February 16, 2013

On the Radar: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: New Releases for Your Nonfiction Shelves

Book cover of girl and boy w/ clothing for diff temperatures

Good nonfiction titles rise to the top as librarians focus their content needs to meet the Common Core State Standards. New releases by our favorite authors and illustrators include an environmental bilingual poem, a picture-book biography, a fact-filled science title, and a narrative account of a bird’s 7,200 mile migration.

Pick of the Day: Little Pig Joins the Band (CD)

Cartoon pig playing trombone

Little Pig Joins the Band. By David Hyde Costello. CD. 6:37 min. with hardcover book. Live Oak Media. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4301-1139-9. $29.95.
Pre-S-Gr 2–David Hyde Costello’s humorous story (Charlesbridge, 2011) about Little Pig who is too small to play any of the marching band instruments stored in a box at Grandpa’s house. Whenever Little Pig asks his siblings a question, it is comically misheard. For example, when he asks if there are any piccolos, the response is “There’s a jar in [...]

Pick of the Day: Pig Tales: Pig Pig Returns and Little Pig Joins the Band (DVD)

DVD cover illustrated pig

Pig Tales: Pig Pig Returns and Little Pig Joins the Band. DVD. 14 min. with tchr’s. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2012. ISBN 1-933938-87-0. $69.95.
PreS-Gr 2–These two charming tales (2011, both Charlesbridge) by author/illustrators David McPhail and David Hyde Costello each feature piglets who, though they are young, learn very mature lessons. McPhail’s Pig Pig doesn’t want to leave his mother and cat to vacation across the country with his aunt and uncle, but as he becomes interested in the unusual places [...]