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Happy Leap Day to all and especially happy birthday to everyone who was born on this special day!  Since Leap Day occurs only once every four years, take this opportunity to step out of your comfort level and try something new.

Interested in joining the dance buzz and learning a few moves of your own?  Hip-Hop Dancing by Joan Freese will take you through hip-hop history, explain what type of clothing you should wear, and show how to do a few basic moves.  Once you get the hang of it maybe you (or your middle to high school-aged student) can form your own crew and win a few battles!

Dancing not your thing?  Try your hand in the kitchen with Spatulatta Cookbook by the Gerasole sisters,  Olivia and Isabella (hosts from www.spatulatta.com).  Written for grades 3 and up, this creative cookbook is full of bright photographs, easy recipes, and sections that explain basic cooking skills and measurement.  Delicious and fun recipes like “Mashed Potato Ghosts” and “Yumbo Gumbo” really make this cookbook stand out from the rest – there’s even a section for snacks and another for vegetarians!

If dancing and cooking are too stressful for you, then a relaxing activity like yoga may be what you are looking for.  Strike a Pose: The Planet Girl Guide to Yoga by Karen Birkemoe casually explains how yoga can be incorporated in your everyday life.  Organized for grades 5 and up, it covers a variety of poses, breathing, and meditation.  Simple illustrations will help readers execute and understand beginning yoga positions.

Take your leap today, unless you can wait until Leap Day 2012!

What has 366 days and happens every four years?  That’s right- it’s a leap year which  means 2008 has an extra day instead of the usual 365!  Curious little minds are bound to wonder why?  Help your students learn the answers by teaching about the history and concept of calendars.  Click here!

Growing up in a pet-less house, except for the occasional goldfish, I always wondered what it would be like to have a pet, especially an exotic one.  As a child, my top three picks consisted of the following: an orangutan, a dolphin, and a tiger.  A little boy named Jack also has a pet wish list of his own in the book What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd. 

Excited that his mom agreed that he may have a pet, Jack explores his endless pet possibilities.  Jack suggests that potentially an elephant, polar bear, or even a T-Rex may work.  His mom simply replies that an elephant “might squash the car,” the polar bear may not like the central heating, and the T-Rex wouldn’t be an option because it “has been extinct for sixty-five million years.”  What pet did both mom and Jack agree on?  Well, let’s just say that Jack’s “little” pet named Fang has a fold out page all to his self.  This fun and humorous story with bright, larger-than-life illustrations is a book that young children will enjoy.

Ben Wolf, star cross country runner, had plans for his senior year until the day he went to the doctor’s office for a routine physical.  That summer day Ben finds out that he has leukemia and, at most, only a year to live.  Not wanting to be sick and weak for the rest of his remaining days, Ben decides to forgo his treatments and keep his illness a secret from everyone--including his star quarterback, twin brother Cody.  To make the most of his time on Earth--without any long term consequences--Ben decides to ask out his long-legged crush, Dallas Suzuki; try out for the football team; learn as much as he can; and help out the town drunk.  Ben's year is going great until his illness catches up to him, and he realizes the effects of keeping secrets.

Chris Crutcher carefully weaves many themes such as death, racism, abuse, and sports into this wonderfully touching story.  You may think that a book about these heavy themes may be pretty depressing, but it is the exact opposite.  I found myself laughing more that I did crying.  Despite the one mild sex scene and one account of sexual abuse, this fast-paced humorous book is one that most high school students and adults will thoroughly enjoy.

If you’re looking for a few last minute Christmas ideas, or even some holiday stories to check out from your local library, here are some of our favorites!

Russell is back again in Rob Scotton’s third book, Russell’s Christmas Magic.  Santa  declares that “Christmas is cancelled” when his sleigh crashes in Firefly Wood.  Russell the Sheep comes to his aid equipped with a welder, hammer, and circular saw-labeled “ask parent before using this tool”!  Will Russell’s efforts be enough to save Christmas?

Told in a silly Christmas rhyme, A Christmas Stocking Story, by Hilary Knight, is a book that all will enjoy.  Stork, Hippo, Lion, Fish, Elephant, Snake, Fox and Bug’s stockings were mixed up while being washed on Christmas Eve.  Will the animals ever figure out how to get the right presents from Santa Claus?

A hockey outfit, makeup kit, and a chemistry set – are all great Christmas gifts according to Morris.  Unfortunately Morris is told that he cannot play with them because he is “too young.”  Unsatisfied with his new teddy bear, Morris finds an unwrapped present under the tree – a disappearing bag!  Find out about the mysterious disappearing bag in Rosemary Wells’ Christmas classic, Morris’s Disappearing Bag.

Plan ahead for the summer!  The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has selected “Catch the Reading Bug” for its 2008 children’s summer reading theme.  If you go to CSLP website, you’ll quickly recognize that the watercolor artwork was fittingly illustrated by the well known Harry Bliss.  Bliss creatively illustrated the witty books Diary of a Worm and Diary of a Spider, both written by Doreen Cronin.

Have you ever wondered what a fly does all day?  Find out in the newest book written and illustrated by the Cronin-Bliss team, Diary of a Fly.  Young readers will giggle and learn fascinating fly facts as they read about Fly and how she dreams of being a super hero.

Not buggy about fiction?  Try Nic Bishop’s Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close.  Bug enthusiasts will be  engrossed in this book filled with over 125 different critters.  You’ll think twice about stepping into your own backyard after seeing the amazing life-sized photos of bugs set in their natural habitat.

For more books about bugs, click here!

Fly Guy fans will not be disappointed when they read the newest book of the Fly Guy series, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy.  The early chapter book begins with Buzz and his pet, Fly Guy, on their way to visit Grandma—the old lady.  When Grandma sees Buzz arrive on his bike she runs to greet her grandson with open arms…and mouth.  Before Buzz gets a chance to introduce his amazing pet, Fly Guy is accidentally swallowed by Grandma in their embrace.  In the attempt to save Fly Guy, Grandma swallows a spider, a bird, a cat…and so on.  Being overwhelmed by all of the animals in Grandma’s stomach, Fly Guy shouts, “Buzz!”  After hearing Buzz call back to him, Fly Guy flies his way out of Grandma’s stomach followed by the spider, bird, cat, dog, goat, and cow.

Tedd Arnold’s take on this classic tale is humorous and delightful.  Early chapter readers will enjoy the expressive illustrations and clean text as they cheer on Fly Guy to safety.  In 2006, Hi! Fly Guy, the first  title of this series, received the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for literary and artistic creativity in a beginning reader book.

Since 1919 communities around the country have been dedicated to celebrating the love of reading and spreading the word about children’s literature.  Join librarians, students, teachers, families, and booksellers nationwide to help celebrate Children’s Book Week.  Need some ideas?  Visit the Children’s Book Council website!  You will find lots of activities from holding a Children’s Book Week party where you dress up as your favorite character (see 10/30/2007 post for costume ideas) to organizing a school-wide Read-In where EVERYONE in your school reads silently at the same place and time – school staff included. 

Here at Tandem, we had a discussion about some of our favorite books.  Titles including The Paper Bag Princess, Pippi Longstocking, and Drummer Hoff were a few titles mentioned.  The general consensus was that there were too many great books to choose from, we each couldn’t just pick one!  Here are a few favorites from a couple booklovers at Tandem:

Mindy said:

"Before there was the adorable little bunny in Not a Box making a plain old cardboard box into anything he could imagine, there was Christina Katerina.  Originally published in hardcover in 1971, Christina Katerina and the Box has been a childhood favorite of mine for years.  As a kid, I loved watching the box transform from a castle to a clubhouse to a racecar to whatever else Christina Katerina could dream up.  A new generation can get to know this imaginative heroine in paperback or Tandem-bound versions of this classic picture book."

Kelly added:

"My favorite childhood book(s) are the Ramona Quimby books. I loved them all for their realistic way of telling great stories. I will never forget many of the illustrations and descriptions used in the books.  The descriptions of Ramona’s feelings are so real, for example, Ramona cracking an egg on her head and feeling so upset when she had to sit in the nurse’s office afterwards and heard the adults calling her a “nuisance.” The feeling of adults not understanding you was perfectly captured in that story."

Don’t forget!  Next year and going forward, Children’s Book Week will be moving to May and will be celebrated in the first or second week of that month.