The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 13

This week has sped by so fast that this is the first chance I have had to write about our book of the week! Just in time before next week begins I have 2 books to share with you. The first one is the second book about llamas that Anna Dewdney has written for children. Llama Llama Mad at Mama is the story of Baby Llama and Mama Llama's adventures at the Shop-O-Rama. Baby Llama becomes bored and impatient waiting for Mama Llama to finish her errands and throws a fit in the middle of the store. For every child who hates running errands with parents and every parent who may struggle completing errands with children, this book is perfect!

The second book for this week is a sequel to Jackie Hopkins' The Shelf Elf. In The Shelf Elf Helps Out, Skoob explains about the Dewey Decimal System and how to find books in the library. With simple explanations and detailed pictures, every child will have an easy time learning how to look for and where to find the books of his or her choice.

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 12

Every Child enjoys a good story about elves. I'm not talking about the elves you hear about at Christmas, it's too early to think about them. I'm talking about elves that are helpful everyday of the year. Retold from The Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Jim LaMarche, The Elves and the Shoemaker is the story about a boy and girl elf who helped a shoemaker by making beautiful pairs of shoes every night. The shoemaker and his wife were so grateful for all the help that they made the elves nice, new,warm clothes to wear. After the elves put on their new clothes, they happily left the shoemaker's shop and were never seen again.

Well, they were never seen again until...

The Elf Shelf, written by Jackie Mims Hopkins and illustrated by Rebecca Thornburgh is the story about what happened to the elves after they left the shoemaker's shop that one night long ago. Skoob, one of the elves, describes his latest adventures living in the library as a shelf elf. The shelf elf explains specific rules that libraries have, including taking care of books, returning them on time, and being quiet while in the library. "When in the library make this choice: always use your quiet voice." These books will be great for a combo-book reading session, or helpful when read separately to refresh one's memory. You can find these books today at the Twinsburg Public Library.

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week #11

What would it be like to live in the library? Melvin spends hours and hours at his local public library. The librarians who work there are always helping him with school assignments, and helping to answer his questions about the world. As Melvin gets older, he continues to appreciate the information and kindness that the Livingston Public Librarians have offered him. What does the boy who was raised by librarians decide to be when he grow up? A librarian of course! Be sure to check out this week's book, The Boy Who was Raised By Librarians, by Carla Morris. The story is sweet, the pictures are bright and amusing, and the book is one that many library patrons will be able to relate to.

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 10

Well, we've made it up to double digits now with the blogs, and because it has been about a week and a half since the last post, I will have 4 books mentioned in today's blog. When I am not working here at the library, I go to school full time at Kent State University. One of the classes I am taking this fall semester is Children's Literature. In this class we just finished up talking about folktales, and now we are discussing fairytales. Therefore, the books written about this week will be from that genre.

The first two books are both retold by Mary-Joan Gerson. Why the Sky is Far Away is a Nigerian folktale telling how there was a time when people could look up to the sky and pull down food, clothes, and everything that they needed in life. The people became wasteful, however, and would throw their extras onto a garbage pile. The sky became very angry, and warned that if the people did not stop being wasteful, there would be consequences. To find out what happens in the book, come on in to the Children's Place and read this book, as well as the following...

The second book is called How Night Came from the Sea. This one is a story from Brazil, and is about the daughter of an African goddess who left her home in the ocean to be with her husband in the land of daylight. Soon the bright light was too much for her, and she told her husband about night, which she had back home in the ocean. Her husband immediately sent servants to find the African goddess and ask for night. I will stop with the description now so there is still surprise for you as you read the book.

One fairy tale that may not be so familiar to you is The Fisherman and His Wife. This particular version is by Rosemary Wells. The characters in this book are cats, but in the role of humans. The husband and wife lived in a small cottage and did not have much, but what made them happy was seeing the smiles on each others faces. And happiness was all they truly needed, until one day when the husband was at the dock fishing when he caught an unusually colored fish. The fish promised the fisherman that if he was released back into the water, the fish would grant the man a wish. When the wife heard of the deal, she began greedy and asked for many things that she truly did not need. After asking for many things, the husband and wife realized that they were plenty happy just how life was, before all of the extra material items in life.

The last book for this blog is the classic book Puss in Boots. This one is retold by and illustrated by Steve Light. The story tells of a man who lost his father, and between him and his brothers were the father's belongings divided. The youngest son received a cat, and was not too happy about that. As the man wondered how this cat was going to help make him money, the cat spoke up. He asked for a pair of boots and a sack, and would take care of the rest. The cat hunted and brought gifts to a king, and explained that they were from the Marquis of Carabas. That was not the truth, but the king was grateful. After continuous days of this, the king met the son, who was pretending to be the Marquis of Carabas. The king's daughter also met the pretender, and they instantly fell in love. Remembering what the cat had said as he brought the king gifts, that they were all from this Marquis of Carabas, the king felt it suitable for his daughter and the man to marry. Thereafter, the pretender and puss in boots were wealthy and lived happily ever after.

There are several versions of these books and other fairytales here at the Twinsburg Public Library. To find these and other tales visit the Children's Place. Until next time have a wonderful rest of the week!