Sunday, October 30, 2016

What We Read This Week 10/30

This week had an unofficial theme, if you can't tell - construction and Halloween!


I'm Dirty! by Kate and Jim McMullan. Dirty, a backhoe, tells the reader all about his work duties. My son and I love the attitude all of Kate and Jim McMullan's characters have. My son is still really into this collection of books because of The Stinky & Dirty Show.

Trick ARRR Treat: a Pirate Halloween by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Jorge Monlongo. Reviewed in the Halloween books round-up.

Job Site by Nathan Clement. These realistic illustrations of men and machines working helps explain what they do to children. Good as a starter nonfiction/informative book for really young children (though it is fiction and has a storyline).

Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard, illustrated by David Slonim. This is a collection of poems about machinery and construction sites. Short and sweet, and reading one or two is a great way to cap off the usual bedtime stories.

I'm Brave! by Kate and Jim McMullan. This book is about a brave fire engine, and probably has been my favorite of the series so far. I think my son loves all of them, again because of The Stinky & Dirty Show.

Dig, Dogs, Dig: a Construction Tail by James Horvath. This is the CUTEST book! Dogs work together to build something together. Adorable illustrations. It helped the story engagement that, besides loving puppies and construction sites, my son is obsessed with this awesome Mudpuppy puzzle.

Shivery Shades of Halloween: a Spooky Book of Colors by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Jimmy Pickering. Reviewed in this year's Halloween video.

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills, illustrated by Ben Mantle. This book is pretty simple because everyone knows "The Wheels on the Bus", but the spooky twist is really fun. Make sure your kids sing along with this new version! There's also a counting element to the song that makes it enjoyable as a book - you can point out and count spooky things in the illustrations.

Petrifying Parodies

Last year I reviewed Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex as one of my three favorite Halloween books (see the video HERE). This year I was browsing the library shelves when I found The Runaway Mummy, also by Michael Rex! These books were published in 2008 and 2009 resepctively, so I'm a bit late to the party, but they're such fun reads! My son and I had a good time reading the original stories first (as we do a few times throughout the year), and then read the petrifying parodies in October.


Goodnight Goon is a parody of Goodnight Moon, with a little monster boy saying goodnight to various creepy things around his tomb. I'm not a big fan of the original Goodnight Moon (I know, gasp! What kind of mother am I, etc) but I do like this version with monsters and creepy crawlies added in. I really like that Michael Rex has made the illustrations look classic, like they could have been the original illustrations.

The Runaway Mummy is by far my favorite. I love The Runaway Bunny in its original form, so I was really looking forward to the spooky adaptation. A boy mummy is trying to leave his mummy behind by changing into a sea serpent, gargoyle, and more, but his mummy always changes into something else to be near him. This one has a really great twist ending that made me chuckle, making it my favorite of the parodies.

These are fun books to read for Halloween because kids can compare them to the originals, if they already know them. If not - read them aloud and then compare and contrast! Activities like saying goodnight to everything in your child's room can be easily adapted to go along with Goodnight Goon, and thinking of spooky things to turn into with your child is a fun way to continue the story of The Runaway Mummy.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

This Is Where It Ends


This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp is a book about a school shooting. It seems like I've been reading a lot of school shooting books lately... I won't say it's a trend, the way vampires were and zombies are, but I've been reading about it frequently. I like it, though, because there are so many different ways to portray it: from the victim's point of view; from a bystander's point of view; from the shooter's point of view, or all of the above. Plus more.

Nijkamp tells the story from the points of view of four different students. They share flashbacks about how they know the shooter, what their relationships were like, how they changed, and why they think this event is occurring. There is the girl who used to date the shooter, the girl who was bullied by him, the bullied girl's twin brother, and the sister of the victim. The way they relate to the shooter, both in flashbacks and during the action, is very emotional.

The action takes place in about an hour, starting with a high school assembly. This tight time frame really builds the suspense, especially with four narrators in different areas of the school.

For how well the four narrators are developed, the shooter is a flat character. I would have loved to have him as a narrator, to find out why he flipped and decided to shoot up the school. The way he was portrayed was pretty stereotypical, so that aspect of the book was a little disappointing. It's still an interesting, emotional read, if you're in the mood for such realistic fiction.

Other books about school shootings I've read recently include: Violent Ends edited by Shaun David Hutchinson, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Damage Done by Amanda Panitch, and The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs (reviewed for Cleaver Magazine).

Monday, October 24, 2016

Great Books for Halloween

Halloween is just a week away! Have you started reading Halloween books yet? We've been reading them for a couple of weeks now, and wanted to share short reviews of some of our favorites. At the end of the post, you'll see a video for the three Halloween books we just can't put down!


Trick Arrr Treat: a Pirate Halloween. 2015. Leslie Kimmelman, pictures by Jorge Monlongo.
I’ve heard some people say that pirates are a trend in children’s literature that’s gone on a little too long, but they haven’t worn out their welcome with me! This book is especially enjoyable because it’s a realistic depiction of children going trick or treating on Halloween night. Picture books have the freedom of being far-fetched and imaginative, but that makes it all the more interesting to read a realistic Halloween book for kids. The rhymes in this book make it great to read aloud, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

It’s Raining Bats and Frogs. 2015. Written by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Steven Henry.
A young witch is trying to make sure the Halloween parade runs smoothly by casting spells to change the raindrops into other things. This is a silly story that you can make more engaging by letting the kids guess and identify the different items that start raining down on the parade.

Hedgehug’s Halloween. 2013. Created and illustrated by Dan Pinto, written by Benn Sutton.
Hedgehug and his friends are going to a Halloween party, but Hedgehug can’t find a costume that fits his quills! This is a cute story of costume trials and errors. It’s fun to let your kids identify what costume Hedgehug tried and ruined, as well as ask them to guess what costumes would work well for a hedgehog!

Welcome to Monster Town. 2010. By Ryan Heshka.
This book is better for older readers who can compare Monster Town’s “day” (which is night) to how we live. It’s also good for parents, with some clever jokes that might be over little kids’ heads. The illustrations are gorgeous, colorful, and enjoyable for all ages! It’s not too spooky, because though various ghouls, goblins, and monsters are depicted, they’re inviting and friendly, not gory or creepy.


Check out three additional recommendations in this Halloween video:


And three more recommendations in last year’s Halloween video!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

What We Read This Week 10/23


Big Friends by Linda Sarah, illustrated by Benji Davies. This is a beautiful book about two friends who imagine boxes as different things. They play together perfectly, until a new little boy enters the picture. One boy isn’t sure how three friends can play together, and distances himself, until he is shown what true friendship is.

Itty Bitty by Cece Bell. Cece Bell is always a winner! This cute book is about a tiny dog who makes a cozy home in a big bone.

Telephone by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jen Corace. This funny book is based on the game Telephone. A mama bird needs her son to come home for dinner, so she tells one bird, who tells another bird something slightly different, and so on and so on. This book is better for older kids and parents who can get the joke. It doesn’t really work as a cohesive story without understanding the telephone concept.

I Stink! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. We found The Stinky & Dirty Show on Amazon, and my son has been obsessed ever since. We read I Stink! When he was just over a year old, so of course he didn’t remember it. I checked it out again, plus more in the “series”, and he loved seeing those characters in the book again.

I’m Fast! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This was probably my son’s favorite from the McMullan series, and I enjoyed it more as well. A train is racing a car across the country, and that story was a little more developed than other McMullan books that kind of allude to the duties of the vehicle, but are told more in sound effects and boastfulness.

I’m Mighty! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This one was about a tug boat, and how strong he is even though he’s smaller than the boats he helps. This is probably my second favorite in the series we’ve read so far.

The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat. Super-obvious disclaimer: Dan Santat is always awesome. This book is about four animal friends who have to figure out how to share three cookies...but even if your kid is too little to understand the math, it’s a fun story - especially if you do the voices! I don’t really like the framework of Elephant and Piggie reading the story… It might be engaging and familiar to kids who love those characters, but it’s not necessary to make this story pop.

I’m Bad! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan. This McMullan book is about a dinosaur who wants us to believe that he’s big and bad and scary! It’s a fun book with a great twist at the end - I think younger kids will love this one - especially if their mama reads it to them! (Sadly-necessary disclaimer: That relates to the ending, is not a sexist comment.)

Maple by Lori Nichols. Sweet book about a little girl who is named after the maple tree her parents planted before she was born. The tree is her best friend, but she sometimes she thinks she would like to play with someone else. Then she finds out she’ll be getting a playmate! This is one of those books that is probably more for the parents than the kid.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Big Friends #UnlockTheirImagination

October's #kidlitpicks theme is Unlock Their Imagination. So many books came to mind with this theme because picture books are one of the best ways to explore imagination! I thought about books starring imaginary friends, like The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat, Dotty by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Julia Denos, and Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers, which I've featured before.

Recently we've read so many clever picture books that engage children's imaginations, whether the books asks for the child to search for a hidden detail in each picture (Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!), answer questions posed in the text (Trashy Town), or just broaden their horizons with new vocabulary and interesting illustrations.
On our quest, we found a great book about real friends, Birt and Etho, who use their imaginations to transform boxes into...anything else! Birt loves his best friend and how their imaginations fit together to make all their days fun. When a new boy, Shu, wants to join in with the box-fun, Etho welcomes him, but Birt isn't so sure.

Underneath all of the box imagination fun, Big Friends by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies is a gorgeous, touching picture book about the fragility of friendships and how they can grow.

A great read alike for Big Friends is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. We have the board book, so it was a natural progression to step up to a bigger, more involved picture book. In Not a Box, a bunny plays by himself, imagining a simple box is a race car, a boat, and more. In Big Friends, two boys play together to imagine what a box can be for them.

Check out other books to #unlocktheirimagination on the homepage @kidlitpicks, and tag your favorite #imagination books to be featured!

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

The Light Fantastic

To make a book about school shootings stand out among an influx of young adult books about the topic takes skill and in her new novel The Light Fantastic Combs delivers with detailed characters and a unique premise. Told from several different points of view, the novel covers the span of a few hours across multiple time zones as a new day starts and a nationwide school shooting epidemic begins.

See the full review at Cleaver Magazine.

Monday, October 17, 2016

What We Read This Week 10/16


It's Raining Bats and Frogs by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Steven Henry. A young witch is determined to make the witch parade run smoothly, despite the sudden rain! I will post a more in-depth review on this one in my Halloween book spotlight!

If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Cale Atkinson. I will review this book more in-depth soon, but for now... it's just gorgeous. The story is fun because of all the mythological creatures, but the illustrations are so beautiful. Kids will love this one!

Explorers of the Wild by Cale Atkinson. This is a beautifully illustrated book about two very different explorers who bump into each other in the wild. They bond over their love of adventures and form a friendship. I can't say it enough - GORGEOUS illustrations.

How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mark Fearing. My son and I loved this book about how refusing to eat your veggies can save you...but it's a necessary evil. See also: The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino. 

Little Big by Jonathan Bentley.  This is a cute book about a baby who dreams about everything he could do if he was bigger. 

Bulldozer's Big Day by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann. Bulldozer is excited to invite his friends to his birthday party, but everyone is too preoccupied with work to even recognize what a special day it is! My son and I love these cute illustrations, and try to identify which machine is which before the text tells us. I really like the black outline on the pages, too - it seems pretty unique for a picture book.

Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. My son loved this book about a boy who dreams of being a digger man when he grows up. It was fun to point out the different machines in the illustrations of construction sites.

Monster Trucks by Anika Denise, illustrated by Nate Wragg. This is a re-read for us, but it's been a favorite the past few weeks. This one will be reviewed in my Halloween spotlight post!

Hedgehog's Halloween by Benn Sutton and Dan Pinto. Cute book about Hedgehug's trouble finding the perfect costume. This book will be reviewed in more detail on my Halloween spotlight post!

Trick or Treat, Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, illustrated by Dan Hanna. We always look forward to Pout-Pout Fish books, but this one was a bit disappointing. The story was very short, and Pout-Pout was a minor character, so there wasn't too much recognition for younger kids. Kids who have loved all of Pout-Pout's books might like the inside jokes of finding hints of Pout-Pout in the pages, but there's not enough to really carry the story.

Going Places. This book actually came from a Wendy's happy meal...go ahead, judge away! Sometimes you can't deny the call of fast food on a Saturday night. The book is actually really cute, since my son is into cars right now, and this is really simple but nice.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

The Lending Zoo by Frank Asch

This review originally appeared on RaisingMom.ca's awesome blog! Be warned - once
you click that link, you'll spend the rest of your day checking out her excellent reviews.

- - -

ABOUT THE BOOK The Lending Zoo

Author: Frank Asch
Published by: Aladdin
Released: April 2016
Ages: 4-8 years

From the Publisher: Miss Perkins is happy to be the librarian at The Lending Zoo, a ‘zoo-brary’ that lends out all types of animals—from massive elephants to majestic giraffes. Everything usually goes smoothly: water buffaloes, snakes, parrots, and more are checked out and returned without a problem. But one sunny day Pancake, the tiger, goes missing and Miss Perkins along with her new friend Molly must go on a citywide search to find him! Will they be able to track him down before he causes a commotion all over town?”

Description: The idea of a Lending Zoo is so creative that the story pulls you in with the first page, where we meet Miss Perkins, the “zoo-brarian”. The action starts quickly when you find out that the tiger is missing! Molly, a little girl who was waiting to check out an animal, asks to tag along on the search for the missing animal. Miss Perkins and Molly travel all over, wondering if they’ll find the missing tiger. To add to the suspense, there is the question of what animal Molly was at the Lending Zoo to check out!
Though it came out earlier this year, this book already seems like a classic – the illustrations look timeless, with quirky modern elements like Miss Perkins’ scooter.

My Experience: I read this aloud to my son and we both enjoyed the story! The illustrations are bright and cheery, and it’s fun to travel along on the scavenger hunt with Miss Perkins and Molly. We liked taking in the detailed illustrations on every page, because so much is happening – you can see what animals patrons are checking out, read the names of the animals on their shelves, and see what each person is doing as Miss Perkins and Molly pass by. It might sound like a “seek and find” book since the tiger is missing, but the point of the search isn’t to find the tiger on the page yourself – instead, take in the people in each scene, see what they’re doing. There are so many opportunities to talk with your kid as you read this book, and doing so only adds to the story because the elements are featured so prominently in the illustrations.

     Likes:
·      The overall concept of the book! How cool is a Lending Zoo?
·      The detailed illustrations, where there are no faceless blobs for crowd scenes, but instead developed people doing different activities
·      The lack of a definite ending. Though the story is resolved, the action continues on in the Lending Zoo, showing that this was just one thing that happens in a day.
     
Dislikes:
·      None!


How to Use it with kids: The concept of a Lending Zoo is one kids will love, so this book opens the floor for a lot of conversation.
  •  Ask kids what animals (real or imaginary!) they would check out of the Lending Zoo. What does this animal eat? What does it look like? Have them draw pictures of the animal.
  • Have kids identify the animals on each page.
  • Read-alikes featuring the zoo: Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann or Put Me In the Zoo by Robert Lopshire.
  •  Read-alikes featuring unique pets: Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo by William Joyce or Hiding Phil by Eric Barclay.


About the Author / Illustrator:
Frank Asch’s first book was published in 1968. Since then, he has written over 60 books, most famously the Moonbear picture books.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

What We Read This Week 10/9

All library books this week! My library card is the only card I've ever maxed out
- but thank goodness my son has one, too! We have a great selection, and I keep 
bringing home a couple of books a day. You can't beat the proud, happy feeling
after telling your son you brought him something, and he says "Bi-berry books?!"


I Love Going Through This Book by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. Different parts of the book are explained, and then the characters go through the story, climbing up and crawling over pages. The book tells a cute story, but the way it's presented is really innovative.

Lawn to Lawn by Dan Yaccarino. Yes, we're still on our Dan Yaccarino kick! Lawn ornaments are left behind during a move, so they start the long trek to find their family's new house. Super cute illustrations - I could see this as a short cartoon!

Up Above and Down Below by Sue Redding. This book uses simple sentences to explain what's going on above and below different locations, like the street above and the subway below. It's fun to look at all of the details in the illustrations, plus there's a little red ant and tiny green caterpillar hidden in each spread!

Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug! by Mem Fox. This was probably our stand-out favorite. This book is SO cute, I can't stand it. It was a library book, but we've got to get our own copy. It's kind of like Where's Waldo? for kids, but on a simpler scale. There are illustrations of a crowded shelf, or a staircase with toys strewn about, and the reader has to find the ladybug in each. There is a simple rhyme to say before finding the ladybug, and a "solution" with the ladybug zoomed in on the next page. My son and I both enjoyed this book immensely.

Poultrygeist by Mary Jane Auch. Funny story, maybe more for adults and older children because of the wordplay. Two loud roosters are annoying the other animals in the barn, but when a Poultrygeist appears, everyone is scared - and the roosters might just be scared straight!

Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by Kimberly and James Dean. We love the rhymes in Pete the Cat books, and this one was extra fun because of the counting. My son and I kept counting the cupcakes to see how many were missing before Pete and his friends gave the answer. It didn't hurt that the cupcakes were really whimsical - we spent a few minutes on the endpapers, picking "our" cupcakes!

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krause Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. This is a great book to introduce punctuation, as well as the importance of being true to yourself. The exclamation point wants to fit in with the periods, but when a question mark comes along, exclamation mark finds his true self inside. We had fun "finding" the exclamation mark in the middle of all the other punctuation on each page.

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Tim Bowers. My husband read this one to my son, but I read it before I brought it home from the library. A fish is swimming alone in his bowl, bored, but when new fish and decorations are added, he gets cranky! He has no personal space, and wants a change... Will he get what he wants, or does he even know what he truly wants?

Buddy and the Bunnies: In Don't Play With Your Food by Bob Shea. This is another favorite from the week. Bob Shea's illustrations are always amazing. We loved the crazy monster! This is another book that can involve counting, if you want to make it more interactive and have your kid practice numbers. We counted bunnies on the pages. The bunnies that the monster wanted to EAT! But they kept outwitting him...

We Are Growing by Laurie Keller and Mo Willems. Grass blades try to label themselves as the "____-iest" as they are growing. But what's that noise? Sounds like a lawnmower...

Friday, October 7, 2016

If I Was Your Girl Review on Memphis Reads



I contributed a short review of If I Was Your Girl to Memphis Reads,
the library's book review blog. Please check it out here!

I've also reviewed this book on Goodreads, and talked about it on a podcast.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

What We Read This Week 10/2

(And last week, since I was caught up in Banned Books!)


Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton. My husband read this to my son before bed one night. It sounded like a fun book, and they both stomped around afterwards, creating their own dinosaurumpus!

Tissue, Please! by Lisa Kopelke. This book was really cute because we had a cold going around the house, so we constantly needed tissues. My son is good at asking for tissues, and saying "please", but it was good timing to read them together in this book. My son is also very into hopping around like a frog lately, so he got to satisfy his frog curiosity.

The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino. We're still on that Dan Yaccarino kick, and this was a fun book to read because vegetables might be good for you, but that doesn't make them good! Beans grow into a crazy monster that starts attacking all the adults, and only the kids can save the day!

Junkyard by Mike Austin. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. My son loves robots so he liked seeing the robots and how they were constructed.

Time to Say "Please"! by Mo Willems. Mo Willems is always good, and even this nonfiction book about manners is fun for kids and adults to read. Willems' drawing style is as good as ever, and it was fun to watch the girl get the cookies she wanted in the most polite way possible.

Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino. The story of this cute little puppy who just wants a friend is really funny. The pup imagines his new friend next door is a dog who's bigger and tougher than he is, so he lies about his size to save face. After all, they're separated by a fence, so how will he ever be found out? Until his new friend starts digging a hole so they can meet...


More Parts by Tedd Arnold. This book talks about cliches that are common for adults, but, when taken literally, mean something very different, especially for kids! It's a little too old for my son, but he enjoyed pointing out all the different body parts.

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. My husband read this to my son the other night, and they both had a lot of fun with it. My son liked pointing out the alien. I read it myself and thought it was really sweet and beautifully illustrated, as Oliver Jeffers books are known to be.

Bee-Wigged by Cece Bell. Cece Bell is so hilarious, and this book is no exception. A bee is tired of everyone being scared off by his stinger, so he finds a wig and passes as a boy! He goes to school and makes a lot of friends, but what happens when his wig falls off? This book has a great twist that made us both laugh.

Big Bird's First Book of Letters by Sesame Workshop. My son is pretty good at his alphabet already, but he loves reading this book because he can name the elements in the pictures, and of course he loves the Sesame Street characters.

Bunnies' ABC by Garth Williams. This is another ABC book my son likes reading because he can name the animals and objects in the pictures. Some animals are a little obscure, but hey - it's vocabulary building!

Robots, Robots Everywhere! by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Bob Staake. Hello, Robots! by Bob Staake is one of my son's favorite books, so when I saw that he illustrated a different robot book, I knew we had to get it. The rhymes are really cute and my son loves it, so I know it'll be read often in our house.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Banned Books: Harry Potter


The Harry Potter series has been repeatedly banned in libraries, especially school libraries, because religious parents think it glorifies witchcraft. I just started reading the series this year; I didn’t resist it because of the witchcraft aspect, I just never liked fantasy books and was skeptical of the hype.


Well luckily I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong, because I love this series! I wanted to finish them all before the play came out at the end of July, but due to my classes, internship, and new job, that didn’t happen. In fact, I still haven’t finished the series! I read book six in August, and book seven and the play are sitting on my desk, staring at me. After getting a bit burned out on them, I’m ready to finish the series, but I have to find the time.

That being said, I don’t really understand why the series was banned. Witchcraft, sure, because the whole book is about wizards and witches and their magic, but it’s fiction. Fans might wish Hogwarts was real so they could enroll there, but it isn’t, and I don’t think reading about things that contradict your beliefs (or, again, are fiction) is a big, bad deal.

Banned Book: Who's In My Family?


This is a cute picture book about families and how different they can be. The main family is mixed race, and they go to the zoo one day and talk about all the different families they see around them. Harmless, right?

Well, this book was banned because it portrayed *gasp* same sex couples! That does NOT portray family values, according to people who are overly sensitive. I'm going to try and stay off my soapbox, but if you don't like something, just ignore it. If it's not being forced in your face, there's no reason you need to address it.

Except MY LIBRARY's copy... I repeat, MY LIBRARY!!!!!!!'s copy, had two pages taped together. Someone had neatly, deliberately, folded one page over another spread at the corners AND TAPED IT DOWN.

FOLDED pages in a library book. TAPED CORNERS in a library book.

My heart sank when I saw this, and not just because of the folding and taping. I mean, that too, because, c'mon, they're library books! Let's be gentle with them so everyone can read them.

But mostly my heart sank because I knew why those pages were taped together.

I very carefully peeled off the tape and unfolded the corners...

Yup.


The page with the same sex couples.

You know what? If it's your book, you do what you want. Except, joke's on you because you BOUGHT the book, and the author is just laughing as you tape the pages together because he got your money - you can do whatever you want with the book now.

But a library book is for everyone. And maybe some parents don't care if their kid sees same sex parents in a book. Maybe some parents are happy about it, because they know their kid will see this in the world, and seeing in a book just hits that point home - this is real. Some people will be happy to see themselves portrayed in a book, and some kids will be happy to see their two mommies or daddies portrayed in a book. 

If you don't want your kid to see it, then turn two pages at once. Don't tape them. Better yet - if you don't want your kid to see it, don't check out the book. Don't restrict what other people see when they check out the book.

After all this research into banned books and thinking it was preposterous and dated, I was SO saddened, literally, legitimately saddened, to see this in one of my library's own books. 

Have you seen any censorship in books or libraries?