Children's Story Time

New Books and Old Favorites July 2008

Featured Book of the Month:

A Trellis for Mr. Ellis; or How I Saved the World from Global Warming

Louisa May Allcat, the feline “author” of this charming tale, tells how Mr. Ellis found her and gave her a home. However, the balcony where Louisa spends her time overlooks an unsightly urban alleyway. She and Mr. Ellis decide to make the balcony attractive and cool with potted plants and trellises that hide the unsavory view. Other neighbors like the idea, and plants appear outside one home after another, one city after another. The effect of the greening of these cities fights global warming. This instructive story shows what one person (or in this case, one cat) can do to make a positive difference in their local environment.
(j)QC903 .EL59t 2001

Allcat, Louisa May. San Diego, CA : Allcat Press 2001.

The Gumdrop Tree. Spurr, Elizabeth. New York, NY: Hyperion 1994.
Summary: A little girl loves her gumdrops so much she can’t eat them - she plants a gumdrop tree instead. Disappointed after working so hard to make it grow, the book has a surprise ending.
(j)QK477 .F3 Sp95 1994

Henry David’s House. Schnur, Steven. Watertown, MA : Charlesbridge Publishing 2002.
Summary: The story of Thoreau's process of building his house on the shores of Walden Pond.
(j)QH31 .T39 T391 2002

I Celebrate Nature. Iverson, Diane. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications 1993.
Summary: A beautifully illustrated book of children celebrating the outdoors in all its glory.
(j)QH81 .Iv3 1993

Jazzy in the Jungle. Cousins, Lucy. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press 2002.
Summary: A very colorful hide-and-seek pop up book whose story takes place in the jungle.
(j)QH541.5 .R27 C836 2002

Plant Classification. Spilsbury, Richard. Chicago : Heinemann Library, c2003.
Summary: A brief history of plant classification systems is followed by a broad overview of the categories into which the plant kingdom is currently subdivided.
(j)QK95 .Sp45 2003

The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. Joyce, William. New York, NY: Harper Collins 1996.
Summary: “The garden is a magical place, and anything can happen on a beautiful moonlit night,” says an older lady to her children friends in this fanciful tale of the spider queen, the leaf men, and the doodle bugs.
(j)QL468 .J856 1996

The Legend of the Lady Slipper. Lunge-Larsen. Boston: Haughton Mifflin Co. 1999.
Summary: The legend of a Native American girl who saves her tribe by risking her life. Nature reciprocated by originating the lady slipper in honor of where her injured footprints had landed.
(j)QK495 .O65 C97 L972 1999

In a Tree. Schwartz, David M. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Publishing 1997.
Summary: Using both close-up and big pictures, children are shown a variety of tree dwelling creatures.
(j) QH541.5 .F6 Sch95 1999

Our Big Home; an Earth Poem. Glaser, Linda. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 2000.
Summary: The author and illustrators share their vision of Earth as the shared home of all peoples, animals and plants, hoping to instill a deeper understanding of humankind’s responsibility to care for our planet.
(j)QH81 .G462 2000

Pill Bugs. Hughes, Monica. Chicago, IL.: Raintree Books, 2004.
Summary: A fun, brightly illustrated book exploring different facts about pill bugs. Part of Raintree’s popular “Creepy Creatures” series.
(j)QL444 .H874 2004

A Seed, a Flower, a Minute, an Hour. Blos, Joan W. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1992.
Summary: A simple poem telling the ways in which things change and grow according to its own nature. Written by a former Newberry Medal winning author.
(j)QH511 .B623 1992

Stella: Fairy of the Forest. Gay, Marie Louise. Toronto, Canada: A Groundwood Book, 2002.
Summary: The irrepressible red-headed Stella takes her younger brother Sam on an adventure through the forest to hunt fairies. A fun, imaginative read for young and old alike.
(j)QH541.5 .F6 G252 2002