Monday, January 28, 2019

Ms. Mary's Monday Review

February is Black History Month, and a great way to spotlight contributions by African Americans is to focus on books about Alabamians.  We have several books about George Washington Carver, who is one of my personal heroes.  He stayed in the state of Alabama to help farmers even after he was offered a job that would make him wealthy in another state.  The biography by Michelle Jovin is on A. R. level 3.5.  Why not read this book to learn more about his helpful inventions?

Friday, January 18, 2019

Ms. Mary's Monday Review




Does your child like to be scared just a little bit?  Please read Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds to see why Jasper Rabbit is worried!  You will love it as much as your child will.  It has such a cute ending, and you may never eat root vegetables again without looking at them carefully.  We have two copies of this Caldecott Honor book in our Easy section of the Youth Services Department.  It's on Accelerated Reader level 2.3.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Ms. Mary's Monday Review

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin tells of how a boy quickly changes into a young man, recognizing the serious deceptions and cruelties of Communist Russia.  This historical fiction book tells about two contradictory days in the life of ten-year-old Sasha Zaichik.  Decatur Public Library has this Newbery Honor book, and we also have the kit, containing the book, a two-hour audiobook cd set, and some comprehension questions for follow-up. 
 If you like this book, try reading another of Mr. Yelchin's books, Arcady's Goal, from our Juvenile Fiction section. 
Please let us know what you think of these books!

My Top 5 from 2018


My Top 5 favorite books of 2018



Without a doubt, the Young Adult section is my go-to section of the library. So it’s no wonder that my top 5 would be anything less. This past year I re-read and discovered a lot of Young Adult books, but narrowing it down to my top five was easy. Of this list, 2 books were written by debut authors of 2018, 1 was a 2016 Teens Top Ten nominee, 1 is a contemporary retelling of a beloved fairy tale and the last is one of the most exciting space opera’s I’ve ever read. Here's my list!