Post by Mark T. Locker.

As we all know, the ultimate showdown is the classic battle between fish and fathers. Who will reign supreme? Well, today we have two great contenders: in this corner, a dad who can do it all! And in this corner, giant flying fishes! Floating jellies! Let us review:

My Dad by Anthony Browne

My dad can battle giants. My dad can win the father’s day race with ease. My dad is amazing. Part of what I like about this book is that it celebrates the father in a funny way and it’s not all about how Dad plays football and nonsense like that. I also really like that in the child’s mind, his dad is always in his bathrobe and slippers. My son is likely to start thinking of me in that way. Anthony Browne has written lots of book and though at times I find his illustrations a little bit creepy, this one isn’t too bad. Go dads!

Dear Fish by Chris Gall

Fish! Fish of all sizes, shapes and colors! I got this book because I loved the images, fish-laden and rich in color. The weird premise is that a boy writes a letter to fish suggesting that they come and visit him. And they do, in droves. A baseball player grabs a passing barracuda instead of a bat, a girl inflates a pufferfish, mistaking it for a balloon and, as you can imagine, hilarity ensues. It’s a funny book and I love the pictures, with bold black lines and stark contrast. Fish fish fish!

Tags: Anthony Browne, bedtime stories, book reviews, Charles P. Rogers, Children's Books, Chris Gall

I don’t know about you but I have a love/hate relationship with cats. On the one hand (or paw) they are aloof, vengeful, and have a tendency to attack or destroy out of sheer boredom. One the other hand, you can throw them out a window when they are being annoying and they are great cuddlers. I have one sharing my chair with me, on his back gently pawing the air as we speak. They get the bed nice and warm for you and give you something to hold as you fall asleep. So, let me dedicate today’s books to the cats that make bedtime better, warmer, hairier.

There are Cats in this Book by Viviane Schwarz

This book is a hit with all the kids because it talks to them. On the first page, you see a pile of sleeping cats which, one by one, wake up as you turn the flaps. “Hello,” says one, “Are you nice? You look nice. And strong. Can you turn a whole page?” The reader is then praised for his ability to turn the page. Through the book the kitties get in pillow fights, play with yard, all of it controlled by the interactive flaps the child turns. In the end, the reader helps tuck the cats in and get them to sleep. It’s adorable and the design of the book is quite clever. I highly recommend this. Below is a video of the author reading the book.

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes.

This book nabbed a Caldecott Medal back in 2005 for the simple story of a kitten who, thinking the full moon to be a bowl of milk in the sky, is led on a quixotic adventure to sample that celestial dairy. But after eating a bug and landing in a pond, poor wet kitty finally has to give up the chase. Poor kitty! It’s a cute book, if you like cats. I do, sometimes.

Tags: bed, bedroom, bedtime stories, book reviews, Charles P. Rogers, Kevin Henkes, Viviane Schwarz

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Divergent by Veronica Roth.

This bedtime story should be reserved for those who don’t mind a little heart-pounding action before lights out.

Please read the following in your best movie trailer voice: In a world where war has divided humanity, there exist four factions: Candor, for those who value honesty above all else; Erudite, for those who seek knowledge; Dauntless, for those with no fear; and Abegnation for the selfless. One sixteen-year-old girl is about to change all that. She is…Divergent. Meet Beatrice. Like all children, on her sixteenth birthday she is to undergo tests and determine which faction she belongs in. She was born into Abegnation, the selfless who shun any sort of vanity (including mirrors) and live to help others. But when her tests come back inconclusive, she is forced to accept that she is Divergent, one who fits no faction clearly and is seen as a danger to others. She chooses a faction (Dauntless, which is unheard of for one from Abegnation) but none can know her real identity. She changes her name to Triss and becomes embedded in a strange, ruthless, and violent new world. Though she loves to be Dauntless, when she uncovers dark secrets about her faction, she must choose who she can trust and who to stand by.
This first installment in the newest teen dystopia series has been dubbed “the next Hunger Games” but don’t pick it up expecting that. Part action, part romance, part teen angst, it is a good, if at times bloody, adventure.

Tags: beds, Bedtime, book reviews, Books, Charles P. Rogers, Children, Divergent, family, Veronica Roth

What the Grizzly Knows by David Elliott, illustrated by Max Grafe.

Post by M. Locker, librarian. This is a perfect book to lull little ones into a cost bedtime sleep. What the Grizzly Knows is a half-dream story of a little boy whose teddy grows into a real bear. The boy turns into a grizzly bear too and together they wander the forest, catch fish and mingle with the other woodland creatures. It is written in a series of rhyming quatrains. The indistinct lines of the watercolor illustrations help to add to the dreamy quality of the story. “And none but teddy will suppose/ that he knows what the grizzly knows.” Children will love how this story will feed their dreams; perhaps they too will become bears in their dreams. Ages 4-8.

Tags: beds, bedtime stories, book reviews, David Elliot, Grizzly Bears, Max Grafe

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

posted by Mark Locker, Librarian

Put simply, I think Kelly Link is a really, really good writer. These nine tales, which range from kind of short (20 pages) to practically a novella, are a bit spooky, a bit magical, lots of wry humor, and lots of strange. The first story, “The Wrong Grave” is at once creepy and full of tongue-in-cheek wit. When teenage poet Miles loses his girlfriend in a fatal accident, he decides that putting a sheaf of poems in her coffin would be a fitting tribute. Many months later, he regrets that the only copies of those brilliant poems are six feet underground and, convinced that there’s an award-winning poem in there, he makes the dubious decision to unearth his girl to retrieve them. What he discovers is a sardonic combat-boot wearing girl with long, slithering, living hair. The story unfolds with humor, sensitivity and a little bit of creepy. “Magic for Beginners” is about the son of a horror fiction writer who inherits a pay phone booth and a chapel in Nevada. Interspersed with the main plot are descriptions of a strange pirate television show called the Library. It’s a strange, subtle, and beautifully written story. If it wasn’t for the teenage protagonists experiencing all kinds of teenage-angst-meets-supernatural phenomena, this could be a book for adults. Adults and young adults alike would be wise to read this. Ages 14 and up.

Tags: bedtime stories, book reviews, Kelly Link, Pretty Monsters