February 2013

Cowboy up! Ride into March’s theme, SPORTS!

Join Team ReaderKidZ for a month of hard-hitting, competitive fun reading great sports stories. Whether it’s rodeo, baseball, or badminton; football, field hockey, or track – nothing reveals the inner character of an individual more than participation in athletics. Important life lessons are learned on the court, as well as the sideline.  Winning is easy…. Read more »

Penelope Crumb by Shawn K. Stout

PENELOPE CRUMB, written by Shawn Stout, is a funny story with a heart – an example of humor at it’s best.   In the novel, protagonist Penelope Crumb is plagued with the ever-prominent “Crumb Nose.” At first, her pronounced schnoz is an embarrassment to Penelope, one that she desires to erase from existence. Later it becomes a strength of character, leading to a special understanding of… Read more »

Doggone Feet! by Leslie Helakoski

This charming story of the complexity of family life, written and illustrated by Leslie Helakoski, celebrates the notion that there’s always room for one more. The funny thing about this book is that it is told from under the kitchen table from a dog’s point of view.  Doggone Feet! begins with a stray who follows a lanky set… Read more »

Books to Stir the Imagination

Two books – very funny and imaginative  – OH, NO!  Who will fall into the deep dark hole next? OH, NO! (Schwartz & Wade, 2012) a picture book by Candace Fleming delightfully engages a young reader or listener.  With each turn of the page, another animal tumbles into the jungle pit… Oh, no!… with hungry TIGERS… Read more »

Librarian’s Corner: Books to Make You Laugh, Part 2

Children’s book historian and critic Leonard Marcus reminds us that “A joke isn’t a joke if you need to explain it.” Humorous books for young readers must include topics and situations that will be familiar to them. That’s one reason for the popularity of “potty humor” and fart jokes with boys, but we won’t go… Read more »

Librarians Corner: Books to Make You Laugh

Humor. It’s more than joke books. Humor is also very individualized. Some of us have more sensitive funny bones than others and see humor in the oddest places while others don’t recognize humor unless it hits us over the head. Humor also comes from many sources. Some authors recall funny incidents from their own childhood… Read more »

The Adventures of Jo Schmo

THE ADVENTURES OF JO SCHMO: Dinos Are Forever by Greg Trine, illustrated by Frank W. Dormer (Harcourt Children’s Books, 2012) Readers of author Greg Trine’s Melvin Beederman series are in for another treat. Say hello to Jo Schmo, a normal fourth grade girl who’s content doing normal fourth grade things until the day a mysterious package arrives. Jo… Read more »