Saturday, November 26, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Breathe


Cover image for Breathe
Breathe by Scott Magoon


Swim!  Breath.  Play all day.

An encouraging nudge from his mother starts this little whale off on a big adventure.  Follow him as he explores a marine cave and makes new friends, and when trouble lurks, help is just a flipper away.  At the heart of this book is the gentle reminder to take time to breathe.

Young readers will be drawn to this story of discovery and independence.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Monday, November 14, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Bitty Bot


Cover image for Bitty Bot


Bitty Bot by Tim McCanna

Picture  Book

Simple rhymes, with fun new robot-themed vocabulary words create a fun atmosphere for the reluctant sleepyhead.  A new must for young kids who love robots and outer space!

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Small Fry pick of the Week: All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook



Cover image for All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

Ages 8-12

Eleven-year-old Perry T. Cook shouldn't be living in a prison; he has committed no crime.  Perry was born and raised at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska.  His mom is a resident on Cell Block C.  So far, Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together.   Anyone who knows about the arrangement is quietly okay with it.  But when Perry is discovered by the new, ambitious district attorney, Thomas VanLeer, everything changes.

Forced to foster with the VanLeer family, Perry lives on "the outside" but feels trapped. His mom's parole hearing is just weeks away, but the rule bending that allowed Perry to stay with her could mean she'll get more prison time.  Desperate to be united with his mom, Perry goes on a quest to learn the whole truth behind their Blue River story.  But will the facts help them or hurt them?  Can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?


Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Small Fry Friday Pick of the Week: A Child of Books

Cover image for A Child of Books

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers

I am a child of books. I come from a world of stories.

A little girl, a child of books, sails her raft across a sea of words and arrives at the house of a young boy.  She invites him to go away with her on an adventure into a world of stories . . . where, with only a little imagination, anything at all can happen.

Ms. Jen: A clever picture book about the boundless world of a child's ( or anyone's) imagination. Charming text from classic stories forms the shape of the illustration, ' mountains of make-believe', and, 'forests of fairy tales'. Check it out!


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Spaced Out


Cover image for Spaced out

Spaced Out by Stuart Gibbs

There's nowhere to hid on the world's first moonbase.  After all, it's only the size of a soccer field.  So when the commander of Moon Base Alpha mysteriously vanishes, the Moonies are at a total loss.
Though he may be just twelve years old, Dashiell Gibson is the best detective they've got.  But this mind-boggling mystery pushes Dash to his limits.  Plus, it turns out he's got something else on his mind-and the fate of humanity might be at stake.


Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Friday, September 9, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read & Babies Don't Walk, They Ride

Cover image for The summer Nick taught his cats to read
The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read

Nick has two cats, Verne and Stevenson.  They do everything together-except read.  So Nick has an idea: he will teach them to read too!  But reading can be hard and takes lots of practice.  Can his cats learn how?


Cover image for Babies Don't Walk, They Ride!
 Babies Don't Walk, They Ride

Babies may not be walking but they are always on the go!  They ride, slide, fly, cruise, and roll-joining in with the family activities throughout each fun-filled day.


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Ms. Bixby's Last Day


Cover image for Ms. Bixby's Last Day

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson

Everyone knows there are different kinds of teachers.  The good ones. The not so good ones.  The boring ones, the mean ones, the ones who try too hard.  The ones you'll never remember, the ones you want to forget.  But Mr. Bixby is none of these. She's the sort of teacher who makes you feel like the indignity of school is worthwhile.  Who makes the idea of growing up less terrifying.  Who you never want to disappoint.  What Ms. Bixby is, is one of a kind.

Topher, Brand, and Steve know this better than anyone. And so when Ms. Bixby unexpectedly announces that she is very sick and won't be able to finish the school year, they come up with a plan.  Through the three different stories they tell, we begin to understand just what MS. Bixby means to Topher, Brand, and Steve--and what they are willing to go to such great lengths to tell her.


Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Teen Pick of the Week: Salt to the Sea

Cover image for Salt to the sea : a novel

Young Adult

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Each born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies . . . and war.
AS thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.
Yet not all promises can be kept.  Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling author Ruta Sepetys lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II.



Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Pax



Cover image for Pax

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

From bestselling and award-winning author Sara Pennypacker comes a beautifully wrought, utterly compelling novel about the powerful relationship between a boy and his fox. Pax is destined to become a classic, beloved for generations to come.
Pax and Peter have been inseparable ever since Peter rescued him as a kit. But one day, the unimaginable happens: Peter's dad enlists in the military and makes him return the fox to the wild.
At his grandfather's house, three hundred miles away from home, Peter knows he isn't where he should be—with Pax. He strikes out on his own despite the encroaching war, spurred by love, loyalty, and grief, to be reunited with his fox.
Meanwhile Pax, steadfastly waiting for his boy, embarks on adventures and discoveries of his own. . . .


Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Small Frye Pick of the Week: A Child of Books ( Picture Book, September 2016)


Book Trailer Thursday: A Child of Books

This Book Trailer Thursday, celebrate Booklist’s Wednesday Review of the Day—and the impact of imagination—by “sail[ing] across a sea of words” with Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. For this “sneak peek” of their upcoming homage to literature, A Child of Books (Candlewick)—out this September—prepare to navigate waves of words (Winston is known for his typography), “mountains of make-believe,” and spot a few familiar faces—Little Red Riding Hood, the Cheshire Cat, Mr. Toad, and more—along the way. Whimsical hand-lettering, dashes of vibrant watercolor, and stirring strings will have you hankering for September. In the meantime, don’t miss Michael Cart’s starred Booklist review, linked above.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: It Aint so Awful, Falafel



Cover image for It ain't so awful, falafel

It Aint So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas


     Zomorod ( Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block . . . for the fourth time.  California's Newport Beach is her family's latest perch, and she's determined to shuck her brainy lonely persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name.  It's the late 1970's, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages.  Neither summer camp nor  puka shell necklaces can distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home.


Click here for Lexile information on this title! ( Valid library card is required.)

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms


Cover image for Cartwheeling in thunderstorms



Ages 9-12

Wilhelmina Silver's world is golden.  Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, Will feels that every day is beautiful But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult.  Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of schoolgirls.  Where can a girl run to in London?  And will she have the courage to survive?

Click here for Lexile information on th is title!

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!


Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Maybe Something Beautiful: how art transformed a neighborhood & The Most Important Thing: stories about sons, fathers, grandfathers



Cover image for Maybe something beautiful

Maybe Something Beautiful: how art transformed a neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa 
Howell

Check out this Book Trailer!

Picture book Ages 3+

What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray?  As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine!
Based on a true story, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation--and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big.  Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!

Cover image for The Most Important Thing

The Most Important Thing: stories about sons, fathers, and grandfathers by Avi

Juvenile Fiction-Grade School, ages 8+
In seven stories, one of our most treasured writers, Avi, introduces seven boys-boys who have fathers at homeand boys whose fathers have left, boys who spend most of their time with their grandfathers and boys who would rather spend time with anyone but the men in their lives.  By turns heartbreaking, hopeful, and funny, these stories reveal boys seeking acceptance, guidance, or just someone to look up to.  That search may happen when dealing with a father's ghost, during a camping trip with a mysterious grandfather, while interviewing a potential dad, at a public reckoning, or in other situations that raise the question " What is the most important thing a father can do for his son?"

For Lexile information click here



Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt


Cover image for Maybe a fox




     Jules adores her older-by-one year sister, Sylvie.  

Sylvia: beautiful like their mother.
Sylvie: supreme maker of tiny snow families.
Sylvie: faster than fast

Sylvie: gone.

Into thin air, Sylvie goes missing, and as Jules stumbles in grief, a fox cub is born.  A shadow fox, spirit and animal in one.  From the minute the cub opens her eyes, she senses something very wrong. Someone--Jules.

Jules: steadfast like her father.
Jules: supreme maker of tiny snow foxes.
Jules: collector of rocks.

Jules: heartbroken.

Who is this Jules?  Who is this Sylvie she cries out for?  And why does the air still prickle with something unsettled?  As that dark unknown grows, the fates of the girl Jules and the fox cub, laced together with wishes and shadowy ties, are about to collide.

Click for Lexile information on this title

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Thursday, March 10, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: The Nest


Cover image for The nest

The Nest by Kenneth Opel

Ages 10+

She was very blurry, not at all human-looking.  There were huge dark eyes, and a kind of mane made of light, and when she spoke, I couldn't see a mouth moving, but I felt her words, like a breeze against my face, and I understood her completely.

"We've come because of the baby," she said. "We've come to help."  All Steve has to do is say, "Yes."  But "yes" is a painful word.

It is also dangerous.  And once it is uttered, can it be taken back?

I thought, It's just a dream anyway.  I thought, It has no power over me.  I thought, Why not?  "Fine," I whispered.

Click for Lexile information on this title

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Friday, March 4, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Adventures in Arduino




Cover image for Adventures in Arduino

Adventures in Arduino by Becky Stewart

JNF; Intended Audience: all Techies  Age 10+

Have a blast building and programming interactive electronic crafts with Arduino.  Author Becky Stewart walks you step-by-step through 9 exciting projects geared toward the beginner.  You will learn how to download and install Arduino for multiple operating systems, how to make the most of Arduino with basic programming concepts and much more, so you start having fun right away watching your designs come to life.

You'll learn to:


  • Build an LED circuit
  • Prototype on a breadboard and use servos, shift registers and sounds
  • Create an electronic status message sign
  • Work with motors
  • Make an augmented wind chime
  • Sew a secret message into a hoodie
  • Construct a marble maze game that keeps track of your score

    Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Sara Lost and Found



Cover image for Sara lost and found


Sara Lost and Found by Virginia Castleman

Ages 8-12

Sara and Anna Olson have spent a lot of time alone.  Their mom left them years ago.  The last thing she said was to look after each other.  Then she vanished.

Their dad plays drums in a band and he's out late, coming home drunkif he comes home at all.  But he says family always stick together.

Sara's ten and Anna's twelve, but Sara's the one in charge.  She takes care of her sister because Anna has trouble taking care of herself.  They were in foster care once and got separated, and after that Anna hasn't been quite right.  But it's okay.  Sara can handle things.  For example, she knows that if you eat a piece of paper towel you can trick you stomach into thinking it's full.  And she knows that a knock on the door in the middle of the night is never a good thing.

So one night, when that knock comes, Sara and Anna take off running.  But how can Sara keep her promise to her mom when it's getting harder and harder to look after Anna?  And if Sara does get a chance at a home, what will happen to her sister?  This is a wrenching but ultimately hopeful novel about promises, sisters, and what it means to be family.


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Pugs of the Frozen North



Cover image for Pugs of the frozen north



Far away, in a winter wonderland, an amazing sled race is about to begin.  The winner canmake one wish, and it will magically come true!  Two friends, Sika and Shen, want to win more than anything.  But all they have is a pack of yappy, yippy pug puppies.

Ten pugs can't move their sled. Even with thirty, it doesn't budge.  But what about  . . . SIXTY-SIX?  With a little bit of luck, anything is paws-ible!


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Bunny Dreams


Cover image for Bunny dreams

Bunny Dreams by Peter McCarthy

In Bunny dreams, anything can happen.  A bunny might know the A-B-C's or count by 1, 2, 3.  A bunny might hop, hop,hop . . . or even fly!

But every bunny needs a cozy place to rest.  This is the perfect bedtime book for bunnies everywhere.


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!