Wednesday, December 14, 2016

December 14, 2016 - Books for the Holidays



Some great books to share during the holidays!









It is Christmas Eve and Fly Guy realizes that he does not have a present to give to his best friend Buzz--but when he looks around the house searching for something suitable he discovers a stranger in a red suit, and decides to attack with some ninja moves.
















Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends celebrate Christmas on the island of Sodor.

















Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends. Can you help count each green tree















When Santa's reindeer get sick, the Little Engine That Could saves Christmas.


















Mr. Fish is having a hard time finding the right presents for his friends, until he learns that the best gifts come from the heart















Discover the truth behind Santa's most undercover operation, and join the North Pole Ninjas : protectors of holiday cheer!









The Octonauts are planning to spend Christmas with Professor Inkling at his childhood home, an undersea mountain. But when they arrive the Octonauts discover that a rockslide has endangered the lives of the local creatures - including a rare species of golden coral, and Inkling's little octopus nephew, Squirt! With the help of Tweak's latest invention, the amazing Gup X, the Octonauts must rescue all the creatures and save Christmas. Octonauts, let's do this!






Follows a little boy's construction of a snow dog in the hope of receiving a real puppy for Christmas, a wish that inspires a nighttime visit to the world of the Snow People.












Clementine's life is ordinary in every way except that she is very tiny--a fact that Santa Claus does not seem to understand.

















From snow on the ground to making applesauce and latkes to lighting the menorah, this story shows the seasonal and traditional ways we know Hanukkah is on its way















Relates the history of Kwanzaa, discusses the rituals and customs associated with the holiday, and describes traditional decorations.



















Simple text and illustrations describe how an American Muslim family observes the holy month of Ramadan.











Tuesday, August 16, 2016

It's Time For School Again....


Here are some new books to share about starting a new school year.






The Class
by Boni Ashburn

"Twenty young students, some eager, some nervous, some grumpy, prepare for their very first day of kindergarten"














Mission: Back to School
by Susan Hood

"Imagined in the form of a secret agent's set of instructions, Mason and other children negotiate the first day of school"













Sophie's Squash go to School
by Pat Zietlow Miller

"On her very first day of school, Sophie is reluctant to make friends with the other children, preferring to play with two squash she grew in her garden--but when a particularly persistent boy named Steven gives her a packet of seeds as an apology for accidentally ripping her picture, she realizes that it just takes time to grow a friend"















Time for Earth School, Dewey Dew
by Leslie Staub

"Dewey Dot's first day of school on planet Earth is not off to a good start, his clothes don't fit and he looks nothing like the other students, but things start to look up when he makes a friend"











Kindergarten is Cool!
by Linda Elovitz Marshall

"Rhyming text describes the activities a child
experiences on the first day of kindergarten"
















A Tiger Tail
(or What Happened to Anya on Her
First Day of School)
by Mike Boldt

"Anya awakens to discover she has grown a tiger tail,
and it just happens to be her very first day of school"














School's First Day of School
by Adam Rex

"It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself"

















Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
Daniel Plays at School
by Daphne Pendergrass

"Daniel Tiger and Miss Elaina learn to compromise when they want to do different things while playing together and receive Teacher Harriet's gentle encouragement to try to fix the problem themselves"











Clark the Shark
Lost and Found
by Bruce Hale

"While on a field trip to the farmers' market, Clark becomes separated from his classmates and must use his rhyming skills to help him remember his teacher's instructions"








Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Current Missouri Building Block Award Nominees for 2016


For 2015 the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award went to the book:

Naked!
by Michael Ian Black


The current nominees for 2016 are:





Simon's New Bed
by  Christian Trimmer















Vincent Paints His House
by  Tedd Arnold















Bunnies!!!
by  Kevan Atteberry
















Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups
by  Tadgh Bentley


















Rex Wrecks It!
by  Ben Clanton
















Ragweed's Farm Dog Handbook
(Learn from the best!)
by  Anne Vittur Kennedy















I Don't Want To Be A Frog
by  Dev Petty

















Get Out of My Bath!
by  Britta Teckentrup

















The Whale in My Swimming Pool
by  Joyce Wan

















Dad's First Day
by Mike Wohnoutka










Voting will take place from September 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Newbery Medal Winning and Honor Books From 2000 - 2016


2000 Medal Winner Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Honor Books:
  • Getting Near to Baby by by Audrey Couloumbis
  • Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm 
  • 26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola 
2001 Medal Winner A Year Down Yonder by by Richard Peck
Honor Books:
  • Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer 
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo 
  • Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos 
  • The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
2002 Medal Winner A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Honor Books:
  • Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath 
  • Carver: A Life In Poems by Marilyn Nelson
2003 Medal Winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Honor Books:
  • The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer 
  • Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff 
  • Hoot by Carl Hiaasen 
  • A Corner of The Universe by Ann M. Martin 
  • Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
2004 Medal WinnerThe Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a 
Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
Honor Books:
  • Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books)
  • An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy
2005 Medal WinnerKira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Honor Books:

  • Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko 
  • The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman 
  • Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
2006 Medal WinnerCriss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins 
Honor Books:
  • Whittington by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S.D. Schindler 
  • Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
  • Princess Academy by Shannon Hale 
  • Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson
2007 Medal WinnerThe Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan
Honor Books:
  • Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm
  • Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson 
  • Rules by Cynthia Lord
2008 Medal Winner -  Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz

Honor Books
:
  • Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis 
  • The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt 
  • Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
2009 Medal WinnerThe Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean
Honor Books:
  • The Underneath  by Kathi Appelt, illus. by David Small 
  • The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle 
  • Savvy by Ingrid Law 
  • After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
2010 Medal WinnerWhen You Reach Me  by Rebecca Stead 
Honor Books:
  • Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice  by  Phillip Hoose 
  • The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate  by Jacqueline Kelly 
  • Where the Mountain Meets the Moon  by Grace Lin 
  • The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg  by Rodman Philbrick
2011 Medal WinnerMoon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool 
Honor Books:
  • Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm 
  • Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus 
  • Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen
  • One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
2012 Medal Winner Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos 
Honor  Books:
  • Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai 
  • Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
2013 Medal Winner -  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Honor Books:
  • Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz 
  • Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin 
  • Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
2014 Medal WinnerFlora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo 
Honor Books:
  • Doll Bones by Holly Black 
  • The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes 
  • One Came Home by Amy Timberlake 
  • Paperboy by Vince Vawter
2015 Medal WinnerThe Crossover by Kwame Alexander 

 Honor Books:
  • El Deafo by Cece Bell 
  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
2016 Medal Winner - Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

 Honor Books:
  • The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  • Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
  • Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan