BOOKS TO BORROW

"Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends" by Wong Herbert Yee, Houghton Mifflin, 48 pages

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: age 6 to 8

Mouse and Mole are good friends. When spring arrives, Mole is eager to go outside and watch the birds and sketch them. He invites Mouse to join him, but they quickly learn that watching birds isn't as easy as they thought; as soon as they get close to a bird, they accidentally make a sound and the bird flies away. Finally, Mouse comes up with an idea to help them watch the birds undetected, and it's one crazy idea.

Later, when their bird-watching and bird-sketching is done for the day, the friends discover that they each have an important talent to make their bird books extra special.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: East Lyme Public Library, 39 Society Rd., Niantic

Library Director: William Deakyne

Children's Librarian: Randall F. Haines

Choices this week: "Diary of a Worm" by Doreen Cronin; "How I Became a Pirate" by Melinda Long; "Morris the Artist" by Lore Groszmann Segal

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"Flat Stanley Goes Camping" by Jeff Brown, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan, HarperCollins, 32 pages

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: age 6 to 8

Stanley is just like any other boy except for one thing - he is only half an inch thick. Ever since a bulletin board fell on him, Stanley has been flat. Being flat can have its advantages, but sometimes Stanley gets tired of being the only flat kid in town.

One day Stanley's parents announce they all need some fresh air and are going camping. Once at the campsite, Stanley's dad suggests that Stanley and his younger brother, Arthur, go exploring. Their mom thinks it's a great idea, but makes three simple requests: don't get lost, don't fall off a cliff, and don't touch any poison ivy. As it turns out, those things aren't as easy to avoid as you might think.

"Fly Guy and the Frankenfly" by Tedd Arnold, Cartwheel/Scholastic, 2013, 32 pages, $6.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: age 6 to 8

"A boy had a pet fly. He named him Fly Guy. And Fly Guy could say the boy's name: Buzz!"

One stormy evening Buzz and Fly Guy are playing and having loads of fun. When Buzz announces it is time for bed, Fly Guy says he is busy. Buzz doesn't think much about that until later in the night when he finds that Fly Guy has created a monster, and that monster was coming for Buzz! The 13th book in this bestselling series about Fly Guy, kids will love this hilarious, easy-to-read story.

www.greatestbooksforkids.com