 Good morning and welcome to this week's edition of Encompass Live. I'm Emily Nimsacant here at the Nebraska Library Commission, filling in for your regular host, Krista Burns. Encompass Live is the Nebraska Library Commission's weekly online event. We cover NLC-related activities and other library-related topics. And we sometimes have presentations by NLC staff and sometimes guest hosts. These one-hour sessions are free and they're offered every Wednesday at 10 a.m. central time. And they include things like presentations, interviews, book reviews, mini-training sessions, and Q&A sessions. Today we have the Commission's own Sally Snyder here to talk with us about the best books, best youth books of 2010. Take it away, Sally. Thank you. I have my script here, so I'm going to talk fast as usual. But if anybody has any questions or comments, please go ahead and either type in the whatever it is. If you have a question box or if you have a microphone, you can press the little raise your hand button. We'll see that you have a question that you want to ask over your microphone. And it's okay to interrupt me, because I have my script, I can start up again. So this is the presentation I gave that NLA NIMA, it says October 30th, 2009. Don't be scared. It does say best books of 2010. Apparently I never changed that, so that's kind of scary anyway. Let's just move on. Whoops. Didn't mean to do that. I'm not as good at this as some people. I'll just hit these, but there you go. So with this presentation, I always start with the older teens and then work down to the picture books. So that's why we're starting with older teens. And I define older teens, books that go in this category as books that either the characters in the book are, you know, 16 or older, or things that happen in there or things that maybe you want to think about, looking at it before you give it to what I call younger teens. So that's why I have a category called older teens. And this is book two in the Good Neighbors series. Its title is Kip. The first book was titled Kin. Rue Silver continues to try to understand her fairy mother and human father. It seems that the fairy world is working toward taking over the human world. Rue must travel into the fairy world and risk being lost there in an attempt to stop them. And the third book is coming out November one. Oh, it's out right now. I haven't seen it yet. The fifth and final book in the saga of Half Vampire Vlad. He is in deep trouble. The Elysian Council has given him a death sentence. The Slayer Society is also after him. And he thinks he just saw his supposedly dead father. And this is the last book in this series. I think that started with seventh grade, if I remember right. I'm sure most of you know about Mockingjay. It's the third and final book in the Hunger Games series. It's a conclusion and it contains heartbreak, violence, revolution, and pain. And I just don't think I need to spend much more time on that one. It's good though. In Courseron, some of you have heard me talk about before, it is a vast prison. One that no one can enter and no one can leave. Finn, deep inside the prison and desperate to leave it, finds a crystal key. Claudia, daughter of the warden, also finds a crystal key. And they discover that they can communicate with each other via these crystal keys. Finn and a couple of his companions are continuing to seek a way out of Courseron, while Claudia is looking for a way to avoid an arranged marriage. And there's a sequel out, oh gosh, oh, Saphique is out December 28th. This is a sequel to The Green Angel. The first book tells of Green's despair over the loss of her parents and sister in the explosions that destroyed the city across the river and of her recovery. She is now almost 17, and this book tells of her strength and abilities as she seeks her loved diamond, who left her to find his family. She is now making paper and writing down people's stories for them. She seeks the stories of the Sky Witch, the Rose Witch, and the River Witch, all of whom help her determine her path when she sets out to free the prisoners on the island by the city. The first book of a proposed trilogy, this graphic novel, tells a fictional story of the days of the night's Templar after the Pope had declared them outlaws. The three main characters are Martin, who still holds steadfast to his vows as a night Templar, Dominique, former Templar and now a priest, and Bernard, former Templar and now a bandit. They were in the secret of the location of the Templar fortune and are determined to keep it from King Philip of France. Swashbuckling sword fights clearly and some clearly implied torture, and the hardships of the day are included in this story and the art, and it may inspire some research into that era, and the illustrations are all in color. Paul Voponi, one of his newer books is Riker's High. Martin is 17, and he was accused of steering, which is telling a police officer where to buy marijuana. He has been waiting for his court date for five months, a long time due to some unusual circumstances. While he waits, he does his best to avoid conflict and ends up going to school on the island. The author has reworked his adult novel, Riker's, into this book aimed at teen readers. Voponi taught for six years on Riker's Island, and much of what is in this book actually happened, though the reader is not sure which of the events are true. Now some teen nonfiction. The Scientists in the Field series, I haven't seen all the titles in this series, but the one I've seen have all been excellent, so I think you've got a pretty sure thing if you buy one of these books in this series. This has great photos and good information that continue. The Hive Detective first discusses how honeybee hives work and then talks about the catastrophe that occurred over the 2006-2007 winter, when about 38% of the nation's honeybees were lost. The author followed four scientists as they worked to learn what had happened and how to prevent it from happening again, and this book has an index. The story of Thaddeus Lowe in his balloon core during the Civil War. For two years, balloonas floated above the trees to spy on the Confederate lines and provide that information to the Union leaders. They often had to dodge bullets and cannonballs. Black and white period photographs and drawings are included as well as a timeline, source notes, bibliography and index. And when you tell boys I have a book about going ballooning, they might not want to look at it till you show them what it really is about. No offense, sometimes balloons are associated with being, you know, floating away. Okay, an extremely readable look at the life of Albert Einstein and other excellent title in this series. He also gives a sense of Einstein's genius and sense of fun while also letting the reader know some of his faults. Kroll does an amazing job of succinctly explaining his most well-known theories so the lay person, meaning me, can understand. I'm amazed at her abilities with that. Another scientist in the field series joined scientists as they traveled to a small island off New Zealand to study and assist the threatened Karkapok parrot. As of publication, there were 91 of them left. Flightless, this largest parrot in the world was brought to near extinction by humans who brought dogs, rats, cats, and other predators to the island. The excellent color photographs convey the unusual image of full grown and chic Karkapok and the beautiful island that is their home. This also includes an index. Can't read the title very well. Here it's the Omnivore's Dilemma. Originally published for adults in 2006, this young reader's edition was adapted by Richie Chouat. The author investigates how four different meals ended up on the dinner plate and in doing so gives teen readers a lot to think about. It includes occasional photographs, charts, diagrams, and side columns to provide some information in an interesting way. It also, at the back, includes some tips for eating, for their resources, sources, and an index. And this is another one of those books where after you read it, oh boy, you should read it in the spring so you can grow a garden. That's my thoughts. A well-rounded biography that hits on both hemming ways, talents, and faults. Sprinkling quotes from the author and giving source notes about them gives the title a feeling of connection with hemming way. It includes black and white photographs and an index, a good biography for report writing or research. Another beautiful book opening with a photo of the earth with Antarctica in the center. This is a look at scientists and the study of Antarctica from the early days up until now. The author discusses how research is conducted today and with photos on every page, it's gorgeous, lots of good information, but I only wish that some of the photos could have been given more than a quarter of a page. But you have to make the call for that. Keeping up with the Joneses came into being in reference to Edith's family. She was born in 1862 into the top of society in New York, Edith Jones. Here we learn about the society of her time and how she struggled to maintain the proper air while becoming a novelist or how she kind of abandoned the proper air. That was a scandalous act at the time. Period photographs and prints help us to know her and the time period she lived in. It includes some information about the work she did in Europe during World War I. Very interesting. And it includes source notes and bibliography and an index. Okay, fiction for young routines. Liam is 12 years old but he is tall and he has a little bit of beard fuzz starting. He is frustrated because his height makes people think he is older and he should know better. A series of circumstances put him on an experimental rocket with four children. He is supposed to be the responsible adult. Something went wrong and they are continuing out into space with no way to get home. Liam was recording the story to his parents on his cell phone. They think he is attending a gifted and talented week in the Lake District. It's humorous and at times touching. Teddy is 12 and he and his mom have just moved to Richland. There he meets a boy, Albert, but there's something weird going on. When he goes back to the park where he met Albert, everything is different. And why does that big old sycamore tree in the lot next door seem ominous to him? Or the branch is really scratching on and opening his window? The author artist of the Akiko series brings us the first book in a new graphic novel series. Brody is a down and out young man. He fell apart after his girlfriend left him. One day a ghost, Talia, begins talking to him and wants him to help her. Because he can see her, she is sure he is a ghost seer with psychic powers. He is sure it's a mistake. It's a good start to the series with some violence and a member of a street gang eats up Brody. The art is black and white and book two will be out in January. Fans of the series Elastic Princess will enjoy this collection of four stories of witches from the series. It's still a little scary. It tells of Meg Skelton, Dirty Dora, Alice and the Vanshee Witch. And it's considered a companion to the series. But I can read it so it's not too scary. Oh good, that's my porometer. This is the conclusion to the Battle of Jericho and November Blues. It's early February and this title is about Ariel who is alone having lost all her friends due to her own foolishness. Her new stepfather is overly controlling though everyone else only sees how rich he is and all that Ariel has. It is a precarious situation. Everyone is working for a graduation and are irritated by the almost daily fire drills because one student finds that that is easier than doing his work. But this time the fire drill isn't what they thought. This time one classroom is in real danger and in need of a huger. References are made to past events from the previous books and are explained enough to make sense to a new reader like me. I'm sorry you can't see this very well. Beautiful creatures. Even Wade, a sophomore in high school has lived in Gatlin, South Carolina his entire life. He knows everyone. He's bored with the in-proud because he's in it. And he can't wait to leave until Lena moves to town and starts school. She is the girl who has been in his dreams and nightmares. Alma, his family's housekeeper, warrants him against Lena and prepares protection charms for him. Ethan can't ignore Lena and he steps up to defend her from his lifelong neighbors at his friends at school. And the second book came out just recently. I think the title is Beautiful Darkness, which I haven't read yet, but I have it on my pile. This is the Football Genius series in book four. Troy 12 has the uncanny ability to know what play the opposing team is going to run before the play occurs. This is for national football and football. In this fourth book of the series, Troy has agents wanting to represent him for his abilities, not for its football playing. And his dad turns up for the first time. Is his dad really interested in getting to know him or does he want a piece of the agent action? Fans of the series will enjoy this edition. Again, action is throughout when Alex is set to hide out after a reconnaissance mission starts a sequence of events. He goes to an island near Cuba where he encounters a Russian who has some insane plans of his own because no, he can't just have some time off. Undead much is the sequel to You Are So Undead to Me. And in this book, Megan has a new problem. Some super zombies have been raised and they were extremely hard to kill. It takes a huge amount of power to raise them so the settlers of Ferris Squad suspect Megan since she is an extra powerful zombie settler. You really need to read the first book to get everything in the second book. I have read both of them. Megan must prove that she is innocent and she's not supposed to spend any time with her boyfriend, Ethan, while they're investigating. And then there's Cliff, a nice, helpful zombie who doesn't settle. I'd like meeting nice zombies if we have to meet zombies. And a worthy sequel to Shakespeare Vats Cleanup. Kevin's dad gives him another notebook and Kevin once again writes poetry about everyday life. His girlfriend, Mira, is jealous of his new poetry friend, Amy, and Kevin isn't sure what to do. There's some poetry instruction included in a painless way along the story as it was in the first book. Great fun and very interesting. This is a first book in a new series on Mary Quinn mystery. In 1853 London, Mary Quinn was rescued from the gallows at age 12 and educated at a girl's school. Now she is 17 and ready for her first assignment if she wants it. She will be a spy for the organization that saved her. She places a companion in a well-to-do shippers' house and told to listen but do nothing else. Of course, she does more than listen. This is the first of a trilogy and book two, The Body at the Tower, came out in August, which I have also read and that was excellent too. So if I don't have it on my list, I recommend that one also. I love this book. For 10 years, John Smith, that's his newest alias and his father, Henri, have been moving from place to place across the US. He is one of nine children who escaped their home planet, Lorian, while the Mogadarians were taking over. They are the hope of the future. They are protected by a charm and can only be killed in number order. But now, the first three are dead and I am number four. And this I understand is being made into a movie. Lots of sports action in this title, both Major League ball and the baseball games of a 14-year-old. Brian is thrilled to be chosen as one of four bat points for his hometown ball club, the Detroit Tigers. When he learns that his former hero, Hank Bishop, is coming back to the Tigers, he is still rooting for him even though he was suspended for steroid use. But Hank is a complicated person and he wants nothing to do with Brian. This is a graphic novel of the first half or so of the original novel, Twilight. And I haven't yet seen the second half or what's in the future, but Twilight fans will of course, I think, run for this book and ask for the next one. I hope it comes out soon. Reese, 14, is in Juvie jail and hoping to get out early. He has chosen for a special program, the work program at a senior citizen's home. There he meets Mr. Hooft, a resident who is suspicious of him. Reese tries to stay out of trouble, but at progress, the Juvie jail, he learns Diego was planning to beat up too, a small, inoffensive inmate. If Reese steps in, it may blow his chances. This is first of a proposed 12 graphic novel series of the Olympians. This takes a look at one interpretation of the mythical origin of Zeus and his fellow gods. Sorry. The third book following life as we knew it and the dead and gone, we rejoined Miranda, her mother and brothers, Matt and John in May of the following year, and soon the first anniversary of the event is noted. Miranda and her brothers begin to scavenge the empty houses in town for clothing, heaters, because sometimes they get electricity, and toiletries. One day, Miranda's father, stepmother, and baby brother appear on this doorstep with some friends in tow, including Alice and Alex and Julie Morales. And this might really be the last book, but I don't know. The third book in the magic thief series, the city magic from the south is coming to take over Wellmeat, and Khan is still searching for a new locust magic, magic alicas. When a dragon, long thought to be extinct, carries Khan off to the mountains, it looks like there is no hope left for Wellmeat because Khan was integral to the defense of their city. Good magic, lots of adventuring excitement. Speaking of adventuring excitement, Carter, 14, and his sister, Sadie, 12, lost their mother six years ago, and since then Carter has traveled with their father, and Sadie has lived with their grandparents. When their father was taken from them, they learned they have a difficult challenge. They are up against an Egyptian God. Adventure, humor, and a lot of action makes for exciting reading. Rick Riordan has a terrific new series, and I'm not sure how many books he's planning for this series, but he also has another new series that I haven't started yet, so he's busy. Lots happening. The Dead Tossed Waves is a sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. In The Dead Tossed Waves, Gabrielle, or Gabrielle, lives in Vista with her mother, Mary, the main character from the first book. And she is frightened of the world outside the village walls. It's full of zombies that they call ludo. But one night, her friends talk her into climbing the wall and exploring with them with horrible consequences. As a result of this terrible event, Gabrielle and her mother finally talk. Gabrielle is shocked to hear her mother's whole story and chides her for not trying harder to find and rescue her friends after she was safe. Mary leaves the next stage to do just that, and now Gabrielle must decide what she will do. And there's going to be a third book. You may think a YA novel about the card game bridge would be boring and unappealing, but this book is a big surprise, except that it is written by Louis Sacker. Alton is 17, and he is goaded by his mother to become the car intern for his newly blind, great uncle who was rich during the summer before his senior year in high school. Lester Trap is an opinionated, grumpy, but also philosophical, and soon, Alton and Trap are connecting. Rich rules and details are marked by an illustration of a quail or a foghorn on the audio version, which is what I listen to, and readers are invited to skip that section if they want to, but it's kind of interesting. Saga of Larton Crepsley, book one. This is the first of four books, and it tells the story of Larton as a boy working in the mill to help his family. When the cruel foreman kills his cousin, Larton kills him. Now he is on the run. Another lockdown. Alex Sawyer was a thief and a bully, but he was not a murderer. Still, he is sent to furnace, the ultimate prison for murdering his friend. Here he learns to survive, to stay out of fights, because what happens to troublemakers is gruesome. Even so, you never know what they will come, when they will come for you. He has to find a way out, but everyone knows there is no way out of furnace. And book two solitary comes out on December 21st. This is a good book, but ooh, it is kind of gruesome. The final book in the series, Enola has changed residences and identity to hide from her brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft, and to continue to help people in distress. Enola's newest case is to find a missing noble woman while continuing to evade her brother, Sherlock. It's a fitting mystery story to end the series. I'm kind of sorry to see this series wrap up. Oh my, this one makes my teeth hurt. This is a graphic memoir, and it's a true story told in graphic novel format from the author's life about the loss of her two-front teeth and the years of orthodontics she endured, braces, surgery, temporary false teeth, and more. She tries to serve also to survive the normal middle school issues, like puberty, crushes, and friends who were sometimes mean to her. Middle school readers are sure to relate to her life, and hopefully their dental issues are a lot less involved in her's work. This is a terrific book. This one is fun too. Garth has just visited another doctor, and for the fifth time, he receives a fatal diagnosis. Back home, he is accidentally sent to the afterlife by slacker Frank Gallows of the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, because there was a ghost horse skeleton in his room, and he accidentally sent both of them there. Lots of action, weird creatures, and the reminders that physics, that ever life, do not govern the afterlife. And school library journal mentioned that Disney's planning a movie based on this book too, so movies are happening. They've discovered young adult novels. Just a couple, the last two in the series, this is book nine, a trip to the Bahamas and Jamaica to look for a clue related to a lady pirate, and more adventure and danger, of course, and the final book into the gauntlet is a conclusion, and the hunt intensifies. They go from London to Shakespeare's birthplace to a little island unmarked on any map. And just last month, the 39 clues, the Black Book of Buried Secrets, which is kind of a cumulative bits of information about the different families, and everything was released. And if you have students really fascinated by this series, and you may want to get that other book too, titled, The Black Book of Buried Secrets, by Rick Rariden. Oh, I love this one. I think this is a series. Illyria in high school is colorblind, so this graphic novel is mostly in grays and greens. Seemingly invisible at school, she shines in fencing class and competitions. Her mother buys her a new foil at a take sale, and it has this huge fake ruby on it, which he thinks is really gross, disgusting. But one day, when she meets her lab partner at Grand Central Station for her first ever date, things take a strange turn. She puts on her fencing mask after a bird pulls her hair, and she sees creatures she never knew were there, and they're all in color. The fairy world is now visible to her. Fiction for elementary age? First in the boys of wartime series, Jan Daniel 12 and his parents own a tavern in Boston, often frequented by British officers, and he and his family listen for information to pass along to the sons of liberty. I think this will be a good series, particularly for boys, because it's about boys and more, which is a popular topic. Keepers of the school book one, Ben Pratt, a sixth grader, is given an old gold coin by the school janitor. On it is engraved, first and always, my school belongs to the children, defended, and Ben has sworn to keep it a secret. The school is to be torn down in June. Ben and his, and now his friend Jill will have to fight it, and book two comes out in January, despite Andrew Clement, so you know it's going to be good, and it was. Crunch, the parents left on a semi-truck delivery route, and now they are stuck close to Canada since the gas shortage is now, there is no gas. It is now a gas crunch. The kids can handle things at home. Lily is 18, Julie the main character is 14, Vince 13, and the twins are five. The kids and teens are working hard to keep things together. The family has a bike repair shop and business is booming, of course, and it is Dewey's responsibility to keep the shop going. It's a good look at working together, being innovative and trying times, and taking responsibility, but also it has a lot of fun and humor in there too. This is an early chapter book. Abby, nine, is finally getting her own horse. She's outgrown their pony. She makes a couple of mistakes and Griffin gets away from her twice. Taking care of him takes a lot of time, and her best friend Devin is afraid of him, and they have a fight. Her mother guides her to doing the right thing. It's a good early chapter book with a friendship story children can relate to, and it includes one illustration per chapter. This is the newest book by Kate Camillo. Peter is 10, but instead of buying bread one day, he gives the coin to a fortune teller. She lets him know his younger sister is alive. His father died in the war. His mother died giving birth. His sister did not. Or did the fortune teller lie? His guardian, a retired soldier tells him that she did die. As the fortune teller says on page seven, the truth is forever changing. I really thought this book had lots of interesting action going on and how things pull together at the end was a little bit magical. The first book in the Dragons of Wayward Crescent, Lucy is Scared at Night. There's a strange fuller in shadow. Her mother Liz makes dragons and other things like that to sell all from a special clay, but this time she makes a guard dragon for Lucy and uses a touch of magic to bring it to life. It's great fun. And the sequel is Gage. Liz creates Gage after she hears about plans to replace the historic library clock. Melody has a sharp brain and a body with cerebral palsy. She is frustrated with having to learn the alphabet over and over again when she has a nearly photographic memory. Since she cannot talk, the neighbor misses the first receptable word and alphabet board on her wheelchair. Finally, Melody is sent to inclusion classes for children from her room at school experience life in a real classroom for certain subjects. Melody loves this chance to really learn, but it isn't until she gets her best gizmo ever that she really has a chance to become a part of the class. This is the third book about Nikki and Deja and the girls decide to start a neighborhood newsletter. So they take their first issue, they print it out, and ask people to subscribe. Nikki is a little shy and reluctant, but after she has some sales, she feels better. The trouble comes when Nikki and Deja make a couple of assumptions about people in the neighborhood and put it in the newsletter. The third tale from the Five Kingdoms, Prince Marcus and Gracie Gilly Pot go into the unreliable forest to try to spot some dwarfs, but Gracie disappears. She has fallen into a troll trap set decades ago. Things get complicated since the dwarfs have made an agreement with the trolls and the king of the trolls has some plans of his own. Fun, adventure, and danger will continue to hold the reader's interests. Excuse me. Odd, whose father died of biking, but was also a woodcarver, leaves home when his stepfather makes it clear that he is unwelcome. Odd has a limp and a weak leg, but still ventures off into the woods of Norway. He is soon involved with some of the Norse gods and his story could become the stuff of legends. Another excellent book by Gaiman. This is book three about Monty. He is quiet and shy, but he has been developing some confidence in himself. These are quiet books with some everyday action and this one there's a loose tooth, a substitute teacher, class pets. These titles will appeal to first graders who are also reading well as Monty is and also slightly older readers who don't mind Monty's age. Originally created as a web comic, the author artist of the Amulet series now shares his one page to eight page vignettes of copper and Fred the dog. Unusual adventures highlight copper optimism and Fred's inward philosophizing and entertaining ways. Color art throughout adds to the stories. And at the back there's a behind the scenes section where it takes the reader through several steps of creating a comic, which I think readers will find fascinating. Speaking of the Amulet series, book two is the stone keeper's curse. Emily begins to learn what it means to be the stone keeper and she and her brother Naven have a lot to face in this ongoing story of good versus evil. And will they be able to save her their mother who has been poisoned? Book three, the small clan is now looking for a legendary city said to reside in the clouds. The Elf King's son is still looking for them as are many of the Elf King's loyal followers. I love this series, but I like their other one too, they're regarding the fountain of this. This is 43 Old Cemetery Road, book two, and told in the usual style of no narrative, just letters, newspaper articles, illustrations and notes. Dictator, the director of the international movement for the safety and protection of our kids and youth, I am spooky, raises a ruckus about Seymour Hope 11, living with Ignatius Grumpley without proper legal arrangements. Soon Seymour is in the old orphanage and Iggy is in the Illinois home for the deranged. And what can all of the ghosts do about it? See if he's by his, sorry. Flight of the Phoenix, it's the first book in Nathan's blood bestologist series. Named his 10, his parents are lost at sea and he goes to live with his aunt Phil, who's actually a distant cousin. He has a lot to learn as he has told his parents, should have started training him at age eight. He and his family are bestologists, ones who study and protect mythical beasts. They travel to Arabia to witness and protect the Phoenix while it planes and is reborn. And of course, encounter trouble. I really like this series. Book two, Nade is 10 and he's completed his first week of training with his aunt Phil when they are called to recapture an escaped basilisk. This will be a tricky job because they are so dangerous. Grisel, the grandmine is still a bit of a bother, but she can be helpful too. Adventure of mythological beasts and some humor will appeal to readers. Sequel to Savvy, I hope many of you have this already. And this book, Mim's cousin, Ledge, comes into his study and it turns out to be breaking mechanical things all apart. Which, how can that be good? He is desperate to control it before the snoopy daughter of the mayor finds out what he can do. It's an excellent sequel and I don't know if she has any more in mind or not, but I sure hope so. This original fairy tale is fun and heartwarming. Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored. Her 16th birthday ball is a week away and there she will have to choose one of her suitors to be her husband. And they are all humorously, but also sadly repellent. But first, she decides to take on the persona of her maid and attend school in the village as a peasant. Her experiences at school for that one week may help her to change her future and that of the kingdom. Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie is the title of the series and this is book one, My Rotten Life. Nathan is in fifth grade and he has had a really bad day. Walking home with his friend, Mookie, Nathan wishes he didn't have feelings. That's when Abigail pops up and offers to help. Her uncle is a neurobiologist and has just invented such a formula, hurt me gone and needs a test subject. One drop would do it, but Mookie tripped and the whole bottle splashed over Nathan. It turns him into a half zombie, which has some advantages, but now we want to be all human again. It's hilarious and a little bit gross. It has appeals to boys, of course. Book two, did guy spy? Someone is spying on Nathan. Do they know his secret? He learns the Bureau of Useful Misadventures are hoping to recoup him to their cause of helping people. Or are they the bad guys? I haven't run across book three as Goop Soup and book four is the big stink. Book four just came out in August, I think. Ms. Mirabelle, a writer and poet, this is the fourth grade class over a series of weeks to inspire and help them write poetry. It's a lyrical and wonderful and it would be great to use as you begin a poetry writing unit or event to inspire and set the mood. Banjo the Great Wall of Purbish Bash 11 and his team are ready for their spring opener, but the weather has other ideas. This is the second book in the Super Slugger series. It keeps snowing and they aren't sure they're going to be able to play at the end of the week. It's still fun and silly with some baseball action like the first book. The new center fielder keeps running into the wall. He's so intent on catching the ball. What can they do to help him? Of course, they do want him to catch the ball. They don't want him to be at hurt. Oh yeah, this is COVID too. The first in a new series, a flash of lightning wakes up Benjamin Franklin from his suspended animation. Ben thinks it is because he is needed, but maybe it was an accident. He and Victor, who's in sixth grade, go on a search through Philadelphia to discover why Ben came alive again. It's humorous and a bit of adventure and who knows what's in the future for them. That was fun. Secret Agent Missile Mouse is a tough, determined and full of confidence. The Galactic Security Agency, GSA, sends him on a mission to keep the rip, rogue and purium of planets from destroying a solar system. Lots of action and smart ally comments from Missile Mouse set the tone in this cartoon-like action-adventure, full-color graphic novel with appropriate monsters. Oh yeah, Nate Gokie's at it again. George Beard and Harold Hutchins are credited with this second graphic novel, the first being the Adventures of Super Diver Baby. Luke and Glock live in 500,001 BC and are having a great childhood until Gopinoper Enterprises, using a time machine, comes to their era to nab all the resources they are all used up in 2222. Luke and Glock and the Baby Dinosaur are taken to the future where they are going to be used as slaves, but they escape and they study kung fu so they can rescue their past. Hilarious, goofy, clever silly, all you wouldn't expect from Dave Pilke. And yes, there are the flip-all-round action pages. Floria Nightfairy was only three months old and on her own since she was seven days old, per usual with carries, when a bat mistakes her for a moth and crunches her wings. Now she must walk and climb everywhere and it takes so much time. When she finds a hummingbird caught in a spider web, her view changes from selfish to empathetic, but not too fast, and she finds a way to help. Very gentle story that I'm sure will appeal to girls. Oh my, get this book. And please, you must sign up as a space head. Michael Kay is in fifth grade and he begins his first day at a new school trying desperately to disassociate himself from two other new kids. They turn out to be from another planet and are on earth along with a class hamster to save it. And they talk like TV commercials or wrestling announcers. They need 3.14 million and one earthlings to be space heads in order for us to save ourselves. So you need to go to sphdz.com and sign up as a space head. You may want to have that available for your kids. I signed up, I'm not sure how many people are there. It's very fun and I think there's going to be more because this says book one. We'll see what else happens. This book will take some patience but it's intriguing format and colorful pages will draw in graphic novel readers as well as choose your own adventure fans. Jimmy enters the ice cream store. Should he have chocolate or vanilla? The first of many choices that involve Jimmy his friend, the professor, the professor's time machine and his kiltron machine. Why did he ever invent a kiltron machine? The reader follows a colored tab after making a choice and follows the lines from one panel to the next. It's a fascinating format. And I will tell you right now I have not read all 3,856 story possibilities but I have read a few. It was interesting and fun. I love Danny Draganbreath. He is a terrific character. This is book two. He's an actual Dragan and his best friend Wendell is an Iguana. And in this book they're new friends, Suki, well Wendell's friend anyway. Danny is currently fascinated by the martial arts and when they discover that ninja frogs are following and trying to capture Suki, it's like a dream come true for Danny, real ninjas. Told mostly in text with numerous black and white and green and an occasional red illustration. The story is told occasionally with a page or two of graphic novel format and then back to text. It's great fun, very readable, flows along quite well. And Danny is almost fearless and Wendell is overly cautious so they balance each other out nicely. Good thing he has a good friend. Book three. Danny is wondering about the redness of the lunchroom hot dog when it bites his friend Wendell on the hand. They discover the hot dogs are werewieners from Transylvania. This begins their search for the alpha worst and the information for how to take him out. It's a great fun and it's told in the same format as the previous book. I'm looking forward to book four. The final book in the series, number 17, finds Hank may be left back due to his lack of completing or starting his 20 hours of community service. He finds an after school opportunity in helping to clean returned instruments for teacher Mr. Rock. He's also sad about his friends Frankie and Ashley because they will be going to the Anderson Middle School gifted and talented program while Hank will be stuck going to plain old MS-245. Then Mr. Rock finds Hank's ability to improvise and create stories. Maybe his ticket to a different middle school. It's a wonderful conclusion to the series and I think it will be as popular as the previous titles. So moving on to some nonfiction. How are all of them on time? Ooh, 31 ways to change the world. A collection of ideas suggested by children on ways to make the world a better place from basic ideas, such as recycle your toys to don't charge your phone overnight. My favorite, don't start a war. That's true of us. A picture book look at the lives of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez and the work they did together for the benefit of farm workers. This is a great picture book nonfiction that talks about a time in our history that kids need to learn about. And easy to understand basic look at the Bible, I'm not gonna say this right, Bible Nazi numbers. Excellent photos easily show the flower petals that were discussed and the spirals and pine cones, et cetera. All of this is from nature. The numbers, Bible Nazi numbers and how they occur in nature over and over again. It's really fascinating. And I'm sure math teachers will want to know about this title. School and public librarians may not be fond of the poem in the library, but this book has fun poetry. Kids will enjoy reading out loud in twos or more. A two page spread at the back of the book suggests other way students can enjoy the poetry. And it's kind of a you read to me already to you format where one person reads one side, the other person reads the other. And they're fun poems. With chapters on outlaws and rebels, rodeo stars, celluloid cowgirls and more, the author conveys the story of the cowgirl. Actual women who lived a cowgirl life make up each chapter. Readers will meet Calamity, Jane, Annie Oakley, Dale Evans and many more. And it includes plenty of black and white photographs, a bibliography and an index. While serving in Iraq, Major Sumner was asked to look at a small zoo. And that turned into several weeks and more of effort to save the animals they found, provide them with food and construct a better facility for them. The dedication of Major Sumner and the others, both Iraqi and Americans to save the remaining animals is a story of war that children will understand and care about. Sidebars throughout the book provide background information on the animals, Iraq and the people who helped. Several smaller illustrations per page with 10 bits of information about porn, a company, a one paragraph text on the topic of each two page spread. It's full of information in an appealing design. This book is only flawed by the lack of an index for report writers, but it's not very long so you can probably find the information pretty quick anyway. Beginning with the legend of the Kraken and how the legend came to be, the author goes on to note that starting in 1870, bodies of strange sea creatures began to show up on beaches. Naturalists speculated that a real sea creature had spawned the Kraken legend. The author then covers the discovery of both the giant squid and the colossus squid. The topic sure to fascinate nonfiction readers includes lots of color photographs, a brief bibliography and an index. We've been grateful last summer, summer reading program, there you are. 50 years ago, four black college students sat down at the Woolworth counter on February 1st, 1960, asking for a donut and coffee with cream on the side. The well-crafted pros and art conveyed the peaceful protest in Greensboro, North Carolina and the determination needed to hold fast until the right to be served was granted in July of 1960. It's an excellent choice for any library collection. There is one place where the two pages fold out so I would like to tell people about that. Fans of Sidman's Song of the Water Boatman will enjoy this offering of 14 poems. Each two page spread has a poem on the left page and information about the organism or animal on the right page. Great diversity and topic and poetic style. It includes a glossary and author's note. Excellent photographs highlight this look at the rainforests around the world. Beautiful photo on one side and text on the other balances the book nicely. Good for report information. Oh, this book is fascinating. A book of reversal poetry. The author writes one poem and then on the facing page are the same words backwards and with some different spacing and punctuation creating a second different poem. It would be great to read to students and challenge them to write a set of mirror poems or reversal poems themselves. Very interesting and fun. Told in free verse, the author recounts the boy's dream of playing professional baseball while noting the segregation that would not allow it. After Jackie Robinson, Henry pursues his chosen career though it isn't an easy road. The book ends as Henry begins his first game with the Braves an exhibition game against Jackie Robinson's team with the Dodgers. Extraordinarily put together this picture book biography gives a sense of the hard road Henry and all black ball players had to travel before and after they were allowed to play in the major leagues. It is also a tribute to Henry Aaron his skill and strength of character to withstand the angry shouts from the white crowds and play the game. And I do have a note on this that this book uses the N word twice once in reference to people shouting at Jackie Robinson and once in reference to people shouting at Henry Aaron. An author's note in Henry Aaron statistics concluded the end of the book. And I have a hard time calling him Henry just to make him say, Aaron. A picture book biography told in free verse of Jonas Wagner's accomplishments as a ball player and as a man. And a little bit about that famous baseball card. Some picture books now. Shark versus train. Two boys reach into the overflowing toy box. One pulls out a toy shark and the other a toy train. Immediately they have the toys growl at each other. The contests begin. Who will win? It all depends on the contest and the circumstances. And these toys go through a myriad of contests. Starting out logically with ocean or train tracks. It then continues with various scenarios that favor first one and then the other. Here this book with I'm the Best by Lucy Cousins is coming up in a couple of minutes. A sequel to Visitor from Bear. Mouse comes by for a sleepover. But Bear needs everything to be quiet for him to fall asleep. And of course, Mouse agrees. But we all know Mouse. It's a good follow up to the first book. Love this one. And all librarians probably will. Miss Brooks is a school librarian and she does love books. All during the school year, she dresses up in different outfits to celebrate holidays and books. Then Book Week. Remember how they changed it to May? It's in May in this book. Book Week is coming up and Miss Brooks wants the children to dress up and promote a book. Our heroine thinks that they are all too flowery, too furry, too clicky. Miss Brooks keeps giving her books. She can't find one she likes. Until she and her mom find a book in the stack about an ogre with forts who snorts. Now she's hot. This trip, the Magic School Bus visits the Arctic Sea and across the earth to witness the effects of global warming. As usual, student reports on the aspects of the topic are included on one or two to a page. Global warming is presented as a fact in this book. It also discusses the greenhouse effect that needs to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted and alternate sources of energies. It's an exciting and hectic trip as usual. Outstanding art gives a realistic look at a family farm. Sometimes the two-page spread contains small illustrations of animals, equipment and people. Other times, it is a wonderful panorama of the farm throughout the from planting to harvest. There we are. Exuberant dog is convinced that he is the best because he can run faster than mole, dig better than goose, swim better than donkey and is bigger than ladybug. When mole points out that if his competitions and adversaries change, dog would always lose. Dog is sad and apologizes. Well, soon he is happy again because he has the fluffiest ears. One by one, animals in the jungle try to get their children to eat their typical food in this rhyming story. The children refuse being tired of the same old thing. The parents come up with an idea, a picnic for all on the clearing and kids can choose whatever they would like. Sprinkled with Spanish words, this fun musical story will be a hit when read aloud. Pronunciation's are given at the front of the book in case you want to read aloud. A follow-up to Fun Dog Sunda in this book, Tinka runs away to school to find her boy. She gets him plenty of trouble while there but a wonderful solution is found. Told in repetitive verse, the poetry is catchy and will probably have kids writing similar poems about their own pets. Another book about Zeus. A picture book approach with a simplified story of how Zeus was raised alone and then had to defeat his father, Chronus, free his brothers and sisters and defeat the Titans. Cartoon-like artwork and contemporary language such as keep your eye on Chronus, he's a sneak, will attract young leaders interested in mythology. A story of sisters and culture. Rubina is invited to a birthday party and her mother makes her take her younger sister, Sana, along with her. No, her mother doesn't understand that in America we don't do that. So, cultural differences, Rubina doesn't get any more invitations for a long time. One day, Sana is invited to a party and the youngest daughter wants to go along and again their mother says they should both go. Rubina intervenes. The author was born in Pakistan and her family moved to Canada when she was three and she says she did fuss until her mother made her sister take her to a birthday party. So, this is based in fact. Ted Kuzer's first book for young readers is not in poetry. A yellow plastic bag flutters out of the landfill and is nudged around the countryside by wind and water. It is used a few times. It always seems to flutter away again. I noted the back of the book talks about recycling plastic bags, stating among other facts that just one young person, the reader, reusing cloth bags could save over 22,000 plastic bags in his or her lifetime. And that's a lot of bags. Identical twins, Ling and Ting, want the reader to know they are different in many ways but they will always care about each other. It contains five stories. The first one, the haircut, shows us how one twin gets an oof cut too high on part of her bangs and then the reader can tell who it's who. But we do learn all the ways that they are different even if they look the same. This is such a sweet story. Otis, an old tractor, enjoys life working on the farm and kicking up his heels after work. He befriends a lonely calf and the two make their rounds of the farm after a long day. Then the farmer buys a new big yellow tractor and Otis is parked behind the barn with no work to do. He is despondent until an emergency calls him to action. It's a great heartfelt story. And I think it's on the golden solar list for not this year but next time, if I remember it. The hamster heads to the junkyard to put together a hot rod for the race at noon. The reader was asked on several pages which of the items on the page they would choose then we find out which one the hamster wants and then it's time for the race. Is the hamster's car too small? This is the first book in the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series. It's a full color graphic novel. Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger are on the run since their burrow was snatched in. They stalked stuff at a likely burrow which turns out to be occupied by Mr. Badger and his children. The two families have some trouble adjusting but by story's end, they are considering each other's family. A second dinosaur book from the people who brought us I stink and I'm mighty. This herbivore has lost his pack. He asks others as he searches and he finds a way to escape some toothy carnivores. Great fun. A Halloween story of the same three children and their panda friend. I think this is the third book. Still water and it has a second story, a colon story within it and that story tied is explained in the author's note. Retelling an old legend, the author takes us to probably India where a young girl worries because her mother is too ill to pick tea leaves, their livelihood. It is only the two of them. She carries a huge basket to the field and the overseer laughs at her running to her special place and monkeys she always visits console her. When she wakes, a full basket of tea leaves picked by monkeys waits for her. Another surprise waits for her at the field. So lovely story. It's great to have a new three little kittens for the next group of kids to learn and recite and maybe they can act it out too. Ruth and her parents are traveling by car from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandparents. It is the early 1950s and this African-American family soon learns that they are not welcome at some establishments. One kind man tells them about the Green Book which listed places to stay, eat and buy gas for African-American travelers. This picture book conveys the discomfort and concern of Ruth and her family during one part of our country's history and their relief of arriving safely at their grandparents home. This is book two about Little Blue Truck and then this one he carries some produce into the big city and is astounded of tall buildings and the amount of traffic. He gets slow paced, frustrates the city vehicles and soon there is a traffic jam. I'm sorry I didn't know about this book last year. Cheska has taken what I hope are well-known nursery lines and used a truck theme with each one. Some of them are Peter Peter payload eater, wrecker rosy sat on a wall and pop blows the diesel. It's sure to be hit with the story time crowd and those of you familiar with his truck town books which are also great fun will recognize the characters. So if you can only afford one truck town book I suggest this one. Splat is scared of spiders among other scary things. How can he have the scariest costume for the party at school? This is a flip book by a Nebraska author. The Ring Bear was previously published but has now been combined in this flip book and has new illustrations. This title uses humor to let children know what if the flower girl and the ring bearer do in a wedding. It's touching and fun and I only showing you the flower girl side but you flip it over there's the ring bear side. Another Nebraska author in this book a baby writes a diary of her first year of life. For example, November one, guess what? My hands can do more than just write, they can grab things. I made a mental list of things to grab. Cats, ears, elephants, ankles, Vermont. Clever and thin maybe kids will want to start their own journey. Brody and dog and Max and duck ended up babysitting Brody's niece Annabelle who is quite active and can get into trouble in an instant. All the other animals of the household hightailed it out the back door when Annabelle arrived. It's good fun in this continuing series. Book one of a new series, Pets Shop Private Eye. The G you see up there at the top has fallen off the end of the guinea pigs label on his cage at the Pets Shop and now the hamster thinks he is a PI or Private Eye. If the guinea pig sats pants doesn't find out who keeps taking the pets to our owner's sandwich, all the hamsters will be sent away. Humor and a small mystery will attract readers is told in graphic novel format with full color illustrations. And Book Two was out, but I can't remember the title. Sorry. This is the final Canuffal Money book. The family flies to Holland to visit Oma and Oba that tricks the accidentally leased Canuffal Money on the plane. She tries to be happy visiting her grandparents but it's hard. Over time and after a wonderful dream, she begins to agree that she is getting older and maybe it is time to let Canuffal Money go. Some beginning readers. I love Quark and Fuzz, this is Book Six. They are great friends. Quark loves to help others but Fuzz is more interested in his own plans. When Quark needs help babysitting a little porcupine, Fuzz is busy building a trap but when the baby is missing, Fuzz is willing to help. A little bit of responsibility and another great friendship story. This has basically about the American life site and how they live together and hunt for food. A good first look at meerkats for beginning readers. He likes some nonfiction too. The wolf tries to blow down the house with little pigs are in but no luck. He says he won't let them out and he stays outside their door. They are happy and cozy inside reading stories, singing songs, having hot chocolate. Will Fong, the wolf joins in and soon the pigs are sharing pizza and popcorn with him through the window. Over time he becomes their friend but he is still a wolf. When a carload of hungry wolf shows up it is time for Will Fong to carry out their plan. The plan with the pigs. Great fun for new readers looking for a little more text. I love also Kalko, Kate and Koko. There are four stories again in this time about the spring. Koko thinks calves are too much work but cute, don't tell the cows. It's not, he's not too sure about the surprise. A new puppy. He wanted peppermints. But again, Kalko, Kate and Koko work out their issues to get their jobs done and accept changes and still lots of fun. An elephant and piggy book. Elephant and piggy are going to play catch when Snake comes along and asks to play too. They try several ways for Snake to catch the ball before they find the perfect solution. Another winner as a beginning reader. And then Mo Willems has also started another new beginning reader series called Cat to Cat Books. And this is the first one in that series. Very basic writing with the occasional harder one thrown in. Like who's that cat, the cat, who is that? It's Duck to Duck. And then above all, Duck to Duck says a pleasure. That's always. Somewhere in each of the four books readers will find a toy or drawing of a pigeon from the other book just for fun. Very cheery and upbeat. So we have Cat to Cat, something about friends who fly. Hell in the Hound. And Sheep to Sheep. It's really easy to name the characters in that book. And a little bit of picture book nonfiction. That's out. The authors of POP bring us this collection of both traditional and original animal rides in Spanish and English. The translation from Spanish is not literal, but a poetic recreation of the mood, rhythm and topic. And this book includes Una Paloma Blanca. Something that I've heard up so far. This picture book biography starts with Edison helping on his family's farm and then leaving school to be homeschooled after his teacher called him at home. Edison is quoted as saying, my mother taught me to read good books quickly and correctly. And this opened up a great flow of literature. This is an introduction to Edison's early life from age eight to around 25. And let's readers know he was industrious, clever, determined and heroic at least once. Concludes with an author's note in bibliography that provides a little more information. So I thought this book was wonderful. Tara is the first elephant to reside at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Soon other elephants joined her, but they all pair off and leave her without a friend. One morning there was Bella, a stray dog who soon becomes Tara's best friend. This story of the sanctuary and the two friends is sure to appeal to young readers. A picture book look at why the buffalo almost became extinct and efforts to save it from the mid 1800s to modern day. The author gives most of the credit to Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist W.T. Hornaday. And it's too bad she doesn't mention the native Americans who are also working toward the same goal. But it is a very good book about the buffalo issue. I love this series. It's just fun. There are 15 poems and 13 fables included in this collection. And kids may not be hearing fables so much anymore. So this is a good choice and great fun, a way to introduce them to them. The text is color coded so all who are reading know when it is their turn. Colorful illustrations in the white spaces add to the appeal. And in this series there are also fairy tales, a book about nursery rhymes, one on scary stories, and another short stories that you could get if you're having fun with it. And my last book contains cautions to observe when encountering certain wild creatures. I hope we all know why you should never smile at a monkey because they think we are threatening when we do that. But a cone shell is beautiful, but it has poisoned farms that can be fatal to humans. And I didn't know that. Jenkins art this time is only of the animal on a white background, but it is still amazing. And additional facts about each animal are included at the back of the book, one paragraph on set. So thank you. And that's my list for today. Well, thank you Sally for sharing with us. If anybody has any comments or questions, you can either go ahead and raise your hand or reflect them in the question box. I certainly learned a lot. I made a lot of notes to myself when things didn't look up later, so. Oh, something I should mention. Now's a great time to do this. This list of the titles with bibliographic information and also my blurbs will soon be up on our website. So if you go to our website, you hit the search button and type in handouts and click. I don't have the blurbs up yet, but I do have the list. And the recording of this session will be available online as well. So if you missed something and want to go back and hear Sally talk about them again, that will be available to you. Jen here says that she heard the presentation. This is her second time and she still hears about books that she wants to read. So if I pick up something again, and you go back and listen to it again, I'll read the blurbs online. So definitely excellent information here. I just wanted to give a quick plug for the sessions we've got coming up on Encompass Live. Next week, we have Richard Miller and Laura Johnson will be talking about continuing education grants and library improvement grants that we have here at the commission. And then we get to that. On the 24th, we'll have our monthly tech talk with Michael Sowers. I'm not seeing any other comments coming in, so I think that you must have given them all the information they need. They're still jotting down the book title. Exactly. So thank you very much, Sally, and thank you everyone for joining us and come back again for another Encompass Live. Thank you all.