Kids

I loved these books when I was a kid.  They were just the right size for my small hands.  I even had a figurine.  He was a purple triangle wearing a tiny yellow hat.  His name was Mr. Rush.  He was the exact opposite of me, so I found him fascinating.  Now there are even more characters for kids to love.  The Hoover Public Library has two spinning displays filled with both the Mr. Men and Little Miss books by Roger Hargreaves.  We also have several DVDs under the letter M in the Kid Zone movies section.  And on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 10:30 a.m., the library will host a Little Miss and Mr. Men party!  Play a game with Mr. Happy to win a smiley face prize.  Make your own "little" colorful character out of a plastic Easter egg.  Decide whether you are a circle or a square at the Cereal Bar.  There's something for every personality!  No need to RSVP for this party!  Just follow the stars to fun!

Orange alert!  There is a spectacularful new Clementine book -- Clementine and the Spring Trip.  For Clementine, spring is a really big deal.  It's the time for seeing her apple tree start to grow, for watching her friend Margaret go crazy with spring cleaning, and for going on the school trip to Plimoth Plantation.  Clementine is ready for Ye Olden Times, but she isn't so sure about surviving lunch there -- the fourth graders have strict rules about no eating sounds.  If that wasn't enough, Clementine also faces the challenges of learning Olive-language and surviving The Cloud on Bus 7.  Find all six Sara Pennypacker-penned titles in the F

Good news, Magic Tree House readers! Book 49 and its nonfiction companion book are coming out tomorrow, March 26, 2013. All Magic Tree House fiction books can be found in the First Chapter section under J OSB. The Fact Tracker books are under various Dewey Decimal numbers in the Nonfiction Beginning Reader section. Here's a list to help you keep track (pun intended).

Dinosaurs  E  567.9  OSB  BEGINNING READER  (#1 Dinosaurs Before Dark)
Knights and Castles  E  940.1  OSB  BEGINNING READER  (#2 The Knight at Dawn)
Mummies and Pyramids  E  932  OSB  BEGINNING READER  (#3 Mummies in the Morning)
Pirates  E  910.4  OSB  BEGINNING READER  (#4 Pirates Past Noon)
Rain Forests  E  577.34  OSB  BEGINNING READER (#6 Afternoons on the Amazon)
Sabertooths and the Ice Age  E  560  OSB  BEGINNING READER (#7 Sunset of the Sabertooth)

When I first moved to Alabama, I lived in Oxford.  In a neighboring city, there is a wonderful place called the Anniston Museum of Natural History.  We bought a family membership and spent many holidays and weekends exploring the exhibits.  Are you planning a similar excursion to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Birmingham Museum of Art, McWane Science Center, or the Southern Museum of Flight this Spring Break?  Do some prep work!  Check out one of these titles.

We really stretched our imaginations, our acting skills, and our tech abilities at this month's This Just In! meeting.  After quickly introducing the group to the new books we read, we took a vote -- choosing which title would be featured in our book trailer.  That's right, we used an awesome app on the library's iPad to create a book trailer.  Take a look!
Director = Ali
Good twins = Erica & Vincent
Bad twins = Khaldoun & Youssef
Professor = Miss Katie Jane

They are finally here and definitely worth the wait!  Our games computers have been replaced with mounted iPads.  There are six preschool iPads and four elementary iPads.  Stop by the Kid Zone and give them a test drive.  Featured apps are listed below.
PRESCHOOL
Another Monster at the End of This Book (Sesame Street)
Caillou Stickers
Curious George Sunny Safari
Draw Along
GazziliScience
Let's Color!
Monster Coloring Book
Peekaboo Barn
Pigeon! (Mo Willems)
Rocket Reads
Seuss Color
Skippyjon Jones
SuperWhy
Tap a Tune
Tiny Wings
Toontastic
Trucks

March is Youth Art Month!  Think you have an inner artist?  Read some of these books and find out!

Brandon Mull's Beyonders fantasy trilogy comes to an epic conclusion on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.  This is great news for Beyonders fans and for people looking for a new fantasy series.  You can read all three in a row without waiting a year between each book to get the whole story.  Trust me, once you start this series, you don't want to stop. 

Did L. Frank Baum have any idea what he started when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900?  His creation extended into a series of fourteen books, but it has also inspired countless other book series, TV shows, theatrical productions, and movies.  The latest cinematic ode comes to the big screen this Friday, March 8, 2013.  Oz: The Great and Powerful imagines the origins of Baum's beloved wizard character.  With a big-name cast (James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams), a blockbuster director (Sam Raimi), and the backing of Disney, it is sure to be a hit.  I know I'm excited about it!

Want to be transported somewhere over the rainbow?  Want to find out more about the man behind the magic?  Here's a list of Hoover Public Library books and movies that can help.
Original L. Frank Baum series
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz 
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz
The Road to Oz (can borrow from other JCLC libraries)
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (can borrow from other JCLC libraries)
Tik-Tok of Oz
The Scarecrow of Oz (can borrow from other JCLC libraries)
Rinkitink in Oz
The Lost Princess of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Magic of Oz (can borrow from other JCLC libraries)
Glinda of Oz

If you've ever attended one of the Hoover Public Library's epic Halloween programs, you know Larry Moore.  He is the goofy guy in the vest, twisting balloons into amazing creations.  What you may not know is that Larry Moore is also known throughout Birmingham as The Magic Man.  And he's bringing his magic, his humor, and even his balloons to the Plaza on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.  It's a fun and FREE show for the whole family!  When Larry inspires you to try your own hand at magic, head to the Kid Zone nonfiction shelves for some great new series.
Books by Steve Charney

The world of Erin Hunter has actually been created by a collaboration of five authors -- Cherith Baldry, Kate Cary, Victoria Holmes, Gillian Philip, and Tui Sutherland -- and the result is impressive.  There are currently four complete Warriors series (with the first in a fifth series, Warriors: Dawn of the Clans: The Sun Trail coming March 5, 2013), five super editions, five field guides, and numerous manga books.  There are also two Seekers series and a Survivors series.  The exploits of these cats, bears, and dogs have completely captivated young readers with their themes of courage, hard work, loyalty, and inner strength.  Have you read them all?

The most recent meeting of This Just In!, our new-books book club for grades 4-6, took place on February 25, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.  Here are some of the lastest and greatest titles we've been reading.
Elana = Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
Emily = The Code Busters Club: The Haunted Lighthouse by Penny Warner (#2)
Erica = Penelope Crumb by Shawn K. Stout
Miss Katie Jane = Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

The Kid Zone is hosting A Seusstastical Birthday on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. in honor of the good doctor.  Read these clues, straight from Dr. Seuss's books, to help you guess what's in store for party goers.
CLUE #1
"I know some good games we could play," said the cat.
"I know some new tricks," said the cat in the hat.
CLUE #2
I speak for the trees.
CLUE #3
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Were singing -- without any presents at all!
CLUE #4
And here comes your cake!  Cooked by Snookers and Snookers,