The Pierce County Library
Children’s Book Buzz
Vol. 33
Liar and Spy
For Georges (the s is silent),
seventh grade is proving to
be as tough at home as is at
school. His dad is out of
work, his mom’s working
Pierce County
Library System
by Rebecca Stead
double shifts to make up for it,
and they’ve had to sell their
house and move into an
apartment. Meanwhile, at
school, his best friend has
started sitting with the cool
kids at lunch . . . the very same
kids who have decided that
Georges is their new favorite
target. But Georges’s life takes
a turn for the weird when he
meets his new neighbor. Safer
is twelve years old and a master
spy, and he wants Georges to be
his first spy recruit. How else
will they uncover the secrets of
Mr. X, who only wears black and
lives in the apartment upstairs?
Stead follows up her Newbery
Medal-winning When You Reach
Me with a story that’s both
timely and timeless.
Georges’ family
circumstances will be
familiar to many kids whose
lives have been affected by
the current economic
downturn, while his troubles
with bullies are ones kids
have faced in every
generation. The quirky
characters provide many
hilarious moments to
balance the book’s heavier
themes, and kids will have
to hone their own spy skills
to discover Georges’s own
secrets.
Grades 5—up
Joy, Parkland/Spanaway
The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub
girth, the poems are amusing
and insightful, making the
From Washington to
Presidents more real,
Obama each President is accessible, and interesting.
the subject of a poem.
Basic color illustrations
Notes at the bottom of accompany each poem. Most
the page explain the
Presidents get only one page,
historical facts that
but a few get two. This is a
inspired the poem. From great introduction to poetry
Franklin Pierce, who had and history, and a nice book
the first Christmas tree to use during a Presidential
in the White House, to
election year.
Grover Cleveland, who
Grades 2—up
did get stuck in the tub
Tamara, Gig Harbor
due to his substantial
by Susan Katz
Issue 33
Summer2012
Featured Books:
☺ Liar and Spy Novel
grades 5—up
☺ The President’s Stuck in
the Bathtub Poetry Book
grades 2—up
☺ Brothers at Bat Picture
Book for grades K—2
☺ Animal Playtime Picture
book grades 1—up
☺ Solomon Crocodile
Picture book grades K—3
☺ East Dragon/West
Dragon —Picture Book
grades K—2
☺ Dr. Proctor’s Fart
Powder: Who Cut the
Cheese? Chapter book
grades 3—5
☺ Curious Critters— Nonfiction icture book for
grades K—3
☺ I Galileo - Picture book
biography for Grades 4—
up
Brothers at Bat
by Audrey Vernick
In the Acerra family, there
were so many brothers (ranging
in age from 7 to 32) that they
formed their own baseball
team with their father as
coach. In fact, the Acerras
made history as the “longestplaying all-brother baseball
team ever.” Through simple
text and perfectly captured
illustrations, this book
chronicles the lives of the
twelve Acerra brothers
through the lens of baseball
and their love of family. It is
always amazing to me how the
story of a family can bring the
feel of an era to life for
readers and help them
understand what it was like to
live during that time .
Grades K—2
Alison, Early Learning
Animal Playtime
by DK Publishing
Color photographs, both large and small, cover
the play activities of many different animals.
From Sifakas to Pandas to less exotic animals
like dogs, brief paragraphs of text explain how
animals play and the skills they learn from
playing. This is a fun little book full of
interesting facts and adorable photos that will
tickle any animal lover’s delight.
Grades 1—up
You don't have to burn
books to destroy a
culture.
Just get people to stop
reading them.
~ Ray Bradbury ~
Tamara, Gig Harbor
Solomon Crocodile
by Catherine Rayner
Everyone is relaxing and enjoying
their day until, "Uh-oh, here comes
trouble!". It's Solomon, literally
trying to shake things up as he
looks for playmates. Most of the
creatures are annoyed by his
actions, but finally someone comes
along who wants to play with him.
"Uh-oh, here comes. . . DOUBLE
TROUBLE". Active children who
like to play but can't always find
Page 2
willing playmates will enjoy
this short and amusing tale.
Solomon’s antics are
portrayed in muted
watercolors full of activity
and motion.
Grades K—3
Tamara, Gig Harbor
The Pierce County Library
East Dragon, West Dragon
Two dragons live on opposite
sides of the world. One is
honored by his emperor; the
other is harassed by the local
king and his knights. Mutual
fear and suspicion keep the two
dragons apart, until West
Dragon’s plan to rid himself of
the knights causes their worlds
to collide.
Eversole combines Asian and
European ideas about dragons
into a clever fantasy story. The
illustrations are cheerful and
witty, with lots of amusing
details. It should be noted that
the author and illustrator do
by Robyn Eversole
not depict West and East in
a historically or
geographically accurate
manner. Eversole, a
professional anthropologist,
is more interested in the
ideas and fantasies that East
and West have about one
another and the way that
those ideas cause conflict, or
result in harmonious
solutions to common
problems. This book should
appeal to children who are
interested in mythology,
dragons, knights, samurai,
and pirates .
Grades K—2
Dana, Summit/Fife
Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder:
Who Cut The Cheese?
by Jo Nesbo
Everyone in Norway is glued to the
television set, because it’s NoroVision
(a parody of EuroVision music contest)
time! Everyone, that is, except Nilly,
Lisa, and Doctor Proctor. Which means
they don’t get the message when
aliens beam a hypnotic signal through
the BABA song from Sweden
and then proceed to try and
take over Norway! Can Nilly,
Lisa, the Doctor, and a pop
song save the country?
Grades 3—5
Alex, University Place/Steilacoom
Curious Critters
by David FitzSimmons
This book is “told” through the
animals’ voices and what they might
say if they could talk. Voicing animals
is not always a format that works, but
in this case it does. In describing
themselves, the animals share many
interesting facts in straightforward,
spare text. The highlight of this
book, though, is the up-close
phenomenal photographs where the
animals are often looking directly into
Issue 33
the camera. Pages at the
end of the book also include
further facts about each of
the animals and “life-size
silhouettes” in the form of a
guessing game. Fun and
informational!
Grades K—3
Alison, Early Learning
Page 3
I, Galileo
by Bonnie Christensen
This wonderful book about Galileo
begins with a model of the universe
according to Aristotle and Ptolemy
and a preface about life before
clocks and telescopes. It goes on to
beautifully illustrate the impact of
Galileo’s inventions and ideas. Told
in the first person, Galileo, now an
old blind prisoner, recounts his life:
his birth, education, teaching and
inventing. As well as his theory of
the universe which so angered the
Pope it led to his
imprisonment. Theories of the time
are covered and whether they were
appreciated or scorned. Copernicus
is mentioned as being the first
person to claim the universe did not
move around the earth, but it was
Galileo, using his telescope, who was
able to scientifically prove that
theory. The illustrations are lush and
richly colored and include drawings of
his observations and inventions.
Occasionally, small font with
additional information is placed under
the pictures. The afterword tells how
the Catholic Church finally admitted
its error in convicting Galileo. A
chronology, lists of experiments,
inventions, astronomical discoveries,
along with a glossary and bibliography
are provided in the back. Galileo’s
contributions to science through both
observation and invention are
highlighted, emphasizing his impact on
modern science as we know it. This is
a scrumptious introduction to both
science, and an intellectual giant who
practiced it.
Grades 4 and up
Tamara, Gig Harbor
These titles are just a sample!
Pierce County Library System
Administration Center
3005 112th St E
Tacoma, WA 98446
Phone: 253-548-3424
E-mail: [email protected]
Information &
Imagination
Check out many more new titles for
young people at the Pierce County
Library nearest you!
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