Cool New Books for August
 EPOSSUMONDAS
by Coleen Salley
illustrated by Janet Stevens
Harcourt
ISBN: 015216748X
Ages 4-8
40 pages
Epossumondas is his mama's and auntie's sweet little "patootie." He's not only a patootie, he's a possum and he lives south of the Mason-Dixon line. Epossumondas takes everything very literally, and you will see how when you read this book based on the time-honored Southern legend of Epaminondas.
 THE EVERYDAY WITCH: A Tale of Magic and High Adventure!
by Sandra Forrester
Barrons Educational Series
ISBN: 0764122207
Ages 9-12
186 pages
Beatrice Bailey is excited about her 12th birthday because on that day she will get her official classification as a witch. Beatrice takes us on an adventure when she's faced with the challenge of having her magic level tested. In order to be classified as an Everyday Witch or a Classical Witch she must break a spell that Dally Rumpe, an evil sorcerer, cast. Don't miss out on this intriguing tale of fantasy and adventure.
 THE GREAT GHOST RESCUE
by Eva Ibbotson
illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Dutton Books
ISBN: 0525467696
Ages 9-12
144 pages
Humphrey and his ghost family are out of their home. Their home is being renovated for tourists, and they must leave the house because they just can't be scary enough to rid the house of real live humans. Humphrey and his family meet up with Rick, a schoolboy concerned about all endangered species, and they seem to be saved. Rick comes up with the idea to start a ghost sanctuary. Although Rick thinks that he's been successful in getting a sanctuary for the ghosts, it is discovered that he's been tricked into trapping the ghosts. Can the ghosts be saved? You'll be surprised to see which unlikely hero comes to the rescue.
 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT
by Simms Taback
Putnam Publishing Group
ISBN: 0399234888
Ages 4-8
32 pages
In this interpretation of a classic 18th century rhyme, the author has Jack build a house like no other. Jack then fills the house with cheeses from all over the world which attracts the rat that stirs up the cat.
 IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE BED (Tales from the House of Bunnicula, 1)
by James Howe
illustrated by Brett Helquist
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689839472
Ages 9-12
96 pages
Howie is a dachshund that wants to be a writer. Howie has written a story about Pete, his housemate. In Howie's story, Pete has created a powerful science fair potion that accidentally gets spilled on a stuffed koala bear. The potion makes a huge koala bear that begins to eat it's way through garbage in the town and almost devours Howie's friend Daisy. How will Howie's story end? And will the "real" Daisy be upset about how Howie portrayed her in the book?
 IT WAS YOU, BLUE KANGAROO
by Emma Chichester Clark
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385746237
Ages 4-8
32 pages
Lily and Blue Kangaroo always do everything together, but lately Lily has been doing some bad things by herself. Not only has Lily been bad, she has been blaming everything she's done wrong on Blue Kangaroo! Blue Kangaroo gets taken away from Lily until he can learn how to behave. Will Lily make things right and get Blue Kangaroo back?
 NEW YORK'S BRAVEST
by Mary Pope Osborne
illustrated by Steve Johnson, Lou Fancher, Louis Francher
Knopf
ISBN: 0375821961
Ages 4-8
32 pages
In a tribute to the 343 firefighters that died on September 11, 2001, Mary Pope Osborne retells the story of Mose Humphreys, an 1840s New York firefighter whose bravery became legendary. Mose rescued babies inside a stovepipe hat, lifted trolley cars over his head, ran in and out of the burning building to rescue the people that worked in the building. Once the smoke cleared, everyone realized that Mose has disappeared. This courageous man gave his life rescuing others and Mary Pope Osborne presents a wonderful tribute to both the story of Mose Humphreys and to the tragic events of September 11th.
 THE OBVIOUS ELEPHANT
by Bruce Robinson
illustrated by Sophie Windham
Bloomsbury USA
ISBN: 1582347697
Ages 4-8
32 pages
One day, out of nowhere, an elephant appears in the main square of town. No one in the town has ever seen an elephant before and they can't figure out what kind of creature it is. A 7-year-old boy named Eric knows what it is, but nobody in the town wants to listen to him because he's known for telling made-up stories. The poor elephant is put to work pulling a train, fighting fires with his trunk, and vacuuming garbage. Can Eric convince everyone that he's telling the truth about this creature? Will they really believe that it's an elephant?
 SCHOLASTIC CHILDREN'S DICTIONARY (Revised and Updated Edition)
Scholastic Reference
ISBN: 0439365635
Ages 9-12
648 pages
This dictionary is illustrated with over 1,000 detailed photographs and provides easy to understand phonetic pronunciations for words. Some items this book contains are: a complete Braille and American Sign Language alphabet, a pronunciation guide, sample sentences, word histories, language notes, maps of the U.S. and the world, flags of the world, facts about the 50 U.S. states and a list of American presidents. This edition is updated to include the latest terms and words such as "DVD" and "browser."
 SUPERMAN: The Ultimate Guide
by Scott Beatty, Jeph Loeb
illustrated by Roger Stewart
DK Publishing
ISBN: 0789488531
Ages 9-12
128 pages
This book is a tribute to the superhero that has filled our lives with adventure and excitement for over 60 years. Superman is known for fighting for truth, justice and the American way. IN SUPERMAN: The Ultimate Guide, you'll discover many things you never knew about Superman, his enemies, his friends and family. The author, Scott Beatty, was allowed unlimited access to the archives of DC Comics in order to come up with the information to fill this book. True Superman fans will enjoy this treasure full of little known facts.
 THAT PESKY RAT
illustrated by Lauren Child
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 076361873X
Ages 4-8
32 pages
This street rat wants so badly to be someone's pet. He wants to get out of living in a trash can in Grubby Alley and he wants to have a real name, not "that pesky rat." The rat decides to take matters into his own paws and posts a notice in a pet store, stating that he is a brown rat looking for an owner with an interest in cheese. All of his friends seem to have ideal lives with their owners and he wants to belong to somebody. A nearsighted gentleman by the name of Mr. Fortesque misreads the notice the rat posted and he responds to the ad, saying that he's been looking for a brown cat as nice as the rat for a long long time. Will Mr. Fortesque ever realize that the cat is really a rat?
 WESLANDIA
by Paul Fleischman
illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763610526
Ages 9-12
40 pages
Wesley is no ordinary boy. In fact, he's considered pretty odd in his town and is treated like an outcast. But a plant that begins to grow in Wesley's yard changes everything. Wesley begins to use the fruit from the plant to make food, juice, a hat, and other things. He creates his own world -- Weslandia. With his new world he creates a new alphabet and a variety of new sports. Take a moment to visit Weslandia and see if it's the kind of world you'd like to live in.
 WHAT TEACHERS CAN'T DO
by Douglas Wood
illustrated by Doug Cushman
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0689846444
Ages 4-8
32 pages
We always think of teachers as being people that know everything. But can they do everything? They can't be late to school, they can't buy their own apples for their desk, they can't ride scateboards or scooters to school. Just whatcanteachers do? You'll be amazed at all the pratical lessons you'll learn in this enlightening book.
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