Secrets of the Ancient Gods: Thor Speaks by Vicky Alvear Shecter, illustrations by J. E. Larson

Although I haven't seen the overwhelming interest in all things mythology that surrounded the advent of Rick Riordan's original Percy Jackson series, there is certainly a growing body of work featuring the Norse myths and Shecter has brought out another humorous, informative guide narrated by the amazing Thor himself.

Thor would like you to know that all those stories about how dumb he is are just stories. He's really just as smart as he is big, and strong, and did he mention really, really strong? Really. Tough guy Thor walks readers through the mythology and early culture of the Norse, including myths and legends of his own great deeds (and a few of other gods, but those are much more boring and you can skip them if you want to get to the good parts, i.e. the ones about Thor). You'll learn why Odin only has one eye, why Thor hates giants, and just what a loser Loki really is.

The book is illustrated throughout in striking black and white pen drawings that may remind some readers of Edward Gorey's work. They strike a nice line between stylized and creepy. There's also a brief guide to Norse gods and monsters, glossary, secondary and primary sources, and index.

Verdict: This was a quick and fun read, perfect for kids wanting an introduction to Norse mythology. I'm always a little torn as to where to place these titles - they're not really nonfiction, or even a straight-up guide to mythology since they also include cultural facts and lots of humorous narrative. Anyways, promote this one with Riordan's new Norse mythology series and the other new fantasies based on Norse mythology or as a precursor to Ben Thompson's heavier (but just as fascinating and humorous) history of the Vikings.

ISBN: 9781620915998; Published 2015 by Boyds Mills; Purchased for the library

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Rhymoceros by Janik Coat

This is the companion to Hippopposites and features a rhyming rhinoceros.

The same sturdy blue rhino is pictured on each page with various accessories, actions, or colors. The two pictures on the cover are a sample of what's within - Bat and Hat. Each page has one word. Some of the rhinos are textured, like Mossy and Glossy. The mossy green rhino is covered in felt and the glossy blue rhino on the facing page is, well, glossy.

The book is a little longer and larger than a typical board book. It has 20 thick, sturdy pages and is about 8x8 and more than an inch thick.

It's a great title for all ages of a board book audience. Babies will enjoy the textured aspects, toddlers can find the bold details in the pictures, recognizing colors and other elements and young preschoolers can practice their rhyming skills.

Verdict: This is a simple but clever title that babies and toddler up to preschoolers will enjoy. It would also make a great choice for storytime or inspiration for a flannel board. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781419715143; Published 2015 by Abrams Appleseed; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Library Day by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell; First Field Trips: Public Library by Cari Meister

Today I'm looking at two books about visiting the library, one more fictional and one nonfiction, as well as some thoughts on library books in general.

Anne Rockwell has a long history of books introducing children to everyday activities and places. She's recently started a series called "My First Experiences" which I've found very useful in my library. In this title, a blond boy named Don of about five accompanies his father to the library. They return materials and then his father leaves him in the children's room while he goes to use the computer. The boy listens to stories then hangs out with a another boy. They look at books, movies and magazines. One of the librarians from storytime suggests books for the boy and then he explores the children's room where various quiet activities are taking place. Don's father returns and he gets a library card then gets his books scanned and checked out. Don and his father return home after making plans to come back for a puppet show the following week.

The second library book is in a new series from Bullfrog books - First Field Trips. In brief, simple sentences it shows a small class of diverse children visiting the library. They meet a librarian, "She helps people. She finds books. She finds information." They sit for a storytime, learn to use the catalog, and find out the library has different types of materials like books, dvds, and magazines. Their teacher uses self-check to scan his materials, which are due back in two weeks. There are a few simple definitions of areas in the library and a little picture glossary and index.

Opinion on Anne Rockwell's title seems divided between librarians who are fans of Rockwell and absolutely adore it, love the diversity (not the main character or on the cover of course though. sigh.) and the more updated library. Then there's those who are horrified that the father abandons his child in storytime/to wander around the library, that magazines are promoted when many libraries aren't carrying them anymore and the generally old-fashioned drawings.

The child abandonment doesn't really bother me - I work in a small library and while we do have a "no unattended children" policy we're not really that aggressive about it, as long as the kids are behaving and not visibly distressed. Lots of libraries offer storytimes for preschool age without parents present. Rockwell's illustrations do have an outdated feel to them, but for many older adults introducing children to the library they're a familiar style and there is some diversity included.

Meister's nonfiction title is much more diverse - I think that might be the first time I remember seeing a younger African-American man portrayed as a teacher. It also portrays a generally technologically-updated library and is more general in portraying the library.

So, which book is better - my answer is neither. My opinion is that, although many familiar community landmarks like post offices, fire engines, and schools are all more or less uniform, libraries adapt to their communities. While I agree that magazines are rapidly dying and it's probably better not to emphasize them so much, every library has a different emphasis. Some libraries may offer chess games, art activities, and unaccompanied storytimes as seen in Rockwell's title. Others may have self-checkout or other services as in the nonfiction title. The library I work at has our picture books organized in neighborhoods, graphic novels integrated into juvenile fiction, toy train, kitchen, and dollhouse, circulating toys, and a pet hamster. A neighboring library has a manga collection that's probably 3 times the size of mine. Another has a dedicated teen area and programs. Another has a strong local history section. It's not really possible to write a "definitive" library book since all libraries are so different. I appreciate that both books show vibrant, happy spaces that are clearly supplying children and families with services they need and want and that's the most important thing.

Verdict: If, like me, you have teachers clamoring for "community" books both are excellent selections. However, if your budget is limited the Public Library title from Bullfrog is more generic and likely to hit more points in common with your individual library.

Library Day by Anne Rockwell
ISBN: 9781481427319; Published 2016 by Simon & Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Public Library by Cari Meister
ISBN: 9781620312964; Published 2016 by Bullfrog/Jump; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Nonfiction Monday: How to cook in 10 easy lessons by Wendy Sweetser

I've been looking for new "making" books this year as I try to drag this section out of the 80s (not that craft books from the 80s are necessarily bad, but some of the pictures....oy) and I picked up a bunch of cookbooks to check out.

This one is addressed to middle grade kids and is pretty awesome. It's one I can see giving to kids - and adults - who want to learn the basic skills of cooking. It's divided into 10 "super skills" and each uses previous skills to add to the current skill and practice in the recipes.

The book starts with a list of basic equipment, safety tips, and general instructions. It starts with instructions on using knives, chopping and cutting then gives you recipes for soup, fresh vegetable platter, and fruit salad to practice your slicing skills. Next, you learn to peel and grate, then adding your knife skills in make pork kebabs, cheese straws, key lime pie, and apple tarts. Then you move on through crushing and juicing, mashing and pureeing, frying, boiling, grilling, making sauces, whisking, and kneading. Each section gives several recipes - to practice your accumulated skills. The recipes cover a wide range of tastes and dietary needs. Some are vegetarian, they range from dips to main dishes, and there isn't a preponderance of desserts.

The book is illustrated with simple, colored pictures of equipment and hands demonstrating the various moves. I am disappointed that all the hands are white though. I appreciated that a variety of tools were pictured, as in the juicing section it offered options for a simple juice press, a juice extractor, and a larger hand-cranked press. Being someone who dislikes a lot of fancy kitchen tools, it was nice that pretty much everything can be done with a few simple tools. There are also "check your skills" boxes that take you back to the pages for quick refreshers on the different techniques.

Verdict: The one downside is that the book is only available in spiral-bound hardcover, but it's pretty sturdy and no cookbook lasts forever. This is a really good approach to teaching cooking to older kids and one that I definitely recommend.

ISBN: 9781633220393; Published 2015 by Walter Foster Jr.; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

This week at the library; or, Only one more week until vacation!!

I'm reading these first. After I review the stack on my desk.
Then I'll go on to read the stacks on the other shelf.
And the ones in my bag.

What's going on in my head and at the library

• Monday
• Read with Pearl
• Well....the police cleaned up the blood? An interesting day.
• Tuesday
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions) (Pattie)
• Middle School Madness (off-site at the youth center)
• This was a very Alexanderine day. Grrr. I took Sculpey clay to the middle schoolers and I am not even going to write it up. They had fun and made things. The end.
• Wednesday
• Winter Wigglers: Obstacle Course (Jess)
• March Outreach: Spring Hatchlings (5 sessions)
• It was a soggy day. I love all my 3s and 4s but I am glad this is the end of my outreach season. I'm tired.
• Thursday
• Books 'n' Babies (Pattie)
• Messy Art Club: Painting Eggs
• Dismal rainy day. I have to admit I didn't feel like doing a program at all today! I just wanted to finish the 101 things I had to do before going on vacation. It was pretty slow since it was pouring wet snow, but about 40 people showed up. I finally left around 6:30.
• Friday
• Library Closed, vacation begins!

Projects in Progress or Completed

• Weeding and collection development
• I had hoped to finish this week b/c I want to start summer planning when I get back but it didn't happen. I made it through the 639s.
• Lots of last-minute stuff before I go on vacation.

What the kids are reading: A Selection

• Isle of the Lost, sequel (not out yet)
• Fantasy League - missing
• great unexpected by creech
• very hungry caterpillar movie
• adorable toddler requesting "ama ama" (llama llama)
• i spy books
• books with chinese characters - had to put on hold
• many spring break reading recommendations
• very tricky graphic novel question
• voracious reader has finished Michael Vey and Percy Jackson. Blackwell Pages, McNabb's Traitor, Osborne's Hitler's Secret. Wasn't interested in Magnus Chase, didn't have the first volume of Alex Rider or hero.com available.

The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and LeUyen Pham

The Princess in Black is back, in her third book, along with the long-promised horde....

of bunnies!

Princess Magnolia and her "unicorn" Frimplepants are happily on their way to a delicious brunch with Princess Sneezewort when they get the danger signal. Somewhat frustrated, they race to the rescue only to discover a...bunny. Yep, a cute little purple bunny. How is that a monster worth missing brunch?? But pretty soon there are more bunnies and more bunnies until it's a HORDE of bunnies and the Princess in Black is getting worried. Sure, they're cute but what are they doing? Besides eating everything in sight!

Pham's colorful illustrations are as cute and wickedly funny as ever. Magnolia's dreams of delicious brunch are enough to make anyone hungry and her adoration of the bunnies' cuteness will make readers giggle.

It can be difficult to follow up a unique gambit like the Princess in Black - the twist endings and surprise are muted once you know the conceit and it makes it a little more predictable. I felt the second title was a little bit blah compared to the first. However, this one ramps up the fun once again and adds in another dimension to the theme of not taking things on face value. Just because Magnolia looks like a fancy, frilly princess doesn't mean she can't enjoy tasty treats and be a monster-fighting ninja princess! And just because the bunnies look cute and fluffy doesn't mean they're harmless!

Verdict: This series is a must-have for every library that serves elementary students. Great as a read-aloud as well and many older readers also enjoy it! The third title is all that one could desire and I can't wait to introduce it to the many, many fans of the Princess in Black!

ISBN: 9780763665135; Published 2016 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library

Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen

I enjoyed reading this but I'm really not sure about the appeal to kids.

Bruce is thrilled to be accepted into the prestigious Ducard Academy. But almost immediately he starts to realize that something strange is going on. There are some very odd students at the school and even though he makes two sort of friends - Clark and Diana - they quickly get annoyed with his mystery-solving efforts and go their separate ways. But when things get even worse at the school and the three get trapped in detention (with creepy librarian Brainiac) they have to work together to escape.

The story is told in notes and case files primarily from Bruce, occasional emails and texts and comic panels. The art is black and white and in Nguyen's distinctive, watercolor style. Unless the reader knows absolutely nothing about superheroes (and even then it's hard not to absorb some cultural information) it's going to be fairly easy to identify embryo Bruce, Superman, and Diana at the least. The rest of the supervillains will be more or less familiar depending on your level of DC comic familiarity.

However, I don't think the point of this is to surprise the reader - it's going to be obvious to anyone who the main characters are, and most of the minor characters as well. The fun comes in feeling like you are "in" on the joke and seeing how a young Bruce Wayne handles an investigation as a kid.

Verdict: While my kids enthusiastically read superhero comics, I'm not sure if they'll go for this since they don't usually like novel-length books about superheroes and the black and white art is likely to put them off. On the other hand, it's about "real" superheroes, Nguyen's art is fun, and the mixture of formats is usually a draw. While I enjoyed reading it personally, I'm not sure I want to start another series that may or may not be popular.

ISBN: 9780545825016; Published 2016 by Scholastic; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Peek-a-Boo Zoo by Joyce Wan

I am personally not much of a fan of the cute, but....who can resist Joyce Wan? This is one of her newer board books, which I wrested from the hands of adoring moms and babies so I could review it.

I'm just going to tell you upfront: The cover has glitter on it. Live with it. It won't last forever. Each spread has a little rhyme on the left giving clues and a cute and cuddly animal on the right playing peek-a-boo. Lift the flap and see the animal. "I am a cool bird./I waddle and slide./In the ice-cold sea,/I swim and glide." The rhymes aren't earth-shattering and won't present a challenge to older children, but that's not the intended audience. This is a cute and comforting book, perfect to cuddle up with a baby or toddler and enjoy a good game of peek-a-boo.

Wan's illustrations are super cute with lots of rounded colors, thick lines and simple shapes. The flaps are attached at the bottom and rounded at the top (they open down) and you can easily reinforce them with a little library tape to extend the life of the book.

Verdict: Everybody needs a little cute and peek-a-boo is never out of style. Buy it.

ISBN: 9780545750424; Published 2015 by Cartwheel/Scholastic; Purchased for the library.

Juna's Jar by Jane Bahk, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino

Lee & Low does some absolutely lovely books, but they tend to be very text-heavy. This is understandable - it's difficult to balance between providing enough context for kids who aren't familiar with the diverse cultures portrayed and writing authentic stories for diverse kids themselves. Although this has a little more text than I usually look for in picture books, it's such a lovely story and so beautifully written and illustrated that I think kids will sit through it.

June loves her kimchi jar. She uses it to collect things with her best friend Hector. But then one day when she visits Hector's apartment his Abuelita tells her that Hector's parents have taken him to live in a big house. Juna is devastated and her big brother, Minho, gets her a fish for her kimchi jar to make her feel better. That night Juna goes on a magical adventure with her fish....but the next morning it's too big and has to move out of the jar. Her brother has another idea and they plant a seed, which takes Juna on an adventure to the rainforest. When they put a cricket in next, June rides it across the city to Hector's new house, where she sees him tucked up with his own kimchi jar full of treasures. Juna is ready for new treasures - and a new friend - to help her put them in her jar.

Softly colored drawings express Juna's sorrow at losing her friend and her wonder in the magical world she inhabits. I loved the expressive blues and greens swirling about the pages, especially in the dream sequences. It would be a lovely inspiration not only for kids to find their own jars and treasures but also to create their own imaginative landscapes.

Diversity is smoothly mixed into the story, teaching the reader a few phrases of Korean and Spanish and presenting a family life that will be familiar to many children - closely-knit siblings and friends who move quickly or live with grandparents.

Verdict: Although this is a longer story and will need an older audience to truly appreciate it, it's also a lovely, diverse journey into imagination and feelings. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781600608537; Published 2015 by Lee & Low; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Nonfiction Monday: Breakthrough: How three people saved "blue babies" and changed medicine forever by Jim Murphy

This was well-written and an important book, but I have serious doubts as to whether I will get any kids to read it.

The story is prefaced with the first, tense operation on a tiny "blue baby" a girl whose malformed heart was threatening her life. Until that moment, heart surgery was an unknown and impossible procedure. Even more startling, the quiet man supervising the operation from behind the scenes was African-American.

Dr. Alfred Blalock, a researcher and chief surgeon at Johns Hopkins, was encouraged to pursue the research into saving the lives of blue babies by pediatrician Dr. Helen Taussig. But it was Vivien Thomas, a man whom most assumed was just a janitor, who was the true genius behind the procedure.

Murphy walks readers through the struggles and personality conflicts leading to the pivotal operation, to the challenges faced by the researchers both in their personal lives and in medical science, and follows the results of fame and fortune for some and near-obscurity for others.

End materials include extensive source notes with explanations, bibliography, credits and index. Despite the positive aspects of the book, it just doesn't grab the reader. Is it interesting and important to read about the contributions of often overlooked people like Thomas and female doctors like Taussig? Absolutely. Does Murphy do a good job of explaining the situation, context, and following the story? Yes. But despite all that the story just....drags. It meanders into descriptions of surgical instruments and anatomy, digresses into the vivisection controversy, and only at the end does it follow up on the results of the first child to undergo the operation. To sell narrative nonfiction to middle grade readers there needs to be a strong narrative and this didn't feel that strong to me.

Verdict: Although it's a title I'd love to purchase to diversify the collection and because it's an interesting story, it doesn't have the same grab as Jarrow's medical mysteries and some of Murphy's previous titles. If you have a larger collection or more dedicated readers, this would be a good choice.

ISBN: 9780547821832; Published 2015 by Clarion; Borrowed from another library in my consortium