Monday, January 28, 2019

2019 Caldecott Awards

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded to the most distinguished American picture book. The Medal was given to Hello Lighthouse written and illustrated by Sophie Blackhall.

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The Sonoma County Library has twenty-six copies.

Four Honors were awarded to:



A Big Mooncake for Little Star words and pictures by Grace Lin, the Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies



Alma and How She Got Her Name words and pictures by Juana Martinez-Neal, the Sonoma County Library has three copies in English and eight copies in Spanish.




The Rough Patch written and illustrated by Brian Lies, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.



Thank you, Omu words and pictures by Oge Mora, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.

2019 Seuss Geisel Awards

This morning, the American Library Association gave out its Youth Media Awards. The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given to the author and illustrator of the most distinquished American book published for beginning readers in the previous year. 

This year's Medal was awarded to Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor.



The Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies.

Four Honors were awarded:



Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri, the Sonoma County Library has six copies.




Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier, the Sonoma County Library has nine copies.




The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap by David Milgram the Sonoma County Library has six copies.




King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth words by Dori Hillestad Butler and pictures by Nancy Meyers, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.

Friday, November 2, 2018

New Picture Books



Dreamers by Yuyi Morales is the story of her immigration to the United States with her then three month old son to join her American citizen husband in 1994. They settled in San Francisco. She and her son spent their days in the San Francisco Public Library learning English and learning about their new country. The illustrations in the library show many of the books they read. Books opened the door to their new life. Yuyi Morales became an award winning writer and illustrator. This is a powerful book about the value of libraries and reading.
The Sonoma County Library has fourteen copies.





Carmela Full of Wishes is written by Matt de Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson, the award winning (Newbery Medal and Caldecott Honor) of Last Stop on Market Street. It is Carmela's birthday. She finds a spent dandelion, her brother tells her she has to make a wish before she blows the seeds away, but what should she wish for?
The Sonoma County Library has nine copies.




Drawn Together is written by Mihn Le and illustrated by Dan Santat. A young boy is being babysat by his grandfather. They eat lunch and watch a little TV. Neither one speaks the others language so how do they communicate?  By drawing a story together, each in his own style, they find a language they both understand.                                                                                                                               
 The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.                                                                                                                                                         


Good Rosie by Kate Di Camillo with pictures by Harry Bliss is about a good dog who sometimes gets lonely and dare I say bored. George, her owner, tries something new, they go to a dog park. At first Rosie doesn't know what to do and is scared of a big dog named Maurice. But eventually she makes friends with a little dog and by the end of the book they both become friends with Maurice.
The Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies.



My Dog Laughs is written and illustrated by Rachel Isadora. Children introduce us to their dogs, tell us what their dog likes, show us how they train their dogs and how their dog plays. The pictures give clues to the text and there is plenty of white space between each vignette. 
The Sonoma County Library has six copies.





The Day You Begin by Newbery Medalist  Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez is a story about feeling different for any number of reasons and how by sharing your story others will meet you halfway.
The Sonoma County Library has twenty copies.





What Can A Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers with pictures by Shawn Harris is about being a citizen. Since the characters in this book are children, citizen is meant in a much broader sense than just voting. "A citizen's not what you are-a citizen is what you do."
The Sonoma County Library has seven copies.

New Early Reader Books



The Bad Guys Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?! by Aaron Blabey goes back in time to the Jurassic era because, of course, dinosaurs, the perfect foils for this group.
The Sonoma County Library has one copy. This book will also be available at Strawberry's Scholastic Book Fair November 8-16, 2018.




Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin is a 192 page very beginning reader book. Baby Monkey solves three cases once he manages to put on his pants. The ending makes it a perfect bedtime read. Like Brian Selznick's previous work, much of the story is told in beautiful black and white drawings.
The Sonoma County Library has nine copies. This book will also be available at Strawberry's Scholastic Book Fair November 8-16, 2018.




Big Foot and Little Foot by Ellen Potter and illustrated by Felicita Sala is about how an unlikely friendship between a human boy, Boone, and a Sasquatch, Hugo. This is the first book in a series. The first chapter of The Monster Detector is included at the end of the book.
The Sonoma County Library has seven  copies.




Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker: Incognito written and illustrated by Shelley Johannes is the second in a new series about Beatrice and her best friend, Lenny. It is the second week of third grade. The two friends have a great idea, Operation Upside. It is a plan to anonymously acknowledge people who are doing good things or are good at something. Beatrice gets a little ahead of herself and gives an upside to her teacher who is really good at being strict. Her teacher does not take it the way it was intended. How will they save Operation Upside?
The Sonoma County Library has two copies.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

New Non-Fiction Picture Books

Jess Keating and Melissa Stewart are two of the best writers of non-fiction for kids. You can check out more of their books here.

Cute As An Axolotl is the latest of Jess Keating's The World of Weird Animals series. An Axolotl is a salamander. Those feathery branches on the side of its head are gills. Cute as they are, they are a critically endangered species. Some of the other cute animals in this book are the Fairy Penguin, Pangolin, Pygmy Hippopotamus, Dwarf Flying Squirrel and Fennec Fox. Also included is a two page spread on the science of Cute and a glossary. Illustrations are by David DeGrand. The previous books in the series have been a big hit with the second graders I work with. The Sonoma County Library has six copies.




Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers is Melissa Stewart's latest picture book. It is illustrated by Stephanie Laberis. This book is about the unsung underdogs of the animal world. What may be perceived as weaknesses may actually help these animals survive in an eat-or-be-eaten world. Some sleep most of the day away. How does that help them survive? Because they rest so much they don't need as much food to sustain themselves. Twelve animals are profiled and fit into one of the categories in the book's title. At the end of the book is a two page spread with more information on each animal. The Sonoma County Library has five copies.