CHECK IT OUT:Just for kids: the InfoBits database and bestsellers

The Newport Beach Public Library is offering a new database for kids called InfoBits.

Designed especially for beginning researchers in kindergarten through fifth grade, the age-appropriate, full-text content is drawn from the best elementary reference sources and magazines covering a wide variety of topics.

Kids may choose from graphic-identified subjects, such as geography, plants, animals, invention and technology, transportation, arts and entertainment, science and math, health, people, history or sports.

The Teachers Toolbox feature shows children how to pick a topic, write a report, cite a source and other important details for getting an A on their assignments.

To access this exciting new resource, look at our website at www.newportkids.org.

Kids have bestsellers, too. Here are a few of the most requested juvenile titles that you can find at the library.

“Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson: This story about friendship, tragedy and death was recently made into a movie of the same name. “Terabithia” is the secret fantasy kingdom invented by Jess Aarons and his friend Leslie Burke located in the woods adjacent to their families’ rural Virginia farms.

“The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sister, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy” by Jeanne Birdsall: Enjoy this wonderfully old-fashioned, family-oriented tale about a widowed botany professor and his daughters vacationing in a cottage on an estate in the Berkshire Mountains.

The story is so charming it practically demands a sequel.

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures” by Brian Selznick: Hugo is a 12-year-old orphan living in a Paris train station in 1931 and repairing clocks. The story about his undercover life is mysterious and secretive, but author Selznick also uses his inventive illustrations to advance the plot. This 550-page novel is especially innovative, and kids love it.

“Inkheart” by Cornelia Caroline Funke: Translated from the German book “Tintenherz,” Funke delivers another magical tale about Maggie and her father, Mo, who can literally bring fictional characters to life when reading aloud. His ability has unexpected consequences in this fantasy about books, reading, heroes and villains.

“The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart: Four children respond to an advertisement that asks, “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” The adventures they encounter require reliance on each other as they follow clues while discovering the secrets at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.

“The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread” by Kate DiCamillo: From the award-winning DiCamillo, this fairy tale invokes the “Dear Reader” style of narration to chronicle the adventures of a small mouse called Despereaux Tilling. The characters in the story all desire what seems out of their reach. This compelling aspect offers appealing imagery for young readers.

Many kids come into the library and ask for these popular authors by name. The titles listed represent just a small sampling of the authors’ works contained in the library’s juvenile collections.

Discover the children’s bestsellers for yourself in the Stahr Children’s Room at the Central Library, the Friend’s Children’s Room at the Crean Mariners Branch Library and the other Newport Beach branches.

Brochures, written by librarians, detailing the latest and most popular juvenile bestsellers are also available at the library to help you make your selections.