Children's VHS for Sale

We are selling Children's VHS at the Children's Desk for $1.50. All profits will fund our growing DVD collection so come on by!

NYT 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2011

The New York Times Book Review has announced its list of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2011. The list has been released early and the artwork from the winning books will be shown in the Children’s Book section of the Book Review’s Nov. 13 issue. You can check out the list of winners here.

We particularly enjoyed I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen and Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell.  Feel free to share your thoughts on the list with us.

This Week @ Story Time

What we read:

Little Listeners:

Rattle and Rap written and illustrated by Susan Steggall
Freight Train written and illustrated by Donald Crews






Story Time:
Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
Big Frog Can't Fit In by Mo Willems
Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan
The Croaky Pokey! by Ethan Long
Frogs in Clogs by Sheila White Samton

Amazon's Top 10 of 2011

The gift giving season is upon us and Amazon's Best Books of  2011 list is out.  Check out their picture book list here. The new Eric Carle tops the list!

This Week @ Story Time

What we read:

Little Listeners:
Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean
Frogs in Clogs written and illustrated by Sheila White Samton

Story Time:
"I'm Not Cute!" by Jonathan Allen
Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Two Websites to Check Out!

The Whitney Museum Of American Art just launched For Kids, a new section of its site devoted to children ages 8 to 12. This interactive site provide biographies and overviews of each featured artist's work; current featured artists include Alexander Calder, Edward Hopper, Glenn Ligon, Claes Oldenberg and Cindy Sherman. Visit For Kids here.

Who doesn't love free? Cannon's Creative Park is filled with free print materials, including flashcards and kid's projects.  Try printing out these educational cards to help children to learn about the different houses that animals live in here. Picture matching word cards are grouped under 'fruits & vegetables' and are available in 6 languages - Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, and Chinese. You can study the language of your choice here. And then try these flashcards of everyday items here.

El Dia de los Muertos

Today is El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), a Mexican celebration to remember  those who have departed. On this day in Mexico, the streets near the cemeteries are filled with decorations of papel picado, flowers, candy calaveras (skeletons and skulls), and parades.

It is believed that the spirit of the dead visit their families on October 31 and leave on November 2. In order to celebrate, the families make altars and place ofrendas (offerings) of food such as pan de muertos baked in shapes of skulls and figures, candles, incense, yellow marigolds known as cempazuchitl (also spelled zempasuchil) and most importantly a photo of the departed soul is placed on the altar.

Check out a recipe for calaveras (sugar skulls) here.

Make a Day of the Dead skeleton puppet here.

The Smithsonian has a fabulous and kid-friendly site for more information on El Dia de los Muertos. Check it out here.

Looking for books on this holiday?  You might want to try these:

Clatter Bash: A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Clemenson Keep (P KEE)

Maria Molina and the Days of the Dead by Kathleen Krull (P KRU)

Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead by George Ancona (J 393.9 ANC)

Books make the best gifts!

Halloween is over and the stores are putting up the holiday merchandise. If you want to get a jump start on your holiday shopping check out our 2009 list on how to give a book as a gift.  Or take a peek at our 2010 list of great book pairs.

Not ready to start shopping yet? Don't worry. We'll be back later with a 2011 gift list!

Book Buzz November, 2011

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming

This is a fascinating book, telling the story of Amelia’s life growing up and how her fascination with flying began. The biography is intermixed with accounts of the last few days of her life, and her attempts to contact people for help. The author does an amazing job of keeping the reader on the edge of  their seat, even though you know the outcome of her tragic last flight.  Kristin (J Non-Fiction)

The Wedding Planner’s Daughter by Coleen Murtagh Paratore

Who would not want to have a wedding planner as a mother?  How fun and romantic does that sound?  Well, when your mother no longer believes in love and moves you from state to state to avoid finding a new husband and new father, it kind of takes the fun out of the job.  Coleen Murtagh Paratore writes a sweet story about a young girl who really wants nothing more in life than to have a father and to have her mother be truly happy.  Can Willa, our main character, and her mother ever find their own happily ever after? Jacquie (J Fiction)

No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

The three Tomkins kids should have realized that they were in trouble a lot sooner. India, Finn and Mouse-thought that they were just flying to their Uncle Red's in Colorado. But instead they’ve landed in a very strange place – a place that doesn’t seem to be on any map.  A place that doesn’t want them to leave.  Can the three siblings figure out how to stick together and find their way home before time runs out?  Alia (J Fiction)  

Red Blazer Girls: The Mistaken Masterpiece by Michael Beil

Those red blazer girls are back.  I really don’t know how they find the time.  They go to school, are in a band, have families to attend to, mysteries to solve, swim meets to compete in, and they STILL have time to meet Nate Etan, the most popular young actor out there! This new addition to the great series has our main characters on the hunt to authenticate a real painting.  When two paintings appear that look almost identical, the girls need to figure out which is the original.  While doing so, the girls also realize how much “art imitates life”.  Jacquie (J Fiction)

The Trouble With May Amelia by

Jennifer L. Holm

Our beloved heroine is back, in this follow-up to the Newbery Honor Book- Our Only May Amelia. The year is 1900 and May Amelia is still as irritating as a grain of sand.  “My brother Wilbert tells me that I’m like the grain of sand in an oyster. Someday I will be a Pearl, but I will nag and irritate the poor oyster and everyone else up until then.” She always has the best of intentions but somehow May Amelia ends up falling into the Nasal River, letting the hog loose, and (in her father’s eyes) leading the family to financial ruin. May Amelia makes life during the early 20th Century in the Pacific Northwest come alive. Meghan (J Fiction)