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Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship

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Submitted by Ms. Shannon!

Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway. Do you love to play in the dirt, fly kites, and go swimming? So do Mac and Will! Mac is a good apple and Will the worm is his new best friend. Ever since they met, they have had a great time playing together and reading stories. They even finish each other’s sentences! Mac and Will have the best day ever until they run into the other apples in the orchard. The other apples bully Mac and call him a bad apple because his friend is a worm. Defeated, Will decides that maybe Mac would be happier without him and he leaves. Fortunately, Mac doesn’t let those bullies get in in between him and his best friend and he searches high and low until he finds Will. This is a charming story of an unlikely pair who let nothing stand between their friendship. See this book listed in our catalog

Worm Loves Worm

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Submitted by Ms. Tess!

Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian is about, as you may have guessed, two worms in love! And they want to be married! But “Wait!” says Cricket! You need someone to marry you! And “Wait!” says Beetle! You need a have a best beetle. And “Wait!” say the bees! You need bride’s bees! All the bugs know something else the worms need to be properly married. “That’s how it’s always been done” Cricket says. Worm and Worm shake things up though when it’s time to decide who is the bride and who is the groom. “I can be the bride,” says Worm. “I can, too,” says Worm. “I can be the groom,” says Worm. “I can, too,” says Worm. But “Wait!” says Cricket, “That isn’t how it’s always been done.” “Then we’ll just change how it’s done,” says Worm. “Yes,” says Worm. And everyone lives happily ever after! Read this triumphant story of love (and worms) today! See this book listed in our catalog

If You Love Honey: Nature’s Connections

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Submitted by Ms. Sue!

If You Love Honey: Nature’s Connections by Martha Sullivan and illustrated by Cathy Morrison. Bees are known for collecting pollen and spreading it so flowers will grow. But did you know that dandelions hold nectar for bees and butterflies? Ladybugs eat bugs that hurt the plants and Goldenrod gives ladybugs a home too. Butterflies spread pollen so flowers will grow and Clover is a favorite place for butterflies to lay their eggs and give caterpillars a home. After eating a lot of clover they form a chrysalis which then becomes a butterfly. The clover depends on healthy soil which has nutrients and living things that your eye can’t see but your nose can smell lets you know it’s there. Earthworms, mushrooms, oak trees, blue jays, and blackberries all play an important part to form honey from nectar. Enjoy the most beautiful illustrations in this adventure connecting honey and nectar using animation and graphic designs digitally. “EXPLORE MORE” continues the story with even more information for kids, teachers, and parents following the story. See this book listed in our catalog

I’m Trying to Love Spiders

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Submitted by Mr. Eric!

Spiders have never really bothered me. I’ve always thought of them as our tiny, little, fly-eating friends, but my wife doesn’t exactly see them as our pals. She simply can’t stand them.  Every time she sees one creeping across our floor she puts me on “smashing duty” and I am tasked with smashing our little eight legged friends into tiny squishy bits. Exactly where am I going with this meandering thought? Well, I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton, made me instantly think of my wife. Every time I am tasked with smooshing a spider I tell her “but Amanda, without spiders there would be flies swarming all over the place, all over our heads, all of the time! Forever!” Does it work? No way. I’m Trying to Love Spiders is a fun story about how the author of the book tries to talk herself into not hating spiders. She describes some of the cool things that many of them can do, from cartwheeling to building trap doors, but it never really works. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the author exclaims “did you know that spiders produce web from proteins made from their own bodies? That would be like if we built our homes out of our own hair… and then used that hair house to catch our food!” This, of course, is accompanied by an adorable picture of a hair house with slices of pizza stuck in it. Anyone who has ever been afraid of spiders can relate to I’m Trying to Love Spiders. Along the way many spiders are smooshed, but we end up learning some cool things along the way. See this book listed in our catalog
   

Bee & Bird

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Submitted by Ms. Cassie!

Bee & Bird is a charming wordless story illustrated by the iconic artist Craig Frazier. With bold colors and graphic lines Frazier tells, or rather shows, us the adventures of a little red bird and a buzzing bee as they journey from Bird’s home in a tree to Bee’s hive. The illustrations use interesting plays on perspective to draw in the viewer. For instance, the first pages are distinct black and gold bands, but once the pages are turned we realize these are the zoomed-in stripes of Bee. This book may be especially enjoyed by little ones who does not always have the patience to listen to a story. The vibrant illustrations will be sure to interest even the most distracted reader. See this book listed in our catalog

Big Bug

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Submitted by Ms. Jill!

Is a bug big? Or little? What about a leaf, a flower, a dog, a cow? It’s all a matter of perspective, and Big Bug is a beautifully simple introduction to perspective, scale, and comparison for young readers. Henry Cole’s gorgeous illustrations and spare text begin with a close-up look at a ladybug, which looks enormous, then zoom out to show how small the insect is compared to the big leaf it sits on. Or is the leaf little? By progressively widening the view, each page reverses the size perception until we see how small the world is beneath the “big, big sky.” Then the view draws nearer again, step by step, to a small and cozy scene of a “big dog,” curled up indoors taking a “little nap.” Very observant readers may find the tiny ladybug hiding in the final illustration. See this book listed in our catalog