Take me out to the ball game!

Smarty Marty's Got Game by Amy Gutierrez

Marty and her brother have tickets to see Marty's favorite team against their biggest, meanest competitors!  Mickey knows very little about baseball, but luckily he is attending the game with Marty, the team's biggest fan and an expert in the ins and outs of baseball- she explains it all and makes Mickey love the game as much as she does. With this book, sports journalist and San Francisco Giants fan, Amy G. explains the sometimes confusing rules of baseball in a fun and easy way and even teaches score keeping.  Baseball is America's past-time but its also a great family tradition.  Colorful and fun illustrations by Adam McCauley are a beautiful finishing touch!

Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon 

While we commonly think of baseball as the great American pastime, Take me out to the Yakyu nicely demonstrates how baseball transcends both American and Japanese cultures.  Two little boys each attend a game with their grandfather and through them, we see the many differences and similarities of this beloved game in each country.  A great book for a young person interested in Japanese culture. 

A boat load of Picture Books!

There have been a lot of great picture books coming across my desk over that last few months!  

I have been already using some of these in programs, storytime and class visits.  
Here are a few! 

 Have You Seen My New Blue Socks?  Written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier, my favorite new illlustrator! 

The rhyming hunt for Duck's missing socks is very funny and will delight both young and old.  Fortunately there is a happy ending!  

 Hooray for Hat! Written by Brian Won is a great story of friendship.  Elephant wakes up grumpy. Who can't relate to that?  He is quickly cheered up by a hat and wants to share his joy!  Proof that happiness can be contagious! 

Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli

Sam is number one at being number one.  What happens when he doesn't win?  A great fun story with a sweet resolution!  

 Sparky!  By Jenny Offill

Our narrator wants a pet and her mom agrees, so long as said pet doesn't need to be walked, fed or bathed.  After some research at the local library, our plucky narrator comes home with Sparky, a sloth.  A great story of how someone isn't exactly what you expect them to be.  I would pair this with David LaRochelle's wonderful The Best Pet of All or Peggy Rathmann's award winning Officer Buckle and Gloria. 

New Picture Books

I am always on the search for some new fun picture books, for the collection, for story time or for outreach.  Here are some that I have been getting a lot of use out of lately.

Maple, the debut of author Lori Nichols is a sweet and lovely portrait of a fun-loving, free-spirited girl.  Maple's parents plant a tree in her honor when she is born.  As they both grow, Maple looks on her tree as a friend, seeking her in happy times and sad times.  A great story!

With Paul meets Bernadette, author/illustrator Rosy Lamb gives us Paul, a goldfish whose life is a rather hum-drum existence until, of course, Bernadette moves in to the bowl!  Bernadette and her exciting take on everything shows Paul a whole new world right outside his bowl.

Found, by author/illustrator Salina Yoon is a wonderful story about lost objects and found love.  Bear finds a lost toy Bunny in the woods.  He feels terrible that somebody may have lost their favorite toy and he is determined to reunite them.  While Bear posts flyers and searches for Bunny's owner, he finds himself growing attached.  What will he do when Bunny's owner is found?  So sweet. 

In Sophie's Squash, written Pat Zietlow Miller and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf, Sophie finds a unique friend at the farm market, a squash she names Bernice.  Sophie discovers the many joys of friendship as well as the many pitfalls of befriending a vegetable.  A sweet and funny story that had me laughing out loud. 

Pile of Picture Books

I love when new boxes of books arrive fresh from Barnes and Noble, Amazon or Baker and Taylor.  Here a few new books I discovered this week that are soon to be program favorites. 

Lion vs. Rabbit by Alex Lattimer is laugh out loud funny.  The animals of the jungle are sick and tired of Lion and his bullying ways, but who can stop him?  Rabbit answers their advertisement for a troubleshooter but can little rabbit outsmart a ferocious lion?  Hmmm. 

Bear's Song by Benjamin Chaud is sweet and soothing like honey.  A small bear goes out into the night in search of a snack.  Can Papa Bear find him and safely bring him back to the den?  

Pig on a Hill by John Kelly  Pig enjoys his solitary life on the hill and is more than a little put out when duck moves in and turns Pig's quiet life upside down.  

Three great new picture books for your library collection and to enhance any preschool storytime.  Enjoy! 

 

 
 

A Pair of Picture Books!

Julie Fogliano and Erin E. Stead have created a delightful tale about waiting patiently for spring.  This story is gentle and thoughtfully paced, and the promise of spring and all her beauty is fully realized.  Erin Stead's illustrations are a perfect compliment to Fogliano's prose.  And Then It's Spring is great new addition to my spring story-time collection and well deserving of the Caldecott Award that was bestowed upon it and its creators this January.

  

Boot & Shoe written and illustrated by two time Caldecott Honoree Marla Frazee is the story of 2 dogs content to live together, but exist separately- Boot is a back porch kind of dog and while Shoe prefers the front porch.  This arrangement seems to be working out fine, until a squirrel comes to the yard and causes quite a calamity.  A sweet, fun and funny book for my dog story-time! I am a big fan of Frazee's work and Boot & Shoe are a great addition!

 

 

Picture Book Pile!

So, I haven't posted in a little while, but I have been scouting library shelves and reading books!  

Here are a bunch of the JPs I have recently enjoyed and can't wait to share in a story-time soon!

Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas is a great, fun story/song for pajama stories!  

In the great tradition of Sandra Boynton this story features silliness, a song, cartoony fun illustrations and happy ending to get everyone ready for some sweet dreams! 

 Oh! What a Surprise by Suzanne Bloom

 Goose, Bear and Squirrel- the stars ( I am big fans of all three) of Bloom's A Splendid Friend, Indeed, Treasure and What About Bear? are back!  Bloom's sweet simple drawings and storyline create a warmhearted and fun story about the joy of giving as well as receiving.  So sweet! 

Read to Tiger 
by S.J. Fore and illustrations by R.W. Alley

When you are trying to read, a tiger, no matter how fun or friendly, behind your couch, playing with trains or doing karate can be rather distracting.  

This is an excellent, fun new addition to my story time collection and a great companion to other quirky animal books like Diane Goode's Tiger Trouble or Michelle Knudsen's The Library Lion .

Lemonade in Winter
by Emily Jenkins with illustrations by G. Brian Karas

One of my favorite authors have teamed up with one of favorite illustrators (you should see the drawing he did for me when he signed my copy of Home on the Bayou) to create a story about a brother and sister and their February lemonade stand.  They show the nay-sayers, stick together and have a good time and a special treat with the profit. 

Karas' sweet illustrations and Jenkin's plot of sibling team-work also teaches some great, simple lessons about counting money- an excellent teaching tool for us visual learners.  

Proof that lemonade and teamwork are tasty in any season! 
 

 

Award Winners!

Happy Newbery & Caldecott Announcement Day! 
I will confess here that I have yet to read the winner, The One & Only Ivan by K.A. Applegate.  It has been on my list for a while now.  I will get to it soon, although with its sudden notoriety, it may be a bit harder to obtain than your average library book.  I will post my thoughts on the actual books as soon as possible.

 I was pleased to see that Jon Klassen was awarded both the Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat and the Honor for Extra Yarn!  I wonder if that has ever occurred before?  I am a big fan of Klassen's work and his humor and enjoyed both of these immensely. 

 A hearty congratulations to all the winners!

Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen

It's getting to be library award season and my very own award for the funniest picture book of 2012 goes to Michelle Knudson and illustrator Scott Magoon for Big Mean Mike. 

Knudsen, known for her picture book The Library Lion (close to my heart for the obvious reason as well as, for the fact that its really great!) had me laughing out loud at Mike, a big, tough guy, proud of his reputation of being an intimidator.

That is of course, until he makes friends with some cute, fluffy bunnies!  Who doesn't love cute fluffy bunnies?  Not even big, mean Mike can resist their cuteness. Mixed in the fun is the lesson that even the most different of creatures can be good friends and that maybe keeping up your image isn't always necessary!  What a great storytime book this will make!