• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

On the Shelf

Header Right

  • Library Home
  • My Account
  • How Do I?
  • Contact Us
  • Search MD Libraries

Header Right Social

FacebookInstagramYoutubeMeetupOn the Shelf Blog

Header Right Search

  • Read, Listen, Watch
    • Search the Catalog
    • eBooks and Audiobooks
    • Streaming Movies and Music
    • eMagazines
    • Search MD Libraries
    • Check Out a Hotspot
    • Check Out a Ukulele
    • Suggest a Title for Purchase
    • Recommended Reading
    • On the Shelf
    • Local Newspaper Archive
  • Library Services
    • Get a Library Card
    • Using Your Library Card
    • Computers and Printing
    • Meeting Rooms
    • Donate to the Library
    • Exam Proctoring
    • Notary Service
    • Tax Forms and Information
    • Tell Us Your Library Story
  • Research and Learn
    • All Online Resources
    • Genealogy and Local History
    • Language Learning
    • Lynda.com
    • Job Seeker’s Toolkit
    • Resources for Grant Seekers
    • Computer and Technology Instruction
    • Homework Help
    • Local Newspaper Archive
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Kids Events
    • Teen Events
    • Adult Events
    • Book Discussions
    • Computer and Technology Instruction
  • Kids
    • Kids Events
    • Homework Help
    • Recommended Reading
    • Tumble Book Library
    • Ready to Read
    • Resources for Parents and Educators
  • Teens
    • Teens at the Library
    • Teen Events
    • Homework Help
    • Recommended Reading
    • Resources for Parents and Educators
  • About Us
    • Locations and Hours
    • New Leonardtown Library
    • Library Policies
    • Library Administration
    • Board of Library Trustees
    • Strategic Plan
    • Donate to the Library
    • Jobs at the Library
    • Volunteer at the Library
    • Friends of the St. Mary’s County Library
    • St. Mary’s County Library Foundation
    • Community Partners

Ms. Karen

It Is (Not) Perfect

February 15, 2021 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

 

It is (Not) Perfect by Anna Kang, illustrated by Christopher Weygand
Format: Book
Who It’s for: Kids


Another wonderful adventure from the husband-and-wife team behind You Are (Not) Small, I Am (Not) Scared and others! On a sunny day at the beach, two friends build a little sand castle. It’s just right, except…wait, it needs flags. And towers. There, now it’s perfect! Or is it? As others stop by offering their suggestions for sandcastle-perfection, the friends wonder if their creation is as perfect as they thought. So they make change after change, until the castle is massive, beautiful – and completely different than it was! But sand castles are never permanent, the sea always comes in, and at the end of the day, the friends find a new “perfection” that is theirs alone.
A sweet story of perfection and perspective by the talented Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant.

Find it in the catalog!

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: Beach, Emotions, Perfection, Picture Book

Rain before Rainbows

December 8, 2020 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

 

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, illustrated by David Litchfield
Format: Book
Who it’s For: Kids

 

This book is so hopeful and uplifting! Life has its share of good days and bad, and there is a time for everything. Sorrow and joy, dark and light, loss and abundance, planting and harvest. This simple rhyming tale of a Girl and her friend Fox chronicles their journey from troubled times to a new and meaningful life. They must pass through darkness, storms and worry, but with help and inspiration from friends, hopeful dreams and wise words to live by, Girl and Fox finally find their bright new morning.

In challenging and uncertain times, Rain before Rainbows is a perfect story for helping little ones to learn that “this too shall pass” and that better days lie ahead. You will love the gorgeous illustrations too!

Find it in the catalog!

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: Emotions, Picture Book, Rhyming, Tough Stuff

Railway Jack

October 30, 2020 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

Railway Jack: the True Story of an Amazing Baboon by KT Johnston, illustrated by Cesar Samaneigo
Format: Book
Who It’s For:  Kids

Railway Jack is the true story of South African Railway employee Jim Wide and the baboon who became first his service animal, then his best friend.

Long, long ago Jim Wide worked as a railway inspector for South African Railroad, but after he lost his legs in an accident, he couldn’t do that job anymore. Jim got a new job as a railroad signalman, the person pulling the levers that switch trains to the right tracks for their journeys. He made a cart to sit on which helped him get to work and inspect the switches, and with his new wooden legs he could stand and walk a bit. But Jim struggled to do some tasks by himself, both at home and at the station. He needed help, but what could he do?  He bought a baboon of course, a very intelligent baboon named Jack! Jack learned fast and worked hard, quickly mastering water-pumping, taking out trash and sweeping floors. He pushed Jim’s cart to the station morning and evening, jumping on the back for a ride down the hill!  Amazingly, Jack even began to recognize train signals and learned which lever to pull to switch the trains. However, one day a passenger was horrified to see a “monkey” pulling levers at the station and reported them to the railroad. The railway sent a man to investigate, who tested Jack carefully. Would he pass? Would Jim and Jack get to keep their jobs or be fired? Find out when you read Railway Jack: The True Story of an Amazing Baboon.

Find it in the Catalog

 

 

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: Disabilities, Friendship, Service animals, Trains, True Stories

Octopus Stew

September 9, 2020 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

Octopus Stew by Eric Velasquez
Who Its For: Kids
Format: Book

Eric Velasquez (winner of the Pura Belpre Award for Grandma’s Gift and the Coretta Scott King -John Steptoe Award for Piano Man) has written a charming story about an Afro-Latino boy named Ramsey. One day at Grandma’s, Ramsey, an artist and lover of all things superhero, paints a picture of “super Octo”, a superhero octopus. This got Grandma thinking about making pulpo guisado, octopus stew. They go shopping for the ingredients, which included one large and creepy octopus! Ramsey has a bad feeling about this, but home they go where Grandma cleans the octopus and throws it into the boiling pot. They sit down to do some homework when suddenly they hear strange noises coming from the kitchen! BLIMP! BLUMP! BRR! “Que sera esto?” asks Grandma. THUMP!! To their horror, they  find a HUGE octopus climbing out of the pot and with one tentacle it snatches up Grandma! How will Ramsey defeat the mighty octopus and save her? This story will delight all your superhero and octopus fans; check out the foldout pages in the middle of the book and the Author’s Notes for extra layers to the story (or read to the end first), and don’t miss the Glossary in the back, as the author uses many nonstandard Spanish phrases throughout the story, just as his own family did in his childhood home.

Find it in the catalog

 

 

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: #OwnVoices, Grandmother, Hispanic, Octopus, Superheroes

Packs: Strength in Numbers

July 17, 2020 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer
Format: Book
Who Its For: Kids

Take a look at nature and you will find groups-herds, flocks, swarms of creatures big and small. In Packs: Strength in Numbers, Hannah Salyer celebrates this unity and diversity found in the animal world. With her illustrations of dusty bison on the march, or wolves streaking through snow-quiet forest, she gives us a close up view of just how animals, birds and insects work together to survive and thrive, in hunting, traveling, growing food, singing, protecting the young. This book contains loads of information about the habits of these creatures which will satisfy the curiosity of little naturalists, and big ones too (for example, did you know that a herd of wildebeests can have up to a million animals, and is called an implausibility? Me either!) The book ends with a gentle reminder that working together is always better for creatures and humans alike.

Find it in the catalog

 

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: Animals, Nonfiction, Working Together

Bonaparte Plays Ball

May 8, 2020 by Ms. Karen Leave a Comment

 

Bonaparte Plays Ball by Margery Cuyler, illustrations by Will Terry
Format: Book
Who Its For: Kids

 

Aliens! Monsters! Skeletons! And …baseball??! Yes, you get all this and more in Bonaparte Plays Ball. It’s the Weird series and vying for the championship are the Little Monsters and the Mighty Aliens. Bonaparte, a determined little skeleton with an unfortunate habit of quite literally falling apart, is anxiously watching the game begin. The Aliens score a 3 run homer and pile on the insults, and he sees his teammates wilt under the onslaught. The Monsters are tagged out, struck out, and worn out; now it’s 5-0 Aliens! Can Coach Roach’s pep talk turn this team around? Can Bonaparte deliver for his team without going to pieces?

Margery Cuyler has hit a home run with this book, and fans of all things monster, alien or baseball are sure to agree. I think you’ll enjoy Will Terry’s creative illustrations too (looking at you aliens!).

Find it in the catalog

Filed Under: Recommended for Kids Tagged With: Aliens, Baseball, Monsters

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

On the Shelf Home

 

Welcome to On the Shelf! Find reviews and recommendations for books, movies, music, library resources, and more. All posts from the Kid’s Book Blog have been brought over to On the Shelf, so your old favorites are still here!

Subscribe so you don’t miss a post!

Recent Posts

  • Dungeon Critters
  • ¡Vamos! Let’s Go…
  • Surprise by Mies Van Hout
  • My Heart is Laughing ~ A New Zealand Treasure
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret By Brian Selznick

Categories

Tags

African American Animals Audiobook Award Winner Bears Bedtime Being Different Birds Book Bugs Cats Classic Clothes Colors Counting Dogs Emotions Family Fiction Food Foreign Culture Friendship Go Green History Holidays Humour Interactive Jobs Libraries or Books Mice Monsters Music New Baby Nonfiction On the Farm Picture Book Poetry Rhyming Romance School Seasons Things That Go Tough Stuff True Stories Weather

Archives

St. Mary's County Library

Monday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 – 5 p.m., Lexington Park only

Locations

Charlotte Hall Library
37600 New Market Rd., Charlotte Hall, MD
301-884-2211

Leonardtown Library
23250 Hollywood Rd., Leonardtown, MD
301-475-2846

Lexington Park Library
21677 FDR Blvd., Lexington Park, MD
301-863-8188

Quick Links

  • My Account
  • Search the Catalog
  • eBooks and Audiobooks
  • Streaming Movies and Music
  • Search MD Libraries
  • Online Resources
  • Events
  • Meeting Rooms
Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Accessibility
FacebookInstagramYoutubeMeetupOn the Shelf Blog