Happy Picture Book Month

November is Picture Book Month. Visit this website to see what some authors say about the importance of picture books in their lives. http://picturebookmonth.com/

How did picture books affect you or your children? In our household we read for entertainment. We read books as if they were lullabies to go to sleep at night. We read as a family, sharing books on vacations. And we read to honor events like holidays or the death of pets.

As soon as Thanksgiving had passed, I brought out all of our Christmas books. We read different ones each night. We allowed ourselves one new holiday book each year and that one became the treasure of the season.

Reading was a source of comfort whether we were sad or sick or needing to cuddle. I remember when my daughter had an earache. She was in so much pain in the middle of the night that she couldn’t sleep. We had to wait until morning to see the doctor so I read to her all night long. We read Roald Dahl’s Matilda. When our dog Abby died at the age of thirteen, we all were comforted by reading Cynthia Rylant’s Dog Heaven, and when we thought we heard her dog chain clinking in the house, we knew she was there making sure we were okay. On a rainy day at the beach, we curled up and read Doctor Doolittle. We continued for the rest of the vacation. After dinner each night we would decide whose turn it was to read. Shared book joys.

Please share your picture book joy.

Happy Picture Book Month.

And Gina, thanks for reading!

Hurry for your chance at immortality

Touch immortality and go down in literary history! Several critically
acclaimed, bestselling authors are auctioning off character names to
benefit Kids Need to Read, a national nonprofit foundation that
promotes childhood literacy and addresses the crisis in library
funding that currently exists in the United States.

If you are one of the winning bidders, you will have a character named after you in an upcoming young adult novel by one of the following participating authors: Robin Brande (Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature; Doggirl), Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush; Crescendo), Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, The Goose Girl), Brandon Mull (Fablehaven, Beyonders), Janette Rallison (My Unfair Godmother, Slayers), and Kiersten White (Paranormalcy, Supernaturally).

Should you win one of the auctions, the author agrees to use your name in an upcoming book. The character that is bestowed with your name may be a secondary or minor character, may have villainous tendencies, or may die at some point in the book or series. The character may have many or very few of your actual characteristics. The author is simply using the name for a character, not transporting your personality into the book. Also, editors have veto power over any name. (So if your name is Ima Dope, you might be out of luck.) If an editor vetoes
your name, you will be entitled to a full refund from Kids Need to
Read.

The Kids Need to Read Literary Immortality Auction will take place at our eBay store began Saturday, October 29, 2011 and will end Thursday, November 3, 2011. There will be a separate auction for each author. All auctions will run concurrently. Bidders will be able to bid on multiple auctions.

Hurry to this link:

http://stores.ebay.com/Kids-Need-to-Read

Book Fair a Success

Once again Rowland Hall celebrated books in style. Our literary love fest began on Monday, October 17 when thirteen Utah authors and illustrators met ninety-one children at the Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble. The writers and artists signed “Authorgraph” books and the kids who captured all those signatures earned a free cookie. The next event was the book signing and fair opening on campus. Bobbie Pyron and Corinne Humphrey signed their beautiful books. The students were thrilled with meeting these two women after the authors had visited the school the week before. Then the sale roared on through Thursday and Friday.

The best part of the book fair is witnessing the love of reading. The students joyously entered the field house and whirled about in amazement at the transformation of their physical education facility into a HUGE bookstore. There were books for everybody and so many people showed up that we had to return to the Suagrhouse location many time to restock.

The volunteers and the B&N employees went home exhausted but exhilarated at the success of our 2011 Rowland Hall Book Fair. Thank you to everyone who participated. As a fundraiser for the Steiner Library, it is an important event. But more than that, it is so much fun. See you next year, and watch for really exciting modifications in 2012.

Apples for the fall

I discovered and then shared a sweet apple alphabet book with my four year old students last week. I loved it and so did they. Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murphy is a delicious treat. The little pup wants to eat that freshly baked, yummy smelling apple pie, but he’s not allowed. Following the letters of the alphabet kids observe him eager for it, jumping for it, kept away from it, ogling it, pining for it. And guess what happens in the end? We all loved the way the story was simple but had a nice arc to it. I highly recommend it for fall story time and for families as they pick their fruit and cook delicious apple delights.

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

I thought I was not going to like it. After all it’s a THIRD in a series– often a disappointment. I thought I wanted more action. I thought it would be too sweet. I was wrong. I loved it. There is honest emotion and yes, it was sweet, but not saccharin. It was another winner from Jeanne Birdsall. Her third book about the Penderwicks is her #1.

The younger girls go off to Maine for a vacation with Aunt Claire while their parents and baby Ben travel to England and Rosalind goes to the Jersey shore with a friend. When their aunt sprains her ankle, the fun begins. Skye must perform the OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick) duties worrying every step of the way. Skye leaves Rosalind’s directions at home so she must fumble along on her own. Their old friend Jeffrey accompanies them to Point Mouette where they meet interesting next door neighbors, a girl Batty’s age who crashes her bicycle at every turn, and her skate board crazed brother Dominic who manages to attract Jane and pull her from her novel-writing. The ending is a satisfying treat that I cannot even begin to hint at. This is a wonderful summer read. I’m sorry I picked it up so late. But it’s worth reading even if you discover the book in September. It will just make you long for summer again!

Multicultural Choices for the Fall

With the school year approaching, I am reading the recent new releases. A couple multicultural titles have caught my attention: Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Both have a ring of authenticity and truth.

Words in the Dust was written after Trent Reedy was stationed in Afghanistan with the US Army in 2004-2005. He saw a young girl with a cleft lip that was so deformed her teeth were jutting almost straight out of her mouth and her nose was misshapen. She could not drink without drooling and people shunned her because of her physical challenge. Reedy was upset by the girl’s condition and the lack of medical help. He and his friends set out to provide the care she needed.

Out of this experience came Reedy’s first book that is told from the girl’s point of view. It shows Zulaikha’s overwhelming desire to be “normal” and her family’s distrust of the strange Americans who often offend her people with their lack of knowledge of the culture and religion. Along side this quest, runs her desire to learn to read the Afghan poetry her mother had so dearly loved. This is a heartwarming and informative book.

My second choice, a novel in verse, is Inside Out and Back Again. The author, Thanhha Lai, tells her own refugee story of flight from war-torn Saigon. She expresses her love of the country and her life there. The reader gets a unique insider’s view of the beauty and charm of Vietnam. Then the main character, Ha, must flee with her mother and brothers. They settle in Alabama where they have a sponsor whom Ha imagines must ride horses and have a ranch. He does not, but he does help them find a home and jobs. Ha attends school where she is bullied. Although she was at the top of her class in Vietnam, she now feels dumb, dumb, dumb. When she finally meets a neighbor, a retired teacher, who helps her navigate the pitfalls of a new and strange culture, Ha gains confidence and makes friends.

This book opens our eyes to a new point of view about our country and makes us contemplate  the difficulty of being the newcomer. Through Ha’s eyes, we see what it would be like to be that stranger in this strange land.

Summer reading coming soon…Until then, read this!

A great book I just finished is Close to Famous by Joan Bauer. This book has HEART. The protagonist is Foster who feels “limited” because she cannot read, but boy can she cook! Her specialty is cupcakes and she invents recipes that are to die for. Ask Angry Wayne the owner of the local restaurant who sells them. Foster’s hero is Sonny Kroll who has a cooking show on TV. Foster wants to have her own show someday and she often has wise words to share with her future audience. This book is full of great characters like Macon who is an aspiring documentary film director even though he doesn’t have a camera. And Miss Charleena is a washed up Hollywood actress who seems hardened and mean until she gets to know Foster.  Then there’s Foster’s mom who wants to be a lead singer instead of always being backup and Perseverance Wilson who’s determined to prevent the sale of the Church of God to the taco shop. And Amy who wants her dad the owner of Fish’s Hardware to modernize his marketing strategies by giving away Foster’s cupcakes with each Uber Tool. And Foster’s mother who believes in her daughter even when Foster does not. These characters will inhabit your life and when you finish the book, you’ll want to go find them in the real World. I’d move to Culpepper in a skinny minute.

Steiner Library Celebrates Discover Languages Month

 

This month in the Steiner Library, we have turned our attention to languages in honor of Discover Languages Month. The informative bulletin board helps students to learn about the languages of the world and United States, and several books on display highlight the variety to be found in the language section. Did you know? There are almost 180 books about language and languages in our library! Topics range from aspects of the English language, such as onomatopoeia and verbs, to learning to speak new languages, such as American Sign Language and German. We have a variety of picture dictionaries, including the Usborne Internet-linked First Thousand Words series for Chinese, Arabic and Spanish. There are also numerous storybooks written in Spanish and French. Some of these are traditional tales and folklore, while others are translation of English favorites like Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree.

New Chapter Books in the Library

Stop by the library and check out these new books!

Me and Rolly Maloo by Janet S. Wong – An unpopular girl cheats on a math test when the most popular girl asks her to give her answers.

George Washington’s Spy (A Time Travel Adventure) by Elvira Woodruff – Ten-year-old Matt and six other children travel to 1776 Boston, living out American history as they meet Benjamin Franklin, learn about colonial medicine, and become part of a rebel spy ring.

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh – In 1347, when fourteen-year-old orphan William Paynel, an impoverished servant at Crowfield Abbey, goes into the forest to gather wood and finds a magical creature caught in a trap, he discovers he has the ability to see fays and becomes embroiled in a strange mystery involving Old Magic, a bitter feud, and ancient secrets.

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian – Dubbed a “reluctant reader” by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.

Finding Family by Tonya Bolden – Raised in Charleston, West Virginia, at the turn of the twentieth century by her grandfather and aunt on off-putting tales of family members she has never met, twelve-year-old Delana is shocked when, after Aunt Tilley dies, she learns the truth about her parents and some of her other relatives.

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt – Fredle, a young mouse cast out of his home, faces dangers and predators outside, makes some important discoveries and allies, and learns the meaning of freedom as he struggles to return home.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park – When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

Awards awarded!

The American Library Association announced youth media award winners this morning. Follow this link and take a look at the results: .