We Must-ache You to Check Out These Books!

Facial hair is sweeping the nation this month with campaigns like Movember and No Shave November.   This year Grafton-Midview Public Library is getting in the spirit by sharing some hairy book selections with you.  Before we get ahead of ourselves, we want to share some background information on these two amazing events.

Beginning in 2003 in Australia, the founders of Movember wanted to help raise funds and awareness for men's health, particularly prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health challenges.  The funds raised help maintain programs to educate people on living and staying healthy despite illness.  In 2012 alone, over $147 million dollars was raised by participants. 
Similarly, No Shave November also raises funds and awareness for multiple charities, including Arkansas Prostate Cancer, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Families of the Wounded Fund. 

Now for the books:

First up is Fake Mustache Or,  How Jodie O'Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (And Some Nerdy Kid) Save The U.S. Presidential Election From a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind by Tom Angleberger.  The trouble begins when Casper Bengue borrows money from his friend Lenny Flem Jr.  Casper decides to buy a suit and a fake mustache to make him look like a "short man about town."  Casper doesn't just buy any mustache, but a real human hair Heidelberg Handlebar Number Seven.  When reports surface of a short and mustachioed burglar, Lenny gets suspicious and pairs with Jodie O'Rodeo to save the country.   Make sure you check out the end pages for fun facial hairstyles.

Image from www.amazon.com

Margie Palatini strikes gold again with Moosetache, illustrated by Henry Cole.  From the first page, we see that Moose has a problem with his abundant facial hair.  His 'moostache' gets in the way of his hobbies, makes him itch, and causes some serious style dilemmas.  Moose tries everything to tame his whiskers, until he finally meets his match and comes to terms with his fanastic frizz.

Image from www.amazon.com

Bridget Heos authors this next adorable read, Mustache Baby.  This baby sports a 'stache from the get go.  The nurse from the hospital warns that the family will have to be on alert to see if Billy's mustache turns into a good-guy mustache, or a bad-guy mustache.  At the beginning it was clear that Billy was a do-gooder, but once his mustache starts to curl at the ends all bets are off.  When Billy gets landed in the slammer (his crib), his parents are alarmed.  Can they help Billy stay on the right track?  

Image from www.amazon.com

A fun and interactive board book, Moustache Up!, comes with a packet of different mustaches on the front cover.  Even grown ups will love matching these silly 'staches to the pictures in the book while practicing opposites.

Image from www.amazon.com

Warning: poetry may cause your mustache to look more refined!  J. Patrick Lewis pairs with Matthew Cordell's drawings to bring us If You Were a Chocolate Mustache.  This book still makes the list even though the only hints to facial hair are in the title and a poem about Rip Van Winkle.   

Image from www.amazon.com

Every Child Ready To Read~ Reading

Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) is a national initiative from the American Library Association.  ECRR is a learning model to showcase skills and activities to help build literacy skills for young children.  We follow this model at the Grafton-Midview Public Library and would like to share some  activities and resources with you!  For more information on Every Child Ready to Read, here are some sites for you to peruse:
Ohio Every Child Ready to Read, Early Literacy Crosswalk offers a basic overview of what Every Child Ready to Read is all about.  They also have another site to discover the second edition of ECRR and sample activities for each skill and activity.

This is our final week of exploring ECRR and we hope you have enjoyed the journey.

One of my go-to sites for looking for themes and topics to discuss is SurLaLune.  You can search through for a topic or subject of your choice and find many book suggestions and summaries, along with song ideas to share together.  I appreciate the age suggestions given along with the book recommendations. For answers to your frequently asked questions, check out Read To Me's FAQ page. 

An interesting site to peruse is the Reading Womb.  This site supports that it is truly never too early to begin reading with and to your baby.  The idea behind the Reading Womb is to begin a routine of reading with your child before he or she is even born.  Finding a time to relax, bond, and be close with Baby is going to help get him or her off on the right foot to reading success.  Reading to your baby will help him/her become accustomed to your voice, begin learning language, and it's a soothing activity.  Hopefully this special time will continue for years to come.  Annie Murphy's TED talk on when learning truly begins can be found here (Hint: It's before birth!).

The Hennepin Library has an amazing site that gives book ideas and tips for sharing them.  They include items directly from their catalog, so you are seeing the new releases along with old favorites.  When considering books to read, it's important to think about the differences in development.  A few months of growing can mean a world of difference to our young ones.  For ideas of what to share when, refer to Zero to Three's site. 

Reading is Fundamental shares many great ideas for songs, activities, and even games to explore together that are broken down by age.  These activities complement Every Child Ready to Read very well.  For help with struggling readers, reading lists, and tips, scope out Reading Rockets. 

If you are looking for reading electronically, check out Tumblebooks, a database full of children's books and games that our Library subscribes to.  You can search for books on themes and read along on the screen.

Keep us up to date with what you are reading on Goodreads, an electronic book shelf.  If you want more information on Goodreads you can check out Nicole's past post here. For book suggestions your family can share together, stop into the Grafton-Midview Public Library and check out our Readers' Advisory tools on our web site.  Your Youth Services Librarians will be glad to assist you.  Happy reading!