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Our Favorite New Books for All Ages

Louise the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo and Harry Bliss

Talk about adventures! Louise leaves the farm to find excitement and soon meets up with pirates, gets shipwrecked, joins the circus, is chased by a lion, gets kidnapped and imprisoned in a foreign bazaar and survives to tell the tale back on the farm. The illustrations make the most of each adventure adding humor and thrills to Louise’s daring escapades. For ages 3-6.

I Completely Know About Guinea Pigs by Lauren Child

A new Charlie and Lola book is always a hit. In this new adventure Lola gets to bring Bert, the class pet, home after learning all about guinea pigs from her classmates and her teacher. Unfortunately, Bert gets lost, and Charlie and Lola search frantically all over the house for him, finally hearing a tell-tale squeak that leads them to a surprise, which Lola says she knew all along. Lots of fun for kids who love animals – ages 4-7.

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff illustrated by Felicia Bond

Watch out if you give this cat a cupcake because you will have a very full day with trips to the beach, the gym, the science museum, the park and more, and in the end you can bet that he’s going to want another cupcake. Marvelous illustrations turn this merry-go-round of a book into an all-out celebration of ways to have fun. Easy to read for ages 5-7. Read aloud to ages 3 and up.

Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face and other poems by Jack Prelutsky

This is a treasury showcasing 112 of Jack Prelutsky’s greatest hits selected from the thousands of poems that he has written. It includes 15 new poems and pages of funny activities like playing Frog I Spy, creating Scranimals, and singing the poems to surprising, familiar melodies. This hefty volume also includes a CD with 30 performances by the author! A real treat for ages 4-11.

Fairy Blossoms #1 Daisy and the Magic Lesson by Suzanne Williams

At Cloverleaf Cottage Daisy and seven other flower fairies start their training as junior fairy helpers. Within 48 hours they have accidentally caused mischief and mayhem, despite their good intentions. Working together to solve the problems they have caused helps them form new friendships and learn a few lessons along the way. Four books have been released in this charming series which is sure to delight fairy lovers ages 4-8.

Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey by Herman Parish illustrated by Lynn Sweat

All of the third grade teachers are out sick and the third-graders’ Thanksgiving pageant will have to be cancelled until Amelia Bedelia offers to help out. Misunderstandings and puns abound, but in the end Amelia Bedelia and the students put on a play to remember beginning with the Pilgrims landing at the right address – 1620 Plymouth Rock. A holiday treat for beginning readers ages 4-8.

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems

The newest Elephant and Piggie book for the beginning reader is another funny story about easy-going Gerald and excitable Piggie. Full of ideas for playing outside, Piggie gets grumpy when it starts raining and spoils his plans. Gerald notices some worms having a grand time in the rain and thinks maybe some splishing and splashing would be fun. By the time Piggie gets over his funk and decides that he loves rain, the sun comes out and ruins his fun all over again. Joyful and silly, the books about these two friends are winners for ages 4-7.

The Runaway Dolls by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin illustrated by Brian Selznick

Annabelle and Tiffany find a mysterious package that might hold Annabelle’s long-lost baby sister. It takes a runaway adventure with the dolls ending up in McGinitie’s department store, where they almost get split up and sold, before they sort things out and find their way home. They make new friends, discover hundreds of identical Funcraft dolls, and even have a scary meeting with Mean Mimi. Lush illustrations fill the pages, giving the reader a doll’s eye view of the world. A great story for readers ages 8-12 and a perfect read-aloud for ages 5 and up.

The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich

In this sequel to The Birchbark House and The Game of Silence, Omakayas and her Ojibwe family have to leave their beloved home on Madeline Island and search for a new place to live far away from the European settlers of 1852. On their journey, Pinch, the mischievous brother, befriends a little porcupine and carries him around on his head, earning himself a new nickname – Quill. Traveling into unknown territory can be exciting, but it is also risky, and one day the family is attacked by heartless men, who injure Deydey and steal the canoes packed with all of the family’s belongings. Life takes a desparate turn for Omakayas and her family, who still have a long way to go and have lost everything.

The 39 Clues #1 The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Riordan is the author of the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and he has fun setting up the plotline for this new ten books series about a dangerous treasure hunt for a vast inheritance. First, the wealthy and mysterious matriarch of the Cahill clan leaves a will offering certain relatives a choice between receiving a million dollars or finding the first clue to the source of the family’s historical power. Dan and Amy choose to search for the clue and are plunged almost immediately into dangerous situations from explosions to poisons, thanks to their scheming cousins. Great fun for ages 8-12.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This may be my top pick for teens this fall. I could not put it down, and I have been thinking about it ever since it ended. Like a horrifying Olympics, the Hunger Games are a competition with opening ceremonies, a festival atmosphere, and 24 teen-aged contestants, who must fight to the death, on live TV, while imprisoned in a wilderness filled with death traps. Over several weeks they struggle to survive hunger and thirst, while they are hunted by their fellow competitors. The last one alive will win, and only the dead can leave the game. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen has the skills to survive her harsh life in District 12, but in the Hunger Games she needs to also become popular with the TV audience, while trying to outlast her competitors and fight off their attacks. The first in a thought-provoking and suspenseful new YA series.


 


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