What Would Severna Park Like to Check Out at the Library?

Patch has delved into its shelves for some literary picks this week. If you need something cute for your pre-schooler, a decent book for your less-than bookish middle schooler --you know, the one you're hoping to entice into the world of reading, or  if you're just thinking ahead for that paperback to throw in the beach bag, here are some ideas.

If the local library is out of stock, go to Amazon.com and do a little searching. Used copies are often a really inexpensive and user-friendly way to go. Many of you are Nook-bookers and Kindlers, now, too. Have fun. Do some reading today.

1) LMNO-Peas by Keith Baker. Your PreK – first graders will actually say “Pass the Peas, Please” to this precious book which takes us on a ride through the alphabet with green peas dressed up as professions to match the letters of the alphabet.

No “A” for Alphabet or “B” for Ball in this book – it’s much more fun than that.  Wee ones go ga-ga over this book and it's sturdy enough for them to handle -  which is a good thing. Not just kids, either. As the jacket says, "Pea-ple of all ages” love this book.

2)  A Sick Day for Amos McGee, a 2011 Caldecott Award Winner by Philip C. Stead. This adorable little story is one your 4 to 8-year-olds will treasure. Zookeeper Amos McGee  loves “his” animals and cares for them faithfully, day in and day out. One day though, he finds that HE is sick and in a very cute turnabout, the animals he normally cares for hop on the bus and come to McGee’s house to care for HIM. Illustrated by the author’s wife in a stylized wood-cut fashion, this book will delight for years to come.

3)  Flipping the Script. This is the last in a five-book Del Rio Bay series by a local author. Paula Chase Hyman (a former Green Hornets cheerleader and Baltimore area public relations exec) has been writing books for several years now with a popular following.

Her books’ teenage heroine, Mina Mooney, is dealing with the same adolescent scenarios all kids do in a suburban neighborhood but her heroine happens to be African-American. Chase Hyman’s stories hold a huge appeal in the pre- and early-teen set. Written with flair and so teen-friendly, her books are a local well-kept secret that needs to be aired. Go to www.paulachasehyman.com to learn more.                            

4)  Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson. This recent Scholastic offering, now out in paperback, will have you laughing from page one. Teenage topics that include love and angst (isn’t that redundant?), are packed into 17-year-old James Hoff’s life at school.

Girl troubles, family issues, it’s all in here and all 224 pages will entertain and amuse. And, if you are a 15 – 17 year-old yourself, you will identify!  With titles already on the shelves like Prom Anonymous and Paranoid Park, Nelson‘s Destroy All Cars is another example of how teen reading today is a blast.

5)  Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of An Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline. Well folks, there’s a title that tells it all. Yes indeed, you Kindle readers can jump right into this one or the rest of us can order it online, but either way, this one will get you laughing and keep you there. Hot flash perspectives and choosing which bacteria to “accept” are two of the short topics author Scottoline tackles in this latest tome.

She shares her love of animals (dogs, cats, chickens and a pony) with her readers – right there she has us hooked – and keeps us amused and entertained in today’s crazy world where so little holds our attention for long. Whether YOUR third husband will be a dog or not, your FIRST book this week should be this one.