Reid’s Read-Alouds: Selections for Children and Teens by Rob Reid

Rob Reid, the author of the popular Book Links magazine column “The Reid-Aloud Alert” offers his suggestions  for books that work well as read-alouds for children and teens.  Reid says, “The books that were chosen for this collection are a mixture of strong read-alouds aimed at readers from elementary school through high school.  I looked for variety and a balance of genres, topics, and perspectives, particularly in regard to gender.  Some of the books are award winners, and some will cause literary critics to roll their eyes.  They all appeal to young listeners, however.”  Not only does Reid offer summaries and age ranges, for each book he gives instructions for a 10-Minute Selection, such as the following for Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler: “Read chapter 1, which opens with the actual kidnapping.  Ella is alone in the house with Sam.  Their parents are out, and Finn has snuck out to be with his friend.  Ella hears a strange tapping noise downstairs.  She investigates and freezes in horror.  ‘Reflected in the glass was a figure standing behind her in the doorway.’ She eludes him at first, but he eventually overpowers her and takes her away.”

Usborne Illustrated Fairy Tales

Check out this new book by Usborne that includes 10 favorite fairy tales in one small (very heavy!) book.  Includes: Sleeping Beauty, The Emperor and the Nightingale, Beauty and the Beast, The Dragon Painter, The Frog Prince, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The Swan Princess, The Emperor’s New Clothes. 

Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff & Craig Hatkoff

Do you like books about animals?  This new book by the authors of Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World and Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship tells the story of a 3-month-old bottlenose dolphin who was rescued from a crab trap in Florida.  Not only was she exhausted from her struggle to free herself from the trap, but her tail was damaged beyond repair.  She was rushed to Clearwater Marine Aquarium where she was nursed back to health, but her tail fell off, and she couldn’t swim properly without it.  This book tells the amazing story of a dolphin being fitted with the first-ever prosthetic tail!  

New book: The Real Spy’s Guide to Becoming a Spy by Peter Earnest with Suzanne Harper

This is the official handbook for anyone who dreams of one day becoming a spy and working in the intelligence field, written by the founding executive director of the International Spy Museum, who is also a former operative in the CIA’s Clandestine Service.  Have you ever wondered what spies really do?  What kind of training is involved? Do you have to go to a special school or take a polygraph test? How do you live your cover? How does your work life affect your relationships with your friends and family?  Is there danger involved?  This fascinating, fact-filled book answers these questions and more while providing a historical timeline, definitions of key terms, suggestions for further reading, quizzes, and exercises to see if you have the right spy stuff. 

Book Share Book Suggestions

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Kids who attended the Dec. 30 Book Share at the main library suggested the following books:

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Carnival Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

A Dog Called Grk by Joshua Doder

My Haunted House by Angie Sage

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

Sam & Friends by Mary Labatt

The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes by Kelly Easton

Blizzard of the Blue Moon by Mary Pope Osborne

Islington Library Book Share

Here are the books recommended at the November Grades 3 - 5 Book Share

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Claire: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Down Girl by Lucy Nolan

I, Jack by Patricia Finney

Three Good Deeds by Vivian Velde

Zarele: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Calvin and Hobs by Bill Watterson

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Maria: Puppy Place by Ellen Milles

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Anne: Just Grace by Charise Harper

Jessica: The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Cait: 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents by Lee Wardlaw

New Series: Jack Russell: Dog Detective

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Jack’s Facts:

Dogs understand what humans say.

Humans think they understand what dogs say.

Therefore, dogs are smarter than humans.

This is a fact.

Jack Russell, Dog Detective, lives with his owner Sarge, a police detective.  Sarge solves crimes, but, as Jack puts it, “Sarge detects human-type crimes.  I detect important crimes.”  Each book in this series is a hilarious recounting of Jack’s discovery of, and solving of, an important crime –important to dogs, that is.  To help him in solving a crime, Jack makes a “nose map” (a way of storing information collected by the nose), which might include things like “A place under the tree where a cat sat last Thursday.”  In case you are confused, each chapter has a glossary with entries such as “Daching.  The way dachshunds move about.”