Pamela Martinez

Halloween has arrived, so have you been scared enough yet? All over town, folks have decorated their yards with extremely scary, spine-tingling scenes which may yield a scream or two! Let me take this opportunity to give you a good, old-fashioned fright with some scary book recommendations for your young readers!

First on our recommended list is “The Doll in the Hall and Other Scary Stories” by Max Brallier, the first volume in the series of “Mister Shivers.” This book will have your young reader turn page after page to get to the end of each of the spine tingling tales.  Will your young reader be able to finish all five of these scary stories before dark?! Written for younger readers with large print and pictures interspersed throughout the book, this spooky book may need to be read over and over again!

The second chilling book recommendation for your youngster is “Attack of the Vampire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales” written by David Lubar. This foreboding book has not five, not 10, not even 20, but 35 terrifying tales to read! Short, but not sweet, stories of creepiness and eye-rolling adventures that will deepen the trance your young reader will be under as they navigate through each tale. Let us know which tale scares you the most!

Our next suggestion for a day or night of frights is part of the “Eerie Elementary” series by Jack Chabert, “The School is Alive.” Were you a school monitor when you were in elementary school? I remember being able to wear the important vest to signify that I was the monitor for the day! In our featured, hair-raising book list, this title will most likely end up on top! Let Sam and his friends help you decide if his school is really alive! Then when your youngster arrives at their school on Monday, they can decide if their school could be alive as well?!

You’re not afraid of a few zombies walking around town…are (say “are” for 10 seconds) you? When is the last time your sleepover had a zombies invasion? In “The Zombie Chasers” Zack and his buddies found out the hard way how to eliminate the zombie attack: with a little brain power and with his werewolf buddy assisting, maybe the sleepover can resume tomorrow night? This unnerving story will elicit a few giggles throughout the pages, intermingled with a lot of goosebumps!

Speaking of a book giving you goosebumps, you’ll need to come right over to the library and check out ”Only If you Dare, 13 Stories of Darkness and Doom” by Josh Allen. This book has 13, nightmare-bringing stories for your youngster to read and get chilled to the bone!  Let us know which one of these 13 tales keep lurking in your brain after you have read each and every evil tale!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Who says picture books are just for kids, hmmm? Certainly nobody we know! Please feast your eyes on these picture book treasures on our New Book shelf!

“Oh Look, a Cake!” by J.C. McKee is a hilarious book about being greedy, to a degree. When two friends find an unattended cake, they begin to wonder whom they should invite to share this delectable delicacy! As the list of potential invitees comes and goes, there is a surprise development when the owner of the cake meanders by. Check this one out today to find out what did happen to the cake!!

Remember when you used to be asked “What Will You Be,” or “¿Qué Serás?,” when you were a child? It was fun to imagine the different careers or fields we would love to work in when we grew up! Well, with this new title by Yamile Saied Méndez, the young star of the book explores many different careers that she could pursue. The final sentence of the book will warm your heart! Check out this title soon so you can find out what she decided!

Our next two selections for you are all about friendships. Please check out “El Toro and Friends: Training Day” by Raul the Third. This is the second book of the series. This is a very colorful story about how Toro is being trained by his friend, Kooky Dooky, to defeat “The Wall.” If your little ones enjoy wrestling, this picture book is the book for them!

A friend is always near when we need them the most. In “Jenny Mei is Sad,” written by Tracy Subisak, that is just what happens. Jenny Mai has a great friend who is patient and by her side when Jenny Mei just needs time to heal her sadness. Check out this book to share with your child who may have a sad day, or may be the friend who helps soothe the sadness away.

When you think of the word ‘cape,’ what was the first thought that came to mind? Go ahead…say the word out loud…’cape’…and, ‘Superhero’ was your first thought, right (if not, let us know what you did think of!!)? Our final selection for you today is written by Marty Kelley, entitled “A Cape!”. This is a sweet bonding story for a son (the wearer of said cape, of course) and his daddy. Imaginations run wild for kids, which is a good thing by the way, and this story does not disappoint! You will enjoy reading about all of the scenarios in which this cape-clad child finds himself involved. The final page will leave you smiling from ear to ear, and if you are a father with a son nearby, you will have an activity starting shortly! You’re welcome!

Reading a fictional novel can help pass the time; take you to places near or far, real or imaginary. This week’s article is on chapter books for kids–let their imaginations run wild!

You can find all of these chapter books on our New Book shelf in the Young Readers’ Room.

Starting off our list is book volume 8.5 of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series entitled “Unlocked.” This new volume will not disappoint fans of this Shannon Messenger series. It is filled with colored photos, character guides for many of the folks in the series, a map of the land and much more. This book was created to read after you’ve finished book 8 and before you read book 9, hence 8.5! Hurry to be the first patron to check it out!

Jumping to another wonderfully written adventure book by Newbery Medal winner Rodman Philbrick, “Wild River” will have readers sitting on the edge of their seats, quickly turning pages to continue the journey! White-water river rafting can be a fun outing, but, it can also be a scary endeavor. Read about middle school student, Daniel, and his other teammates who took a fun, free vacation, or so they think! Check it out soon and maybe you’d like to take a white-water river rafting trip too, or not?

How many of you have read the Stick Dog series written by Tom Watson? Well, if you have, the next volume is ready for you: “Stick Dog Takes Out Sushi.” In book eleven of the series, Stick Dog and his friends will lead you on another tummy busting, hysterical expedition. If you haven’t yet had the privilege to read any of these books, now is your chance! Written for readers ages 8 – 12, Stick Dog will have your reader laughing out loud and wanting more, sushi!

“Serena Says,” written by Tanita S. Davis, will help to shed some light on growing up and learning how to keep a friendship. Have your kids read a blog, written a blog, lost a friend or made new friends? Serena has done all of these things. Wouldn’t life be so much easier if we could delete conversations or erase a bad memory? Serena thinks so. She keeps her blog, but never actually posts any of them. Maybe your child could start their own blog once they read what “Serena Says.”

Stuart Gibbs has written another fabulous chapter book for children entitled “Charlie Thorne and the Lost City.” This is book 2 of 2 in the series of Charlie Thorne. Have you ever been able to decipher a code? Charlie has, and now that she is on hiatus in the Galapagos Islands, she thinks this ‘vacation’ will be relaxing. But, how can someone as smart as Charlie not take an assignment that sounds so exciting? Will Charlie be able to decipher Charles Darwin’s code? Can she overcome the challenges and enemies who are on her trail? Check out this title to find out and maybe you can be the next reader to decipher a secret code?!

Some picture books are not just pictures, oh, no. Picture books can be full of beautiful, wonderful words, sprinkled together in an art form. Please check out these new picture books (with and without words) through our Books-to-Go program!

I remember as a child reading picture books that had no words… I became the storyteller. My words filled the pages with language and sentences that I deemed fit to tell the story to go along with the pictures!

My imagination was being developed through my eyes as they searched the illustrations, taking a thorough glance at each tiny line in the drawing. Let your child have the opportunity to develop their imagination with this next book suggestion.

The first choice this month is “Field Trip to the Ocean Deep” by John Hare. A wordless picture book that brings imagination to life! Let your children embrace their imaginations through storytelling. Let the pictures guide them through the pages of this underwater adventure! There are details that need to be seen and told. I can just about picture their little faces as they turn the page to continue the story, in their own words!

My next recommendation is written by Michael Karg and illustrated by Sophie Diao, entitled “I Am The Wind.” The story is written as a poem; the illustrations add that little bit extra to engage the reader into the book. Wind blows through every country in the world; the wild animals that are included on each page enhance the words to the next level. Well written and illustrated greatly, this book is a must read!

Bringing more nature to our recommendation of new books, the next must-read title is “I Talk Like a River,” written by Jordan Scott and illustrated by Sydney Smith. This is a personal account from the author of his experience as a little boy who had trouble saying words. This story will bring a bit of understanding to children about bullying as well. The illustrations are well done and the story, well, the story is truly amazing. Kudos to the author for sharing his childhood experience with us, to help us understand the difficulty some kids face.  Check out this story today and share it with someone you care about.

“Mr. Brown’s Bad Day,” written by Lou Peacock and illustrated by Alison Friend, is a sweet story about Mr. Brown. He is ‘a very important businessman’ traveling through the pages as he shares his day with the reader. Mr. Brown never leaves his very important briefcase behind; it goes everywhere Mr. Brown goes. What do you suppose Mr. Brown keeps in his very important briefcase, hmmm? Well, check out this book and you will find out what a very important man, er, tiger, keeps in his very important briefcase, at the end of the story!

“I Am One, A Book of Action,” written by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, is a lovely book for children to get up and get going to do something meaningful. Being kind, thoughtful and productive can lead to amazing results. This story is inspirational, a winner indeed!

Pamela Martinez is A.K. Smiley Public Library’s Youth Services Librarian.