One of the things I enjoy about my job is the periodic visits from Karen Radtke, who has one of the best jobs at the library.  Karen is the children’s book selector.  That means she is responsible for choosing new books to add to our collection.  I’m sure Karen does a lot more than “just” select books, but it is that facet of her job which captivates me.

Whenever Karen approaches my desk, book in hand, I know I’m about to be treated to something really, really good.  Karen is kind of our own Billy Mays with all the passion and enthusiasm, but not the shouting.  Karen can hawk a book!  Sometimes Karen will read her new finds aloud so we get the true essence of the book--hearing it read with gusto, inflection and spirit.

Geeky, I know.   But these exchanges are so much fun and they create so much excitement that you can’t help but want to run to the shelves, check out the book, grab a kid, and read!

So, here are a couple of Karen’s current favorites as written by her.  Check them out.  I think you’ll agree these are some great reads!

Best Friends and Drama Queens by Meg Cabot
Third book in the Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series.  I like this series for 4-5 grade girls.  Allie is brutally honest as only a 10 year old girl can be.  I love how her father serves buttered microwave popcorn for breakfast (corn and dairy) and the Mom begs Allie not to tell the teacher.  I also loved when the teacher moves her to the back row with all the troublesome boys.  She rationalizes the move by thinking that the teacher knows she has brothers and isn’t squeamish about boy stuff.  Meg Cabot does “get” girls.

Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop
Anything photographed by Nic Bishop is amazing.  With breathtaking full-page images, Nic introduces young readers to the beauty and diversity of these amazing insects, from the shockingly bright blue morpho butterfly to the nearly transparent glasswing butterfly to the caterpillar that pretends to be a snake when face to face with a predator.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Everyone loves this book.  One staff member took it home and read it to her 5 yr old nephew.  She said he went into the bedroom and re-read it a couple of times and then made his grandmother listen to him ‘read’ it to her.
 

Watch Me Throw The Ball! by Mo Willems
How far can Piggie throw a baseball?  Would you believe, “all the way around the world?”  Perfect for beginning readers.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
The last in the series, although Rick has hinted that he plans a new spin off using one of the other characters.  This book may be at my door today.  I purchased it for my son’s 16th birthday.  I predict that my non-reader son will have it done in a couple of days.

Two personal favorites—
Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin--Reminds me of Bugs Bunny cartoons—so funny.
My People photos by Charles R Smith Jr. -- Such artistry in the photos themselves and in the arrangement to accompany the poem. The sensibility in this book is spot on.

Lastly…
Hot off the press—check out the website www.gunnerkrigg.com

The wonderful thing about this graphic novel is that both girls and boys will enjoy it.  I just showed a 5th grade class and 3 girls and one boy grabbed it to check out.  This is a web book that I enjoyed as a librarian and as a comic loving adult.  Its got a lot of layers, plot-wise, as well as literary and cultural motifs.  It also contains a lot of dream images/icons—a dark building with different rooms, long roads, shadows, eyes, death icons, birds etc.  And I must say I read ½ on-line and the other ½ in book format and I enjoyed both experiences.

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tomas Siddell
Antimony Carver’s first year at Gunnerkrigg Court, a British boarding school that looks like a vast modern factory, but is filled with fairies, gods, ghosts and sentient shadows, is decidedly weird.

 

Thanks, Karen.  Another list of fine suggestions! 

I fall in love easily and often.  With books and authors, that is.  My present kids’ book heartthrob is the author of the delightful Elephant and Piggie series, Mo Willems.

Mo Willems has penned a number of well-known children’s books including the popular Knuffle Bunny books, the Pigeon books and the Naked Mole Rat series.  My current favorite, however, is his easy reader series featuring best friends cautious Elephant and optimistic Piggie.

These two characters are sure to become a classic literary couple in the vein of Pooh and Piglet and Frog and Toad.  You can’t help but falling in love with Elephant and Piggie.  Not only has Willems created two characters who completely capture your attention, but the books themselves are among the best easy readers.  The controlled vocabulary and simple text make these books perfect for children who are just beginning to read by themselves.

It’s both Willems’ humor and Elephant and Piggie themselves, however, who will win over adults.  Of course we want to encourage young readers to practice, practice, practice.  Really, grown ups, these aren’t the kind of books where you find yourself wanting to skip pages.  You’ll be begging your child, “One more time!”  Trust me.

If you want a fantastic introduction to this endearing two-some, join us this Saturday, May 16, at 10:30 at the Central Library.  Elephant and Piggie will come to life as these popular books are acted out.  I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

For more information about Saturdays at Central visit us online at www.mpl.org

Ah….Memorial Day weekend; the traditional start to the summer season.  The kids still have a few weeks of school, but it’s beginning to feel a lot like summer.

Summer is a time to slow the pace of the school year schedule: no homework that needs checking, no looming science fair projects, no term papers…. Kids deserve to down-shift in summer just as much as adults.

We need to, however, encourage our children to read over the summer.  I think summer is a perfect time for children to read for the simple pleasure of reading.  Summer reading should include opportunities for children to choose what they want to read—to discover what pleasure reading means.  Children read more when they can choose materials based on their own interests.  Summer is a perfect time to let children explore those interests.

Time spent reading during the summer has a significant impact on children’s reading skills.  Children who read for pleasure during the summer—even just 15-20 minutes a day— will log approximately 20 hours of reading by summer’s end.  Think about what all of that reading does for children’s reading skills.  By sixth grade the child that hasn’t read over the summer can be as much as two years behind the child that has.

The Milwaukee Public Library’s Super Reader Summer Reading program is a great way to encourage children to read throughout the summer.  Children earn prizes for reading and visiting their library.

For more information about the Milwaukee Public Library Super Reader Program and some excellent summer reading suggestions, visit www.mpl.org/SummerReading