What We're Watching: Cathy

A Cat in Paris (DVD)

 

A little girl, Zoe,  who hasn't spoken since her father was killed. The evil villain who killed him. The neighbor who takes her cat, Dino, with him when he burgles other peoples' homes at night. Zoe's mother is a police detective who is hunting both the villain and the burglar and is very surprised to find that her own household is involved in both problems. This is a wonderful family film with chases over the rooftops of Paris and a dramatic ending at the cathedral of Notre Dame. The animation and the colors are great. The film was made in France but this edition is totally in English with the voices of Anjelica Huston and Marcia Gay Harden. You can also view it in the original French if you like. Magnifique!

What We're Reading: Laurie

The Limit by Kristen Landon.

Matthew Dunston is a 13 year old boy who is a math and computer whiz. He lives with his parents and two younger sisters and does very well in school. The Dunston's live in a society where everyone's personal debt is controlled by the government. Each family gets a certain spending limit, and if that limit is surpassed, the government takes the oldest child to a Federal Debt Rehabilitation Agency workhouse to work off the debt.
Matt is happy and carefree until his parents go over their debt limit. Suddenly, government agents whisk Matt away to a workhouse. Matt is highly intelligent and lands a spot on the "Top Floor" at the workhouse. He enjoys his work, classes and free time until he discovers that his sister has been sent to the workhouse as well. This discovery, along with suspicions of wrong doing, set Matt and his friends on a path to discover what is really happening at the FDRA. JFIC Landon

What We're Reading: Laurie

Turtle In Paradise by Jennifer Holm.

It is 1935 and jobs are hard to come by. Turtle's mother takes a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy woman who will not tolerate children so Turtle must go to Key West, Florida, to live with her aunt. Key West is very foreign to Turtle. She has never experienced this kind of heat or scenery before. Turtle finds herself the only girl in a house full of unruly boys who resist letting her become one of the gang.
Will Turtle ever see her mama again? Will she be able to charm the boys into letting her be part of the group?
Read this witty, charming novel that blends the author's family history with a rocky period from America's past. JFIC Holm

What We're Reading: Tracy

Looking for a Moose, by Phyllis Root.










"Have you ever seen a moose ----
a long-leggy moose ----
a branchy antler,
dinner-diving,
bulgy-nose
moose?"

"No! We've never, ever, ever,
ever, ever seen a moose.
And we really, really,
really, really want
to see a moose."

So opens Looking for a Moose, a wonderfully rhythmic read-aloud in the tradition of the classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Children will enjoy sharing in the story, making the requisite sounds and motions while their favorite adult reader directs the action:

"We'll look on the hillside for a bulgy-nose moose! We take off our hats. We tighten up our packs...We scramble up the hillside ---- TRIP TROP! TRIP TROP! ---- the rocky-blocky, lumpy-bumpy, fuzzy-muzzy hillside."

Glimpses of a moose hidden in the illustrations reward careful looking. Take a peek and see if you can find him. Be sure to tighten up your pack first, and watch out for the rocky hillside.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale, by Sibylle von Olfers, translated by Jack Zipes & illustrated by Sieglinde Schoen Smith.

Mother Earth and Her Children was first published in 1906, written and illustrated by a German art teacher and nun named Sibylle von Olfers. Often referred to as "the story of the root children," it depicts the cycle of nature through the perspective of Mother Earth and her young helpers, who waken with the spring, bringing color and life to the world before heading back to their underground beds to sleep through the fall and winter.

The gentle story, beautiful illustrations, and natural theme made the book a perennial favorite with Waldorf-leaning parents and educators. This edition features a fresh translation by German fairy tale and folklore scholar Jack Zipes, professor of German literature at the University of Minnesota, and gorgeous quilted renditions of the original illustrations by award winning German artist Sieglinde Schoen Smith. The result is a truly beautiful book to share with children any time of the year.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Pumpkin Moon, by Tim Preston, illustrated by Simon Bartram.

In this dreamlike tale, Halloween jack o' lanterns come magically to life after midnight and drift over the town, through the woods, and up to meet the brightly glowing pumpkin moon. Richly done, folksy paintings carry the story. A beautiful book to share on a dark October night!

What We're Reading: Tracy

Halloween Sky Ride, by Elizabeth Spurr.

Mildred is on her way to the Witches' Wobble, "a Halloween festivity where witches go to gobble." Speeding along on her broom, she encounters a skeleton, ghost, mummy, jack 0' lantern, black cat, and bat who all want to come too. But can they fit on Mildred's slender broom? The anticipation builds as the broomstick fills in this not-too-creepy cumulative tale.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Pumpkins, by Ken Robbins.

Simple text and crisp photographs reveal the life cycle of pumpkins, from seeds to jack o' lanterns. Especially intriguing are images of giant pumpkins so large they are lifted by forklifts! Children will enjoy sharing this book with their favorite grownups before taking a trip themselves to a local pumpkin patch.

What We're Reading: Tracy

I Shall Wear Midnight, by Terry Pratchett.

Great Britain has long produced some of the finest fantasy writers in the world of books. One of my modern favorites is Terry Pratchett, who was recently knighted by the Queen for his "services to literature."

Pratchett's classic fantasy series Discworld is at once original, literate, moving, thoughtful, irreverent, and hilariously funny.
Pratchett has done an equally fine job with his youth series set in the same universe, the Tiffany Aching Adventures.

Tiffany Aching is a young witch charged with caring for the inhabitants of the Chalk, a region reminiscent of southeast England, complete with loads of sheep, colorful villagers, a beneficent Baron, and a fairy mound, or, rather, a Feegle mound. (Those are Feegles on the book cover.) In this, the fourth novel of her adventures, Tiffany must handle the mundane problems of her steading (everything from sick sheep to social work) while trying to defeat a more sinister dilemma: the coming of the Cunning Man, the ghost of a witch hunter who reappears with despairing regularity over the centuries, poisoning the minds of the people and stirring up witch hunting fevers.

Best read in order, the other Tiffany Aching books are:

The Wee Free Men
A Hat Full of Sky
Wintersmith

What We're Reading: Tracy

Boo! by Joe Fenton.

Luminous ghosts seem to float across the pages of this wordless story. The lack of text encourages young readers to study the illustrations: what are the ghosts doing? What will happen next? Careful observation will reveal the plot (a ghostly costume competition) just before the clever ending. Boo!

What We're Reading: Tracy

Hooray for Fall! by Kazuo Iwamura.

Three little squirrels discover the changing colors of autumn in this beautiful picture book by Japanese illustrator Kazuo Iwamura. Wearing newly knitted red sweaters, the squirrels see red mushrooms, red berries, red leaves, and a fiery red sunset as they explore their forest. Soft lines, subtle colors, and a sweet story make this a perfect choice for a quiet bedtime book.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Foxy and Egg, by Alex T. Smith.

Foxy loves eggs. And chickens. So she is, of course, delighted when an egg rolls up to her front door. Dreaming of a wonderful breakfast the next day, Foxy feeds the egg to fatten it up, plays with it to make sure it is fit, and then tucks it into bed for a refreshing sleep. The next morning, Foxy is thrilled to see the egg has grown to enormous proportions. But then it hatches, and what's inside is most definitely not a chicken.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Duck Duck Moose, by Dave Horowitz.

Moose loves living in the Great North Woods with his friends Bear, Duck, and Other Duck. He loves the cool fall weather and the delicious breakfasts at the Pancake Hut. But then Pancake Hut closes for the season, Bear goes into hibernation, and Duck and Other Duck get ready to migrate to Florida for the winter. What's Moose to do? Take his first vacation!

What We're Reading: Tracy

Seymour Slug Starts School, by Carey Armstrong-Ellis.

Seymour Slug has just moved to a new town, and is worried about starting school. Will the other slugs like him? What if he has to write his name? He doesn't know how to spell yet. And worst of all, what if the teacher makes him play dodgeball? Seymour is terrible at dodgeball! Just when his anxiety reaches its zenith, Seymour's fairy slugmother arrives, promising to stay with him on the first day of school. Reassured, Seymour drifts off to sleep, but the next day, he discovers the zany and hyperactive fairy slugmother turns out to be more trouble than help.

What We're Watching: Brenda

Obesity in a Bottle: Understanding Liquid Calories & Nutrition and Obesity in a Bottle II: How to Pick Healthy Beverages by Learning ZoneXpress

These are two great DVDs that will help you and your family make the right choices when selecting a healthy beverage to drink.

The first DVD "Understanding Liquid Calories & Nutrition" is aimed at children in the 5th grade and above. It is definitely corny but has tons of good information in it. It talks about the relationship between weight gain and the empty calories in soda and juices, the increase in serving size over the years, the dangers of diet soda, and the negative effects of energy drinks among other topics. It ends with a segment on the benefits of drinking water.

The second DVD "How to Pick Healthy Beverages" is aimed at children in the 9th grade and above. This DVD is narrated by a nutrition expert and is not nearly as corny. I think it would be better received by older children who may not be able to get past the silliness of the first DVD. It talks about how much sugar is in many popular beverages that most people would probably think are healthy options. It also stresses the importance of looking at the label and checking both the nutrition information and the ingredient list. Finally it discusses what to drink when participating in sports activities and some myths about caffeine.

These are both great DVDs to either watch on your own to make healthy choices for your younger children or to watch together as a family with older kids.

Shark Week 2011

It's back! Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, an annual summertime TV favorite, begins July 31 at 9:00 PM.



The schedule is filled with sharky shows, including seven brand-new episodes:

-Great White Invasion
-Jaws Comes Home
-Rogue Sharks
-Summer of the Shark
-Killer Sharks
-How Sharks Hunt
-Shark City

Plenty of old favorites will be rebroadcast as well, including Air Jaws and Top Five Eaten Alive.

Get all the details at the official Shark Week website.

If you really, really like sharks, remember you can always have your own shark week any time you want with books and DVDs from the Youth Services area, j597.3.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Tentacles, by Roland Smith.

In this sequel to Cryptid Hunters, oceanographer, veterinarian, and cryptozoologist Dr. Travis Wolfe sets off on a quest to capture a living giant squid. Accompanied by his 12 year old daughter Grace and 13 year old nephew Marty, Dr. Wolfe sails for the South Pacific. The trio are quickly beset by dangers: the ship seems to be haunted, someone is trying to sabotage the mission, and a couple of incubating dinosaur eggs are discovered on board. Will they survive the trip, and if they do, will they find a giant squid at the end of the journey?

What We're Reading: Laurie

A precious little story about an ant who stumbles upon some string, and a friendly bird who shows the ant that the string can be as long as it needs to be depending on how it is used.

A delightful story about a boy who loves the outdoors and finds beauty in the most unexpected place.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Some fun picture books for lawn season:


Bun, Onion, Burger, by Peter Mandel, illustrated by Chris Eliopoulous.

Kitschy, retro style art highlights this simple story of a backyard barbeque.


Lawn to Lawn, by Dan Yaccarino.

When Pearl's family moves away, the left-behind lawn ornaments (a pink flamingo, gnome, jockey, and concrete deer) undertake a brave journey to find her new home. Unfortunately, it's located in "Ritzy Estates," a gated community.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Totally Tubular '80s Toys, by Mark Bellomo.

If you grew up playing with Smurfs, Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, Masters of the Universe, or Mork and Mindy action figures; if you traded puffy, glitter, or scratch and sniff stickers with your classmates; if you watched The A-Team, Fraggle Rock, or the Dukes of Hazzard on TV: then this book is for you. Author Mark Bellomo writes nostalgically of the toys, music, movies, and TV shows of the 1980s, and accompanies each entry with beautifully photographed layouts of items from his vast collections. Take a trip down memory lane with this "totally tubular" book!