Blog Post
Bo and Co. are winners the second time around
by LibraryMaven
I loved Bo at Ballard Creek last year and was excited to revisit Bo, her papas, her little brother, and the world of post-Gold Rush Alaska in Bo at Iditarod Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill a few weeks ago. But I was also worried: would it live up to the wonderful nature of the first book? I'm pleased to say that it did. With a new cast of characters, an expanding worldview for Bo (she moves from a town of 200 people to 500 people, for example, and learns that there are different Native Alaskan tribes throughout the state), and the same gentle humor as the first it's a worthy follow up.
If you enjoy reading or reading aloud the episodic adventures of The Little House on the Prairie or The Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich, you might be as charmed by Bo as I am. The book is also a fascinating, if oblique, view into the world of backcountry Alaska in the 1930s, when mail arrived via airplane and amenities available to the rest of the country hadn't caught up yet, so if you enjoy historical fiction you might enjoy Bo and Co. as well.
Blog Post
New Nonfiction for Kids: Why'd They Wear That?
by eapearce
We’ve all seen pictures and paintings of people wearing some pretty crazy clothing and fashions over the course of history. Why have clothes changed so much over time? What caused different accessories and styles to come into fashion… and to fade back out again? If questions like this pique your interest, National Geographic’s Why’d They Wear That? is the book for you! Filled with amazing fashion facts and the reasons behind some of the more obscure style trends we’ve seen over time, this awesome book is also packed with great pictures of clothes and the people that wore them.
Did you know that in the 1700s in France, women’s hoop skirts were so wide that they had to turn sideways to get through doorways? After the storming of the Bastille, these cumbersome skirts quickly went back out of fashion—women couldn’t hope to escape with their lives if they couldn’t even get through a door!
And, before the 1860s, shoes weren’t mass produced with left and right feet: they were all just straight! So, wearing shoes was often very painful. You could only custom order right and left-footed shoes if you were very wealthy. Finally, it 1865, this problem was remedied when appropriately designed shoes were made widely available.
Why’d They Wear That has information like these crazy facts you just read, and so much more. And, for another cool book on fashion and style over time, try The Fashion Book.
Blog Post
Library Lists: 10 Interactive Books for Kids
by eapearce
Books aren't just for reading! Awesome books like the ones on this list allow you to be inventive and engaged by using and interacting with them!
Kaleidoscope: With a built-in spinning kaleidoscope lens, every page of this book is transformed into a visual delight. Simple rhymes describe the changing seasons, making this lovely and inventive book a unique and colorful journey through a year.
Mythology: the gods, heroes, and monsters of ancient Greece: This fascinating book on Greek mythology uses newspaper clippings, letters, and photographs from the “past” to impart information about famous myths. Other great books in the series include Dinosaurology, Alienology and Pirateology.
Alphablock: What a fun way to learn the alphabet! Thick pages in this book are cut into the shape of each letter, allowing children to peek-through the letters and guess them based on both their form and words associated with them.
Press Here:This creative book encourages kids to perform actions on each page: pressing dots, shaking the book, turning it upside down, and more. The result of each action is demonstrated on the next page. Kids love “influencing” the story and seeing the effects of their actions!
Panorama: a foldout book: Simple text and beautiful illustrations invite readers to view different places around the world. Then, the pages can be folded out to see the same scenes at nighttime.
Book-o-Hats, A Wearable Book: You can become a chef, a firefighter, a pirate, and more in this book that features wearable hats with fun rhyming text. There’s more wearable books in this series too, including Book-o-Teeth, Book-o-Beards, and Book-o-Masks!
What Happens When…: This lovely book allows readers to explore what happens to things that are lost or let go through text and illustrations on fold-out pages. I love how this book—originally published in French—offers simple solutions to some of the most common questions, such as “what happens when I let my balloon go?”
Guess what?—Food: This lift-the-flap book allows young readers to see familiar foods transformed into unexpected animals! Author Yusuke Yonezu is also the author of Guess What?—Fruit, an equally cool lift-the-flap book for young ones.
Small Smaller Smallest is a great way to learn differences in sizes and quantity. Each page has a pull-tab for children to tug on to see phenomenon like a flower growing from tall to taller to tallest and snowflakes falling low… lower… lowest.
Pinwheel allows readers to spin different wheels to create colorful scenes of natural areas. Like in Kaleidoscope, Salina Yoon’s simple poetry reminds readers of the beauty around us every day.
If you want even more great interactive books for children, check out this more extensive list!
Blog Post
Please, Mr. Panda
by manz
Here are two super cute picture books that involve manners.
Please Mr. Panda is a new picture book and features a panda with a box of donuts to share, but his friends aren’t asking for them very nicely. It’s a simple book with few words and lively illustrations all about the word please.
Thank You, Octopus offers a hilarious dialog between a boy getting ready for bed and his octopus friend. There is a lot of thank you and no thank you between the two that will enduce much laughter.
If this sparks further dialog with your little one, check out more picture books all about manners.
Blog Post
At the Art Table: She’s Like a Rainbow
by manz
This month at the art center in the youth department downtown we’re making rainbows! This will help to spread spring cheer! What colors make up a rainbow? Why are they always the same color? Explore rainbows and ROYGBIV with art and make your own rainbow.
Here are a few books about rainbows to help get you in the mood.
Blog Post
Lift-the-Flap Board Books!
by manz
The library has many baby board books, with thick pages ready for babies and toddlers to handle. But sometimes you’re looking for the books that have peek-a-boo style flaps that the kiddos can lift up and explore! We have several of those.
This past week Ms. Amanda featured Guess What? - Food at storytime, and it’s great if you’re looking for a silly guessing story, even for preschoolers. AADL also has many more lift the flap books to choose from! Check out the list and see what might make your little one's reading time more hands-on.
Blog Post
Read Across America Day & National Reading Month
by manz
Today is Read Across America Day!
Read Across America Day was founded in 1997 “to promote the joy and importance of reading and to celebrate the birthday of beloved author Dr. Seuss.” It has become a nationwide event celebrated by schools, libraries and bookstores across the country. You just mind find an elementary school principal dressed up like Thing 1 or Thing 2, and some students may end up eating green eggs and ham for lunch. How wacky! How Seussy!
Did you know that there will be a NEW Dr. Seuss book coming out in July? The manuscript for Which Pet Should I get was recently found by his widow.
Be sure to check out your favorite Dr. Seuss titles and get some reading done! Hooray for reading! It's not just today, the entire month of March is National Reading Month.
Blog Post
Parent’s Corner: “Mom, I’m Hungry!”
by manz
Kids seem to be hungry all the time. Always wanting a snack or a juice box, even after they’ve just ate. How and what do you feed the kid who wants to eat all day? The Parent Shelf is located in the downtown youth area, and on this shelf you’ll find a variety of parent-child related books on a multitude of topics- including everything from food and nutrition to potty training to time-outs to homework. These books are available for checkout and can be found in the catalog when searching “parent shelf.”
Beating the lunch box blues: Fresh ideas for lunches on the go! is found on that shelf, and sounds like a great way to spice up the brown bag lunches if you’re burned out on spreading peanut butter on bread. For more titles, check out this list of great books featuring more fun lunch box ideas.
For additional food ideas and insight on dealing with food challenges, check out Food fights: Winning the Nutritional challenges of parenthood armed with insight, humor and a bottle of ketchup, and Whatever happened to dinner?: Recipes and ideas for family mealtime.
And of course here are even more food titles to help with meal planning and encouraging healthy eating habits.
Blog Post
New Picture Books With a Twist!
by manz
Sometimes new picture books come out that are presented in a nontraditional format. Here are three great examples of books that feature a messy story with interruptions, a story that’s read backwards and upside down, and story with a choose-your-own-ending.
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story
In this classically cute story by Patrick McDonnell, Louie becomes angry when the story in which he appears is ruined by messes from jelly, peanut butter, finger prints, and other things that do not belong in books. It’s quite funny! In the end he realizes that it’s still a good story – messes and all.
The Story Starts Here:
Little Wolf decides to do things his way, including starting his story at the back of the book instead of the front, wearing pants on his head, and playing piano with his toes. But at some point the book has to turn upside down in order to turn things right side up.
Milo and the Mysterious Island:
Milo wishes to see what’s beyond the horizon and he and the other mice build a raft and set off on a voyage. The book reads as normal, then you get to a point where there are split pages. One set of pages finishes the story with a happy ending, and the other set of pages finishes the story with a sad ending – you get to decide which one you want to read! Or of course you can read both. Written by Marcus Pfister, author of Rainbow Fish.
Blog Post
New Non-Fiction for Kids: Inventions that could have changed the world... but didn't!
by eapearce
Over the course of history, a lot of people have changed the world. Of course, even more people have also WANTED to change the world… but it hasn’t quite worked out. The brand new book Inventions That Could Have Changed the World… But Didn’t! describes some of the toys, games, household and office aids, and general contraptions that have been thought up but didn’t quite succeed in actuality. From a combination pogo stick/helicopter to Toaster Bacon, this fun book is filled with goofy and fascinating inventions from the ages. Inventions That Could Have Changed the World also has interesting and easy-to-understand information about patents and tips for getting your OWN invention to succeed.
Interested in other books about inventions and inventing? Try 100 Inventions That Made History, The Story of Inventions, or Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women.