Norma and Belly are back with another delectable adventure. Last year the squirrels discovered donuts. Now they venture into the world of pies. Apple pies.

Gramps and Little Bee visit the local farmers' market and unfortunately Gramps falls asleep in a truckload of apples bound for the factory. This could be trouble! Little Bee enlists Norma and Belly to help rescue Gramps from what could be a dismal fate: A squirrel baked inside an apple pie.

The rescuers travel to the Crunchy Acres apple orchard and processing plant. Their search for Gramps lands them in a vat of apples that are about to become pie filling.
​There is plenty of clever word play. The squirrels are dumped onto a conveyor with an incline.  They note that “things are looking up.” Norma escapes from the apple peeling apparatus and exclaims “that was a close shave.”

Why not create your own tree populated with squirrels? Author Mika Song provides a tree template to download and print. She suggests filling the tree with fingerprints.
Then add details to each tiny print to personalize the furry creatures. 
​Will Nora, Belly, Gramps, and Little Bee have a place on the branches?

Try making mini apples pies. Fill a small oven-safe jar with your favorite apple pie filling. I used an unusual recipe which features orange and apple juices cooked with apple slices. Details here.
Top with a circle of pie crust pastry. Crimp the edges and pop in a hot oven (about 425) until the pastry is lightly browned. For an easy version, fill jars with precooked filling and top with a crumbled oatmeal cookie. Top with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. It’s a sweet little mouthful of apple goodness.

Betty and Maud are best friends. The girls love to spend time together and always include their favorite soft toy animals. Betty brings her squishy yellow Duck. Maud has her huggable snuggable Penguin.

Because the girls are so fond of one another, they assume that Duck and Penguin share similar feelings.
Not so. Not so at all.

While the girls are having fun, Duck and Penguin are engaged in minor warfare: stomping on sand creations, hurling eggs, tagging with copious amounts of paint.

Betty and Maud are oblivious to their stuffed animals’ animosity, exclaiming, "They love each other so much."

What inspired Rowboat Watkins to create Most Marshmallows? Was it exploring new ways of looking at the world, celebrating the wonders of creativity, or was it delight in these pillowy confections most often found floating in a cup of hot chocolate?

The picture book’s introductory pages characterize marshmallows as common folk, born as sweet little puffs into homes with loving parents. They celebrate birthdays, watch TV, play outdoors. Weekdays are spent in school where they learn to be squishy and stand in rows. Evenings, the family sits down to dinner before young ones are tucked into bed.  It’s a pleasant, predictable existence.

Taking my cue from Watkins carefully arranged settings, I decided to try making my own surrealistic scenes.
I discovered these amazing big boys: Giant Roasters aka jumbo-sized marshmallows. The photo at right gives a sense of just how large these puff balls are.
With a few craft supplies, a handful of old F&G's (unbound, not-yet-published picture book pages), and my trusty glue gun I was ready to create my own marshmallow worlds.
I imagined my own fantastical scenes.
This was so much fun!

This book and the accompanying activity would make a good project for classrooms and after school projects.
​
Taking it one step further, it would make a terrific summer camp program.
After reading, try making whimsical marshmallow scenes and then celebrate your creation by toasting up some gooey treats. Triple the fun by adding chocolate and graham crackers for s'mores.

What's with all the pink? Lately there has been a resurgence of pink, strikingly pink books. For the record, I like pink books. In fact, pink book cover groupings were one of our most popular library displays. People seem to like their book covers pink.  

But let's get back to Greg Pizzoli's latest title for young readers. This charming little piggie travels around town on his Vespa, searching for books. (Okay the vehicle is green. But is serves as a nice color contrast to the omnipresent pink.) 

But here's the kicker: although he has an extensive collection of books, Hog doesn't know how to read.

One day, he happens upon a long low building filled with books. He's in hog heaven! When he attempts to abscond with an armload of books, the gentle librarian, Miss Olive offers to read with him.

The children that I often work with adore buttons. They can't get enough of them and I'm always running out of buttons to hand put into little hands.
This Book Hog button is the best!  I wish that I had a wholesale account and could order a dozen dozen, i.e. a gross. 
My little readers would snatch them up in a heartbeat.
​Any way to get these from a retail source?

Who can resist this little charmer? Meet a spotted puppy, wandering alone through the streets. A young girl, securely strapped in the passenger seat of her mother's bicycle, waves to the dog. It is a mutual attraction. The determined little pup follows the youngster and her teddy bear, as the bicycle weaves its way around the city.

It begins with Rachel Isadora’s endpapers which showcase a variety of canine breeds. It's fun to linger here, identifying the various types of dogs.
A page turn leads to the title image of one cute girl and her adorable dog. Their postures and facial expressions are warm and welcoming. This duo is the perfect introduction to the joy of pet ownership.

In addition to sponsoring drives for pet food, toys, and blankets, consider creating a photo gallery with favorite dog photos and videos. The gallery may be displayed in the library with desktop computer screensavers or the photos can be showcased online. Invite students to "like" or vote for their favorite dog photos.

Coombs has applied her considerable talent for creating clever rhymes to the subject of monsters. In this collection, the monsters are students. Common school occurrences are given a slightly macabre twist: a science fair project created by Frankenstein’s grandson, baseball played in the graveyard, a student who constantly misplaces school supplies in addition to losing his body parts. ​These clever and entertaining riffs are monstrously fun.

Verses include a variety of poetic forms and rhyme schemes. Most patterns are predictable, making it easy for students to sense the rhythm and rhyme within each stanza. 

Gatlin captures the zany shenanigans happening at Monster School with full page illustrations. Muted autumn shades of grays, browns, and greens make the ghostly white faces and eyeballs pop out of each page

These poems are too delightful to keep to oneself. They beg to be shared. How about creating some puppets based on the monsters depicted throughout the pages? Gather up a handful of craft supplies, a copy of the book, and a fertile imagination. Viola! You have the beginnings of one monstrously good puppet show. There are endless possibilities for puppets: finger, sock, glove, stick, paper sack, or create something more inventive. The choice depends on what is on hand and the skill level of the puppet makers.

A few of the craft supplies that I assembled: foam squares, felt, yarn, pom poms, chenille stems, goggly eyes, yarn, and even some corn husks. Add some wooden skewer sticks and hot glue gun.  Operation Frankenstein-esque Creature Lab was underway.

I looked for clues in the text to help create my puppets. The head of snakes featured in "Hair Care" was made with chenille stems, shaped by twisting them around a pencil. I used tiny green buttons for the snakes' heads. The purple hair mentioned in "Monster Mash" is a scrap of tulle, tied off at intervals. The hair for "Song of the Freckles" does not follow the image in the book because.... we had some fresh corn and the husks and silk were too funky to throw away. I twisted the damp husk slivers around a pencil and let them dry. They made the perfect curls for a monster girl. 

Sometimes it's good to put way the electronics, take playing pieces out of the box and go "old school" with a board game.
Featured here are some middle school books that celebrate the joy of sitting across the table from an opponent for some friendly competition. Enjoy these novels for middle-grader featuring a board game component. Along with these books include a selection of new and classic tabletop entertainment in the library collection. 
​Let the games begin!

Meet Bob, the small green not-a-zombie creature who lives in Olivia's grandmother's closet with a Lego pirate ship and a dictionary. He has been waiting years for Livy to return to her grandmother's home in Australia.     

Long ago, Livy's father taught her the basics of chess. She, in turn, showed Bob to how to play. He has practiced alone in the closet, using only the white chess pieces, as the black pieces are missing. When Livy returns she recovers the black chess pieces.  They commence playing this game of thinking and planning strategically.
Together, Bob and Livy assemble collective memories into a meaningful pattern to remember about Livy's promise, made long ago. Using clues and deductive skills, the two friends uncover secrets from the past.

Check out my review of Bob.

Charlotte's world seems to be falling apart: her dad suffers a major heart attack and her best friend wants to leave Charlotte and join another group of girls.

Ben's parents just delivered some shocking news: they are getting a divorce. Ben is floored.  He has no idea that this was coming and is at a loss on how to cope. He decides that maybe what he should do is run for a student body position.  He's a younger student and really doesn't have any close friends. How is this going to work?

The one thing that both Charlotte and Ben have going for them is their virtual friendship. They are serious Scrabble players.  They admire each other's playing skills and their online competition develops into a support system. Each helps the other as they work through word puzzles and puzzling events in their lives.

Eleven-year-old Obe Devlin has always been a loner, spending hours at Devlin Creek, picking up trash. One day he encounters an animal never seen before. He names it Marvin Gardens because his dad is obsessed with the board game Monopoly. 
Obe is fascinated and escapes to the creek spending time with this strange creature. To his amazement, he learns that Marvin can consume plastic. While it might be considered a good thing, this also presents a tremendous cost to the environment. What will become of this creature? What will happen to the land that Obe loves?

Monopoly is a game of acquiring and selling real estate. This dovetails with the loss of the Devlin family's 175 acres and the construction of a housing development on the property.

Read my review of Me and Marvin Gardens.

Sunny has lost interest in running. Yes, he is lightning fast. Yes, he has a fistful of medals. But he doesn't want to run any more. Coach suggests that discus might be more to his liking. It's a whole new sport and requires an entirely different sets of skills. It combines his love of dance with his desire to stay connected with the team. Sunny decides to give it a try.

Sunny has his share of conflicts at home. His mother died during childbirth and Sunny blames himself for his mother's death. ​He lives with his father Darryl, who often seems detached from his son.

One thing that they share is a love for jigsaw puzzles. They are currently working on a complicated puzzle that is an image of Sunny's mother's face.  Will putting the puzzle together help to resolve the missing pieces in Sunny's life?

It's April 30.  That means its time to celebrate the joy of sharing books with youngsters. The amazing Pat Mora has developed an annual celebration of books for children everywhere.  It is based on the the traditional Mexican holiday, El día delos niño, the celebration the child. Mora expanded on this concept and has developed a festival honoring the joy of books and literacy for children and their families.
Join the celebration!

Looking for resources to help you celebrate?  Pat Mora and ALSC have created a booklet packed with ideas to help keep the bookjoy going all year along.  Find crafts, games, downloadable posters, ways to involve families and much more.

Try this sample of  picture books and middle grade readers. 
​Bonus: many are bilingual or have both Spanish and English editions.

A day of reading, singing, and dancing call for a grand finale. Cap off the day of festivities with paletas. Frozen treats made with fresh fruit come in a variety of flavors. This recipe uses strawberries and mangoes.  But combinations are limited only by one's imagination and available fruit.  Easy to make.
Está buenísimo.

First Second has done it again. This publisher has its finger on the pulse of young readers' interests, moving beyond the genre traditionally found in comics and exploring fresh concepts to offer in graphic format.  Recent examples: The Science Comics series features a wide array of fascinating nonfiction in panel form. Also consider the brilliant journal/comic book hybrid CiCi's Journal: The Adventures of A Writer-in-Training.
​Now this leaders in children's comics turns its attention to the Maker Movement with a series of graphic novels for young readers featuring Crafty Cat, the fearless alter ego for somewhat timid Birdie.  Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis finds Crafty Cat preparing for Monster Craft Camp.  She has the right tools, plenty of skills and the "crafty feelings" needed to create a winning project.   Best friend Evan, requisite "mean girl" Anya, and a school janitor who serves as craft instructor attend this camp. Each chapter is devoted the escapades surrounding the creation of a monster-related craft. ​Bonus: Birdie's imaginary friend Cloudy. Love this!

I followed the directions for making mini monsters. This is a fun and easy-to-do project. These would be great as place cards. They would also make terrific cards to top a gift. Think fun reminders for table tops too!