Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. Recently the library has received several 2014 Kansas Notable Book award winners through a grant from the State Library.  This week’s review and next week’s selection feature the two titles selected for younger readers. Library patrons may find these and the other 2014 Kansas Notable Books in the Kansas and Genealogy room in the coming months.

What’s your belief about luck?  Is there such a thing as bad luck, good luck, and can you influence it? Author Cynthia Kadohata tries to answer in her book The Thing About Luck. For 12 year old Summer, her family is definitely experiencing a year of bad luck. Summer’s parents are called back to their home country of Japan to care for ailing relatives, leaving Summer and her younger brother Jaz with their Japanese grandparents. To keep a steady income, the family picks up work with custom harvesters working in Kansas.  Summer’s grandpa will work with the harvesters, while Summer and her grandmother will cook. Jaz has special needs – Summer describes him as “intense” – and the whole family pitches in to help him along. Then a crisis in the family forces Summer to make some difficult decisions that will hopefully turn their luck around. The story line only takes place over 3 months of the harvesting season, and readers used to action books may find the pace a bit slow. However, even adults in the Midwest will enjoy this tale of growing up around the wheat harvest.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library at 1718 N. Hersey in Beloit.  This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kahodata
ISBN: 9781442474659, 269 pages.
Kansas Collection, fiction

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit.  The library’s weekly after-school reading and activity time, Story Port, starts again on Monday.  If you know a kid aged 5 through 5th grade, call the library for more details.

After twenty one other books in a series, you might think that a twenty second book would be too much of the same thing.  However, young library patrons enjoy this series and I know this week’s title will be just as popular as all the rest. My New Friend is So Fun! By Mo Willems continues the Elephant & Piggie series. Making new and different friends means changes in existing friendships and the first time it happens among young friends can be difficult to understand.  Today’s title helps young people realize that many friendships can exist at once.

In this adventure, Gerald the elephant says hi to Snake first.  Gerald doesn’t know where his best friend Piggie is, but Snake tells Gerald that Piggie is with Snake’s best friend Bat.  Bat and Piggie are having a great time together.  Gerald becomes worried that Piggie will become friends with Bat and leave Gerald behind.  Snake also worries that he will lose a best friend. However, when Gerald and Snake find Bat and Piggie friendships are restored when it is revealed that Piggie and Bat were drawing pictures of their best friends, Gerald and Snake.  I’m sure this will not be the last we read of Gerald the elephant and his friend Piggie, and now Snake and Bat.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library.  This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”

My New Friend is So Fun! by Mo Willems
ISBN: 9781423179580, 57 pages, fully illustrated
Children's Early Reader Books

Hi!  This is Rachel Malay, director at the Port Library in Beloit. We’re focusing on new children’s books at the library for the next few weeks. The library’s weekly after-school reading and activity time, Story Port, starts in a week and two days.  If you know a kid aged 5 through 5th grade, call the library for more details. Also, the library will be closed Monday, September 1st for Labor Day.  We’ll reopen at our regular time on Tuesday.

Gemma O’Neil is a new author and the library now has her first picture book Oh Dear Geoffrey! This picture book is illustrated in a mixed media style with collages of painted details, some in watercolor, some in pencil, and just a touch of digital manipulation.

Geoffrey the giraffe is having a hard time of it.  He’s not too old so his knees are bendy-buckley, his legs are wibbly-wobbly and he skips and trips often over the ground.  He spends time trying to make friends with the meerkats on the ground but stumbles and falls trying to reach down to see them.  He gets tangles with the elephants’ trunks and down at the watering hole he just creates mud instead of friends.  Geoffrey decides to take a break and eat some nice leaves far up in a tall tree.  On his way there he meets some friendly monkeys who need help climbing.  And in the tree are happy, chirpy birds who are right on Geoffrey’s level!  Maybe he can make friends after all.

You can get the book reviewed here and more great titles to watch, read, listen to, or play with at the Port Library.  This is director Rachel Malay, saying “Thanks for checking us out!”


Oh Dear Geoffrey! by Gemma O'Neil
ISBN: 9780763666590, fully illustrated.
Children's Picture Books