Hot Picks for September and October2009
JP Piven
MY DOG IS AS SMELLY AS DIRTY SOCKS, AND OTHER FUNNY FAMILY PORTRAITS, by Hanoch Piven. 2007.
How can you make a picture of how your dog, your dad, your mom, and other people in your family to show their true qualities? How can you picture someone who is as funny as a tickly feather, faster than a calculator, as cute as a button, as sharp as a pencil … or as smelly as dirty socks? Artist Hanoch Piven shows us how, using things like buttons, acorns, jellybeans and other everyday objects.
Recommended for ages 3 to 5 years. 32 pages.
JP Hickm
IT’S MOVING DAY! by Pamela Hickman. 2008. Canadian.
A small burrow in the ground, hidden beneath a big tree on the edge of a field, is occupied by a woodchuck until it becomes time for him to move to a place where there is more food. It’s moving day for woodchuck – but there’s someone else just ready to move in: a mother rabbit! Soon, her babies are born there. When they grow bigger and need more space, it’s moving day again! Throughout the seasons, the same burrow becomes home, in turn, for many different woodland animals.
Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years. 30 pages.
JP Sierr
THE SECRET SCIENCE PROJECT THAT ALMOST ATE THE SCHOOL, by Judy Sierra. 2006.
It’s science project time again! But this year, when one of the students in Miss Fidget’s class sends away for “Professor Swami’s Super Slime” to use in her project, she is astonished when the gigantic blob proves to have a huge, horrible appetite … and almost eats the school! As the author cautions, “When it’s science project time, do not make goop, or glop, or grime, and never ness with mutant slime!”
Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years. 30 pages.
J 636.1 Led
THE HORSE LOVER’S BOOK, by Stephanie Ledu. 2008.
What is “horse whispering” and “gentling”? What is a horse’s “gait”, and what is the correct way to tie up your horse? How should you approach your horse? Can a horse’s ears really turn in all directions – all by themselves? What is the fastest recorded speed ever run by a horse, and if you visit Scotland, why should you never try to ride a “Kelpie”? You can find the answers (plus lots of great photos) in this book!
Recommended for ages 6 to 9 years. 40 pages.
J FIC Field
LUNCHBOX AND THE ALIENS, by Bryan Fields. 2006.
Who is “Lunchbox”? He’s a loveable, floppy-eared basset hound – an average, ordinary dog who has trouble even catching a Frisbee … until he’s abducted by aliens who have a special mission in mind for him! Now he’s not at all an ordinary dog! He and his boy, Nate, must solve a world crisis … the fate of the entire universe could rest on his round shoulders!
Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years. 183 pages.
J FIC Frazi
BRENDAN BUCKLEY’S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT, by Sundee Frazier. 2007.
Can everything be explained by science? Ten-year-old Brendan Buckley, who keeps a rock collection and a confidential notebook to record his top-secret scientific discoveries, would like to think so … but when he discovers a mystery within his own family, he finds that unfortunately, science isn’t going to provide the answer!
Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years. 198 pages.
J FIC Brook
HERCULES: A MATTER OF TRUST, by Heather Brooks. 2009.
Hercules is a small pony who has come to stay at Running Horse Ridge, where Emily lives. Hercules is scared and lonely. Emily tries to become his friend, but it is hard to get Hercules to trust her. This is the second book in a new series about horses, Running Horse Ridge, by Heather Brooks.
Recommended for ages 9 to 13 years. 205 pages.
J FIC Parki
THE CASTLE ON DEADMAN’S ISLAND, by Curtis Parkinson. 2009. Canadian.
In this sequel story to Death in Kingsport, the three friends, Neil, Graham and Crescent, find themselves visiting an island in the St. Lawrence River - Deadman’s Island! Not only does the island have a big gloomy castle with a secret tunnel, it also yields up a human skeleton and a mystery for the three to solve.
Recommended for ages 10 to 13 years. 214 pages.
J 363.17 Cha
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS AND HEALTH, by Zachary Chastain. 2009.
How exactly do pollutants from factories foul our air and water? How are soils polluted by improper disposal of chemical and solid waste materials? What is “proper disposal” of these substances? How can we act to keep our soil, water and air as healthy as possible? This book addresses these urgent issues and provides some Internet sources of more information.
Recommended for ages 10 to 15 years. 112 pages.
YA PB Harrison
EYE OF THE WOLF, by Troon Harrison. 2003. Canadian.
Set 200 years in the future, Eye of the Wolf is a tale of what the future could hold for Canadians if an Ice Age were to happen here. It’s fiction, of course … or is it? A “chilling” science fiction adventure!
Recommended for ages 12 to 15 years. 299 pages. |
