IMCPL Staff Recommends for Kids http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Looking for a good book? Try these recommendations from Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library staff members! en-US Gossamer by Lois Lowry http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html This is the story of an angry young boy and a lonely old woman. They are visited by two imaginary characters called Bestowers, who change their lives by giving them dreams made from the small but beautiful fragments of their lives.There are others; a horde of Sinisteeds. Dreams come from the Bestowers; nightmares come from the Sinisteeds. Both gather fragments from our lives, but one grants dreams, while the other inflicts nightmares. The difference is in the gathering. The Sinisteeds delve into our fears, guilts and failings, while the Bestowers touch and gather moments of love and beauty. he gossamer touch of the Bestowers proves strongest and champions light over darkness in the lives of the boy and the old woman. A touching read and a beautiful read aloud.
Recommendation for the Week of November 16, 2009 Boy On The Lion Throne: the childhood of the 14th Dalai Lama by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Tibet. The Dalai Lama. Do you understand these words? If not, Boy On The Lion Throne: the childhood of the 14th Dalai Lama will explain who the Dalai Lama is and why he is important to the culture and religion of Tibet. Little Llamo Thondup, at age 2 ½, was found to be the chosen one – the next Dalai Lama. Then his life became very different from yours. Do you know that he has visited Indiana to see his older brother Thubten Norbu who taught at Indiana University? It is truly a small, small world after all.
Recommendation for the Week of November 9, 2009 Mudshark by Gary Paulsen http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Mudshark was cool. There was no specific reason for it, he just was. Also, he thought all the time, he read all the time, he observed everyone and everything, and he remembered ALL of it. So, he could find your missing stuff, answer all your questions, and solve all your problems! Thus, Mudshark's LIFE was also cool, until three things happened. The gerbil escaped from room 206, the erasers began disappearing from all the rooms, and a possibly psychic parrot started stealing Mudshark's thunder by answering questions (correctly!) before he could. And, Mudshark couldn't solve any of it!
Recommendation for the Week of November 2, 2009 One Hen: How one small loan made a big difference by Katie Smith Milway http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html
Recommendation for the Week of October 26, 2009 Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Frankenstein is the groom? Dracula is his best man? And well, you can't have a monster wedding without The Bride of Frankenstein! Frankenstein's ghoulish friends help out with this “happy” celebration, and it is recorded in this scrapbook. The Headless Horseman blogs that everyone is jealous of his pumpkin head. The Raven makes fun of Edgar Allen Poe's poems. Comic strips, rhyming e-mails from outer space, and more are included for your reading enjoyment. Beware, there is a slight problem when someone eats garlic bread at the wedding reception. This is a hilarious book for anyone who likes creative poetry with a spooky theme.
Recommendation for the Week of October 19, 2009 Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html
Recommendation for the Week of October 12, 2009 The White Witch by Janet Graber http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Ever wondered what it would be like to live back in the 1600s? The White Witch will make you think twice about time travel. This book centers around 14 year-old Gwendoline Riston, a girl with a talent for healing. That talent, plus her strange appearance, leads her Puritan neighbors to think she's a witch. When the Great Plague hits the small town of Letchlade, and people start blaming Gwen's “witchy ways” for starting it all, her father hides her in a secret room to keep her safe. Gwendoline knows she can't hide forever. This book is perfect for fans of historical fiction and those who like suspense.
Recommendation for the Week of October 5, 2009 Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School by Laura Purdie Salas http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html With a new school year underway, this book of children's poetry offers a fun and clever perspective on the typical life of a young student. With vivid illustrations by Steven Salerno to guide them along, author Laura Purdie Salas takes the reader on a safari through the untamed halls of academia as she introduces similarities between the classroom and an average episode of Wild Kingdom. With 18 poems to tickle the funny bone, readers will find themselves laughing along with the silliness while nodding in agreement to the playfully apt comparisons.
Recommendation for the Week of September 28, 2009 The Devil's Breath by David Gilman http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html

He's escaped from a machine gun toting assassin, clashed with 6 armed men in a wild Land Rover chase, survived marauding lions and stampeding buffalo, eaten lizards to survive, and fallen down a deep crevice into a swirling river that is pulling him along toward the spinning blades of a generator. Helped by a teen-aged female pilot and a young Bushman, fifteen year old Max Gordon is on the adventure of his life as he attempts to rescue his father from certain death in the African desert of Namibia. The action is fast, furious and very exciting.


Recommendation for the Week of August 31, 2009 Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed…and Revealed by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy Photos by Dwight Kuhn http://www.imcpl.org/kids/stories/staffrec/index.html Play a game of “hide and seek” with camouflaged animals hidden in incredible real-life photographs! Readers use poems and visual clues to find the animals in the picture then lift the page to see if they guessed the animal's spot correctly! Learn more about coyote, fawns, frogs, weasels, moths, killdeer, crab spiders, flounder, green snakes, and red-spotted newts, as you uncover the animal's need for camouflage and protection from predators. Would you like to play Hide and Seek?
Recommendation for the Week of August 24, 2009