Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile

TITLE:  Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile
AUTHOR:  Gloria Houston
ILLUSTRATOR:  Susan Condie Lamb
PUBLISHER:  Harper
COPYRIGHT:  2011

As a child Dorothy knows she wants to be a librarian "in charge of a fine brick library just like the one where she checked out books."  When she grows up though she lives out in the country and ends up with a bookmobile.  Miss Dorothy brings the books to the people.

I enjoyed reading this story and seeing this woman's love of books and sharing that love with the people in her life.  The author wrote this book because of the role Dorothy Thomas played in her life.  This is a wonderful book with beautiful illustrations to share with children and pass on the love of books to them.

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

TITLE:  Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
AUTHOR:  Mo Willems
ILLUSTRATOR:
PUBLISHER:  Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins Publishers)
COPYRIGHT:  2012

The author offers a twist on the classic Goldilocks fairy tale.  Three dinosaurs that are hiding in the woods leave their house open and large bowls of chocolate pudding on the counter.  After a while Goldilocks things something is up and she escapes out the back door before the dinosaurs catch her.

This is a fun book that will make children laugh.  I liked the illustrations and the twist this author gave to a well-loved fairy tale.

Curious George Says Thank You

TITLE:  Curious George Says Thank You
AUTHOR:  Emily Flaschner Meyer and Julie M. Bartynski
ILLUSTRATOR:  in style of H. A. Rey by Anna Grossnickle Hines
PUBLISHER:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
COPYRIGHT:  2011

George receives a thank you note in the mail from his neighbor Betsy.  George decides to make his own thank you cards and delivers them.

I always enjoy reading Curious George books.  I checked this one out of the library.  This one is a nice one to read in a classroom and then practice writing thank you notes as a class.

Goldie and the Three Hares

TITLE:  Goldie and the Three Hares
AUTHOR:  Margie Palatini
ILLUSTRATOR:  Jack E. Davis
PUBLISHER:  Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins Publishers)
COPYRIGHT:  2011

Goldie falls down into a rabbit hole when she is being chased by the three bears.  The three hares try to tend to their guest who has a hurt foot.  They have a hard time making her happy though and wonder how they are going to ever be able to get rid of her!

Children will enjoy this book and the illustrations. It could be used in the elementary classroom in a unit on fairy tales.  Also, Goldie is rather demanding of her host hares....this could be a lesson for children too on how not to act!

Tackylocks and the Three Bears

TITLE:  Tackylocks and the Three Bears
AUTHOR:  Helen Lester
ILLUSTRATOR:  Lynn Munsinger
PUBLISHER:  Houghton Mifflin Company
COPYRIGHT:  2002

Tacky the penguin and his friends perform a play for Mrs. Beakly's school about the three bears.  Tacky is the character Goldilocks.  Things don't go according to plan but the audience loves the play!

If you familiar with Tacky, you will enjoy this funny book.  He is quite a character in the play.

Series: Community Helper Mysteries

TITLE:  Community Helper Mysteries
AUTHOR:  Amanda Doering Tourville
ILLUSTRATOR:
PUBLISHER:  Capstone Press
COPYRIGHT:  2012

While volunteering at the school library I came across one of the books in the Community Helper Series.  I asked the librarian if she had others and found and read the other three in the series.  This books are well done, and I wanted to share them with you.

The layout of the book is one page with minimal text and the opposite page is a close up photo to fit with the text.  Each page is a clue to help the reader figure out a community helper who is revealed at the end of the book.

These would be great for a classroom or school library.  It would be enjoyable for PreK--1st graders and could be read by beginning readers with help.

Here are the other books in the series and a link to the site: