Friday, December 19, 2008

Hello and Welcome

Welcome to Allerton Library’s first foray into the world of blogging! In this blog I will talk about new books for children and teens, as well as events for children at the library. If you would like to comment on my blog, please feel free. I will check it often and respond to you. I will also try to post updates often.

On to books!

One of my absolute favorite new picture books is I’m Bad! by Kate and Jim McMullan. These authors also wrote classics such as I Stink!, a Monarch Award nominee. I’m Bad! follows a T-rex as he stomps around looking for food and proclaiming, “I’m REALLY bad. Scare-the-tails-off-all-the-other-dinosaurs BAD…. Did you just call me BABY ARMS? Long as yours, pal—20 times stronger. Think about it….” A twist at the end when a parent appears makes a satisfying conclusion. Full of humor for both kids and adults and exciting action sequences, this book will be a hit with most kids age 3-6, and especially with young dinosaur enthusiasts.




I also read a stirring account of the making of the Statue of Liberty in the new children’s nonfiction book Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport. The book combines gorgeous illustrations with poetic text and facts that children will relate to. Each page or two describes a different stage of conception or construction from the point of view of a different person who was involved: we hear from Bartholdi the sculptor, Eiffel the engineer, and Pulitzer the newspaper publisher. My favorite section centered on Florence de Foreest, a little girl from New Jersey who sent two pet roosters to Pulitzer so he could sell them to raise money. She says, “Mr. Pulitzer’s campaign is working. More than one hundred thousand Americans have given pennies, nickels, dimes, and dollars. When you send money, Mr. Pulitzer prints your name and how much you gave in his paper…. I can’t wait to see my name in print.” This book is recommended for elementary-age report writers and history/construction enthusiasts.


Meg Cabot, author of the Princess Diaries series for teens, has made a successful foray into the world of chapter books for elementary school kids. Her new series, Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, starts with Moving Day. Allie is a fourth grader who likes math and science because all the rules are clearly spelled out. Rules for friendship don’t come as easily to her, and so she begins a list. Then, her parents announce that they are moving, and when Allie sees the new house she becomes convinced it is haunted. Her rules range from quirky “Never eat anything red” to profound “When you finally figure out what the right thing to do is, you have to do it, even if you don’t want to.” This book will be popular with fans of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona, as well as girls who liked Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody but are ready for a longer novel.

Normally, I don’t read many mysteries. However, after being baffled a couple of times when older kids asked for recommendations, I resolved to read more. I picked up The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The story is about two 13-year-old girls named Kari and Lucas who go to London with Kari’s mom. The girls are art enthusiasts, and during a visit to the National Gallery they notice a suspicious-looking man copying a painting. Their efforts to figure out what he’s up to make for entertaining reading; they don disguises to fool the security guards and even release a snake in the gallery as a decoy. Kari’s mother eventually figures out what they’re doing and ends up helping them catch the bad guy. Although the mystery isn’t too difficult to figure out, the book will appeal to readers who like travel and art. I recommend the book for mystery fans 12 and older.