This Librarian's Quick Picks: Elementary Edition

Blackout

by John Rocco
Disney/Hyperion 2011

Summary:

Neighbors gather on the roof after the power goes out on a hot night in the city and start having so much fun not everyone is happy when the lights go back on.

Why You'll Love It:

• Rocco’s lustrous, animation-quality artwork somehow manages to get richer the darker it gets, and features one of the silkiest skies since Van Gogh's Starry Night.
• Page composition effectively intermingles boxed pages and panels with double-page spreads, generating action. Brilliantly designed, with comic bits such as a portrait of Edison on a wall and the cat running from a hand shadow of a dog.
• In the most poignant spread, the family sits on the stoop, eating ice cream: "And no one was busy at all." It's a rare event these days.

Time to Sleep

by Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2011

Summary:

Illustrations and text show the sleeping habits of various animals.

Why You'll Love It:

• The illustrations are rendered in torn- and cut-paper collage, with each animal is set against a white background.
•  Fascinating behaviors are detailed with explanations, such as the "white stork sleeps in flight.by taking a series of naps that last just a few seconds each." 

Aggie Gets Lost

by Lori Ries
Charlesbridge 2011

Summary:

Ben is heartbroken when his puppy Aggie goes missing while the two are playing fetch in the park, but he is determined to find his lost pet.

Why You'll Love It:

• With clear and simple language, three short chapters, and abundant artwork that details the action, Aggie and Ben’s latest adventure is sure to be a favorite among beginning readers.
• The short, succinct sentences are easy to understand, while they also reveal Ben’s emotions: “Did I pet her enough? Did I tell Aggie she was a good dog? I cannot sleep. I am too sad to sleep.”
• Frank W. Dormer’s charming, stylized artwork authentically captures the lively jaunts to the park as well as Ben’s sorrow while Aggie is missing.
• Careful observers will enjoy noticing the skunk in the illustrations well before he makes his mark on the story and will giggle all the more to see everyone holding their noses after Aggie is found.

Lost! A Dog Called Bear

by Wendy Orr
Henry Holt 2011

Summary:

When Logan's dog runs away as he and his mother are moving to a new home after his parents separate, a girl named Hannah, who longs for a dog of her own, finds him.

Why You'll Love It:

• A warm tale that is filled with kid appeal. The main characters’ parallel stories pleasingly intertwine, and it is gratifying that the story ends happily for all involved.
• Wendy Orr’s ability to convey emotions simply makes the story rich and satisfying. Logan feels “like the turkey’s wishbone being pulled apart after Thanksgiving dinner” as he deals with his parents’ separation. And Hannah’s feelings are often reflected in her ponytail, which “flips” and “quivers” when she’s happy, and “mopes” when she’s upset.
• Short chapters and frequent illustrations make this early chapter book a perfect choice for newly independent readers. 

Fractions = Trouble

by Claudia Mills
Farrar Straus Giroux

Summary:

Wilson Williams does not want anyone to know his parents have hired a tutor to help him with his math, but the secret could spell disaster for his friendship with Josh.

Why You'll Love It:

• Familiar school concerns, nicely resolved, make this another excellent selection for early chapter-book readers.
• The short chapters have believable dialogue and plenty of reader appeal.
• Karas' scratchy grayscale drawings, one to a chapter, support the story.

This Librarian's Quick Picks: Elementary Edition

The Loud Book

by Deborah Underwood
Houghton Mifflin, 2011

Summary:

From the blare of an alarm clock in the morning to snores and crickets in the evening, simple text explores the many loud noises one might hear during the course of a day.

Why You'll Love It:

• Deborah Underwood invites young readers to think about sound in intriguing ways. Her catalog of loud moments includes things that sound loud (alarm clocks, fire truck sirens), as well as things that feel loud (burps during quiet time, a mother’s disapproval).
• The book’s world feels cozy and lived-in, thanks to Renata Liwska’s adorable animals and soft color palette.
• Readers will have fun comparing The Loud Book to The Quiet Book, which shares the same playful sensibility and appealing cast of characters.
• Children may be inspired to think about the different kinds of moments that make up their days.

Owly and Wormy, Friends All Aflutter!

by Andy Runton
Athenum, 2011

Summary:

Good friends Owly and Wormy are disappointed when their new plant attracts fat, green, bug-like things, instead of butterflies, until a metamorphosis occurs.

Why You'll Love It:

• Andy Runton conveys his story entirely through illustrations; even the characters’ “speech” bubbles contain only images and easily recognizable symbols. This approachable format will attract pre-readers, beginning readers, and reluctant readers.
• The simple tale is full of heartwarming details and subtle humor, such as the nuanced expressions on Owly’s face and the appearance of a compact fluorescent lightbulb over his head when he has an idea.
• Cute characters and saturated backgrounds give the bold artwork wide appeal. The design will also draw in lovers of comic books and the existing Owly graphic novels.
• Attentive readers may notice cocoons gradually getting bigger on Owly’s plant. When Owly learns the relationship between caterpillars and butterflies, readers will, too. Or, if they already know the connection, they’ll have the joy of solving the mystery of the green bugs’ disappearance before Owly does. 

Queen of the Falls

by Chris Van Allsburg
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
Genre: Biography

Summary:

Recounts the stunt performed by sixty-two-year-old retired charm school instructor Annie Edson Taylor, who went over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel in an effort to gain fame and fortune.

Why You'll Love It:

• It's Chris Van Allsburg! He's back! Do you really need any other reasons??? 

What's For Dinner? Quirky, Squirmy Poems from the Animal World

by Katherine B. Hauth
Charlesbridge, 2011
Genre: Poetry

Summary:

A collection of illustrated poems for children that explore the dietary preferences of animals, describing the menus of turkey vultures, archer fish, baby wasps, and more.

Why You'll Love It:

• Biology, verse, and colorful cartoons make a fun combination in this collection of 29 poems in which the wordplay is sometimes as gruesome as the science.
• Delectable poetic lessons on the food chain designed to help young readers rather literally digest the natural world. 
• Ink-and-watercolor images balance grotesque or absurd touches (think bulging eyes, sharp teeth, lolling tongues) with bright colors and attractive details.

 

This Librarian's Quick Picks: Elementary Edition

Miss Lina's Ballerinas
by Grace Maccarone
Grades PreS-1


Ballet instructor Miss Lina has a solution when her eight students, who always dance in pairs, are distraught when a ninth girl joins the class.


Why You'll Love It:

• Davenier’s free-spirited drawings and color washes add a sense of music as well as movement to the scenes.
• It reminds me of the Madeline books.
• Makes a great introduction to a math lesson on number groupings.

Rain School
by James Rumford
Grades K-3


The children arrive on the first day of school and build a mud structure to be their classroom for the next nine months until the rainy season comes and washes it all away.


Why You'll Love It:

• This book gives young children a glimpse into the school life of children in another part of the world.
• The message of the story is clear-while the school structure may be temporary, education is permanent.
• Rumford's illustrations make great use of color, dark brown skin and bright shirts, shorts and dresses against golden backgrounds, the hues applied in smudgy layers that infuse each scene with warmth-until the gray rains arrive. 

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems
by Kristine O'Connell George
Grades 1-4


A collection of poems in which Jess explores the joys and aggravations of being Emma's big sister.


Why You'll Love It:

• The straightforward, honest poems contain a whole range of feelings: embarrassment, fury, affection, and pure terror.
• The poems and art tell an absorbing story -- complete with a few tense moments and a warm, believable conclusion.
• Spring-colored line drawings in pen-and-ink and digital media are filled with engaging details, expressive characters, and lots of humor, and bring the family dynamics to life.

Gold! Gold from the American River!
by Don Brown
Grades 4-6


Introduces young readers to the history of the California gold rush, describing the journey to California, the process of panning for gold, and the fortunes that this gold brought many different people.


Why You'll Love It:

• The author does not hesitate to reveal the darker side of mining communities. One illustration vividly depicts the shotgun murder of an American Indian, with a description of the tragic fate of many Indians in the goldfields through violence, disease, and enslavement.
• The inventive page compositions and scratchy watercolor cartoon figures carry small, telling dramas (the tiny grin that punctuates a successful panner’s face is priceless), and sweeping western landscapes come into full relief.

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFOs
by Donald J. Sobol
Grades 2-4


Ten brief cases allow the reader to match wits with ten-year-old crime-buster, Encyclopedia Brown, as he investigates such cases as whether a diary of George Washington's mother is authentic, or if a UFO picture supposedly taken by the army is real.


Why You'll Love It:

• Each of the ten chapters is a brief, self-contained mystery; readers might choose to dip into the book, reading a case or two at a time, or they may devour the book in one sitting.
• James Bernardin’s detailed illustrations enhance the stories, showing Encyclopedia Brown in action.
• Young sleuths can consult the solutions at the back of the book—whether they’re stumped or to confirm their exceptional detective work.