Northlake-Barbara Loar Library in Tucker, GA

Cats and Dogs

By the Northlake Readers

How did a cat end up locked in a room at the county jail? Read this story and find out!

"Oh no!" said Billy Bob Joe, a cute little chihuahua dog. "My favorite bone is missing!" Billy Bob Joe's favorite bone was no ordinary chew toy. In fact, the gray bone was covered in diamonds and pictures of horses.

Billy Bob Joe called his good friend Earth, the squirrel, and told him about the missing toy. Earth got right on the case and began following the clues.

First, he looked at the video surveillance film and saw that while Billy Bob Joe was sleeping, a cat snuck into the stage where he lived and took the bone. Earth asked some of his detective friends if they recognized the cat, and one of them did. It was the mean, orange, cat named Barney. Barney had fangs and was wanted by dogs everywhere for stealing stuff.

Earth knew if he solved this case, he'd be famous! He followed the tracks from the stage to Barney's hideout and even though Earth was scared of cats, he did something very brave.

Earth snuck into Barney's hideout while Barney was asleep and, using lightning fast skills, switched the stolen bone for a fake bone. When Barney woke up and realized he'd been tricked, it was too late. The police had surrounded him and were ready to take him to jail.

And THAT"S how a cat ended up in a room at the county jail.

The end.

What a cool story. What do YOU think? Leave a comment.

Tallahassee/Leon County Library, Tallahassee, FL

Cubby's Rock

Written by the 2:30 Library Writers

Cubby screamed all the way to his lungs because he missed his rock!

Of course, this was no ordinary rock. It was green, magical, and shaped like a teddy bear. Cubby was no ordinary monster. He was very nice, not too smart, and a little bit freaky. He had had this rock since he moved to Pluto many years ago, and it was his favorite possession in all the universe.

Earlier today while Cubby was taking a walk, Moldywart, a hillbilly with purple ears, walked up to Cubby and began talking to him. Moldywart asked if he could see Cubby's rock, and when Cubby gave it to him, Moldywart walked away with the rock.

When Cubby realized he had been tricked, he called Alice the bull. Alice was Cubby's best friend. She could fly, and she had magical powers. When Cubby described Moldywart, Alice knew who it was and where she could find him.

When Alice found Moldywart, she walked up to him and asked for the rock. Of course, he said, "No!" Alice used her nose whistle and enchanted Moldywart to make him give the rock back. Alice took the rock to Cubby, and he was very happy.

When Moldywart came out of his trance, he was very angry. He ran to Cubby's cave, snatched the rock out of Cubby's hand and went to hide out in a dark hole where he could not be found.

The End

I wonder what happens next? Leave us a comment with your ideas!

Tallahassee/Leon County Library, Tallahassee, FL

The Case of the Missing Video Game

Written by the 10:30 Library Writers

The story you are about to hear is a very nice story. It is a story about Luke, a hamster who likes to eat tacos. Luke plays video games in his cage all day long. His favorite video game works like a good radio, playing his favorite songs.

Luke was very surprised one day to see a small robot roll up to his cage. The robot opened the door, extended a long claw in to the cage, and grabbed Luke's video game. The robot belonged to LaShanna, a big, black, mean cat. LaShanna lived in a theme park, and that's where she took the stolen game.

Luke called Owen, a motorcycle-riding policeman. Owen followed the clues, and they led him to LaShanna's hideout. Owen tricked the cat into giving him the video game back. Then he arrested her and took her to cat jail.

The End

What do you think of our story?

Mamie's Place Children's Library, Alexander City, AL

(Mamie's Place is the only free standing children's library in the state of Alabama, and is a VERY cool place. They only have books and materials for kids, and their staff schedules a full calendar of very fun activities for their patrons. The decorations were also very creative and fit the theme for the summer of 2009! Find out more here.)

Give a Dog a Bone

By the Kids from Mamie's Place

Tom's owner gave him a special bone for Tom's birthday. Tom was a tall dog who was always in a good mood. When his owner gave him this bone, he was in an even better mood. The bone was a chew toy bone that was as big as a tree.

Just yesterday, Judy, the big fat cat, walked onto Tom's farm, and saw the bone. She knew she must have it! She came up with a plan to steal the bone, and it WORKED!

She knew that dags can be tricked pretty easily into looking at something that is shiny or moves really fast. So she threw a stick, and while Tom looked away from his birthday present, she took it and ran away. Fortunately for her, she is also very tall and was able to carry such a big bone.

Tom started barking and woke up a tiny wizard who lived on the farm, named Tom Sawyer. When Tom Sawyer complained about the noise, Tom the dog explained what had happened. Since they had been good friends for a long time, the wizard offered to help.

He went to Judy's home and, using his magic, made a giant cat toy appear, just outside her door. Then he rang the doorbell. When she saw the toy, she forgot about the bone and ran outside to get it. Tom Sawyer then made the bone disappear and reappear on Tom's farm. As soon as the bone vanished, so did the cat toy!

When Judy saw she had been tricked, she began complaining and yelling and threatening the wizard, so he turned her into a tiny frog, and rode on her back to return to Tom's farm.

Everyone (except Judy) lived happily ever after.

The End.

What a fun story. Can you draw some pictures to illustrate it? Make a comment in the box below. We LOVE feedback!

Prattville Autauga County Library, Prattville, AL

Flamey and the Magic Pearl

By the Prattville Kids

Have you ever heard of Flamey, the ugly pretty girl?

Pretty was the way she looked, but ugly was the way she acted. As a result, she had no friends, and no one liked her. She didn't seem to care about anyone or anything except a big, shiny, magic pearl that her grandfather had given her many years ago. She took it with her everywhere, attached to the back of her pet hippo.

She was visiting Disney World, when the wierdest thing happened. Ghost Rider (the guy from the comic book who rides a motorcycle and has a flaming skull) rode up behind Flamey, and stole the pearl right off the hippo's back. Then he roared away, frightening everyone in the park!

Flamey called on the world's top detective and finder of stolen things, General Greevis, a tall mean man with four arms. The general, promised to do his best and he set off on his mission. He rode a pony to Ghost Rider's lair and got the pearl. When he brought it back to Flamey, she didn't even say "Thank you." She was that ugly (in the way she acted).

Ghost Rider was arrested and went to jail, but most people don't believe he'll stay very long. When you have a flaming skull and super powers, it's hard to keep you in jail.

The End.

There were lots of surprises and unexpected turns in this story. What do YOU think?

St Simon's Public Library, St. Simon's Island, GA

Flower Power

By the St Simon's Writers

There was once a magical flower. It was a big, pink flower that was owned very happily by Midori. Midori was a huge talking plant that lived outdoors in beautiful Lexington, Kentucky. She loved the magical flower so much that it was all she thought about.

One night while Midori slept, Sylvester Sly and his partner Quigley (tow of the biggest, meanest boys you'll ever meet) snuck up to Midori and plucked the magic flower and ran like crazy!

Midori woke up and saw the boys running away, but she could not chase after them. So she called her good friend Findlay. Findlay is a magic baby, who is as nice as those big boys are mean.

Findlay used a spell to make Sly and Quigley fall asleep and he got the flower back. He used his magic to reattach the flower, and Midori was so happy!

The story did not end well for the flower thieves, though. They ended up in jail.

The End. What do you think of our story? Leave a comment.

Decatur Public Library, Decatur, AL

The Day Ben Lost His Necklace

By the kids at the Decatur Library

Ben LOVES his necklace. And why not? It's beautiful, it's pink and white, and it's magic! Ben is a very large, very nice monster who wears clothes, just like a person. He lives downtown in Atlanta, where he has lived since December, 2026, when he graduated from college.

The day he lost his necklace was terrible! While he was sleeping, a mean, ugly wizard named Johnny used a magic spell to make the necklace float out of Ben's apartment. Johnny had a lot of magical power, but he wanted more. That's why he was stealing the necklace.

Ben woke up as the necklace was floating toward the window, and when he saw it, he called for Muu Muu his amazing dog (who, by the way, thinks he is a cow). Muu Muu saw the necklace, and jumped up and caught it just before it sailed out the window to the wizard.

Johnny disappeared in a puff of smoke, and as he vanished he shouted, "You haven't seen the last of me! I'll get that necklace if it's the last thing I do!"

The End.

But there's no doubt that Johnny will be back. What do you think will happen when he comes back? Leave a comment below.

Clarkston Public Library, Clarkston, GA

A Scary Night in Paris

By the Clarkston Kids

If you are afraid of things that go bump in the night, you should put this story away.

It's a story of danger and magic and family ties. Shaya was a very pretty lumpy old lady. She had a small family - her husband, their son and daughter, and their cute little dog. She loved them more than anything! She was so frightened when she got a phone call saying they had been kidnapped.

Shaya was on a roller coaster in Walla Walla, Washington, when her family was kidnapped from a street in Paris. Of course, she immediately came home and found out what had happened. Ben, a tall evil fat man, had used a helicopter to abduct her family.

Even though the police were trying very hard to find them, Shaya knew that she needed more help. So she called Leon, her friend who is a walking skeleton and has magic powers. Leon used his magic to find Ben, and put a tracker on Shaya to help capture him.

They were able to get her family back, but in the craziness of the rescue, Ben escaped in his chopper and got away.

What would Ben do next? You decide. Leave a comment below.

Flat Shoals Library, Decatur, GA

The Adventures of Super Monkey Man

Have you ever seen a Super Monkey save a family of monkeys? If you had been in Atlanta this morning, that's exactly what you would have seen!

Our story begins when John, a monkey who loves bananas and ice cream, was returning from a walk when he saw something shocked him! A mean, meat-eating werewolf named TJ was kidnapping John's family!

John had a big family, and they knew lots of circus tricks, but none of those tricks could help them escape from TJ. It would be up to John to rescue them. Fortunately, he didn't have to do it alone. John called on his good friend, Super Monkey Man!

Super Monkey Man is an amazing super hero in a cool costume with a picture of a banana on his chest. He flew like a rocket and swooped in to rescue John's parents just in the nick of time - just as TJ was about to close his deadly jaws around them. Super Monkey Man was so fast, he was able to rescue the rest of the family.

Unfortunately, TJ escaped, promising to return another day.

The End.

This is out first werewolf story! What do you think?

Paulding County Recreation and Parks Day Camp

Another Story about Another Bob

By the Mt. Tabor Day Campers

Bob had some chocolate that was so thick and creamy, that he didn’t want anything to happen to it – but something did.

Bob is a short, fat grumpy guy who loves chocolate. He likes dark, milk, semi-sweet and even white chocolate. But his favorite chocolate was a special batch of thick and creamy chocolate that he had made at the chocolate factory where he worked and lived. You see, ever since 2012, people usually lived at the place where they worked, in tents inside the factory.

One night while Bob was asleep, Ben, a tall skinny, ugly guy with a big butt crept up to Bob’s tent, cut a hole in it and got away with Bob’s favorite chocolate. He took it back to his house and hid it in the cabinet.

When Bob awoke and discovered the missing chocolate, he screamed and cried, and then he called his best friend Harold, who was bald-headed and had a long mustache. Harold reviewed the security tapes and saw who got the delicious snack and devised a plan.

The plan was pretty simple - Harold would wait until Ben was gone and would sneak into Ben's house and steal it back. In the place of the chocolate, Harold put an apple pie, that looked just like rich and creamy chocolate! The trick worked, and when Ben ate it, he got really sick, because he was allergic to apples. He learned his lesson, and never stole anything again.

The End.

That was an unexpected ending! What do you think?

Town and County Library, Clayton, AL

Have a Ball!

By the kids from the Clayton Town and County Library

“Somebody stole it!” Bob shouted! “They stole my red and blue glitter ball! The one that could float in the air like magic!” Bob was a short, happy kid who had a little sister.

“Calm down,” said Max. Max was Bob’s best friend. Max was very tall. As a matter of fact, he was taller than his house! “I’m sure we’ll find it. Tell me what happened.”

Bob told Max about how he went to sleep with the ball on his bedside table, and when he woke up it was gone. He looked all over the house for it, in case it rolled away, but it was not there.

Max came over to Bob’s house, which was on the beach, and the first thing he noticed were footprints in the sand outside Bob’s window. He followed the footprints until he came to the hideout of the evil Blake, a kid who was as grumpy as an ogre (and as ugly as one, too!).

Max had a plan. He waited until Blake went to sleep and snuck in the window, and got the ball back. He took it to Bob, who said they should call the police. When the police went to Blake’s hideout, they discovered that he had escaped, without a trace, and was long gone.

The End.

Will Blake come back? What makes the ball float? How does Max stand up in his house, if he’s so tall? Use your imagination to answer these questions, or leave us a comment.

Dunwoody Library, Dunwoody, GA

Hearts of Glass

By the Dunwoody Writers

Brandon had just finished lunch when he discovered that his glasses were gone! These were not reading glasses, but magical drinking glasses that were very old and had hearts painted all over them. These glasses had the power to turn themselves into hippopotamuses. If you think the glasses were unusual, you have to know their owner.

Brandon was tiny - only two inches tall, but he had hands that were as big as elephants. He had owned these glasses for a long time, ever since his grandpa gave them to him when he was very young and had moved into the castle with the rest of his family.

The glasses were taken by a giant with tiny hands, who was always angry. Her name was Madison and she used an arrow to take Brandon’s prize possessions. She shot the arrow and it came back with the glasses! It was like magic!

Brandon knew who to call. His friend Avery, a long haired hippo, was a great detective. She sniffed the air, follows the clues and found the glasses. When she returned the glasses, Brandon surprised her by turning into a big dog.

The end.

That was an unexpected twist! What do you think?

Dade County Library, Trenton, GA

Revenge!

By the Trenton Readers

On a dark day in New York, something happened. The year was 2017, and there was almost no crime because people had finally learned how to get along. Everything was going well until Samantha decided to take Zachary’s R2-D2 remote control model. Zachary was old with long brown hair and he loved this robot. He had owned it since he was a kid.

Samantha was a very pretty girl with green eyes who was very funny and always played jokes on people. But no one thought it was funny when she took the robot. She used her magic powers to make the robot float out of Zach’s house and float into her bike basket. Then she took off, her long brown hair flowing behind her.

Zach called Kiara, his best friend and told her about the robot abduction. Kiara was very nice, and she told Zach not to worry. With a twinkle in her pretty blue eyes, she said, “I’ll use my skills as a finder of things to hunt for your prize robot.” She was so nice she didn’t even call it a toy, because she knew how much he loved it.

Kiara found the robot and returned it to Zach, but he was so angry about Samantha taking it, he began plotting to take something of hers to get even. What happens when Zach seeks revenge is where our next story begins.

The end.

Can you figure out what would happen next? Why don’t you write the next story?

LaFayette Library, LaFayette, AL

Zoe Returns!

by the LaFayette Readers

One foggy night, she came back to steal something else.

Zoe Cortez, the meanest black cat that ever lived, stole--yes stole--Nicole's fluffy brown teddy bear. Nicole was a fluffy white guinea pig and she loved her little brown teddy bear so much, even though he was missing an eye.

Zoe opened the door to Nicole's cage and used her magic eyes to move the bear to her den. Nicole was frightened but was very glad that Zoe did not eat her. Once Zoe was gone, she called Biggie, a guinea pig cousin. Biggie is a spy and has a nose like a bloodhound.

Biggie sniffed until he found a trail for the bear. The trail led to Zoe Cortez's den in a small town in Alabama. Biggie used a grabber to take the bear and brought it to Nicole. Biggie was about to use the grabber to capture Zoe, too, but Zoe escaped and promised that next time the bear would be hers.

H. Grady Bradshaw Memorial Library, Valley, AL

(This library is in my hometown! It opened the month I graduated from high school and when my wife and I moved back there sfter college, we visited it often!)

The Horse Thief

by the Valley, Alabama Writers

Something bad happened to Jacob. That was unusual because Jacob, the funny looking teenager who was always in a good mood, usually had a good day every day. Jacob loved horses; he even had two horses of his own. One of the horses was brown and the other one was white, but both were as fast as an airplane.

In a castle not too far from Jacob's farm, there lived a huge, fat monster named Joseph. He was quite frightening as he had one red eye and one green eye. He was also very clever. He dug a tunnel from his castle to the pasture of Jacob's farm and built a trap door near the watering trough. When Jacob's horse went to get a drink of water, they fell through the trap door and Joseph stole them.

Jacob couldn't believe his eyes! He had just been looking at his two horses and then they seemed to vanish into thin air. He called his good friend Beth who was very nice and a great basketball player. Only Jacob knew that she was also a secret agent.

Beth found the trap doors and followed the tunnel back to the castle. She came back to Jacob's farm and they came up with a plan to get the horses back.

Beth went to Joseph's castle pretending to be a lady who wanted to buy some horses. Joseph showed her Jacob's horses and while he was counting the money Beth gave him for the horses, Beth wrapped a chain around him so he couldn't get away. Jacob called the police and got his horses back.

The end.

Wow! A tunnel to steal the horses! What a clever idea! What do you think?

Book List for Reading Round Up!

Book List for Reading Round Up!

Some of you have asked about the books used and referred to in the show. Here they are!

Book List for Reading Round Up!

If your library does not have these titles, books LIKE these are great! Info in parentheses tell why the book was chosen. The following titles are used or referred to in Reading Round Up! in no particular order:

Fun with Words and Punctuation

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (beautiful language, Caldecott winner)

It Figures!: Fun Figures of Speech by Terban, Marvin; Maestro, Giulio (makes linguistics fun!)

"CDB! (Stories to Go!)" William Steig (clever wordplay)

Max's Words by Kate Banks (Georgia Book nominee)

Eats, Shoots and Leaves (the children’s version) by Lynne Truss (makes punctuation fun!)

Interesting Characters

Agatha’s Feather Bed by Carmen Deedy (GA author)

How I Became a Pirate by David Shannon (popular children’s author)

The Boy of a Thousand Faces by Brian Selznick (beautiful artwork, he won a Caldecott medal)

The Writing Process

What Does an Author Do? by Eileen Christelow (excellent picture book about what authors do)

Writing Magic by Gail Levine (a book for kids on writing by the author of Ella Enchanted)

Books to Movies

Shrek by William Steig* (the story of the REAL Shrek)

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Newbery Award winner)

Classic Tales Retold

A Handful of Beans by Jeanne Steig and William Steig (Six classic fairy tales retold)

Johnny Appleseed by Will Moses (American folklore)*

Picture Books

Tuesday by David Wiesner (Caldecott Winner)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Caldecott Winner)*

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (this book is just amazing!)*

Folk Tales – regional and well known*

Hook Moon Night: Spooky Tales from the Georgia Mountains by Faye Gibbons (GA ghost stories)

New York’s Bravest by Mary Pope Osborne (America’s first urban tall tale hero)

Whoppers: Tall Tales and Other Lies by Alvin Schwartz (US folktales)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark retold by Alvin Schwartz (scary legends)

Alice Nizzy Nazzy: The Witch of Santa Fe by Tony Johnston (Russian, adapted to US)

The Frog Who Wouldn’t Laugh by Egan and Alger (Australian folklore)

Akimba and the Magic Cow by Anne Rose (African folklore)

Iktomi and the Boulder by Paul Goble (Native American folklore)

Lucky Jack and the Giant, retold by Janet P. Johnson (African American folklore)

Series

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (chosen because of the great opening line!)

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keane (adventure!)

The American Girl Series (historical fiction)

Other Books

Books about the earth (We talk about geography very briefly)

Magic Books (There are a couple of magic tricks in the show and kids will usually want to check it out!)

*These books also have some interesting characters!

Newborn Library, Newborn, GA

Sena Escapes Jail

by the Newborn Library Kids

At a deserted train station, John's lucky hat wasn't so lucky. John was a smart, sneaky little guy who always wore a blue hat that was very oddly shaped. He told everybody that it was his lucky hat. He was walking through the train station when suddenly his hat disappeared. Nobody took it; it just disappeared.

In the fish pond near the train station there lived a fish who was big like a shark whose name was Sena. Not only was he very large, but he was a magic fish. He had just used his magic to make John's hat vanish and reappear in the fish pond on his own head.

John called his good friend George, a short, funny-looking police officer and asked him what he should do. John could see Sena swimming around wearing his hat and laughing under the water. George told John to stand on one side of the pond and make faces at the giant fish. When Sena came to the surface to stick his tongue out at John, George grabbed the hat right off Sena's head.

Using an underground tunnel that led from the fish pond to the river, Sena escaped and has not been heard from since.

These kids did a great job! Leave us a comment!

Newton County Library, Covington, GA, 2:00 PM

Who Would Steal a Snake?

If your name is Elizabeth, you might be offended by this story. You see, Elizabeth is a really brave little girl who stays up late, and she is a thief.

But of all the things she has stolen, the strangest may be a poisonous snake that is as fat as a tire. The snake belongs to Tony, a panda bear who lives in Covington, likes to eat carrots, and has a lot of unusual pets.

To show how brave she was, Elizabeth just grabbed the snake and ran away with it. Tony yelled for her to stop, but she would not. So Tony called Lucas, a walking rock, and asked him what to do. Lucas said to call the cops, and 10,000 police officers showed up to help. They captured Elizabeth and rescued the snake.

Of course with that many policemen around, Elizabeth went to jail.

This was a dangerous story with a happy ending. What do you think?

Newton County Library, Covington, GA, 11:00 AM Show

A Brand New Fairy Tale

By the Newton County 11:00 Readers

In the deep, dark forest, the troll stole the treasure. The treasure belongs to Wren, a very funny unicorn who lives in the forest in New York. At the time of the robbery, she kept the gold coins and jewelry in an old black treasure chest in the back of her cave.

Cameron is the grumpy troll who stole the treasure. He is quite frightening, with green skin and big ears. Even though trolls are usually no good at sneaking, somehow Cameron snuck into the unicorn’s cave, and stole the gold.

When Wren saw that her gold was missing, she called the police, and they sent over Detective Flap Jack, a magical police officer who was a part time pirate on weekends. Flap, as his friends called him, used his magic to find the treasure and float it back to Wren’s cave. He then called the Troll Recovery and Apprehension Service Headquarters (T.R.A.S.H.) Truck to take Cameron to jail, where he had a long time to think about what he had done.

Wren was happy to have her treasure back and offered Flap Jack a reward, but since policemen are not allowed to take rewards, he asked her to make a donation to a favorite charity in his honor, which she did.

The End.

What do you think? Pretty cool story, huh? Leave us your thoughts below!