Book Picks

Strega Nona's Harvest, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, is a deligtful story about vegetable gardening.  Big Anthony and Bambolona help Strega Nona plant a vegetable garden in her backyard.   Later, Big Anthony plants his own vegetable garden in his backyard.   While Strega Nona's garden is orderly, Big Anthony's garden is chaotic.   How will the harvest turn out?   Read and find out!   Tomie dePaola has written and illustrated other fun books featuring Strega Nona and Big Anthony.

Growing Vegetable Soup, written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert, is another fun story about vegetable gardening.    A father and child plant a garden in the spring.   A few months later, they prepare and cook vegetable soup with their bountiful harvest.   This book is also available in Spanish.

Does your child love music?  You are welcome to bring your child to the Edenvale Branch Library on Tuesday September 18 at 11:30 AM to enjoy Jump for Joy Music, a duet with Wiley Rankin and Miss Debbie.    The engaging and energetic music program will be a lot of fun! Wiley will excite the audience with his songs.  Children will even learn a bit about music education.  For more information about Jump For Joy Music, please visit their website.

This educational program is made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Edenvale Branch Library.

I absolutely adored The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy.  It reminded me of books that I liked to read when I was small of a slower-paced world, where children explored small towns riding their bikes around or visiting the lonely mansion.  In this story, four sisters, Rosalind, Sky, Jane, and Batty, with their dad and dog arrive at the Arundel estate for a summer holiday.  Here, they have the holiday of their dreams--no sand, no beach, but an imposing castle surrounded by a formal garden.  With their dog, Hound, the girls just about tear down the estate at the dismay of its owner, the forbidding Mrs. Tifton; however, her son, Jeffrey, has the summer of his life.  The girls' vivacity and energy transforms Jeffrey's world of stifling upper-class formalness to a world of play and spontaneity.  This story is a great summer read.  If you are interested, the story continues with two sequels: The Penderwicks at Gardham Street and The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.  I recommend this book for girls from 3rd to 6th grade, because the book describes a range of girlhood experiences.  This book qualifies as an award winner, for it received the National Book Award in 2005.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite childrens books. It is about a boy and his true friend, a tree, who loves this boy so much he gives everything in exchange for the boys happiness.