Review for "LEGO Toys" by Kris Hirchmann

Age 9-12 years old
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 48

Call number: J 688.7 HIR

We didn’t have many LEGOs at my house when I was growing up. About the time my older sister started to enjoy building with them I was enjoying putting everything in my mouth. Instead we played with DUPLOs-- LEGO’s larger cousin. As a matter of fact I didn’t give much thought to LEGO’s until I read Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, which asked “Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world?” And indeed, they are ingenious!


LEGOs are pretty neat. And they are the subject of Kris Hirschmann’s “LEGO Toys.” This 48 page book contains information on the creation of LEGO in Denmark by master carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen in the first chapter, and their transformation from wood to plastic. Chapter 2: “A simple idea comes to life” give further details about on the development of LEGOs from their early days in cellulost acetate--an early form of plastic, to the higher quality plastic, box sets, and Minifigs (those little LEGO people) that we know today. “A world of Change” introduces the uses of LEGOs today in education, engineering, entertainment, art (like the brick art of Nathan Sawaya), and of course, play. And the final chapter “The Cutting Edge” features the winners of the 2007 international contest for LEGO robots, from Portland (that’s right—OUR Portland), and explains the newest technology being applied to LEGOs. These technological advances and uses of imagination truly show that anything is possible.
LEGO Toys is complete with full color pictures, intriguing “did you know” boxes (with compact florescent light bulbs marking good ideas), glossary, a page for more information, and index.

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Still can’t get enough LEGOs? Join our Brick Buddies Club for children aged 7 to 11 years old for time to build, create, and play every second Saturday morning of the month. Attendance is limited, so you must register at the Children’s Desk by calling 503-350-3600.

-J-

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Posted in: New Book Review,Non-Fiction

Picture Books for Military Families

When a parent is away on active military service, it can be difficult for young children to cope with their feelings about being separated from mom or dad. Below are a few picture books written specifically to help children work through the emotions that arise when a parent is on deployment.

Love, Lizzie: Letter to a Military Mom by Lisa Tucker McElroy
"How long does defending freedom take?" asks Lizzie in a letter to her mom. Lizzie spends a year separated from her mother, who is on active duty overseas. With her father and brother's help she finds ways to stay close to her mom until the special day when mom and daughter are reunited.
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When Dad's at Sea by Mindy L. Pelton
Emily's dad lwill be leaving for six months service aboard an aircraft carrier. Before he goes, he and Emily cut strips of colored paper for each day he will be gone. They link them the strips together, forming a long chain. Emily hangs the paper chain in her living room and removes one link each day until the chain is gone and her dad returns home.
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Pilot Mom by Kathleen Benner Duble
Jenny's mom, Major Strom, flies fuel tankers in the United States Air Force. She takes Jenny and her friend, K.C, on a tour of the air base and for an inside look at the plane she flies.
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I Miss You!: A Military Kid's Book About Deployment by Beth Andrews.
This book is designed for both kids and parents or other adult caregivers. It is full of ideas and suggestions for helping families cope when a loved one is on active military duty.
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My Red Balloon by Eve Bunting
A little boy anxiously waits for his dad to return home from six months at sea. He and his mom bring along a red balloon when they go to meet the aircraft carrier, so his dad can find him in the crowd of people at the dock. While waiting for the ship to come into port, the boy loses his balloon. How will his dad ever find him?
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Posted in: Picture Books

Staff Favorites: The Sun

Staff Favorites: Sunshine makes me happy.

The Way To Start a Day
by Byrd Baylor (E Baylor)(1978)
How do other people in the world greet the sun?
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An Island in the Sun
by Stella Blackstone (E Blackstone)(2002)
A little boy's dog awaits him on a sunny island.
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Child's Good Morning Bookby Margaret Wise Brown (Children's New Book)(E Brown)(2009)
Various critters wake up with the sun. Illustrations by Karen Katz make this book especially endearing.
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Fun Dog, Sun Dog
by Deborah Heiligman (E Heiligman)(2005)
Tinka the dog is just the right kind of dog.
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Sun Bread
by Elisa Kleven (E Kleven)(2001)
Rhyming text describes how warm baking bread chases away the winter chills. A recipe for bread is included.
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Hello Day
by Anita Lobel (E Lobel)(2008)
Animals say hello to the sun, all except the owl who prefers the moon.
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Sun Song
by Jean Marzollo (E Marzollo)(1995)
The sun affects everything on the farm during the course of a day.
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Lucia and the Light
by Phyllis Root (E Root)(2006)
A little girl named Lucia lives in the Far North. One day the wind howls and the sun doesn't come up. Lucia and her white cat set out to find it. The illustrations are especially lovely.
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The Sun, Our Nearest Star
by Franklyn Branley (J 523.7 Bra)(2002)
This book answers a lot of questions about the sun, like what it is made of and how far away it is. There are two easy projects at the end.
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Arrow To the Sun: a Pueblo Indian Tale
by Gerald McDermott (J 398.2089 McD)(1974)
This Pueblo Indian myth describes how a boy looking for his father is turned into an arrow and launched toward the sun. After passing many tests, he returned to Earth with the spirit of the sun.
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Posted in: Staff Favorites

New fiction books for April 2009

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower


Bernetta Wallflower is having the worst summer on record. After her ex-best friend, Ashley, frames her for running a school-wide cheating ring, Bernetta can't convince anyone that she's innocent. Her parents ground her until her tonsils grow back, and she's not even allowed to go to her father's magic club, Trunk Number Eight, where she performs every Saturday as a magician's assistant. But what's most terrible of all is that Mount Olive, the private school Bernetta has attended since kindergarten, has decided to take away her scholarship for seventh grade. If Bernetta wants to return to school, she'll need to find $9,000 in three short months. It seems hopeless... until Bernetta comes up with a plan that involves a lot of lying, a little bit of trickery, and a mysterious stranger with chocolate-brown eyes.

Feathers

The poem that Frannie is reading in scholl is all about hope. But Frannie hasn't thought much about hope lately. After all, there are so many other things to think about. Her friend Samantha, for example, who seems to get more "holy" each day. And Trevor, the class bully. And the new kid, Jesus Boy, who looks white even though he says he's not. Who is he? As winter goes on, bringing with it surprises both good and bad, the idea of hope stays with Frannie, and she begins to see things in a new light. She starts to understand her brother's deafness, her mother's fear, Samantha's faith, Trevor's anger, and-most importantly-her own desire for "the thing with feathers".

Into the Firestorm

Gran's gone now, but her words live on with Nicholas Dray, almost twelve, as he makes his way from the hot cotton fields to that Queen of Cities: San Francisco. Nick's on his own for the first time, with nowhere to turn. Then he meets jaunty, talkative Pat Patterson, owner of the most beautiful store-and the friendliest golden dog-in all the city. And for the first time in months, Nick feels safe. Safe in San Francisco. But the year 1906, the month is April, and early one morning the walls begin to shake. The floor begins to buckle. And the earth opens up. A devastating earthquake and then raging firestorms ravage city, and Nick is right in the middle of it all. But for a young boy who's got few ties and nothing to lose, what's the right choice: escape to safety or stay-at deadly risk- to help others?

Tacky goes to Camp

Tacky and his fellow penguins are off to summer camp in Nice Icy Land to enjoy themselves while rock climbing, crafting, and canoeing. One night, they gather around the campfire to sing, eat s'mores, and tell scary stories. But after they go to bed, something straight out of one of their scary stories pays the sleeping penguins a visit. Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect think they should hightail it out of there, but it is Tracky-with some unexpected heroics- who saves the day.

Will I have a friend?

On the first day of school, Jim anxiously asks, "will I have a friend?" His classmates are busy with their friends and activities, and Jim feels left out. A friendship finally takes root when Paul shares his toy car with Jim, and Jim promises to bring his toy car gas pump to school the next day. As Jim bounces home with his dad at the end of the day, he proudly declares, "I have a friend at school".

These summaries come from the book flaps.

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New Book Review: Cooking by the Numbers by Cecilia Minden

Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 32




Call number: J 641.5 MIN



When I pulled Cooking by the Numbers from our New Books shelf I didn’t know what to expect. Is it a cook book? Is it a math book? I soon realized that it was a little bit of both. Like the other books in Real World Math: Health and Wellness series, Cooking by the Numbers gives real world examples of when math is used, as well as good common sense for choosing nutritious foods and eating healthy. In each of the 5 chapters real world math problems are provided, as are other side bar extras relating the information on the page to real world examples, and how it all relates to the food pyramid found at MyPyramid.gov

Chapters on meal planning, kitchen safety, calories, recipe conversions, and family help cover the basics for nutrition and practical math, and this books comes complete with color photographs, math challenge answer guide, glossary, index, and suggested books and websites to go to for more information.

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Related books in this series are: Lunch by the Numbers, with a special emphasis on making healthy food choices, and Groceries Shopping by the Numbers, which discusses the budgeting and comparison shopping. All three titles are written by Cecilia Minden.

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Posted in: New Book Review,Non-Fiction

Staff Favorites: I love my pet!

Not Norman: a Goldfish Story
by Bennett, Kelly (E Bennett) (2005)
A boy disappointed with his pet goldfish learns to love him after all.




A Boy and His Bunny
by Bryan, Sean (E Bryan) (2005)
You can do so much with a bunny!





The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside: Based On a True Story
by Von Buhler, Cynthia Von (E Buhler) (2006)
Why not take the inside out?






Dear Zoo
by Campbell, Rod (E Campbell) (2004)
The zoo is very generous in helping a child find just the right pet.






What Pet To Get
by Dodd, Emma (E Dodd) (2008)
Elephant? Tyrannosaurus? Which pet to get?



Dino Pets
by Plourde, Lynn (E Plourde) (2007)
One determined boy tries out nearly every dinosaur the pet store has to offer. You can also learn dinosaur facts with this picture book.


LaRue For Mayor: Letters From the Campaign Trail
by Teague, Mark (E Teague) (2008)
Ike the dog takes matters into his own paws.



Super Guinea Pig To the Rescue
by Weigelt, Udo (E Weigelt) (2007)
Other pets make fun of guinea pig's favorite super hero, so he makes his own super hero costume and shows them!



The Big Bad Wolf and Me
by Perret, Delphine (Graphic Novel) (J Perret) (2006)
The Big Bad Wolf lives in a closet and eats chocolate chip cookies!




Adopting Pets: How To Choose Your New Best Friend

by Gutman, Bill (J 636.7 Gut) (2001)
Get the facts about how to select the newest furry or scaly addition to your family.

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Posted in: Staff Favorites

New Picture Books for April 2009

April is a month for foolishness, celebrating spring and remembering to take care of our Earth. The library has several new picture books that are the perfect match for the month of April.


Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black

As it says on the inside of the cover, "This is a story with a beginning, a middle, and a whole lot of ends." Sixteen of them, in fact. Sixteen what? You'll have to read it to find out. Caution: this book will encourage bouts of silliness and uncontrolled laughter in children of all ages. Remember, "The end is rear".
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Bad Frogs by Thacher Hurd

This is a bad book. Don't be like these frogs. They burp, they slurp, they misbehave through all 32 pages. And they are never sorry! You probably shouldn't check this out, because ... you could end up like them.
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Stuff!: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Steven Kroll

Do you have a hard time cleaning your room? So does Pinch, a pack rat whose house is bursting with clutter. When he finally decides to tidy up, he learns the value of recycling.
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Scaredy Squirrel At Night by Melanie Watt

The days are longer in April, but eventually, Mom makes you go to bed. What if you are scared at night and don't want to go to sleep? Scaredy Squirrel has a Bad Dream Action plan to avoid those scarey dreams. But will it work? Or will he just end up too sleepy to stay awake? Check our catalog for this title



Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson

One of the best parts of spring is seeing the trees and flowers bloom and blossom. Mortimer longs to see something green at the end of winter. He saves his last sunflower seed, and from this one seed, a miracle happens.
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Posted in: Picture Books