April App Spotlight

Last month in our "App Spotlight" we told you about Seuss Band and Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App! This month we have another exciting app for you to enjoy on our Early Literacy iPads:

 

PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit

This book app is a new spin on The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. The developers use the original illustrations, converting them into 3-D pop-up art that children can interact with. Characters wiggle and make sounds when pressed. There are also many pages where children can manipulate the characters on the page to help move the story along. This app gives you the option to read the book independently or have it read to you with wonderful narration. Children will love operating the illustrations, parents will love revisiting a classic tale. Stop by the RFPL Children's Room to explore this app on an iPad today!

Pleasing, Playful, Perky Poems

April is National Poetry Month and the perfect time to explore some fun poetry books. Because most poems are relatively short you can read a bunch of poems in one sitting. You can also check out 10 poetry books and read a poem or two from each in no time at all! I love Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, two American poets who lived in the 1800s. I studied their work in school and still reread their poems often. But, when I am in the mood for something a bit more silly and light-hearted I check out these books (call number J811) by three wonderful children's authors: Jack Prelutsky, Bob Raczka., and Jon Agee.

Classics updated for a new generation.

Some of the new books coming into the RFPL children's room look very familiar... That is because they are wacky new spins on classic stories!

Check out these new twists on historical favorites:

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale
By Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright
Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his hard life dodging fishwives brooms and carriage wheels and trade his damp alley for the warmth of the Cheshire Cheese Inn. When he learns that the innkeeper is looking for a new mouser, Skilley comes up with an audacious scheme to install himself in the famous tavern. Once established in the inn, Skilley strikes a bargain with Pip, the intelligent mouse-resident, and his fellow mice. Skilley protects the mice and the mice in turn give to Skilley the delectable Cheshire cheese of the inn. Thus begins a most unlikely alliance and friendship. The cat and mouse design a plan to restore Maldwyn wounded raven and faithful guard in the service of Queen Victoria to his rightful place in The Tower, but first they must contend with a tyrannical cook, a mouse-despising barmaid, and an evil tomcat named Pinch. Will the famous author suffering from serious writer s block who visits the Cheshire Cheese pub each day be able to help?

Not only does this fun read feature the legendary writer Charles Dickens as a main character, it also weaves in re-imaginings of some of his most famous characters and plots!
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again
By Frank Cottrell Boyce
When the Tooting family finds an old engine and fits it to their camper van, they have no idea what kind of adventure lies ahead. The engine used to belong to an extraordinary car . . . and it wants its bodywork back! But as the Tootings hurtle across the world rebuilding the original Chitty, a sinister baddie is on their trail - one who will stop at nothing to get the magnificent car for himself.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car was originally published in 1964 and was written by Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond! This fantastic new book is its long awaited sequel.