Houston Family Book List - September 2010

HCPL's Book Bites [2] column appears monthly in Houston Family Magazine [3]. Each column features suggested books for toddlers through teens. Get the new list every month in the magazine, available at all of our branches. Previous columns [4].

Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
[5]	Meeow and the Big Box [5]by Sebastien Braun Meeow, a black cat, plays with a big box.
[6]	Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes [6]by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury Rhyming text compares babies born in different places and in different circumstances, but they all share the commonality of ten little fingers and ten little toes.
[7]	Gentleman Bug [7]by Julian Hector Teased because he likes to spend all of his time reading, the Gentleman Bug decides to change in order to catch the eye of the new Lady Bug in the garden, but she is not impressed until he goes back to being himself.
Picture Books (Pre K-K)
[8]	Lola Loves Stories [8]by Anna McQuinn Lola loves to hear Daddy read a new library book each night, an activity that spurs her imagination and results in inventive play the next day.
[9]	Pet Shop Lullaby [9]by Mary Ann Fraser When the pet store closes for the night, a hamster's activities keep the other animals awake as they try to think of some way to put him to sleep.
[10]	The Pout-Pout Fish [10]by Deborah Diesen The pout-pout fish believes he only knows how to frown, even though many of his friends suggest ways to change his expression, until one day a fish comes along that shows him otherwise .
Early Readers (Grades 1-3)
[11]	How Rocket Learned to Read [11]by Tad Hills A little yellow bird teaches Rocket the dog how to read by first introducing him to the "wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet."
[12]	Clever Jack Takes the Cake [12]by Candace Fleming A poor boy named Jack struggles to deliver a birthday present worthy of the princess .
[13]	Bones and the Clown Mix-Up Mystery [13]by David A. Adler Detective Jeffrey Bpnes helps a clown who performed at his friend's birthday party to find some lost clothing.
Children's Fiction (Grades 4-6)
[14]	As Simple as it Seems [14]by Sarah Weeks Eleven-year-old Verbena Polter gets through a difficult summer of turbulent emotions and the revelation of a disturbing family secret with an odd new friend who believes she is the ghost of a girl who drowned many years before.
[15]	We the Children [15]by Andrew Clements Sixth-grader Ben Pratt's life is full of changes that he does not like--his parents' separation and the plan to demolish his seaside school to build an amusement park--but when the school janitor gives him a tarnished coin with some old engravings and then dies, Ben is drawn into an effort to keep the school from being destroyed.
[16]	13 Treasures [16]by Michelle Harrison Bedeviled by evil fairies that only she can see, thirteen-year-old Tanya is sent to stay with her cold and distant grandmother at Elvesden Manor, where she and the caretaker's son solve a disturbing mystery that leads them to the discovery that Tanya's life is in danger.
Teen Fiction (Ages 12 & Up)
[17]	Prada and Prejudice [17]by Mandy Hubbard During a school trip to England, fifteen-year-old Callie buys a pair of Prada shoes in an effort to impress the popular girls, a scheme that backfires and sends Callie back to 1815 .
[18]	Castle on Deadman's Island [18]by Curtis Parkinson When the owner of the castle on Deadman's Island dies, his bizarre will leaves it to three of his friends who hate each other. Dark schemes follow, and the curse of the castle, entrenched forever in local lore, strikes again .
[19]	Cupcake Queen [19]by Heather Hepler Thirteen-year-old Penny is uprooted from Manhattan and planted in the podunk town of Hog's Hollow after her parents' separation where she struggles to find peace with the help of her new friend Tally and a cute boy named Marcus.