For many years now, a reader in Reading, Pa., has e-mailed on occasion to thank me for a specific book review which he feels will help inspire children to expand their understanding of what “makes us tick.” This reader then takes further action by purchasing seven copies of that book and gives one copy to each of the seven elementary school libraries in his school district.

With budgets being squeezed, little money is left to purchase additional reading materials for school and public libraries. This reader takes an active stand by giving books.

His reason? “Books are the very source of learning that enables kids to think, analyze and understand new material. … I vividly recall the biographies and riveting ‘boy stories’ that I read fifty years ago. From these I learned about character traits, models of personal success, goals and how to pursue my dreams. Where would I be today had someone not chosen those books for my school library?”

If everyone gave the gift of one book (average price: $17) just once a year to one school or local library, imagine how many wonderful books children could be exposed to. It’s an outstanding way to touch the lives of countless children in so many positive ways.

Books to borrow

The following book is available at many public libraries.

“Bunny Cakes” written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells, Dial Books, 24 pages

Read aloud: age 18 months to 3 years.

Read yourself: age 7.

The well-loved picture book bunnies, Max and Ruby, are up to their light-hearted funny business again, and this time it revolves around Grandma’s birthday.

Max wants to bake Grandma an earthworm birthday cake. Ruby says, “No, Max,” and sends him to the store with her neatly written list, to buy the ingredients for the cake she wants to bake. But Max decides he will bake Grandma that earthworm cake anyway. Max needs Red-Hot Marshmallow Squirters to put on the top of his cake, but Max can’t write as well as Ruby. How can Max make the grocer understand what he has “written?”

A wonderfully funny story about the thrill of learning to communicate on paper, this delicious adventure story is one that children will want to read again and again.

Librarian’s choice

Library: Mill Creek Library, 15429 Bothell-Everett Highway, Mill Creek

Managing librarian: Eric Spencer

Children’s services librarian: Mickey Gallagher

Choices this week: “The White Mountains” by John Christopher; “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen; “The Fairy-Tale Detectives” by Michael Buckley

Books to buy

The following books are available at bookstores.

“Little Klein” by Anne Ylvisaker, Candlewick, 2007, 186 pages, $15.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 9 to 10 and older.

Read yourself: age 10 and older.

Little Klein was born too small, and no matter how many years passed, he was always tinier than everyone his age, and compared to his three older brothers, he was the runt. Doted on by his mother and protected by his big brothers, Little Klein struggled to be heard and recognized. But when a stray dog named LeRoy answers Little Klein’s whistle, the two become inseparable friends, sharing life’s adventures together.

At 9 years old, Little Klein is finally given the chance of a lifetime — to go rafting with his big brothers who have promised their mother to keep a close eye on him. As events unfold, it is Little Klein who looses sight of his brothers and must find a way to rescue them and LeRoy amid a terrorizing storm that threatens everything in its path.

Colorful characters grace this adventure novel that brims with love, family, and finding one’s place in the world.

“The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster: A Tale of Picky Eating” by A.W. Flaherty, illustrated by Scott Magoon, Houghton Mifflin, 2007, 36 pages, $16.00 hardcover

Read aloud: age 4 and older.

Read yourself: age 8 and older.

Young Katerina-Elizabeth was traveling alone on an ocean liner from America to Scotland to visit her grandmother. Her parents had carefully planned everything, insisting that she be fed oatmeal every morning.

Oatmeal was Katerina-Elizabeth’s least favorite food, so every morning, she tossed it overboard. It didn’t go to waste, though, for a tiny sea worm gobbled up the first helping of oatmeal, followed the ship, and proceeded to grow bigger and bigger with each daily helping, and by the time it reached Scotland and Loch Ness, the worm had grown into a monster, and fortunately a friendly, healthy one!

A funny tale of a picky eater and a not-so-pickey eater, this selection is a real winner.

Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children’s literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.