Heroines of irrepressible spunk

        I love a story, whether truth or fiction, with a strong female character!  Here are a few we love in our library:

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

      This book is dearly wonderful on so many levels!  Though she is tiny, the world is a wide open place to her.  Though her two front teeth are umm... a little big and her voice is a little croaky, the world smiles and sings with her.  David Catrow perfectly captures sweet Molly Lou's indomitable spirit.  This book is not to miss!

What To Do About Alice by Barbara Kerley

"I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both."

   -- Alice's father, Teddy Roosevelt

                 This is one of the most mesmerizing biographies I have ever read.  Alice Roosevelt had every intention of "eating up the world".   Sliding down the White House stairs on baking trays, introducing her father's guests to her pet snake, traveling the world and more, Alice certainly did just that!   It begs to be read aloud and leaves readers young and old wanting to know more about this fascinating woman from American history!

Clementine, Friend of the Week  by Sara Pennypacker

                   Oh my darling, darling Clementine!  In the 4th installment of a wonderful series, my favorite redhead is at it again with all new veggie names for her brother whose name we may never know (after all, she's named after a fruit), crazy antics at school, and strategies to become everyone's best friend of the week.  Though not as laugh out loud funny as the others in the series, the story line and its marvelous leading lady makes it definitely worth reading.

             Though there are many more, (Olivia, Alice the Fairy, Ramona Quimby, India Opal Buloni) these are a few your readers shouldn't be without! 

                                                                  Happy reading,

                                                                                                      Melissa          

Top ten lists (plus a few!)

To start off a new school year, I thought it would be great to post Top 10 lists of my favorite books of all time.  I make these lists in my head sometimes when I have a hard time falling asleep( yes, I am a book nerd).  However, I am asked often what my favorites are, and I think its time to get them onto paper.  Because its hard for me to have limits when it comes to books, there are a few "ties" :) and I have to put my top 10 in two separate lists, picture and chapter:

Picture:

1. Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg : Mesmerized by the book since receiving it as a child-- still have my old copy.  I adore Chris Van Allsburg!

2. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems:  People who know me, know I am a Mo Willems NUT!

3. There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems: Funny, funny, funny stuff!

4. Round Trip by Ann Jonas: INCREDIBLE illustrations with a "twist"-- literally 

5. Cadillac by Charles Temple: Out of print, best book with a rhythm- kids love it!

6. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner: Oh so fun!

7. Olivia by Ian Falconer: Her personality screams from every page-- love her dearly

8.  Where the Wild Things Are by the ever umm... "interesting" Maurice Sendak-- not a big fan of the recent movie

9. Kate Greenway's Mother Goose: had poems memorized by before the age of three, when my mom would turn the page-- and I would recite the old english poem word for word. This is why I was taught to read early and why we should have known then that I'd be a library girl!

10. Tie between One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Dr. Seuss), Giraffe and a Half (Shel Silverstein) and Dog Food (by Saxton Freymann)

Chapter:

1. The BFG by Roald Dahl (macaroni and cheese of children's literature, my comfort book)

2. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

3. Walk two moons (lovely!!!) by Sharon Creech

4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt:  Movie is great as well!

5. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo:  Her journals on www.katedicamillo.com  are absolutely profound and inspiring... makes me want to write!

6. Toys go out by Emily Jenkins

7. Savvy by Ingrid Law

8. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling: had to include a Harry! Numbers one, four and seven are my favorites.

10.Tie between Cornelia Funke's Thief Lord and Inkheart: Translated into english from german!  Wonderful books!

These books all line the shelves of my libraries at school and home and I have a hard time not compulsively picking them up when I see them at McKays.  In the future, I'll try to highlight a new picture, chapter and nonfiction pick regularly.

Happy Reading!

Melissa