7+ Awesome Books for Preparing Your Toddler for a New Sibling

Oh hi there! It's a been a while since I've posted here on Literary Hoots and the subject of this particular post is a big hint as to why—I decided to give myself a wee maternity leave due to the arrival of a new baby in the family. Now that I've (sorta, kinda) gotten back into the swing of things, I plan on posting regularly once again. Thanks for sticking around!

11+ Awesome Spanish/English Bilingual Picture Books

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I'm feeling pretty festive today (or maybe I'm just craving tacos...) so I thought I'd share some of my favorite Spanish picture books. Or really, to be more specific, the Spanish bilingual books and Mexican culture stories I enjoyed using my Head Start Preschool storytimes (you can see a couple highlighted bilingual storytimes I did here). So here are my top eleven! Plus some more, because I always seem to think of other random titles here and there in my descriptions. There are, of course, many more awesome bilingual books, so if you have a favorite, don't forget to share them in the comments below!

National Poetry Month Library Display

Ages ago, when working at my old library, I found this image on Pinterest:

As far as I can tell, the image came from Greenville County Library. So I'm giving them the credit, though I will admit that it could've come from anywhere (oh the joys of Pinterest).

But the point is: I got out a poster board and copied it exactly to hang as a display in my library. Because I think it is hilarious. And it worked so well to promote our (somewhat rarely used) poetry section. In fact, I've got a list of some of my favorite poetry books below.

11 Nonfiction Picture Book Biographies About Amazing Women

Did you know March is National Women's History Month? And that we celebrated International Women's Day just two short days ago? So it only made sense to start gathering a list of some of my favorite women's biographies. In this case, I picked picture book biographies. I love this format because it makes biographies so much more fun for kids (okay, and for me, too). While I realize you're not always going to get every last fact about a person's life, picture book biographies do allow the sharing of inspiring messages—and, of course, gorgeous illustrations that really drive the emotional aspects of a person's story.

Here's my eleven favorite women's biographies for kids. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments below!

The 2016 Cybils Winners! (And My Personal Runner-Ups)

Guess what?? Cybils, that's what. I had the awesome, amazing opportunity to be a Round 2 judge for the Cybils Awards again! Last year, I did the Easy Reader and Early Chapter Book category. But for 2016, I shook things up a bit and helped nominate the winner of the Board Book and Fiction Picture Book category. And on Tuesday, our decisions were finally announced!

Check out all the winners here!

Like last year, I thought I'd take the time to highlight a couple (personal, individual, outside-of-the-contest) runner-ups in my judging category.

Being a Round 2 judge means that you get to select the winning title from a group of finalists picked in Round 1. Well, let me tell you, all of the books are finalists for a reason! They were all so good. (You can see all the finalists on the home page). So really, pick them all up if you can. But here are my personal favorites:

10+ Swoon-Worthy Reads—Clean Teen Romances

Clean teen romances. Some people don't care, but the ones that do, care a lot. When I first started as a children's librarian, I had a mom come up and ask me for contemporary, fun romance recommendations. But, since they were for her freshly-turn-teen-aged daughter, she wanted them clean—as in no sexuality or crass content. I admit, I was stumped. I offered a few ideas then and have since had many more mothers ask the same question.

So here is my list of ten—plus a lot more because these authors do a lot of good stuff—clean and funny contemporary romances just in time for Valentine's Day. I'm sure there's more for me to discover, so by all means, share your recommendations in the comments below! And, just for fun, I added like 15 more fantasy and dystopian ones into the mix at the bottom, too.

Romeo and What's Her Name
Shani Petroff
Swoon Reads (February 7, 2017)
978-1250111142

"Understudies never get to perform...which is why being Juliet's understudy in the school's yearly Shakespeare production is the perfect role for Emily. She can earn some much-needed extra credit while pursuing her main goal of spending time with Wes, aka Romeo, aka the hottest, nicest guy in school (in her completely unbiased opinion). But then Amanda (the real Juliet) ends up in the hospital and Emily, as the (completely unprepared!) understudy, has to star in the most famous scene from Romeo and Juliet opposite the guy of her dreams. Oops?"

This is the one the really kicked off the idea for this list. I just read it this week. In one sitting. So corny, yet so cute; drama-heavy, yet sweet moments of true friendship. It's the ultra-high-school-romance book. It's being released next week, just in time for Valentines, so check it out!

Presidential Reads: Favorite Books about U.S. Presidents

Inauguration Day was not even a week ago. A new president now heads the country. Let the new presidential book publishing begin!

Now, whatever your personal politics may be, I've learned that, as a librarian, those personal biases have to be left at home. All sorts of people from all wakes of life will be looking for information about something and hoping that your library has the books they need.

So...a book about our newest president? Whether that's a painful thought or a celebratory one, here's a new book that I'm excited to recommend. Plus, I have all sorts of other classic presidential books that can be pulled out for display (Presidents' Day is coming up!) or as a reminder for recommendations.

My Favorite Books Published in 2016

Happy New Year! A time to reflect...on favorite books. Right? Right. So here it is! My list of favorite books published in 2016. And really, there's no rhyme or reason to this list; these books are just my straight up favorite favorite. Personal bias all the way!

Let's cover every age group, shall we?

Mock Caldecott 2017

Welcome to the ever fun (totally-a-guessing-game-for-me) mock Caldecott award on Literary Hoots!

I admit, when I picked Beekle as my favorite back in 2015, my first mock Caldecott, I totally thought I knew what I was doing. Ha! I didn't get a one last year. Who am I kidding, what with the recent YA graphic novels and co-Newbery winners getting a Caldecott-honor-nod, it's pretty tough to get into the same mindset as the official award committee. Plus there's just SO MANY GOOD BOOKS.

But still, I'd love to share my own children's-librarian-opinion on what books have caught my eye this year as a "distinguished American picture book for children" (see full criteria here).

The 12 Days of Children's Christmas Books

Who needs eight maids a-milking when you could read fantastic books instead? Okay, sorry, corny joke, but I did pick twelve Christmas books in honor of that song. You could give a kid the 12 days of Christmas books! Or read a book the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Or do a cool display. Or anything else your heart desires.

Personally, I'd read them every night before Christmas. This was always a family tradition of mine, to read holiday books together. This list, actually, is a collection of my very, very favorite reads from those many December nights. You see, I realized that there were certain books that I eagerly looked forward to every year. So yes, there are a lot of holiday books out there, but here are the ones that get me every time, with the last being my most favorite of all...

Snowmen at Christmas
Written by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner
978-0803729957 (Dial, 2005)

Ever wondered how snowmen celebrate? After everyone's asleep, they have their own big Christmas party, of course! Eating icy treats, they sing and dance, and eagerly await their snow gifts from snowman Kris Kringle. This book is written in wonderful rhyme, so it's perfect to read aloud. And then the pictures are so detailed and fun! Of course, I will also admit that it is written by a former teacher at my old elementary school, so I am especially biased...but still! So good. I sure love reading about the snowmen at Christmas.

Mock Newbery 2017

So maybe I'm calling it too early, but too bad. I want to share the books that I think should receive some Newbery attention.

Granted, with recent shake-ups in the norm (yes, I'm referring to the picture book that won last year, and the recent graphic novel honorees), it's pretty hard to get a good feel for what the committee might be eyeing. But I'm still going to take a stab at it. Or at least share some of my favorite middle-grade fiction from the last year, anyway.

And no, I know, I've never been spot on right, but I've gotten an honoree or two (see my mock 2015 and mock 2016). This year, there's a lot of good, but not one that just totally stands out to me like the last few years. It's a hard selection this year. I seriously spent a lot of time thinking about these.

But here are what I would call "the most distinguished contribution[s] to American literature for children"

22 Awesome Children's Book Character Costumes

You've probably already figured out what costume you'll wear for Halloween this year, but I still want to highlight some of the most awesome literary costumes I've seen. Heck, wear these anytime! Dr. Seuss Day, World Book Day, book reports...any book-themed event, really.

1. The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George (Haute Apple Pie)

Halloween Library Display and Book List

Halloween in the library! We always had a big party and storytime in my library with all sorts of treats, costumes, and (of course) the best stories. But to encourage excitement before the holiday itself, check out this display idea: "'Witch' book will put you under its spell?"

Favorite Books From My Childhood

Warning: nostalgic content ahead. Yep, it's one of those posts where I reminisce and celebrate my own fond memories.

Okay, really, it's not going to be sappy or anything. It's just a list of some of the books that were my favorite favorite growing up. You see, sometimes, when you stumble upon a collection of your old books at your parent's house, you can't help but be nostalgic, right? Right. Yeah, I've got you thinking about your own childhood favorites, huh?

Here's mine...

9 Newly Published Amazing Biographies for Kids (Plus One)

Biographies may inspire dread in some kids. It did for me, as a child, because the word "biography" was usually followed up with "book report" or "homework assignment." But reading biographies does not have to be a chore! No, there are so many awesome biographies of amazing people that are targeted at kids, that I'm going to share a few of my newest favorites here.

13 of the Best Alphabet Board Books for Baby

Board books are kinda becoming a thing around my house. My librarian heart is quite proud of the fact that Baby Bear is now totally fond of books. She loves to turn pages and point at pictures and don't even get her started on touch-and-feel books. So, when we checked out A B See (see below) from the library the other day (resulting in us both loving it), it got me thinking about the best of the best alphabet books we've read together. Some she loves more, some are more for me, but hey, that's what happens when you're a parent. Compromise.

Sure, there's all kinds of "A is for apple" books: simple and to the point. But these are the ones that carry it a bit further, engaging the reader better. These are the "A is for awesome" board books that babies and toddlers (and parents) will enjoy.

10 New Sports & Olympics Books for Kids

The Olympics in Rio are officially underway! I definitely get excited for the games (for instance, check out this Olympics book display idea I created), but I always forget how much I enjoy watching all these random sports and athletes until the Olympics come on once again and I just sit in front of the TV all day. It's seriously cutting into my reading time. Good thing there's lots of good sports books to help satisfy both needs!

To celebrate the Olympics and sports in general, here are some of the best books for kids published in the last year that incorporate these themes.

The Best of the Best Pokemon Books for Kids

If you haven't heard of Pokemon Go, then I'm seriously concerned that you're living under a rock. Pokemon, once hugely popular when I was a kid, has roared back with a vengeance to be the top topic in pop culture. So, on the other hand, this post is in no way original and is rather late to the game. Because libraries and Pokemon right now are like this:

They have a little thing for each other. So to help libraries spread the love a little more, or, really, for anyone looking to expand their Pokemon knowledge, here's the best of the best books about Pokemon. Basically, these are the ones that were always checked out at my library and are best sellers on Amazon.

Sizing-Up Sequels: 3 (More) Early Readers

There's a lot of early reader series. So there's probably going to be a few more of these sizing-up posts (see the first one here). While I am trying to branch out to other series, I thought I'd check up on these classics to see if they're still what you'd expect...

10 Nonfiction Books for Kids About the United States of America (with giveaway!)

Happy 4th of July! Being in a thoroughly patriotic mood and with the opportunity for a fun little giveaway, I decided to compile a list of some of my favorite nonfiction books involving the USA and its history. These are ten books for kids of all ages, ranging from picture books to in-depth accounts. See if one strikes your fancy! And see below for the giveaway of Awesome America, a book that just about sums itself up with just the title.