A Book a Day: New Kid

New Kid by Jerry Craft

The very first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal for the best children's book. Fifth graders, if you are starting to feel anxious about starting middle school, this is the book for you. Jordan Banks loves to draw cartoons about his life. He is hoping to go to the art school in town, but instead his parents send him to a prestigious private school where Jordan is one of the few kids of color. Riverdale Academy Day School is a long drive from his Washington Heights neighborhood. Jordan records many things in his sketchbook: the challenges he faces fitting in at school, the things some of his teachers believe about him because he is black,  the different goals that his mom and dad each have for him, learning to play soccer, and balancing his old and new friends.

Available on Hoopla.

DAY EIGHTEEN TRIVIA

We're watching a lot of Disney movies in our house these days. Many of the feature films as well as the old shorts or Silly Symphonies are based on European fairy tales. Today, April 2nd, is the birthday of the author of The Ugly Duckling, The Little Match Girl, The Snow Queen (Elsa), and The Little Mermaid. He was born in Odense, Denmark on April, 2, 1805. What is his name?


Go to Hoopla, to find both eBook and audio ebook collections of his stories.

A Book a Day: Bob

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

As soon as she steps inside her grandmother's home in Australia, Livy feels she's forgotten something. It's been five years since her last visit from America. Over those five years, Bob has been waiting for Livy. Bob is a small, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, waiting in a closet for Livy to return. When she's with Bob, Livy begins to remember somethings, others Bob has to tell her. How she was found soaking wet in the chicken coop. How she made the chicken suit, how she promised to find his parents. When she's away from Bob, she forgets all about him. Together they need to unravel the mystery and magic surrounding Bob.

This book is available from Overdrive in both eBook and audio ebook format.


You will love other books by Wendy Mass, available on Hoopla....

DAY SEVENTEEN TRIVIA

APRIL FOOLS! What kind of tricks are you going to play? Have you ever stuck a note on the back of someone? Maybe it said "kick me" or something like that? In France, children stick a picture of an animal on the back's of their friends. What animal is it? What animal is so associated with April Fools Day in France that they even have a candy?

Do you see any good prank websites today? Post them here.

A Book a Day: Minecraft Fiction

If you haven't created a Hoopla account yet, today is the day. If you love Minecraft, Hoopla has books for you. In addition to most of the popular guides, they also have some of the popular fiction series.

Invasion of the Overworld by Mark Cheverton

Gameknight999's real world father has invented a device that teleports him into the game...for real. What happens if he is killed? What happens if he can't return? He soon discovers that Minecraft's creatures are all alive. The claws and fangs do real damage. To survive he will need to find other gamers and work together.


Download all the Mark Cheverton books from Hoopla.

Stolen Treasure by Winter Morgan

Alchemist Edison and Billy have brought back a ton of valuable loot from the Nether. But before they can trade their treasure it mysteriously disappears. They begin using their detective skills to investigate their neighbors and friends. Who can they trust?


Download all the Unofficial Minecraft Mysteries by Winter Morgan from Hoopla.

Have you found the Minecraft Education Edition yet? It's free to download.

DAY SIXTEEN TRIVIA

March is almost over and so on the last day of Women's History Month your question is in what year did the US Congress first proclaim Women's History?

For more about the many women who have contributed to the history of our country, visit the National Women's History Museum. Click on the Students and Educators link for biographies and electronic fieldtrips. You can also donate online to help make the museum a reality in Washington, D.C.

A Book a Day: Other Words for Home

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga.

Jude and her mother are forced to leave her father and brother in war-torn Syria to live with her uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio. Everything in America seems loud and fast and the English she learned in school back home and from American movies sounds like a foreign language to her cousin and kids at her new school. Slowly she makes new friends, tries out for the school musical, and prepares to be a big sister.

A novel written in verse and 2019 Newbery Honor Book.

Available online through Overdrive and Hoopla.

DAY FIFTEEN TRIVIA

We give groups of animals interesting names. A group of fish is called a school of fish. A group of birds is called a flock of birds. A group of bees is called a swarm of bees.

What is the collective noun for a group of butterflies?

There are some great virtual field trips of places around Michigan popping up on the Internet. If you love seeing the butterflies at Meijer Garden like our family does, don't miss the butterfly virtual visits on their Facebook page at 10 am and 2 pm.

In a People House Read by Ms. Sebright

Ms. Sebright reads In a People House by Theo Lesieg.
Read with permission of Random House Books.

Do you remember who Theo Lesieg really was?

A Book a Day: The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Since their mother's death, brother and sister, 14 year-old Carter Kane and 12 year-old Sadie Kane have lived apart. Carter has traveled the world with their father, famous Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane, while Sadie has lived with their grandparents in London. Then one night, Dr. Kane takes both his children on a private, after hours tour of the world famous Egyptian collection at the British Museum. The night ends in chaos: the priceless artifact known as the Rosetta Stone is destroyed, their father disappears, and Carter and Sadie are kidnapped. Worse, five of the Egyptian gods have been released: Set, the jackal-headed god of war, chaos, and storms, and the sworn enemy of the Kane children. Who are the Kane children? Well, like Percy Jackson, they are about to find out their own magical heritage.

If you've read the Lightning Thief series, you will want to read Rick Riordan's other mythology-based series, The Kane Chronicles, as well as the Magnus Chase series, based on Norse mythology.
Both series, as well as the Percy Jackson books are available on Hoopla.

Portage District Library card holders can click here --
http://www.portagelibrary.info/digital-library/ebooks-eaudiobooks/

Click on Hoopla --
https://www.hoopladigital.com/

You will be asked to create an account with your email and card number. You can then search thousands of books and music by author/artist, title, or subject. Hoopla titles are always available  to borrow for 21 days. The title streams or downloads onto mobile devices. You can borrow 15 titles a month.

Tip: I recommend using the app, but if you are reading on a computer in a web browser, make a bookmark after you open the book.

Parents: Hoopla has a KIDS mode to filter searches.

DAY TWELVE TRIVIA

What signs of spring do you see around your house? We're getting little yellow crocuses in our front yard. We've had robins for a couple of weeks now. We live near the Kleinstuck nature preserve in Kalamazoo where we've been seeing (and hearing!) ducks and geese begin to nest. When I was in high school in northern Ohio, a favorite sign of spring was the return of big ugly birds to Hinckley, Ohio. What kind of birds come back to Hinckley on March 15?

It was also the mascot of our favorite rock radio station in Cleveland. If you find the website for the metropark, you will see pictures of some of the awesome ledges we would climb on the weekends.

A Book a Day: Scary Stories for Young Foxes

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker.

"Tell us a story," the alpha kit said one misty night.
"Make it scary!" the fourth said, yipping and hopping.
"Yeah!" said the third, snarling. "So scary our eyes fall out of our heads."
"Please stop biting my face, children," their mother said.
The kits behaved themselves while she smoothed out a bed for the night.
"Let's see," she said. "How about ....'Rattlebones'?"
"Mo-om!" the beta said, rolling her eyes.
"You told us that story when we were two weeks," said the alpha.
"It's boring!" said the fourth.
"Very well..." Their mom began ripping out roots that had snuck through the den's walls. "How about 'Willoughby Wallaby and the Floating Paw'?"
"Seriously?" the fifth kit said.
"That story wouldn't raise the hackles on a field mouse!" said the fourth.
"It's kit stuff," said the third.
"Well," their mother said. "Those are the stories I know."
Seven little foxes sighed.
"Sorry to be a disappointment," their mother said, lying down. She paused and looked at the kits with all seriousness. "But you must promise that no matter what you do tonight, you will not go to Bog Cavern."
The kits' ears perked.
"What's ... Bog Cavern?" the alpha asked.
"That's where the old storyteller lives," their mom said. "If you go there, you'll hear a story so frightening it will put the white in your tail."
The kits stared at their thin, dusty brown tails with wide eyes.

So where do the seven kits go once their mother fell asleep? You guessed it. Bog Cavern. The storyteller in Bog Cavern has eight creepy, weird stories full of monsters, witches, and zombies ready to tell...if you dare.

Available through Overdrive.