Wonderful winter books for childrenBrighten up the winter with these children’s picture books at the Astoria Public Library:

Jason’s papa walks in his sleep. In the middle of the night, Jason has found him asleep on top of the refrigerator, in the bathtub, and even on top of the car in the garage. When Jason finds Papa outside in the snow when the temperature is 50 below zero, he knows he has to do something drastic. Follow the fun in “50 Below Zero” written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko. This book is recommended for children in grades K-3. Big Bear and Little Bear are out for a walk in the snowy woods. Little Bear is having a wonderful time sliding and jumping in the snow, when he suddenly hears a noise that makes him shiver. Other noises are heard too and the woods seem alive with unseen Plodders, Drippers and Ploppers. But Big Bear is beside him and reassures Little Bear with explanations about what makes the different noises. A good bedtime story of comfort and security, “Let’s Go Home Little Bear” is written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Barbara Firth. This book is recommended for children in grades PreK-1. Capture the magic of a first snowfall in the modern classic “The Snowy Day” written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. Caldecott Award winning illustrations bring out the wonder of a little boy named Peter as he discovers the fun of snow. This book is recommended for children in grades K-3. A big snowstorm has buried the city of Geoppolis, and all of that snow is too much for the truck snowplows. It is up to Katy, the beautiful red crawler tractor, to save the city. Children will learn about cities and heavy equipment as they follow Katy’s path in the snow that gets everyone moving in the classic tale, “Katy and the Big Snow,” written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. This book is recommended for children in grades K-3. Martin Luther King Jr. impacted this world with words. The biography “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” is written by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier. Through brilliant collage illustrations, it gives a simple clear account of King’s experiences with segregation, his faith in God and his use of words rather than violence. This book won the Coretta Scott King Award, The New York Times Book Review Award and the Caldecott Honor Award. This book is recommended for children in grades 3-6. The Chinese New Year is fast approaching. Children can learn all about it in two new books at the Library:

“Chinese New Year” by Lola M. Schaefer uses color photographs and simple text to explain the basics of this special celebration for the Chinese people. “Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan’s Chinese New Year” by Kate Waters and Madeline Slovenz-Low describes the holiday from a Chinese-American’s point of view. Ernie is part of a lion in the traditional Chinese New Year Lion Dance in his Chinatown community in New York. Color photographs follow the family traditions as he prepares for his big day. This book is recommended for children in grades 2-4. As children head back to school after vacation, they will enjoy these new books about school:

Henry P. Baloney is late for szlola again. On his planet, that means his teacher, Miss Bugscuffle could send him to permanent lifelong detention. That’s her plan, unless Henry can come up with one very good believable excuse. Children will love the wacky adventure Henry describes. Illustrated with bright, out-of-this-world pictures and highlighted by alien sounding words, “Baloney (Henry P.)” written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith is sure to bring laughs. Mean Jean was Recess Queen. Nobody played until she said it was OK. If anyone dared to talk back to her, she’d “push ’em, smoosh ’em, lollapaloosh ’em.” That is, until a new kid came to school named Katie Sue. She was just a tiny girl, but she taught Mean Jean a thing or two about being friends. Written with input from children in several schools, “The Recess Queen” by Alexis O’Neill and Laura Huliska-Beith is a helpful book about bullies. “On Monday in math class Mrs. Fibonacci says, ‘You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem.’ On Tuesday I start having problems.” From time needed to get ready for school to the time for bed, the main character in this book sees everything as a math problem. Unique, colorful illustrations express the frustration in “Math Curse,” written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith.

– Patty Skinner, senior assistant librarian, Astoria Public Library