Library Bag Fave: NIGHTSONG by Ari Berk and Loren Long

4 of 5 stars. To say Nightsong is about bats would be true. And there is science to learn, also. But it's about so much more...the love between mother and child. There's trust and letting go, and believing in someone and oneself. We watch our children grow up and it happens so fast. And yet, it is life. We grow, we learn, we change. What we get out of it, is our decision. Will we choose to see nothing or everything? For our children, we hope that they choose well.

Loren Long's illustrations are dark and light and lovely. A wonderful book!

Library Bag Fave: TIGER IN MY SOUP by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

4 stars for the story, 5 stars for the pictures. Kashmira Sheth Jeffrey Ebbeler

It's the illustration on the cover that catches the eye. They are just magnificent throughout the book, the inside cover, and the end pages! The story is fun, too, about a little boy being babysat by his teenage sister. She has the earbuds in, reading a book of her own, and not paying much attention to her brother. He keeps begging her to read to him but she ignores him. So his imagination runs wild, jungle wild, since the book is about a tiger! She makes him lunch but still won't read the book to him. So the tiger comes alive and ends up in his soup! And then the real mischief begins!

Library Bag Fave: APPLESAUCE by Klaas Verplancke

Applesauce by Klaas Verplancke

5 of 5 Stars If the spelling of the author's name looks like it's probably from another country, I'm usually right that I'm REALLY going to like the book. I smile and snatch those off the bookshelves SO fast and place it in my bag as if someone else might spy it and take it! In my experience, foreign books that make it to American libraries are usually really good or really unusual or BOTH. Applesauce is the latter. The cover illustration struck me first. Does the man look a little bit like a monkey? I'm pretty sure it's a father and son? On the title page, it says, "My daddy was given to me. He was there when I was born. I still have him." I fell in love instantly before turning the page. THEN it's the pictures and the writing that makes it WONDERFUL! The story is from the little boy's point of view...what his daddy looks like, smells like, and acts like. The illustrations change with his thoughts. In his own words the boy tells us what his daddy is like. And then daddy gets mad and the illustration shows daddy as a very big, very ugly monkey-daddy. "A thunder daddy is no fun. STUPID DADDY, I think." It takes a while and some yummy daddy-made applesauce for the little boy to come around. I will have to order this for my son-in-law who is a GREAT daddy but might sometimes have to be a "thunder daddy".

Library Bag Fave: MISS MOORE THOUGHT OTHERWISE by Debby Atwell

5 of 5 Stars to Miss Moore Thought Otherwise or How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children by Jan Pinborough and illustrated by Debby Atwell     Did you know that children were not allowed to go into libraries in the late 1800's? "People didn't think reading was very important for children - especially not for girls." Also, some libraries were not free. This book tells the story of a girl who didn't follow the rules and became one of the founding champions for libraries and the right for children to use them.We, who love children and books, owe a debt to Anne Carroll Moore who made sure that yesterday's and today's children have access to the wonderful world of books. 

Library Bag Fave: BRIEF THIEF by Michael Escoffier

5 of 5 stars to Brief Thief by Michael Escoffier,  and illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo.

Look at the cover carefully. What do you see? Are you sure? What does it look like? Make some predictions...go ahead...I dare you. I started giggling when I saw this on the library's New Picture Books shelf. Some books continue to make me giggle throughout, but not all. This one, however, not only made me giggle, but made me wonder how artistic, creative, imaginative people get these amazing ideas and bring them to fruition. I so envy them. Yes, yes...if you predicted that a gecko is the thief, you are right. But I bet the rest of your guesses aren't quite on target. You will have a rollicking good time finding out, though, I guarantee it! Yep, that's all I'm saying. You'll just have to check it out to find out why, Leon the gecko, stole these briefs!

Library Bag Fave: DOUG AND PUG by Steve Breen

4 of 5 stars to Doug and Pug by Steve Breen. Great friendship book about two dog-friends who couldn't be more different. A misunderstanding comes between the two good friends but all is well in the hijinks that follows! Hilarious illustrations in an almost graphic book type layout. A great discussion starter about how totally wrong we can be when it comes to our friends and our relationships. The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow from 1969 would pair nicely with Doug and Pug. One of the best last page illustrations EVER in Pug and Doug! Loved it!

Library Bag Fave

5 of 5 stars to Count the Monkeys! by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Kevin Cornell. Mac Barnett is a fave of mine (LOVE his Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen) and this book is ALL awesomeness! It's not your typical counting book...not by a long shot! It's a participation book like Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Kids and other human beings will laugh at the craziness that is going on inside! Fun, fun, fun will be had by all who enter!

Mac Barnett