What Should Oliver Read Next?

Hi, everyone! Oliver here, back from my summer break, to bring you my next highly an-hiss-tipated book review! Today’s story comes from the book The Princess of Shoes, where a very lucky princess gets to have thousands of shoes to pick from every day to match all her pretty gowns. Sometimes she will have multiple shoes for just one outfit! Can you imagine? I only have one pair of shoes to wear each day, and I even have a hard time keeping those clean. But soon, the princess grows tired of her oodles of shoes and spots a new pair she just has to own. As the princess makes her way into town, she soon discovers a new fur-end who offers to help the princess in her quest to find her new shoes. The princess begins to have so much fun with her new friend that she kind of fur-gets all about shoes. But when she sees that her fur-end, as well as others, doesn’t have nearly as nice shoes as the princess does, she starts feline not so good about all the shoes she has back in her castle. But then the princess has a meow-ment of genius! She can share her thousands of shoes with everyone! Now everyone can have a beautiful pair of shoes and feel special in their own way.

Thanks to my fur-end Cordelia for recommending today’s book. Be sure to check it out in our children’s department or fur other paws-itively good books. Until next time, fur-ends!

Fast Five Fiction: New Halloween Books

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. Our holiday books are always popular in the fall so today, as Halloween approaches, I'm sharing some books new to our Holiday shelves. 

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Spooky, Scary Skeletons by Andrew Gold

Spooky, scary skeletons...will send shivers down your spine in this adorable sing-along picture book based on the TikTok viral song by Andrew Gold.

Follow along as five little skeletons go trick-or-treating on Halloween night. But when they take their scares too far, can a skeleton dance save the day?

Andrew Gold released "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" in 1996. Since then, it has become a viral sensation, with over 8 billion views on both YouTube and TikTok... and counting! Now, fans of all ages can sing along to the complete lyrics, which have been paired with playful illustrations.

Spooky, scary skeletons
Speak with such a screech--
You'll SHAKE and SHUDDER in surprise
When you hear these zombies shriek.

An ideal read-aloud for Halloween or ANY time of year, this is sure to become a cherished part of family bookshelves for years to come.

Trick or Treat on Scary Street by Lance Bass

From musical superstar Lance Bass, this quirky and surprising Halloween story is perfect for trick-or-treaters who love extra tricks and treats.

Come one. Come all. Come follow thirteen trick-or-treaters down Scary Street. Dare to stop at the vampire's lair? Tempted to take a bite of the witch's delight? How about a peek inside a ghostly haunt? Who will make it to the end . . . and what last trick (or treat) awaits? Celebrate the thrills and chills of the season with this unforgettable trip down Scary Street!

I've got the Spooky Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison

It's spooky season! Award-winning creators Frank Morrison and Connie Schofield-Morrison celebrate Halloween with their delightful series.

It's October, and that means it's time to carve pumpkins, hang up spooky decorations, and host a big ghosty dance party!

This girl hears the spooky spirit howling in the windy, misty gloom--SWOOM, SWOOP, SWOOSH! She dances with other ghouls and goblins--MONSTER MASH! She trades candy with her new spooky friend--CRACKLE CRUNCH!

Halloween may only be one night, but she knows the spooky spirit will be back next year.

In this exciting addition to the series including I Got the Rhythm, I Got the Christmas Spirit, and I Got the School Spirit, readers can explore the traditions of another fun holiday!

Trunk or Treat by Chris Ayala-Kronos

A festive Halloween picture book inspired by the abundantly decorated cars and trucks, snazzy costumes, and sweet treats of community-centric Trunk-or-Treat events!

Snazzy costumes, spooky decorations, and sticky candy...all on WHEELS! This rhyming Halloween picture book appeals to car and vehicle lovers with an ode to the growing Trunk-or-Treat trend.

Trunk-or-Treats have been gaining in popularity the last few years as a safer alternative or addition to classic door-to-door trick-or-treating. Follow a family as they attend a community Trunk-or-Treat during the Halloween season!

¡Vamos! Let's Celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos by Raúl the Third

Little Lobo is celebrating two big holidays this fall!

On Halloween, Little Lobo and his friends dress up in costumes, trick-or-treat for candy, and share spooky stories. Then everyone in the town prepares food, drinks, and other gifts and decorates the cemetery with ofrendas so they can enjoy Día de los Muertos with the spirits of the people they love. Join Little Lobo and his friends as they celebrate!

Full of easy-to-remember Spanish vocabulary and packed with cultural details, this colorful story of two fall holidays brings the celebrations of this border town to readers everywhere!

Happy Friday and happy reading!

Fast Five Fiction: Not-so-spooky chapter books

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. As we get closer to Halloween, our spooky books have been flying off our shelves! This week I've got some spooky - but not too spooky books for middle grade readers. 

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Stinetinglers by R.L. Stine

A boy who hates bugs starts to see them everywhere. A basketball player’s skin starts to almost drip off his hands―but no one else can see it. Three friends find a hole in the ground that just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger... And each story is introduced by Stine himself, providing a personal touch sure to delight fans.

Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes

One two, the Caretaker’s coming for you. Three-four, you’ll breathe no more. Five-six, you’ll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you’ll meet your fate.

 
Rafael Fuentes isn’t easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa’s incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.

 
To take his mind off his mom’s return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he’s ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond. . . and they don’t ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life―and only he can stop him.

Tales to Keep you Up at Night by Dan Poblocki

Amelia is cleaning out her grandmother's attic when she stumbles across a book: Tales to Keep You Up at Night. But when she goes to the library to return it, she's told that the book never belonged there. Curious, she starts to read the stories: tales of strange incidents in nearby towns, of journal entries chronicling endless, twisting pumpkin vines, birthday parties gone awry, and cursed tarot decks. And at the center of the stories lies a family of witches. And witches, she's told, can look like anyone...

As elements from the stories begin to come to life around her, and their eerie connections become clear, Amelia begins to realize that she may be in a spooky story of her own...

With hair-raising, spine-chilling prose, Dan Poblocki delivers a collection of interconnected stories that, if you're anything like Amelia, is sure to keep you up late in the night.

The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy

A suspenseful and atmospheric horror set in 1980s Oregon, perfect for fans of Stranger Things, Neil Gaiman, and Margaret Peterson Haddix, from New York Times bestselling author and the Decemberists' lead singer/songwriter, Colin Meloy.

Maybe Archie Coomes has been watching too many horror movies.

All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. An odd man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an ax chopping in the middle of the night.

He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad's construction company opened up the cliff beneath the old--some say cursed--Langdon place.

Soon, though, he and his friends can't deny it: more and more of the adults in town are acting strangely. An ancient, long-buried evil has been unleashed upon the community, and it's up to the kids to stop it before it's too late. . . .

Disney Chills series by Vera Strange

Disney Chills is a  middle-grade anthology horror series in the vein of Goosebumps. Each book in the series focuses on a child making a deal with a Disney Villain, such as Ursula, Dr. Facilier, or Captain Hook, and the terrible price they pay for having their wishes granted.

The books feature moral lessons on social issues kids face, including popularity versus true friendship and not compromising yourself to fit in, and how making supernatural deals isn't the way to go. 

Happy Friday and happy reading!

Fast Five Fiction: ADHD Awareness Month

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. October is ADHD Awarenss Month. The 2024 theme is Awareness is Key! and their hope is to increase awareness and understanding by sharing ADHD information and supports with all who could benefit. Though estimates on how many people have the condition vary, it's incredibly likely that someone you know has an ADHD diagnosis. Reading fiction can help readers understand and empathize with people who have ADHD, so today I'll be sharing 5 fantastic books featuring characters with ADHD. 

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads. 

Focused by Alyson Gerber

Clea can't control her thoughts. She knows she has to do her homework . . . but she gets distracted. She knows she can't just say whatever thought comes into her head . . . but sometimes she can't help herself. She knows she needs to focus . . . but how can she do that when the people around her are always chewing gum loudly or making other annoying noises?

It's starting to be a problem-not just in school, but when Clea's playing chess or just hanging out with her best friend. Other kids are starting to notice. When Clea fails one too many tests, her parents take her to be tested, and she finds out that she has ADHD, which means her attention is all over the place instead of where it needs to be.

Clea knows life can't continue the way it's been going. She's just not sure how you can fix a problem that's all in your head. But that's what she's going to have to do, to find a way to focus.

Hannah Edwards: Secrets of Riverway

This authentic ADHD reimagining of Hamlet is an unconventional take on a classic-that's also a mystery. 

Cheer on Hannah Edwards in this exciting mystery and relatable coming-of-age story about ADHD, friendship, school, and family. Hannah has a lot on her mind. Her father--the Canola King--is missing, and no one in her small town seems to care. With the support of her best friend Sam Castillo, and their sidekick Tim the Hall Monitor, Hannah embarks on a journey to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance. Along the way, she uncovers secrets that she records in her journal, confronts challenges in school due to her ADHD, talks to a ghost, and learns the true meaning of determination and friendship.

Button Pusher by Tyler Page

Tyler's brain is different. Unlike his friends, he has a hard time paying attention in class. He acts out in goofy, over-the-top ways. Sometimes, he even does dangerous things--like cut up a bus seat with a pocketknife or hang out of an attic window.

To the adults in his life, Tyler seems like a troublemaker. But he knows that he's not. Tyler is curious and creative. He's the best artist in his grade, and when he can focus, he gets great grades. He doesn't want to cause trouble, but sometimes he just feels like he can't control himself.

In Button Pusher, cartoonist Tyler Page uses his own childhood experiences to explore what it means to grow up with ADHD. From diagnosis to treatment and beyond, Tyler's story is raw and enlightening, inviting you to see the world from a new perspective.

A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin

Max wishes he could go back in time to before he was diagnosed with ADHD, before he grew to be the tallest kid in his class, and before he and his best friends went into the woods in the middle of the night. Max doesn't remember what happened after he left his friends Will and Joey and the older kids who took them there. He's not sure if he wants to remember. Knowing isn't going to make Joey talk to him again, or bring Will out of his coma.

When the local authorities run out of leads, Max realizes that without his help, they may never know what really happened to Will. Charged by the idea that he may be the key to uncovering the truth, Max pairs up with classmate and aspiring journalist Sam to investigate what really happened that night. But not everyone in the community wants that night to be remembered.

Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya

Emilia Torres has a wandering mind. It's hard for her to follow along at school, and sometimes she forgets to do what her mom or abuela asks. But she remembers what matters: a time when her family was whole and home made sense. When Dad returns from deployment, Emilia expects that her life will get back to normal. Instead, it unravels.

Dad shuts himself in the back stall of their family's auto shop to work on an old car. Emilia peeks in on him daily, mesmerized by his welder. One day, Dad calls Emilia over. Then, he teaches her how to weld. And over time, flickers of her old dad reappear.

But as Emilia finds a way to repair the relationship with her father at home, her community ruptures with some of her classmates, like her best friend, Gus, at the center of the conflict.

Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya is a tender story about asking big questions and being brave enough to reckon with the answers.

Happy Friday and happy reading!

Fast Five Fiction: Fat Bear Week

It's Friday and time for Fast Five Fiction! Each week I share five fiction books: new books, notable books, books around a common theme. We've been celebrating Fat Bear Week at the library with take and makes, a scavenger hunt, livestream bear cam bingo and are having a special Family Storytime this Saturday so today's recommendations are all bear-centric. 

Click the title to be directed to the book in our catalog. Book descriptions are from Goodreads.

Bear has a Belly by Jane Whittingham

In this multilayered Big, Little Concepts book for preschoolers, explore body parts along with animals and celebrate the differences and similarities of our wonderful bodies.

A soft, round belly,
Bear has a belly.
I do too!

Do you have a nose like Fox, cheeks like Squirrel, and a tongue like Frog does? In rhythmic text perfect for an energetic read-aloud, Bear Has a Belly points out Moose's legs, Otter's back, and Duck's feet, inviting little ones to chime in with every body part they share in common. Bright photographs of the animal friends are paired with images of real children of diverse backgrounds and abilities who are joyfully engaging with that body part.

Bear Bottom by Stuart Gibbs

Teddy Fitzroy, his family, and some other FunJungle employees have been invited to visit a bison ranch just outside Yellowstone National Park that FunJungle's owner, J.J. McCracken, is considering purchasing. But as usual, trouble isn't far behind.

The ranch's endangered bison have been mysteriously disappearing. Then a massive local grizzly bear named Sasquatch breaks into the house, causing chaos. In the aftermath, Kandace McCracken discovers that her exceptionally expensive sapphire necklace has vanished.

Was it stolen? Or did Sasquatch eat it? (And if so, can it be recovered?) And what's been happening to the bison?

With over a dozen suspects, it's up to Teddy to detangle this hairy situation, before his family or friends--or any more expensive objects--become dinner.

Bruce series by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce the bear likes to keep to himself. That, and eat eggs. But when his hard-boiled goose eggs turn out to be real, live goslings, he starts to lose his appetite. And even worse, the goslings are convinced he's their mother. Bruce tries to get the geese to go south, but he can't seem to rid himself of his new companions. What's a bear to do?

Seekers series by Erin Hunter

The first book in a thrilling animal fantasy series following the epic journey of three bears. When three young bears from different species—black, polar, and grizzly—are separated from their families, fate brings them together on a path that will change their lives forever. Along the way, they will face great danger, terrible tragedies, new landscapes, and situations that require all their ingenuity to survive.

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre

Can you eat like a bear?

A sleepy bear awakes in spring and goes to find food. But what is there to eat in April? In May? Follow along and eat like a bear throughout the year: fish from a stream, ants from a tree, and delicious huckleberries from a bush. Fill up your belly and prepare for the long winter ahead, when you'll snuggle into your warm den and snore like a bear once again.

Happy Friday and happy reading!