Princess Posey and the first grade parade by Stephanie Greene, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson

[Digging through the archives...]

Posey is worried about first grade. She's going to have to walk in and down the hall all by herself! Worst of all, she can't wear her pink tutu, her most comfortable and special thing to wear, the thing that makes her Princess Posey, who can do anything. Then, to make things worse, the big boys next door tell her a scary story - is there really a monster in the hall? It takes an understanding grandparent and a special teacher to make the first day of first grade special - not just for Posey but for everyone!

This beginning chapter book is perfect. I'm a bit tired of the quirky and in-your-face beginning chapter book girls - it's nice to a see a, well, not really shy, but just ordinary one. Posey is talkative enough at home, she whines and fusses, she has things she likes and things she doesn't. But it's pretty obvious she's not the class clown or the girl the teacher is constantly shushing. A sweet beginning chapter book for any nervous first or second grader. Kids can sympathize with Posey's worries, her feeling that her baby brother gets more attention than she does, and her shocked surprise at meeting her teacher in the grocery store. The story even includes some fun questions at the back - and teachers may want to try out a first grade parade for themselves!

Sisson's art perfectly matches the story, showing Posey and her family and their daily lives in simple, pleasing outlines. Maybe charcoal pencils? There's a nice touch of glitter on the cover and the first grade parade, although small for a normal first grade class in a public school, has a nice mix of characters.

Verdict: A fun and sweet series about an ordinary little girl. I'm looking forward to this one and the sequel coming out in paperback this spring so I can add them to my series collection.

[Revisited: This series is still in print and continues to add new titles. It's very popular at my library and I find it especially helpful as an alternate choice for Junie B. Jones as Posey is funny and has interesting stories but doesn't have the bad grammar and rudeness of Junie B. I think this series has many years left in it.]

ISBN: 978-0399251672; Published May 2010 by Putnam; Borrowed from the library.

Extreme Battlefields: When war meets the forces of nature by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, art by Drew Shannon

This was a fascinating take on the "historical war stories" genre. Each chapter addresses a different battle where soldiers battled a major natural disaster or challenge in addition to the opposite forces.

The battles include historical wars; Hannibal tackling the Alps, British soldiers who were defeated not only by escaped slaves on Jamaican plantations, but also by the topography of the Blue Mountains, Wei Qing in the Gobi Desert, Ecuadorian forces on the Pichincha volcano during the 1800s, and Napoleon's famous battle against the Russian winter.

There are also more contemporary man vs. nature confrontations; The U.S. Navy in World War II battling a typhoon,  Canadian soldiers in the Passchendaele during World War I, India and Pakistan's conflict over the Siachen glacier, the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam, and Allied forces searching for Osama Bin Laden in the Tora Bora caves.

Each chapter not only discusses the action and tactics, but also the human cost of war, how the battles changed history and affected the war, and the aftermath of the battles and what happened to the people, both soldiers and civilians, involved. The conclusion discusses how weather and topography continue to affect human wars and whether we've learned anything from the past. Further reading, sources for each chapter, photo credits, and an index are also included.

I found this a fascinating collection of stories and one that will be a sure hit with readers. It will appeal to kids who are interested in battles and disaster stories, like fans of the I Survived series, but also is much more than just a collection of battlefield heroics. It includes stories of battles that many kids will be unfamiliar with, stepping outside the typical "good guy vs. bad guy" war stories to include other viewpoints and battles, like the uprising of slaves in Jamaica. It brings up more complex aspects of battles and war to consider as well.

Verdict: A good choice for your history section. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781554517947; Published 2016 by Annick; Borrowed from another library in our consortium

Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Big Chickie, Little Chickie: A book of opposites by Janee Trasler

The chickies are back for another silly, fun book.

It's picture time and the chickies are getting ready. They jump in and out of the chest to look for clothes, whisper and shout, make little and big costumes, and finally get their picture taken with a silly pig. They look at the pictures of smiling and frowning, of hatching from their eggs, and remember all their fun adventures.

This is supposed to be a book of opposites, but I found the concept aspect of it to be weak. The interruptions of the pig and cow threw off the rhyme and the opposites and the concept was weak at best. However, as a cute, funny story it works quite well.

The book is a sturdy square with a slightly padded cover. I prefer to avoid padded covers because they tend to, in my experience, be less sturdy. I've had to replace several of the Chickie books previously due to this. However, this series is popular enough that I'd overlook the padded cover and purchase it anyways.

Verdict: While I wouldn't recommend it as a concept book, it's a fun addition to a popular series that parents and kids enjoy.

ISBN: 9780062342317; Published 2016 by HarperCollins; Purchased for the library

Ninja Bunny: Sister Vs. Brother by Jennifer Gray Olson

The ninja bunnies return!

Ninja bunny is leading his band on a mission to find the Golden Carrot of Awesomeness. Unfortunately, there's a problem - his little sister. She's determined to follow along and participate, since she's a ninja too. Ninja Bunny is sure she's too small and he and his friends hurry on their way. But it turns out that "little bunnies can be awesome ninjas!" and little sisters are pretty cool too.

The ink and watercolor illustrations are sweetly humorous, especially the bunnies doing their ninja moves. The mixture of comic panels and full page illustrations capture the movement of the plot as well as the bunnies to perfection. As a librarian, I appreciate the readable font, which makes this a nice storytime choice.

Verdict: Whether or not you purchased the first book in this series, Ninja Bunny, you'll definitely want this one. You can never have too many books about being small and playing together, especially if, like me, you work in a community where most kids have siblings! No guarantee that readers won't try out a few of their own ninja moves though.

ISBN: 9780399550744; Published September 2016 by Random House; F&G provided by publisher

Nonfiction Monday: Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Tim Hopgood

Jenkins and Hopgood are both experienced British authors who have turned out plenty of picture books and nonfiction titles, but neither of them really clicked in my mind until someone had the brilliant idea of combining them to create an absolutely fabulous book about Fabulous Frogs.

The endpapers begin the fun with deep blue water and cloudy splashes of green algae dotted with black tadpoles. A bold yellow background introduces the basics of frogs and then the information begins. Each spread features a different frog with a simple sentence, perfect for reading aloud. Additional information about the specific frog is included in a smaller paragraph. "This frog never leaves the water" accompanies a textured brown frog with pinkish feet. The small paragraph tells the reader it's an African clawed frog, along with a simple fact or two. The final spread shows some more pictures of frogs and gives a simple index to the previous pages.

This is the same format as Candlewick's stunning books about Australian animals, but Hopgood's illustration style is a whole different ballgame from the swirling, messy watercolors of that series. Brilliant colors, emphasizing greens, and art that appears to combine lush paint and cut paper collage explode across the page. The vibrant colors showcase the amazing variety of frogs and their unique talents perfectly.

Verdict: You can never have too many frog books and you absolutely must have this one. Perfect for storytime, kids reading on their own, or introducing kids to different kinds of frogs. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780763681005; Published 2016 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library

This week at the library; or, The week of crazy

this is my life

Happening this week

• Monday
• Read with Pearl
• No school today. For the first time in my memory, Elkhorn scheduled its trick-or-treating on a day when we were open. After eloquently arguing at the staff meeting that we need double coverage from 5-6, 5-6 was....dead. In fact the entire evening was dead. Possibly the pheasant who flew into the window is dead also (not really, it ran off afterwards).
• Tuesday
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions) (Pattie)
• Bookaneers
• We checked out 45 books at Bookaneers! The kids are really getting into the reading spirit!
• Wednesday
• Youth Center
• Got hit with storms coming and going - had to cancel the planned 1st grade visit. We melted crayons at the youth center for two hours. The kids were into it.
• Thursday
• Books 'n' Babies (Pattie)
• Mad Scientists Club: Building Challenge
• I came in late to work because I knew I was going to need to stay late. And also because I took ibuprofen and overslept. Well, these things happen. It was messy and chaotic and a ton of people came and we got pretty much everything that had been in the basement GONE.
• Friday
• Space Night
• I went to a meeting of local youth services librarians at noon. We had a lot of fun although I was a bit of a downer because I had a headache...then I went back to work for a few hours and then over to the middle school for space night.(it was actually for ages 5 and under, it's just the middle school is a handy place to have things). I still have a headache.
• I took: paper tubes, paper, tape, scissors and markers to make rockets. The Osmo, books and our remote circ, and event calendars. There were over 100 people there.
• Saturday
• Fairy Tale Adventure
• Was it worth all the work? Only 50 people came. The weather has been really, really mild - last year it was icky and people wanted to be inside. However, the people who came loved it and I think the more we do it the more people will come. I am so tired.

Library talk

• Patron excited about the new Listen 'n' Read (easy reader audio) bags.
• One of the book club moms complimented me on my patience. This is really nice to hear when I feel like things are getting chaotic!
• Several middle schoolers at the youth center revived interest in visiting the library which they hadn't done in years.
• Several teachers brought their kids to the Fairy Tale Adventure and were so grateful that we had done a Saturday program they could attend.

Reader's Advisory

• Sudden interest in My Weird School - need to update and add to series
• Llama llama
• School requests - folktales, election books, easy readers
• Big fan of Stinky - recommended Secret Science Alliance
• Teacher requests for election books, easy readers, and folktales

Here's Hank: Bookmarks are people too by Henry Winkler

I picked this up to read for my upcoming book club. The popular Hank Zipzer chapter book series branched out into a younger, beginning chapter series featuring Hank as a 2nd grader.

Hank is ready to tackle second grade. He's got a great teacher, a best friend, and he loves to make people laugh. Unfortunately, there are a few other things that aren't so great - like his reading, writing, math....well, school stuff in general. Hank is super excited when his teacher announced a school play but worried when he finds out that they have to read and memorize the script.

Hank meets a new friend, Ashley, works with his original friend, Frankie, has encounters with the class bully, issues with his father over his problems in school, but ultimately uses his ability to make people laugh to come out on top.

There are a few black and white, quirky illustrations and the book uses a font specifically designed for dyslexic and beginning readers.

Verdict: Fans of Roscoe Riley, Horrible Harry, and other good-hearted class clowns will enjoy this easier series that features a relatable boy with a sense of humor and academic struggles.

ISBN: 9780448479972; Published 2014 by Grosset & Dunlap; Purchased for the library

Hideous History Death & Destruction by Sandra Lawrence

This collection of historical facts looked really fun, but it was a little disappointing in the end.

The introduction talks about learning from the past to improve the future - "...Maybe, if we know about it, we can stop it from happening again." But this lofty goal is rather quickly forgotten - really, this is just a collection of gory and gruesome stories. And that's ok! OWN IT Hideous History! Kids love weird, creepy, and gruesome facts!

The selection includes Boudica (often known as Boudicea) and after an action and gore-packed retelling of her legend, discusses the truth behind her existence and culture. Vlad Dracula also has a somewhat balanced discussion of the history surrounding his legend. The French Revolution isn't really something you can pack into four pages, so it's just a collection of some of the more gruesome stories and some speculation about the causes. There are two pages of stories about highwaymen in London, including Spring-Heeled Jack. Pirates includes stories of some of the most well-known pirates,  including some women, from the 17th and 18th centuries.

By this point, the book has mostly abandoned any pretense of educational value or balanced depiction of historical figures and is mostly just going for the gruesome. The rest of the book includes stories of the Chicago Death Hotel, Empress Wu Zetian, Al Capone, the deaths of several Roman emperors, and a section on Vikings that was extremely one-sided, sticking to the most common gory historical myths and hardly touching on their civilization as a whole. Richard III is not a surprise, but the Boston Tea Party is, considering that a major point (included in the book) is that no one was killed or attacked and only one man injured by accident. This is followed by Rasputin, which is definitely gory, and then the Civil War - but specifically its technology. Which...isn't really gory?

There is an index, glossary, and acknowledgements but no sources or bibliography listed. The book is illustrated with colorful cartoons that don't over-emphasize the blood and gore but add a graphic touch to the collection. The writing veers from matter-of-fact retellings of events to occasional mentions of characters' feelings and behavior and the tone varies as well, sometimes being more in a storytelling vein and sometimes sounding more factual. It sticks pretty firmly with familiar, (i.e. male) historical figures and only includes a few non-Western examples.

Verdict: This is most definitely not the book to hand to serious history students or to use as an example of historical research. It's not well-organized, doesn't even really stick to its own designation of a collection of "grim, gruesome, and gory" historical facts and there was at least one typo (page 38, if you're interested). However, I don't regret purchasing it and its companion volume, Trials and Treachery and I enjoyed reading it. It is accurate? No. It is fun? Absolutely! It's one of those books that kids will enjoy reading and picking up tidbits from and that you can use to inspire them to read further and research the topics in more depth and accuracy. An additional purchase for light reading.

ISBN: 9781499800821; Published 2016 by little bee; Purchased for the library

Small Readers: Ape and Armadillo take over the world by James Sturm

Ape and Armadillo are making plans to take over the world. But Ape isn't happy - why does he have to fight off all the monsters while Armadillo gets to ride into the castle and collect a magic wand? Ape comes up with his own plan, to get ice cream, but Armadillo thinks it isn't evil enough. Their argument grows until they both explode in anger and Ape runs away. After a little time apart, they reconcile and start a new game and this time Armadillo is a little better at compromise.

Running along the bottom of the main comics are short, silly stories featuring the two characters. Sturm's art is bold and expressive in the main comics and in a lighter palette in the secondary stories. The comic panels alternate between full-page panels and several different arrangements of two or three small panels.

This easy reader is listed as a Level 3, grades 2-3, for advanced beginners. This would be about right since the rapid change from the real world to the imaginary world, the small type and faint illustrations of the running gags below the main story, and the critical thinking skills required will need a more advanced reader to decipher them.

While I do sometimes look for more advanced easy readers, right now and for the foreseeable future I'm focusing on emergent readers. For beginning chapter books, I'm looking for more positive, child-friendly titles. This just struck me as very negative, especially Armadillo's escalation to blowing up the world and Ape's miserable retreat.

Verdict: I know Toon books get strong reviews, but they tend to circulate little, if at all, in my library and definitely not the more complex high-level ones. This isn't one I'd recommend unless you have a strong fan base for Toon books.

ISBN: 9781943145096; Published 2016 by Toon; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp (with bonus real-life Bonnie!)

Madeline Finn does not like to read. She especially does not like reading out loud. She never gets a star from her teacher. After a week of miserable struggle, Madeline visits the public library where she's introduced to a special group of friends - reading dogs! Madeline meets Bonnie, "a big, snowy polar bear" and she tries again. It doesn't go well at first. Madeline still struggles painfully. But Bonnie's gentle acceptance and patient support help her keep going. Madeline learns to be patient and keep trying - and eventually she gets her star! When she takes it to the library to show Bonnie, Bonnie has a special surprise for her too...

The soft, gentle pictures show a sweet but stubborn little girl and the patient dog who wins her heart and helps her keep trying. Madeline's class is diverse and I appreciated that the reluctant reader was a girl, not a boy.

Libraries who have their own reading dog will note a few inconsistencies - there are a LOT of dogs pictured and I don't know any libraries who put that many in the same room. We also wouldn't normally invite a dog and her puppies to visit, however cute they are. However, the sweetness and delight of the book outweighs any minor details in my view.

When I first saw ads for this book I was ecstatic - because my library has our own Bonnie! Her name is Pearl and she's been visiting with us for over a year. We've tried reading dogs a few times before but Pearl is the one who's really clicked for us. While everyone runs their program differently, what's worked for us is very casual. We've tried scheduling time slots with a reading dog in the past and it really didn't work for our community. Pearl comes in, hangs out in the play area or Storyroom, and visits with kids. Like Bonnie she's a Great Pyrenees and they are very gentle and patient. She's been read to in English, Korean, and Spanish. She's been hugged by toddlers and viewed with awe by babies, cuddled by middle schoolers and oohed and aahed over by adults. I do strongly suggest having a certified therapy dog (which Pearl is) which will make things more relaxed and also gauging your community. I have a lot of kids with special needs and some of them are afraid of animals so I make sure Pearl's time at the library is very clearly stated. We don't have any severe dog allergies, but I've scheduled Pearl late Monday afternoon and if there is going to be a program after her visit I'll swing through with the vacuum cleaner just in case. It also really helps to have a trainer who's awesome! Pearl's mom is great with kids and knows just when to ask Pearl to back off from a nervous child (she is awfully big) and when to gently encourage parents to step back and let their child meet Pearl and read her some stories!

Verdict: Buy this book and get your library a reading dog! Talk to your community first and see what will fit best with their needs and interests and go from there.

ISBN: 9781561459100; Published 2016 by Peachtree; Purchased for the library