Books for children - April 29

BOOKS TO BORROW

"The Underneath" by Kathi Appelt, illustrations by David Small, Atheneum, 311 pages

Read aloud: age 10 and older

Read yourself: age 10, 11 and older

Deep in the bayou, a chained-up hound gives a lonely howl. A cat hears the sadness in the hound's call and goes to find him. When Ranger meets the cat, he sees she is about to have kittens. He tells her to hide under the porch of the shack where he is chained, and to keep out of sight of the cruel man who lives there . The two curl up together, and from that moment on, they are a family.

When one of the kittens takes a quick dash from under the porch, a chain of events is set into motion that will forever change the way things have been.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: Waterford Public Library, 49 Rope Ferry Rd., Waterford

Library Director: Roslyn Rubinstein

Head of Children's Services: Nadine Lipman

Assistant Children's Librarians: Amy Sindel, Kathleen Logsdon

Choices this week: "All You Need for a Beach" by Alice Schertle; "Piggy Pie" by Margie Palatini; "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"All for Me and None for All" by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 32 pages, $16.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 and older.

Read yourself: age 7 and 8.

Gruntly was the greediest hog any of his companions have ever known. Gruntly took toys and feathers and wool and food from his companions, and he never shared what he had with anyone.

One day Gruntly happens upon a sign that announces a treasure hunt in the park. Gruntly is wild with excitement, thinking that of course he will be the one to find the treasure. But Gruntly is in for a surprise, and his behavior causes him to discover important things about himself and his companions.

"C.R. Mudgeon" by Leslie Muir, illustrated by Julian Hector, Atheneum, 2012, 32 pages, $15.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

C.R. Mudgeon does not like change. He eats bland celery soup every night for supper and eats one small fig every Tuesday. When a new neighbor, Paprika, moves in and cooks spicy food, plants red poppies everywhere, and plays the maracas in the Mariachi band, C.R. Mudgeon's world is turned upside down, and he doesn't like it one bit.

Just when C.R. Mudgeon reaches his breaking point, Paprikae vanishes. Worried, C.R. Mudgeon goes to Paprika's house to investigate, and that's when his life takes an irreversible turn.

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