“The Wonderful Book”

It's not enough to simply tell children that reading is fun, exciting, and opens a world of knowledge and thoughts and opportunities.

Obviously children must be read aloud to, and obviously the stories they are exposed to must be exciting, interesting, and make the child eager to hear more.

Today's reviewed books accomplish that perfectly. What's more, the central theme of each features the thrill of reading a great book. Who could argue with that?!

Books to BorrowThe following book is available at many public libraries.

“I.Q. Goes to the Library” written and illustrated by Mary Ann Fraser, Walker, 32 pages; Read aloud: age 4 and older; read yourself: age 7 and older.I.Q. is a mouse and an active member of Mrs. Furber's class. I.Q. knows this week is going to be very exciting — it's Library Week and they will be going to the library every day.I.Q. has never been to a library before, and the librarian begins the week by reading a funny story to I.Q. and the children.The story makes I.Q. laugh so hard that his eyes water and his tail curls, and I.Q. knows he wants to take that book back to the classroom with him. The problem is, he doesn't know how to find the book once it's back on the shelf. Furthermore, he doesn't have a library card!Every day brings new discoveries about the library and how to find what you're looking for. And, with a little help from Mrs. Furber, I.Q. gets what he wants most of all — his very own library card AND that very funny book he has waited for all week long.Perfect from start to finish, this selection is a positive, humorous, and delightful introduction to the treasure chest that is a library.

<B>Library:</B> Evans City Public Library, 204 S. Jackson St., Evans City<B>Library Director: </B>Judith Pfeifer<B>Children's Librarian:</B> Patricia Pflug<B>Choices this week: “Bear Snores On”</B> by Karma Wilson; <B>“Grandad's Fishing Buddy”</B> by Mary Quigley; <B>“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” </B>by Kate DiCamillo

The following books are available at favorite bookstores.<B>“The Wonderful Book”</B> written and illustrated by Leonid Gore, Scholastic, 2010, 32 pages, $16.99 hardcover; read aloud: age 2½ and older; read yourself: age 7 to 8.One day, a little brown rabbit is hopping about in the forest when he comes across a book. Not knowing what a book is, he decides the object will make a good house for him.Not long thereafter, a bear disturbs the rabbit, and takes the book to use as a fancy hat.Other forest animals use the book for various other things, but it isn't until a boy comes along, discovers the book, sits down and reads the story aloud, that the animals understand what a treasure the book really is.Wonderful illustrations and a charming story will capture the imaginations of children while delivering the strong message that books and their stories are great fun, indeed!<B>“Biblioburro: A true story from Columbia” </B>written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter, Beach Lane, 2010, 32 pages, $16.99 hardcover; read aloud: age 4 to 5 and older; read yourself: age 8.“Deep in the jungles of Columbia, there lives a man who loves books. His name is Luis.”Luis loved books so much that his small house overflowed with them. As Luis tried to think of a way to solve this problem, an idea suddenly occurred to him — he would share his books with others who had none.Purchasing two sturdy burros and building crates to carry the books, every weekend Luis took his burros and books to the faraway villages where he would share a story and then allow everyone to choose a book to borrow.And to this day, Luis continues to enrich the lives of roughly 300 people who eagerly await the books he brings to share.A powerful little book, “Biblioburro” is certain to inspire readers of all ages.<B><I>Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached at www.greatestbooksforkids.com. </B></I>

“Biblioburro”