Submitted by Carol from Charlotte Hall!
A Turkey for Thanksgiving written by Eve Bunting, and illustrated by Diane de Groat, is a cute story about a Moose family who wants a turkey for Thanksgiving. The Moose family is very excited for the Thanksgiving holiday and they are so happy to have friends joining them. Everything is wonderful, except one thing: Mrs. Moose wants so badly to have a turkey for Thanksgiving this year! Everyone always has a turkey–everyone except them. So Mr. Moose and his friends set out to get a turkey for Thanksgiving. Finally they find Turkey. Turkey, of course, is quite frightened, and he tries hard to get away, but he is caught, and brought home for Thanksgiving dinner. However, to his great surprise and delight, he is a guest at the Moose family table, and not the main course! This is a great story about friendship and love during the Thanksgiving holiday. See this book listed in our catalog
Holidays
The Storyteller’s Candle
Submitted by county youth coordinator Janis!
The Storyteller’s Candle (La velita de los cuentos) by Lucia Gonzalez and illustrated by Lulu Delacre. This story is about two cousins that moved to New York from Puerto Rico in the winter of 1929. They are missing their homeland and the sunny days of December in Puerto Rico. They are also worried about The Three Kings finding them in their new home in New York. One day, a magical thing happened at school. “A visitor appeared in their classroom, a gifted storyteller and librarian Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian in NY Public Library. She opened the children’s eyes to the public library and its potential to be the living, breathing heart of the community. The library, after all belongs to everyone – whether you speak English, Spanish or both.” The Storyteller’s Candle is a bilingual picture book. It honors the real-life Pura Belpre, the first Puerto Rican librarian hired by the New York Public Library System, who actively advocated bilingual story hours, bought Spanish language books, and implemented programs based on traditional holidays.
Just In Case
Submitted by county youth coordinator Janis!
Just in Case by YuYi Morales. Senor Calavera receives an invitation to Grandma Beetle’s birthday party, and he can’t wait to go. A moan from beyond the grave reminds Calavera, the not-too-scary skeleton, that he’s forgetting a present. Calavera must choose something that Grandma Beetle will love the most. He picks something that starts with each letter of the Spanish alphabet, from “Un acordeon, an accordion for her to dance to,” to “Yerba buena, good herb to soothe her day.” For each gift Calavera chooses, Zelmiro, the ghost, praises the skeleton’s choices but cautions him to keep searching for something better, “just in case!” The characters are full of life, the colors are vibrant, and the whimsical side to this trickster tale will make it a must read for children. Also relates to a Spanish holiday called Day of the Dead or El Dia de los Muertos.
Max’s Chocolate Chicken
Max’s Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells is perfect for the springtime holidays. Someone (maybe the Easter Bunny) has left a chocolate chicken in the birdbath! “I love you!” Max says to the chicken. He’s ready to chow down, but his big sister Ruby (who’s kind of like the fun police) insists that they hunt for painted eggs. Whoever collects the most can claim the chocolate chicken. Ruby find eggs of all colors and patterns, but poor Max only finds mud, acorns, and ants, so he decides to run away with the chicken and eat the whole thing! This is an adorable story of sibling rivalry, and I guarantee you will fall in love with Max, the young and foolish title character.
Olivia Forms a Band
Olivia Forms a Band is my favorite of Ian Falconer’s fabulous Olivia series. Olivia, you should know, is well endowed with the ability to wear people out, especially her mother. In this installment of the saga that is Olivia, her family is planning to attend a fireworks show. Olivia is outraged when she’s informed there will not be a band at the evening’s festivities. “I’ll be the band,” she concludes. But, her mother tells her, “the word ‘band’ means more than one person, and a band sounds like more than one person.” This sounds like a challenge to Olivia. She grabs all the items necessary for a one-pig band, and is soon clanging through the house (to her, of course, she sounds like the most marvelous marching band). You’re sure to enjoy this Olivia book as well as all of Falconer’s others. What will Olivia think of next?
P. Bear’s New Year’s Party
Paul Owen Lewis cordially invites us to the most smashing event of the season in P. Bear’s New Year’s Party. It’s black tie of course, so only the most formally dressed of Polar Bear’s friends will be there. An orca, some dairy cows, skunks, zebras, pandas, dalmations, and of course penguins are on the guest list. Help Polar Bear count down to his party, with the aid of a clock on each page and the setting sun and rising moon in the background of each dichromatic illustration. This book is great for teaching your child simple concepts of counting, colors (or lack thereof), and telling time. Plus it’s just great to see a new year’s party with a whale. I wish I was there!