Author Archives

Jessica

Best Books of 2020 Roundup

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Check out these lists from around the web of the best kids’ books of 2020!

Best Children’s Books from Book Riot

Best Books for Kids from the New York Public Library

Best of the Best Books 2020 from Chicago Public Library

Best Young Reader and Best Picture Books of the Year from Barnes and Noble

Best Children’s and Young Adult Books of 2020 from Publishers Weekly

The Best Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books from Kirkus Reviews

The 25 Best Children’s Books of 2020 from the New York Times Book Review

Best Middle Grade/Children’s Books and Best Picture Books of 2020: Winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards

Best Books of 2020 from School Library Journal

Best Children and Teens’ Books of 2020 from Shelf Awareness

Fanfare: Choices for the Best Books of 2020 from The Horn Book

Five on Friday

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Happy Friday, and Happy New Year as well! There’s been lots of buzz about new movies coming out this year, so for our first Five on Friday for 2021 we’re talking all about children’s books being adapted for the screen. It’s early days on all these films, so we don’t know release dates yet, but keep an eye out for more news on all these exciting projects.

  1. Dog Man is being made into an animated movie by DreamWorks!! The same director that did Captain Underpants is set to take on Dav Pilkey’s supa-popular series. I for one can’t wait to see Dog Man and Lil Petey on the big screen.
  2. An animated version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid is coming to Disney Plus. It looks like they plan to keep Jeff Kinney’s art style, so I’m curious to see how well that translates. The four live action movies did well with audiences and the book series has dominated the bestsellers list since its release, so Disney has some pretty big shoes to fill.
  3. The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo is being adapted into a live-action movie starring Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid.
  4. 2021 is looking to be the year of Kate DiCamillo! Netflix is also animating The Magician’s Elephant and is featuring a star-studded cast. Just check out the resumes of the stars and crew!
  5. Eloise is getting another live action movie! A director and cast haven’t been announced yet, but Linda Woolverton, writer of Maleficent and the live action Beauty and the Beast is slated to write the screenplay. The mischievous six-year-old living in “the tippy-top floor” of the Plaza Hotel in NYC was first published by Kay Thompson in the 1950s and has remained popular since.

And that’s all for this month’s Five on Friday! I hope you all enjoyed checking out what’s new in the kidlit world. Be sure to check back in February for the next Five on Friday.

Miss Jessica

 

E-Books Available on Libby

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Did you know you can still check out books even while the library is closed?

Moline Library patrons using Android, Apple and Windows devices can use Libby to check out and download material from Online Media of Northern Illinois Libraries (or OMNI Libraries for short). OMNI offers access to a large catalog of electronic books and audiobooks, as well as a growing list of films and TV shows. If you need instructions on how to download it or want to see what other e-materials we have available, you can find them here. Mega-popular titles like Percy Jackson, Dog Man, Goosebumps, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Pete the Cat, Dr. Seuss, and Captain Underpants as well as many others are all available on Libby. Check out the lists below for some other recommendations of books on the app! All were available for checkout at the time of publishing this post.

 

PICTURE BOOKS

Last Stop on Market Street – Matt De La Pena

The Paper Bag Princess – Robert Munsch

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site – Sherri Duskey Rinker

The Berenstain Bears and the Homework Hassle – Stan and Jan Berenstain

Thank You, Omu! – Oge Mora

My Papi Has a Motorcycle – Isabel Quintero

 

BEGINNER CHAPTER BOOKS

Mercy Watson – Kate DiCamillo

Ivy and Bean – Annie Barrows

Zoey and Sassafras – Asia Citro

Junie B Jones – Barbara Park

The Bad Guys – Aaron Blabey

Princess in Black – Shannon Hale

 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

El Deafo – Cece Bell

Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood – Nathan Hale

Amulet – Kazu Kibuishi

Baby-Sitters Club – Raina Telgemeier

Phoebe and Her Unicorn – Dana Simpson

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute – Jarrett Krosoczka

 

MIDDLE GRADE

Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer

Flora and Ulysses – Kate DiCamillo

Aru Shah and the End of Time – Roshani Chokshi

The Screaming Staircase – Jonathan Stroud

Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky – Kwame Mbalia

 

Miss Jessica

Fun Activities for Kids Stuck at Home: Part 2

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Copy of Let Your Dreams Blossom (2)

Need ideas on how to keep your kids busy now that they are suddenly home from school? We’ve got you covered! Here are four fun, easy activities using materials you probably already have in your cupboards or pantry. Missed last week’s suggestions? Check it out here.

  • This candy math activity was intended for fun size packages of M&Ms, but it could easily be adapted to other colored candies like Skittles, Mike & Ikes, or jelly beans, whatever you have on hand.
  • Magic milk is a great science experiment that only uses 4 ingredients: milk, dish soap, liquid food coloring, and cotton swabs/Q Tips. Fill a small, shallow dish with milk. Carefully drop different colored food dye into the milk so as to not mix it. Dip the Q Tip into the dish soap, and then dip it into the milk. Hold it in place for 10-15 seconds, and watch what happens!
  • Make your own slime and playdough with these simple recipes.
  • Puffy paint is one of my favorite art activities. To make it, all you need is pour a little bit more shaving cream than glue together into a bowl, add food coloring (or Crayola washable paint if you have it), and mix together until it forms firm peaks. It will dry darker and with a really cool raised texture! It does take a few hours to dry, letting it dry overnight before touching it usually works best.

We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. The library may be closed, but be sure to check back on our blog for more ideas and resources for you and your children!

Miss Jessica

 

Five on Friday: April

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Spring Seasonal Outfits

Happy Friday! There is certainly a lot going on in the news these days, so let’s jump into what’s going on in children’s literature right now.

  1. If you know a young manga fan or enjoy reading manga yourself, School Library Journal has put together a list of 6 feel-good series, perfect stress relief for these anxious, uncertain times.
  2. There are several new books coming out soon by Caldecott Award-winning illustrators. The Caldecott Award is given out each year to outstanding illustrators of children’s books. Check out the list here.
  3. For kiddos interested in art, Mo Willems, bestselling author and illustrator of the Pigeon series and many more, has virtually invited fans into his studio through his daily “Lunch Doodles” videos on YouTube. New lessons are posted to the Kennedy Center’s YouTube channel each weekday at 1:00 p.m. EST.
  4. New York Public Library listed their most checked out books, and more than half of them are children’s books! See if your favorite made the cut here.
  5. Last but certainly not least, Publishers Weekly has created an incredible list of resources from children’s authors, publishers, artists, and more during the mass school and library closures due to the coronavirus. Seriously, there is something for everyone on this list.

And that’s all for this month’s Five on Friday! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy and enjoyed checking out what’s new in the kidlit world. Be sure to check back in May for the next Five on Friday.

Miss Jessica

 

Online Storytime: Let’s Go for a Drive!

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Blue nd Red Projector Movie Ticket (1)

The library may be closed, but storytime is still here! We have recorded some of our favorite picture books to share with you. Today’s storytime is something a little different: a Readers’ Theater version of Mo Willems’s “Let’s Go for a Drive!”, one of his Elephant and Piggie books.

You can check out the video of Miss Jessica and Miss Christina acting out this story here. Be sure to keep checking our blog for more online storytimes, as well as other fun and informative posts! You can also click or tap on the “online storytime” tag to find other videos.

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Activities for Kids Stuck at Home: Part 1

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Copy of Let Your Dreams Blossom (1)

Need ideas on how to keep your kids busy now that they are suddenly home from school? We’ve got you covered! Here are four fun, easy activities using materials you probably already have in your cupboards or pantry. Check back next week for another four!

  • This educational monster genetics activity combines art and science! Flip a coin to determine what traits your baby monster will have and then draw the results. There are three different sets of monster parents, but you can redo each page multiple times and end up with different results each time.
  • For younger kiddos, fill a large bowl with water and test out different objects around the house to see if they sink or float. Have them make a prediction beforehand, and then discuss what the object is made of and why that determines whether or not it floated.
  • Another great activity is a very simple one that we have used in programs. If you have building blocks, adding a little shaving cream to them makes them stick together even better. Plus it’s a wonderful sensory experience! If you’re concerned about the mess, keep it all in a medium or large sized storage tub to keep it contained.
  • If you happen to have balloons on hand, balloon rocket races are a great activity to keep multiple kids busy! You’ll need a balloon for each person, tape, a couple of straws, and paper and crayons/colored pencils to decorate the rockets. Clothes pins are optional, but very handy if you have them. First, you’ll want to set up your racing lanes. Tie the ends of the string to chairs or something similar. It’s easiest if you have the starting line slightly higher than the finish line, but not necessary as long as they are level. Before tying off the 2nd end, thread a straw through the string. Next, design your rockets and cut them out. Blow up your balloon and either clip the end with the clothes pin or hold it closed – don’t tie it off! Tape your rocket to the side of your balloon, and then tape the straw threaded through the string to the top of your balloon. Now you’re ready for racing! Have both people release the end of their balloon at the same time and see which rocket makes it to the end first! This idea is adapted from STEAM Powered Family, which also has some great info on explaining the physics of this activity.

We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. The library may be closed, but be sure to check back on our blog for more ideas and resources for you and your children!

Miss Jessica