New Series: Legend Has It

If you like the mysterious, the unexplained, and the paranormal, you'll love the new series Legend Has It. This accessible, freshly illustrated investigative series for children covers topics like the Loch Ness Monster and the Bermuda Triangle, all written by Thomas Kingsley Troupe.

The Legend of Bigfoot j001.944 Troupe
The Legend of the Bermuda Triangle j001.94 Trouple
The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster j001.944 Troupe
The Legend of the Vampire j133.423 Troupe
The Legend of the Werewolf j133.423 Troupe
The Legend of the Zombie j001.944 Troupe

New Series: Greek Myths

Here's a new series of Greek Myths in picture book format, making these classics accessible to the smallest readers.

The Battle of the Olympians and the Titans. j292.13 Meister
Jason and the Argonauts. j292.13 Gunderson
Medusa's Stony Stare. j292.216 Gunderson
Odysseus and the Cyclops. j292.13 Meister
Pandora's Vase. j292.13 Meister
The Wooden Horse of Troy. j292.13 Meister

New Series: Fairy Tale Superstars

If you like fairy tales, you'll enjoy learning the truth behind their classic characters in the new series, Fairy Tale Superstars. Each book examines the facts and folklore behind a different fairy tale character. Titles include:

The Truth About Dragons j398.2454 Troupe
The Truth About Elves j398.45 Troupe
The Truth About Fairies j398.21 Johnson
The Truth About Trolls j398.45 Troupe

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

A Vampire Is Coming To Dinner! Ten Rules to Follow, by Pamela Jane.

What would you do if you knew a vampire was coming to dinner? The boy in this story sets a series of clever traps based on ten things he knows about vampires (like their inability to cross running water and their dislike of garlic.) Contemporary illustrations and a ghoulish color palette make this a hip choice for Halloween.

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

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 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!

What We're Listening To: Abby

Rodrigo y Gabriela, audio CD, Rubyworks, 2006.

11:11, audio CD, ATO Records, 2009

This is the most original, innovative music I have heard in a long time. It is heart pounding, foot stomping flamenco-like latin fusion music by two musicians adept at their craft and able to produce incredible sounds on their acoustic guitars.
Rodrigo and Gabriela have been friends since they were teens in Mexico City. Each had their own band and each tried but failed to be accepted into the Conservatory. Their love of heavy metal and rock brought them together. When things weren't happening for them in Mexico City they decided on the spur of the moment, with very little money and barely able to speak English, to travel to Europe. Their first stop was Dublin where the promise of a place to stay fell through so they had to start busking (playing in public for tips and gratuities). Their reputation spread and they were hired to play at weddings and gallery openings and ultimately clubs. Within a year or two they produced a CD and that in combination with their live performances launched their careers. They are still based in Dublin and tour all over the world.

What We're Reading: Tracy

The Dark Secret of Weatherend, by John Bellairs.

John Bellairs wrote several wonderful series of cozy supernatural mysteries for children, including the classic The House With a Clock in Its Walls. His stories were inspired by his hometown, historic Marshall, Michigan, filled with spooky old mansions, tree-lined streets, and plenty of interesting places for a curious boy to explore.

In The Dark Secret of Weatherend, Bellairs created a similarly historic town, Hoosac, Minnesota, that is just bursting with eerie goings-on beneath its homey surface. Anthony Monday and his friend Miss Eells, the town librarian, discover a plot by an evil magician to cover the whole world with unending blizzards. At first, it seems like a joke, until the snow starts falling...and keeps falling, and falling, and falling. It's up to Anthony and Miss Eells to use both their research skills and their brave investigative abilities to save the day.

Check it out today: it's the perfect read for a winter that seems like it will never end!

What We're Reading: Cathy

All Clear by Connie Willis.

This is the last in Willis' time travel series. Oxford historians Michael Davies, Merope Ward, and Polly Churchill realize that something has gone wrong with the time travel mechanism and they are stuck in 1940 at least for the time being. Each of them worries whether something they did has altered time and maybe even lost the war for Britain. They struggle through the Blitz and the aftermath of Dunkirk, taking nightly shelter in Underground stations or church basements. Each of them struggles with things like ration coupons, clothing, housing, and fuel shortages, bombing raids, and making some kind of living just like the rest of the population. This is a marvelous look at what living through the war in England must have been like. (I hadn't realized that St. Paul's was damaged in the Blitz until I read this.) Alf and Binnie show up again causing chaos as usual. Back in 2060 Oxford, Mr. Dunworthy and Colin are desperately trying to figure out what's gone wrong and to get the historians back. If you haven't read "Blackout" yet, read it first. This one picks up right where "Blackout" leaves off. And if you haven't read the others in the series ("Doomsday" and "To Say Nothing About the Dog") - do it.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Star Wars Insider, Issue 122, January 2011.

The library made it once again into the Star Wars Insider, the official Star Wars fan magazine. Last year's Star Wars Day won a spot in the magazine's "Best of the Year" fan activities feature. See the write-up and photo on page 90. Thanks again to the Great Lakes Garrison of the 501st Legion for submitting our event!


This summer's Star Wars Day will be on Saturday, August 13. Check out pictures from last year's event here to see what went on.

What We're Reading: Kathryn

Peace Like a River
By Leif Enger

The latest book discussed by the Mom's Club Book Discussion Group, Peace Like a River by Leif Enger grabs you on the first page, as the narrator of the book is born. Asthmatic Reuben Land comes into this world with failing lungs, and stays in it because of a miracle executed by his father. Though the miracles continue in this book they are surprisingly a sidenote to the story of Reuben, his precocious and charming sister Swede, his hard-working, devout father Jeremiah and his brother and oldest child Davy, an outlaw whom the family crosses the country to find after he is convicted of murder and breaks out of jail. Beautifully constructed characters and rich prose make Peace Like a River, set in rural Minnesota and the Badlands of North Dakota in the early 1960s, a touching and memorable read.
Watch in the coming months for Peace Like a River to be added to our list of Book Club Kits, totebags with 10 paperback copies of a title and discussion questions available for a 6-week checkout. Other title can be found here. Information on the Mom' Club and all of our book discussion groups can be found here.

What We're Reading: Tracy

Weird & Wonderful: Discoveries from the Mysterious World of Forgotten Children's Books, by Welleran Poltarnees.

The subtitle of this little book gives an idea of the intriguing contents within: "Including But Not Limited to Zany Pictures, Baffling Visions, Weird Thoughts, Puzzling Situations, and Things That Are Truly Bizarre." As the author states in his introduction, "Children's books excel in the wonderfully unexpected. It is a realm where dream and imagination can run riot, and it attracts creators with riotous fancy," like Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice in Wonderland's mad adventures. The passage of time adds another layer of potential weirdness to children's books, as historical images lose their reference points, becoming unintelligible or unpalatable to today's readers. Struwwelpeter (Shaggy Peter), an early German "cautionary" book for children detailing good behavior (and the horrific consequences of bad), is an example of such an old classic that modern tastes find grotesque.
Lusciously illustrated with images from the author's archival collection and annotated throughout with dryly humorous comments, Weird & Wonderful is a bibliophile's treat. Take a peek inside and discover such odd kiddie lit characters as a "Hippopotamustard;" explore a "rendering of the emotions of a family of blackberries;" and read a poem about "Obliging Mr. Hammer." Today's children's books will seem dull by comparison with these strange bits of publishing history.

What We're Reading: Alice

The top ten first novels of the past year display remarkable imagination and artistry as they take us from Alabama to the Azores Islands, Appalachia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Manhattan. Their characters journey from childhood to adulthood, rags to riches, confusion to revelation.

The Sterling Heights Public Library has in its collection eight of the top ten first novels as reported in the October 15, 2010 Booklist magazine.

Check them out!

Anthill by Edward O. Wilson

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco

Kapitoil by Teddy Wayne

Ruby's Spoon by Anna Lawrence Pietroni

Rounding out the top ten list are Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa and Rich Boy by Sharon Pomerantz.

What We're Reading: Tracy

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman.

Many real-life libraries have what are referred to as "Special Collections." These may be comprised of rare books, assortments of paper ephemera, even local history objects.
The Grimm Collection at the fictional New-York Circulating Material Repository is a very special collection indeed, housing magical items from famous fairy tales. Need a pair of seven-league boots? Want to check your reflection in Snow White's stepmother's mirror? Like to take a spin on a flying carpet? The Grimm Collection has what you need...until, that is, its magical objects begin disappearing. It's up to new library page, Elizabeth Rew, to find the objects, and the thief, before it's too late.