Book suggestions from Seabury's librarian

Here's the book list I sent to Seabury families at the end of this school year. Glancing at the list, I can't believe I left Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, by Mac Barnett off the picture books. The first graders literally (yep, literally) rolled on the floor laughing when I read that to them. I'm sure if I look long enough, I'll think of more.

Other suggestions? I'd love to hear them.

Picture Books

It’s only Stanley, by Jon Agee

I Yam a Donkey, by CeCe Bell

The Farmer and the Clown, by Marla Frazee

Once Upon an Alphabet, by Oliver Jeffers

Draw, by Raul Colon

Gaston, by Kelly DiPucchio

Big Bad Bubble, by Adam Rubin

Wolfie the Bunny, by Ame Dyckman

Little Roja Riding Hood, by Susan Middleton Elya

Hermelin the Detective Mouse, by Mini Grey

Shh! We Have a Plan, by Chris Haughton

Learning to read:

Ball, by Mary Sullivan

Orange Pear Apple Bear, by Emily Gravett

Cat the Cat Who is That? By Mo Willems

Mittens series, by Lola M. Schaefer

I Will Take A Nap!, and other Elephant and Piggie books, by Mo Willems

Monkey and Elephant, by Carole Lexa Schaefer

Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page, by Cynthia Rylant (lots of Mr. Putter and Tabby books)

Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same! By Grace Lin

Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends, by Wong Herbert Yee

Zelda and Ivy, by Laura Kvasnovsky

Fly Guy books, by Tedd Arnold

Younger chapter books

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny, by John Himmelman

Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight, by Wendy Maas

Pigsticks and Harold and the Incredible Journey, by Alex Milway

My Heart is Laughing, by Rose Lagercrantz

Bink and Gollie, by Kate DiCamillo

Joe and Sparky Go to School, by Jamie Michalak

Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl, by Jessie Haas

The Kingdom of Wrenly series, by Jordan Quinn

Heidi Heckelbeck series, by Wendy Coven

The Chicken Squad books, by Doreen Cronin

Mercy Watson books, by Kate DiCamillo

Poppy the Pirate Dog, by Liz Kessler

Claude at the Beach, by Alex T. Smith

Henry and Mudge books, by Cynthia Rylant

Older chapter books

Nine Open Arms, by Benny Lindelauf

Bo at Ballard Creek, by Kirkpatrick Hill

The Tightrope Walkers, by David Almond

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, by Katherine Rundell

Egg & Spoon, by Gregory Maguire

The Greenglass House, by Kate Milford

The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier

West of the Moon, by Margi Preus

The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Caminar, by Skila Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny – Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath

The Madman of Piney Woods, by Christopher Paul Curtis

No Ordinary Day, by Deborah Ellis

The Thing About Luck, by Cynthia Kadohata

The Children of the King, by Sonya Hartnett

Graphic novels

El Deafo, by CeCe Bell

Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson

Nonfiction

Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth, by Molly Bang

Redwoods, by Jason Chin

The story of buildings : from the Pyramids to the Sydney Opera House and beyond, by Patrick Dillon

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life, by Lois Ehlert

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson

Oh, rats! : the story of rats and people, by Albert Marrin

– Becky Youing

 

Some reading ideas for bright kids

Greetings:

I've gotten into the habit of sending summer reading lists home in our end of school report cards. Often they're short lists geared specifically to each student. This year because I was out of town at the end of the year, I sent one longer book list to everyone. I'll share that list here. It's full of books that appeal to bright kids – a combination of classics, award winners, new books, kid pleasers and hidden gems. 

Do you have suggestions? Share them in the comments.

Books for Seabury Kids:

Recommended by librarian Becky Young *  **

Picture Books (all ages)

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein, by Jennifer Berne

Z is for Moose, by Kelly Bingham

Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, by Peter Brown

Rules of Summer, by Shaun Tan

Building our House, by Jonathan Bean

Open this Little Book, by Jesse Klausmeier

Black Dog, by Levi Pinfold

Learning to read:

Tick Tock Clock: A Phonics Reader, by Margery Cuyler The Loopy Coop Hens, by Janet Morgan Stoeke;

Elephant & Piggie books, by Mo Willems (Our Ladybugs adored these this year.)

Fly Guy books, by Tedd Arnold

Benny and Penny books, by Geoffrey Hayes

Mr. and Mrs. Green books, by Keith Baker

Pip Squeak, by Sarah Weeks

Urgency Emergency: Big Bad Wolf, by Dosh Archer

Have you Seen my New Blue Socks?, by Eve Bunting

Penny and her Marble, by Kevin Henkes

The Shark King : a Toon book, by R. Kikuo Johnson

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, by Cece Bell

Amanda Pig and her Big Brother Oliver, by Jane Van Leeuwen

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books, by Erica Silverman

Henry and Mudge series, by Cynthia Rylant

Early chapter books

Mercy Watson books, by Kate DiCamillo

My Father’s Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Zelda and Ivy books,  by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

Lulu and the Duck in the Park, by Hilary McKay

Joe and Sparky go to school, by Jamie Michalak

Monkey & Robot, by Peter Catalanotto

The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes

Kenny & the Dragon, by Tony DiTerlizzi

Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne

Time Warp Trio series, by Jon Scieska

Gator on the Loose and Hide and Seek, by Sue Stauffacher

Angus and Sadie, by Cynthia Voigt

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters, by Lenore Look

The Very Little Princess: Zoey’s Story, by Marion Dane Bauer

Ivy and Bean series, by Annie Barrows

The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, by Chris Kurtz

The Curse of the Bologna Sandwich (Melvin Beederman - Superhero), by Jeff Trine

Lady Lollipop, by Dick King-Smith

Wolf Pie, by Brenda Seabrooke

Ruby Lu Brave and True (and other Ruby Lu books), by Lenore Look

Heidi Heckelbeck books, by Wanda Coven

Nonfiction

The Elephant Scientist, by Caitlin O’Connell (and others in the Scientists in the Field series)

Dreaming up: A Celebration of Building, by Christy Hale

Electric Ben, The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, by Robert Byrd

The animal book : a collection of the fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest--and most surprising--animals on earth, by Steve Jenkins

PLUS anything else by Steve Jenkins, a fantastic nonfiction author for children.

More advanced chapter books (good for fluent first, second, third grade readers)

Half Magic (and other magic series), by Edward Eager

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-- detectives extraordinaire!, by Polly Horvath

Bo at Ballard Creek, by Kirkpatrick Hill

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell

Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters …, by Jeanne Birdsall Jonell

Tumtum & Nutmeg: Adventure beyond Nutmouse Hall, by Emily Bearn

Cinderella Smith, by Stephanie Barden

Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt

The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NiMH, by Robert C. O’Brien

Junonia, by Kevin Henkes

What Happened on Fox Street, by Tricia Springstubb

Seaglass Summer, by Anajali Banerjee

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella, by Paul Fleischman

The Secret Chicken Society, by Judy Cox

Advanced chapter books with high-level concepts

(skilled fourth grade and up, maybe some sophisticated third graders)

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead

The Children of the King, by Sonya Hartnett

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins

The Undrowned Child, by Michelle Lovric

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux, by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens

Heroes of the Valley, by Jonathan Stroud

Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Yelchin

Danger Box, by Blue Balliett

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem

The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague

Birchbark House series, by  Louise Erdrich

The School for the Insanely Gifted, by Dan Elish

The Flame of Olympus, by Kate O’Hearn

Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pearce

The Year of the Book, by Andrea Cheng

The Golden Compass (his Dark Materials trilogy), by Philip Pullman

Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz

Zebra Forest, by Adina Rishe Gerwitz

Small as an Elephant, Jennifer Jacobson

Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin

Counting by 7s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The Romeo and Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone

One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake

The Number Devil, by Hans Enzenberger

 

*Any grade-level guidelines I list are just that – guidelines. Young readers are all different, and no more so than at Seabury. These books are appropriate for elementary aged children. I did not get into true young-adult books in this list, with content that might be too racy or violent for youngsters below middle school.

 

A 5-year-old budding book reviewer

We like little kids who are passionate about books! Even better, this story was filmed at Powell's Books in Portland.

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A mindful reposting

I'm reposting this blog item from 2007 for a couple of reasons. One, I've been doing a library blog for a long time and I haven't been as great about posting regularly the past  year or two. But two, and a bigger reason, is that lately I've been thinking about the book I wrote about back then. It's such a great illustration of the concept of mindfulness for very young children.

Reading again about the preschoolers' reactions when I read it back then, I've decided I'm going to read it to the Ladybugs and Bumblebees when we get back from the Thanksgiving break. (We do have it in the library now.) They're a little older than our former preschoolers. I'll see if they like it as much. And I'll see if they see the mindfulness connection. I'll keep you posted.

(And I'll also try to write a little more often.)

Here's the previous post, from April 2007:

"A good book!
I'm going to post the whole text of my review that ran this week in The News Tribune, for three reasons: Because it's short, because I love the book so much ... and because it goes into the paid archives in a very short time.

The preschool class I read it to is our very own Ladybugs and they did indeed ask me to read it again as soon as I was done ... and a third time after that.

They also love "Kitten's First Full Moon." We don't have "A Good Day" in the library yet. Need to get it.

Kevin Henkes has a good website.

Here's my review:

The world of a 3-year-old can turn on a dime. He gets a cookie. The milk spills. Mom wipes it up and gives him another cookie. Smiles to screams and back again in under a minute.
The brilliant Kevin Henkes proves he understands that world perfectly in his latest picture book, “A Good Day.”
An adult thumbing through this deceptively simple gem might not get it. It contains barely over 100 words and the barest of plots.
A bird loses a feather. A pup gets tangled in a leash. A fox can’t find his mother. And a squirrel drops an acorn.
Then it all turns on the aforementioned dime. The feather is forgotten and the little yellow bird flies high into the sky. The dog untangles himself and romps in the dandelions. The fox finds his mother. The squirrel finds a better acorn.
At the end, a little girl finds a beautiful yellow feather and runs to her mother proclaiming: “What a good day.”
I read it to a preschool class and I’d barely closed the book before they chorused: “Read it again.”
It’s not simple at all when you think about it.
Young children, like the puppy, are just learning to use patience to solve problems. They’re learning, like the bird, to bounce back from small hurts; like the fox, that moms and dads come back; and, like the squirrel, that sometimes you just get lucky.
And the little girl? If you know a preschooler, you know about the pure joie de vivre that erupts daily at the smallest of inspirations.
The illustrations, also by Henkes, are perfect.
The style is closer to his 2005 Caldecott Medal title, “Kitten’s First Full Moon,” than his wildly popular “mouse” books, which include as “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse,” “Chrysanthemum” and “Owen,” which won a Caldecott Honor for illustration.
Seattle Children’s Theatre has staged a play based on “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse.”
For “A Perfect Day,” Henkes used watercolors in ice cream colors. The expressions of distress and happiness on his characters are rendered simply, but so eloquently that children will empathize completely.
A wonderful last page, where the girl runs toward the house calling for her mother, includes all the animals.
Henkes was nearly a child prodigy as a children’s book creator. He got his first publishing contract for a picture book at age 19. He has published more than 30 books for children, including several fine novels. One, “Olive’s Ocean,” was a Newbery Honor book for outstanding writing.
Add him to the Authors-not-to-miss list."

Talk to you soon!

Back to the books

Welcome to a new school year! I'm having fun this week talking to kids about books. We have some new students who are bringing in fresh book recommendations and reading excitement. And our returning students spent the summer growing and expanding their reading horizons. This is the start of my 20th (gulp!) year at Seabury and probably the thing I love most about working here is the chance to get to know each student and his or her reading interests and abilities so well. Unlike the teachers, I get to have them every year. I'm lucky! 

This summer was a summer of technology for me. I'm taking on a bit of a second hat for Seabury. I was pretty involved in helping roll out the new website, and I'll be helping maintain it from here on out. But the most exciting tech news for the library is that we have new library software. It's web-based (You can see what we have from home!) and has lots of features the kids are already excited about. As with any new technology, there's a learning curve and time needed to get it working smoothly. We had a lot of new computers installed this summer, a new server and this complex software - and only one guy taking care of it all for us. And he's a guy who also happens to have another full-time job. If you see Dan Taylor around, make sure to thank him! Anyway, I've just been trained in this software, so it's taking me a bit of time to get it ready for the kids (and families) to explore. Stay tuned for a blog post in the next week or so with the web link and more information about the fun features of Destiny. 

Meanwhile, here's my periodic plug about a way you can help us get more materials for the library. Seabury is registered as an Amazon Associate. Anytime you enter Amazon through the link on this page, or seabury.org (under Give) and shop, we get a credit that's a nice percentage of what you spend - ON ANYTHING. One family bought a water heater! You can also use this easy url: tinyurl.com/amazonseab. I have it bookmarked on my toolbar at home for personal shopping.

This program have resulted in lots of wonderful books for the library since 2006, when we first signed on. The picture above shows just a few new ones that are on my desk for processing. The kids today were very anxious for me to get them out on the shelves!

We also have an Amazon wish list you can see on this page. We've had a birthday book program for many years. When children donate a book on their birthday, we put bookplates inside with their names and the year. (If you buy the books through the Amazon link, it benefits the library twice.)

Many thanks!
Becky Young
Seabury librarian