May We Suggest?

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Steampunk?

Steampunk appears to be gaining steam… but what exactly is it? Well, here is a definition from Wikipedia: "Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality." While many of the books are for teens or adults, Steampunk is now coming out for tween-age readers. It is one of those 'happenings' that crosses sexes, ages, and formats. No official subject heading exists yet for this genre, but here are a few titles to whet your appetite, pique your curiousity...whatever:

Storytime at Home

Bummed that storytime is on break until November 9th? Share these stories at home with your children to tide them over with some great story fun!

Princess Pig by written by Eileen Spinelli; illustrated by Tim Bowers — when the Pickle Princess's sash blows away from her parade and lands on Pig, things change around the barnyard. As Pig begins to explore the possibilies of royalty, Pony reminds her that you don't have to be a princess to be special.

Traction Man is here! by Mini Grey — the hilarious domestic adventures of a boy and his action figure.

Dinosaur vs. bedtime by Bob Shea — dinosaur is fierce, but has he met his match when it's time for bedtime?

Pumpkin Chapters

It's pumpkin time! And there are some great stories about them beyond the picture book collection. Pick one of these pumpkin plots:

Me and the pumpkin queen by Marlane Kennedy

Ninjas don't bake pumpkin pies by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones; illustrated by John Steven Gurney

The squampkin patch: a Nasselrogt adventure by J.T. Petty

Who stole Grandma's million-dollar pumpkin pie? by Martha Freeman

Some great pumpkin carving ideas and other pumpkin crafts are a click away at this Disney FamilyFun website.

Fractions

Struggling with fractions? Let our materials help you break those numbers down. We've got everything:

Picture Books

Inchworm and a half by Elinor Pinczes ; illustrated by Randall Enos

The Wishing Club : a story about fractions by Donna Jo Napoli ; pictures by Anna Currey

Readers

Mary Clare likes to share : a math reader by Joy Hulme ; illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

Nonfiction

Fraction action by written and illustrated by Loreen Leedy

The Hershey's milk chocolate bar fractions book by Jerry Pallotta ; illustrated by Rob Bolster

Green Reads Redux

Looking for more stories about kids working to protect our environment? You might find them in unexpected places. If you are a Fantasy Fiction fan try The Companions Quartet series by Julia Golding. If you like Realistic Fiction, try Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley and Operation Redwood by Susannah T. French. If you like adventure, you might find Raining Sardines by Enrique Flores-Galbis exciting and full of suspense. You see, there are lots of possibilities when it comes to "green" reads. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Easy Reads

I'm definitely in a fall mood. With the weather getting cooler, I keep thinking about fall stuff like apple cider, warm soup, and pumpkins. I'm ready to go buy some pumpkins right now, but it's still a little too early for that. In the meantime, I think I'll just read some books about them. Here are some of my favorite easy-reading titles all about pumpkins. Enjoy!

Buster and the giant pumpkin by Marc Brown

Oh my, pumpkin pie! by Charles Ghigna; illustrated by Kenneth Spengler

Pumpkin fever by written by Charnan Simon; illustrated by Jan Bryan-Hunt

Franklin's pumpkin by Sharon Jennings; illustrated by Robert Penman, Sasha McIntyre, Jelena Sisic, Shelley Southern

Personal Identity

If you enjoyed Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time or The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, you might be interested in learning that we have many more books about children coming to terms with being multiple races/ethnicities. I enjoyed Half and Half by Lensey Namioka and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox by Christina Garcia. There are many more to choose from (ranging from picture books to chapter books), so stop by the Children's Department today to pick up a good read!

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