Book with CD: Hip Hop Speaks to Children

Music is one of those things that is so hard to explain. Sometimes you just have to hear it to understand. In this book, Hip Hop is explained through notes, written lyrics, and a beautiful CD, with unique performances by Hip Hop's founding poets and artists.

Famous artists such as Maya Angelou, Walter Dean Myers, and Tupac Shakur talk about their inspiration and perform their works aloud. Kids will gain an understanding of where the musical genre came from (its foundations were from slave songs in the American south) and they will recognize that Hip Hop is poetry with a beat.

This is a unique and powerful book that will appeal to many kids who love to listen. It may be a particularly good choice for boys who love to learn while they move; I would encourage listeners to play the CD and read the book while on the move: walking on a trail with headphones, dancing inside on a rainy day, or moving to the beat somehow.

Book with CD

Ages 8-14

Click here to check out the Port Moody Public Library's catalogue

Easy Reader: Watch Me Throw the Ball!

Author Mo Willems has produced another Elephant and Piggie easy reader. These wry, funny books describe the adventures of best friends Elephant and Piggie. With total camp humour, Piggie and Elephant navigate the treacherous waters of friendship and feelings.

In this episode, Piggie finds Elephant's ball, and wants to try throwing it. Piggie is justifiably proud of his strong throwing arm, and he lets his friends have a go even though Piggie doesn't know the SECRET OF THROWING.

When Piggie throws a pop fly (it goes up in the air, and lands a few feet behind him) he crows that he's thrown it "so far you can't even see it!" Elephant becomes more and more irritated at Pig's boasting, until he feels he has to point out that the ball is in fact behind where Piggie threw it. But does this stop Piggle cold? NO! Instead, he's elated that he threw the ball around the WHOLE WORLD!

Kids aged 5-7 will laugh uproariously at Elephant and Piggie. The whole series is recommended.

Easy Reader

Ages 5-7

Click here to check out the Port Moody Public Library's catalogue!