chrisholliman

Children's Librarian

recent posts

about

  • Best Preschool Read A Louds for Library Storytime

    We all have our storytime favorites.  After 8 years as a children’s librarian, I have a selection that I return to again and again that always work in front of a preschool crowd.

     

     

    1)  Let’s Play in the Forest While the Wolf is Not Around by Rueda The animals in the forest are scared of the wolf until they find out what he is really hungry for: pancakes!

     

     

    2)  Bark, George by Jules Feiffer.  I can’t stand any of Feiffer’s other children’s books (Daddy Mountain is especially awful to me), but Bark, George may be the best preschool read a loud ever written.

     

     

    3)  Rattletrap Car by Root.  This is a longer book than I typically use for storytime, but my interpretation of the sputtering and stuttering sounds of the broken down car trying to make it to the lake always makes people smile.  A perfect book for summer.

     

     

     

     

     

    4)  Hi Pizza Man!  by Walter.  Ok, the lady dressed in furs is a little weird, but the downward spiraling ridiculousness of this book always makes an audience laugh.  Meow meow, pizza kitty!

     

     

     

    5)  There’s A Shark In the Park! by Sharratt.   Featuring awesome rhymes, repetition, and a dad with 1950’s hair, this book works every time.

     

     

     

     

    6)  Go Away Big Green Monster! by Emberley.  Message of the book:  you can defeat your monster.  I would read this every week for storytime if it wasn’t already so super popular among the parents.

     

     

     

     

    7)  The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Wood.  Share the strawberry or you’ll get eaten by a bear!  A great message for kids!

     

     

     

     

    8) Little Pea by Rosenthal.  About a pea that detests eating candy for dinner (“plech!”).  A very a-pea-ling book!

     

     

     

    9)  What? Cried Granny by Lum.  This may be my favorite read a loud of all time.  The industrious, indefatigable, Granny is determined for Patrick to go to bed!   Really punch those “Whaaaaat?”s to put the book over the top.

     

     

     

     

    10)  Whose Mouse Are You?  by Kraus.  Over 30 years later and this book is still kicking.  Every time I read it, the audience goes “Awwww” at the end.  Very sweet!

     

  • “How to Catch a Bogle” by Catherine Jinks

    The Plot in 5 Sentences or Less:  Alfred Bunce and his apprentice Birdie work in Victorian era London as boglers, a kind of early ghostbusters that traps and kills nasty monsters and demons that haunt the dark places in cities and eat children.  Their boggling business runs smoothly enough until the high class folklorist Miss Eames begins following them on their appointments and makes the recommendation that Birdie, for her safety, should not be used as bogle bait.  Also, the local pick pocket madam Sarah Pickles importunes Alfred to investigate the cause of some of her boys going missing.  Helping Sarah will take Alfred, Birdie, and Miss Eames on the most dangerous bogling mission yet.

    My Take:  This was an excellent read, not so much for the page turning action, but rather for the evocation of Victorian era England.  Jinks has a knack for picking up the dialect of high and low class society and bringing them all to life.  Readers will learn about lusherys, mudlarks, and a dozen other things that are foreign to 21st century America.  Any teen interested in reading about catching nasty beasties on the dark streets of bygone London should read this book.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  On her website, Catherine says that she became a writer because she like reading so much.  A sequel to “How To Catch A Bogle” is due out next year!

  • “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio

    wonderThe Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less:  Auggie Pullman was born with a severe craniofacial difference that has set him apart from others since birth.  He has endured over a dozen surgeries to cosmetically craft his face and make his eating and speech easier.  Home schooled all of his life, this year he is entering Middle School and must mix with the general population of children his own age.  As he begins the school year, Auggie fortunately makes friends with Summer and Jack Will, but a clique of popular kids set their sights on torturing him.  Will Auggie make it through the school year and survive the cruel social nightmare of Middle School?

    My Take:   Believe the hype.  This book was so good and it lived up to its acclaim.  I was relieved because I had just finished reading Divergent by Veronia Roth, another very popular book, and I could barely get through it.  But Wonder kept its promise.  What struck me as excellent was Palacio’s ear for convincing dialogue and details.    The mean notes slipped into lockers, the fickle friendships, the lunchroom social cliques– all of these details impress upon the reader the cruelty of Middle School.  As Auggie endures the searing trial of  making it through 5th grade, we as readers are right along with him and hoping that he can survive the year.  Goosebumps on my arm at the end told me that this book is special, that it is a book that needs to read by as many people as possible, to remind us all, without saccharine sentimentality, that a little extra kindness is a wonderful thing.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  R. J. Palacio decided to write this book after she and her sons had an uncomfortable encounter with a girl with a severe craniofacial difference outside of an ice cream shop.

     

     

  • “Doll Bones” by Holly Black

    dollbonesThe Plot In 5 Sentences or Less:  Zach, Poppy, and Alice are friends that enjoy playing an imaginary game filled with pirates, mermaids, and treasure.  One of the most important parts of the game is “The Queen,”  an old porcelain doll that sits in Polly’s cupboard, whose real origins are unknown.  As the kids are now 12,  all 3 feel ambivalent about continuing to play this imaginary game in the face of criticism from their peers.  Their determination is rekindled, however, when a ghost visits Polly in her dreams, claiming that she was killed, turned into the china doll, and now longs only to be buried properly in her grave.  The 3 friends set out on a journey to bury the doll and put the ghost’s spirit to rest.

    My Take:  Doll Bones novel is really about coming of age, facing the challenges of growing up, and grieving the loss of childhood.  Black captures the confusion and awkwardness of turning 12 and being unsure about what to leave behind as childish things.  I appreciated that the characters were clearly from underprivileged or blue collar families and that Black does not drive the point home too finely.  All 3 of the children have unsettled home lives, giving the reader the sense that the children’s quest is not just to bury the doll, but to help restore some sense of wholeness to their respective households.   Finally, I liked that the setting is in the industrial area of western Pennsylvania.  It lends context to the idea that these children really are journeying a through a blighted landscape.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  Holly Black is also the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles.  Find out more about her at her website.

  • “Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin” by Liesl Shurtliff

    rumpThe Story in 5 Sentences Or Less:  Rump lives with his Gran in a village in the mountains where people pass their miserable days working the gold mines to receive their weekly food rations from the town Miller.  Rump’s life changes when he salvages a spinning wheel that was once his mothers and soon discovers that he has the power to spin straw into gold.  At first, the greedy Miller demands all of the gold that Rump spins, but soon the King wants his cut too and mistakenly kidnaps the Miller’s daughter, Opal, thinking that she is the one performing the magic alchemy.

    My Take:  I found this book to be an interesting take on the old Grimm’s fairy tale.  Shurtliff presents Rump as an unlikely hero on a journey of adventure and self discovery.  Despite the use of well worn juvenile fantasy elements, (castles, trolls, witches, etc.), I found myself pulled along by the character of Rump.  I was with him all the way as he grappled to control his power and unearthed more secrets about his past.  I would recommend this book for kids grades 3 and above who like fairy tales and fantasy.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to her website, Shurtliff grew up in Utah with 7 brothers and sisters.  The license plate on the family van was “8SGREAT.”

     

     

  • “The Templeton Twins Have An Idea” by Ellis Weiner and Jeremy Homes

    templeton twinsThe Plot in Five Sentences or Less:  John and Abigail are the bright, twin children of professor and inventor John Templeton.  Following the death of their mother, the family moves to Tick Tock University where, during a lecture, their father is accosted by Dean D. Dean, a man claiming that John Templeton stole his idea for the Personal One-Man Helicopter (POMH).   Dean D. Dean, along with his brother, Dan D. Dean, kidnap the Templeton twins and demand that John to sign over the rights to the  POMH.  The twins must use their smarts to escape from the Dean brothers.

    My Take:  This book is a clever and enjoyable read.  The narrator of the story is self aware and inserts amusing parenthetical remarks in the text as if he were arguing with the reader.  For instance, he states “We’re getting off point.  And I blame you.  Please, I urge you to stop interrupting.”  He also inserts “questions for review” at the end of each chapter that are meant to resemble reader’s comprehensive questions, but are simply ridiculous (i.e. “How would the Templeton twins’ lives have been different had they never been born?”).  Too much of this sort of thing would be gimmicky and annoying, but Weiner uses a judicious amount that keeps the reader laughing.  Credit should be given to Home’s schematic illustrations that reinforce the  rational yet ludicrous tone of the book.  Highly recommended for kids ages 8+.

    One Interesting Note About the Author/Illustrator:  Ellis Weiner was an editor of National Lampoon and contributor to many magazines, including The New Yorker and Spy.   He has also written an e-book called “Atlas Slugged Again” which you can buy for $1.99.

  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

    escapefromlemoncellosThe Plot in Five Sentences or Less:  Kyle Keeley wins an essay writing contest  and gets to spend the night in his town’s brand new public library with 11 of his peers.  The library is a massive, technological marvel built by none other than Luigi Lemoncello, a one time small town boy who has gone on to make a fortune in the board game industry.  When Kyle and his companions awaken the next morning, they find the doors of the library locked.  Mr. Lemoncello has challenged them to a new game: escape from the library using the hidden clues.  Will Kyle and his friends be able to crack the code in time and escape from Lemoncello’s library?

    My Take:  “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” meets “The Westing Game.”  This is a solidly entertaining and clever read that will appeal to both boys and girls ages 9 and above.   Author Chris Grabenstein makes the puzzles challenging, but not ridiculously difficult.  I appreciated the many nods and allusions to library lore and children’s literature.  The characters are not especially fleshed out, but who cares?   The fun is in watching the kids solve the puzzles and make their way out of the library.  Ages 9+

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  According to his website, Chris Grabenstein used to write for commercials.  One of his earliest bosses was James Patterson, with whom he now writes books!

  • The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

    ImageThe Plot in Five Sentences Or Less:  In the 1940’s, America was at war, but its military was still segregated.  Against this backdrop, fresh recruits arrive at Port Chicago outside of San Francisco.  They are black men and, because of this, they are given the highly dangerous job of loading ammunition onto the ships with little to no safety training.  On the evening of July 17, 1944 a huge explosion rips through the port, killing over 300 people.  In the weeks following, 50 of the men refuse to load any more ammunition and are therefore put on trial for mutiny.

    My Take:  The Port Chicago 50 is not Steve Sheinkin’s most exciting book, but it is his most poignant.  I found that the narrative slows down some during the trial portion of the story, but the final chapters more than make up for this.  By the end of the book, I found that I had a knot in my throat as I considered the sacrifice that these black sailors made, really until the ends of their lives.  The Port Chicago 50 is another example of Sheinkin’s gift of making history interesting and relevant.  Highly recommended for ages 12+ looking for a non-fiction read concerning civil rights.

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  Steve’s brother-in-law Eric Person was the first to bring the story of the Port Chicago 50 to his attention.  Eric mentioned the theory that the first atomic bomb was exploded not in the New Mexico desert in 1945, but rather a year earlier at Port Chicago.  Intrigued, Steve dug deeper and unearthed the story of the Port Chicago 50.

  • Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

    maggotmoonThe Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  Standish Treadwell tries to fade into the background by giving a blank stare from the back of the class.  But when his friend Hector climbs the wall behind the house and discovers what’s on the other side, Standish can no longer be inconspicuous.  Now he’s being hauled into the principal’s office, interrogated by the leather coats, and beaten by his new stooge of a teacher Mr. Gunnell.  After Hector and his family disappear and a strange visitor appears at his house, Standish seeks an opportunity to strike a blow against the heart of a diseased system.

    My Take:  This is excellent dystopian YA literature.  Gardener drops the reader into the middle of Standish’s life with no explanation or exposition, allowing us to slowly piece together the story.  What starts as a typical tale about a middle-schooler being sent to the principal’s office, turns into so much more.   Gardener slowly develops the nightmare world, until the reader is fully invested in cheering for Standish to subvert it.  Great writing and a great book by Sally Gardner!  Parents and librarians should be aware that the language in the book is not for younger readers. Ages 15+

    One Interesting Note About the Author:  Much like Standish, Sally Gardner is dyslexic.  As a student, she was branded “unteachable” and expelled from various schools.  She is now a spokesperson for dyslexia.

  • “Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Eric-Shabazz Larkin

    ImageThe Plot In Five Sentences Or Less:  While playing basketball in Belgium as a young man, Will Allen discovers the joys of digging in the dirt.  When he moves to Milwaukee, he pursues this passion by buying some vacant greenhouses in the city and converting them to farms.  The process is slow because the soil is filled with pollution, but over the years Will’s urban farm revolution spreads around the world.

    My Take:  I found this to be an inspiring read.  Jacqueline Briggs Martin does an excellent job of conveying plenty of information about Will and his farming movement without slowing down the story.  Eric-Shabazz Larkin’s bright illustrations conveys the excitement and enthusiasm of Will Allen’s urban farming.  Notes in the back point to other sources of information about Will.  Many readers will no doubt want to start planting seeds on their windowsills after reading this wonderful book.

    One Interesting Thing About the Author Or Illustrator: Jacqueline Briggs Martin is also the author of the book Snowflake Bentley, which won the Caldecott award in 1999.