Kids Newsletter
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| Have you read a book you just love and want to recommend it to others?
Are you looking for something to read but don't know where to start?
Harris County Public Library offers online book reviews by our customers! You can read reviews written by other kids recommending books that they enjoyed. You can write a review of a book that you loved so that other kids will want to read it too!
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Meet the HCPL Children's Staff
Harris County Public Library has 26 branch libraries across the county. We have over 60 staff members dedicated to serving the children in our community. Let's meet a couple of them!
Ms. Shawn
Barbara Bush Branch Library
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Ms. Shawn
Ms. Shawn is the Children’s Assistant at the Barbara Bush Branch Library. Shawn has worked for us for almost 11 years.
What do you like to read?
I like to read books about animals, mysteries, YA fiction, juvenile fiction, historical fiction, cookbooks, knitting books and Vanity Fair magazine.
What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
My favorite book when I was young was Bambi. It was lost for a while, and then I found it under my mom’s bed. I think she may have thrown it under her bed so that she wouldn’t have to re-read it to me. I still read books more than once.
What are your hobbies?
I travel. This year I went to New York City with a co-worker. I’ve been to many European cities which have made the books that I’ve read come to life for me. Art museums are one of my passions, and I have been to all of the major art museums in this country. I love to cook, draw, listen to music, and read. I also knit blankets for the V.A. Hospital and chemo caps for M.D. Anderson cancer patients. I am an active member in the Daughters of the American Revolution, San Jacinto Chapter, and I am an active member in my church.
What was the funniest thing that happened to you as a kid?
When I was a girl, we would go to Daytona, Florida every spring. There was a cluster of cottages and the same group of people was there every year. One man called himself Rabbit. Each night Rabbit would ask me if his eyes were red. I would say yes. Then he would ask me if his ears were getting longer. I would say yes. Then he would ask me if his nose was twitching and I would say yes. He would tell me that it was time to go back to our cabin with my parents and leave carrots on the porch before I went to sleep. He would be turning into a rabbit and would eat his treats as he went hopping around the beach at night. Each morning I would wake up to find a basket filled with crackers for the seagulls, candy and stuffed animals for me, and chomped up carrots all over the lawn. I believed in Rabbit until I was ten years old, and my mom told me that Rabbit and his wife couldn’t have children. Rabbit would eat the carrots and throw them all over the lawn. He left the treats because he knew I believed in magic.
What do you like best about your job?
I love working with the children, teens and their families.
Anything else you want to share about yourself?
My daughter will be getting married next year to a young man from Bogotá, Columbia. His family has invited me to visit them and I am brushing up on my Spanish. I’d like to go to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. My future son-in-law has promised to teach me how to dance the salsa for their wedding.
What are you reading right now?
I am currently reading The Boy in the Striped Pajama by James Boyne. One of our customers (she is eleven) recommended this book. The story revolves around two boys, Bruno, whose father is the commandant at the Auschwitz camp in Poland and Schmuel an inmate at the camp wearing striped pajamas. |
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Ms. Susan
Ms. Susan is the Children’s Librarian at the Atascocita Branch Library. Susan has been with us for 2 years.
What do you like to read?
Right now I am going through a phase of reading the young adult paranormal books. But I always love to read suspense and mystery novels as well as select romance and science-fiction/fantasy books. What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
I can’t say that I had just one. I was, and still am, a voracious reader. I do remember liking the Dr. Seuss stories when I first started reading. As I got older I would read the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries and from there I moved onto the bigger things in science-fiction, like Anne McCaffrey, Michael Crichton, and Robert Jordan.
What are your hobbies?
Reading, music, concerts, and spending time with friends in new places. I would like to say that travel is one of my hobbies but I haven’t had a chance to go as many places as I would like.
Do you have any pets?
My family and I actually have a lot of pets. We have 2 parrots; Charlie, a yellow-naped Amazon, & Nikki, a blue and gold macaw. I also have 6 dogs, Penny & Truman the Rottweiler’s, then Riley the schnoodle, Eli the labradoodle, Max and Gracie the cockapoos. Oh, and I can’t forget the fish, Clive II.
What do you like best about your job?
It is so much fun to see the children grow up. In the few years that I have been here I have seen so many of the children that starting in our Mother Goose Infant Lapsit program move up into the Tales for Tots Toddler program. I also really get a good feeling when I am able to find someone a book that they will really enjoy. If they are excited about reading it, I am excited that I was able to help them find it.
What are you reading right now?
Right now I am reading a few of the young adult series and am waiting, not so patiently, for the next books to be published. I really like the Melissa de la Cruz Blue Bloods series and well as Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books. |
Ms. Susan
Atascocita Branch Library
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Max Max and Truman |
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New Children's Books and Audio
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Julie Stiegemeyer. Gobble Gobble Crash!: A Barnyard
Counting Bash A flock of clumsy turkeys disrupts a quiet night on the farm, but when the farmer threatens them, all the barnyard animals help the noisy birds hide.
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Jean Marzollo. Ten Little Christmas Presents
A counting-down book in which ten forest animals find unexpected Christmas presents, left for them by a Secret Santa.
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Shirin Yim Bridges. The Umbrella Queen
In a village in Thailand where everyone makes umbrellas, young Noot dreams of painting the most beautiful one and leading the annual parade as Umbrella Queen, but her unconventional designs displease her parents.
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Nick Bruel. Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
Takes a humorous look at the normal way cats bathe, why it is inappropriate for humans to bathe that way, and the challenges of trying to give a cat a real bath with soap and water. Includes fun facts, glossary, and other information.
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Nancy L. Carlson. Henry's Amazing Imagination!
When Henry's imagination gets mixed up with the truth during show and tell, his teacher suggests that he write and illustrate his own stories.
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Francesca Chessa. Holly's Red Boots
Holly wants to play in the snow and needs her red boots, so she and her cat Jasper search the house for anything red.
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Margery Cuyler. Hooray for Reading Day!
First-grader Jessica, a big worrier, is especially afraid that she will make a mistake when she is reading in front of her class and parents on Reading Theater Day, but after lots of practice reading to her dog Wiggles, she performs perfectly.
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Norton Juster. Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie
This sequel to the Caldecott Medal title The Hello, Goodbye Window knowingly describes a child's conflicting personalities. "Sometimes I'm Sourpuss," a multiracial girl admits. "And sometimes I'm Sweetie Pie."
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Ruth Spiro. Lester Fizz: Bubble-Gum Artist
Everyone in the Fizz family is an artist. Everyone, that is, except Lester, whose paintings are pitiful and doodles are drab. He can't seem to find a way to fit in with the illustrious Fizzes, until one day a mouthful of gum becomes a work of art in Lester's talented lips.
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Judith Viorst. Nobody Here But Me
With his mother on the phone, his father checking e-mail, and his sister playing with her friends, a little boy feels as if he is all alone in the house, and no matter how badly he behaves, no one comes to stop him.
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Marcy Brown. Just Five More Minutes!
It's Mark's bedtime, but he begs his mom for "just five more minutes"! When his five minutes are up, he keeps coming up with something new to extend the time.
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Joann Cleland. Boats! Boats! Boats!
This book can be sung to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat."
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Judyann Grant. Chicken said, "Cluck!"
Earl and Pearl do not want Chicken's help in the garden, until a swarm of grasshoppers arrives and her true talent shines.
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Fiona Lock. Family Vacation
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Cynthia Rylant. Annie and Snowball and the Teacup Club
Annie forms a club for girls who love teacups and other dainty things, but she will always love her cousin Henry and his big drooly dog too.
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Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Science Fair: A Story of
Mystery, Danger, International Suspense, and a Very Nervous Frog The president of Kprshtskan is plotting to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School in Maryland in order to take over the United States government, but when Toby Harbinger, an ordinary student, makes up his mind finally to win the fair, the terrorists' plans go awry.
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Krista Bell. If the Shoe Fits
Cassie wants to be a dancer when she grows up but is afraid to dance in front of anyone outside her family, until the day of her first jazz performance arrives and her mother and a new friend help her to gain confidence.
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Frances O'Roark. Phineas L. MacGuire--Blasts Off!
Hoping to earn money to attend Space Camp, fourth-grade science whiz Phineas MacGuire gets a job as a dog walker, then enlists the aid of his friends Ben and Aretha to help with experiments using the dog's "slobber."
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David Elliott. Wuv Bunnies from Outers Pace
Two large rabbits from a galaxy called Outers Pace enlist the aid of Hercules Smith in saving the children of his town from being turned into carrots by the sinister B3 and his Funny Bunny henchrabbits.
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Peggy Elilzabeth Gifford. Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing
Thank-You Notes Ten-year-old Moxy Maxwell has promised to write twelve thank-you notes by the day after Christmas so that she and her twin brother Mark can go to Hollywood to visit their father, but all her brilliant ideas to help finish the task more efficiently end up creating chaos in the house.
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Katherine Langrish. Troll Blood
When the cunning seafaring trader Gunnar, and his short-tempered, sword-wielding son, Harald Silkenhair, land in Trollsvik looking for a crew for a journey to Vinland, fifteen-year-old Peer, suspicious of their motives, reluctantly agrees to join them, mostly to watch over his friend Hilde who is eager to sail to the New World as companion to Gunnar's wife Astrid.
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Adam Selzer. I Put a Spell on You: From the Files of Chrissie
Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence. Told through in-class letters, administrative memos, file notes from Chrissie's investigation, and testimony from spelling bee contestants.
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Kim Wayans. Happy Birthday to Me
Amy is very excited about the special sleepover she has planned for her tenth birthday until her friends get the chance to go to a concert the same night, and meanwhile, she worries that her family will be moving again.
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New Children's Nonfiction
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Kathleen Krull. The Road to Oz: Twists, Turns, Bumps, and
Triumphs in the Life of L. Frank Baum
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Daniel Carter Beard. The American Boy's Handy Book
Gives illustrated instructions for a variety of projects and activities for each season of the year, including making home-made boats, camping, fishing, hunting, and more.
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Jeff Belanger. Who's Haunting the White House?
The President's mansion and the ghosts who live there.
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Pamela Espeland. See You Later, Procrastinator!: (Get It
Done) Kids learn 12 reasons why people procrastinate and 12 Procrastination Busters that can help; 20 ways to kiss procrastination good-bye; tips for avoiding setbacks like the dreaded Domino Effect; and Mighty Motivators and Fun Rewards to keep them on track. See You Later, Procrastinator! gives kids lots of ways to kick the procrastination habit and feel more in charge of their lives.
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Kerry Lee MacLean. Peaceful Piggy Yoga
Learn how to do yoga poses as these kids and piggies do!
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Matt Smith. The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel
Based on the motion picture screenplay.
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Doreen Cronin. The Diary of a Fly
A young fly discovers, day by day, that there is a lot to learn about being an insect, including the dangers of flypaper and that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Read by Harry Bliss.
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James Herriot. James Herriot's Treasury for Children
A collection of the author's stories for children. Read by Jim Dale.
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Elise Broach. Masterpiece
Martin the beetle lives with his family under the sink in young James Pompaday's New York City apartment. When James receives a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Martin surprises him with an artful miniature drawing. James claims the drawing as his own, which leads to his involvement in an art heist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Will James have to depend on a beetle to get out of this mess? Read by Jeremy Davidson.
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Robert A. Heinlein. Red Planet
A young colonist on Mars befriends a strange round creature called Willis who gets him into trouble when he goes away to school, but whose presence and friendship finally enable the colonials to negotiate a treaty with the Martians. Read by William Dufris and the Full Cast family.
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Ann M. Martin. Runaway Dolls
In the final installment of the Doll People trilogy, Annabelle Doll and Tiffany Funcraft face an unexpected visitor, a doll named Tilly May. With her familiar-looking face, Annabelle and Tiffany find themselves wondering if Tilly May could be Annabelle's long-lost sister. Read by Lynn Redgrave.
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