Library League - Parents, Teachers & Caregivers

The Library League Newsletter
For Parents, Teachers and Caregivers

Welcome to the Library League Newsletter for Parents, Teachers and Caregivers. Our goals are to introduce you to books and other materials for use at home or in the classroom as well as give you titles to recommend to the most reluctant of readers. Please remember that not all books are meant for all ages or audiences so please review books you wish to use for their appropriateness.

Discover Dewey

Bringing the world of information to kids, these selected non-fiction titles may be just what is needed to hook a kid on books.

Biographies

Ain't nothing but a man: my quest to find the real John Henry
by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson. National Geographic.
Historian Nelson recounts how he came to discover the real John Henry, an African-American railroad worker who became a legend in the famous song. Pair this with a unit about conducting research to give students a glimpse of a historian/journalist digging for facts and the “real story.”

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom
by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Raul Colón.
Story of a Baptist minister and a Polish-born rabbi, who both fight prejudice and discrimination and unite to march for freedom. Inspiration for those kids who think they cannot get along with “someone who is different.”

A Boy Named Beckoning: the True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma, Native American Hero
by Gina Capaldi.
Carlos Montezuma, a Yavapai Indian, was kidnapped as a child by the Pima, sold into slavery and adopted by an Italian photographer. He graduated from medical school at 17 and returned to his people to spend his life as a prominent doctor and Native American spokesman.

Buffalo Song by Joseph Bruchac; illustrated by Bill Farnsworth.
Tells the story of Walking Coyote, a Native American man in the late 1800s who worked to save the wild buffalo from extinction by building and caring for a small herd that he returned to the prairie.

Joshua Chamberlain and the American Civil War Part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s American heroes series
Chamberlain, a Civil War general from Maine whose skill as a commander in twenty-four battles despite being wounded six times, made him a symbol for bravery and perseverance for the Union side. Dramatic story and illustrations draw readers into this biography.

Inspiration for children

I Dream for You a World: a Covenant for Our Children
presented by The Jamestown Project; by Charisse Carney-Nunes
Colorful illustrations and simple text teaches African-American children to love and value themselves. Empowering action statements may be used by adults to share a vision of a better world.

New Books for Tried and True Themes

Having trouble getting enthusiastic about that farm animal or apple unit? Each month we will list new titles to pique your little ones’ curiosity.

Manners
Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners – Keller, Laurie

Transportation
Drive – Clement, Nathan

Books & Reading
Maybe a Bear Ate It – Harris, Robie

Farms
Old MacDonald Drives a Tractor – Carter, Don

If you like Mo Willem’s Pigeon…
What Will the Fat Cat Sit On – Thomas, Jan

These anti-bedtime stories are sure to make your little ones beg to go to bed on time.

Stay Awake Sally - Mitra Modarressi

Oliver Who Would Not Sleep!
- Mara Bergman

Who Will Sing a Lullaby?
- Dee Lillegard

Topsy Turvy Bedtime
- Joan Levine

Little Hoot - Amy Krause Rosenthal

Night Shift - Jessie Hartland

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Series Spotlight

New series and new titles in old series – it’s all here:

New Series:

Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen Will Travel - Barshaw, Ruth
Eleven- year- old Ellie McDougal’s part journal, part comic novel is sure to find an audience.

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls - Cabot, Meg
Moving Day
The New Girl
Popular YA author, Cabot (The Princess Diaries) brings her feisty girl characters to a younger set.

Red Dragon Codex - Henham, R.
The Dragons of Krynn from A Practical Guide to Dragons by Lisa Trumbauer star in this series.

The 39 Clues - Riordan, Rick
Popular author Rick Riordan begins this new interactive series that will include trading cards and web sites.

New Titles:

Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig - Dicamillo, Kate
That buttered toast loving pig, Mercy Watson, is finding more trouble in her fifth adventure

Hot Air - Ogden, Charles
The long awaited 7th book in the Edgar & Ellen series

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Introducing…China

Children can journey to China, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics, with these books offering great myths, arts & crafts, and science as well as everyday life in China for children.