Books of the Month

Quintin Hamp, a Union City Elementary School custodian, one day overhears the students teasing the new kid for being "fat," a little boy named Welcome Comfort. Quintin, who intervenes, assures the orphaned Welcome, that someday his "substantial" size will "come in real handy." The two become quick friends, and as Welcome spends more and more time with Quintin and his wife Martha, he feels "part of a family at long last."
However when the holiday season approaches Welcome is left alone, as Quintin and Martha traditionally travel north on Christmas Eve. Upset because he has never known the joy of Christmas or the magic of Santa Claus, Welcome is reminded of Quintin’s words, "Believing is seein’." That night, the real Santa Claus awakens Welcome and invites him for a sleigh ride to deliver toys! What a wonderful, magical night for an ordinary boy from Union City, Michigan!
As the years pass, Welcome never forgets that special Christmas Eve, though a gold pin Santa had given him (and his proof of their marvelous adventure), turned up missing the next day. But Welcome marries and remains close friends with Martha and Quintin, whom he replaces as Superintendent of Maintenance at Union City Elementary School.
Then at last one Christmas Eve, Quintin invites Welcome and his wife Ruby Jean to travel north with he and Martha. A vacation, that that changes his life forever…

Books of the Month
August	Grade 1-5–Edwards uses a variety of idioms as a jumping-off point for a collection of elaborate, imaginative illustrations. An alligator, for example, "eats her words" by sweeping books off a shelf directly into her mouth. There's great variety in the watercolor, pencil, and gouache drawings, along with understated humor. The animal characters have human names and subtly amusing facial expressions that fit the silly situations just right. Closer perusal always reveals a bit more. It's obvious that the well-dressed "bull in a china shop" will soon destroy a couple of fine pieces with his horns. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot other dangers presaged by the poor fellow's misplaced cane, wrapping tail, and untied shoelace. For further diversion, at least one monkey is hidden in each full-page picture. In some cases, the relationship between idiom and illustration works very neatly. Quentin the penguin literally "rises to the occasion" when he is catapulted high enough to serve drinks to a giraffe bride and groom. The visual scene is funny, but at the same time actually conveys the sense of the idiom, since the penguin has found a creative way to meet a challenge. Other times, the illustrations have a less direct tie to the meaning of the phrase, but still work as humorous pieces. The idioms are defined at the end of the book, but in this case the main role of the words is to set up an impressive collection of inventive scenes of visual comedy.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
September Click on the book for great weblinks to use with the book!	Madonna personally chose the artists to illustrate her series of five children’s books. Loren’s painting style perfectly fits the mood of Madonna’s story, set in 1949. Mr. Peabody’s Apples takes place in 1949 in Happville, USA. One Saturday, Mr. Peabody, the beloved elementary school teacher and baseball coach, finds himself all alone on the baseball field. He wonders where everybody is until he sees the bat boy, Billy Little, walking toward him with a sad look on his face. Billy tells him that another student, Tommy Tittlebottom, spread a rumor that Mr. Peabody was a thief after Tommy saw Mr. Peabody taking apples twice from the local market. Mr. Peabody then shows Tommy that what matters is the truth — not how things appear — and teaches him an unforgettable lesson about how we must choose our words carefully to avoid causing harm to others. Madonna dedicates Mr. Peabody's Apples to teachers everywhere.
October	A geography lesson par excellence, this clever picture book also offers great extension opportunities for the classroom. Through the voice of Uncle Sam, Keller suggests that the individual states of America have become tired of their physical positions and bored with their contiguous partners. So they decide to switch: Arizona, for example, trades places with South Carolina, Florida with Minnesota, and Kansas with Hawaii. Before long, however, they discover, as Dorothy did in The Wizard of Oz, that there's no place like home, and they all return, amid much mayhem, to their original spots. In following their journeys, children will not only become involved in their stories but will also learn a lot about the "the good old U.S. of A." Keller's imaginative story, her pop-art illustrations that sprawl in and around the text, and her amusing asides will have kids quickly chiming in with sayings of their own. The clever personifications of the states will stimulate students to research the individual characteristics of their own homes, as well as those of the other states. A graphic fact chart is appended along with a montage of funny cartoons that show mixed-up sites and mascots, as Kansas sunflowers cross the Golden Gate Bridge, Florida oranges race Kentucky Derby horses, and the Statue of Liberty greets the faces on Mt. Rushmore.-Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
November	November is an in-between time, a time when the air grows colder and nights grow longer. It's a time when the earth and all of its creatures prepare for the oncoming winter. It's a time of harvest and thanksgiving, when people gather together to celebrate their blessings with family and friends. All of this, and more, are captured within the pages of this captivating hardcover picture book. Rylant's words are plainspoken and poetic, crisp as an autumn apple. Kastner's luscious oil paintings are rendered with bold, loose strokes in a traditional fall palette—rich reds, warm browns, soft yellows, bright oranges and frosty whites. Words and pictures work well together, and the overall effect is one of calm, peaceful transition from one season to the next. A great read-aloud for classroom or home. 2000, Harcourt Inc., $16.00. Ages 3 to 7. Reviewer: Dianne Ochiltree
December	Quintin Hamp, a Union City Elementary School custodian, one day overhears the students teasing the new kid for being "fat," a little boy named Welcome Comfort. Quintin, who intervenes, assures the orphaned Welcome, that someday his "substantial" size will "come in real handy." The two become quick friends, and as Welcome spends more and more time with Quintin and his wife Martha, he feels "part of a family at long last." However when the holiday season approaches Welcome is left alone, as Quintin and Martha traditionally travel north on Christmas Eve. Upset because he has never known the joy of Christmas or the magic of Santa Claus, Welcome is reminded of Quintin’s words, "Believing is seein’." That night, the real Santa Claus awakens Welcome and invites him for a sleigh ride to deliver toys! What a wonderful, magical night for an ordinary boy from Union City, Michigan! As the years pass, Welcome never forgets that special Christmas Eve, though a gold pin Santa had given him (and his proof of their marvelous adventure), turned up missing the next day. But Welcome marries and remains close friends with Martha and Quintin, whom he replaces as Superintendent of Maintenance at Union City Elementary School. Then at last one Christmas Eve, Quintin invites Welcome and his wife Ruby Jean to travel north with he and Martha. A vacation, that that changes his life forever…
January	It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became Enemy Number One. Luckily, Dad has a surefire way to get rid of enemies—Enemy Pie. But one of the secret ingredients is spending an entire day with the enemy!
February	As you travel through the Okefenokee Swamp, keep an eye out for Tiger Swallowtails and Brown Thrashers, and be sure to pick some Yellow Confederate Daisies before taking a nap under a Live Oak Tree. This is the Georgia that becomes a wondrous reality within the beautiful rhyming verses of Carol Crane and the colorful images of Mark Braught. At the same time the rhymes entertain and inform younger readers, Crane's in-depth expository text will appeal to older ones, creating a two-tiered teaching tool for educators in the state of GA.
March	About this title: Started by Seuss, finished by Prelutsky, and illustrated by Lane Smith, "Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!" is a joyous ode to individuality. The story stars an unsinkable teacher named Miss Bonkers and quirky little Diffendoofer School, which must prove it has taught its students how to think. Includes Seuss' original 1989 pencil sketches and hand-printed notes for the book. Full color.
April	Don't Need Friends is about a cantankerous rat who decides he doesn't need friends after his best friend moves away. I happen to like this book a lot, but a funny thing happens when my friends read it. They always say, "It sounds just like you!" Needless to say, I find this comment very disturbing. The main character is a rat, for crying out loud. What, exactly, are my friends trying to tell me?
May	Molly Lou Melon may be tiny, clumsy, buck-toothed, and with a voice "like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor," but she doesn't mind. Her grandmother has utmost confidence in her, and tells her at every turn to believe in herself. "Sing out clear and strong and the world will cry tears of joy," Grandma says. But Molly Lou's self-assurance is put to the test when she moves to a new town, away from her friends and beloved grandmother. During her first week of school, Ronald Durkin taunts Molly Lou Melon in the dull-witted but sharp-edged manner of career bullies, calling her "shrimpo" and "bucky-toothed beaver." Our heroine barely flinches as she systematically sets out to prove herself, and Ronald Durkin ends up feeling pretty foolish.