Mercy Watson to the Rescue

Mr. and Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy, who is the center of their affection. One night Mercy decides that she doesn't want to sleep in her own bed, so she snuggles up with the Watsons. Everyone is sleeping soundly until a loud cracking sound comes from the floor. There's a problem with the bed! Read this first title in the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo to discover who's the hero.

Flip, Flap, Fly

In a perfect springtime story for young children, a baby bird begins this rhyming adventure when he sees a baby fish. Baby snakes, ducks, otters, mice, and children also inhabit the story. The babies fly, swim, wiggle, and slide with the help of their mothers. With a bright rhyming text by Phyllis Root, and cheerful acrylic illustrations by David Walker, this is a fun story to share with toddlers and preschoolers.

Audrey and Barbara

Audrey is a young girl looking for adventure. She'd like to visit the Taj Mahal in India, so she can ride an elephant. But first, she must convince her doubtful and quite lazy cat, Barbara, that such a trip is possible--and could be fun! Written and illustrated by Janet Lawson, here is a story about two best friends, who, although opposites in many ways, prove that the best adventures are the ones you share.

Weird Minnesota

Minnesota is known for its lakes, Mississippi headwaters, famous people in politics, business, and mythology. But the state also has its share of weirdness--from UFOs over Duluth, to jackalopes and hodags, the SPAM museum, milk carton boat races, and super-sized statues of man and beast--there are enough strange and weird features around this state to fill a book--which is exactly what Eric Dregni has done. Great fun to browse....or read cover to cover.

Mudville

Welcome to Moundville, a mythical Minnesota town where it's been raining steadily for over 20 years. That's longer than Roy McGuire, the hero and narrator of this story, has been alive. One day Roy comes home to find his father has taken in a mysterious foster son named Sturgis. With Sturgis' arrival, things begin to change. The rain stops. The baseball field dries out. A new baseball team takes shape, with Sturgis as a very talented pitcher. Soon, Roy and the team are preparing to play Sinister Bend (the team they were playing when the rain started), and Sturgis makes a choice that no one can understand. This is a first book by Minnesota author Kurtis Scatetta; it is a very readable story for sports and mystery fans.

Loud Mouth George and the Sixth Grade Bully

It's the first day of school and George has run into a new problem, a big sixth grade bully who steals his lunch on the way to school--every day--for a week. Finally, his friend Harriet comes up with a plan to solve the problem. This is another tale in the popular series by Nancy Carlson. It could be the basis of a discussion of bullying with young children.

Loudmouth George Earns His Allowance

Loudmouth George, created by Nancy Carlson, is a favorite character for many young readers. In this story, summer vacation has started and his mother has assigned George one chore for each day of the week, but George has more interesting things to do instead. By week's end, George would like to go to a movie, but his mother says "no allowance until your chores are done!" George enlists his brothers to help do the chores, but they make such a mess that George has double the work, and then is too tired for a movie! This is a fun story, with a gentle lesson tucked in along the way.