Chapter Book Chips - "Wild Girl" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Twelve-year-old Lidie is a wild girl, who lives to ride horses. Lidie's mother died long ago and she has been separated from her father and brother. They went to New York to make a living raising and training horses. She has lived in Brazil with her aunt and uncle. But now the day has come and she is finally off to reunite with her father and brother and be a real family once again. But things don't go smoothly. Her father and brother still think of her as a little girl. Lidie has problems at her new school. And most frustrating of all, no one seems to understand what a strong rider she is. While Lidie's story unfolds, another story spins out in this book. A young foal, Wild Girl, is born but separated from her mother and taken to a new stable far away. The young foal and Lidie cross paths and each helps the other adjust to their new lives. This is a wonderful story about the bond between people and animals and the love and support you find with your family. This book is for grades four and five. -gw-

Check our catalog for this title.

New Book Review: Tollins: Explosive Tales For Children

Tollins: Explosive Tales For Children

by Conn Iggulden

(J Iggulden) (2009)

For ages 10 and up.

A tollin is not a fairy. Tollins are bigger and not very delicate. They have wings to get them from flower to flower, but not much farther than that. They can wrestle bees. They cannot be seen by humans, that is, until humans realized they could see a tollin if they wore specially filtered glasses.

These particular tollins live near a human Fireworks Factory. One day a tollin accidentally gets shot off in a firework experiment. Gradually humans deduce that the here-to-fore unknown tollins are what give the fireworks that extra "bang." With the invention of special glasses the humans can find and collect tollins for their fireworks. One clever tollin stumbles upon a way to save his kind, but he must break their number one rule to do it.

This book has three stories about tollins: How To Blow Up Tollins, Sparkler and the Purple Death, and Windbags and Dark Tollins. The illustrations, part photograph and part drawing are exceptional. The book starts off with a cast of characters and a map, a la J.R.R. Tolkein. It is a humorous tale that is sure to catch children's attention and keep them intrigued and amused. It is at a 3rd-4th grade reading level.

-sc-

New Book Review: Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Can you imagine living on Alcatraz, an island housing a prison of the worst convicts, while notorious gangster Al Capone is there? Well Moose Flanagan does, because his dad is a prison guard. This suspenseful new book by Gennifer Choldenko tells the adventures of Moose and the other kids that live on the island--Jimmy is obsessed with training flies, Annie plays baseball better than most boys, Piper is a troublemaker and the warden's daughter, Janet is a busybody, and Natalie is Moose's autistic sister.

This is the second book about Moose's story, and while you will understand the plot and characters without reading the first book (Al Capone Does My Shirts) I would recommend reading the other book first. This will just add to your enjoyment of this book, which has five times the excitement of the first one. Moose has received a secret favor from Al Capone and now Capone wants a favor in return! Moose deals with girl and friend trouble and a major moral dilemma, but he manages to be a hero both to his family and the whole island. I'd like to tell you more, but I don't want to ruin any surprises. This book will definitely have you on the edge of your seat!

Find this in the catalog. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

City of Beaverton Tree Lighting and Open House, Friday, December 4, 2009

Plan to attend the 6th annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Open House on Friday, December 4, 2009 beginning at 5:30 p.m here at the Beaverton City Library. Between 5:30 and 6:50 p.m., the City of Beaverton will hold an open house inside the library, with a children's holiday craft workshop presented by Radio Disney and light refresments provided by Costco and the City of Beaverton. You can visit several booths to find out more about City programs, events and projects. And you will have a chance to meet Santa!

At 6:50, walk down Candy Cane Lane from the open house to the tree lighting program outside in City Park. Radio Disney, Beaverton Youth Cheer and a local choir will perform before the 110-foot Ponderosa Pine is lit with more than 13,000 LED lights. There will also be drawings for tickets to various events including the Portland Auto Show and a Disney production of Beauty and the Beast.

At 8:00 p.m. the Beaverton Civic Theater will present "It's a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play" in the library auditorium. Tickets are $5.00 with a new toy donation to the TVFR Toy and Joy drive. Otherwise, general admission is $15.00, $12.00 for students, seniors and groups and $5.00 for children ten and under.

For more information, please visit the City of Beaverton web site. In the case of inclement weather, check they City's website or call (503)350-4097 after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the tree lighting for updated information. -gw-

Chapter Book Chips - "A Season of Gifts" by Richard Peck

If you enjoyed reading Richard Peck's Newbery-award book "A Year Down Yonder" and his Newbery honor book "A Long Way From Chicago" be sure to check out "A Season of Gifts". The year is 1958 and Grandma Dowdel is still a force to be reckoned with. A new family has moved in next door to her and 12-year-old Bob is convinced Mrs. Dowdel's house is haunted. Bob, his older sister Phyllis and his younger sister Ruth Ann are the new kids in town and "P.K's", or preacher's kids. Their dad is a minister, trying to fix up a rundown church and find a congregation. Over the course of an eventful autumn and the Christmas holiday, Bob and his family come to know and love Grandma Dowdel and appreciate her generous, if slightly eccentric, spirit. My favorite part of the story is when Mrs. Dowdel puts 12-year-old Bob behind the wheel of his family's car and they set off to chop down a Christmas tree. It is a ride you won't forget. This is a great book for fifth and sixth graders making the step to Young Adult books and is a wonderful holiday story. You will find yourself chuckling and with tears in your eyes at the bond that forms between this family and their remarkable neighbor. -gw-


Check our catalog for this title.

More Holiday Picture Books

The Beaverton City Library has more brand new holiday picture books we want to tell you about. It's beginning to look a lot like reading!


The Sound of Kwanzaa by Dimitrea Tokunbo
Bright, bold illustrations help explain the seven principles of this holiday.

Check our catalog for this title.

Hoppy Hanukkah! by Linda Glaser
In this cozy story, Violet and Simon learn all about the traditions of Hanukkah.

Check our catalog for this title.

Mama, Will It Snow Tonight? by Nancy White Carlstrom
Oh, please say yes!

Check our catalog for this title.

Hanukkah Lights by David Martin
Gentle illustrations and simple text help explain this holiday to the very youngest child.

Check our catalog for this title.

Carl's Snowy Afternoon by Alexandra Day
Carl and baby Madeleine go sledding, skating and build a snowman on their snowy afternoon outing.

Check our catalog for this title.

-gw-

Spend Some Time in the 500s

A Selection of Super Cool Science Books

Actual Size
By Steve Jenkins
(J 591.41 JEN)

Paper collage illustrations bring texture and life to the animals that fill the pages of this book. Each page features a new animal or two shown at actual scale along with a few fascinating facts.

Find this title in our catalog

Spiders
By Nic Bishop
( J595.4 BIS)


Nic Bishop's detailed nature photographs give readers a close-up look at the creepy, crawly world of spiders.


Find this title in our catalog

11 Planets: A New View Of The Solar System
By David Aguilar
(J 523.2 AGU)

A beautifully illustrated and current account of what is going on in our solar system.

Find this title in our catalog


When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm
By Hannah Bonner
(J 560 BON)

If you think dinosaurs were take a look at the toothy placoderms or the ruthless Pterygotus, a giant relative of the scorpion that could get up to six feet long! This book takes you on a factual, yet humorous, journey through evolution with some of the earliest life-forms on our planet.

Find this title in our catalog

New book Review: Vegetarian Food

Susannah Blake
2009, 24 pages
For ages 9 and up

I just can’t get enough of cook books! Here’s a new one that will get your tummy growling with some yummy recipes just in time for Thanksgiving. Learn your way around the kitchen making tricolore salad, hummus, or chunky pasta and many more delicious vegetarian recipes.
These appetizers, sides, and main dishes are easy to follow with numbered steps several informative photographs and added information in handy green boxes to learn more about the food you eat (like why onions make your eyes water, or what a potato tuber is). These books are perfect for kids taking the lead in the kitchen, with only a little help needed for stove and oven work.
Just make sure that you read all the instructions for these recipes before you begin. It looks like a few may be out of order.
For more cook books for kids click here.

-JW-

Chapter Book Chips - "N.E.R.D.S." by Michael Buckley

Jackson Jones was the coolest kid at Nathan Hale Elementary School, until the fateful day he got braces. This unfortunate event ended Jackson's career as king of the school. Friendless and alone, Jackson begins to notice something unusual about the other social outcasts at his school. One day, he follows them and steps through a locker door into the world of the N.E.R.D.S. - the National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society. Jackson longs to join the team with his new "enhanced" braces and team nickname "Braceface." But will his past as the school bully and his failure at N.E.R.D.S. training keep him from helping to save the world? Or will his career as a secret agent be stopped by his sentence to after-school detention? Be sure and take a ride on the "school bus" to Nathan Hale Elementary and watch out for the school cafeteria lady and especially the school janitor.

Check our catalog for this title.

-gw-

Chapter Book Chips - "The Revenge of the Itty-Bitty Brothers" by Lin Oliver

Daniel Funk is back for another toe-sized adventure with his "little" brother, Pablo. You haven't met Daniel? Let me tell you about him. He is a normal, average grade school boy who loves to torment his three sisters. His mom is a vet, and he lives with his sisters, his mom, and his two grandmothers. Daniel's dad has died. Oh, and one more thing. When Daniel "giccups" he shrinks down to the size of his fourth toe. And Daniel has a twin brother, Pablo. Pablo stays toe-sized all the time. The only other person in Daniel's family who knows about Pablo is Great Granny Nanny. Now that Daniel has mastered the art of shrinking and resizing back to normal whenever he wants, he and Pablo and Granny Nanny plan a fun day off from school. They surf big waves in the bath tub and snowboard down a hot fudge sundae. But their best fun idea is to launch themselves in the model rocket Daniel has constructed for Science Club. Except the launch takes place over the famous La Brea Tar Pits. Will they make it out or will they become one with the tar? Find out by reading "The Revenge of the Itty-Bitty Brothers" by Lin Oliver.

Check our catalog for this title.

And be sure and check out the first two Daniel Funk adventures: Attack of the Growling Eyeballs and Escape of the Mini-Mummy.
-gw-

CHAPTER CHIPS - Love, Aubrey

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were in charge? What if you could stay up as late as you wanted, wear what you wanted, and even buy your own food at the grocery store? Aubrey opens her story with this line: “It was fun at first, playing house.” When mom never came back, playing house wasn’t fun anymore. It was scary. Now Aubrey spent her days trying to keep adults from finding out that she was alone in the house. That meant no answering the phone, no opening the door when people knocked, and certainly not having friends over. Finally, Gran, after not getting any answers by phone, came for a personal visit, and wouldn’t take “No” for an answer when Aubrey didn’t want to let her in. Unwilling for Gran to take her all the way to Vermont with her, Aubrey destroys her ticket just before the train is ready to leave. Gran sends Aubrey right back to the ticket counter to buy another ticket. With love, honesty, and wisdom, Gran helps Aubrey, and later, her mom, sort out the pain and trauma of losing dad and Savannah in a car accident. When Aubrey is ready, she is allowed to decide whether to return to Virginia to live with Mom. Along the journey, Aubrey writes letters to Savannah in which she remembers how things used to be, and makes a wonderful friend, Bridget, who accepts that sometimes Aubrey might not act the way other kids would in the same situation.

Check our catalog for this title.

Holiday Picture Books

The library has added some wonderful new picture books for the upcoming holidays. Enjoy one of these new titles as you get ready for this magical time of year.

A Pinata in a Pine Tree: a Latino Twelve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora
An adaptation of the famous song featuring words in Spanish and traditions from many Latin American countries.

Check our catalog for this title.





That's Good! That's Bad! on Santa's Journey by Margery Cuyler
Santa is suddenly accident-prone. Will the presents get where they need to go?

Check our catalog for this title.





The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup
These gingerbread pirates battle Santa for the cookies on Chrismtas Eve.

Check our catalog for this title.






Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star by Petr Horacek
Wait till you see the star Suzy tries to put on the Christmas tree!

Check our catalog for this title.







Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor
Nancy's special Christmas tree topper gets broken. Will Christmas be ruined?

Check our catalog for this title.

We'll have more holiday books a little later in the month. Happy Reading!
-gw-

Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum Aerospace Book Club

The library will host the Aerospace Book Club on Monday, Novmeber 30, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Enjoy a fascinating story about aviation and participate in a fun science activity and craft. This program is for kindergarten through grade three and accompanying adult.
Registration is required. Please phone (503)350-3600 to register or sign up in person a the Children's Desk on the first floor of the library.

Chapter Book "Chips"

Have you ever noticed how many good things come in a chip? Potato chips, chocolate chips, fish and chips, nacho chips, even computer chips. The Children's librarians have a new kind of chip to share with you - a chapter book "chip". What is it? It is a chip-sized bite of brand new chapter book that we just put out on the shelves here at the Beaverton City Library. A chapter book so tasty, we think you might like to try a bite of it and maybe gobble up the whole book. Here is this week's book:


Looking for Marco Polo by Alan Armstrong

Can you imagine traveling 5,000 miles by camel, horse, donkey or yak? No cell phones, no cars, no airplanes, no medicine, no laptops, no fast food. And do you have three years to spare to reach your destination? That is the journey Marco Polo took on the Silk Road to reach the court of the great Kublai Khan in the Far East. In this adventure tale, a young boy named Mark says goodbye to his father, who is attempting to retrace the route Marco Polo took as part of his research work. But Mark's father disappears and Mark and his mother travel to Venice to find out what has happened to him. While in Venice, Mark becomes sick and an old friend of his father's, who is a doctor, comes to help him and Mark's mother. The doctor brings with him his unusual dog, Boss. Mark and Boss become fast friends as Dr. Hornaday spins tales of Marco's adventures to distract Mark as he recovers from his illness. Will Mark's dad be found? And did Marco Polo find his way back home after his amazing journey? Check out "Looking for Marco Polo" to find out!
This book is perfect for grades four through sixth.
-gw-

Check our catalog for this title.