Book Picks

The San José Public Library has a fun program for kids to practice their reading skills by reading to some friendly dogs, cats, and other animals. It's called Reading to Furry Friends. Kids are paired with an animal for some one-on-one reading time. This is a great way to encourage kids to improve their reading skills and develop relationships with animals.

If your kids need suggestions for what to read to them, here are some fun books that the listening animals might appreciate:

Oh No George! by Chris Haughton

George wants to be a good dog, but when his owner goes out for the day, he struggles with the temptations that all dogs surely face: digging in the flower garden, chasing the cat, and swiping some cake off the kitchen table.  Will George be good?

Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

Dog is white with a black spot on one ear.  But after a day spent romping, he comes back with a whole bunch of different color spots.  Learn colors and number with this colorful canine!

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

The mother of this George despairs of ever getting her puppy to make the noise that all dogs must: BARK!  A variety of other animal sounds come out of George, so she takes him to the vet to see what the problem is.

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes  

Kitten is convinced that the moon is a big bowl of milk just out of his reach.  He will try almost anything to get that bowl of milk.  Will Kitten go hungry or will he succeed?

Pete the Cat by James Dean

Pete loves his new white shoes.  But as he walks down the street and steps in colorful mess after colorful mess, his shoes aren’t so white anymore.  But that’s fine with Pete, who keeps singing his song and loving his shoes.

What Will Fat Cat Sit On? By Jan Thomas

What will Fat Cat sit on?  All of the animals in this book just hope it won’t be them.  Can they come up with a solution before it’s too late?

If your child wants to read to one of our furry friends, then check out the locations below for dates and times:

• Edenvale
• Rose Garden
• Santa Teresa
• Seven Trees
• Willow Glen

Groundhog Day happens every February 2nd.  Here are some fun books that you and your family may enjoy on Groundhog Day, or any other time of the year. 

Double Trouble Groundhog Day, written by Bethany Roberts and illustrated by Bryan Caulay is a fun book that features sibling rivalry between groundhog twins Gregory and Greta.   One evening, Grampie Groundhog decides to hand over his weather forecasting duties to one of the twins.   Grannie Groundhog decides that the twins should draw straws to see who will take over Grampie Groundhog's duties.

Go To Sleep, Groundhog! written by Judy Cox and illustrated by Paul Meisel is about a Groundhog with insomnia.   Groundhog goes to bed on Columbus day and sets his alarm clock for February 2.   Groundhog has trouble sleeping, so he goes above ground a few times to take walks.   While above ground, Groundhog sees interesting sites and discovers new holidays.   If you look carefully at the pictures, you will frequently see a little mouse, Groundhog's pal.  

Substitute Groundhog, written by Pat Miller and illustrated by Kathi Ember, is another fun Groundhog Day story.   Groundhog has a bad flu, and he needs to find a substitute to take over his duties.  Whom will Groundhog choose?  Read and find out!

Other fun books include:
 

• Gregory's Shadow, written and illustrated by Don Freeman
• Gretchen Groundhog, It's Your Day! written by Abby Levine, and illustrated by Nancy Cote
• Groundhog Gets a Say, written by Pamela Curtis Swallow, and illustrated by Denise Brunkus
• Groundhog Stays Up Late, written by Margery Cuyler, and illustrated by Jean Cassels
• How Groundhog's Garden Grew, written and illustrated by Lynne Cherry
• It's Groundhog Day! written by Steven Kroll, and illustrated by Jeni Bassett
• Punxsutawney Phyllis, written by Susanna Leonard Hill, and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

'Tis the season to bake! From whopper cakes to massive puddings, children will enjoy these outrageous stories and recipes.

Whopper Cake: It’s Grandma’s birthday and Grandpa has grand plans to bake a whopper chocolate cake. This is not any ordinary cake, it is a gigantic cake that takes ten bags of flour, 86 eggs and an oar to mix it all up. “Eureka!” Grandpa cries as he mixes all of the ingredients in the pickup bed of his old jalopy. Grandma and her neighbors are in for a treat!

Karma Wilson tells a rhyming and delightful story of an eccentric Grandpa who celebrates his wife’s birthday with an oversized surprise.  Will Hillenbrand’s colorful, ink and egg tempera illustrations enhance the exaggerated escapades, emphasizing the whopper mess Grandpa inevitably makes while preparing his surprise.

(Recipe for Whopper Cake included at the end of the book)

Wild Boars Cook: Boris, Morris, Horace and Doris may not be the nicest, friendliest or neatest friends, but they know how to have a good time. The fabulously stinky and hungry wild boars are back and this time they are hungry. Their recipe for Massive Pudding calls for all sorts of zany ingredients including sugar, donuts, bananas and squid. Find out if they like their concoction and if it is enough to satisfy their hunger.

Meg Rosoff and Sophie Blackall team up again for another adventure with the wild boars. Their first book Meet Wild Boars was a huge success and Wild Boars Cook is a welcome follow-up. Rossoff humorously describes all of the destruction the boars leave in their wake as they crunch and munch their way through the house. Blackall’s ink and watercolor rendering turns these otherwise stinky, greedy and rude creatures into lovable characters.

(Recipe for Massive Cookie included at the end of the book) 

Hurray for Three Kings' Day, written by Lori Marie Carlson and illustrated by Ed Martinez is a story about a girl named Anita and her family, and how they celebrate the Three Kings Day, also known as Epiphany.   The family's celebration begins on the evening of January 5, and continues into the evening of January 6.   This book is also available in Spanish.   

The Legend of Old Befana: an Italian Christmas Story, retold and illustrated by Tomie de Paola is a gentle story about Old Befana, who visits the children of Italy on the Feast of the Three Kings to leave them gifts.

Strega Nona's Gift is another delightful story by Tomie de Paola.  The reader learns about many Italian holidays, including the Eve of Epiphany, where it is believed that all animals can talk.   The author recommends another book, Celebrating Italy by Carol Field for additional information about Italian holidays.  

All of these books have interesting plots, cultural details, and beautiful illustrations.   Happy Reading!