My New Friend Is So Fun!

by Mo Willems

Ages: 3 – 6 years (approximately grades preschool – 1st)

Gerald and Piggie are back again! Only this time, they are joined by Snake and his best friend, Brian Bat. More accurately, Gerald is joined by Snake and asks if he’s seen his best friend, Piggie, around. Snake replies that Piggie is with Brian Bat, who is Snake’s best friend. Gerald and Snake agree that Piggie and Brian are so nice, and they must be having a really fun time together! But… could they be having too much fun? The new duo race to find Piggie and Brian laughing together, playing BEST FRIEND games and drawing BEST FRIEND pictures. However, when Piggie and Brian show off their BEST FRIEND drawings, who does Brian draw but Snake, and Piggie draws none other than Gerald! Realizing they were worried for no reason at all, Snake and Gerald leave Brian and Piggie to their good time with new friends.

Carrying on the tradition of the Elephant and Piggie books, this title is fun and playful in its ultimate lesson of new friends not necessarily replacing old friends, especially best friends. Action is carried forward solely in conversational speech bubbles between the characters, giving young readers a workout in inferring subtext without cumbersome dialogue tags. And, in true Mo Willems form, illustrations are sparse and childlike, yet colorful and expressive. This is an excellent new addition to an already flourishing early reader series by Mo Willems. Readers who enjoyed Mo Willems’ picture books such as That is Not A Good Idea or the many adventures of Pigeon are sure to love Elephant and Piggie books.

Find My New Friend Is So Fun! in the catalog.

Clementine

written by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

Ages: 7-10 years (approximately grades 1-4)

Ivy and Bean. Beezus and Ramona. Bink and Gollie. As a parent of a beginning reader, you may already be familiar with these humorous and light-hearted tales of family and friendship. But if you are looking for something new to entice your young reader, try Clementine.

Clementine tells her own story in this first-person narrated, realistic fiction book. She is an eight-year-old girl with spunk, a short attention span, and a fruit for a name. Although she is well-intentioned, things never seem to go her way. When she accidentally gets glue in her fourth-grade friend and neighbor Margaret's hair, she thinks that she has a wonderfully clever idea to help her friend out. Unfortunately, her idea involves a pair of scissors… So, you can guess what Margaret thinks of her new hairdo after Clementine tries to “help.” But what I really like about this series is that it is as poignant and sweet as it is funny. In this case, at the end of the book, Clementine makes up for her mistake by cutting off her own hair so that Margaret won’t be feel ostracized at school. The story is full of situations and scenarios that do not work out at all as Clementine plans.

Any reader will definitely laugh out loud during Clementine’s hilarious antics and misadventures, but it’s also an excellent book to use in a children’s book discussion group. The Clementine series is perfect for both boys and girls ages 7 to 10 who are chapter book readers and who love a good laugh. It is humorous, fast-paced, and offers a lot of food for thought about the meaning of the phrase “good intentions” and what it means to be a good friend. Since reading a good book is like making a new friend, why not introduce your child to some new friends? 

If you liked Clementine, try one of these other series:
Allie Finkle
Ruby Lu
Clara Lee
Clarice Bean
Gooney Bird Green
Horrid Henry
Just Grace
Lulu
Marty McGuire
Ready Freddy
Stink

Or find Clementine in our catalog.

I Am...

written by Brad Meltzer
illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos

Ages: 0-8 years (approximately grades preschool - 1)

Number 1 New York Times Bestselling author of multiple adult fiction and non-fiction books, Brad Meltzer, has done it again in a whole new way! Wanting to give his own children books that featured real heroes for them to look up to, Melzer was inspired to begin the Ordinary People Change the World series, beginning with none other than the biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Amelia Earhart. With their brief, fun outlines of our featured heroes’ lives, and their kid-friendly, cartoon-like illustrations, both of these little books are the perfect introduction to the lives of outstanding individuals that children will no doubt become familiar with later in life. Laugh along with tiny Amelia as she describes how “AWESOME!” her homemade flying machine is, and root for little Lincoln as he takes on ALL of the neighborhood bullies single-handedly.

Although both of these biographies touch on facts that you might not have already known, neither of them is by any means a complete biography. Amelia’s leaves out the story of her last, fatal flight, Lincoln’s lacks preserving the Union as a reason for the Civil War, and both attribute quotations (via speech bubble) to the individuals that may not have actually been said by them; however, the intended audience of ages 0-8 (roughly preschool – 1st grade), may not be ready to handle such heavy concepts, and the books serve their purpose as a fun stepping stone to further interest and investigation.

As excited as I am to recommend I am Amelia Earhart and I am Abraham Lincoln, I am even more excited for the next additions to this series: I am Rosa Parks and I am Albert Einstein, both due out in fall of 2014.

Find the series in our catalog.

The Show Must Go On!

written by Kate Klise
illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Ages: 6-8 years (approximately grades 1-4)

Kate Klise (author of the 43Old Cemetery Road & Regardingthe Fountain series) has done it again with a delightful new series targeted for a younger audience. The Show Must Go On! is the first of The Three-Ring Rascals, a fun-filled series for readers transitioning into chapter books. 

Sir Sidney’s Traveling Circus is the world’s best, but Sir Stanley, a “prince of a man,” needs a rest.  Who could replace him? After all, “no one treats animals better than Sir Sidney does.”  Leo the lion gets his mane brushed with only the finest Italian brushes, Elsa the elephant eats only specially grown peanuts from a farm in Georgia, and only the Famous Flying Banana Brothers can train on their custom made bunks beds.  So when Barnabas Bramble, the certified lion tamer is temporally hired for a week, things turn grim!  Bramble’s idea for running a circus has everything to do with profit and short-cuts rather than the well-being of the circus animals.  It soon becomes apparent that the lion tamer is a fraud and the circus is spiraling out of control under his management.  Fortunately, the circus folk stick together, Sir Sidney returns, and Mr. Bramble gets a second chance.  Sir Sidney says to Barnabas Bramble, ”I also know that underneath it all there was a good man.”  Whimsical illustrations throughout by M. Sarah Klise, the author’s sister, enrich this well-written, humorous chapter book. The show will go on. Watch for the Three-RingRascals: Book 2 – The Greatest Star On Earth in May of 2014. 

Find the book in our catalog.