I hope you had a very Happy New Year! Here are some great new books in the children’s room.

Is This Winter? by Helen Yoon is a story about an adorable puppy’s first walk in the winter snow. The excitement builds as the puppy encounters things along the way. He scares a squirrel and flattens a snowman with his exuberance. But when he encounters his first Christmas decorations in a yard he becomes very confused as to what winter really means to the humans around him.

I was really excited to find the picture book, Books Make Good Friends by Jane Mount.

I was a shy child and felt as though books were easier to make friends with than people.

Lotti feels the same way. She loves books and gravitates to them when situations seem difficult. Lotti reads at school while the other kids play on the playground during recess.

She curls up with a good book after a dinner where her family conversations became too much for her. Then one day in the library she see a girl from school who is reading the same book. Her desire to share the book with someone else helps her overcome her fear and soon Lotti discovers that Nadia loves to read as well. This is a great book for book lovers because the author sprinkles annotations about several other titles throughout the pages. It’s also a wonderful story about stepping out of your comfort zone and learning to extend yourself to help others who face the same fear as you.

I read and listened to Dolly Parton’s Billy the Kid Makes It Big with a new format to the library called Vox Books. The books enable children to listen as they follow along with the pages of the book. An audio reader is attached to the front cover of the book with an on/off button as well as the ability to pause and control the volume. This title is about a very musical pup who wants to join a band but finds himself being bullied at auditions because he isn’t “big-city material.” Found singing in the park by other country singers he is asked to join their band to compete in the Battle of the Bow-Wows the next day. Not only does Billy’s new band win the trophy, but Billy also meets his favorite country star, and he discovers the value of having good friends.

The new graphic novel written by Marieke Nijkamp, Ink Girls, is set in a sixteenth century fictional Italian city ruled by a council that is controlled by a royal family. Master printer, Mestra Aronne, creates the city’s newsletter in which accusations of stealing by a member of the ruling family are announced. She and her apprentice Cinzia are arrested and are sentenced to imprisonment. Cinzia escapes the guard only to find Elena, the young heir, in a walled garden as she attempts to hide. Elena knows the truth about her uncle’s theft and joins Cinzia in finding the proof to convince Elena’s mother and the council of the truth in what Aronne has written. The girls follow a trail of clues through the city gathering friends and allies along the way. The story is well told through the dialogue Nijkamp has written and beautifully told in the images graphic artist Sylvia Bi has created.

I love the new non-fiction book by Paige Towler called History Factopia! Follow Ye Olde Trail of 400 Facts. The format of the book is a bit like a “choose your own adventure” book. But instead of choosing your storyline you get to choose the path your facts will take. For example, the fact on page 14 is about ancient spiky helmets made from blowfish. You can move on to page 15 where the facts continue to relate to ancient armor or you can take the option to go to page 142 for facts about the seas. The facts and format are fascinating and if you follow the facts throughout the book the publisher promises that you will eventually read all 400 facts. This is one of a series of fact books presented in the same format. I can’t wait to read them all.

Please ask at the Children’s desk if there is something you’re looking for and can’t find right away; we’re here to help. Check out our monthly calendar of programming too. We offer a variety of activities for all ages, from story time to book club for teens. You can find more information on our website at www.newulmlibrary.org on the Library Events page.

The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday to Thursdays 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.