Great Gridiron Reads

 

It’s time to get out the shoulder pads, helmets and stadium blankets – but you don’t need to hit the field to enjoy some terrific books about football.  Here are some of the latest stories to hit the shelves in the Children’s Library.

 Fiction

 Coach Hyatt is a Riot! by Dan Gutman

A new football coach arrives at school and, with help from an unexpected new team member, the Moose win a game.

 The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens

The overweight and unathletic son of a famous former football star discovers that his equally fat and lazy dog is unexpectedly–and obsessively–interested in competing in dog agility contests.

 Football Champ by Tim Green

Twelve-year-old Troy’s uncanny gift for predicting football plays proves a powerful secret weapon for the Atlanta Falcons, but a seedy reporter with a vendetta suspects something is going on and sets out to shred the reputations of Troy and star linebacker Seth Halloway.

 The Great Quarterback Switch by Matt Christopher

Twelve-year-old Michael, confined to a wheelchair after an accident, uses mental telepathy to communicate football plays to his quarterback twin brother Tom, then suddenly finds himself on the field in his brother’s place.

 Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica

Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate Brodie’s family is feeling the stress of the troubled economy, and Nate is frantic because his best friend Abby is going blind, so when he gets a chance to win a million dollars if he can complete a pass during the halftime of a New England Patriot’s game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.

Touchdown Trouble by Fred Bowen

Sam is proud that his touchdown in the final play of a game left his football team undefeated, but when a videorecording of the game reveals that the touchdown was scored illegally, he and the other Cowboys must decide whether to reveal the truth. Includes facts about a similar situation faced by Cornell University’s team after a game with Dartmouth in 1940.

Readers

Hooray for Fly Guy!  by Tedd Arnold

Fly Guy joins Buzz’s football team, despite Coach’s misgivings, and hits the field for a special, secret play.

 Touchdown!  Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert

A boy and his pet dragon meet up with their friends and play football.

Nonfiction

Just the facts?  You can score a touchdown with the large selection of information books about the game of football, as well as individual players, teams and conference available in the Children’s Library.  Here are just two of the newest nonfiction titles in the collection.

Football by the Numbers by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann

Numbers are used all the time in football.  A touchdown is 6 points.  A football is about 11 inches long.  An overtime period lasts 15 minutes.  It is 30 feet from the ground to the top of the goalposts.  A field goal is 3 points.  Learn more about how numbers are used in football.

Ultimate Guide to Football by James Buckley Jr.

Turn the pages for:

– A spread of amazing trivia about each professional team
– History of the early days of the game
– Pioneers in the sport
– Photographs of today’s stars and the legends of the game
– Comic illustrations
– High-interest stats, stars, and lists
– An appendix that gives a quick primer on the some of the least-known rules of the game

More Summer Reading to Keep You Cool!

Hello, Fish!  by Sylvia Earle

Renowned underwater explorer, Sylvia Earle, takes you on a tour of the ocean using brief text and vivid oversize pictures to introduce such fish as the damselfish, red lipped batfish, and brown goby.

Incredible Ocean! : Eye-Opening Photos Of Life Underwater

 A picture is worth a thousand words and this photographic undersea journey featuring oversize pictures of unique creatures that live in the world’s oceans, including sharks, whales, seahorses, crabs, eels, and others is sure to please.

Ocean Magic  by Michael O’Neill

Award-winning photographer Michael Patrick O’Neill introduces readers to coral reefs, kelp forests, and the ocean bottom with spectacular full-color images.

Sharks and Other Creatures of the Deep

Brief text and large interactive pictures introduce the characteristics of unusual, and often predatory, fish, mammals, and other creatures that live in or near the ocean.

BookLetters

Have  you wondered what those icons to the right of this box are all about?  Are you looking for good new books to read?  If so, you may be interested in signing up for the library’s BookLetters.  There are monthly lists of books with descriptions and photos that come directly to your email in-box.    There are two lists for children: Children’s Picture Books and Children’s Chapter Books plus others for teens and adults.  You can also sign up for news from The Children’s Library and your local branch.  There is an icon on the library’s homepage where you can sign up, use the icons to the right or use this link: Bookletters.

Come see the Children’s Library dressed for summer

See more photos under our Scrapbook tab.

Make a Splash with Picture Books

A Beach Tail by Karen Williams

When his father tells him not to leave the lion he is drawing on the beach, a little boy starts making a very, very long tail–and a trail to follow back.

Boatyard Ducklings by Heather Austin

Over the course of one summer at a Maine boatyard, two girls observe a pair of mallard ducks as the female produces eggs, which eventually hatch into ducklings that slowly mature until they are almost ready to migrate south.

Miranda’s Beach Day by Holly Keller

Miranda and Mama spend a fun day at the beach building castles and catching sand crabs, and Miranda learns that just like the sand and the sea, she and her mother will always be together.

Slow Down For Manatees by Jim Arnosky

Injured by a passing motorboat, a pregnant manatee is rescued and taken to an aquarium to recover and have her baby in a safe environment.

The Treasure Bath by Dan Andreasen

Imagination is key in this wordless story as a young boy explores a creature-filled ocean world beneath the bubbles in his bathtub.

Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! by April Pulley Sayre

From before the time she hatches until she returns to the same beach to lay eggs of her own, a sea turtle is helped to escape from danger many times by different human hands.

Way Down Deep In The Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck

A child explores the treasures of the deep blue sea from the safety of a bathtub.

Biographies about People Who Made a Splash!

 Down the Colorado:  John Wesley Powell, the one-armed explorer  by Deborah Kogan Ray

                Although John Wesley Powell’s minister father always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, young Wes had different plans for his future. Enraptured by the wonders of the natural world, he was determined to take the path of science. Even after losing his right arm below the elbow in battle during the Civil War, Wes would not be deterred from his dream of leading the first scientific expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. Braving treacherous rapids and perilous waterfalls, Major Powell would surpass all expectations and return home a national hero.

Manfish  by Jennifer Berne

                Before Jacques Cousteau became an internationally known oceanographer and champion of the seas, he was a curious little boy. In this biography, poetic text and paintings combine to create a portrait of Jacques Cousteau.

Mermaid Queen:  the spectacular true story of Annette Kellerman, who swam her way to fame, fortune, & swimsuit history!  by Shana Corey

                As a child growing up in Australia, Annette Kellerman was a frail ugly duckling who dreamed of becoming a graceful ballerina. With courage and determination, she confronted a crippling illness to become an internationally known record-setting athlete who revolutionized the sport of swimming for women, a movie star who invented water ballet, and a fashion revolutionary who modernized the swimsuit.

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: the Sammy Lee story  by Paula Yoo

                A biography of Korean American diving champion Sammy Lee, focusing on how his childhood determination and his father’s dreams set the stage for a medical career as well as his athletic achievements which earned him Olympic gold medals in 1948 and 1952.

Surfer of the Century:  the life of Duke Kahanamoku  by Ellie Crow

                A brief biography of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, five-time Olympic swimming champion from the early 1900s who is also considered worldwide as the “father of modern surfing.”

Make a Splash: Read some poetry about water

Cyrus, Kurt

Hotel deep: light verse from dark water

 

In twenty-one poems a lone sardine goes off in search of its lost school within the dark halls of a great coral reef.  The oversize format is highlighted by brightly colored illustrations.

 

Graham, Joan

Splish splash

Twenty-one short poems celebrate water in its forms from ice cubes to waves and are highlighted by colorful illustrations.

 

Harrison, David L.

Vacation: we’re going to the ocean: poems

Forty-five humorous poems follow a family as they pack the car and head to the shore.  Black and white sketches highlight each poem.

 

Sea dream: poems from under the waves

Twenty-six poems by a wide range of poets celebrate the diversity of life in the sea.  Color illustrations highlight each poem.

 

Singer, Marilyn

Song of the water boatman: and other pond poems

Eleven poems that provide a look at some of the animals, insects, and plants found in ponds are highlighted by hand-colored woodcuts.

National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Author Katherine Paterson is the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2010 and 2011.  She is the second ambassador, succeeding Jon Scieszka.  She has chosen the theme “Read for your Life” for her message.  Katherine Paterson told Horn Book Magazine that “Reading has made such a profound difference to my life.  I’m sure I became a writer because of the power of literature in my own life.”  Check out her website at www.terabithia.com.

She is the author of the Newbery-winning Bridge to Terabithia and Newbery Medal-winning Jacob Have I Loved plus many other wonderful books.

Thank you for your support!

We appreciate the support you showed us on Tuesday, May 4,  in passing our library levy!  We will do our best to continue to provide a high level of library service.

“Ology” Books

 

Do you love those Dragonology books and the ones that look like scrapbooks with letters that come out of the pockets, etc?  Then this is the list for you:

Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology : the complete book of dragons                                

JNF 398.2454 D761d  

Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology handbook : a practical course in dragons                               

JNF 398.469 D761dd  

Drake’s comprehensive compendium of dragonology                                                    

JNF 398.2454 D761dr