Welcome to the new year! There is a lot to look forward to in 2019, including exciting new book releases. While some of these books won’t be released for awhile, feel free to mark your calendars and begin the countdown to their arrival!
Picture Books
“The Good Egg”- Jory John (Author) and Pete Oswald (Illustrator)
It’s hard feeling like you have to be perfect all the time, especially when everyone else is rotten. 
The good egg must learn to take the pressure off himself and accept others, even when they’re not acting so egg-cellent. Publish date: February
“My Teacher is a Robot”- Jeffrey Brown
Fred thinks school is so boring because his teacher is a robot. Can his imagination get him through the day? Publish date: June
“I’m Trying to Love Math”- Bethany Barton 
Math can sometimes be intimidating, but this humorous book answers the question, “When will I ever use this?” Discover amazing ways that 
math is used and learn how math isn’t so scary; it can actually be fun! Publish date: July
“My Big Bad Monster”- A.N. Kang
One girl becomes fed up with her monster of self-doubt. With a little help and determination, she learns how to make the monster vanish. Publish date: July Continue reading “Children’s Books Coming Out in 2019”
Authors and illustrators were on a roll with awesome children’s books in 2018. I asked the youth services staff at DBRL to brainstorm their top picks of 2018, and here’s a great list of favorites that they have put together just for you. So before you move ahead to books published in 2019, make sure to give these awesome books a read or two!
“Ben and the Scaredy-dog” written by Sarah Ellis and illustrated by Kim LaFave
This book flips the narrative of “the child is afraid of the dog” and instead makes it “the dog is afraid of the child.” It’s cute, the dog is lovable and it shows kids that animals are much more afraid of them then they are of the animals. This book is a great read on perspective, and it can help give courage to children who are shy about animals.
~Jessica
“The Big Bed” by Bunmi Laditan and illustrated by Tom Knight
Wonderful illustrations and sweet story about a child transitioning to their very own bed.
~Elf
“The Breaking News” by Sarah Lynne Reul
When bad things happen, look for the helpers. And we can all be helpers.
~Dana
“The Call of the Swamp” written by Davide Calì and illustrated by Marco Somà
This is a lovely story about what home really means and what makes it important. It can be an adoption story, but it’s more broad and equivocal than that. And the art is just fantastic.
~Dana Continue reading “Staff Picks: Top Children’s Books of 2018”
Just past the Children’s Services desk at the Columbia Public Library, there’s a little nook with book bundles and game kits. What are book bundles? They’re bundles of books that are preselected around fun themes such as “favorites,” “animals” and “friends.” All tied together, each bundle includes 5 (4 fiction and 1 nonfiction) of the best books on the theme. This is a wonderful grab-and-go station for when you are in a hurry or chasing kiddos around. Simply grab a bundle of books and check them out! It’s that easy. We take care of all the book searching for you.
Located just to the left of our book bundle station are colorful bags called Learning Props Game Kits. These kits are small, portable bags that double as a game board. Each kit comes with 1 board/bag, 4 game playing pieces, 1 die and a book about the theme. Theme’s include “critters,” “dress up,” “body parts,” “shape land” and more. Game kits check out for 4 weeks and are great for ages 3 and up.
This past fall, the Columbia Public Library hosted its seventh season of the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Awards program. Youth in grades 4-8 were invited to join us twice per month to discuss possible Newbery Medal contenders for 2019. At these interactive sessions, we discussed six Newbery contender books, and participants were able to defend the book that they felt deserved the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Award.
We read the following books:
Our group looked at criteria similar to those used by the Newbery Medal selection committee when considering top book selections.
- Was the book well organized?
- Did it have a clear beginning, middle and end?
- Is the book well rounded?
- Are the characters well described? Are they 3D or flat?
- Are you able to imagine what they look like?
- Is the style of writing consistent throughout the book?
And the winner for the 2019 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Award is “Endling: The Last” by Katherine Applegate!
“Nightbooks” by J.A. White and “Louisiana’s Way Home” by Kate DiCamillo were our second and third place.
Unlike any other season, there is a coziness about this time of year that naturally draws us together. British poet, Edith Sitwell put it this way: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
It follows suit that cold winter nights are the perfect time for reading, especially when you have small children. Every child knows, when old man winter comes to call, nothing’s better than a parent’s lap, a warm snuggle and a good book. And keep in mind, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents,” according to author Emilie Buchwald.
When the temperatures drop, pull up a comfy chair, gather your young ones around you and settle in for a relaxing evening. Overall, cherish these precious moments, because they will be gone in a blink of an eye.
Here are just a few of the toasty reads for chilly nights that we offer at DBRL.
Get ready to dance, clap, stomp and shake when you read Bill Martin’s “Spunky Little Monkey.” This Missouri Building Block nominee is an absolute blast, especially for the reader! You get to yell silly things like “Rutabaga, Rutabaga! Sis! Boom! Bah!” as you encourage the little monkey in the story (and your kiddos) to dance around and have fun. If you want an energetic, colorful read, definitely give this book a try.
After you’ve read “Spunky Little Monkey,” sing this equally energetic and silly song.
Go Bananas!
Banana’s of the world: UNITE (clasp hands overhead)
Peel bananas (peel arms down to sides)
Peel peel bananas
Peel bananas
Peel peel bananas
Chop bananas (karate chops to the front)
Chop chop bananas
Chop bananas
Chop chop bananas
Eat bananas (stuff banana pieces into face)
Eat eat bananas
Eat bananas
Eat eat bananas
Go bananas! (flail arms, turn in circle, shake head, etc.)
Go go bananas!
Go bananas!
Go go bananas!
Credit: thelibraryann
Once you have read at least five Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award Nominees, help your child vote for their favorite. Voting is open to children in kindergarten and younger and goes through December. The winner will be announced in February.
Have you ever seen a real owl? When you walk into the children’s area of the Columbia Public Library, you’ll find one staring back at you! While this owl is no longer alive, she is most definitely real. The owl was donated to the library by a family whose kids found her on an electric fence. The kids thought they had seen the “the world’s largest pine cone,” only to realize it was an upside-down owl with her feathers puffed up!
When you walk past the owl, it may look like her eyes are following you. Don’t worry; her eyes are not real! Her eyes look like they’re following you because they are made of marbles, which create an optical illusion. In fact, owls can’t move their eyes in their sockets, but they can turn their heads up to 270 degrees. If her eyes were real, they would take up to 50% of the space in her head. If you had eyes like that, they would be the size of oranges!
Want to learn more about owls? Check out our selection of owl books today!
”Ready bunny, steady bunny, everybunny dance!” Ellie Sandall’s book, the Missouri Building Block Award nominee “Everybunny Dance,” invites you to join the bunnies in a dance party. This is a fun book that encourages both play and exercise (which is why you may have seen it in our last blog—”Post-Turkey Wobble”). The bunnies have an exciting time twisting and twirling, playing instruments and singing loudly. Suddenly, an unexpected visitor arrives. Everybunny hides, but not for long! The bunnies want to give everyone a chance, and dancing is a great way to include others and make new friends.
For a fun, energetic activity with your kids, you can play, “Hop like a bunny.” This game practices counting and gross motor skills. Use simple instructions like, “Let’s hop one time. Now hop twice!” See how many times you can hop up and down, and then mix it up by hopping on one foot. Practice directional skills by having everyone hop forward, backward and side to side. The possibilities are endless!
Once you have read at least five Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominees, help your child vote for their favorite. Voting is open to children kindergarten and younger, and it goes through the end of the year. The winner will be announced in February.
The Thanksgiving festivities have now come and gone, and the turkey leftovers are all tucked away nicely in tummies! After eating such yummy foods, it is easy to have gained a little wobble in your step. After all, cookies, pies, pumpkin rolls and the like often accompany Thanksgiving meals.
Below are a list of library resources the whole family can enjoy to get moving while staying warm inside.
“Yoga for Kids: Outer Space Blastoff” (DVD)
Let your imagination blast off into a galaxy far, far away! Kids yoga instructor Jodi Komitor leads yoga practices for kids ages five and up.
“Everybunny Dance!” by Ellie Sandall
Bunnies dance, play, sing and learn to include everyone in their games, including the reader!
“Wiggle” by Doreen Cronin
Rhyming text describes the many ways you can wiggle and jiggle!
“Mindful Moments for Kids” by Kira Willey (CD)
After you’ve tired yourself out, try out this CD. It helps calm your child down by having them stretch and focus on their breath.
Colin is different from Lee and the other peas. But that doesn’t stop friendship! Morag Hood’s sweet and simple book “Carrot & Pea: An Unlikely Friendship” shows how strength can be found in differences. The straightforward text and clean illustrations will appeal to young readers, and parents can appreciate the message of celebrating friends who don’t look like us.
If you and your little one are feeling inspired by these vegetables, take your creativity a step further with some vegetable stamping! In addition to fruits and veggies, you’ll need some paper and paint. I suggest something like this washable tempera paint. The fun part is choosing which vegetables to use! Different ones will make different shapes. Carrots make nice circles, while celery stalks create lovely half-moons. An apple cut in half will look remarkably like an apple, while a whole celery heart will look like a rose. Encourage your child to experiment with you, and discover all the artwork you can make from some paint and veggies.
Cut the fruit or vegetable so it is easy to hold for little hands.- Pour some paint on paper plates.
- Paint the cut side of the fruit or veggie, either by dipping it in the paint or applying it with a brush.
- Press the painted veggie onto a white piece of paper, and admire!
If you’re feeling really adventurous, swap out the paper for a plain t-shirt or scarf and use fabric paint instead. Ta-da, wearable art!
Once you have read at least five Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award Nominees, help your child vote for their favorite. Voting is open to children in kindergarten and younger and goes through December. The winner will be announced in February.
