Children and Young Adult Books
Kids love Graphic Novels. Did you know that many of your kids favorites can be found free online ? Libby is an app that allows students to browse books, read a short sample, and download their choices. It’s available for most public libraries. https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/
Adults can find e-books and audio books at https://rbdigital.com/home
https://librarianlou.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/now-is-the-time-for-e-books/
We didn’t see it coming. First, the basketball tournaments were canceled then Broadway shows and Disneyland. Then our libraries shut their doors and parents are teaching their own children.
While there are many directions to go in educating our children, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development states “Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life.”
This is the perfect time to take advantage of your library’s online resources.
Start by visiting your public library’s website. You will likely find e-books and other online featured on the home page.
Almost all libraries subscribe to e-book services. You can gain access to a large selection of books. These free e-books can be downloaded to your tablet or cell phone.
Virtual services will vary by library. Urban areas may provide access to music streaming services, magazines and videos.
In North Carolina, NC Digital Kids and RB Digital provide many options for reading. 
It provides 715 popular picture book videos, almost 17,000 ebooks for children and over 1700 graphic novels. Children and teens can browse selections, read a sample and download books to a tablet or cell phone.
Adults can use RB Digital (owned by Recorded Books) to access bestsellers, classics, and other favorites. Although RB Digital lacks the browsability of NC Digital Kids, it allows readers to create a profile by profile features.
So visit your public library’s website and get access to great books.
“I’ll be There” by Holly Goldberg Sloan begins with a sweet romance and turns into a harrowing adventure tale. Readers will find this suspenseful book hard to put down. Sometimes her plots stretch credibility, but I don’t care. I love her books anyway!
Sam Border has led the life of a vagrant. His father, Clarence, is a conman and criminal. He drifts from place to place with his two sons, often to stay ahead of law enforcement. He spends his time stealing and pawning goods. Sam has not been to school since the second grade. He and his brother, Riddle, stay hidden during the school day and emerge from their low-income apartment later in the day to go dumpster diving.
Clarence finds the boys useful. People are less suspicious of a single dad with two sons. As the boys grow older, he resents them. Neither boy is willing to steal making them useless in his eyes.
Emily Bell is your all American girl. Her parents are loving people who want to make a positive mark on their world. Emily plays second string soccer and excels in school. She is curious about people and notices things that others fail to see.
When a series of random meetings brings her and Sam together. Emily finds him fascinating. He’s not like any guy she’s ever known. He’s quiet and humble, a welcome change from the arrogant Bobby Ellis, who has had his eyes on Emily for months.
When Emily’s parents realize she is in love, they insist on having Sam over for dinner. Mr. Bell discovers that Sam is a musical prodigy. It’s not long before Sam and Riddle become a fixture in the Bell household.
It’s scary for Sam who is beginning to realize how strange his life really is. Riddle, Sam’s brother, stands out even more. He’s five years younger and small for his age. He rarely talks and spends most of his free time creating intricate drawings in old phone books.
The book takes a sinister turn when Clarence Border finds Emily Bell’s cellphone in his son’s pocket. Clarence is very angry about his sons’ secret lives. He vows to seek revenge.
Meanwhile, the senior Bells are unaware that Sam and Riddle live in a moldy house on the worst side of town or that many of their meals come from trash cans. When Mr. Bell’s car is vandalized, Sam realizes that he has put the Bell family in danger.
When Sam and Riddle arrive home, Clarence is throwing everything into the trunk and angrily orders them inside. They have headed again for an unknown destination.
They are now caught in a life or death spiral. Clarence vows revenge. From this point, it’s a wild ride for the brothers who must not only deal with Clarence’s wrath but also navigate a remote wilderness without supplies or assistance.
This is a great book for anyone who loves a good love story or adventure. It’s light reading at its best.
You can download this book and many others at https://bhmlib.org/nc-kids/ or through any public library in North Carolina. Other libraries also have e-books available.
Bruce is a grumpy bear.. He does not like sunny days, rain or cute little animals.
Bruce does love to cook. He loves eggs and enjoys making fancy recipes from the Internet. When he finds a recipe for hard-boiled goose eggs drizzled in honey salmon sauce, he can hardly wait to prepare this delicacy.
But Bruce is in for an unpleasant surprise, When he gets distracted from boiling geese eggs, he finds himself with four baby goslings that won’t go away. In fact, they decide that Bruce must be their mother. Bruce does his best to resist the ducks but in the end, they form a most unusual family.
You can read Mother Bruce and many other books on Libby https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/ or check your library’s web page for more information about e-books.
Hear Mother Bruce read aloud by Jaqueline Mitchell
Get Mother Bruce printables from Disney/Hyperion ONLINE-ACTIVITY-SHEETS.pdf
More ideas for Mother Bruce Activities with Literary Hoots http://www.literaryhoots.com/2016/10/15-extension-activities-for-mother-bruce.html
Ten years ago, I fell in love with audioboo
ks. I felt torn because I had adult books I wanted to read and prize winning children’s books that deserved my attention. There wasn’t time to read everything. Audiobooks became part of the solution!
Audiobooks are great for the whole family. Consider taking them along on your next road trip. Here are my favorite recorded books:
Not only are the Harry Potter books great adventure stories, they are also hilarious, especially when narrator, Jim Dale creates over 200 voices and special effects for the wizards, muggles, goblins and house-elves that pass through Hogwarts. These volumes are among the top selling audiobooks of all time. Children who have already read these books will notice things they missed the first time.
Country music singer and actor, Lyle Lovett, brings Kathi Appelt’s adventure tale, The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp to life. Two raccoon scouts, Bingo and J’miah, must wake the Sugarman, A Yeti creature, when trouble comes to the swamp. And trouble is coming! Jaeger Stitch, world-class alligator wrestler, plans to turn the peaceful swamp into the world’s tackiest theme park. To make matters worse, a gang of feral hogs are attacking the swamp. Lovett has the perfect southern drawl. This story appeals to a wide range of ages.
Don’t let the cost of audiobooks discourage you. Many are available at the public library. Services like Audible and Hoopla are also making these books more accessible.
The sensitive male teen, yes he actually exists and you’ll find him in the narration of books by Jordan Sonneblick. His characters always seem like the teens I’d like to adopt. They are often handsome and smart without knowing it, use a lot of self-deprecating humor and are in the process of falling in love.
In Curveball, The Year I Lost my Grip, Peter Friedman is facing two crushing disappointments..
Since Little League, he has always been a star pitcher. The summer before entering high school, he has his best season ever on the pitching mound. Then in the championship game, he injures his elbow so severely that he will never be able to pitch again.
Then, there’s his grandfather, he and Pete have always shared a special relationship. Grandpa is a professional photographer who has taught Peter everything he knows. Suddenly grandpa is doing strange things like giving Pete all his photo equipment and getting lost on familiar streets.
For many students, high school can feel like a letdown after ruling middle school. Josh no longer has his baseball to set him apart. Life becomes brighter when he meets Angelika in photography class. Angelika is a sensitive girl who has a way of getting to the real issues. She understands that Peter has experienced a great loss and empathizes with his worries about his grandfather, encouraging him to discuss it with his parents instead of keeping his grandfather’s secret.
This is a great book for middle and high school students. While there is definitely romance going on, this book is about much more. Readers will find Pete’s narration to be humorous even as he deals with loss and finds a new life after baseball.
I’m going to switch gears this week and write about an adult book that has impacted me.
Cami Walker has multiple sclerosis. At the point of devasting illness and deep depression, she was challenged by her South African healer, Mbali Creazzo, to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life is her story.
Cami Walker has a very different worldview from me. She embraces lots of new age philosophy, acupuncture and yoga. She is comfortable with all religions and visits a garden with statues to all the major religions of the world. Cami has lived in San Francisco and now lives in L.A.
I live in Greenville, South Carolina at the heart of the Bible Belt. I believe in one God, the Bible and Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation. When I meditate, it’s on the scripture For me to be too ecumenical detracts from the God I worship-the God who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I am leery of vegan diets, alternative health plans, acupuncture, and idols to other gods.
Yet, I have been profoundly impacted by 29 Gifts. Cami is unflinchingly honest. She shares her bouts with self-pity and squabbles with her husband as freely as she shares her acts of generosity.
Cami’s gifts often do not involve major planning. Nor is the giving out of obligation- . Don’t we all know people who give out of martyrdom rather than joy? Cami’s kind of giving is motivated by giving others delight, like making a meal for husband or finding that just right present. She also talks about receiving gifts graciously from others.
It’s clear that setting out to give 29 gifts changed Cami’s life. Her health improved, she was able to get her business going again.
Lest anyone thinks I have donated a kidney to my ex-husband, my two main gifts to others have been handling out water bottles and picking up trash in my neighborhood while walking the dog. I haven’t even focused on doing something daily just being open to opportunities. (like carrying a cooler in my car.)
I have had a difficult year of facing unemployment and limited resources. This book has challenged me to live out my Christianity, be grateful and to get over myself. It has aided me in my spiritual struggle to leave the past behind and put away negative thinking.
I have been in a reading funk lately. Even as a librarian, I find myself having a hard time connecting with that just right book. Usually my motto is “So Many Books-so little time.”
Life feels stressful at present and I want pure escapism. Perhaps I’ve worked so hard reading children’s books for this blog that I haven’t found time to read for me. Usually when I walk into a library, I feel like a kid in a candy store. But sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the choices. My reading life has never fit in to simple categories.
One great cure for the reading funk is the Novelist Online Database. It’s available on most public library’s webpages. Library employees will be happy to share this resource with you. Novelist recommends books for adults, teens and children. It links back to the library catalog so you can reserve the book
Novelist can…
Once you locate a book, there are book reviews, age range, lexile levels and subject headings. I have been using Novelist and Novelist K-8 for years. I have yet to tap into to all the resources available.
Novelist is a great tool for teachers and homeschoolers. It’s easy to find books that supplement the curriculum. Historical fiction can be a great way to help students grasp history. Parents can also use Novelist to help children explore their interests. This database has evolved over time to meet the changing needs of its users.
Novelist is as its best recommending books to upper elementary, teens and adults. The upper elementary years can be a golden age of reading. . During this time, children begin getting more specific in their reading choices. If we want children to enjoy reading, we need to offer them lots of choices. There will be more competition for entertainment as children reach their teens. Finding the right books for children and teens is a key ingredient in creating lifelong readers. Novelist is a great tool in this process.
April 12, 2016 was Beverly Cleary’s 100th birthday. Here are a few of the books that she has written:
Otis loves to stir up excitement at school. He especially loves to pick on Ellen Tebbits, perhaps because she is so neat, clean and well behaved.
When Otis goes too far, Ellen and her best friend, Augustine, seek revenge. Will Otis get what he deserves?
When Keith’s family stays at an old hotel, Keith meets a talking mouse who rides his toy motorcycle. Ralph S. Mouse becomes a hero for Keith and his family.
Other books about Ralph’s adventures are Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse.
Henry Huggins wants to do something important, like Scooter, the seventh grader on his street, who delivers papers. Getting a paper route isn’t as easy as it looks, especially when you show up for the interview, hiding four kittens in your sweatshirt.
Henry is quite enterprising and works hard to achieve his ambitions, even when that pesky Ramona gets in his way.
This is the first book where Ramona emerges as the main character. Although this book is written from a kindergartner’s perspective, the audience for this book will be older children who will find Ramona’s antics amusing . Other Ramona books are Ramona and Her Mother, Ramona and Her Father, Ramona the Brave, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
Leigh Botts is the new kid in town. His parents have recently separated and someone keeps stealing his lunch. Leigh shares his daily troubles with his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw.
This is a very different book for Beverly Cleary. It received high critical acclaim including the 1984 Newbery Medal.
About 10 years ago, I fell in love with audiobooks. I felt torn because I had adult books I wanted to read and prize winning children’s books that also deserved my attention. Audiobooks became part of the solution! I began looking forward to my time in the car.
Audiobooks can be enjoyed by the whole family. Consider taking them along on your next road trip. For this post, I have selected audiobooks that families can enjoy listening to together.
On the Reading Rockets Website, Denise Johnson lists these benefits of listening to audiobooks.
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The Harry Potter books are among other things, hilarious, but never more so when they are narrated by Jim Dale who creates over 200 voices and special effects for all the wizards, muggles, goblins and house elfs that pass through Hogwarts. The Harry Potter volumes are among the top selling audiobooks of all time. Children who have already read these books will notice things they missed.
Country music singer and actor, Lyle Lovett, brings Kathi Appelt’s adventure tale, The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp to life. Two raccoon scouts, Bingo and J’miah are trained to wake the Sugarman, a Yeti like creature, in the event of trouble. And trouble is coming! Jaeger Stitch, world-class alligator wrestler, plans to turn the peaceful swamp into to the world’s tackiest theme park. To make matters worse, a gang of feral hogs are headed toward the swamp. Lovett has the perfect southern drawl. This story will appeal to a wide range of ages.
I raved over Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan’s Echo in an earlier post. (https://librarianlou.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/for-music-and-history-lovers-2/) This recording helps complete the book. The harmonica pieces are printed in each section, but its not the same as hearing the music which will be more familiar to parents than their children.
In the section set in Nazi Germany, the heavy but clear German accents are vital in creating the characters of evil Nazi leaders as well as the kind voices of Frederich’s father and uncle. Dialogue that looks confusing in print will be clearer in the audio version. Echo won the 2016 Newbery Honor Award and the audiobook won one of two 2016 Odyssey Awards for outstanding productions in children’s recordings.
Don’t let the costs of audiobooks discourage you. Many are available at the public library. Services like Audible are also making these books more accessible.
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