Book Review: The Treasure Box

THE TREASURE BOX by Margaret Wild tells the moving story of a boy and his father who save a book after their library is destroyed during war.

This poignant story traces the life of a boy who helps save a book from destruction and later places the book in a new library.

Librarians will find this hopeful story to be useful in discussing topics related to war, emmigration, and cultural heritage.

Published by Candlewick Press on April 25, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Technology Review: Color Our Collections

COLOR OUR COLLECTIONS is a promotion that encourages people to get out their pencils, markers, and crayons to color visuals from library and museum collections.

From the Smithsonian to the New York Public Library, institutions are creating and sharing coloring book pages for artists of all ages to use. The Color Our Collection event is a fun way to promote public domain visuals, primary sources and cultural heritage. Held the first week in February, the coloring pages can be accessed year round. The New York Academy of Medicine Library jumpstarted the campaign by sharing science-related pages from it’s digital collections. They maintain a list of participating institutions.

Librarians will find this campaign to be a fun way to promote art, history, and digital collections. Set up a markerspace in the library to share the fun with the entire school.

Participating Institutions - http://library.nyam.org/colorou…/participating-institutions/
Biodiversity Heritage Library - http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/coll…/ColorOurCollections
New York Public Library - https://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/02/01/color-our-collections

To follow on Twitter, go to https://twitter.com/hashtag/colorourcollections

Book Review: A Big Surprise for Little Card

A BIG SURPRISE FOR LITTLE CARD by Charise Mericle Harper tells the sweet story of a young card who is destined to become a library card.

When Little Card opens the wrong letter, he thinks he’ll going to be trained as a birthday card. However he soon realizes that his destiny lies with a librarian named Miss Penny and a young library user called Alex.

The easy-to-read font and whimsical illustrations will appeal to young readers.

Librarians will find this picture book to be a nice addition to their collection focusing on library topics. Use it to introduce young readers to the library.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.chariseharper.com/.

Published by Candlewick Press on February 9, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

UNUSUAL CHICKENS FOR THE EXCEPTIONAL POULTRY FARMER by Kelly Jones is a charming and fun fantasy about a twelve-year-old girl who moves to a farm and stumbles upon chickens with superpowers.

With the help of family and friends Sophie becomes a poultry farmer, but faces the challenge of dealing with a chicken thief who’ll do anything to steal her special chickens.

The story unfolds in letters written by Sophie to her deceased great-uncle and grandmother. Sophie also communicates with the owner of a poultry supply company who helps her learn about raising chickens.

The author does an outstanding job seamlessly weaving in topics related to diversity without making it the focus of the story. From Sophie’s brown skin to a passing reference to Jane’s girlfriend, readers are exposed to authentic situations, relationships, and reactions. There’s even a great recipe for migas.

Katie Kath’s whimsical illustrations add to the appeal of the story and also visualize the diversity represented in the book.

Librarians will be happy to see Sophie riding her bike to the library and interacting with a caring librarian. Many readers will particularly enjoy the informational pages describing the breeds and care of chickens.

Children who enjoy farm settings, humorous stories, and animal books will be delighted to find a novel that combines all three into an engaging, fast-paced fantasy.

To learn more about the author, go to http://curiosityjones.net/.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) on May 12, 2015.