What's new

Hello, all!  What an exciting week to be in the library!  We've received not just one, but TWO new Big Nate books by Lincoln Peirce:  Genius Mode and Game On!  These are automatically going to go out often, so I'm not going to bother to summarize them, but be assured they continue the fun!

 

 

We also received Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg, a story about Eleanor's first time going to summer camp.  She is sure she'll hate it, especially after tripping over a root and wiping out in spectacular fashion within 10 minutes of being at camp, but she learns to enjoy herself after caring for the camp goat and learning to swim.  A good summer read for 7-9 year olds.

 

I also heartily recommend Janet Tashjian's My Life as a Cartoonist.  Derek wants to be friends with new student Umberto, but finds himself being bullied by him instead.  No one believes how bad Umberto is making Derek feel because Umberto is in a wheelchair.  That little details makes it different from other books that have come out this year about bullying.  Still, it has a light tone and lives up to the common view that it's a kinder, gentler Wimpy Kid.  There is cartooning in it, teachers will LOVE the illustrated examples of tough vocabulary words.  Pair it with the more serious new book, The Bully Book, for a lesson on the destructive powers of bullying and how one can cope and even come out on top. 

 

For the younger guys, The Watermelon Seed by Greg Polizzi is a fabulous start to the summer.  An exuberant crocodile informs readers that he LOVES watermelon... then has a meltdown when he swallows a seed and imagines vines growing out of his ears and a watermelon growing in his guts!  I've read quite a few reviews stating that they're afraid this will encourage children to be terrified of swallowing watermelon seeds and I say pish posh.  People take things so seriously.  Kids will hardly be traumatized.  It's a fun, lively read with bright, large colors and funny to boot.  So great, I'm reading it for a school presentation tomorrow! 

 

Of course, there are many many more books that have come in, including the unusual I Represent Sean Rosen by Jeff Baron.  I've only broken the surface of this book, about a 13 year old boy trying to sell a screenplay to Hollywood by faking an agent, but I'm having fun.

 

Tomorrow, I'll be writing about my school visit.

 

Cheers!