Trailer for 14 COWS FOR AMERICA by Carmen Agra Deedy

14 COWS FOR AMERCIA

by Carmen Agra Deedy

AR: Yes

Interest Level: appropriate for all ages

This trailer was created by Sangeeta Garg, who is the librarian at Hunter's Glen Elementary in Missouri City, Texas

ELSIE'S BIRD by Jane Yolen and David Small

ELSIE'S BIRD by Jane Yolen and David Small

AR: Not Yet (Book won't be here till next year)

Meet Elsie: She's a city girl who lives on Boston. She loves the smell of the harbor and the sounds of the busy city streets. She is very happy living near the ocean surrounded by the people and things that she loves. Everything changes, though, when her mama dies and her papa is left with a deep sadness in his heart.

When Elsie turns eight, her father tells her they are moving west, to Nebraska, and leaving her home and family behind. They packed up their belongings and set out on a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng train ride. Before leaving, Elsie got a brand new bird--a bright yellow canary named Timmy Tune--he helped her to pass the time by singing songs with her during the trip.

Life in Nebraska was very different for Elsie, and she was incredibly sad. Her papa tried to cheer her up and help her like her new home, but the only thing that made her happy was Timmy Tune, her canary. Things go from bad to worse for Elsie, when she leaves his cage open and Timmy flies out the window. Will she find him? Will she ever get used to life in Nebraska? Will her father's broken heart start to heal? You'll have to read the book to find out!

LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH by David Soman and Jacky Davis

LADYBUG GIRL AT THE BEACH

by David Soman and Jacky Davis

This book won't be available in our library until next year, but what a cute book it is! Lulu is back, and this time she's with her family, visiting the beach. She's very excited about the trip, but when she gets there she gets scared at how big the ocean is. She's finds every excuse to not get in--building a sand castle, flying a kite, buying ice cream, walking on the beach..She gets very hot and really wants to go into the water, but when she tries a wave nearly knocks her down and she runs back out. She finally conquers her fear of the ocean by rescuing something else--I don't want to give it away; you'll have to read this one for yourself!

CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG, by Mo Willems Posted by Mrs. Schauer

CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG

by Mo Willems

AR: Not Yet

**This book will not be published until June. I hope to have it in the library by next school year.

Interest Level: Lower Grades

I have always enjoyed Mo Willems' books, so I was excited to find this one. It's the tale of a city dog who visits the country each season, and sees his friend, the country frog, who lives on a rock. They play together during the spring and summer. In the fall, the frog is too tired to play, so they play "remembering games" instead of "actual" games. In the winter...well, I'm not going to give away the ending to this book, but I will say it involves...a chipmonk! City dog and country frog have a wonderful friendship, and it's felt throughout this story.

CINCO DE MOUSE O, by Judy Cox Posted by Mrs. Schauer

CINCO DE MOUSE-O

Judy Cox

AR: Not Yet

Interest Level: Lower Grades

The cover on this book got my attention immediately. I wish I could order it for the library in time to have it for the first week of May, but we'll have to wait until next year for this one--it's already in a shopping cart online, ready to be ordered.

CINCO DE MOUSE O is the tale of a little mouse who wakes up to wonderful smells and when he follows his nose, he finds himself in the middle of a festival. He feasts on the crumbs that people drop: tacos, tamales, chorizos, and flan. All the while he's enjoying the festival, he's eyeing a donkey-shaped pinata, trying to figure out how to get into it and the candy that's inside. He doesn't notice, that while he's enjoying himself and scheming a way to get to the pinata, a cat is also scheming a way to pounce...on him!

I enjoyed this book--especially the colorful artwork and pictures that really came alive, and reminded me of enjoying Fiesta in San Antonio when I was a little girl.

THE JUNKYARD WONDERS, by Patricia Polacco Posted by Mrs. Schauer

THE JUNKYARD WONDERS

by Patricia Polacco

AR: Not Yet (Not published yet--available in July, 2010)

Interest Level: Lower Grades and Up

I got this book at a conference, and was thrilled just to get my hands on a new Patricia Polacco book, because she is my number 1, all time favorite children's author. THANK YOU MR. FALKER is on my list of top 5 favorite books--and I've read a LOT of books! Anyway, when I started reading this one, I was expecting to love it--but I was NOT expecting it to contain more of Tricia's story from THANK YOU MR FALKER! (Imagine me, doing a happy dance)

The story opens the year after Tricia learned to read. Her divorced parents had decided to let her move to Michigan to live with her dad for a year because she didn't want to go to school in California anymore, where the kids knew her "when she was dumb." She was all excited to be in a new school with people who didn't know she used to be in special classes. But when she got there the first day, everyone just stared at her. Then when kids found out which class she was in...well...I don't want to give the story away, but I will say that her new classroom had the nickname of "The Junkyard."

I love, love, loved this book as much as I knew that I would. The artwork is beautiful, as always--and the story made me cry...always the sign of a truly good book!

I hope to have this one in the library by the time school starts next year!