Nonfiction Monday: Bunny the brave war horse by Elizabeth Macleod, illustrated by Marie Lafrance

2014 is the 100th anniversary of World War I, so I've been seeing a lot of WWI books coming out. Why you would want to commemorate a horrific world war I'm not sure, but it is what it is.

This is a picture book featuring a popular topic, animals in war. It's based on the true story of Bunny, one of the horses used in World War I. Bunny was a police horse chosen by the army. He and his rider, Bud, survive poison gas, help move supplies and wounded men, and pull cannons. After Bud is killed, his brother Tom is given Bunny and together they suffer the privations of war; Bunny is so hungry he eats his own blanket at one point. Bunny proves himself to Tom and the other soldiers and eventually the war is won and Tom returns home. Bunny, however, like all the other horses is left behind with farmers in Belgium.

A brief history of World War I, the 9th Battery, horses in war, and the end of war and the fate of the horses is included in the back. There are no sources listed or anything to delineate the difference between historical fact (which is apparently very thin on this story) and the author's imagination.

Lafrance's illustrations have a friendly, cartoon feel to them. The people look like wooden dolls and the battlefields are remarkably tidy. Review suggest this as a good introduction to World War I for young children; it doesn't shy away from the death, but the pictures and story are sanitized for younger readers and there is no blood or graphic depictions of violence. Which, frankly, to me makes no sense. Why would you want to introduce the concept of world war to a six year old anyways? Bunny always looks sturdy and healthy, even when he is starving. The battlefields are as orderly as a well-groomed park and the soldiers all look reasonably healthy and in good spirits.

Verdict: My review of this is pretty much personally biased. This is, in my opinion, a completely inappropriate introduction to a horrific war. I'm doubtful about the need to have books on world war for very young children anyways, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this one. The completely sanitized pictures convey nothing about the realities of war and make it look like they're going for a little vacation in Europe. This is just my opinion - many other review sources thought this was an excellent introduction to the war for young children. I won't be purchasing it for my library though.

ISBN: 9781771380249; Published 2014 by Kids Can Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

This week at the library; or, April Showers

What's happening; in my head and at the library

Final picture of the Bring on the Spring
activity before taking it down for
Culver's coloring contest

• Back to work. My desk was not as messy as I thought it was. Apparently we had a super busy week last week - we surpassed all our circulation goals, we broke 3,000 in picture book circulation for the month (a first!) and the children's area looked like a tornado went through it. It was awesome. I also had a patron compliment me on the gardening books I suggested last time they were in - they used them to plan their whole garden! My associate did amazing displays which I will be posting with our Under the Sea party in a few weeks.
• Nobody came to Preschool Interactive, but we did finalize summer reading plans on Wednesday.
• One of the reasons I have no desire to move up the management ladder is my extreme dislike of phone calls. I made multiple back to back phone calls on Thursday morning. UGH. Need chocolate to recover. Thursday was just annoying, from endless phone calls, to discovering I'd put the wrong time for next week's huge program on all the flyers that had already gone out, to not giving my associate enough information for a project and wasting her time (sorry again Jess) to the massive thunderstorms that dropped attendance at mad scientists club. All compounded by very little sleep the night before. Le sigh.
• Ok, well that was an...unexpected development on Friday. I have a performer coming NEXT Friday and one of the schools got confused and showed up this morning! So instead of the 15-20 kids I was expecting for Favorite Artist, I suddenly had 100! However, it could have been a lot worse and I was able to adapt fairly easily. Luckily Mo Willems is one of the only two favorite artist programs that uses printables and no paint! The staff and my director stepped up and ran copies and collected every bottle of glue, crayon and marker, I did storytime and I was totally on fire, and then they colored pictures and made paper bag puppets (and I had enough paper bags!). Also, only one school got confused - if I'd had 200 kids I don't know what I would have done! Then the school was having a read-in so that was pretty crazy that evening with everybody demanding books.
• Saturday - the local ham radio group came to demonstrate and do a "kids' day". I think maybe 20 people stopped by and that's probably generous. The weather was gorgeous and Saturday programs are hard to get people to come to here. Still, they seemed to enjoy setting up. I mostly worked in my office and then did periodic rounds to encourage people to go over there.

Programs

• Ms. Pattie's C.A.F.E. (Pattie)
• Tiny Tots (Pattie)
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions) (Pattie)
• Bookaneers
• Preschool Interactive: Farm Quackers
• Middle School Madness (Jess)
• Books 'n' Babies (Pattie)
• Mad Scientists Club: Magnetic Power
• We Explore Favorite Artist Mo Willems

Stealth Programs

• 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
• I Spy Aquarium (updated with Under the Sea theme)
• Birdwatching station
• Take Home Storytime: What's hatching?
• Culver's coloring contest (which isn't actually a contest)
• Display: Under the sea
• Display: Teen new fiction (updated)
• Amateur Radio Kids' Day

What the kids are reading, a selection

• Talked about the new American Girl, Grace with some girls who are fans.
• Picture books about blended families - drew a blank and asked on a listserv. Will be compiling a list later.
• My Weirder School by Dan Gutman
• Battle of the books list from another school
• Mom said she liked one of my Civil War books, son was not enthusiastic. I talked up Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales and he agreed to try them (although not as enthusiastically as his mom)
• A toddler mom mentioned she was reading chapter books aloud and was thrilled to find out there were Little House chapter books and I also recommended Daisy Dawson.
• Wimpy Kid hard luck - checked out so I offered Big Nate or Nerds. He went with Big Nate but said he might try Nerds later.
• Read-in requests - wrestling books and I recommended Dragonbreath
• kid doing a science experiment on whether or not video games relieve stress. i got nothing...had to put books on hold
• What the dog said by Reisfeld - do not own here
• Bad Kitty - read-in
• More read-in. More and more and more!

Bird and Bear by Ann James

I usually like my picture book art a little stronger and more definite than you get in the lighter colors and lines of watercolor, but when I saw this my first thought was "Ernest and Celestine!" and it does have the feel of that sweet, classic series.

The endpapers echo Bear's striped shirt and give the book a summery, beach feeling before it even begins. The story opens with Bird waking Bear up to celebrate his birthday with a special present. They share breakfast and then decide to go visit Bear's other friend, who looks just like him. They check the weather, pack a picnic, and are on their way. When they arrive at the pier, they are delighted to discover that not only is Bear's friend there, but also a friend for Bird, who looks just like her too! When it turns out that their "friends" aren't exactly what they thought, there is some initial disappointment, but they both recover and eventually make their way home, discussing the nature of friendship and making plans for their next outing.

The art is arranged in small vignettes, a single page or even smaller two, three pictures on a page. Each shows Bear and Bird together with a few simple props or sketches of the surrounding scene. Although we only catch glimpses of the surrounding landscape; a park, the beach, a flight of steps, those few simple lines and washes of color capture the simple joy of a sunny day outdoors with a friend. I especially love the skillful way James' illustrates the water, with multiple colors swirling through its ripples.

Verdict: I wouldn't make this a storytime pick; the illustrations need to be viewed closely to catch all the delicate nuances and it's a slow, sweet story that isn't likely to hold the attention of a big, restless group. However, it would make the perfect, treasured one-on-one reading experience for a family or for a very small storytime with good listeners. It would also be a great way to introduce the concept of reflections for a science program. A lovely story, strongly evocative of the enjoyment of simple things.

ISBN: 9781499800371; Published 2015 by Little Bee Books; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library

Small Readers: Murilla Gorilla and the Hammock Problem by Jennifer Lloyd, illustrated by Jacqui Lee

I was skeptical about the first title in the series; it just seemed a little too quirky. However, I've gotten more into the series since then and really enjoyed this one, although I do still have a few reservations.

Murilla Gorilla's latest investigation is told in six brief chapters, suitable for an intermediate reader who has some fluency but isn't ready for full chapter books yet.

There's nothing but a stinky old shoe in Murilla's refrigerator, so she makes a trip to the market. Right away, she hears Okapi has a case for her. She makes her way through the market, greeting friends, until she reaches Okapi's hammock stall. The mystery: One of Okapi's hammocks has a hole in the middle! Murilla looks around with her magnifying glass, observes the scene of the crime, and writes down her clues in her notebook. Soon the trail leads to the river and Murilla must disguise herself to find the culprit. Murilla has solved the case, now she just needs to finish her shopping.

I really love Lee's artistic style. It has a clean, modern feel but with exciting colors and distinctive images. The endpapers show a pattern of Murilla in several poses and her crocodile friends fishing and swimming, all set against a bubbly light blue background with smiling blue and orange fish. Much of the deadpan humor in the series comes from the art, like the sequence where Murilla takes out a mirror instead of a magnifying glass, then detects her own foot.

My main reservation about this series is that it's set in the generic "African Rainforest". I can see where the creators didn't want to specifically identify a country, but there are so many books that kind of lump all the vast variety of cultures and landscapes into one "Africa" that this is bothersome to me. My other reservation is just that this is different - the setting, art, and even the text flow a little differently than the average easy reader. Kids learning to read at this stage generally are focusing on the mechanics of reading, not the content.

Verdict: Despite my reservations, I do think these are lovely books that would appeal to strong intermediate readers. They're adorable and quirky and kids who love mysteries, animals and humor will enjoy these. They'll just need a little extra booktalking to get them into the kids' hands, since they're a little different than the average easy reader.

ISBN: 9781927018477; Published 2014 by Simply Read; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Display: New teen fiction

Update - the cart looked kind of junky and my director wanted it replaced or removed, so Jess and I dug through the basement and found some old metal file holder thingies that turned out to fit exactly. We might paint or decorate the ends at some point, but it looks pretty nice as is.

I was concerned that our YA fiction is not circulating well, even though I think the selector (our cataloger) is doing a good job. I think the placement of the new teen fiction - buried between shelves - was a big issue. So I stole a small table from the back of the teen area, salvaged an old wooden cart that was going to be thrown out, and made a new area. Then my associate, Jess, queen of displays, made a big "READBOX" sign. It's working! Books are definitely checking out more!

This was the first one

Then Jess added a box so it would stand up a little higher

Nonfiction Monday: Fatal Fever: Tracking down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow

I was absolutely fascinated by Jarrow's Red Madness, but I had a hard time seeing an audience for it at my library. This newest title, however, for some reason strikes me as a much easier sell with the the more prominent mystery aspect.

The book focuses on three characters who were pivotal in the fight against typhoid: George Soper and Sara Josephine Baker, public health officials, and Mary Mallon, who became known as "Typhoid Mary". The story moves back and forth between the confrontations with Mary and the struggle to decide what to do with the first known healthy typhoid carrier and Soper and Baker's fight to investigate, contain, and eradicate the deadly disease of typhoid. The final chapter talks about the continued threat of typhoid today and ongoing scientific study of the disease.

Back matter includes a psa to remind people to wash their hands, a photo montage of famous people who suffered from typhoid, glossary, timeline including outbreaks, a lengthy selection of further resources for more information, an author's note talking about how she became interested in writing this book and her writing process, source notes, bibliography, and index.

What made this, to me, so much more accessible than Jarrow's previous book (awesome though it was) was that the people in the story felt so much more immediate and relatable. It's also just a more engaging story overall - lots of elements of mystery and adventure with the added drama of death and disease. It was fascinating to see how Jarrow managed to portray the complicated issues of epidemics, quarantines, individual and collective rights from many different perspectives.

Verdict: This was absolutely riveting and I think will be of interest to any middle grade kids who are interested in history or just an exciting story. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781620915974; Published March 2015 by Calkins Creek; ARC provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter 2015

This week at the library; I'm NOT at the library

I'm having a vacation. I have a ton of stuff to do and want to make sure I get it all done and I'm feeling vaguely obsessive, which I do at times, and I'm sure you are all fascinated to see what I do on my time off so....

Saturday March 28

Batman came home from work
to watch over my desk

• I got up at 11:30. I rarely sleep in, because my allergies don't like it, but it's nice every once in a while. And, fyi, I am not one of those insane people who get up at 5am in the morning. I get up at 7, which is a decent, normal hour, and occasionally 8 when I am working late. I got up at unearthly hours for most of my childhood and feel that I have Paid My Dues.
• Listening to Kerry Greenwood's Queen of the Flowers as I potter about. I've been re-listening to all her books over the past couple months and I'm a little more than halfway through, as you can tell because I went alphabetically...
• I have vast piles of books and movies awaiting me, and so I am rereading paranormal romances and watching Justice League cartoons. And perhaps some Peg + Cat. Because I can.
• I suppose I should get at least something done today...laundry I think. Just the sheets and blankets, because that I can't leave in a basket for another day since I only have one set...hauling them up and down the stairs will count for exercise, since I don't want to put on enough clothes to go outside for a walk...

Sunday March 29

• I got up way earlier this morning. At 10:30. Thinking about doing things....but mostly staring out the window and futzing around on the computer. Still listening to Queen of the Flowers...cleaning out my closet. I don't understand how, when I rarely if ever shop for clothes and everything fits in a couple baskets, I still end up with clothes I don't want/need/use. A little more puzzling...
• I read Nina Kiriki Hoffman's Thresholds, which I bought several years ago. I have to be in the right mood for Hoffman and I rarely review them because I love them so much. I can't be objective about her books, especially when they're very emotional for me sometimes. Sigh of happiness.
• I really did try to do some more laundry, but somebody else was using the machine...I left my baskets down there and will try again later. Trimmed and cleaned up the plants, mostly lots of amaryllis, in my bedroom, vacuumed, and dusted the bedroom. Carefully of course, so as not to disturb too many of the spiders. Finished cleaning out my closet.
• Read Meeting, the second book in Nina Kiriki Hoffman's Magic Next Door series. At least, I hope it's going to be a series - this second one came out in 2011 but Hoffman doesn't seem to have a really conventional publishing schedule and while the book doesn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
• Somehow I always seem to get sick when I'm on vacation. It's kind of depressing. Actually, I've been sick pretty much nonstop since January. I'm kind of depressed right now. But I started the laundry anyways, since I'd already hauled it down there. Pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon/evening doing laundry and feeling miserable.

Monday, March 30

• I got up even earlier at 9:30 this morning (see, what I'm doing there?) actually I was awake much earlier - my upstairs neighbor leaves between 6:45 and 7am every morning and is sort of my alarm clock. But I didn't feel like getting out of bed, even though I could hear my amaryllis complaining that they were missing the early morning light with the blinds down.
• Fiddled with some blog things, chatted on Facebook, added some things to my to do list, and finally got the day started by putting away the laundry I did yesterday that was on my drying rack and getting started on the laundry still waiting in the basement, including library laundry (paint aprons)
• Wrote reviews of Hamster Princess, Sprout Street Neighbors, Owl Diaries, Maybelle goes to school.
• Finished the laundry and Queen of the Flowers. Moving on to Raisins and Almonds and working on the difficult bits of the puzzle.
• Wrote reviews for Where triplets go trouble follows, Rescue on the Oregon Trail
• Bought socks from Sock Dreams. My summer wardrobe is now complete.
• Did a sinkful of dishes.
• Reviewed Ms. Rapscott's Girls, Mr. Pants Slacks Camera, Action
• Wrote letters. This sounds rather Victorian, but I do try to write to a couple people very month, and I send my mom and sister tea or something small each month. This was for March. Technically it's still March.
• Finished my puzzle.
• Had a sudden urge to clean the bathroom, but ran out of steam halfway through. Oh well.
• Wrote some more letters.

Tuesday, March 31

• Got up at 8am, so full circle there. Actually, I would rather have stayed asleep but I gave up and got up. As long as I was awake and miserable I decided to make all the phone calls I had been putting off. Adulting. Sometimes I hate it.
• I put away the finished bird puzzle - it will go into the donations at the library, puzzles we usually take to the nursing homes, and pulled out the Ukranian eggs one I never finished. At least, I don't recall ever actually finishing it, although there were a lot of finished bits in the box.
• Cleaning off the stacks of books and papers on my desk. Wrote a bunch of mini reviews on http://flyingoffmybookshelf.blogspot.com/
• Finished cleaning the bathroom
• Writing more letters
• Two reviews for No Flying No Tights (neither of which is the one that's majorly overdue, but that's a whole series and I have some books left to finish. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on reading manga when I feel sick)
• Paid my rent before I forgot. Not that I ever have, but I live in fear that I will. Which is totally illogical, b/c the landlord lives down the hall and doesn't care if we're a few days late but...
• Cleaned most of the papers and stuff off my desk.
• Finished listening to Raisins and Almonds and put away the last of the laundry.
• Read (well, skimmed) Above the Dreamless Dead and five books for my book club next week - Heidi Heckelbeck, National Geographic Chapters Best Friends Forever, Deadly by Nicola Davies and Titanic Lost and Found. Started listening to Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood
• My friend came over and we hung out for a while.

Wednesday, April 1

• I got up at 7, realized I really, really, really did not want to be awake and went back to bed until 10, which is something I hardly ever do. Like, I can't remember the last time I did it.
• Great April Fool's joke - I was supposed to go to Chicago to the museum with my friend and I'm going to see a doctor this afternoon instead. At least we still went on an outing together...It's not really funny I guess. I have been sick for most of the past year and even worse the past three months with the "good" weeks shrinking into days and disappearing. I listed all the things I have stopped doing because I'm sick so often and realized I really can't live like this and my friends and family have gotten together in a "make Jennifer go to the doctor" coalition, so I'm going, really for true this time and even taking my friend with me so I don't chicken out.
• Meanwhile, in an effort to distract my mind, I got the Thrive Thursday post up, worked some more on my puzzle, listening to Ruddy Gore, finished the last of the dishes, and stared out the window a lot. The weather is actually really nice and I'd love to go for a walk, but I feel too sick.
• I read a big stack of picture book, finished watching Stella and Sam Bunny Hop, then watched Guardians of the Galaxy, the whole thing not skipping and it was hilarious and awesome and not angsty and emotional at all so they have finally made a superhero movie Just For ME. And went to bed. That was my day. Very Exciting.

Thursday, April 2

• I got up around 9ish and it's raining! I am so, so happy. I love the rain and I love lying in bed
  
  listening to the rain, and walking in the rain. Fooooog. Also, my bulbs are coming up fairly well. I mean, there are a LOT more down there, but if only a few come up I'm doing good.
• Processed all the books I read last night - added to LibraryThing, added to order lists, decided which were getting full reviews and added some others to http://flyingoffmybookshelf.blogspot.com/
• I went out for brunch with my friend, then went to the post office and the comics store. I got lots of comics...Lumberjanes, Princeless, Avengers Assemble, Batman '66, Princess Ugg, and I picked up the library's comics as well. We agreed to try our Chicago trip again tomorrow.
• Cleared off the to be reviewed stack on my desk - 15 books total.
• Took a break from reviews to go on a walk and write up a list post for Sunday. I like lists.

Friday, April 3

• We went on our delayed Chicago trip today. We left at 8:30am and my friend drove us to the train station while I read Curse of the Were-Wiener aloud. Then we took the train and I finished Were-Wiener and moved on to Princess Hamster. When we got to Chicago, we had lunch at French Market. I collected tea from Bello Teas and macarons and my friend got us croque monsieurs, lobster sandwiches, and roasted red peppers and pita. I already knew I don't like pita, but the roasted peppers were good. I tried lobster and it was not for me. Sadly, we discovered the macarons looked a lot yummier than they tasted, although the lemon and raspberry ones were ok.
• Then we took a taxi over to the Field Museum. My friend is in charge of taxis because they are not a thing I like ever. We went primarily to the Field Museum to see the fairy tale house, which we saw and it was amazing. We wandered around a little after that, but it was absolutely crammed with kids on spring break and I don't do well in massive, teeming crowds (especially if there is simulated thunder every five seconds...) so we didn't stay more than a couple hours. We walked around outside a little, but there isn't really much there to see besides the museum (or if there is we didn't find it) so we took a taxi back to the French Market. We bought chocolate, caramel popcorn and strawberry hibiscus tea (me) and fancy cheese (my friend) and then took the train back home, during which I finished Princess Hamster and started Case of the Toxic Mutants.
• Then we went and had chinese food at our favorite local restaurant and read SLJ.

Saturday, April 4

• I woke up at 4am wondering what the heck that incessant tapping was. When I finally actually got up at 8:30 I realized that it was the cord to my blinds...I forgot that it taps against the window when it's open! Yay spring!
• Projects for today - grocery shopping, purchase of pie for tomorrow (because I don't feel like making one), packaging of treats for staff who I left behind with mounds of work, vacuuming, and hopefully make progress on the puzzle as I am feeling quilting urges and don't want to put it away half-finished again.
• I went grocery shopping, purchased my pie, packaged treats, worked on my puzzle, took a walk, and did dishes. I made significant inroads on my overdue review - about halfway done.
• I also finished my nonfiction book for book club, various other reading and movies, and listening to Ruddy Gore. Now on to The Castlemaine Murders.
• I got my PSLF paperwork back and....I forgot to check a box. Or, rather, my director did and neither of us noticed. *headdesk* now I have to do it all over again...(if you know how long it took me to work myself up to filling this out it would sound more traumatic)

Sunday, April 5

• Last day off...I wandered around in the morning watching movies and then went over to a friend's house for lunch (hence the pie) and didn't leave until 4pm.
• Finished my long overdue no flying no tights review! Yay!
• And that was my week of vacation.

P. Zonka lays an egg by Julie Paschkis

I was excited to see Julie Paschkis' new book for several reasons. First, because I love her books and her art and each new story almost always goes on my favorite pile. Secondly, because eggs are a Big Deal at my library. Thirdly, because I'm planning to feature her in my We Explore Art and Stories series this summer!

This is the story of P. Zonka who doesn't lay eggs. She spends her time looking at the beauties of nature around her. When the other hens finally convince her to try egg-laying, P. Zonka does indeed lay an egg...and what an egg! Like nothing they have every seen before, holding all the colors and patterns she has absorbed from nature.

A brief author's note explains the inspiration for the story in the Ukrainian tradition of pysanky, decorated eggs. I really enjoyed this story; it's a familiar trope (I thought immediately of Lionni's Frederick) but presented in a fresh, new setting with unique, gorgeous artwork. I also appreciated the subtle breaking of gender stereotypes, when one of the hens, Gloria, turns out to be a rooster.

I love the way she adapted her art for this book - as you can see even in the cover, everything is round and swirling, just like a pysanka. The chickens' feathers are squiggles and zigzags, the flowers curve around the page, the eggs are smooth ovals with swift, strong brushstrokes.

My library paints eggs every year, usually right before Easter and I was interested to see how pysanky are created. The process is a bit too complicated for the size and age of my group, but I'm hoping to put up pictures as well as copies of P. Zonka as inspiration before the big event. Of course, my main interest is Julie Paschkis' art, since I'll be featuring her this summer. I read and watched a whole slew of interviews, including discussions of her art techniques, before deciding how to present her art. Paschkis uses several different techniques and her style changes as well, although her vibrant colors and the line of her work is always recognizable. I decided to go with a quilt/collage project, from a recent book called Mooshka which features a lot of quilts and with painting, emphasizing the swirling lines and stylized decorations of P. Zonka by giving the children stencils to draw pictures with which they can then paint in and around, giving them a little more structure. It's going to be a fun summer!

Verdict: This would make a great Easter story, but any time of the year is perfect for celebrating art, imagination, and eggs! Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781561458196; Published 2014 by Peach Tree; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library

Thrive Thursday: School-Age Program Round-Up

Here's the round-up of programs for school-age kids. We've got some great ideas for you!

Spring Programs!

• Spring Scavenger Hunt at Jbrary
• Hunt the bunny at your library! All the templates and instructions are included.
• Spring crafts with Ms. Kelly
• There's a whole plethora of ideas here - bird nests, sheep, flowers and rainbows, and peeps.
• Marshmallow Peep Science with Ms. Kelly
• I'm kind of curious - seeing the crazy science you can do with peeps, do people ever actually eat those things? If so, ugh! 3rd-6th grade had a ball with lots of science projects here.
• Painting eggs at Messy Art Club at my own blog, In Short I am Busy
• This is a pretty simple program, but I've been doing it for a looooong time and have lots of tips and tricks to make it run smoothly.
• Horton Hatches the Egg at the Neighborhood Librarian
• Why did I never think of this? Eggs! Seuss! Spring!

Other fun programs!

• Thrive Thursday offers a program on Emily Jenkins' Toy series
• Make your own props and take your toys on adventures!
• Tips and tricks for booktalking with 5th graders with Ms. Kelly
• Fifth graders are, in my experience, a whole different audience. These are great!
• Fashion Design at Library Lalaland
• I'm in love. This is super simple, incorporates sewing, and the kids loved it. All things that make a great program in my mind!
• Annual Spring Break T-shirt Party at In Short I Am Busy
• Another simple program from me that I've been doing for a long time
• Artsy Fartsy Art Club at Hey There Library
• This sounds like fun! An art club based on different artists' work.

Small Readers: Digger and Daisy Go on a Picnic; Digger and Daisy Go to the Zoo by Judy Young, illustrated by Dana Sullivan

I'm looking at two books from the I Am a Reader! series published by Sleeping Bear press today. They're recommended for kindergarten to first grade and are about equal to an I Can Read level 1.

In Digger and Daisy Go on a Picnic, the quirky brother and sister duo start out enjoying the park be exhibiting their talents. Daisy is a good observer and Digger has a great sense of smell. This works out well when Digger's nose gets him into trouble and Daisy's sharp eyes get him out of it again! But when Digger's nose gets stuffed up with dirt, he's miserable that he can't smell anymore. What will clean out Digger's nose - and will he still smell good? (yes, there's a pun in there).

In Digger and Daisy Go to the Zoo, another wacky adventure is in store for the siblings. Digger tries to emulate the different animals by standing on one leg, climbing a tree, and eating leaves, but Daisy tells him they can't do those things and shows him what they CAN do. Finally, they discover something they can both enjoy, even if it's a little startling - cold water on a hot day and swimming in the pond.

The illustrations are cute and cartoonish, with lots of humorously exaggerated facial expressions and funny animal antics. They're laid out as spot illustrations set around the text, which is in a large, easy to read font.

I thought these were funny, but the plots were rather confusing. Why, exactly, can't these anthropomorphous dogs stand on one leg or climb a tree in the story about the zoo? It's pretty unusual to go jump in a pond at the zoo too - the silliness was a little too over the top for me. The first story felt like it was leading up to something with the contrasting Daisy sees things, Digger smells things but it just kind of petered out.

Verdict: These are very affordable and although they didn't click for me - I like at least a little logic in my nonsense books - kids are likely to think they are a hoot and enjoy them. Recommended.

Digger and Daisy Go on a Picnic
ISBN: 9781585368433

Digger and Daisy go to the zoo
ISBN: 9781585368419

Published 2013-2014 by Sleeping Bear Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the easy reader backlist