Would you like to become or remain a reading group member for Capitol Choices? Be sure to email the facilitator for whichever group you'd like to join. We are welcoming four new facilitators this year, so be sure to check the Join Us page to see who they are! As an added bonus you'll also find the 2012 meeting dates!
All are invited to attend a talk by E.Lockhart at the Bethesda Library, 7400 Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD 20814 on Thursday Feb. 16, 5pm. Copies of her books will be for sale through an arrangement with Politics and Prose Bookstore. She will sign books after her talk.
A former search-and-rescue dog solves a missing chickens case in suitably hard-boiled detective fashion over twenty-three very short and funny chapters, complete with noir-style patter and lots of puns. Clever and satisfying. Seven to Ten. Annette Klause
When Gus loses his old dog, Ella, he is comforted by Ella's promise that she will always be with him. On Halloween when skeletons surround Gus and are about to do whatever it is skeletons do to small boys, Ella appears as a skeleton herself - a dog skeleton. This doesn't bother the skeletons until Ella and Gus howl for reinforcements. Rohmann's signature artwork is so bold and satisfying with its black outline and a special treat on the title page. This book is handsomely done and is a book that dog lovers with love. Up to Seven. Joan Kindig
Ella, Gus’s elderly dog, promises Gus that she will always be with him, but after she dies, Gus spends a lonely Halloween cavorting with skeletons in the cemetery. Gus’s reappearance is part of the night’s spooky but endearing magic. Firm horizontals and thickly outlined figures keep the story grounded.
Not only is Bailey a member of the family, he is a member of the class. Bailey goes to school! He loves the bus ride (his head hanging out the window, naturally), lunch is his best subject, and when he fibs about his homework he says he ate it. Bliss's cartoon-style drawings support this funny and affectionate story about a dog who is one of the kids. It is charming from start to finish and kids who wish their dogs COULD come to school will eat it up. Up to Seven. Joan Kindig
Wearing his backpack, Bailey walks to the school bus, admiring a stick along the way, anticipating the wind ruffling his fur through the window, and waiting to plunge into the lunch room garbage pail. Humorous illustrations capture his unusual but clearly doglike adventures.
A story of love, friendship and loyalty. A monk lives on a small island with his faithful friend, a rat terrier. A terrible storm separates them and the dog has several adventures in the natural world (some quite scary) before being reunited with his very best friend. The pictures are lush and powerful, Nelson takes on a very different subject with subtly and grace.
Captivated by an unfinished story, Rocket the dog is introduced to the “wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet” by a little yellow bird. Young children will identify with Rocket's initial reluctance to learn as well as his eventual love of books.
After her illegal-immigrant father is deported to Mexico, eleven-year-old Zitlally believes that protecting a skinny stray dog she calls Star will keep her father safe, too. But Star disappears. Can Zitlally’s trailer-park neighbor, Crystal, help?
This posturing pooch has some great attitude... if you can wrap your tongue around his smooth tough freestyling! Raschka's definitely gotten silly with this one, poking fun at hardcore boastful rap and the hip hop personae while making an attempt at defining its allure. Radunsky's blotchy illustrations - remarkably Raschka-esque - capture the juvenile tough pup at home in his cool-toned urban environment. Words are printed in differing font sizes and in moving shapes to help the reader read aloud. Remarkably funny for its dogginess, too, i.e. when the rhythm of the language devolves into woofing.
It’s against rules, but a Marine befriends an Iraqi wild dog that steadfastly follows his unit in the desert. Inviting photos include the machines and landscape of a soldier’s daily life and warmly depict a true story that ends happily.
