Thursday, December 20, 2012

New Picture Books December 20, 2012


"It snowed. And snowed. And snowed. After it snowed, everyone bundled up and went outside to play.
You come too!" Carin Berger's exquisite collages illuminate, from dawn to dusk, the perfect winter day.




 
Big Mean Mike is the biggest, toughest dog in the whole neighborhood. He's even got a big mean car that he drives around the big, mean streets. Everyone knows how big and tough he is - which is just the way Mike likes it. Then one day a tiny, fuzzy bunny shows up in his car. Mike puts it on the sidewalk and drives away before anyone can see. But the bunny keeps coming back - with friends! - no matter how many times Mike tells them to scram. Big, mean dogs do not hang around with tiny, fuzzy bunnies! But gosh, those bunnies sure are cute...
From best-seling author Michelle Knudsen and illustrator Scott Magoon, here is a laugh-out-loud funny story about not worrying what other people think - even if you are big and tough and your friends are tiny and adorable.





A long time ago and far away - although it could be here, and it could be now - a boy threw a stone and injured a girl. For as long as anyone can remember, their families had been enemies, and their towns as well, so it was no surprise that something bad had happened. Hate had happened. Revenge had happened. And that inspired more hate and more calls for revenge. But this time a young girl decided to try something different...
Inspired by the original Garden of Forgiveness in Beirut, Lebanon, and the movement that has grown up around it, Lauren Thompson has created a timeless parable for all ages that shows readers a better way to resolve conflicts and emphasizes the importance of moving forward together.




Meet Spike! He's pointy. He's scary. He has a spikey crown. He has mean teeth. He is a monster... no bigger than a lily pad. What will it take for Spike to make a friend?




Meteor is a hardworking and friendly mouse, and has all the qualities that a space mouse should have. But Meteor is very small. Teeny-weeny. Itsy-bitsy. And so whenever mice are needed to go up into space, the bigger mice are chosen and Meteor is left behind.
When the day finally does come and Meteor is chosen and is sent and is sent off to outer space, it's up to Meteor and the power of small to save the mission and earn his wings and his new title - MOUSETRONAUT!
Astronaut Mark Kelly, a four-time veteran of the space shuttle, tells a story based on his experience and imagination. Come along on Moustronaut's first mission. You'll be glad you did.