The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick

Megan is in the Adventure Scouts' treehouse late at night. She is searching for her glasses that she lost during the day. Suddenly Megan hears weird noises. She looks through the Adventure Scout binoculars, nothing. She hears the noise again, this time she spots a monkey jumping across the rooftops in her neighborhood. Then she sees another monkey, and another. What? There is no way!! How could the monkeys have escaped from the zoo? Megan and her brother Noah love living next to the city zoo. This is so weird, she has to tell Noah. Megan rushes to the house and wakes up Noah. By the time they get back to the treehouse the monkeys are nowhere in sight. Maybe Megan was dreaming. Megan and Noah did not have a clue, but this was the night that their adventure would begin. Days later when Megan turns up missing, Noah and his friends discover clues that lead them to the zoo, and then to the Secret Zoo. Pick up the Secret Zoo today and find out what happens to Megan, Noah and the other Adventure Scouts.

Bryan Chick is a local Michigan author and has written three titles in the Secret Zoo series.

This series came recommended to me by two of my 4th graders and I am so happy that it did. Thanks Lucas and Thomas.

UPDATE: on March 13, 2012 the students at Spencer and Hilton elemenatary schools in Brighton, MI had the honor of hosting an author visit with Mr. Chick. What a wonderful presentation and a fantastic day. Visit The Secret Zoo Facebook page.

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

Day One I swam around my bowl.
Day Two I swam around my bowl. Twice.

...and so Memoirs of a Goldfish begins. A goldfish tells us about his day to day life in his fishbowl. At first it is just him, swimming alone. Soon there is Mr. Bubbles; Mervin, a snail; Cha-Cha, an angel fish; Fred, a crabby crab; and others. Will his life change? Do they all get along? Can they all fit in his fish bowl?

Memoirs of a Goldfish is the Michigan Reads book for the 2011. Michigan Reads is our "One State, One Children's Book" Program. The program highlights the importance of reading and sharing books with children, especially toddlers through early elementary, and to recognize the vital role libraries play in providing access to the quality books, programs and services that lay the foundation for reading and school success. (http://www.michigan.gov/mde/)

Ask your child if they heard the story during their visit to our school library.

Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer by screenwriter Kathy Waugh and author Megan McDonald

Judy Moody has made it to the big screen! Following my own advice, "read the book BEFORE you see the movie", I read this book and was pleasantly surprised that even though it was co-written by the screenwriter for the movie, it holds very true to previous Judy Moody books.

Author Megan McDonald says it best on her website - Judy Moody gets famous - FOR REAL!

Judy and her brother Stink are super excited about summer vacation. Judy comes up with a summer challenge for her friends Amy, Frank, and Rocky. She introduced them to the "Judy Moody Mega-Rare NOT-Bummer-Summer Dare", to help avoid the "Boring with a capital B, typical summer". Judy did not count on Amy going to Borneo and Rocky going to a summer circus camp. That left her and Frank. Not so fun! Then Judy's parents tell her they are going to California for the summer to help Nana and Gramps. She was super excited, until her dad said, "you and Stink are staying here". NOW she was in a mood! They told her she would have fun with her Aunt Opal, who Judy quickly nicknamed Aunt Awful. Her entire summer was looking like a bummer. Read Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer to see how it all works out for Judy.

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Red is a bully. He picks on Blue and makes Blue feel sad. The other colors tell Blue that he is a good color, but they never say it in front of Red. Because no one stands up to Red he gets bigger and more powerful, and then comes One. One is shaped different than all the colors, he makes the colors laugh. They are all having fun until Red shows up and tells them to stop laughing. The colors all stop, but what will One do? Read One and find out what the colors and One will do.

The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

April is "National Poetry Month". We are celebrating with The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The author of this book tells us, "You can open the book up anywhere and read." This is so true. Open to the middle of the book and you get:

Maternal Bureau of Investigation
If you're gonna sneak a cookie
Don't act like some young rookie
Wipe up your trail of crumbs
Lick the chocolate from your thumbs
Practice "nope, not me" faces
Just to cover all your bases
See, you never know which mother
Is working undercover
'Til the moment she yells
Freeze!
CHEF.B.I.
Drop the cookie please!

The illustrations enhance each word game, poem, story, and palindrome in this entertaining collection. ENJOY!

Curous Garden by Peter Brown

Liam was out exploring one day when he saw a secret passageway in the old abandoned railroad station. Liam went through the entrance, up some stairs and found the old railroad tracks. Right in the middle of the tracks, he discoverd some random plants growing. The plants were dying and Liam decided he would bring them back to life. He spent many days tending to the garden, which grew and spread. The illustrations in this book bring the story to life. Liam helps bring beauty back to his city and shows us that even in the darkest areas, we can grow something beautiful.

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

How would you feel if you were the middle sibling in your family? What if you were sandwiched between two sets of twins? Miri is the "extra" in her family. Her twin brothers are older than she is and her twin sisters are younger. When Miri's family moves to an old farmhouse, the adventure begins. Miri wished she had a twin too, just like the rest of her family. She is either watching her little sisters or trying to hang out with her brothers. Her brothers decide that there is treasure buried under their house and when Miri tries to help them, they ditch her. She is very upset about being ditched and accidentally knocks out one of her brothers. Her mother sends her to her room as punishment. While she is in her room she notices the lens of an eyeglass taped to the floorboard in her room. What happens next is amazing! Miri looks through the lens, and is suddenly sucked into another time period, 1935. Miri meets a girl named Molly who actually lives in Miri's room, in the past. Molly is so excited to see Miri, she knew a "fairy" would come and rescue her! Molly is living with her aunt and cousins, they are very mean to Molly. Miri is confused about how she got there, and how to get back to her own time. After spending time with Molly, Miri decides she has to figure out a way to get Molly away from her family. Maybe she should take Molly back home with her, but how? Miri is spying on Molly's cousin in the barn when she reaches into her pocket and puts on her own glasses. Zap! Miri is pulled back into her own world, without Molly. How can she leave Molly there? Can she figure out a way to get back to 1935 to rescue Molly? The suspense will get you! Pick up this book, I guarantee you will not put it down until you know the answers.

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst; illustrated by Lane Smith

Lulu is a little girl that gets everything that she wants. If her parents tell her "no", she throws a fit until they say "yes". She is really not a very nice little girl. Lulu has a birthday coming up and when she tells her parents she wants a Brontosaurus for a pet, they tell her "no". She throws her fit and her parents still say "no!" After twelve days of screeching and throwing a fit Lulu's parents still say "no!" Lulu did not know what to do, but she knew she wanted a Brontosaurus for her birthday. So she packed her suitcase and went to find a Brontosaurus in the forest. As she is going deeper into the forest Lulu sings

"I'm gonna, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna gonna get.

A bronto-bronto-bronto
Brontosaurus for a pet."

After running into a snake, a tiger, and a big black bear in the forest and being very rude to them, Lulu finally finds her Brontosaurus. The Brontosaurus is not thrilled about being Lulu's pet, instead he wants Lulu to his pet! What will happen when the polite Brontosaurus tries to keep the impolite Lulu as a pet? Will Lulu give in, or throw a fit? This book has three endings, you get to pick the one that works for you. Enjoy this delightful easy chapter book.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead; Illustrated by Erin E. Stead

And the winner is...A Sick Day for Amos McGee. On January 10, 2011 the American Library Association announced their youth media awards which included the Caldecott medal for the illustrations in a picture book. This year's winner is a new illustrator from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Erin Stead.

Amos McGee goes to work every day following the same routine. He fixes his breakfast, drinks his tea, takes the bus to his job at the zoo, does his job and then spends time with his animal friends. He plays chess with the elephant, races a tortoise, keeps a penguin company, and reads stories to an owl who is afraid of the dark. So what happens when Amos gets a cold and does not go to work? Read A Sick Day for Amos McGee and see how the animals return the kindness that Amos always shows them.

Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan

Newbery Award winning author Patricia MacLachlan has written the perfect story about writing. She mentions in her author's note at the end of Word After Word After Word, that people were often asking her to write a book about writing. So, instead of writing a non-fiction book about writing, she decided to create a fiction story about writing. Which she does quite successfully.

In the story we are swept into a fourth grade classroom with a bunch of everyday kids, specifically five friends - Henry, Lucy, Evie, May, and Russell. Each of the characters is dealing with their own ups and downs the best they can.

The class is being visited by the eccentric and likable Ms. Mirabel. Ms. Mirabel is a famous author who tries in her own magical way to support each student. She teaches them about the power of words and how they are all brave and wonderful writers.

Check the book out to see if Ms. Mirabel can make a difference in the five character's lives.

Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman

I AM PERRY ISAAC GIFFORD. TODAY'S THANKSGIVING DAY.

THIS IS MY EMPTY STOMACH...THIS IS THE BUFFET.

AND HERE'S A LITTLE SECRET. I'M THE THANKSGIVING PRO.

WHEN IT COMES TO TURKEY DAY, THERE'S NOTHING I DON'T KNOW

Percy presents the readers with the P.I.G. (his initials) rules to a happy Thanksgiving. Every page has delightful illustrations and a rhyming verse to explain his rules. Thanksgiving is all about family and appreciation. Percy knows that he needs to wear what his Mom wants him to wear because it will get him to the food sooner. He knows that helping his Dad clean-up will get him to the food sooner. He knows the he needs to greet his family, but it doesn't have to take all day! Once he gets to the THANKSGIVING BUFFET he piles his plate high and eats every last bit. His whole family is stuffed but then there is DESSERT! Families will enjoy the Percy Issac Gifford's rules of Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to all our families!

AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT, APPRECIATION IS A BIG DEAL.

TODAY'S THE DAY TO SHOW YOU'RE THANKFUL, AND NOT JUST FOR THE MEAL.

IT'S A DAY TO SHOW YOUR LOVED ONES JUST WHAT THEY MEAN TO YOU.

SO BEFORE THANKSGIVING'S OVER, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU MUST DO.

The Batboy by Mike Lupica

Batboy for a major league team! What other job would any child who loves baseball want to have? Brian is thrilled when his letter application wins him the job as one of the Detroit Tigers' batboys. What a fabulous summer this is going to be. Brian lives and breaths baseball. What could be better? He feels like he has it all. Then one day he finds out that his baseball hero is coming to play for the Tigers. Hank Bishop turns out to be quite a grump to be around. He is mean to everyone, especially Brian. Hank Bishop is making a comeback after he was charged with using steroids. Brian figures that the "Bishop of Baseball" will eventually warm up to his teammates and hopefully that will improve the way he treats people. Will Brian get his wish? Can the "Bishop" return to the person that Brian worships? What is it like to have the world's best summer job? All the questions will be answered when you pick up the book - The Batboy.

How Many Seeds In a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara

WOW! I love it when I learn something from reading a storybook. This is one of the many things I love about being an elementary librarian. Today I shared a new story with my 1st graders - How Many Seeds In a Pumpkin? Mr. Tiffen's class is going to count the number of seeds inside of three different pumpkins. Mr. Tiffen puts the three pumpkins out where the students can study them - one big pumpkin, one medium pumpkin and one small pumpkin. When he asks the class to guess how many pumpkins seeds they will find inside the pumpkins he gets answers from 1,000,000 to 22. The next day they come to school prepared to open the pumpkins and find out how many seeds are inside. They now have three empty pumpkins and 3 bowls full of seeds. Mr. Tiffen sends the students home with some "thinking homework". He wants them to think how they can count the seeds. That night Mr. Tiffen dried the seeds so they would be easier to count. The next day they come back and have ideas of how to count the seeds, but agree that Molly's idea of counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's is the best way. They organize by groups and decide how they will count their seeds. The big pumpkin group counts by 2's, the medium pumpkin group counts by 5's and the small pumpkin group counts by 10's. Which pumpkin do you think has the most seeds? Did you know that the number of lines on the outside of the pumpkin tells us how many lines of seeds will be in the pumpkin? I did not know that! I also did not know that the longer the pumpkin stays on the vine the darker the color of the pumpkin. This is a great sharing and exploring book. There is also a list of pumpkin facts in the back of the book. Check it out!

Katie Loves Kittens by John Himmelman

Katie is the sweetest dog in the world and she is so excited when her owner, Sara Ann brings home three kittens. Katie thinks they are so cute and wants to play with them so badly. But, she can't stop howling at them which scares them much to the dismay of Sara Ann.

Every time Katie thinks she can control herself, things go wrong. She jumps on the kittens while they are sleeping on the bed, she eats their food, she chases them.... Katie thinks she'll never get it right and she just wants to be close to the kittens. Katie feels so sad.

Open this great story to find out whether or not Katie ever gets it right with the kittens!

We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems

Elephant and Piggie realize that someone is looking at them. Elephant gets worried until Piggie explains it is "the Reader". As the Reader we make Elephant and Piggie crack up. Piggie says he can make the Reader say words, and he says "Banana". When the Reader says "Banana" Elephant falls down laughing. Elephant and Piggie are "in a book!" In their amazement they cannot believe how much fun it is to have the Reader say words that are in their word bubbles.....until they realize that the end of the book is coming soon. They try and figure out how they can make this fun continue forever, they don't want the Reader to get to the end of the book. What will happen? Once again Mo Willems has thrilled our youngest readers, and our librarian, with his illustrations and story.

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio

Two school friends do everything together, they swing together, they eat lunch together, they jump rope together, they sit together in class. You cannot separate Lily and Salma! Every day Lily brings a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Salma brings a hummus and pita sandwich. The girls eat their lunch and enjoy being together until the day Lily tells Salma that her sandwich smells "yucky". Salma is upset and tells Lily that her sandwich smells "yucky". The two friends stop talking, they stop hanging out together, and they stop sitting together at lunch. Soon the whole school hears about their fight and the other students take sides. Before long the students are all calling each other names, like "chick-pea brain" and "jelly head". The name calling gets worse. What will happen to the whole school? Can Salma and Lily fix their friendship? Check out The Sandwich Swap and see what happens. Queen Rania of Jordan wrote this book from memories of her childhood. She wants us all to know the story of Salma and Lily and think how things are in our own life. How can you make the world a better place?

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Who likes the first day of school? What about going to a new school? It is easier to pull the covers over our heads and just stay in bed. We have all felt like that ... even teachers! Find out why Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to go to school. She imagines all the horrible things that might happen. Will she go to her new school? Check out this delightful story with a twist at the end.

Ramona Quimby, age 8 by Beverly Cleary

With the movie coming out this summer there is renewed interest in the Ramona series. Author Beverly Cleary began her writing career while she was a school librarian. One of her students asked her, "why aren't there books about kids like us?" She thought about it and decided to write about "kids like us". Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is one of the many books she wrote about Ramona. One of the things that caught my eye was the sticker on the cover ... Read It Before You See It! My students know that I have an issue when they say, "I know that book, I saw the movie". When I ask if they read the book, 99% of the time they say "no", so my next line is always, "read the book, the book is better than the movie."

Ramona is starting third grade. She is all excited because she gets to ride the school bus to her new school AND she is going to be one of the oldest students in her building. The building is kindergarten through third grade. On the bus she loses her brand new pink eraser that her father gave her. The boy who is sitting behind her took it, she knows he did, but he said he never saw it. When she gets off the bus there is the boy, who she now calls Yard Ape, playing catch with her eraser! Not such a good start to her new school. Yard Ape eventually gives her back her eraser and things start looking better. Ramona really likes her new school, her new teacher, and her new classmates. Find out how the rest of Ramona's year goes and why she thinks the teacher said Ramona is a show-off and a nuisance. Remember - if you haven't read the books, make sure to read at least one before you see the movie.

Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School: We the Children by Andrew Clements

One of our favorite authors is back, this time with a new mystery series. Andrew Clements is well known for his realistic fiction books. Now Clements ventures into the world of mystery stories. Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School: We the Children starts off with Benjamin Pratt running to class because he is late. He hates being late, but some days it just happens. Ben finds the school custodian sitting on a bench, looking very ill. When Ben stops to help the old man slips an old coin into his hand and tells him to “trust no one”, especially the new substitute custodian! When Ben looks at the coin he sees writing - “‘If attacked, look nor’-nor’east from amidships on the upper deck.’” He turned the coin over. “‘First and always, my school belongs to the children. DEFEND IT. Duncan Oakes, 1783.’” Ben’s historic school is set to be demolished for a nautical amusement park. While this sounds like a fun idea, Ben knows from the coin and other stories, that the sea captain, Duncan Oakes, left the school to the children, they are the Keepers of the School. Ben and his friend Jill must follow the clues to stop the demolition. Will they succeed? We will have to wait for the next book in the series )due out in January 2011) to have many of our questions answered, but this is a great beginning to the new series – Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School.

Falling in by Frances O'Roark Dowell

What is that buzzing sound? Isabelle Bean hears the buzzing, it sounds like it is coming through the floor. No one else hears it! Isabelle can't figure out what makes her different from the other kids at her school. She also has a way of irritating her teachers - but she is not sure why. As Isabelle tells us in her story Falling In "Teacher's colleges had equipped them to handle nose pickers, fire starters, back talkers, hitters, biters, and whiners. But quiet girls who weren't shy, girls who talked in riddles but were never actually rude, girls who simply refused to comb those confounded bangs out of their eyes, well, girls like that were beyond them." So Isabelle heard, "Isabelle Bean! To the principal's office!" more than she liked. On this particular day when Isabelle was sent to the principal's office she found herself hearing the buzzing sound and then voices in her head. She thought it was coming from the nurse's office. When she entered the nurse's office she found a girl standing on a chair, because there was a mouse! Isabelle tried to find a broom to swish the mouse and when she opened the custodian's closet ... Isabelle Bean FELL IN! What is this mysterious place she has entered? The people all seem normal ... but she soon finds out there is a witch in this world, one that kills children!! Yikes, what will happen to Isabelle? Read this captivating story, Isabelle's story, and find out.
Check out the author's website.