Children's Books at Rowan Public Library

by Amy Notarius Rowan Public Library

Several children’s books at Rowan Public Library recently caught my attention. These clever stories with fun illustrations should appeal to a variety of young readers. 

In Mike Curato’s Little Elliot Big City, Little Elliot is a polka-dot elephant living in the big city.  And he has a big problem. He’s too small. He can’t reach the top shelf of the freezer or get the attention of a taxi driver. Worst of all, no one sees him when he tries to buy a cupcake!  But then Elliot meets someone even smaller than he is, and working together they find new ways to enjoy the city’s sights and special treats. Set in 1940s New York City, the illustrations, with lots of brown and green hues, are the real star of this delightful story. 

In Millie Waits for the Mail, by Alexander Steffensmeier, Millie the cow takes a particular delight in scaring the mail carrier.  Every day Millie searches for a new place to hide. But what’s fun to Millie leads to broken packages and nightmares for the carrier. And when Millie accidentally ruins the carrier’s bicycle, they come up with a surprise solution that benefits both of them. Children should get a big kick out of the illustrations here as Millie pops up in unexpected places all over the farm. 

In Eileen Christelow’s The Desperate Dog Writes Again, Emma the dog lives happily with George, her owner, and a cat.  But one day a new woman enters George’s and Emma’s life and Emma is not happy. At times like these, Emma thinks, the only place to go is the library!  At the library, Emma sends an email to Ask Queenie, the advice column for dogs having problems with difficult humans.  But things go from bad to worse when George’s girlfriend brings her own dog to visit! Emma is beside herself. When Queenie’s advice to Emma—you must be on your WORST  behavior—backfires, Emma becomes even more unhappy. Older children should enjoy the humor of a story told from the pet’s perspective, and all readers can find something to like in the colorful, comic strip panel-like illustrations.  

Check out these and other fun books for young readers at Rowan Public Library today.