If you loved Ivy & Bean, try these...

Moving from beginning readers into longer chapter books is exciting, but finding books that appeal to your child, especially boys, without overwhelming them can be a challenge. Then you find books your child LOVES, but that author just doesn’t keep up with your child’s voracious reading appetite. I’m thinking about the Ivy & Bean series. One can read ten books pretty quickly. Fortunately, we can introduce some equally engaging stories. Unfortunately, they are written for girls, not boys. I don’t understand why publishers seem to think girls read more than boys.

Anyway, if you like Ivy & Bean, then try the following series.

Ling & Ting by Grace Lin. Ling & Ting are identical twins that people think are exactly the same. In each book, the sisters prove they are different. Enjoy Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same and Ling & Ting Share a Birthday.

British author Hilary McKay has created an endearing character in Lulu. A lover of animals, each of the titles – three so far – finds Lulu helping either a duck, dog, or cat find a new home. The black & white illustrations intersperse throughout the book make it a winner for those reading longer stories.

New to our shelves is the series about Heidi Heckelbeck written by Wanda Coven. Heidi has been homeschooled, but goes to public school in second grade. Each book in the series – eight so far – addresses a particular problem that will resonate with young readers. For example, in book one, Heidi Heckelbeck has a Secret; Heidi must learn how to deal with bully, Melanie Maplethorpe.

We have plenty of other suggestions to keep your child interested in
reading.

Some of my favorite stories

Robert Bright was inspired to write his Georgie the Ghost series after he caught his children peering under their bed looking for a ghost. Considered a classic, the stories follow the adventures of Georgie, a friendly ghost who lives with the Whittakers.

We have several different variations of the traditional tale about the Teeny Tiny Woman who discovers a bone while walking outside. Placing it in her cupboard, she is awakened in the night by a voice demanding, “Where Is my bone!”  Try the Teeny Tiny Woman by Arthur Robins.
 
Prolific author, Tony Johnston pens another of my all-time favorite ghost stories, The

Ghost of Nicholas Greebe. Set in Colonial Massachusettes, the ghost of the recently-buried Nicholas Greebe haunts his farm after a dog takes one of his bones on a long journey that spans almost 100 years.

In The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg the origins of a stranger seem to have a mysterious connection to the weather. A good book to share for those who love to pore over illustrations.

And no list would be complete without a Henry and Mudge story. Here, in Henry and Mudge and the Yellow Moon by Cynthia Rylant, Henry and his dog Mudge watch the leaves turn, meet with some Halloween spooks, and share Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Reading.
Mrs. C

Have you tried the author Claudia Mills?

Claudia Mills has been a prolific author for many years. One of my favorite is the Gus and Grandpa series for emergent readers. Friendships are important to children and here we read about the close relationship between seven-year-old Gus and his seventy-year-old Grandpa. Grounded in real life, Gus and Grandpa have many exciting adventures.

In her chapter books for students in grades 3 and up, Mills tackles some all-too-true dilemmas children face.

Dealing with overprotective parents is the topic in How Oliver Olson Changed the World. Afraid he will always be an outsider like ex-planet Pluto, nine-year-old Oliver finally shows his extremely overprotective parents that he is capable of doing great things without their help while his class is studying the solar system.

Kelsey Green Reading Queen shows the darker side to those with a competitive nature. When the principal of her school says he will shave off his beard if students read over 2,000 books in a month, Kelsey Green is determined to read the most books, thus getting her name on a plaque. In order to meet that goal, Kelsey reads very short books, not the longer ones she usually enjoys. Of course, by the end of the book Kelsey discovers what’s important: that reading for fun is a lot better than reading for a competition.

And, in her latest, Zero Tolerance, Mills places seventh grade honor student Sierra Shepard in a difficult situation. Sierra comes up against her school’s zero-tolerance policy after she accidentally brings a paring knife to school. While spending her days in detention with the so-called troublemakers, Sierra learns that the lines between right and wrong can be very blurry.

I have a few more books by Mills that are favorites. Stop in and ask me what they are.
   

Teaching children about 9/11

Wednesday, September 11 marked the 12th anniversary of 9/11.  Many of the students who frequent our Library, those in middle school, were too young to remember the actual day. They were shown a movie as part of a class and afterwards many told us they were “freaked out!”  One 7th grader said that the movie was too upsetting and she didn’t like having those horrible scenes replaying in her mind. “I just know I’m going to have nightmares like forever.”

While it is important for our children to learn about historic events that shaped us, maybe the best way to introduce something like 9/11, something of that magnitude, would be best shared using a book.

The best book for children grades 3 and up is

America is Under Attack: The Day the Towers Fell by Don Brown.
The narration moves chronologically through the morning: from the plane hijackings to the crashes at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in the field in Pennsylvania; from the rescue operations to the collapse of the buildings. What I love most about this book is that instead of using actual photos, the book is populated with Brown’s vivid watercolor illustrations which capture the emotions of that day, allowing children to absorb the information from a safe distance. We want our children to grow up happy and eager to face their world, not the opposite.

Other great books that show the healing side of the event include:

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy, in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah
    “A young man studying in the United States when the World Trade Center attacks occurred, returns to his homeland of Kenya and after relating the story to the Maasai of his village they present a gift to the American diplomat from Nairobi for the grieving American people.”
 

Fireboat: the heroic adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman.
“A fireboat, launched in 1931, is retired after many years of fighting fires along the Hudson River, but is saved from being scrapped and then called into service again on September 11, 2001.”




 


The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
“This 2004 Caldecott Medal winner is a lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.”

Children are growing up too fast, being fed books and movies where the subject matter is far beyond their emotional development. Treat them like the children they are and slowly introduce these topics in a gentle, loving way. 



Click here to read another point of view on sharing 9/11 with children.

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt

It certainly has been a very busy week in Youth Services. While putting away the summer stuff and making new displays for back-to-school, we’ve had four classes from the Middle School visit for a tour and book talks, Connie’s Bookworms Book Club met for the first time Wednesday, and Lauren and I are planning our first Teen Advisory Meeting of the year (it meets next week Tuesday). Add to that the children, over the age of 10, who come to the Library after school. I tell you, "the joint is jumpin'."

Yet, with all the activity, I still found time to read a book!

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt.
Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is worried. He’ll do anything to save the swamp he loves, Bayou Touterelle, from being developed into a theme park. (Complete with a female world-class alligator wrestler, Jaeger Stitch). Read how Chap, two raccoons, and the ancient Sugar Man save their swamp. Add to the plot the search for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the Lord God Bird. If Chap could prove the thought-to-be-extinct bird still inhabits the swamp, he knows he could save Bayou Torterelle. Told from multiple voices, this wild romp begins slowly, but picks up speeds as it races towards the final conclusion.






Appelt is the author of numerous books, including The Underneath, a 2009 Newbery Honor book.

Pair The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp with The Race to Save the Lord God Bird by Portland, Maine writer, Phillip Hoose.

Go here to listen to an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

Welcome back! It was a busy summer.

We had an incredible summer in the Youth Services Department. Over 700 children signed up for summer reading. We had over 1000 children attending our summer programs and helped over 700 children find a great book to read. Busy, busy. 

Now it is back-to-school time. As many of you know, the Library is the preferred hangout for afterschool. We strive to be a safe and welcoming environment, but because we are a public library, meaning people of all ages use us all day long, the heavy influx of students between 2:30 and 4:00 pm often far exceeds available seating space. 

Also be mindful of the fact that we have a policy that states children under the age of 10 are not allowed to be in the Library without an adult. Please, click here, and take a few minutes to read our afterschool expectations. Thank you.

THERE WAS A LOT OF READING GOING ON IN SCARBOROUGH, MAINE THIS SUMMER!

Today is the first day since June 17, when our Summer Reading Program began, that the children's room has been quiet. It was a wild and busy summer. We had a total of 712 children sign up (including those in middle school). 300 turn in their Reading Logs. Twenty teens attended their finale held on Wednesday, August 7, and over 500 came to the End of Summer Reading Ice Cream Party on August 14. The Friends of the Scarborough Library generously funded our summer program and events, plus they also scooped ice cream.  The Youth Services staff thanks everyone who made our summer crazy busy. It sure was fun, but it is nice to have some quiet time to put the summer things away and ready the room for the school year.