Book Finder

Mother Paula’s newest (#469) All American Pancake House is about to be built in Coconut Grove, Florida, on a site where a colony of endangered burrowing owls live. Mullet Fingers, who has been quietly committing acts of sabotage at the construction site to save the owls, is befriended by Roy Eberhardt, the quiet, new kid in town. Together with Mullet’s stepsister Beatrice, the three make it their mission to expose the restaurant company’s wrongdoing.

With a bit of a nod to J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings, Muddle Earth follows the quest of Joe, an ordinary boy from Earth who has been summoned to Muddle Earth by the wizard Randalf to fight evil in this realm where things are quite muddled and anything can happen — from stampeding silverware to exploding gas frogs.

This beloved fantasy begins in Kansas when Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, are transported to another land by way of a cyclone. There she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Cowardly Lion as well as a host of other extraordinary characters. The movie classic, released in 1939, retains the essence of this quintessentially American tale which was first published in 1900.

When Mary Poppins arrived at the house on Cherry Tree Lane, life became much different and more exciting. The unique nanny stayed only until the wind changed leaving the family with many happy memories. Some echoes of the film are evident, however, the book remains a read aloud classic that stands apart and is rather different.

Though the farmers on the three neighboring farms are quite different, each raises some type of poultry, each is very mean and ornery, and each shares their dislike of foxes. Can one fox outwit them? Only a very special, indeed fantastic Mr. Fox can — and does! A movie version of the book was released in November 2009.

The precocious young resident of New York’s Plaza Hotel is on her way to visit Paris in this installment of Eloise’s adventures. Join Eloise as she prepares then travels to Paris for a special holiday brought to life in detailed illustrations and sophisticated language sure to tickle readers of all ages. Look for the movie version which came out in 2010.

Having a four-year old sister like Ramona can be a real pain as 9-year old Beezus (aka Beatrice) knows all too well. Ramona likes to do things in her own often pesky, frequently funny, and always imaginative way. The movie version of the modern classic was released in March 2010.

How the Murray children search through time to find and save their missing scientist father continues to enthrall readers even 50 years after its publication. The author was awarded the Newbery Medal for what has become a classic time travel fantasy.

Bebé and Mamá are back! This time they are off to the beach for a fun day of sand castles, surfing, and ice cream. Of course there is never a dull moment with Bebé! Susan Middleton Elya uses the same lilting mix of English and Spanish rhymes featured in Bebé Goes Shopping, and Steven Salerno’s vibrant illustrations pop off of the page once more.

It’s a big day for Bebé and Mamá at the grocery store, complete with animal crackers, balloons, and many near escapes from the shopping cart! Written in rhyme, the text mixes English and Spanish words in a seamless way. The colorful and charming illustrations bring Bebé and Mamá’s grocery store adventures to life on the page.

There are three words that Martha — a dog who gained the ability to speak when she ate alphabet soup — absolutely hates. They are: No Dogs Allowed. So when Martha wins a weekend for her (human) family at the Do-Come-Inn, those words propel the Martha and the family into action with very funny results.