Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
My Parents Are Divorced, My Elbows Have Nicknames, and Other Facts About Me by Bill Cochran, with illustrations by Steve Bjorkman, is about a boy named Ted. Ted’s parents have split up, but what you really want to know about him, is that he goes to sleep every night with one sock on! His parents live on opposite ends of town now, but did you know he calls one of his elbows Carl, and the other one Clyde? Sure, his dad might have a new wife now, but Ted enjoys wearing a cape, and not just on Halloween. You might think Ted is a weird kid, not because his parents are divorced. A lot of kids have divorced parents, but that’s not who they are. It’s just part of what makes them unique, like Ted.
Being Different
Spoon
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Answering the call for more quality literature about the plight of kitchen utensils are Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Scott Magoon with Spoon. Meet Spoon, an average spoon, with a large spoon family (including Aunt Silver). He’s got a nice spoon life, but he’s a little insecure about his identity. All his friends seem so much more useful! Knife can cut and spread! Fork seems to go everywhere, from salads, to spaghetti, to cake. And Chopsticks are just so exotic. If only Spoon knew how jealous his friends are of him though! They don’t get to measure things, dive headfirst into bowls of ice cream, stir relaxing cups of tea, or snuggle with the other spoons in the drawer.
In Our Mothers’ House
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
In Our Mothers’ House is the latest from celebrated children’s author and illustrator, Patricia Polacco. Reportedly, Polacco was always interested is writing about a book about a non-traditional family, but was spurred into action while visiting a school, and hearing a teacher tell a child who was adopted by two women, that she did not “come from a real family.” Polacco modeled the family in this story after that school girl’s family: Two mothers, with three adopted children, and based her illustrations on her own family (her daughter Traci, and Traci’s partner Nikki, posed as the mothers). In the story we witness family events such as holidays, new puppies, treehouse building, and visits with grandparents. Gay rights are only addressed briefly. The true focus of the story is the love of the mothers for their children.
Mouse Was Mad
Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban is great book to help kids learn how to deal with their anger in an appropriate way, and how to express it. Mouse was mad, and he didn’t know how to express it. He tried to be “hoppin’ mad,” “stompin’ mad,” “screaming mad,” and even “rolling mad,” like his friends, but each time he just ends up getting angrier because he cannot be mad like Rabbit, Bear, Bobcat, or even Hedgehog. He gets so mad, he stands very, very still, and discovers his own way to be mad. No one else can be “still mad” like Mouse and this makes Mouse happy.
A Book
Submitted by Catherine from Lexington Park!
What happens in a book when the pages are closed? In A Book by Mordicai Gerstein, we meet a little girl who lives in a book. Everyone in her family knows their story, but she has yet to figure out what her story is. She travels through each page, meeting famous story book characters who try to convince the little girl that her story is a mystery, historical fiction, a fairy tale and many other genres. But at the end, the little girl decides for herself what her story will be. The illustrations are a unique take on the story. The reader observes the story from overhead, watching what is happening down below. This will be a great story for kids and parents to read together, with lots of bright fun pictures for kids, and funny reminders of childhood books for parents.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Your pal Mo Willems presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster, a fantastic tale of a truly terrible monster. However, Leonardo isn’t terrible in the traditional sense–he doesn’t strike terror into anyone actually. He’s more terrible in the way it might mean “lousy.” He’s pretty ashamed of himself, for the fact he isn’t big, or weird, or scary. He’s doesn’t have 1,642 teeth. He’s actually kind of cute. But Leo has a plan: “He would find the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world… and scare the tuna salad out of him!” After thorough research, Leonardo pinpoints his victim–a little boy named Sam, seemingly always on the verge of tears. But he’s not scared of Leonardo either! Perhaps Leonardo might be a terrible monster, but he could be a wonderful friend to Sam.