Animals can teach us many things, including the importance of true friendship. In this book, deftly illustrated by Jean Cassels, you will meet Bobbie, the dog, and Bob Cat. Despite a mutual lack of tails, they owned the sheer determination to survive following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Abandoned by their owner during the forced evacuation as the storm raged, the two friends roamed the flooded streets of New Orleans from August to January.

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009
Unpaged
Ages 4-8 years

Choose one word to describe this glorious Caldecott Honor book.  What would it be? Joy! Illustrator Pamela Zagarenski and author Joyce Sidman engage all five of our senses as they lead us on a breathtaking journey that compels us to experience the four seasons through the colors that define them.

The book jacket material informs us that both Zagarenski and Sidman favor green as their color of choice.  This fondness becomes apparent as we see the “greens” and read: Green is queen in summer. Green trills from trees, clings to Pup’s knees, covers all with leaves, leaves, leaves!  How can Green be so many different Greens?

It’s May 28th, and we’re gathered here again
For our Summer Reading Kickoff.
The year is 2010.
Oh, we’ve walked like huge elephants
With arm-trunks a sway.
We’ve trumpeted our voices,
Led by the great Roger Day.

When it all began, it was simple. Our neighbor’s house had a larger yard than ours, with what looked like good grass.  No difficult corners, just a big square with a large elm tree in the center. I mowed it, and he gave me money. Twenty dollars.

Mom, Dad-if you’re listening-you know I said I was going to the South Lakeland Outdoor Activity Center with the school? To be completely honest, I’m not exactly in the Lake District. To be completely honest, I’m sort of in space.

Edith Hemingway’s debut novel, Road to Tater Hill, chronicles the life of eleven-year-old Annie Winters at her grandparent’s house in the mountains of North Carolina during the summer of 1963. While there, Annie’s mother gives birth to her baby sister, but the baby does not make it. Each family member grieves the loss of the baby in a different way. Annie cannot understand why her mother will not talk about the baby and soon discovers that her mother is dealing with depression. Annie also agonizes over her father‘s absence while he is overseas with the military. Annie feels like she has no one to confide in as she grieves for her baby sister and tries to reach her mother. While wandering in the woods, Annie meets a mysterious woman. Annie befriends the woman and learns all about her difficult past. Their friendship teaches Annie about acceptance and unconditional love. While telling Annie’s story, Hemingway skillfully combines a family’s heart wrenching loss with intrigue and mystery. Though the storyline seems burdened with many heavy themes, it ultimately showcases a story of strength, healing, and hope.

Would you like to travel to exotic foreign lands for free? Ever After will take you there as you explore folk and fairy tales from around the world. This half-hour event is held at the Hughes Main Library on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00p. Young travelers recently enjoyed the story of "The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey" by Demi. Then they made a turbaned Nasrettin Hoca puppet while listening to Gerizler Basi, a song from Turkey. Ages 7 and up.

Duffy and Sumo Pugg are pulled from class by their father one winter afternoon and told that they’re going on vacation to visit their Auntie Lulu on the island of Kocalaha. They’ll be traveling with their 300 + pound, former extreme street fighter cousin, aptly named, Mister Come-and-Go. Sumo, the more hesitant of the two brothers, is certain from the start that all is not well with this proposition.  Duffy, on the other hand, is gung-ho for adventure and gamely agrees to whatever these newfound relatives have in store for them. And boy, what adventures they have coming! 

By summer the little leaf was such a shiny deep green that Little Wolf wanted nothing more than to use it as a mirror.

What would you be willing to do to get something for someone else? Would you walk across the world? Would you draw a line around a mountain? Would you climb the highest tree? As Little Wolf watches Big Wolf climb from branch to branch, clinging to each slippery cold limb he wonders, is it worth it just to hold in his hand one beautiful, shining, soft, glorious leaf? He had been waiting so long for it, month after month, watching that lovely leaf, waiting for it to fall -- but it never did. Oh, but Big Wolf knew Little Wolf had been waiting for it and he wanted him to have it! This tender, gentle story reminds us that even the smallest beautiful thing really is worth the trouble after all.

What could possibly be more fun than having a best friend?  Nothing at all!  That’s what Dog thought, too, as he waited patiently one August day for the mailman to deliver just such a treat.  When he finally received his package, he quickly assembled his new best friend.  How do you assemble a best friend?  Why, you simply hook all the little pieces together, glue the arms and legs on and there you have it!  A best friend—if your best friend is a robot, that is.  But you have to be careful with a robot best friend.  Things can happen, such as rusting after a day of swimming and frolicking in the ocean, which is just what happened to Dog’s robot friend. Dog, not knowing what to do to help his friend, sadly walks away, leaving him to rust on the beach all alone.  When Dog goes back, armed with a Robot Repair Manual, he finds that the beach is closed.  What a sad day for Dog.  Probably even sadder still for robot, as all he can do is lie on the sand daydreaming about rescue and his best friend.  If you think all is lost for Dog and Robot, don’t you worry because life has a way of keeping connected those who are meant to be together.