Pipsqueaks, slowpokes, and stinkers: Celebrating animal underdogs by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

Stewart steps away from popular, big-name animals to take a look at some unusual creatures - and their unique abilities.

Forget about elephants and cheetahs - what do you know about the Etruscan pygmy shrew? The Amau frog? How about a stinky hoatzin or reeking zorilla? Why is an okapi so shy and a bat so lazy? Stewart takes each of these animals, as well as walruses, naked mole rats, western fence lizards, and more and shows how their stinky smells, tiny size, weird diets, and sleep habits help them survive and thrive.

Back matter includes thumbnail illustrations of each animal with additional information on their habits and abilities. The final page has a brief list of sources and a dedication to children who are bullied. Laberis' friendly illustrations add a cartoon flavor to the various creatures while still capturing their unique looks and behavior. Plump gray koalas lounge on tree branches, a naked mole rat tries on a furry coat, and a panicked group of predators flee in humorous shock from the stench of the hoatzin and zorilla. Readers will want to look carefully to discover the okapi blending into the forest, well-hidden from a prowling leopard, and the western fence lizard flies comically off its branch.

Verdict: This cute book not only introduces kids to an unusual set of animals, it also gently points the lesson that sometimes the smallest, weakest, and weirdest of us all have hidden strengths! Recommended for storytime read-alouds and class discussions.

ISBN: 9781561459360; Published 2018 by Peachtree; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Holiday Edition: The Brambly Hedge complete collection by Jill Barklem

As a child, I deeply loved all things miniature and British - so when I discovered Jill Barklem's exquisite little books about the mice of Brambly Hedge I was smitten. Fast forward lo these many years (we won't say how many) and I still have my miniature set-ups, my collections of tiny books including Jill Barklem, and my utter delight that HarperCollins is republishing these classic stories.

Now, just so you are aware, they are also republishing the original books (they're about the size of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit books for a size comparison) but if you're looking for a great holiday gift for a miniature and/or book lover, why not get this gorgeous collection? It comes in a nice, sturdy slipcase and includes the eight classic stories in a single volume.

The first set of four are seasonal - Spring Story, Summer Story, Autumn Story, and Winter Story. They show the mice enjoying the excitement of each season from harvest to winter balls, weddings to picnics. The second set  - The Secret Staircase, The High Hills, Sea Story, and Poppy's Babies adds to the adventures of the mice showing them traveling to the seaside to get salt, setting up a new home for a tired mother, and discovering secrets in the Old Oak Palace.

The Brambly Hedge stories are a pastoral world, with the mice busily collecting, storing, and sharing food in their intricate stumps and tree homes. There's a quasi-feudal feel to it, with the presence of Lord and Lady Woodmouse, but on the whole the mice are an egalitarian lot with everyone pitching in to help each other out. The most present characters are the ever-curious Wilfrid Toadflax and his best friend, Primrose Woodmouse. Together they have many adventures in and around the meadow.

A large part of the charm of this series is Barklem's intricate illustrations showing shelves stacked with tiny dishes, food, and other household equipment. Then there's the fields, stream, and trees with exquisite drawings of flowers, grasses, berries, and mushrooms. The mice themselves are dressed in old-fashioned style, buttoned into trousers, petticoats, and adorned with shady straw hats (suitably adjusted for ears and tails of course).

Verdict: The complete collection is a great buy for library shelves, if you have little listeners who love tiny things (and who doesn't?) and I look forward to introducing our patrons to this beloved series. Consider either the complete collection or selections of the individual books for the miniature loving children in your life; you can even pair them with some little mouse dolls or tiny foods for imaginative play.

ISBN: 9780008282820; This edition published October 2018 by HarperCollins; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library (I have purchased my own copies of the individual books as well as a few for the library)

This week at the library; or, Candyland

Happening at the library this week

• Monday
• Paws to Read
• Worked 12-8
• Cleaned off desk, monthly report, Lost/Paid for list, Weeding, Cleaning up after adorable kittens who left us a "present" (but were still adorable and it was a corner I want to rip the carpet out of anyways)
• Tuesday
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions)
• Worked 10-5:15
• Finished lost list, busy morning on the children's desk, wrote up all the marketing blurbs for next winter/spring programs.
• Wednesday
• Budget meeting
• Worked 10:30-6
• Finished second grant (one more to go)! Working on Candyland, weeding, busy few hours on the children's desk in the late afternoon, other stuff.
• Thursday
• Books 'n' Babies
• Bookaneers
• Meeting
• Worked 10:30-6:15
• Random stuff kept happening all day.
• Friday
• Worked 4:30-8:30
• End of the week emails, setting up next week's outreach, and then set-up for Candyland.
• Saturday
• Life-Size Candyland
• Worked 7:45am-2:15

Animal zombies and other bloodsucking beasts, creepy creatures, and real-life monsters by Chana Stiefel

If you have kids who love the gross, ghoulish, and disgusting, all in the name of science, this book is for them! I've got a pretty strong stomach and a few spreads made me shudder!

The idea of the book is to look at "real-life" monsters in the animal world and compare them to Dracula, zombies, and other supernatural creatures. Under the category of "the living dead" are included various bugs and parasites that take over their hosts and control their actions. Chapter 2 introduces creatures that feed on blood - lampreys, vampire bats, ticks, and more. For sea monsters we plunge deep into the ocean and meet poisonous and powerful undersea creatures, including a cone snail, giant squid, goblin shark, and more. For those who like to shudder at the thought of alien invaders, there's tapeworms, guinea worms, fungus, and other things we don't want to think about. The last chapter, "animal monster mash" has a wide range of creepy, gross, and unexpected animals from a porcupine with quills to cannibal crickets, a lizard that squirms out of its skin to escape predators to a caecilian mother that feeds its young with its own body.

Each chapter also includes a section on the mythical or popular culture monster - zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc. that inspired the research as well as profiling a "mad scientist" who researches some of the animals included. Back matter includes a glossary, index, further resources (I, personally, am not watching the videos) and credits.

The book is available in library and paperback bindings and is a slightly wider layout than some National Geographic titles - 10x9 inches. This gives plenty of space for lots of close-up, gory photographs! A great nonfiction pick for Halloween, grab this one off the shelf any time you have a kid proclaiming they like REALLY scary fare or that nothing grosses them out!

Verdict: Full of facts and photographs, this is a great addition to National Geographic's oevre and is sure to fly off your shelves (but hopefully not into your brain. Mwa ha ha ha).

ISBN: 9781426331497; Published August 2018 by National Geographic; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library

Craftily Ever After: The un-friendship bracelet by Martha Maker, illustrated by Xindi Yan

So, I read and reviewed the second title, Making the band, first. After reading the first title though, the characters have a very different look!

Emily and Maddie, or Mad-Ily as they call themselves, have been best friends forever. Emily (white, red hair and glasses) likes to make things with tools, while Maddie (black, with natural, curly hair) is an artist and can sew. They have friendship bracelets they made for each other and spend all their time together. But then Isabella Diaz shows up. Bella is great with math, coding, and crafts too! Bella is put next to Maddie and suddenly the two are spending all their time together - and Emily feels left out. Maddie even teaches Bella how to make their special friendship bracelets! When Emily loses her bracelet, she feels like it's a sign that their friendship is over forever. And then there's Sam Sharma, who sits next to Emily. Maybe she wants to be friends with him too?

SPOILERS

Once Emily speaks up and explains how she feels to Maddie, all is well. The four become friends, bonding over cleaning out a shed in Bella's yard that becomes their crafting clubhouse. The diversity, as it often does in these early chapter books, feels carefully planned and I was disappointed to find that the first book in the series features the white girl, but overall it's a good attempt to create something to appeal to young makers.

Verdict: This isn't particularly realistic, from the access to craft supplies and skills to the level of independence the kids have, not to mention their maturity in dealing with friendship issues. However, it's a nice modeling of behavior to follow and will appeal to kids who like to make things.

ISBN: 9781534409071; Published March 2018 by Little Simon; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Small Readers: Mouse loves snow and Mouse loves spring by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan

I'm looking at two easy readers by Lauren Thompson today. I freely admit that I bought these for the library without looking at them. I've seen other work by Thompson and it's usually popular with the kids and their parents, mice and seasons are generally popular subjects, and sometimes you jusCybils that they're actually extensions of picture books about Mouse.

t buy books to fill in, especially in the easy readers! I didn't realize until I read them for

In Mouse loves snow the titular character and his father go outside to play in the snow. Each activity includes a repetitive phrase. First, his father does the action, "Poppa slides down the hill. Woosh, swoosh!" and then on the next page Mouse copies him, "Now Mouse will try. Pliff, ploof! Good job, Mouse!" The story ends with them creating a snow mouse together.

In Mouse loves spring, he experiences another season, this time with his mother. This has slightly more complex text, although it still includes some repetition. Mouse sees a creature, described by an adjective "something flittery" and his mother tells him what it is. "The wind blows whoosh!" and the creature hides, flies, or otherwise goes away. The story ends with something cuddly - a hug and a kiss with Momma.

Erdogan's illustrations are soft and fuzzy, often with little halos of light around objects. Mouse is a cute, fuzzy grey ball and his parents are larger versions. The art runs along the top two thirds of the page with the text in a bold font on the bottom. The books are labeled as "pre-level one" but the made up words like "flittery" actually bump this up to about a level one for us. Erdogan's illustrations are copyright 2005, so from a little research it looks to me like these easy readers are just cut-down versions of two older picture book titles, which have also been reissued as board books, Mouse's first snow and Mouse's first spring. I also found these rather annoyingly stereotyped - the father does all the active things, the mother looks at pretty flowers and animals and gives hugs. Mouse defaults to male, his father wears a blue/green scarf and his mother is pinkish-grey, rather than just grey.

Verdict: These aren't particularly stand-out easy readers, but they're solid backlist fare to fill in your easy reader collection. Kids need a lot of easy readers to work through as they're building fluency and these are acceptable for that purpose.

Mouse loves spring
ISBN: 9781534401853; This edition published January 2018 by Simon Spotlight; Purchased for the library

Mouse loves snow

ISBN: 9781534401822; This edition published November 2017 by Simon Spotlight; Purchased for the library

The Cat Book by Silvia Borando

Another delightful interactive book from minibombo.

What's that orange ball? It's a cat! Call him by name to wake him up and let's get the story started. As this cute little interactive book continues, kids will pet, feed, tickle, and even squish fleas off their cat.

I'm looking for fun new cat books for a cat-themed outreach I have planned and I think this one, with its minimalist illustrations and silly actions, will work great with both toddlers and preschoolers.

I would recommend adapting the instructions somewhat if used with a class, but with minibombo books I generally use them as a framework and put in my own dialogue. First, you'll need to discuss what we're going to call the cat. Once a name is decided on, the kids can call her name (I usually switch to female pronouns b/c it's ridiculous how many animals etc. in storytimes default to "he") , make stroking motions in the air, make tickling movements with their fingers, pinch fleas (make sure they don't pinch each other), blow away fleas, hold up hands like an umbrella, blow again to get him dry (the book says to use your shirt as a towel, but I don't need to see that many bare tummies lol), and so on.

With a small enough class the kids can take turns doing the actions with the book, but you'll want to count beforehand - just so you know, there are 8 actions an individual child could come up to do.

Verdict: This small book is not ideal for a large storytime, but for a small group it's sure to hit the sweet spot! Recommended.

ISBN: 9780763694722; This edition published April 2017 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library

The Squirrel's busy year and Bird builds a nest by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Richard Jones

Martin Jenkins has written several "first science storybooks" and I recently read through a slew of them, these two being some of my favorites. On a quick surface read, they appear to be about animals and seasons, but dig a little deeper and they actually incorporate specific science concepts.

In The Squirrel's Busy Year, Jones' earth colors illustrate Jenkins' story of the seasons through the eyes of a family of squirrels. An owl sits silently on a tree, a recurrent figure through the story. Young listeners will learn how squirrels visit their food caches over the winter, search for buds in the spring, dig up bulbs, and survive a storm in the summer. When fall returns, animals begin to hibernate and the squirrels work to build up a food supply for the winter ahead. There's more to the story than just the seasonal changes for squirrels; as explain in an opening note for parents, this book is about the science of the seasons. Each description of the season and the squirrels' behavior includes a note about the position of the sun and the changes in the weather. The final note includes seasonal activities and a simple index.

In Bird builds a nest, Jenkins uses even simpler language, suitable for a toddler, to show a brief season in the life of a bird. Bird hunts for a worm; after unsuccessfully trying for a big one, she successfully catches a small worm. Next, Bird works on her special project - building a nest. She collects just the right kind of twigs and weaves them together to create a nest. When the nest is lined and finished, it's ready for eggs! This is not just a book about nest-building, it's also a book about forces. The opening note gives readers simple language and concepts to discuss with children and the book incorporates those concepts in how the bird pulls at the worm then chooses a smaller one that can't resist as much, and how she pushes and pulls to weave in the sticks. A final note suggests some activities and a simple index is also included.

These books make fun reading, just right for a toddler or preschool storytime about squirrels, seasons, or birds. They're also a great choice for STEM-based programs for little ones. Use Bird as a central choice for a story about building things, then provide string, twigs, and other recyclables for children to make their own nest. Squirrel would make a great introduction to how the earth moves and affects the seasons; pair it with a flashlight and some shadow puppetry or some globes to learn more.

Verdict: Excellent choices to bring more science into your storytimes and classrooms for younger children.

The squirrel's busy year
ISBN: 9780763696009; Published July 2018 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Bird builds a nest

ISBN: 9780763693466; Published January 2018 by Candlewick; Purchased for the library

Holiday Edition: Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

That grouchy and unlovable bear is back; this time, Bruce is desperate to hibernate but his annoying family won't let him!

In Higgins' previous books, we were introduced to a gaggle of goslings, who view Bruce as their parent; an inquisitive and noisy group of mice, and the extremely grouchy Bruce who just wants to be left alone! But alas, it is not to be. In his first holiday story, Bruce is looking forward to staying in bed in the winter so he can "skip right through the whole business." But, of course, the mice, goslings, and other forest animals have other ideas. Especially when he puts on long underwear and a hat to combat the cold... an outfit which just happens to be red...

Much against his will, Bruce finds himself bringing Christmas cheer to all the creatures of the forest. Next year, he's really going to sleep through it all! At least, that's what he thinks...

Hilarious asides, like the mice's discussion of bear's hibernation habits "Actually...[bears] spend the winter in a state of lethargy." "I thought were were spending winter in the state of Maine..." pepper the pages and Higgins' colorful art shows a ragged group of enthusiastic animals, reluctantly watched over by the disgruntled bear.

Verdict: An amusing addition to your holiday sections and a sure hit for fans of Bruce and Higgins' other titles.

ISBN: 9781484782903; Published September 2018 by Disney-Hyperion; Review copy provided by publisher; Purchased for the library

This week at the library; or, Holidays begin

Happening at the library

• Monday
• Paws to read
• Managers' Meeting
• Worked 12-8
• Tuesday
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions)
• Meeting
• Worked 9-7:30
• Wednesday
• Worked 10-5
• Thursday
• Books 'n' Babies
• OPtions field trip
• Worked 10-5
• Friday
• Outreach storytime: Dinosaurs (3 sessions)
• Library on the Go (2 sessions)
• Santa Reception and tree lighting
• Worked 8:30-1
• Saturday
• Christmas parade
• Worked 10-2

Major snowstorm Sunday night meant no school Monday - Playgroup and Bedtime storytime were cancelled since Miss Pattie works for the school district. We had chihuahua puppies for Paws to Read - I think there were more staff than patrons in there (I was not one of them - I prefer big, fluffy dogs. And Rottweilers. Corgis are good too.)

Tuesday - smallish group for toddlers. I finished and submitted a grant then stayed late to attend a parents of young adults with disabilities meeting as the library representative. Lots of good info.

Wednesday - working on the winter/spring newsletter and collection development. Also a busy afternoon on the desk.

Middle schooler "you want to hear something?"
Me, with trepidation "like what?"
Middle schooler "you know the middle school?"
Me, "yes"
Middle schooler "you know the pond?"
Me, "yes" (the middle school has a big wetland/garden/prairie kind of area and a pond)
Middle schooler "I fell in. I'm soaking wet up to here (measures up to stomach"
Me "thank you for that information don't you think you should go home and get some dry clothes on??" (did I mention it was about 20 degrees outside?! and they already walked half a mile from the middle school to the library?!)
Middle schooler "nah, I'm fine."
Me "so you just wanted me to worry about you. got it."
(I did later convince them to call for a ride instead of walking a mile or so home.)

Thursday - finally got my oil changed. Good news - my car will live for now! (It is rather ancient and there is a certain amount of rust, but I have explained that all I care about it whether or not it will explode and apparently I'm good on that front.)

Friday - finished the last of the errands after my outreach and some misc. work. Renewed my driver's license finally! Saturday - on the information desk.

I live in the Christmas Card town. There's a lot of Christmas stuff. Usually, for the youth services department, we have a number of more or less neutral holiday programs (it's hard to be completely neutral with an entire town decorating with Christmas decorations and 20+ classic Christmas paintings on display in the library, so I don't really try that hard). The town Christmas stuff happens on the first weekend, then next weekend is life-size Candyland! Our circulation staff really stepped up, putting a lot of time into these events. I was very grateful because that left me and my staff free to concentrate on Candyland! Then comes toddler cookie decorating, a gingerbread house playgroup (thankfully Miss Pattie is doing that one - I did one one year and was traumatized) and the circulation staff have also got the book presents under the tree (they wrap picture books and easy readers and kids check them out and then get to "open a present".)