Book Review - Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

If you're looking for a good read-aloud, check out Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean. You can download the story and song from www.harpercollinschildrens.com/petethecat and then play it as you turn the pages of the book.

Here's the story: Pete is an optimistic cat who loves his white shoes, even when he steps in strawberries, blueberries, mud, and water, which turn his shoes red, then blue, then brown, then white again. In the end, Pete says, "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song.....because it's all good." A good life lesson -- take it all in stride, because life is too short! The illustrations are colorful and funny, and capture the essence of Pete perfectly. And Pete's song is catchy, and will get your little ones singing and groovin' to the music. Good vibes here!

Lisa U., CC Library

Online Registration for Storytime!

On January 4, 2011, you can register ONLINE for storytimes at Chester County Library! You'll need to go to the CCL home page www.ccls.org, and click on the Find an Event icon. Then choose Chester County Library, Children's programs, and January 2011. Then find your child's storytime day and time, and click on the registration icon. We hope that you find this new process easy to use. Please give us your feedback !

Lisa U., CC Library

Barack Obama's children's book

President Obama has written a book, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, which will be released on November 16th. It features 13 inspirational Americans, including George Washington and Jackie Robinson. All profits from the book for the President will be donated to a scholarship fund for children of fallen or disabled soldiers.

Heroes of Olympus series

Attention: All fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians! Rick Riordan has written a new series called Heroes of Olympus. Book 1 is The Lost Hero, which introduces readers to the next generation of demigods who arrive at a rebuilt Camp Half-Blood and must prepare for a new quest. But to survive their journey, they need the help of some familiar demigods (including one with the initials PJ.....) One caveat: The next book in this series isn't coming out until Fall 2011!

Lunch Lady to the Rescue!

Are you looking for an unlikely superhero -- someone who secretly fights crime and then dishes out salisbury steak to students? If so, then you should meet Lunch Lady, the star of a children's graphic novel series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. In these tongue-in-cheek stories, Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty use fish-stick nunchucks, cafeteria-tray laptops, and other food-themed gadgets to save her students from evil-doers. With its entertaining mix of action and humor, children and adults alike will enjoy these graphic novels:

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians

Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta

Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown

Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit (available Dec. 28, 2010)

Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Frenzy (available Summer 2011)

Lisa U., Chester County Library

Knuffle Bunny Finale!

Attention: All Knuffle Bunny fans! The third and final tale--Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion--is being released on September 28th. In this bittersweet story, Trixie is a little older, and she travels with Knuffle Bunny to visit her grandparents. The review in Booklist says, "This denouement is enough to give you goosebumps, and young readers may be wiping the tears from their parents' cheeks. Good night, Knuffle Bunny." Can't wait for this one!

Children's Summer Programs at Chester County Library

Summer programs at Chester County Library begin next week -- the week of June 21, 2010. Here is a summary of what's happening:

MESSY MONDAYS
Children of all ages can do arts and crafts (while supplies last) in the Children's Department all day.

TELL-TALE TUESDAYS
Come to our storytime for preschoolers! No registration is required. The storytimes last 30 minutes and start at 9:30 am, 10:15 am, 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.

WACKY WEDNESDAYS
Come to the library for a list of events. Age requirements are also listed. No registration is required.

THRILLING THURSDAYS
Come to the library for a list of events, which are held from 1:30-3:00 pm each Thursday. These events are for children ages 6 and up.

Make a Splash at your Library!

Summer 2010's theme is Make a Splash - Read! You can sign up for the Summer Reading Club at your local library starting on Monday, June 14, 2010. You can win cool prizes, attend fun events and check out great books all summer long! For more information, visit or call your local library.

Book Review: The Case of the Missing Family

The Case of the Missing Family

(The Buddy Files, Volume 3)

By Dori Hillestad Butler

Ages 7-10

Buddy is a dog and also is a detective. He recently adopted a new family consisting of a boy named Connor and Mom, both of whom he likes very much. But Buddy used to have a different family and a little girl of his very own named Kayla. In fact, he can see his old family's house from his new family's house. He and Kayla used to solve mysteries together. Buddy does not know what happened to his old family or why Uncle Marty took him to the pound. Now Buddy has to solve mysteries by himself, especially The Case of the Missing Family.

These are the things that Buddy knows:

-- His family went to visit Grandma in Springtown, and they said they would be back in one week.

-- They never came back.

-- There was a tornado in Springtown.

These are the things Buddy doesn't know:

-- Are Kayla and Dad at Grandma's house?

-- Did the tornado hit Grandma's house?

-- Are Kayla and Dad okay?

One night Buddy looks out at his old family's house and notices that the kitchen light is on. What is going on? Buddy is a very clever dog but will need help if he is going to solve this mystery. To find out what happens, read The Case of the Missing Family by Dori Hillestad Butler. If you like this book, you might enjoy other books about Buddy: The Case of the Lost Boy and The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts.

Katie G.

Chester County Library

Judy Moody turns 10!

Judy Moody is celebrating her tenth birthday! To commemorate this special occasion, the series is being reissued in hardback and paperback with a new cover design, and the paperback features an exclusive interview with Judy Moody herself. The newly launched companion web site, http://www.judymoody.com/, has a fan club, downloads and interactive games. If you're a JM fan, it's worth a look!

Book Review: Word Nerd

Word Nerd
By Susan Nielsen

Ambrose is an awkward 13-year-old with no friends and an overprotective mother (but one might give her a break, as Ambrose’s father died on a construction site from a brain aneurysm and then Ambrose nearly died at age 3 from a peanut butter sandwich). His mom changes jobs and towns every couple of years.

With this new move, Ambrose is determined things will be different; he will make things easier on his mom so she will worry less. Ambrose begins to weave a web of lies: yes, Mom, I have friends, school's going great, and to the school bullies, my parents are rich. However, the bullies quickly realize Ambrose is full of baloney with his knock-off shoes, and they spike his sandwich with a peanut. Ambrose nearly dies, ends up in the hospital and all the lies unravel.

Homeschooling appears to be the perfect answer to keep Ambrose safe from the torture of school and the bullies. When the landlord’s son, Cosmo, moves home (after being released from jail), Ambrose’s mom starts her cycle of worry. Cosmo will be a bad influence on her son. Ambrose gets Cosmo out of a tight spot with a former “business partner” and secures a free ride to Scrabble Club. Ambrose begins to weave lies again…the lies to his mother regarding his friendship with Cosmo and the lies to his friends at Scrabble Club continue to build until they explode, landing him at a police station. Can Ambrose mend his lying ways and keep his mom from uprooting him from his only friends?

Karen C-O, Chester County Library

Talking Books for Children

Did you ever wish that you could have access to children's books without having to buy them at the book store or borrow them from the library? Now you can! Just go to Chester County Library's web site (http://www.ccls.org/) and click on the TumbleBooks icon at the bottom of the page.

TumbleBooks are a FREE collection of talking books that teach children the joy of reading in a fun format. Once you access the TumbleBooks web site, you can search for books by genre (e.g., Adventure, Holidays, Sports/Activities) or by an index (alphabetical listings of book titles and authors). There are Story Books and Tumble Readables, which include Early Readers (e.g., Dimples Delight by Frieda Wishinski), Read-Along Classics (e.g., Black Beauty by Anna Sewell) and Chapter Books (e.g., Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #1: Sleepover Sleuths by Carolyn Keene).

Once you select a book, the narration begins and the pages turn themselves. If you want to turn the pages yourself, you can switch to Manual mode. At any time, you can turn the sound off to read to yourself at your own speed. You can add books to your Favorites list, and the "My Play List" feature allows you to build a list of TumbleBooks that you can play one after another - very cool!

The TumbleBooks site also features puzzles and games to play, as well as audiobooks (narration with no text). Some audiobooks include Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll and The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum.

Best of all, TumbleBooks are FREE and available to you 24 hours a day, every day! This is a great way to entertain your children -- I wish that TumbleBooks were around when I was a kid!

Lisa U., Chester County Library

2010 Award-Winning Children's Books

The American Library Association has announced the Caldecott and Newbery winners for 2010! The Caldecott Medal is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Newbery Medal is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER:
The Lion and the Mouse
By Jerry Pinkney
In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.

CALDECOTT HONOR BOOKS:
All the World
By Liz G. Scanlon
Follow a circle of family and friends from morning till night as they discover the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.

Red Sings from Treetops
By Pamela Zagarenski
Nature displays different colors to announce the seasons of the year.

NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER:
When You Reach Me
By Rebecca Stead
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

NEWBERY HONOR BOOKS:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
By Philip Hoose
Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Jacqueline Kelly
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
By Rodman Philbrick
Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
By Grace Lin
Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.