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Being Different

Teddy’s Favorite Toy

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Submitted by Ms. Tess!

In Teddy’s Favorite Toy by Christian Trimmer, and illustrated by Madeline Valentine, the titular Teddy has a lot of cool toys. He’s got a hula hoop, and blocks, and puzzles, and a karaoke machine. But his absolute favorite toy is a doll: Bren-Da, Warrior Queen of Pacifica. Bren-Da has great table manners, and fierce fighting skills, and she can pull off a number of looks. Yas, queen! But one day Bren-Da’s leg snaps off! Teddy tries to put her back together to no avail, and when he sadly heads off to school his mom accidentally throws Bren-Da away! When Teddy gets home he immediately realizes what’s wrong, and his mom springs into action! She chases down the garbage truck and saves Bren-Da! This is a heart warming story about a cool kid, a cool toy, and cool mom. Yas, queen! See this book listed in our catalog

Carrot & Pea

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Submitted by Ms. Karen

Carrot & Pea: An Unlikely Friendship written and illustrated by Morag Hood. “We go together like peas and carrots” it has been said. But, hold up! Peas and carrots are NOTHING alike! How is it that they can be friends at all? Lee is a pea and knows all about this veggie dilemma. All his friends are peas, except Colin who is a carrot stick. Colin is different from the peas in so many ways (too tall, for one) and for obvious reasons cannot do the things peas love to do like roll and bounce. But Colin’s carrot-y qualities give him some mad skills that Lee and the peas have come to deeply appreciate and that make Colin a super friend to have! A great little story for young readers and listeners about friendship in spite of, and even because of, our differences. See this book listed in our catalog

I am NOT a Chair!

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Submitted by special guest blogger Ms. Andrea!

I am NOT a Chair! by Ross Burach is a comical case of mistaken identity. Poor Giraffe endures quite the adventure on his first day in the jungle: he has been mistaken for a chair by all his animal friends. He goes to great lengths to get the animals in the kingdom to understand that he is just like them and certainly not a piece of furniture for lounging on. Children will enjoy all the onomatopoeia and interactions with the reader, while adults will find humor in the surprise ending. This book is definitely a great read-aloud story. See this book listed in our catalog

Mervin the Sloth Is About To Do the Best Thing In the World

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Submitted by Ms. Karen!

Mervin the Sloth Is About To Do the Best Thing In the World  written by Colleen Venable, illustrated by Ruth Chan. What? Giant falling letters? A bold announcement? “Mervin the sloth is about to do the best thing in the world.” So cool! But what IS the Best Thing in the World? Animal friends from far and near begin arriving and try to guess what the Best Thing might be. Surely flying is the Best Thing? Maybe digging? Or time travel? But Mervin is a sloth, and sloths move S—L—O—W—L—Y. So slowly that the animals just can’t figure out Mervin’s plan. As they watch and debate, page by page, they begin to lose interest and wander away, all but the little red panda that has been there from the start. “Come back, you’re going to miss it!” the excited panda cries. The animals hurry back just in time to see… the Best Thing in the World!  Watch each page for Mervin’s tiny movements and see if you can guess what he will do! See this book listed in our catalog

Hello My Name is Octicorn

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Submitted by Ms. Karen!

Hello, My Name is Octicorn by Kevin Diller and Justin Lowe. This uplifting story is about a brave and friendly octicorn named Octi. Yes octicorn, as in half-unicorn, half-octopus. This, as you may imagine, causes Octi more than a little trouble fitting in with both unicorns and octopi (and pretty much everyone else). However, the cheerful Octi is undaunted in the search for a friend and earnestly lays out for the reader the wonderful reasons why we should think about having an octicorn for a friend. Octicorns can juggle! They are good at all sorts of sports and games! Octicorns give great hugs! Octi knows that octicorns looks different than everyone else and though sometimes it causes Octi a little sadness, s/he is okay with who s/he is and knows that our differences are never as important as the things we have in common. Friends, anyone?! This is a charming and positive book about living with our differences and making friends. See this book listed in our catalog

Bob the Artist

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Submitted by Mr. Eric!

Bob has extremely skinny legs. He is an otherwise handsome bird, but those legs, holy moly, they are soooooo skinny! When Bob walks by the owl always says “Oooh! Look at that funny stick walk!” The other birds cry “OH! How puny your legs are!” whenever they see Bob and his stick-like legs strolling down the street. Of course, this makes Bob feel pretty darn bad about himself. I mean, can we blame him? How do you think you would feel if everyone teased you and made fun of your skinny legs? Luckily Bob discovers art, and is incredibly inspired. Like, crazy inspired. And that inspiration turns into an idea. And that idea becomes a way to show the world that he is more than a simple pair of chop sticks walking down the road. Bob the Artist by Marion Deuchars is an adorably illustrated book about how a bird can show the world his true worth with only his imagination and a little bit of paint. See this book listed in our catalog