Picture Books
Little Witch Hazel : a year in the forest
Phoebe Wahl
jE Wahl
Adventure, Kids, Picture Books, Animals
"Little Witch Hazel is a tiny witch who lives in the forest, helping creatures big and small. She's a midwife, an intrepid explorer, a hard worker and a kind friend. In this four-season volume, Little Witch Hazel rescues an orphaned egg, goes sailing on a raft, solves the mystery of a haunted stump and makes house calls to fellow forest dwellers. But when Little Witch Hazel needs help herself, will she get it in time? Little Witch Hazel is a beautiful ode to nature, friendship, wild things and the seasons, that only Phoebe Wahl could create: an instant classic and a book that readers will pore over time and time again."--
Papilio
jE Clanton
Humor, Kids, Picture Books, Animals, Nature, Science
"Told in three parts, Papilio transforms from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly"--
There's a new very hungry caterpillar in town, Papilio! This collaborative picture book has just enough information for young entomologists to gobble up and features a sweet story about finding your wings. Papilio is one big treat! -Casey
The ogre who wasn't
Michael Morpurgo
jE Morpurgo
Humor, Kids, Picture Books, Nature
Princess Clara misses her father, the King. All Clara wants is to escape outside and make friends with the creatures that she finds there. Her best friend is a very small ogre. Ogres are usually baddies, aren't they? Not this one... and he might just be able to help make Clara's dreams come true. Maybe he isn't an ogre at all?
Morpurgo and Gravett's latest collaboration is fabulous! Pair with Munch's "Paper Bag Princess" for a wildly fun reading time. -Casey
The five sides of Marjorie Rice : how to discover a shape
Amy Alznauer
j510.92 Rice
Picture Books, Nonfiction, Biographies
"When Marjorie Rice was a little girl in Roseburg, Oregon, in the 1930s, she saw patterns everywhere. Swimming in the river, her body was a shape in the water, the water a shape in the hills, the hills a shape in the sky. Some shapes, fitted into a rectangle or floor tilings, were so beautiful they made her long to be an artist. Marjorie dreamed of studying art and geometry, perhaps even solving the age-old "problem of five" (why pentagons don't fit together the way shapes with three, four, or six sides do). But when college wasn't possible, she pondered and explored all through secretarial school, marriage, and parenting five children, until one day, while reading her son's copy of Scientific American, she learned that a subscriber had discovered a pentagon never seen before. If a reader could do it, couldn't she? Marjorie studied all the known pentagons, drew a little five-sided house, and kept pondering. She'd done it! And she'd go on to discover more pentagonal tilings and whole new classes of tessellations." --
I'm so inspired by this book, which describes the work of self-taught mathematician Marjorie Rice, who discovered not one, not two, but THREE new tesselating five-sided shapes despite being held back from even attending college in the 1960s and 1970s by familial and societal expectations about women's roles at the time. I didn't know that a person could...discover a new shape until I read this book? (A tesselating shape, I learned, is one that fits together with itself infinitely with no gaps or overlaps.) Absolutely astonishingly beautiful illustrations tie together the themes of nature, patterns, and math that "shape" this story and give personality and verve to Rice and her life. With puzzling so popular, this book is timely, interesting, and inspiring. -Anne W
A pocket full of rocks
Kristin Mahoney
jE Mahoney
Kids, Picture Books, Nature
"A sweet and soulful celebration of how a child's imagination can transform ordinary objects into extraordinary treasures. You can do a lot with a pocket full of rocks... "
Sweet, beautiful, and just the right length for sharing. What can you do with a pocket full of rocks? Watch for this one at a BookWalk near you soon! -Casey
Toto
Hyewon Yum
jE Yum
Kids, Picture Books
A little girl, self-conscious about her birthmark named Toto, worries her school friend will see her differently when her birthmark is revealed but is pleasantly surprised by her friend's reaction.
Hyewon Yum is one of my favorite author illustrators and her new story is a delight! Be sure to check out all of her other books and the Hazel Westgate Collection in the Children's Room to see one of her beautiful originals. -Casey
Smelly Peggy
Helen Stephens
jE Stephens
Kids, Picture Books
Meet Peggy--a very naughty dog who gets into a lot of trouble. Some of the things she loves doing: leaping on the bed in the morning and sticking her hairy bottom in Dad's face. Sweeping her human family off their feet with her favorite sticks. And most of all, rolling in everything stinky and smelly she can find! And that's not even the naughtiest thing she does . . . But do you think her family loves her anyway? Open the windows for this happy, bighearted story about a beloved puppy named Peggy--a story that delights in the smelly but cherished canine family members that we couldn't do without.
Pet owners will be charmed and feel seen while reading this funny book about all the ways Peggy, an adorable terrier, is naughty and annoying. Interactive text makes the book a great read-aloud, as does the straight-shooter narrator, a red-haired little girl, who frankly discusses gross doggy behaviors. The highlight of the bright, fun illustrations are the dog's adorable facial expressions on each page. -Anne W
It's hard to be a baby
Cheryl B. Klein
jE Klein
Kids, Picture Books
While adults assume life as a baby is easy, a young child sympathizes with babies and recognizes that life as a baby is harder than it seems.
Such a sweet, funny story, with gorgeous, diverse illustrations of babies and families. Get this for new parents and new babies in your life! -Anne W
Bog Myrtle
Sid Sharp
jGRAPHIC NOVEL Sharp
Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novels, Kids, Early Readers, Early Chapter Books, Picture Books, Animals, Nature
"From the acclaimed author of The Wolf Suit comes another weirdly hilarious, masterfully thought-provoking, and lushly painted early reader graphic novel. . . . Bog Myrtle is a witty modern folktale that touches on themes of capitalism, environmentalism, labor rights, and being a nice person."--
Bog Myrtle is a true forest treasure. Don't miss out and join Arachnid Local 175! -Casey
When dogs work
Opal Sinclair
jE Sinclair
Kids, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals
"Rhyming text and bright color photographs introduce preschoolers to the many kinds of working dogs."--
What a lovely introduction to working dogs for preschoolers and younger. Vibrant photos and great rhyming text will make this a repeat read for dog lovers! -Casey
I really love Phoebe Wahl's artwork, and this makes reading her books even more enjoyable. In this book, we follow the character Little Witch Hazel as she adventures through the forest, meeting many adorable critters in even more adorable outfits along the way! -Violette