elephant, “Lady”, is the center of his world. When his village is overrun by North Vietnamese forces, Y’Tin sees his way of life change immeasurably. Not only does he have to help dig a mass grave, he must, after escaping, find his way through the deep jungle while protecting a friend and Lady. Y’Tin fears he will never be able to trust anyone or anything again, especially when he finds that the starving survivors want to eat the village’s domesticated elephants. He finds out that the truth has as many shades of grey as an elephant’s hide or the jungle in dim light. The first juvenile novel to address this time in history from the indigenous Vietnam viewpoint, this would be a powerful counterpoint to Patrol by Walter Dean Myers (a US soldiers point of view) or Kadohata’s ( a Newbery award winning author) Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam. (11-14)

Ned’s New Home (2009)
Kevin Tseng

Ned, a charming bright green worm, has a wonderful home, an apple, but it is beginning to decompose. His mission is to find a new abode. A pear, lemon and a pile of blueberries all have serious faults (too wobbly, too sour, and won’t hold together). A plan for a cherry house is foiled by a hungry bird, who accidently delivers Ned to the best new house of all, an apple still hanging from its tree. With warm colors and visual humor, this is a comforting story that has an ecological undertone. The endpapers even show the life cycle of the apple from seed to fruit and back again. Use this with Peter Horacek’s A New House for Mouse for an equally agreeable paean to apples as the perfect dwelling place. (3-5)

Review Thursday: Children's Fiction

Al Capone Shines My Shoes (2009)
Gennifer Choldenko

Moose Flanagan and his family live on Alcatraz. His father is a guard there and his autistic sister, Natalie, goes to a special school in San Francisco. Moose becomes concerned when he gets a note from inmate Al Capone who wants a favor for getting Natalie into a special school. What will Al ask for? Then when Moose discovers a bar spreader in Natalie’s suitcase, he really starts to worry. If he tells an adult, his father might get fired. What can he do about each problem? If you want to find out more about living on Alcatraz, check out Children of Alcatraz: Growing Up on the Rock by Claire Rudolf Murphy.

Zoobreak (2009)
Gordon Korman

Savannah Drysdale’s pet monkey Cleo disappears from her house. She and her friends Griffin and Ben take a school trip to a floating zoo where Savannah discovers a monkey that she swears is Cleo. The three children decide to pay a visit to the zoo at night and get Cleo out of her cage. They are successful but Savannah wants to release all the poor animals. Can they set all the animals free without getting caught? Where will they put all of them? Pair this book up with Cyberia by Chris Lynch.

Notes from the Dog (2009)
Gary Paulsen

Fourteen-year-old Finn is uncomfortable around people until a graduate student named Johanna shows up to house sit next door. Finn likes her and gains confidence after she encourages him to start and maintain his own garden. Johanna plans to raise money for breast cancer (which she’s dealing with) by participating in a triathlon. Unfortunately she becomes sick the night before and is unable to be in the race. Finn and his friend Matthew decide to help her. Can they find a solution? Another book recommended is Holding at Third by Linda Zinnen.

Review Thursday: Children's Nonfiction

Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell (2008)

Nature’s Most Extreme[ly Slow] Predators! If there really was a tabloid TV show about wolfsnails, the low speed chases portrayed therein might not make for the most exciting viewing. This book, however, is a fascinating read. Detailed photographs and vivid prose introduce young naturalists to the wolfsnail, a predatory creature that earns its name by tracking and devouring other snails. This informative volume demonstrates that the drama of the life cycle doesn’t just happen in the jungle or on the savannah – it’s happening in your own back yard on a miniscule scale and at an almost agonizingly leisurely pace. For readers 6-8.


Whaam! The Art and Life of Roy Lichtenstein by Susan Goldman Rubin (2008)

How Roy Lichtenstein put Donald Duck and Popeye on the walls of the world’s greatest art museums. In the sixties, painter Roy Lichtenstein, one of the founders of what came to be known as “Pop Art,” challenged the conventions of fine art by incorporating graphical techniques and imagery from comic books into his paintings. He asked viewers to consider, and this book asks YOU to consider, why pictures on a wall in a museum are “better” than pictures in a comic book? What is it that makes art “art”? Whaam! is a fun and informative portrait of one of the most influential American painters of the 20th century. For readers 9-12.


On the Scale: A Weighty Tale by Brian P. Cleary (2008)

An exploration in verse of comparative weight measures. Units of mass are illustrated with real-world examples (an ounce is the weight of a slice of bread; a quart of milk weighs two pounds). English and metric systems are included. “A gram,” we learn, “is not a cracker or your parent’s mother/ It’s a weight – so get this straight – smaller than most others.” Simultaneously vivid and whimsical, this book is a way to learn about gravity with levity. For readers 6-8.

Are there reading/interest levels for graphic novels when recommending them to patrons?

There are quite a few good resources in both print and online that can aid you in you in finding age/interest levels in your graphic novel readers’ advisory work. They use various rating systems, so you will want to check their explanatory remarks.

Here are some books that you might find on your shelves:

500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide by Gene Kannenberg (2008)
Divided into by genre and designates age levels as All ages, 12+, 15+ and 18+.

Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More by Michael Pawuk (2007)
More inclusive than Kannenberg, listing all titles within series. Age levels are All ages, 10 and above, 13-15, 16-17, 18 and older.

The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels For Children and Tweens by David S. Serchay (2008)
Targeted specifically towards younger readers, this book uses the following age categories: younger elementary, older elementary and junior high, tweens and early teens, all ages (but appealing more to younger readers).

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels by Francisca Goldsmith (2010)
While this book is the most current and has much useful information on readers’ advisory, its only special designations are “appropriate for younger readers (under sixteen in some communities, as young as under twelve in others)” and “crossover titles for readers unfamiliar with the format.”

Two good books devoted exclusively to manga are:

Manga: The Complete Guide by Jason Thompson (2007)
Includes age levels with film rating equivalents: All ages (G-PG), 13+ (PG-PG13), 16+ (PG13-R), 18+ (‘hard’ R- NC17).

Understanding Manga and Anime by Robin E. Brenner (2007)
Contains both the publishers’ age ratings and the recommendations of the author (grades 6-8, grades 7-9, grades 9-12, adult).

Web Resources

YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
Lists for 12-18 year-olds beginning 2007; with a top ten list for each year.

No Flying No Tights
Includes three separate sections of reviews: the Main site for teens, Sidekicks for ages through 12, and the Lair for older teens and adults.

Graphic Novels: Resources for Teachers & Librarians
Lists of recommended titles (by genre) for all ages, younger teens (11-14), older teens (17 and older,) plus a list of titles recommended for girls and a list of “teen favorites not recommended for younger readers.” The site also includes lists by genre and publisher.

Checking publisher web pages can also give you information on age levels. One very good example is the Dark Horse Comics page for libraries. The backlist is even sorted by age level (8+, 10+, 12+, 14+, 16+, 18+, all ages).

You can keep up-to date by reading reviews in professional journals:

• VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
• School Library Journal
• Library Journal
• Booklist
• Publisher’s Weekly

And, of course, knowing your collection and your readers is the best way of knowing what titles to recommend.

Do you have any readers’ advisory recommendations for reluctant elementary male readers – other than guysread.org?

Apparently, reports of the death of reading among boys have not been exaggerated. According to Guys Read, self-described as “a web-based literacy program for boys, ”research shows that boys are having trouble reading and that boys are getting worse at reading.” The problem is one of image. Reading, an erstwhile hairy-chested, two-fisted pastime, is viewed by today’s (male) youth as an irrelevant activity for girls. Boys would be voracious readers if books didn’t seem so contemptibly lacking in vigor.

Apart from Guys Read, where should a librarian performing readers’ advisory work for boys turn to find gravel-in-the-gut, grit-in-the-eye free voluntary reading material? As it happens, there are a number of print and electronic resources to aid in readers’ advisory work. These resources include:
Print

• Best Books for Children by Catherine Barr and John Gillespie. Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
  
  
• Historical Fiction for Young Readers by John Gillespie. Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
  
  
• The Big Book of Children's Reading Lists: 100 Great, Ready-to-Use Book Lists for Educators, Librarians, Parents, and Children by Nancy Keane. Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
  
  
• A to Zoo by Carolyn and John Lima. Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
  
  
• Best Books for Boys: A Resource for Educators by Matthew Zbaracki. Libraries Unlimited, 2008.

Websites

• Read, Kiddo, Read
  
  
• Book Hive
  
  
• Planet Esme

Databases

• Books & Authors

Review Thursday: Books for Children

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (2009)
Nancy Springer

When her mother disappears mysteriously, 14 year old Enola, runs away from home rather than be sent to a boarding school for “finishing” by her much older brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. She sets herself up in a rooming house and passes herself off as an adult, with the aid of a variety of disguises. Along the way she uses deduction, follows clues and solves ciphers as well as her brother, often beating him to the punch. The Enola Holmes Mystery series, the most recent of which is The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, in which her deaf, elderly landlady is kidnapped, proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Sherlock’s younger sister can take on Nancy Drew with one hand tied behind her back.

The Lion’s Share (2009)
by Matthew McElligott

Before the lion gets his share of cake, the guests at his party eat it all. (Each eats half of what is passed on to them.) So ant offers to bake him another one. Not to be outdone, the other animals propose to “up the ante” by doubling the number of cakes put forward by the previous animal. The elephant ends up having to bake 256 cakes. Not only will young readers relish the absurdity of the situation, they will also inhale simple multiplication and fraction concepts. Ink and watercolor illustrations, enhanced with digital techniques, continually reinforce the mathematical theme. Early elementary grade teachers will appreciate being able to tie this in with other math focused titles such as Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!: A Mathematical Story by Marilyn Burns. Ages 5-8

Pharaoh’s Boat (2009)
by David Weitzman

When the Pharaoh Cheops died he needed a boat to guide him into the afterlife. This fascinating narrative effectively weaves together the history, texts, mythology, and customs of ancient Egypt, drawing readers in through the step by step processes used to build the vessel. The rediscovery of the actual boat in an archeological find and its reconstruction 4000 years later is detailed with great care. The final foldout pages reveal the pharaoh's boat in full restoration. Armchair archeologist as well as teachers with ancient Egyptian curriculum will gravitate toward this standout selection. This will complement such biographies as Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King by Zahi Hawass. Ages 9-12

Review Thursday: Children's Fiction

The Switch (2009)
Anthony Horowitz

Thirteen-year-old Tad Spencer lives with his rich mother and father. He gets whatever he wants but Tad is unhappy. One night he wishes he were someone else. When he wakes up, he is Bob Snarby, a poor son of carnival workers. He soon wishes he is Tad Spencer again. Tad runs off to a fortune teller who informs him that he is stuck being Bob Snarby until January 13, 3216. Will he ever be Tad Spencer again? This book goes nicely with The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.

Thank You, Lucky Stars (2008)
Beverly Donofrio

Ally is ready to start 5th grade with her best friend Betsy. They have been looking forward to the 5th grade talent show since kindergarten. Imagine her surprise when she spots Betsy with their enemy Mona! Ally discovers that Betsy and Mona are going to be part of a rock band for the talent show. The only girl interested in being friends with Ally is the new strange girl named Tina. Can the two of them put on a good performance for the talent show? Will Betsy be friends with Ally again? Pair this book with The Kind of Friends We Used to Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

The Year of the Bomb (2009)
Ronald Kidd

It’s 1955 and the United States lives in fear that Russia may decide to drop a few bombs. To escape the worry, Paul, Arnie, Crank, and Oz love to go see horror movies. They become excited when they find out that a new horror film called “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is going to be filmed in their hometown, Sierra Madre. They get to meet some extras on the set named Laura and Darryl. The four boys soon discover that Darryl is a government agent looking for communists on the movie set and at a nearby university. Should they help him or prevent him from falsely accusing people and ruining lives? For facts about the Cold War try The United States in the Cold War: 1945-1989 by Christopher Collier.

Program Help - Top Ten Resources

This is the first in a series of "top ten" lists. If you are looking for resources to make 2010 the best year ever for your library programs, look no further! The websites in this guide discuss several aspects of programming.

Event$ "on the cheap": Keeping the "bottom line" in mind is important in these budget-conscious times. Here are several websites with programming ideas that are inexpensive or free.

1. Hudson Valley Library E-Z Program Database

This is a searchable database of free and inexpensive program ideas, created by librarians in New York. Ideas are searchable by cost range, topic, audience, and/or program type.

2. What's Your Story? Find it at the library.

From the state library of Montana, this list of programming ideas for adults includes forty topics. Each is discussed in detail, with a catchy title, possible subtopics, approximate program time, suggested types of speakers, and more.

3. Calendar of Teen Programming Ideas

This wiki by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, presents ideas for teen programming in a calendar format. Everything from national holidays to library-specific events like Teen Read Week gets its due in this resource with something for everyone.

Working the Crowd: Partnerships with other community organizations can benefit everyone involved. Look in your community for like-minded organizations, and approach them about working together.

4. Check your community's website for a list of organizations, like this one from Salisbury, MD.

Making Your Mark(er): Arts and crafts make-and-take events are great for children and teens. To cut down on costs, you can ask for donations of art supplies from community members (everyone needs to clean out their closets sometime!) or local stores.

5. Choose crafts that are inexpensive to make, like origami boxes. View the directions with pictures here.

Here are two great books with lots of inexpensive ideas for kids' crafts:

6. Kids' Crazy Concoctions: Different mixtures in this book include homemade Play-Doh and other recipes for art supplies that use inexpensive household ingredients.

7. EcoArt!: Earth-friendly art and craft experiences for 3 to 9 year olds: Suggestions for activities made with recycled or reusable materials turn one person's trash into another person's treasure.

Looking Ahead: Find out what made your program great, and what to do next. Use your most important resource to the fullest - your patrons! Here are some websites including ideas for questions to use in both planning and follow-up surveys.

8. For planning programs: Planning Programs Survey

9. To follow up after a program: http://www.slrc.info/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=42890

10. SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/

SurveyMonkey is free, easy to use, and compiles survey results for you. If you prefer, you can use paper surveys.

Use what you learned from your patrons' feedback to make your next program even better. Good luck and here's to a fun and exciting year of great programs in 2010!

Review Thursday: Children's Nonfiction

Home on the Range: John A. Lomax and His Cowboy Songs by Deborah Hopkinson (2009)

As a young boy John Lomax sang songs to make doing his chores easier. In his head and, later, on scraps of paper, he collected work songs, ballads and, in particular, the soothing songs that cowboys sang to quiet restless cattle. When he grew up, he went around the country recording the cowboy songs he remembered from his childhood. His tapes eventually formed the basis of the American Folklife collection of the Library of Congress. This is an engaging book with charming pictures and, let’s face it, inspirational tales for children about folklorists are few and far between. Recommended for young readers interested in the American West, vernacular music, or folkways.

You Wouldn’t Want to Be Sick in the 16th Century! Diseases You’d Rather Not Catch by
Kathryn Senior (2002)

Next time you have to go to the doctor, be grateful you live here and now. Before there was aspirin, there was trepanning, or drilling a hole in the skull to release evil spirits. This installment of the You Wouldn’t Want To series examines the world of one Nicholas Knight, a fictional barber surgeon in Tudor England. A frightening glimpse at the infancy of scientific medicine, this book shows how, from a medical standpoint, at least, Merrie Olde England wasn’t so merry. Some of the ideas and practices detailed here, such as the theory of humors, are amusingly absurd, while others, such as the use of medical leeches, are enjoying a new day in the sun.

How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? by Steve Jenkins (2008)

If you’re a Jackson’s chameleon, you catch a fly with your tongue, which, as it happens, is half again as long as your body. Dazzling collages illustrate the various ways that animals solve survival problems like getting food, finding shelter, reproducing and caring for young. This is a thoughtful examination, in clear, simple language, of the concept of ecological niches. The science is solid but not dry and the illustrations, as always in a Jenkins book, are breathtaking.

What resources do you suggest for someone trying to improve their math skills?

One very good set of books is the Barron’s E-Z series (which seems to have replaced the Easy Way series), for example Barron’s E-Z Math or Barron’s E-Z Algebra. The Teach Yourself Visually series has also started to publish books about math, including Teach Yourself Visually Algebra and Teach Yourself Visually Calculus. These book made their name by publishing easy-to-use computer books with full-color pictures showing each step in a process.

As far as web sites go, Maths Is Fun is one of the better ones. It’s a British site (hence “maths” instead of “math.”), and it has simple tutorials to teach people about all kinds of math problems. There are also worksheets and games to help you practice what you’ve learned. The site is geared toward children, but it works well for adults too.

One other great website is Purple Math, which was started by a former math teacher and has tutorials on algebra and word problems.

If you’re looking for more assistance on working with math problems for customers, check out SLRC’s Math for Librarians online course!

I’m interested in learning about award-winning children’s books beyond the Caldecott and Newbury awards. What other awards are there?

The American Library Association’s Association for Library Service to Children awards the following:

Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
The Arbuthnot award honors an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature, of any country, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.

Batchelder Award
The Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

Belpré Award
The Belpré Medal honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal honors the producer of the most outstanding video production for children released during the preceding year.

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Given to African American authors and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream of a pluralistic society.

Geisel Award
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.

John Steptoe Awards for New Talent
These books affirm new African American talent and offer visibility to excellence in writing or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published book creator.

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production
The Odyssey Award will be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.

Schneider Family Book Awards
The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

Sibert Informational Book Medal
The Sibert Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year.

Wilder Award
The Wilder Medal honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.

And last but not least don’t forget the Notable Children's Notable Lists! Each year the Association for Library Service to Children identifies the best of the best in children's books, recordings, videos, and computer software.

Sailor Database Review: Discovering Collections

Discovering Collection is a Thompson Gale database aimed at middle and high school students. It is designed to introduce students to the strategies for conducting research and obtaining reliable information on a topic. The database provides aggregated links to full text sources on a broad variety of topics. The overwhelming majority of returns are articles generated specifically for this database or for other proprietary Gale resources.

Students can explore a subject either by following one of six “topic trees” (Cultures, Geography, Literature, Science, U.S. History, World History), or, alternatively, by performing basic or advanced searches. The basic search returns results using both keyword and subject searches, and the advanced search offers greater precision through the use of Boolean operators. Even basic returns can be limited by content level and content type. Articles in the database are available in written form or as audio MP3s. Discovering Collection would be useful for students who are required to do research on topics for which paper resources are limited and who are not permitted to use internet resources.

Sailor Database Review: Kids Infobits

Kids Infobits is a Thompson Gale database aggregating links to information in a variety of knowledge domains. Sources include online encyclopedia entries, entries in almanacs and other ready reference resources, articles in periodicals such as Highlights for Children or Science News for Kids, and entries created specifically for Kids Infobits. The database is intended as a tool to teach elementary school students the rudiments of online research and to provide vetted sources of factual information.

Kids Infobits would be useful for students who are required to do research on topics for which paper resources are limited and who are not permitted to use internet resources. Topics can be browsed from hierarchically arranged pages of topics (e.g. People → Scientists and Inventors → Niels Bohr) or searched by both keyword and a controlled vocabulary subject guide. The advanced search page provides an opportunity to gain Boolean search skills, but no explanation of Boolean operators for the uninitiated.

Review Thursday: Children's Books

The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein (2008)

Eleven-year-old Zack Jennings moves to Connecticut with his father and new stepmother. On their property is an old oak tree that harbors ghosts. The ghosts are part of a bad accident that happened years ago involving a bus and car. One ghost decides to kill Zack. Can Zack save himself? Pair this book with Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac for a double dose of terror!


The Problem with the Puddles by Kate Feiffer (2009)

The problem with the Puddles is that they don’t agree on anything. Their daughter, Baby, has two other names. On the way back to the city (from their country home), the Puddles realize that they’ve left their two dogs, Big Sally and Little Sally, behind. Should they go back for the dogs? Can Mr. and Mrs. Puddle agree on anything? A good companion book to read would be The Elevator Family by Douglas Evans.


11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass (2009)

Amanda and Leo were both born on the same day. They’ve always celebrated their birthdays together. This year, though, they are celebrating their eleventh same-day birthdays separately. It seems that Leo made some unkind remarks about Amanda on their tenth birthday. The day of their latest birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again. Can Amanda and Leo get along and stop their eleventh birthday from reoccurring? (For those adults who saw Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, this is a pint-sized version). Another funny book about birthdays is The Big One-Oh by Dean Pitchford.

Review Thursday: Children's Books

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola, 2008

When Wangari Maathai returned to Kenya after attending college in the United States, she encountered a much-changed country. Once covered with luxurious forest, the Kenya she found was a nearly treeless wasteland. Farmers had removed so many trees to make way for crops that Kenya was in danger of becoming a desert. Maathai spearheaded a grassroots effort to bring Kenya back from ecological disaster. This inspirational story about how one person really can make a difference would be useful for teaching children about both social activism and environmental conservation. Reading Planting the Trees of Kenya in conjunction with Jeanette Winter’s Wangari’s Trees of Peace would provide an interesting comparison between different authorial treatments of the same subject matter.


What the World Eats by Peter Menzel, 2008

What does a family of five eat in a week? In Greenland, that might include 9 pounds of walrus meat, in Mongolia a pound of dried-milk candy. Twenty-five families around the world are interviewed and photographed over the course of a week of typical food consumption. Each entry includes a photo of the family posed in their home with a week’s rations on a table. In addition to the vivid photographs, What the World Eats includes numerous recipes, charts, and graphs. This title is perfect for young foodies or as an introduction to cross-cultural perspectives on a universal human activity. What the world Eats would be a fun read as a companion to It’s Disgusting and We Ate It: Fun Food Facts from Around the World – and Throughout History by James Solheim.


Money Madness by David A. Adler, 2009

Everyone wants money, but what is it exactly? Money Madness is an introduction to how money works as a medium of exchange and a store of value. By way of explaining the function of money, Adler also introduces younger readers to ideas such as the market, credit, and supply and demand. This is an excellent presentation in simple terms of many basic concepts in economics. Younger readers who are interested in understanding the current financial mess will find it particularly useful.

Sailor Database Review: Books and Authors

Gale’s Books and Authors electronic database replaced Ebsco’s Novelist for Maryland public libraries July 1st. This database is modeled on Gale’s long-standing readers’ advisory print product What Do I Read Next. Books and Authors has several unique features that should be of interest and benefit to customers as well as to library staff. Its “Read-a-Like” wizard enables the user to supply a title that the user has enjoyed, and based on subject, author, or genre criteria that the user specifies, the database will suggest books to read. Its “Who, What, Where, When” feature enables the user to browse books by character, subject, location, and time period. The “My Reading Room” feature lets the user save and modify reading lists, reviews that the user has written, and booklists that the user has created.

Users can search by author, title, keyword, series, or genre, and they can filter by age group (adult, young adult, or children). Non-fiction as well as fiction titles are included. Extensive lists or award winners are included, as well as expert picks, librarian picks, and community picks. There is also an advanced search feature as well as an extensive help feature.

Review Thursday: Children's Book

The House in the Night (2008) Susan Marie Swanson, Beth Krommes.

"Here is the key to the house." And so the story begins. Once you take the key, oh, what wonderful adventures you'll have! You will meet a book and the book will introduce you to a bird. The bird? She has a song! A beautiful song that she'll sing for you if you listen. Beth Krommes illustrated this 2009 Caldecott illustration award winner with black and white scratchboard with yellow highlights. This is a wonderful book for children who enjoy nursery rhymes. Also good for those readers who like cumulative stories; for example, “This is the House That Jack Built,” and “Hush Little Baby.”

The Graveyard Book (2008) Neil Gaiman.

Nobody Owens, Bod for short, lives in a graveyard. Yes, you read correctly, a graveyard. He lives among tombstones and the ghosts that inhabit the underneath of those stones. He is raised by a lovely elderly couple who never had children when they were alive. Bod also has a guardian, and he's a member of the "undead." All work together to help Bod solve the mystery of what happened to his family. Gaiman won the 2009 Newbery award for excellence in children's literature for this tale of the dead. This book bridges the gap between children’s and teen literature. Also, with vampire characters and the walking dead, this book serves as a light suggestion before readers consume the Twilight series.

The Uglified Ducky: A Maynard Moose Tale (2008) Willy Claflin.

A very uglified ducky in the piney woods of Maine suffers from a bad case of antlers. In addition, when it's time to make a proper ducky sound but instead goes "gronk aroo." Parents and doctor are baffled. Then, one day, the ducky meets a "magnifusent brown beasty" and he learns that he may not be a ducky after all. This story is great for those children with a sophisticated sense of humor. It could also be used with those readers addicted to Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling” or fairy tales all around.

Review Thursday: Children's Books

Masterpiece (2008) Elise Broach.

Marvin, a rather unusual beetle, makes a miniature drawing as an eleventh birthday gift for a human named James. His work is so delicately detailed and exacting that it could substitute for the real thing. That’s the whole problem. The two unlikely friends work together to recover a Durer drawing stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For those who like rousing art mystery adventures, such as those written by Blue Balliett, this is just the ticket. Add in an interspecies relationship to match Beverly Cleary’s Mouse and the Motorcycle and you have a sure fire winner.

First Dog Fala (2008) Elizabeth Van Steenwyk.

For President Franklin Roosevelt it was “love at first lick” when he met his new Scottish terrier, Fala. From puppyhood through the five years he lived in the White House, whether Fala was chasing butterflies on the White House lawn or running loose in the streets of Washington D.C., he was a dedicated companion during the terrible years of WW II. With the interest in presidential pooches running at a fever pitch, this will be an easy sell. The fact that the reader will learn a good deal about President Roosevelt makes it appealing on more than level.

The Black Book of Colors (2008) Menena Cottin.

Raised black drawings on black paper illustrate the color impressions of Thomas, a blind boy who "likes all the colors because he can hear them and smell them and touch them and taste them." The pages facing the illustrations have print and Braille text and there is a Braille alphabet at the back of the book for those curious about trying to read with their fingers. Tactile pictures and richly sensual language combine for a uniquely pleasurable reading experience. Stories in Braille are rare in public libraries; all the more reason to experience a book that embodies a commitment to disability awareness and accessibility.