THE ABCS: Great communities have great libraries

It confounds me that our literacy-rich community even hesitates when it comes to financing a new library. Naysayers point to a future without “real” books where technological advances do away with print and paper. I still say the library will remain a community’s bedrock of literary respite, a place of gathering information and a site of awakening.

In Fairhope, Ala., the small community united to create a new library. Their work and their result should be an example to anyone who says it can’t be accomplished. A community that invests in its libraries and schools is one that ends up richer, not poorer for it.

Reviewed by Monica:

HOW ROCKET LEARNED TO READ. By Tad Hills. Random House. Ages 4-7. $17.99.

Tad Hills, the author/illustrator who brought us Duck & Goose, has once again matched a clever, adorable plot with equally lovable illustrations. Rocket, a fuzzy, active dog, would rather play and chase and chew than learn to read. Luckily, his teacher, a chirpy yellow bird, is a persistent and creative teacher. Despite Rocket’s strongest intentions otherwise, the little teacher hooks her rambunctious pupil with the power of a good story. Sure to become a beloved, award-winning classroom and home library classic.

LOST FOR WORDS. By Alice Kuipers. HarperCollins. Ages 12 and up. 210 pages. $16.99.

After Sophie witnessed the horrific death of her vibrant, artistic, older sister, she develops panic attacks. She cannot communicate clearly with her mother or her friends, and she shuts down to all around her. Her therapist gives her a journal, which she fills with daily entries about her life, her worries, her insecurities and the pain she feels from losing Emily. A new friend who has moved to London from Canada turns Sophie onto poetry and to spoken-word events. Sophie finds that her notebook and her new interest in poetry keep her from plunging even farther into her emotional abyss.

13 WORDS. By Lemony Snicket & Maira Kalman.
HarperCollins. All ages.
$16.99.

Lemony Snicket, the author of the wildly successful A Series of Unfortunate Events, returns with a vivid picture book sure to give teachers a kick in the vocabulary lesson. Using a word list of 13 ordinary and multisyllabic words, Snicket and Kalman create a fantastical tale. Clever, as Snicket fans would expect, and funny, 13 Words is full of its 12th word — panache.

Reviewed by Hannah:

DOG LOVES BOOKS. By Louise Yates. Random House. Ages 4-8. $16.99.

Dog absolutely adores books, so much that he decides to open a bookstore. He prepares excitedly for the Grand Opening. Dog flings the doors wide to meet his customers, but greets an empty doorstep. He decides to try keeping himself occupied while he waits for shoppers to come into his bookstore. Dog begins reading some of the books he has in stock. Then, when customers come to shop, he knows exactly which books to recommend. An adorable story of a dog with a dream, Dog Loves Books is a treat for book-loving entrepreneurs.

CALVIN CAN’T FLY. By Jennifer Berne. Sterling. Ages 5-9. $14.95.

While his brothers and sisters and cousins were learning how to fly, Calvin, a crow, was in the library learning how to read. As his cousins dream of bug feasts, Calvin dreams of the adventures he reads about in books. He even fantasizes about becoming a writer himself someday. But when it comes time to migrate, Calvin still has not learned how to fly. He has to be carried by his relatives. But Calvin redeems himself when he saves the flock from a massive hurricane through knowledge gained by reading. He is promoted from being a burden to being a hero. Calvin Can’t Fly shows how reading can come in handy in everyday life.

WORD AFTER WORD AFTER WORD. By Patricia MacLachlan. HarperCollins. Ages 8-12. $14.99.

Lucy and her group of friends just go through the motions in their fourth grade class with their teacher, Miss Cash. School suddenly gets a lot more interesting when their student teacher, Ms. Mirabel, joins the class. Ms. Maribel wears monochromatic outfits and teaches the students a love of words. She shows them how to write what they are experiencing in life, and teaches them to write down exactly what “whispers” to them. Lucy, whose mother just finished chemotherapy, writes about her fear and sorrow as her mom undergoes such a difficult time.

The world needs more Ms. Maribels to teach children exactly how important and therapeutic writing can be.

Young Reading with Monica and Hannah McRae Young will appear on the third Sunday of every month. Visit www.cheeReader.com or e-mail cyoung9@triad.rr.com with comments about children’s literature.