This week at the library; or, Zero Hour

Working on sewing samples for the workshop next week
Yes, that is a bunny with hypnotic eyes and mini-fangs

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

• Monday
• Jess gone, cleaning up from Festival, cleaning off desk, how can there be so much stuff on my desk when I was only here last Friday?? Pearl couldn't make it today, still no attendees at the Autism support group, but we'll try some more publicity. More summer planning.
• Tuesday
• Third grade field trip (2 classes)
• OPtions summer presentation
• I let the third graders and homeschoolers check out books from the presentation, since they are the last groups. I wasn't sure I could use up all the time for the third graders, especially since they were so squirrelly, but they didn't want to leave! Board meeting for OPtions in the afternoon.
• Wednesday
• Middle school presentations
• Summer reading sign-up, collection development (sending my big summer order tomorrow hopefully) and writing up budget requests.
• Thursday
• Mother Goose on the Loose (Pattie)
• Middle school presentations
• Working through the order list for June (basically a big order for the whole summer) and caught up on a webinar. Because I can multitask.
• Friday
• Family Camp-Out
• I came in late, did some random things, did the camp-out, and went home.
• Saturday
• Safety Shower (Pattie)
• Summer reading officially begins. I left early and got ice and refreshments for the knitters and doughnuts for the staff (and me). Pattie handed out stuff and was awesome in the lobby and I signed people up for summer reading in the library and got a few random things done. Working on my sewing samples for the maker workshop too. Pretty quiet day.

Professional Development

• Managing Children's Services: Scheduling and Time Management in the Youth Services Department (ALSC webinar)

What the kids are reading, a selection

• Very picky preschooler, said no to everything. I failed.
• read-alikes for Kasie West. Deb Caletti and a couple other ones
• Greek mythology
• chapter books - wanted Monster High, was satisfied with Ever After High
• books about presidents
• third grade visit
• guinea pigs and gymnastics
• Hamster Princess
• Telgemeier
• Wimpy Kid
• books to read aloud to a younger sibling - National Geographic
• Middle schoolers were enthusiastic about everything. I love 6th graders! Awkward, Wishing Day, Bubonic Plague, all were popular.
• Octavia Spencer Ninja Detective. Available at another library
• Panda and horse chapters - suggested National Geographic chapters and Silver Pony Ranch
• Dystopian/action/romance/realistic - Forest of Hands and Teeth, Elizabeth Scott
• Warriors
• Recommended DK Adventures and You Choose -need more of these hybrid books
• Pokemon - really wish they'd publish new easy readers and/or chapter books
• Emily Feather
• Shannon Messenger
• Magic Tree House fan - talked to parents a little and recommended Notebook of Doom
• Fuku Fuku kitten - need to put all the kids' manga together or something...
• Rick Riordan
• Toni Yuly and Laura Wall
• Panda books
• Origami
• Stick Cat
• Stinky Cecil

Silver Pony Ranch: Sparkling Jewel by D. L. Green, illustrated by Emily Wallis

There are school visit books and there are Barbie books. School visit books are titles I buy, recommend personally, and basically consider worthy of taking on school visits. They're not necessarily all award-winning literature - I like to recommend fun chapter books, cute and gross nonfiction, and all the wide variety of books that makes a library welcoming to all readers.

Then there are Barbie books. I buy a lot of them. They circulate like crazy. They are what the patrons want and I am here to serve my community, not my own tastes and ideas. But I don't sit down and recommend individual Barbie books to kids - I just point them to the tub.

This new Branches series is a Barbie book.

Tori and Miranda are visiting their grandmother's ranch for the summer. Miranda is crazy about the dogs while Tori is obsessed with the ponies. Gran has a new pony, Jewel, who is quite a handful and Tori can't wait to ride her! But Gran says it's not safe. Tori (and Miranda) constantly break the rules, let Jewel out of her stall (Tori leaves the stall unlocked twice) whine when they don't get their way, go out at night to search for a puppy after Gran tells them to stay in, etc. In short, I wanted to smack them.

The cover and interior black and white illustrations are very 90s. There are several inaccuracies in the art - the dog, Lady, is described as a collie but pictured as a sheepdog. After Tori is told to stay away from Jewel, because she might kick, she sneaks into the stall and is shown braiding Jewel's tail. Gran says she's disappointed she disobeyed her, but proud that she's tamed Jewel and then lets her ride the pony. I don't know much about horses but this strikes me as dicey, to say the least.

So, why on earth would you buy something like this? Well, it's pure wish-fulfillment for horse-crazy kids. The little squabbles and fusses of the girls make it feel more realistic and a seven year old girl who loves horses and has probably never done more than a pony ride at the fair is not going to be critical. She's just going to enjoy imagining herself riding the spirited Jewel.

Verdict: Is this great literature? Heck, no. It's not even particularly good literature. But will kids enjoy reading it? Yep, absolutely. I read plenty of trashy books myself. It's a perfectly good "Barbie book" and as such I'll be purchasing the whole series.

ISBN: 9780545797658; Published 2015 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library

Demigods & Magicians by Rick Riordan

I am not really much of a series reader. Long, long ago I read The Lightning Thief, made my way through most of The Sea of Monsters and then lost interest when I made a shot at The Titan's Curse. I've been cheerfully recommending Rick Riordan's fantasies and read-alikes ever since (can it really be 10 years? Yes, yes it can.) but never picked up another book. Until now. I had a sudden urge to read his latest companion novel and got caught up in it.

This book is composed of three short stories which are interconnected. The first introduces Carter Kane, from Riordan's Egyptian series, to Percy Jackson. The second connects Sadie Kane, Carter's older sister, to Annabeth Chase. The third brings all four together to defeat a common enemy.

Teamed up, the four are definitely powerful but it takes them a while to work together. Carter and Sadie are much younger than Percy and Annabeth; Carter and Annabeth are analytical, prefer to research and plan before taking action, but both have very different experiences. Percy and Sadie are both very physical and more willing to take action and see what happens and rush into situations. They will have to figure out how to combine their very different magics and abilities to defeat an unexpected foe.

It's been a long time since I read any of the Percy Jackson books and I've never read any of the Kane siblings titles. However, I had no problem picking up the threads and jumping into this fast read. It's hard to tell how much of that is my ability to retain information from books I've read and intuit content (yes, I've passed tests on literature I haven't read. Shhhh, don't tell my professors). There's really only one mild spoiler if you haven't read the previous titles, Percy and Annabeth's relationship, although there are a few general references to previous events. The book also includes color plates, I would guess from the graphic novels, depicting the characters in action.

Verdict: This is really a book for fans; it doesn't exactly introduce the characters and their backstories, although it might draw in new readers and interest them in going back and reading more. Really, it's a fun tidbit for fans, a quick and exciting read and generally enjoyable.

ISBN: 9781484732786; Published 2016 by Disney-Hyperion; Purchased for the library

Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Little Sleepyhead by Elizabeth McPike, illustrated by Patrice Barton

I'm not usually a fan of sweet and sentimental, especially when it comes to board books, but Barton's delicate watercolors are such a lovely match with the lullaby that I'm happy to have discovered this little book.

The borders of the cover show a picture of a soft, textured fabric that puts one in mind of a baby blanket. The simple rhyming text talks about each body part being tired, "Tired little arms, stretching up so high,/Tired little hands, waving bye, bye, bye." A variety of races and skin colors, as well as adults, are shown - babies with an older sibling, with a grandparent, with a father, even with a dog. Eventually the baby drifts off to sleep alone, clutching a favorite toy.

Barton's softly glowing illustrations show rosy-cheeked babies with plump bottoms and tummies, stretching little hands out to their loving family members. I was a little disappointed that, although she includes babies with a variety of skin color and ethnicity, the children with darker skin are still fairly light. A dark-skinned baby would have been an adorable addition to the collection of sleepy babies.

Verdict: Sweet and simple, a good purchase if you need more bedtime board books, an additional purchase overall.

ISBN: 9780399544842; Published 2016 by G. P. Putnam's Sons; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Beachy and Me by Bob Staake

The reviews for Staake's latest book were mostly meh, but here is where I think sometimes "professional" reviews miss the boat. Is it a lasting work of award-winning art? Nope. Will parents and kids check it out? Absolutely! It's fun, cheerfully illustrated, and while it's not great literature it's definitely an improvement on the gazillion tv tie-ins I spent two hours last week buying (Barbie. Ugh.).

The endpapers are decorated with a delightful faux-pirate's map which shows the two main characters - Beachy the whale and Pixie the girl - in the corner. Pixie is all alone on her tiny island when Beachy shows up. Washes up, to be precise. Once the beached whale has been restored to his home, he and Pixie have a delightful time playing in and exploring the ocean. It's a sad parting when Beachy has to migrate, but it's not long before he returns and their friendship resumes.

Staake's unmistakable illustrations shine with life and color and although the rhyming text is rather bland, this is a fun book for storytime or beach reading.

Verdict: Staake fans, of whom there are many, will be satisfied with this colorful and silly tale. Not a top choice perhaps, especially if your budget is tight, but a definite additional choice.

ISBN: 9780385373142; Published 2016 by Random House; F&G provided by publisher

Nonfiction Monday: Let's Garden! A step by step introduction by Clara Lidstrom and Annakarin Nyberg, illustrated by Katy Kimbell and Li Soderberg, translated by Viktoria Lindback

As our library garden project finally starts getting off the ground (We have a contractor for the fence! Maybe! We are drawing up plans for the butterfly garden! Ok, Jess is, but I am supervising.) I am focusing on adding a wide variety of new and classic gardening books to the children's section. In a way, it's a difficult section to add to because it's hard to focus on books for such a hands-on type of activity. However, I have found several that address different aspects of gardening.

One of the things we want to focus on in our children's garden/outdoor educational space is letting kids be hands-on and experiment. This book is the perfect accompaniment for that philosophy since it strongly encourages kids to try the projects on their own! Besides a brief note to ask a grown-up for help with sharp tools, the kids are encouraged to try things on their own and work them out themselves.

The projects are a mix of craft and gardening; They include painting pots and planting greens to grow "hair", several varied planting projects, feeding birds, bean projects, cutting slips to plant, growing and cooking food, and foraging for edibles (grown-up supervision advised). There are also some more unique projects, like planting a rabbit's poop to see what they've been eating, transplanting a weed, and I have to admit to being a little doubtful on the suggestion of watering sunflowers with urine but hey, if it works...

The book is illustrated throughout with charming, simple drawings and collaged photos. Only three children are shown, but they are the authors' children who inspired the book so I don't fault the lack of diversity there. Each instruction has its own little illustration, helping kids who struggle with reading to follow along in the projects. There are a few things that may be unfamiliar to non-European children; the use of the metric system and some ingredients/tools, but they are easily explained by the context and, since the point of the book is for kids to try things themselves, this would be a great opportunity for them to experiment and/or do a little research!

It reminded me a little of Christina Bjork's Linnea books, especially Linnea's Almanac and Linnea's Windowsill Garden. In short, I loved this and can't wait to introduce it to our little gardeners and let them get their hands dirty!

Verdict: This is a much-needed addition to the subject of children's gardening, introducing a fun variety of projects and encouraging kids to learn and grow on their own. It's a little more expensive than the average nonfiction hardcover, but definitely worth the money and has more content than many comparable library-bound series. Recommended.

ISBN: 9783899557473; Published 2016 by Little Gestalten; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

This week at the library; or, Summer has begun for all intents and purposes

A couple tigers on field trips to the library

What's happening in my head and at the library

• Monday - Closed!
• Tuesday
• School visit (4 grades)
• We officially opened registration for summer reading this week and my "big" school visits started this morning, so summer reading has begun even though we won't be marking logs or officially doing programs for a few weeks yet. I went to log on to my computer at work and got this message "The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed". A young patron was looking over my shoulder and said "it doesn't want to be friends with you anymore." One of my teen aides offered to counsel us, as she intends to study psychology in college. I said no, since I was feeling a lot of hostility and wasn't in the right frame of mind for an intervention then.
• Wednesday
• 3rd grade field trip (2 classes)
• School visit (5 grades)
• Thursday
• School visit (6 grades)
• I was standing from 8:30am until past 12. I am glad I am not a teacher.
• Friday
• Outreach at children's festival
• I worked 12-3 at the information desk, wrote my monthly report, handled a variety of issues, and then went out to a big children's festival. I had already sent my aides out to set up goo (in retrospect I wish I hadn't promised goo until I knew more about what the festival would entail) and another staff member took out tables for us. It was fairly successful - we made a lot of goo and signed up several kids for summer reading and handed out calendars. I'm not sure we'd do it again (and not just because two of us got sunburned. The third person we have renamed she-who-tans-and-smirks and we are not talking to her) because the bulk of people weren't from our town, but it will just depend on the timing I think.

Pinterest Board of School Visit Titles

What the kids are reading (expanded school visit edition)

• Awkward had a lot of fans at school visits, especially when I compared it to Telgemeier
• I will chomp you was a big hit also, especially when I stopped reading it halfway through
• MOST POPULAR book by far is Elise Gravel's Head Lice. (I reviewed Worm earlier)
• All the feels - Booktalking Save me a seat by Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks. Student gasps "That's ME!!"
• Just Dance 2016 and 2015 on regular Wii
• Volleyball and swimming (planning on it for new sports books)
• Minecraft (you can just assume there were a gazillion requests for this all summer from here on out)
• Pokemon
• Pendragon
• Head Lice and Fuku Fuku kitten still the most popular.
• Science Comics Dinosaurs was requested
• Awkward got lots of excitement from fans of Smile
• Warriors, Olympians (O'Hearn), Maximum Ride

Small Readers: Weird but Cute Barn Owl by Kathryn Camisa

While I'm looking for more in-depth animal books for my juvenile nonfiction, this cute series from Bearport is just right for my easy reader nonfiction section.

The first spread has text in different shapes and formats, introducing the barn owl. Simple facts about the barn owl's behavior, habits, and unique attributes follow. In addition to the simple sentences on each page, there are additional facts highlighted in hot pink and occasional captions in yellow.

Additional information at the end includes quick profiles on three more owls, a brief glossary, index, and more information.

This is part of Bearport's Little Bits easy reader series. Unlike a typical easy reader, they have a square format, roughly 8x8. Although the endpapers have patterns, the backgrounds of the pages with text are solid white or other colors that don't distract from the words. The photographs match the text well and are engaging.

Although National Geographic is my first go-to for nonfiction easy readers, Bearport is a popular runner-up. Their titles are a little more expensive, coming in the library bound nonfiction range, but they have good deals if you buy sets and will be popular for a long time to come. This new series will please animal-loving young readers and encourage them to keep practicing their reading and learn more.

ISBN: 9781943553273; Published 2016 by Bearport; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Stick Cat by Tom Watson

Usually I have no issue recommending books I haven't read. I've been recommending Stick Dog for years without having cracked one open. However, having finally picked up and read a title, due to an emergency lack of books during lunch (yes, I do work in a library) I have to admit that I have been recommending these all wrong.

Stick Cat is the start of a new series (although the author assures us that Stick Dog will continue) and features, wait for it, Stick Cat. The "author" of the books purports to be a kid, who happens to have a crush on a girl, who happens to like cats, and who happened to request a cat story. Hence, Stick Cat. In this first book we are introduced to Stick Cat and his friend Edith. They play exciting games that involve staring at each other, sleeping, and listening to Edith go off on weird tangents. They also enjoy listening to a piano tuner in the next building over play music. But when there's a nasty accident, can Stick Cat and Edith work together to save the day?

The book is a typical notebook novel, with hand-drawn sketches of cats, people, and other doodles and printed on a faux-notebook paper.

I found it unutterably boring. I am being truly honest here. I did not understand how kids think this is funny and I found Stick Cat's attitude towards Edith (and Edith's character) rather stereotypical as well. But you know what? I am not the audience for this book. And this is where I've been making a mistake - I've been recommending it as a read-alike for Wimpy Kid, which it is, but it's also much, much younger than I realized. I should have been recommending this to kids who aren't ready for Wimpy Kid yet.

Verdict: Despite my own disinterest, this series is perfect for younger kids who enjoy silly humor and easier chapter books and older readers who just want something to relax with for a little while. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780062411006; Published 2017 by Harper; Purchased for the library

Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Peekaboo! by cocoretto

Peekaboo is always a fascinating game for babies and these delightful board books take the game to a new dimension with flaps, guessing, and bright, cheerful colors.

Peekaboo! In the Ocean features a dolphin, octopus, turtle, seal and crab. They are all doing fairly typical activities - the dolphin is splashing, the crab is digging, etc.

Peekaboo! On the Farm includes a horse, chickens, sheep, cow and dog. All but the chickens are active; leaping, chasing, or galloping.

Peekaboo! In the Jungle shows a tiger, parrot, monkey, frog and crocodile. Their actions are a little more diverse, from monkey swinging to crocodile yawning and includes a couple sounds; parrot squawking and frog croaking.

Peekaboo! In the Snow features a more vague selection of animals; polar bear, reindeer, penguin, snow leopard, and wolf. This title includes one sound - wolf howling - and generally sticks to the leaping/climbing formula.

All of the books have the same structure. The left page of the spread says "Peekaboo! Who's there?" while the right shows the animal with its hands, legs, or flippers over its face. The hiding face is a flap; while it is almost the size of a complete page, it has a curved edge along the gutter, which makes it easy to lift. Beneath the flap is a picture of the animal in action and the accompanying text "Monkeys swinging!" or "Chickens clucking!" and so on.

The art is bright and colorful, featuring bold shapes and outlines in the animals' pictures against vibrant backgrounds. The high contrast in colors and shapes make the simple actions easy to follow. The books themselves are a typical 7x7 square and made out a thin but durable cardboard. The hinge of the flap does not look at all sturdy to me; I think excessive wear (and in my library all wear is almost immediately excessive) will rip the flap off. However, a sturdy pieces of library tape down the spine should reinforce it enough for many circulations to come.

Verdict: This series includes cheerful, child-friendly pictures and text and playfully encourages children to participate in a favorite game. The enjoyment is worth the possible damage. Recommended.

Published 2016 by Child's Play; Review copies provided by publisher; Donated to the library

In the snow
ISBN: 9781846438653

In the jungle
ISBN: 9781846438660

On the farm
ISBN: 9781846438646

In the ocean
ISBN: 9781846438677