Children's Books Extravaganza!!

I have two fall projects courtesy of my professors. Typically homework makes me cringe, but say HELLLOOO to my favorite classes: Materials for Youth, and Adult Reader's Advisory. As a library science student I need to be able to assist patrons with book suggestions, whether I know anything about the genres/authors/titles they're interested in or not, so classes like these are vital to boost my knowledge base and confidence. Well time to tell you about my projects...READ BOOKS!!! For my children's class my on going project is to read at least 70 children's and YA's books (40 picture books & 30 novels). For my adult's class I need to read 3 novels from different genres.

Well I've taken on my children's project head on. So now to share with you some of my favorite titles thus far.

"I Stink" by Kate and Jim McMullan is a fun, short picture book. Catchy title right?? I saw it and giggled, so just think what a kid would think. They'd love it! The pictures are cartoonish with lots of color. This is a book about...no not me!...about a garbage truck and what he does, so not only is it a fun read, with lots of noises and a talking dump truck, but it's informative. Here's a great book for a little one and a book I see being a favorite of many children. Great for young kids 2+.


"Scarecrow Pete" by Mark Kimball Moulton. The drawings are reminiscent of autumn, which is why I was originally drawn to this book. It's a well illustrated picture book about one of my favorite subjects, BOOKS! A boy finds a talking scarecrow in his family's vegetable patch and Pete, the scarecrow, helps him discover that books are a great way to learn, travel the world, and have fun. Pete and the boy have a good old time reading classics like "Moby Dick", "Peter Pan" and "The Wizard of Oz". The text rhymes, so it's a fun read-out-loud book for parents and their children. I think this one is good for kids who are reading or starting to read.

"You and Me and Home Sweet Home" by George Ella Lyon is such a sweet and time appropriate book. The girl and her mother in this book do not have a home and are forced to live in a relative's back room until neighbors and friends build them a home. In the current social climate with tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes taking down homes and communities left and right, this is a book that resonates with plenty of people across our nation. I was touched by the building efforts and thought the book was tasteful and well written. This is a great book to show kids that not everyone has what they have and to be thankful along with showing that helping others is important. Good for 4+ kids.


Well that's all for now. I'll get to some big kid reads soon enough, and hopefully I'll still be able to keep up with my own leisure reading, but I'm not complaining about my "homework". Silly teachers must have forgotten that homework is supposed to be miserable. Me=1, Professors=0.