Anna

Picture Books!

Title: Little Quack #1 By: Lauren Thompson Pictures by Derek Anderson Everybody could use a little encouragement in life. Whether it is doing something simple, or maybe trying something you have never done before. It is really amazing what a little encouragement may do for someone or something. The book Little Quack is about a mother duckling and her four little ducklings ready to take there next step in life. Leaving the nest and into the water. Of course everyone can relate to trying something new for the first time. A lot of times we are timid or show fear, just like the four little ducklings were in the book LIttle Quack. Throughout the story the mother duckling states to each one of her ducklings that, "you can do it, I know you can." Sure enough each one of her ducklings got of the courage to jump into the water for the first time. =) This book could be a great motivation and message to young readers. It encourages them to encourage others, and maybe try things that they were once scared of!

Title: The Kissing Hand #2 By: Audrey Penn This loving story will melt your heart. Have you ever been faced with a difficult situation? I believe that no matter how old we may get, we all seek reassurance at some point. Sometimes all we need to hear is, you are loved. The Kissing Hand tells a story a young raccoon getting ready to leave for his first day of school. "I don't want to go to school, I want to stay home with you mom, I want to play with my friends, toys and read my books. Please may I stay home with you?" The mom tells the little raccoon a secret about the kissing hand. She demonsrates to him what the kissing hand is by kissing the middle of his palm. Then she says, whenever you feel lonely and need a little loving from home, just press your hand to your cheek, and think, "Mommy loves you."

Title: The Best Nest #3 By: P.D. Eastman This could be a super fun book to read with a younger audience. The Best Nest has an adorable song through out the book that is easy to learn and fun to sing along to. It portrays an excellent message as well.In life it seems like we are all wanting something more or something better than what we have at the time being. In all reality our lives are nothing to complain about when we think of those who are less fortunate. But our selfish ways are always want something more, when all along what God has put right in front of usis the best of all. This story has a very unique way of portraying that same meaningful message to a younger audience.

Title: How Big is a Million? #4 By: Anna Milbourne and Serena Riglietti A million is a very big number. But exactly how big is a million? Through out this story Pipkin the penguins curiosity wants to know just how big a million really is. Pipkin takes out on a little adventure to find out how big a million really is. Pipkin starts off with finding ten items, one hundred items, a thousand items, and as he starts to give up on finding what a million really is, his mom puts the hope right back into Pinpkin! You will have to read and find out if Pipkin finds his million! It truly is a great story! Also a great story to use in a younger elementary math class! It gives students a great idea of how big 10, 100, 1000, and maybe what a million really is!

Title: Grumpy Cat #5 By: Britta Teckentrup Have you ever been one of those chosen last, or not chosen at all to play a game. If so, it leaves you feeling pretty lonely. That is just the case in the book Grumpy Cat. Cat eats, sleeps and spends his days feeling lonely. All of the other cats think Cat is grumpy, and that leads them to not want to do anything with Cat. But really deep down inside all Cat is really wanting is friend. One stormy night would change everything for Cat. There was a terrible thunderstorm that came through one night and Cat struggled to find a dry place, and then from out of nowhere there came a meow. Cat looked down and there, between his paws, was a little orange kitten. Cat was not sure of what to do. Cat's first instinct was to run away, but as he ran away he noticed that the little kitten followed. Cat tried once again to get rid of kitten but he noticed that whatever he went Kitten would follow! So from that day on Cat had found a friend, and Cat has never been grumpy sence.

Title: Picking Apples #6 By: Margaret McNamara If you are taking a young group of students to an Apple Orchard, or just simply teaching your students about apples, this is a great book to read with them. It talks about a group of students who are taking a field trip to an Apple Orchard. Each student has the opportunity to pick their very own apples. This book lists different types of apples that you may find in an Apple Orchard as well. This story also has a fun little twist to it. Each student is enjoying their field trip, all except for one student, Michael Smith. Michael dose not want to participate in picking any apples until he finds that there is an apple named the "Granny Smith" apple. Michael is so surprised that he shares the same last name with an apple that it changes his whole atittude about picking apples!

Title: Goodnight Moon #7 By: Margaret Wise Brown Pictures By: Clement Hurd Just a good old classic. This book has unique pictures using color along with black and white. It has great poetry of words and it is very easy to read, and I think every kid will love it! Goodnight Moon is just a very cute book! I also feel like this could be a great end of the day book! This could also be a great way to calm students down after recess or after something active like recess.

Title: A Visitor for Bear #8 By: Bonny Becker Illustrated By: Kady MacDonald Denton No one ever came to Bear's house. Bear was sure he didn't even like visitors. He even had a signed posted outside on his door that said NO VISITORS ALLOWED. But one morning as Bear was fixing himself some breakfast he heard a little something at the front door. Bear opened the door to see that he had a small little visitor outside his door. There was a mouse, small and gray and bright-eyed. Bear insisted to the mouse that no visitors are allowed. As time goes on and Bear comes in contact with mouse more than a few times, Bear's mind begins to change about having visitors at his house. Bear seems to like the attention, and the Bear that one insisted that the mouse leave is now insiting that the mouse doesn't leave. It is a very cute story with great detailed pictures! Kids will love looking at the pages while you read to them, or as they are reading it themselves.

Title: Just Me in the Tub #9 By: Gina and Mercer Mayer Want to give children step by step instructions on how to "properly" take a bath. Just Me in the Tub by Gina and Mercer Mayer is a great story that illustrates the proper way to take a bath for young children. This books gives children step-by-step instructions starting with, running the water in the tub, all the way through getting out of the bath tub and putting on pajams. This book is full of fun pictures to keep young listen and reader into the book!

Title: Terrific Trains #10 By: Tony Milton and Ant Parker Big trains, small trains, old trains and new! Ride along with the animals as they tell you all about trains. This book is full of vibrant art plus a helpful picture dictionary!

Title: Twinkle Star of the Week #11 By: Joan Holub Do you know what really happens when you wish on a star? Every bright star in Ms. Sun's class could hardly wait to be a superstart for the week. Being the teacher's helper along with sharing something special with the class made every star eager with anticipation to become superstar of the week. Twinkle knew just what she would share when it was her turn. But when another friend of Twinkles gets to be superstar of the week before her, she finds her special idea getting stolen by her friend. Can Twinkle find something else to share? Maybe if she wishes and wishes and ...

Title: Giggle, Giggle, Quack #12 By: Doreen Cornin Who knew a Duck could be so smart? Farmer Brown was going on vacation. He left his brother, Bob, in charge of the farm animals. After telling Farmer Brown told his brother that he wrote everything down, Farmer Brown was very specific when he told his brother to keep on an eye out od Duck. Sure enough throughout the story Giggle, Giggle, Quack you will see why Farmer Brown wanted his brother to keep on eye out on Duck. This story is filled with humor. Kids everywhere will cheer for the clever duck, as they watch farm animals enjoy everyday activities like just like humans!

Title: Summer Dreams #13 By: John Newby Summer is the season almost every child dreams of. Warm, sunny days, freedom and fun. Throughout Summer Dreams John Newby captures the joys of summer with his discriptive writing. From playing baseball to playing with friends and family. He reminds us just how wonderful summer time is. Kids will love the pictures drawn in this book by John Newly himself! The pictures are very detailed just like real life! Lastly, Summer dreams is about exploration, play and the memeories created with friends and family. Great book to read with young children.

Title: We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt #14 By: Steve Metzger Want to get kids it a fall mood? This book is great for that. You can easily put this book to real life by taking your children/students outside to participate in the same activities as the characters in the book. This book is also repetitive so it makes it easy for kids to be verbally engaged in the book as well.

Title: There was an Old Lady who swallowed some Leaves! #15 By: Lucille Colandro This is a great book that will most certainly give any reader or listener a good chuckle. While reading this book you won’t believe why the old lady swallowed some leaves, a shirt, a pumpkin, a pole, some pants, a rope, and some hay until the very end where she sneezes and out comes a beautiful scarecrow! Through the rhyming and repetition children will want to hear this creative story again.

Title: Llama Llama misses Mama#16 By: Anna Dewdney A great comfort story for any young child going to preschool or school for the first time. Llama, Llama goes through the events of the day starting with waking up and making his bed, brushing teeth, eating breakfast to going to school meeting new friends and experiencing the feeling of being scared. Llama, Llama is soon comforted by his new friends and the thought of knowing his mama will come back soon to pick him up from school!

Title: Let It Fall#17 By: Maryann Cocca-Leffler Let It Fall is a cute descriptive story telling you all about fall and the fun activities that come along with it. From the senses that you feel from fall to the daily activities that you encounter through the fall season, this book can be a very good educational book to read to children when wanting to enhance children’s understanding of the fall season.

Title: Make Way for Ducklings#18 Bye: Robert McCloskey Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, Quack, and Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have quite the life. When trying to find a place to live they are kindly treated by any onlookers, including policemen who will stop traffic to make sure Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings cross the road safely. After scouting out a few places to live they finally come across the Public Garden that had a pond and island in it. The ducklings like the new pond and island so much that they decided to live there. All day long they follow the swan boats and eat the peanuts thrown out to them buy visitors, and at night they swim to the little island where they snuggle up for a good nights rest.

Title: Never Ever Talk to Strangers #19 By: Annie Marie Pace Jamie wears his super safety expert badge proudly. It shows he’s learned all of Officer Crane’s rules for stranger safety: Strangers are people you don’t know, If a stranger talks to you, you should yell and run away, and most importantly never EVER talk to strangers. But when Jamie meets a stranger after school his super safety badge is put to the test. This is a great story that takes children step by step through the strategies they should follow when facing strangers.

Title: Parts #20 By: Tedd Arnold Ever wondered why certain things happen to your body? Kids are full of questions when it comes to their body. Why is this happening? Is this normal? Is my hair suppose to fall out? Why are my teeth lose? Am I going to lose all my teeth? These are just a few questions asked by the young boy in this story. All this worrying is making him sick until he finaly inform him that all these things he is experiencing is normal. Full of relief, he can't help but to ask one more question, "Whats this yellow stuff I got out of my ear." This book is full of humor!

Title: The Playground Problem #21 By: Margaret McNamara There is a problem on the playground! The boys won't let the girls play soccer with them during recess. Emma is furious! So she figures out a plan to get them to change their minds. In the end they all learn that the best teams are the ones that everyone gets to play on! Wondering stroy to read with children of all ages who experience any play time during school. It teaches children a great lesson!

Intermediate Books

Title: My Vicksburg #1 By: Ann Rinaldi Level: Jr. High For forty-seven days, the Union army lays siege to the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi forcing Claire Louise and her family to leave their home to live in a cave near by. Having her father and older brother as doctors their family is well honored and respected by those around them. One day during the war, Claire Louises older brother Landon who is a doctor shows up at their cave with a wounded soldier named Robert. Robert spends quite a while recoperating at the Corbets cave. As time goes by, Claire Louises knows that there is more to the story about Robert, the wounded soldier than what is being told. So Claire Louise being herself is determined to find out the real story behind Robert. Come to find out Robert is the reason the South lost the battle to Antietam. Landon was about to turn Robert in until Claire Louise decided to take matters into her own hands and set Robert free without any of her family knowing, including her close brother Landon. This cause's quite tension between Claire Louise and Landon, but through Claire Louise's honesty and time, Landon finds in his heart to forgive his sister.

Title: Voice of the Wind #2 A Voice in the Wind is the story of a Jewish/Chrsitian girl, named Hadassah that is taken from Israel after Jerusalem is destroyed by Rome. She is sold to the Valerian family as a personal slave to their daughter, Julia. Through ou the book you learn the story of the older brother, Marcus, a German gladiator, Atretes, as well as the story of Julia and Hadassah in the time of acient Rome. All the stories of each character twine in and out, creating a complex story of love, struggle and forgiveness. With a cut off ending, it is nearly impossible not to read the second book.

Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief #3 Percy Jackson is what they call demigod, part mythological god and part human and it is the story of him discovering who he really is. Percy, finds out that he is part god when his mother is taken by the minotaur as his mother, Percy and his friend/satyr are running for safety at Camp Half-Blood (a safe haven for demigods). This starts him on his adventure to save his mother and ultimately find Zeus' missing lighting bolt. To find it Percy, Grover and another demigod, Annabeth, go on a search to find it, which bring them in contact with a number of gods and other mythological creatures.

Title: Just Ella #4 The classic Cinderella story is the way this book starts, but the rest of it is very different tale. After moving to the palace to start her princess training, Ella soon realizes that this is not the life she had dreamed of; she wants a life of purpose, not of primping. When the royal family finds this out, Ella is thrown in prision and forbade to marry the prince. Ella digs a hole in the group of the dungeon and escapes to a refuge came where a teacher/friend from the castle. She starts a new life for herself, one that makes a difference.

Title: Behind the Bedroom Wall #5 Behind the Bedroom Wall takes place in 1942 in Germandy during WWII. The main character, Kroinna is a German girl that is a part of the local Nazi youth group. She learns there all about the "Jewish problem" and the being a good German citizen requires turning in Jews. When she discovers jews that her parents have been hiding behind her wardrobe. At first she is really upset and felt betrayed but as she got to know the Krungmann's she learned that the best for your contry isn't always what the government decides, the people need to have the freedom to decide.

Young Adult Books!

Title: Dirty Little Secrets#1 By: C.J. Omololu Level: Young Adult If you are anything interested in hoardering, this book is for you. For a while now Lucy's mother has been an extreme hoarder. With trails just big enough to walk through to get from room to room, with newspapers and magazines piled higher than Lucy's head, with mold growing in places your never thought were possible. Meanwhile, the outside of the house looks like a normal middle class neighborhood house so no one really suspects anything different from the inside. Lucy is tired of hiding her house from her friends, she wants desperately to live a normal life. One morning Lucy came home to something unexpected...her mother buried in newspapers...dead. Does Lucy call 911? She better not because then people will know their family secret, and Lucy desperately does not want that and neither would her mom or siblings. So just how far will Lucy go to protect her family's secret?

Title: Mara Daughter of the Nile #2 This story takes place in Egypt during a time of government upheaval. Mara is a slave that gets her change to ear her freedom by being a slave for the Egypt's pharaoh. She is to spy on her younger brother, who she thinks is planning a revolution. On the way Mara meets one of the men working for the revolution, Sheftu. She is intrigued by him and decides to play both sides for awhile. Through many twists and turns Mara learns more and more about what is really going on and has to make the tough decision of which side gets her loyalty.

Title: Under a War-Torn Sky #3 Can you imagine-- At 19 years old one of the youngest piolets in the Air Force squadron. However only being 19 he is one ot the best fliers. This books make you feel like you are watching the History Channel. It grabs you right from the beginning. If you are anything interested in World War II you will love this book! It is action packed. Henry the 19 year olds plane is shot down on a mission being enemy lines. This book is truly gripping and susupenseful and very ture it seems.