September 2012 – Booktalking #kidlit

Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers

Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers
by Dav Pilkey (Author, Illustrator)
192 pages

Booktalk: Dr. Dilbert Dinkle started his career as an ordinary, everyday evil genius/inventor/bank robber. But when he awakens one day transformed into a walking, talking puddle of pee, he vows to destroy every toilet in town. Will the devious Dr. Dinkle and his conniving cat, Petey, ruin restrooms for the rest of us? Or could this be a job for the death-defying duo of Super Diaper Baby and Diaper Dog?

Snippet:
It took 24 hours
from when he’d begun,
‘Till the Robo-Kitty
Three Thousand was done.

“All I need is a driver.
I need someone mean.
I need someone evil
to run my machine.”

BONUS! See the video!

Bambino and Mr. Twain

Bambino and Mr. Twain
by Priscilla Maltbie (Author) and Daniel Miyares (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Grieving the death of his wife, America’s favorite author and humorist shuts himself up in his Fifth Avenue house and abandons his writing. Only his daughter’s cantankerous cat, Bambino, seems to understand Samuel Clemens and his moods. When the feisty cat disappears, Sam is determined to find him

Snippet: “Everyone wants to meet witty Mark Twain,” the man said. “But tell me, Bambino, would they want to meet sad, old Samuel Clemens?”

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle

City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle
by Nicholas Read (Author)

Booktalk: When we think of wild animals, we don’t immediately associate them with the cities we live in. But a closer look soon reveals that we share our urban environment with a great many untamed creatures. Heavily illustrated with color photographs throughout and full of entertaining and informative facts, City Critters examines how and why so many wild animals choose to live in places that, on first glance at least, seem contrary to their needs.

How do those deer, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, crows, gulls and geese—not to mention the alligators, eagles, otters and snakes—manage to survive in the big city? What special skills do city critters have that many of their wilderness cousins lack? Why have they developed these skills? And what are our responsibilities in ensuring that these animals can continue to share our city lives?

Snippet: We are in the midst of what scientists call “the sixth great extinction,” meaning this is the sixth time in geological history that huge numbers of animal species have disappeared in a very short period of time. The last one occurred about 65 million years ago when, it’s believed, either an asteroid or a comet struck the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. This time the extinction can’t be blamed on outside events. It’s our fault and no one else’s.

STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)