Children’s Books

  • Oh the Hilarity!

    ~posted by Jenny C. It’s been a while since I shared my favorite silly picture books with you, and I have a whole new crop of ridiculous and delightful picks! McToad Mows Tiny Island by Tom Angleberger This book is both completely ludicrous in plot and remarkably satisfying. McToad loves Thursdays, because on Thursdays he mows tiny island.… Continue reading

  • Gift Books for Kids (Nonfiction is your friend!)

    ~posted by Selby G. If you are reading this post to get ideas about what book to gift a child for the holidays you are probably envisioning a fiction book. Maybe a classic like Treasure Island or an award winner such as Brown Girl Dreaming. And although I fully support loading a kid’s life with… Continue reading

  • Amazing and Disgusting Creatures @ Your Library

    ~posted by Kristin E. and Claire S.  Zombie insects, farting snakes, and predators that swallow their prey whole — this summer, why not explore some of the world’s most fascinating (and disgusting) creatures with your kids? “Eww” and “ahh” with these children’s nonfiction books that appeal to fact finders and reluctant readers alike! Zombie Makers:… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: A Book from Your Childhood.

       –  posted by Kimberly This summer The Seattle Public Library, in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures, is excited to offer a summer reading program for adults called Summer Book Bingo! In order to help you along on your quest to complete your bingo sheet, we have pulled together some book suggestions based on… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Checklist Challenge: Kids

    ~posted by Jenny C. We’re coming to a close on the Science Fiction Checklist Challenge shortly, but I wanted to make sure there were a few more offerings for the child sci-fi reader out there. Oddly, while children’s fiction is crammed to the gills with fantasy and magic, there’s not much SF on the shelf,… Continue reading

  • The Power of Truth: Easy Biographies for Kids

    Sometimes a book that tells a true story of a fantastic adventure or a monumental idea that changed the world can overshadow any picture book or work of fiction, simply because the story is true. There is something very powerful about telling a child, this story actually happened. Done well, children’s books can bring events… Continue reading

  • I Want To Be A Real Princess

    Little girls and their princess fascinations…it’s bound to happen. Your daughter or niece becomes completely obsessed with those blinged-out, spoiled, little darlings and you’re stuck with the monotony of it all. Well, thanks to a mom who decided she wanted her daughter to know about real princesses with a bit more gusto and drive than… Continue reading

  • Five for the Fourth and Fifth Graders

    Did you know that we have book lists for kids in our catalog? And that our children’s librarians have been hard at work, revamping them? No? Well today we’ll take a look at Broadview Librarian Louisa’s list: Books for Fourth and Fifth Graders. Here are her top five picks from the list and some insight into why… Continue reading

  • Five children’s mysteries you must read!

    Someone just told me the most popular posts about books start with a number of books you must read, hence the title and I hope it’s true! We recently updated a number of children’s booklists and I had the pleasure of updating the mysteries list. This meant I read some titles I have been dying… Continue reading

  • Go-to read-aloud picture books

    One thing I have learned as a parent is that every family has its own sense of humor. I have also learned that some children’s books you looked forward to reading to your own children aren’t always as awesome as you remembered them. Continue reading

  • Little people up to no good (part 2): the modern tiny person

    Were you thrilled when Arrietty came out, but now want new tiny adventures? Well, look no further! The Bromeliad trilogy by Terry Pratchett (1989) I’ve tried very hard to stick to tiny people who are more people than fairy, and of all of Pratchett’s tiny people, the Nomes of the Bromeliad best meet that criteria.… Continue reading

  • Little people up to no good (part 1): the classics

    Have you ever noticed how many books there are about the lives of tiny people? Jonathan Swift pretty much started it with Gulliver’s Travels (1726), but the conceit of itty bitty humans really seems to have taken off from there. Continue reading

  • Science at the Library for your new reader

    This weekend the Central Library will be hosting the Pacific Science Center’s Super Cool Science Show (Saturday, October 20, at 2 p.m.) where liquid nitrogen will take center stage in a variety of fun demonstrations. What does an exciting science show have to do with literacy and your new reader? A lot, actually, I’m glad… Continue reading

  • The Phantom Tollbooth at 51

    One of my favorite books of all time, The Phantom Tollbooth, the novel by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, celebrates its 51st birthday this year. It is fitting that I am writing to mark its 51st birthday, rather than its 50th because the book itself is a celebration of the unusual in the… Continue reading

  • Hot Topic: Bullying

    There has been a lot of buzz in the media about the Motion Picture Association’s decision to give the new documentary, “Bully,” an R-rating, preventing teens from seeing the film. Many filmmakers, parents, and even politicians have been challenging the rating decision, lobbying to make “Bully” PG-13 and therefore available to a wider audience. The Weinstein… Continue reading

  • Jon Agee: Deadpan humor for all ages

    As any parent knows, children’s books aren’t just for children. There are some books that grow more tedious with every reread, and there are others that continue to delight and surprise both parent and child. Jon Agee is one of those children’s authors and illustrators that has a dry, caustic wit running through every book… Continue reading

  • Rest in Peace, Russell Hoban: What you meant to us.

    Russell Hoban has died. Without hesitation I can say he was a major influence on me as a young reader. He authored the first series I ever followed with Frances the badger as the main character. Lillian Hoban’s kinetic illustrations made the stories even more real to me. My mother got me a tea set… Continue reading

  • John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice: A Dad’s Appreciation

    As an avid science fiction and fantasy reader, and as a children’s librarian, I’ve read my share of wonderful and intriguing stories. But nothing I’ve read before has been as deeply satisfying as John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. For the young, or not so young, reader craving action Flanagan’s books are hard to beat. And… Continue reading