By keeping a pulse on what my kiddos are checking out and keeping a close eye on which books are circulating heavily, I feel that I can spend the small budget I have more wisely by choosing books I know will have a greater likelihood of circulating widely.

Each month I'll feature a few fiction and a few nonfiction books that are on the "heavy rotation" list at our elementary library. They're not necessarily new, shiny, or covered with awards -- they're simply what the kids want.

This Month's Selections:

Why Are There Stripes on the American Flag?
by Martha Rustad
Nonfiction Picture Book

Do you know why the US flag has stars and stripes on it? Join Mr. Gomez's class as they learn when the first American flag was made, what the Pledge of Allegiance means, and why we honor the flag.




Prehistoric Actual Size
by Steve Jenkins
Nonfiction Picture Book

What is it like to come face-to-face with the ten-foot-tall terror bird? Or stare into the mouth of the largest meat eater ever to walk the earth? Can you imagine a millipede that is more than six feet long, or a dinosaur smaller than a chicken? In this "actual size" look at the prehistoric world, which includes two dramatic gatefolds, you'll meet these awe-inspiring creatures, as well as many others.

Crankenstein
by Samantha Berger
Picture Book

A boy who looks Ordinary transforms into grumbling Crankenstein when faced with a rainy day, a melting popsicle, or bedtime, but everything changes when he meets a fellow Crankenstein. 




Chicken Butt!
by Erica Perl
Picture Book

The classic schoolyard joke has been recast as an irreverent picture book, with call-and-response parts for parent and child. The word repetition in Erica S. Perl's text, and wonderfully comic illustrations by beloved artist Henry Cole, make this a particularly inviting book for new readers, as does the opportunity to "trick" a parent or other adult into participating in a very silly joke. Warning: Kids will want to read this one over and over and over again!

Starring Jules (As Herself)
by Beth Ain
Chapter Book

Jules is an ordinary seven-year-old girl, concerned with school and friends and other ordinary things--until a chance meeting with a casting director leads to an audition for a television commercial. 




Night of the Living Dummy
by R.L. Stine
Chapter Book

Kris, jealous of her sister Lindy's success as a ventriloquist, convinces her father to buy her a dummy of her own, but weird things start to happen after she reads the words inscribed on a piece of paper found in the dummy's shirt pocket.