Mrs. F-B's Book Blog

New Gallagher girls book coming March 13th

2012-01-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

LOVE this series by Ally Carter - full of exciting spy high events and activities. So I was pretty excited to read that the newest book in the series is almost out. Want to read the first chapter? Go HERE!

WINNERS!!!

2012-01-24T14:47:00.001-08:00

Yesterday the American Library Association announced this ear's book award winners. The full list is available here. Here are the covers from some of the winners.

Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai

2012-01-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking that most of the novels in verse I read are not historical fiction, they're contemporary, and then I realized I'd just blogged about one that was (Karma, here) and Out of the Dust, a previous Newbery winner was one, and then there's Witness. OK, so maybe it's more than I thought, although I still stick by my original thought that most are contemporary.

Anyhooooo, a lot of people thought this might win the Newbery, and obviously a lot of people were close to right, as it did win a Newbery Honor. Again, I was feeling pretty good because I had already read this one, and I didn't have a lot of plusses in that column this year.

this novel in verse tells the story of a young immigrant girl who moves with her mother and brothers (her father is missing in the war) from Vietnam (at the end of the war) to Alabama. I think if even I moved to Alabama it would be quite a shock to the system, but imagine moving there from Vietnam. It is not an easy thing, and I thought one of the most poignant moments was when the young narrator, Ha, said that sometimes she felt that she'd rather be in Vietnam even as bad as it was than living in the US. I think it's easy to feel a little superior here, like we've got everything figured out and we're so great and who wouldn't love it here, but honestly, not everything is great here, and of course people miss what they know. Not to mention some people were pretty nasty to Ha and her family, which is sad. But some people were lovely, and it's a great things when she finds them.

Amazingly, this story is based on the author's own life. I thought this was very well done and worthy of a Newbery award. Highly recommended for people who like novels in verse. If you haven't read a lot of novels in verse, this might not be the best one to start with. Or maybe it is. You tell me if you try it.

Grandpa Green, Lane Smith

2012-01-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

LOVED this sweet little book. So happy to see that the Caldecott people also loved it, at least enough to give it a shiny silver sticker. It's a gem of a book, and one I can just imagine looking at together with a little person. Grandpa Green's great-grandson follows him into a garden of topiaries he created, and we follow right along with. The topiaries are extraordinary, and the story is charming and a little bittersweet, at least for the adult readers, as grandpa has lost some of his memories.

Highly recommended.

Heart and Soul, Kadir Nelson

2012-01-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

This book won both the Coretta Scott King Honor Award for illustration and the Coretta Scott King gold for writing, and I am pretty excited that I had read it before the awards, because if you saw my postings on Facebook as I followed the announcements, I had not read too many of them ahead of time.

This is a beautiful book full of rich pictures by one of our country's greatest illustrators and it beautifully takes us through US history, that of African Americans and of all Americans, via the life of Kadir''s own family. I thought it was very well done, and I think the picture book format was perfect with the text. The text alone would not have drawn me in, but with the pictures, I was hooked.

Recommended.

3 YAs - Karma, Where She Went, Uncommon Criminals

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

I recently read these three books, and while they are each about a girl, that's about as far as the comparison goes. Well, I suppose there's death in all three as well, or near death at any rate.

Karma, a novel in verse set in 1984 is about teenage Maya going with her father to India with her dead mother's ashes during a tumultuous political time. This book literally made my stomach hurt to read it, it was so depressingly sad. There were some moments of light, but they were few and far between. I think the punch packed in verse as opposed to prose made this book that much more difficult for me. I did not build as much sympathy with Maya as I would have expected, and I'm still really unsure as to why. The book was well done, an those who enjoy books in verse should check it out, but it was not my favorite novel in verse.

Where She Went is the sequel to If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I was literally sobbing when I read the first book in this series, and luckily I did not get the sequel right away because I don't know if I could have taken it. The first book was SO heart-wrenching. This book, however, did not overwhelm me emotionally like the first one did. I thought it was well done, and it has a nice twining together of past and present (and possibly even future), and I thought Adam's character, in particular, was very well done, but it didn't stick with me like the first one did. Not that I should be surprised, because it is a rare second book in a series that can do that. I did like it and would recommend it, but it's not really fair to compare it with If I Stay.

Uncommom Criminals is by Ally Carter, a fab and fun author who also writes the Gallagher Girls series. Um, yeah, remember that whole thing I just wrote above about the second book thing. Yeah, just re-read that part again here. Again, a book I liked, has a good mystery, has some thrills and adventure, but it just wasn't as good as the first one. Also, I was not loving Kat. A little too bratty or something. Couldn't quite lay a finger on it, though. she seemed to be shaping up at the end of this one, though, so perhaps #3 will bring me back.

Press Here, Hervé Tullet

2012-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Best children's book I have seen in a long, long time, bar none. However, I would caution parents that this book is going to be a repeater, repeater, repeater, and how. This highly interactive book is going to be a favorite with children. Heck, it's a favorite with me.

The book is super simple, just yellow red and blue dots on white pages (and occasionally on black). And the text is also simple. Press five times on the red dot. Press five times on the blue dot. Try shaking the book just a little bit. But the joy of this book is that when you're given a direction on one page, the next page has a result. If you press the blue dot five times, on the next page there are five blue dots. If you shake the book a little bit, the dots are all wiggled around on the next page. If you tilt the book, all the dots go into the corner, etc.

It is so much fun to read and DO. Not so many books have the listener/reader being such an active participant, but this one is quite amazing.

Betsy Bird, a reviewer I particularly like, asked in this review if it's perhaps "...the first picture book of the picture book app age?" No iPad required.

Enjoy!

Caldecott contenders? Me...Jane and Melvin and the Boy

2012-01-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

Well, many people had suggested these might win the Caldecott, and Me...Jane was indeed an Honor book. I thought it could have gotten a non-fiction award as well, but it did not. Did you know that Jane Goodall had a stuffed monkey when she was growing up? And then she went on to study chimpanzees and gorillas (which are NOT, by the way, monkeys) all her adult life! She was quite a scientific little thing all her life. some people are just born knowing their destinies, I guess. Sometimes I feel like I'm still figuring mine out. I really loved that they included some of Jane's drawings from when she was a young girl in this book. Very cute and clever.

I was not the biggest fan of Melvin. I thought it was fine, but I had a hard time because the premise of it is that a little boy takes a turtle from a park home for a pet. Now that in itself wouldn't be so bad - most little kids have at least wanted to do this, but what I didn't like was that his parents seemed to think that was a fine idea. Now luckily, Melvin comes to the realization on his own that this is NOT a good idea, and he takes the turtle back, but shouldn't his parents have given him a little guidance? Told him this wasn't going to work out and here's why? I know I wanted to tell him. In the end, however, it does all work out, and Melvin is probably the better for having learned the lesson himself. But I would have told him.

Explosive Eighteen, Janet Evanovich

2012-01-15T16:36:00.001-08:00

This is an adult book that is one of my favorite mystery series. It's fluffy and funny and silly and goofy, and I love these books. I am also excited because I heard they're making a movie of this first book, which I've said they needed to do forever. This is book is pretty much like the books in the rest of the series,and maybe that's why I like it. Nice easy predictability. I need that sometimes. Plus I need books that make me laugh. This fits the bill.

Bird in a Box, Andrea Davis Pinkney

2012-01-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to meet Andrea Davis Pinkney this fall when I went to Minneapolis for the American Association of School Librarians where she spoke. And when I heard she wrote a book that was about Joe Louis, I became even more excited because you may remember that I learned a lot about Joe Louis earlier in the year when I read a picture book by Matt de la Peña and Kadir Nelson called A Nation's Hope which I reviewed here. I thought it would be super cool to pair these two books up, and I was eager to find out if I was right.

Indeed I was, and in fact I think I enjoyed Bird in a Box much more because I HAD read A Nation's Hope. That background knowledge really made listening to this story much more interesting.

There are three young African American narrators in the story, Hibernia, Otis, and Willie. All three of them are going through personally traumatizing events, but they find solace in part through each other and in part in other ways, including the fights of Joe Louis. It's sort of fascinating how Joe Louis was such a huge part of the culture at that time. It's sort of like Michael Phelps in the Olympics, how everyone in the country was cheering for him and rallying around him, hoping he'd win and bring glory to the US. Michael Jordan was another athlete who had this kind of pull. But it's very few athletes who bring the whole country together like this. It's really interesting.

I thought this was a fabulous story, and fans of Christopher Paul Curtis are sure to love them. I wonder if some students will struggle with it if they don't have the historical background. Some readers may also struggle with the changing narrators, but listening to it on audio made that less of an issue for me.

Available at Multnomah County Library.

All the Way to America, Dan Yaccarino

2012-01-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

I saw this book offered on The Picnic Basket just after I'd read somewhere that someone thought it might be a Newbery award book this year. I was thrilled when the publisher sent me a copy.

The full title is All the Way to America: The Story of A Big Italian Family and A Little Shovel, and I thought it was just delightful.

One thing I really liked about this story was that it was the actual family history of the author, not just a good story about made up people. I loved how he showed the progression of relationships throughout the tale and wove details into the text and the art that reminded you the generations were shifting. But what I loved most was the constant of the shovel that his great-grandfather used in Italy and continued to use when he came across the sea to America, searching for a better life, but never forgetting what he'd left behind. His grandparents then used the shovel in their work, as did his parents, and now so does he. Well, he also uses it for fun in the garden. I thought it was interesting how they showed different uses for the shovel over time. My favorite was when it was used in the store.

This book has bright drawings and even includes some old family photos. I think this will be a wonderful book for opening up discussions of immigrants in America and also discussions of family history. A great picture book to use with older readers as part of a lesson in addition to using with younger readers.

Book Fan Friday this week!

2012-01-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

BOOK FAN FRIDAY! JANUARY 13TH 4:30-5:30 at Powell's Cedar Hills Crossing.

COVER ART!
THE HOW AND WHY OF BOOK DESIGN
WITH AUTHOR ROSANNE PARRY AND RANDOM HOUSE
EDITOR JIM THOMAS

Ever wonder how books get their covers? An editor of award winning books at Random House explains cover design and the team that makes the magic! For avid writers & artists age 8-18!

Cybils Finalists announced

2012-01-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

The Cybils awards are given each year by bloggers for the year's best children's and young adult titles. This year's finalists have just been announced. See the list here Winners will be determined on February 14th. What a love-note to an author to win one of these on Valentine's Day, hey? Happy reading!

And one more holiday themed post

2011-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to meet illustrator Marla Frazee this year, and now her work is appearing on Simon and Schuster's holiday card. Click the picture to see it in motion. So lovely. Enjoy!

A different kind of gingerbread house for the holidays!

2011-12-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

How's THIS for a fancy gingerbread "house"? Fully edible! And many of you reading this blog probably do not even realize that people used to create whole books on these things (well, on real ones, not edible ones). Crazy talk, hey?

Here are all the details on this typewriter:

Patti from Baked Ideas made this amazing edible gingerbread typewriter for benefit of City Harvest, and it is displayed at NYC's Parker Meridien Hotel.

So…. typewriter came to mind… a sort of gingerbread house for the letters that live inside!! Christmas unplugged, a letter to santa, granny’s laptop …… it was fun to think about.
First we made a model of the typewriter in cardboard, and then baked all the parts and crafted the roller, paper and metal keys out of sugar paste. The “glue” is royal icing, and cookies, stacked up, are the inner supports. The keyboard letters are cookies, iced in ivory and trimmed in silver. The iced gingerbread alphabet letters are frolicking in the sugar snow, sometimes spelling out words (fun, skip, eat, joy.)
I am glad we chose to make a typewriter. It is an image that is a reminder of a simpler time … wintery, happy and unexpected. I hope both kids and adults enjoy looking at it.
It’s 100% edible, down to the rice paper ribbon.

Thanks to Boing-Boing for the info .

The Mistress of Nothing, Kate Pullinger

2011-12-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

This was an adult novel I read that was a good historical fiction piece. The main character of the story, Sally, was a lady's maid to a somewhat wealthy Englishwoman who decided to move to Egypt for her health. Sally went along with her and discovered that she quite enjoyed the freedoms she found there.

When she becomes pregnant by an Egyptian man, however, her mistress basically disowns her, and wants to send her back to England without her child. Sally rebels and faces some serious consequences as a result.

I felt cranky at the attitudes of Lady Duff Gordon and stressed about Sally throughout the reading of this novel. It wasn't my favorite, but I found it interesting.

This book was the winner of Canada's Governor General's Literary Award and is available at Multnomah County Library.

Happy holidays

2011-12-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

Hope you have a wonderful winter holiday, however you celebrate!

Cheers!

The Pirate King, Laurie R. King

2011-12-09T09:24:00.001-08:00

This is a favorite series of mine which focuses on Sherlock Holmes' fictional wife Mary Russell. She's super sharp too, of course, and also solves mysteries. They're a great team, and I love her spirit and spunk.

This is a pretty convoluted storyline that involves pirates imitating pirates imitating pirates in a play within a play within a play. It's pretty wild and wooly.

This is a great series for fans of Sherlock Holmes, but I'd recommend you read some Sherlock Holmes before trying this series because it will have more meaning for you if you know some background.

Available at Multnomah County Library. I listened to this on audio.

Enjoy!

Hmmmmm

2011-12-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

I stole this from my friend Mrs. Yingling in Ohio, and I positively love it.

Whaddya think?

Powell's Book Fan Friday coming up 12/9

2011-12-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

Carolyn Conahan is a great presenter, both an artist and author. She's going to talk about artistic collaboration which is ideal for high school literary magazines, yearbooks and newspapers. As always, kids are welcome to bring work and get feedback.

December 9th
4:30 PM
Powell's Cedar Hills Crossing location

Now Playing- Stoner & Spaz II, Ron Koertge

2011-12-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Well, this book has been a looooong time coming, but it was worth every minute of the wait. I was also excited because I tried out Library2Go and got this book on my Kindle. It worked like a charm.

Way back in 2002, Ron Koertge wrote a book called Stoner & Spaz. That was the story of a very unlikely couple. Ben, who has cerebral palsy and has trouble with mobility, and Colleen, a young woman who has a little problem with drugs. Or actually, it's a big problem. Who would think those two would ever even speak to each other, let alone become friends and then a couple? Well, pretty much no one, especially Ben. But when they meet up at the old town theater watching a movie, these two lonely souls are drawn together. Colleen challenges Ben, in some good ways and some not so good, and Ben challenges Colleen to give up her drugs.

Flash forward 11 years (in our time, not story time) and we're back with the sequel. Ben has become an accomplished filmmaker in the last few years, and Colleen, well, Colleen's still using, although she's trying really hard to kick it. But Ben is addicted to Colleen as ever, and he's unsure whether he can let go, or, more importantly, if he wants to. Enter AJ, another filmmaker and the kind of girl everyone sees Ben being with. She, like Colleen, seems nonplussed with his disability, which from Ben's side of the world is pretty unusual. She wants to hang out. And she's reliable, into films and filmmaking, smart. All the things Colleen's not. It seems like a perfect match, but is it?

Recommended for 8th grade and up due to mature subject matter, this is a valuable book for looking at the many sides of issues such as disabilities, drug use, and relationships. Sure to win some accolades come January.

Orchards, Holly Thompson

2011-12-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't read a novel in verse in a while, so I was really excited to hear there was another good one out there, and I was not surprised after having read it to find out that it was nominated for YALSA's 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults. As most novels in verse are, it's quite powerful. The story is about a young girl, Kana Goldberg, who has a classmate who committed suicide. Kana and her friends face a lot of guilt, both for overt actions of unkindness toward the girl but also of complicity in doing nothing to stop negative behaviors or to make the girl feel less excluded.

Kana, a Japanese Jewish girl, is sent to Japan for the summer following her classmate's death to reflect on her behavior and to help her mother's family with their citrus orchard. Kana has hard time fitting in in Japan, and I think although it is very difficult, this helps her to understand her classmate's feelings in a way she might otherwise never have. Kana does a lot of growing up in Japan, and it is a difficult coming of age journey for her. And then just when she's getting herself in order, the author delivers a second punch that is very unexpected. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary and thought it was a little disruptive to the flow of the story, but I would be interested to hear what other readers thought.

I love the telling of this story in poetry. I think it fits the subject matter and the setting beautifully. I also really like the woodcuts that decorate the pages. I would recommend this story to seventh graders and up.If you read this and like it, try Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones.

I am reading another story right now about a girl going to a foreign culture to meet family she's never known, and it's interesting to make the comparison. That book is called How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, and you can look for a review of it soon.

Girl, (Nearly) 16, Absolute Torture, Sue Limb

2011-12-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

This book had some really funny parts, but really, I was fairly annoyed by the main character throughout most of it, making it difficult to decide if I liked the book or not. I don't mind a bratty teenage character for a bit, I mean I was one, I can relate, but sometimes it's too much. It may also have been that I was listening to this book on CD, and there's no skimming when you do that, so I had to listen to every word. However, Jess also went from really bratty to really grown up in some of her thinking which would have been great if it were believable, but I wasn't buying it. She was just TOO grown up. It didn't feel like she'd really think the things she was saying all the time. Perhaps if I'd read the first book in the series I'd have enjoyed this more, although I did not even realize it was part of a series, which is testimony to its ability to be read as a stand alone. Fans of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson books will probably enjoy this, but she's no Georgia.

Liam Campbell mystery series (books 1-4), Dana Stabenow

2011-12-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Adult readers looking for a nice, low-key mystery series may want to check this one out. A little romance, a lot of dead people, and some rugged Alaska wilderness. You will not be too scared to sleep, and you're unlikely to be wandering about in the snowy backwoods accessible only by plane, so it won't probably remind you too much of home (unlike that time I read the Chelsea Cain serial killer book set in part at Cleveland High School right by my house. I had to alter my driving pattern for months). I got all four of these on my Kindle for less than $10 total. They were perfect travel books.

PS I think it's kind of funny that someone whose name is STABeNOW grew up to write murder mysteries.

2 grown up books

2011-11-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. My new job has me traveling in my car a lot more than my old job did, so I'm getting a lot of listening done! This is a beautiful, sweet, slow-moving story about an older man living in a small town in England and the friendship/romance he forms with the Pakistani shopkeeper in the village. No one approves of it, of course, it's just not done. But it is real, and Major Pettigrew takes his last stand to defend love. Beautiful, moving, funny, and thought-provoking. I also enjoyed the reader of this book very much.

Blood from a Stone by Donna León I also listened to this book, and before I was fifteen minutes in, I was ready to go back to Venice, nevermind the murders that are turning up on every corner. Give me some crusty bread, some cappucino, some gelato, and a view of St. Mark's and I'll be fine. This is another Comissarrio Brunetti story, maybe the third I've listened to, and I have to say, that while I was transported back to Italy, and while I didn't think it was a bad story, I was not dying to get in my car and go somewhere just so I could keep listening. That's the critical test for me. And I also was not really pleased with the conclusion of the story. Again, I'd be interested to hear from others who have read it about whether you thought the ending was the right decision or not. For me, not. I will undoubtedly give Ms. Leon another chance, as she does write well and her stories do help pass the time on the drive, but I will hope for something a little more to my interest next time.

Yummmm, Thanksgiving's coming!

2011-11-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd read some picture books about food topics this week in anticipation of Thanksgiving, which is definitely one of my favorite holidays. Of course, you can hardly go wrong when the whole day is about food (and football).

I started with Luck with Potatoes by Helen Ketterman and illustrated by Brian Flocca. It's a story about poor Clemmon, a farmer down on his luck. Things go from bad to worse for Clemmon, until he's lost his whole herd of cows and is really at the end of his rope. He decides to take his last little bit of money and plant potatoes, and what do you know, they grow like nothing he's ever seen! Turns out those cows he lost have found their way back home inside the potatoes! Clemmon definitely has some Luck with Potatoes. This story is set in Tennessee and has some vocabulary that might not be familiar to all readers, so this would probably be better for a read aloud than individual reading for kiddos in Oregon.

Sweet Dream Pie was my next choice. And I will be having some sweet dreams about pie this week, I can tell you, but I hope they're not quite like these dreams.... This book is by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Mark Teague. The story begins with Pa Brindle begging Ma Brindle to bake him a sweet dream pie. she doesn't want to, reminding him of the last time, but he wears her down and she agrees. I am telling you, you have never seen such a pie! It's full of every sweet treat you could imagine - gumdrops, marshmallows, cinnamon red hots, jelly beans, even cookies. And it's a magical pie. You can tell that for many reasons - one being it's size, but also because it sort of lulls the whole neighborhood in - almost like a hypnotizing pie. By the time it's done, after a whole day, everyone is hoping to get a slice. Ma tells them to just have one, but no one listens. She knows no one is going to sleep well, and she's right. Their dreams come pouring out into the street, "dreams of every shape, size and color drifted up from their dreamers and began to sport and play." The illustrator shows the difference between the real and the dreams in a clever way, I think. This book is a delight visually, and it has a good lesson, especially just before a pig out holiday! One piece of pie, remember that!

Nutmeg by David Lucas was next on the list. Nutmeg is one of my favorite holiday spices, but in this book Nutmeg is a person. And even though she's named for a very tasty spice, the meals in her house are pretty bad - cardboard, string and sawdust. Always. Yuck. Always, that is, until Nutmeg lets a genie out of a bottle, and you know what that means. Three wishes. So what does she wish for? Something different for breakfast, something different for lunch and, you guessed it, something different for dinner. The genie gives her a magic spoon. You'll have to read the rest of this wild adventure to find out what "something different" means to the genie. Will the spoon add some spice to Nutmeg's life?

Helen Cooper's Pumpkin Soup was the last in my pile. Sounds perfect for a rainy fall night, doesn't it? I loved this book best of all of them. The illustrations are beautiful (it's an award winner for art!), the characters are adorable, and the story is funny and sad and worrisome and happy. Cat, Squirrel and Duck live together happily in a cabin in the woods. They've got a system and it works. Everyone pitches in and does his part, and everyone's roles are clear. But when someone wants to make a change, all heck breaks loose. They have a big fight and Duck runs away. No one is happy. Cat and Squirrel go in search of her, but they can't find him. Will he make it back? Has he been eaten by foxes? Did he find some better friends? These are all the questions that Cat and Squirrel ask themselves and all questions that will be answered when you read this lovely little book. Enjoy!

ORCA Read Alikes with the Queens of Teen Literature

2011-11-21T17:55:00.001-08:00

Recently the Queen of Teen Literature (that's me) and the Queen of the Madison High School Library (that's Nancy Sullivan) did a poster session presentation at the OASL conference on Read Alikes for the Intermediate and Senior High ORCA books. Don't know what the ORCAs are? Click HERE.

Our Read Alikes lists are available on my website - look for the orca whale logo and click just below there.

Hunger Games movie trailer!!!!

2011-11-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

How Many Days to America? A Thanksgiving Story, Eve Bunting

2011-11-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is a picture book about a family who has to flee their home because they're persecuted and spend many days on a small boat floating on the ocean. It's a scary and difficult time, and Eve Bunting and Beth Peck convey this through words and pictures. A few times the characters think they're on the right track and something forces them back, but ultimately they arrive in the United States and are warmly welcomed. Fittingly, they have arrived in America on Thanksgiving, a day of celebration and thanks begun when other persecuted people arrived in North America.

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan, Nancy Springer

2011-11-08T15:45:00.000-08:00

If you like a good mystery, this is a good one. The main character is a girl, Enola, but her brothers (Sherlock Holmes, ever heard of him?) are also a big part of the story. There's lots of intrigue and adventure and breath holding by the reader during the book for sure. Enola discovers that a very rich young woman who she met previously is being held hostage, and she has to try and find out where, why, and by whom. And then she has to try and free her. It has a lot of funny parts in addition to being suspenseful, and I think all readers who enjoy mysteries will like this short mystery quite a lot.

It's Not Summer Without You, Jenny Han

2011-11-08T15:43:00.001-08:00

Isobel Conklin has spent pretty much every summer of her life at the beach house that belongs to her mother's best friend Susannah with Susannah and her two boys. But when Susannah gets cancer everything changes. Belly, as she's called by the boys, has to come to terms with the changes in circumstances and in her feelings toward the brothers. This book is a sequel to the book, The Summer I Turned Pretty. If you love a book with a little romance, a little mystery, and some tears, this would be a good choice.

Shiver, Maggie Steifvater

2011-11-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Fans of Twilight are sure to love Shiver, a modern day werewolf story by Maggie Stiefvater.

Grace has always been attracted to the wolves that raom the woods behind her house, particularly to one wolf with golden eyes. Even though she was once attacked by wolves, she doesn't think wolves are evil. In fact, she thinks they're special.

Sam has always been attracted to a partcular girl, but since he's not human most of the year, he's been unable, or unwillling, to act on it.

Told in alternating chapters (and read by two actors, one boy and one girl, on the audio version), this is the story of how these two finally come together and look for a way to happiness together.

My Fake Boyfriend is Better than Your Fake Boyfriend

2011-11-08T15:24:00.001-08:00

The Mother Daughter Book Club recently read this book and at their meeting, they made caricatures of their fake boyfriends. Can you guess which one is Mr. Bjorn (my real husband)? Hint, he has red hair.

Next month's meeting will be on Thursday, November 17 at 3:30 to 5 PM in the WOMS library. The book we will be discussing is The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet available for checkout at the school library. If you're interested in joining the group, please come to the meeting or contact Mrs. Thompson at the WOMS library for more info.

Check out who I got to meet this weekend!

2011-10-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

Former LA Lakers basketball superstar Kareem Abdul Jabbar has a new book and DVD series coming out about the Harlem Renaissance called On the Shoulders of Giants, and he was at the American Association of School Librarians conference this weekend. I was lucky enough to meet him. I also got to meet some pretty sweet Star Wars characters there. Pretty cool stuff!

Pumpkins and Pinkalicious, Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

2011-10-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

Did you know what my favorite color is? Think about it, now. Did you guess it? Why yes, it IS pink. So how did I not know about this adorable series that stars a young lady who loves pink more than I do? She loves it so much that she eats enough pink cupcakes to turn herself bright pink. "Just call me Pinkerbell," she declares. "Call me Pinkerella." There's quite a lot of pink in the drawings, as you can imagine, but they're delightful and whimsical, and the text has a lot of vocabulary and wordplay that will be good for readers who are a bit more advanced. There's also a little brother in the book, so as not to completely ignore the boys. This book would be a really fun read-aloud, and both boys and girls would enjoy the story and making predictions about the text. Pinkalicious is only the first of the books which also include SIlverlicious, Goldilicious (sparkles included on the cover, always a plus for me), Purplicious and more. I noticed that the main character's imagination developed more and more in the other books I looked at.

And to top off my discovery of Pinkalicious, LOOK what one of the Deep Creek Elementary students created at home! It's a pinkalicious pumpkin - can you believe it? Right down to the cupcake!

Lots of other pumpkin book characters here at Deep Creek today, too! Enjoy!

The Book of Nonsense, David Michael Slater

2011-10-19T18:44:00.001-07:00

Twins Daphna and Dexter are excited to turn thirteen, but their father seems even more distracted than usual, and they're feeling bad about it. They're also trying to figure out what is up with the very strange gibberish book he's brought home and why Daphna is being required to spend time with the very creepy man at the bookstore. Something strange is afoot, and they've got to figure out why, and fast. This is the first volume in the Sacred Books series by local author, David Michael Slater, a teacher in Beaverton.

Watch the videos and vote now for the Trailee Awards!

2011-10-19T13:11:00.001-07:00

For weeks people have been nominating their favorite videos that promote children’s or teen books. And our panels of judges have reviewed the submissions and narrowed the field to 24 nominees.

Now it’s your turn to vote for the first annual School Library Journal’s Trailee Awards.

These “people’s choice” awards will recognize those videos (and the individuals that created them) that do the best job of promoting books and bringing readers and books together.

Authors, authors!

2011-10-18T21:59:00.001-07:00

Had SO much fun this last weekend at the Oregon Association of School Libraries conference in Seaside. Got to hang out with lots of awesome authors. My version of hanging out with rockstars. Great people, all of them. Matt de la Peña, Marla Frazee and her editor Allyn Johnston, Nick Bruel, Barry Deutsch, Matt Holm, David Michael Slater, and Rosanne Parry were all there. Felt so lucky to have a chance to listen to them talk and hang out. Good times!

If I Stay, Gayle Forman

2011-10-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

A beautifully written story that is achingly difficult to read. 17 year old Mia and her family have all been in a terrible car accident, and Mia gives a first person account of everything she remembers and sees happening to her as she decides whether to stay in this world or go. What does she have left here? Who? Will it be worth the pain to fight or not? Amazingly well told, but be sure you've got a kleenex box nearby!

A Nation's Hope, Matt de la Peña, Kadir Nelson

2011-10-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

A little while back I blogged about Ball Don't Lie by Matt de la Peña. That book is a YA novel, edgy and quick paced, quite fabulous, but definitely for middle school and up.

Here, we have a completely different kind of book by the same author. This is a picture book, illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Kadir Nelson. The story is about the 1938 boxing match between the heavyweight champion, an African American, Joe Louis and the German fighter Max Schmeling. Now perhaps that doesn't seem like much, but at the start of World war II, this was a VERY important match, and not just in the boxing world. Max Schmeling was the only man to have knocked Joe Louis down in a match before. Max Schmeling was a sort of poster child for Hitler's perfect race and a symbol of Hitler's regime. the whole country was rooting for Joe Louis, regardless of their skin color. Again, to many of you reading this blog, that probably doesn't seem like much, but in the 1930's, there was a lot of discrimination against people of color.

This is a fascinating story, well told and beautifully illustrated. Highly recommended.

Withering Tights, Louise Rennison

2011-10-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

From the woman who brought us Georgia Nicholson, a girl who made me laugh out loud with every installment, we now have her cousin Tallulah Casey who is just as funny as Georgia. Tallulah is an actress , or at least she wants to be, ans she's off to performing arts school - away from home for the first time and not always sure how to handle it. If you're a girl looking for a good laugh, this would be a great choice. Because she's British, she uses some funky terms - be sure to go to he glossary as you read. It will make the reading that much better! Enjoy!

Second Fiddle, Rosanne Parry

2011-10-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ooooh, I love a good mystery, and this one was a fantastic one! It was SO different from Rosanne Parry's Heart of a Shepherd, but I loved it just as much. It's set in Germany at the time the Berlin Wall came down, and although the main characters are girls, there's plenty for boys to love, too. For starters, a soldier gets thrown off a bridge and left to die! Then there's the sneaking off to Paris. And the four of them trying to escape a scary guy on a train. And on and on.

It is a great book that kept me up reading way past my bedtime for several nights in a row! I highly recommend this novel to all lovers of action, adventure and mystery. Additionally, there's a big musical component in this novel, as the girls are in a classical music trio, so if you like music you'd probably enjoy this story, too.

Hereville, Barry Deutsch

2011-10-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

My librarian friend Leigh recommended this to me after we saw this author speak at a conference in April, but I am not the biggest graphic novel fan, so although I enjoyed the author presentation very much, I never read the book. Wow, am I sorry I waited! What a fantastic story! I loved Mirka, and I loved how the author wove cultural insights about the Jewish tradition so seamlessly into this wild plot about Mirka and her sword. I grew up Catholic, and I don't know very much about the Jewish culture, so I found it vey interesting. The author clearly knows a LOT about Jewish culture, and the use of Yiddish with subtitles definitely enhances the story. But even if you didn't really care about that part, there's still a lot you'd enjoy about this book. It has great character development and it has an exciting plot.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for middle school and up!

Read for the Record!

2011-10-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

Students at Kelly Creek Elementary and West Gresham Elementary were part of a world record effort today! I got to read Llama Llama Red Pajama to kids at Kelly Creek, and Mrs. Verdoorn read to the students at West Gresham.

According to the website, "people in big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between participated in Jumpstart's Read for the Record on October 6, 2011. Check out some great highlights from the day when 2,184,155 children around the world joined in reading Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney! From grassroots events in small towns, to major events in Jumpstart's regions, to reading with Jumpstart's Read for the Record Ambassador Bridget Moynahan on NBC's TODAY Show, Jumpstart's sixth annual Read for the Record was a huge record breaking success!" Read more here.

A great time was had by all, and Mrs. Verdoorn said she now has the other Anna Dowdney books so her students can read those, too.

Way to go Kelly Creek and West Gresham!

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath, Nick Bruel

2011-10-02T19:32:00.004-07:00

Oh, this book is a riot. I have a bad kitty of my own, he's even black, and I can only imagine trying to give him a bath. NOT going to happen. Not even going to TRY it!

Nick Bruel is coming to Oregon on October 14th to accept the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice award, and so I will get to meet him. I 'm excited because I will get to meet a whole bunch of authors that weekend! And clearly, like me, Mr. Bruel is a cat-person, so I know I like him already. His book has hilarious text and even more hilarious pictures to accompany it. There is a fair amount of text, so while non-readers and emerging readers will enjoy the pictures, beginning and even more advanced readers will find a good story and some informational text as well to entertain them. After all, I consider myself a fairly advanced reader and I was laughing out loud and even learned a fact or two. Did you know cats can swim?! There is also a handy glossary in the back of the book.

A very charming book which I highly recommend to cat lovers especially, but dog lovers will appreciate the comparisons of dogs and cats, too!

2011-09-29T16:00:00.001-07:00

Lisa Schroeder will be celebrating the release of her latest MG novel, Sprinkles and Secrets, this Sunday, 10/2 at 2:00 at Powell's in Beaverton. This is a companion novel to It's Raining Cupcakes. It's a great chance to meet an author. And sometimes she has treats at her events! Enjoy.

I met Sarah Dessen!!!!!!!

2011-09-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

If you were a student at the WOMS library the last seven years, you probably know I LOVE Sarah Dessen. And why wouldn't I? She's a fantastic author and really funny, too. So when I got the chance to meet her at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC this last weekend, you can imagine how excited I was! First, I got to hear her speak in the Teens tent, and then I lined up with hundreds of other people to have her sign my book just so I could say hi to her. It was pretty cool. We weren't allowed to step behind the table, but of course I still had to have my photo taken with her. Enjoy!

It's Banned Books Week - Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!

2011-09-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read!

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

Poetry Friday poem removed.

2011-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Interestingly, this summer I had a note from Jane Yolen's publicist, assistant, someone, who told me I had to remove a poem of hers from my Poetry Friday posting because I did not have permission to publish it. I am wondering if anyone else out there has had a similar experience. I think it's really odd. It was presented in a very complimentary way and this blog and Poetry Friday are designed to get kids to want to read poetry. You'd think a poet would like that kind of thing. You'd hope so, anyway. Really disappointed today in Jane Yolen.

Llama, Llama Red Pajama, Anna Dewdney

2011-09-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

There's a pretty cool event coming up on October 6th. It's Jumpstart's Read for the Record, and the idea is that millions of people will all read the same book to kids across the country to focus attention on the early achievement education gap we have in the US. Millions of children in low-income neighborhoods are at risk of school failure before they even start kindergarten. That is not cool. But what is cool is trying to do something about it.

Here's what you can do. Find a copy of Llama, Llama Red Pajama - maybe at the library, the bookstore or maybe you even have it at your house already. Find a small person. Take the pledge below, and read the book to the small person on October 6th. Easy peasy!

You will love the book, too. Little Llama is pretty funny. I had no problem imagining him bawling in his bed. I'll bet most of you reading this know of someone who has acted an awful lot like Little Llama at one time or another, too. Might even be the person looking back at you from the mirror...Just sayin'.

I hope you'll join the campaign. It's important stuff! Plus, it's fun!

I pledge to read Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney with children in my life on October 6, 2011. By sitting down to read, I'll be joining more than 2 MILLION people in calling for an end to America's early education achievement gap. Together, we'll stand up to demand that all children receive the quality early education they deserve.

2 Marla Frazee books

2011-09-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Marla Frazee, amazingly talented illustrator and winner of the Caldecott honor not once but TWICE, is coming to the Oregon Association of School Libraries conference in October and I get to introduce her. I actually even got to talk to her on the phone the other day. That was pretty exciting, I have to tell you!

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to review a couple of her books here. These two are both picture books - appropriate for all ages. I guess that's why elementary schools call them EVERYBODY books. A Couple of Boys is just a hoot. The boys are funny and goofy, and they act just like little boys. You can really imagine real boys behaving just like these characters. One thing that never ceases to impress me about picture books is how someone can create so much expression on a face with the simplest drawings. It's amazing. Of course I say "simplest drawings" but clearly there's an art to it and they're really NOT simple. But they look like they would be. Not for me, though. I'm all about the emoticon smiley face. That's my speed! Thought this book was quite a fun read. It also made me want banana waffles...

All the World is a much different kind of book. Less goofbally, very lovely. The book is all told in rhyme and has just a tiny bit of text on each page. The drawings were more detailed in this book and had many more people in htem. I really like how Marla includes all different kinds of people in her books. It's very natural, but if you look for it, you'll notice it. This book also uses color beautifully to convey mood. She's a wonder, this Marla Frazee. I'm so excited to meet her!

Teens' Top Ten Voting on NOW!

2011-09-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Between now and September 15th you can cast your vote for the Teens' Top Ten awards for 2011. Here's the link. Go. Hurry!

End of summer already!

2011-09-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it's the end of summer already. This is my final end of summer entry, and the rest of what I read was mostly grown up books, so it will be a little bit short. First, thought, I will tell you about 6 books I read by P.B. Ryan called The Nell Sweeny Mysteries. They're shortish books, all set in the late 1800s in Boston. I thought they were excellent mysteries and 8th graders and older who enjoy historical fiction mysteries would enjoy these. Obviously I liked them because I rad all six and I actually had to BUY them! I hardly ever do that. that Kindle can be a little dangerous!

Now for the grown up books. I read the very popular but I'm not sure why A Reliable Wife. I couldn't find anything to really like about theses characters, so I really didn't like it. I tried hard, I really did.

Baking Cakes in Kigali, set in Africa, was funny, culturally intersting and all-around fab and I hope there will be more by this author. Thanks again to the Mother-Daughter Book Club for this gift.

Also read two others they gifted me - The Land of Painted Caves - over 600 pages! - by Jean Auel which was pretty good but I think my reading tastes have changed some since I read the first ones in the series, and The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. This was a fantastic and scary serial killer book Not for kids but great for fans of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Finally, I read about four Pride and Prejudice alikes. I love P&P above all other books, and I love these read-alikes that are usually continuations of the story of Jane et. al., but sometimes they're just the same story told from a different perspective or something. They're almost always great fun and these were no exception.

I hope you had a fantastic summer and found some gems in your reading as well. Looking forward to seeing my WOMS kiddos every once in a while as I start my new job this year. I'll miss seeing you every day, that's for sure!

Buried Alive - A National Parks Mystery, Gloria Skurzynski

2011-09-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

This mystery is another great one in the series by Gloria Skurzynski and her daughter. They're all set in the national parks and all have the same family in them, the Landons. The mother in the family is a veterinarian and the parks people call her in when there's a mystery they can't solve with animals in the park. I'm paticularly partial to this one because the mystery centers around wolverines!

When one of our nieces or nephews turns 13 we take them to a national park of their choice, and this summer we took Logan to Denali in Alsaka. That's where this story is set, so it was fun to read about a place where we were and to spot things on our visit that were mentioned in the story. The high suspense in this story made it a great read-aloud, too. There's a mystery about the animals but about one of the people in the story, too, so there's lots going on.

This book is available in the WOMS library. I definitely recommend it and the others in the series that are there.

2 YA books - Ball Don't Lie, Sean Griswold's Head

2011-09-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am really excited that Matt de la Peña is coming to Portland this year for the Multnomah County Library Teen Author lecture in October. I think he's going to be fab. Ball Don't Lie is a GREAT book with lots of suspense and action. If you love basketball, this is definitely a book for you. This book is a little cahllenging at the start, though, becasue the author's style is a little different than most other authors. It's a very stacatto type of writing and it jumps right on into the action. Plus, the main character of this book, Sticky, is a bit of a quirky character. What I have to say is, STICK with it (get it. Stick with Sticky). It's so totally worth it. Stayed up til like 2 AM reading this one!

Sean Griswold is a completely different kind of book. More "normal" I guess you could say. the main character in this book is going through some struggles, so her counselor tells her to pick a focus object and write about it in a journal. She really means an OBJECT, but Payton can't pick one, so one day she just decides, why not Sean's head. See he sits in front of her in pretty much every class, so she sees a lot of his head. Seems as good as any other thing, right? Except this object is actually attached to a person, and that sort of complicates everything.

It's a funny story and also heartbreaking at times with the struggles Payton is going through. It's really well done and I definitely recommend it. Available at the Multnomah County Library.

The Not So Great Depression, Amy Goldman Koss

2011-09-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

The full title of this book is The Not-so-Great Depression : in which the economy crashes, my sister's plans are ruined, my mom goes broke, my dad grows vegetables, and I do not get a hamster. So now I don't really need to tell you about the story because between that title and the cover, you pretty much know what happens. But, I will tell you it's a funny book that deals with some pretty tough issues that a lot of kids are going through with these tough economic times. Amy Goldman Koss has a knack for doing that - dealing with tough things but lightening the situation up. I think that's a great skill for all of us. Rough things happen to everyone, but how we deal with them is what's most important.

This book is available at the Multnomah County Library.

Wolves, Boys and Other Things that Might Kill Me, Kristen Chandler

2011-09-05T14:51:00.001-07:00

Somehow I got it into my head that this was going to be a werewolf book, so I have put off reading it. WRONG. And I loved it. It was actually a mystery story and it reminded me a lot of the National Geographic series I like called Mysteries in the National Parks as this one was set in Yellowstone. Although I have to say this one did have more kissing than any of those have had.

The story focuses on the struggles between humans and wolves around Yellowstone. Many ranchers have problems with the wolves killing their livestock and they want to get rid of the wolves. Environmentalists, on the other hand, want to keep the wolves since they were actually there first. It's a really interesting story and well told from both sides of the issue.

Available in the West Orient MS library and recommended by yours truly.

one last gasp of summer reading

2011-09-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

School started this week, and I needed some EASY adult reading, so I turned to an old favorite, debbie Macomber. I read Orchard Valley Grooms, and I have to say that while it did its job of being an easy read, it was not my favorite of hers. A little TOO predictable, even for her!

Summer Installment #2 - 2 Louise Penny Mysteries

2011-08-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

I love Louise Penny murder mysteries. They're more suited for grown-ups, just because they move kind of slowly and the writing is pretty complex with lots of French thrown in, but high school students who enjoy mysteries would like them. I first read one of her mysteries a few years ago when she won a big mystery writing prize, and I've been working my way through ever since. She sets all her mysteries in and around a small fictional town in Quebec, Canada, called Three Pines. It sounds like a magical place, really, aside form the fact that there are murders and mayhem happening all too often. But besides that, who wouldn't want to live there? :-)

I heard an interview with her recently, and she said that she had to draw herself a map of Three Pines so she didn't accidentally put something in the wrong place. She also said she wasn't even sure the first would ever be sold, let alone a whole series. Nice to be wrong like that I'm thinking.

Recommended for high school and adult readers of mysteries. Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Summer reading installment #1

2011-08-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

As usual, when summer comes I get way behind on my blogging. But I DO read a lot. I promise. In fact, I'm ready to turn in my Multnomah County Summer Reading sheet and hope to win a prize! How's your summer reading coming along? I saw they were giving out some prizes at my branch yesterday. Have you been in to collect yours? Remember, if you're a WOMS student, you're already signed up!

Here are the first five book blurbs of summer. Three were audiobooks. You know I love those, and I have been training for the Portland to Coast walk in late August, so I've logged a lot of miles listening.

I listened to Andrew Clements' Things that Are - Part of the Things Not Seen series. Or is it really a series? I think more like companions. Anyway, this one focuses mostly on Alicia, Bobby's friend who is blind. That blind thing worked out really well for him in book 1. You should read it if you haven't. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. It had a good mysterious hook and good character development. Much better than the previous book in this collection.

I listened to Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell, and I have to say I did NOT like the main character for most for the novel. She was super annoying. Even her friends said so. Of course they didn't know they were talking to her - they thought they were talking to a character in her novel. The premise of this novel is that the main character's grandmother invited her on a vacation to SE Asia, and she was so self centered and rigid that she was missing so many opportunities. Drove me batty. She did come around by the end, but it was nearly too late for me to make my peace.

Knit 2 Together by Elizabeth Lenhard is part of the Chicks with Sticks series - a fun series about a bunch of teenagers who actually knit! I am way into crafty, homemade kinds of things, so it's really appealing to me. Again, though, not the biggest fan of the main character. She, too, started to come around, but really, girl, get it together!

Joy for Beginners is a grown up book that I actually won! It was about a woman who'd recovered from cancer and got together to celebrate with her friends. They were trying to encourage her to go on a trip with her daughter, but it was a rafting trip, and she was really apprehensive. She agreed to go, on the condition that each of them allow her to choose an activity THEY had to accomplish over the next year. She picked some doozies, and it was interesting to watch the women face their fears - many admitting they even had these fears for the first time. I enjoyed this book.

Once was Lost by Sara Zarr was the final audiobook in the group and it was a doozie. It was one of those that made me walk farther and want to keep driving just so I could listen. It is a super intense mystery, one with many red herrings that made me very unsure and a little panicky at times. A young girl goes missing form a small town, and pretty much everyone knows her. The story takes place over the short period of time that they are looking for her and focuses on the daughter of the family's minister, who seems to be losing her faith in God, and on the brother of the missing girl who is a suspect in the abduction. I thought it was fab!

So that's my first installment. I'm determined to get caught up before I leave for my last vacation of summer next weekend, so watch for more. We're heading to Lassen National Park where the sun will be shining and the books beckoning, so I'll be getting a lot more reading done there! See you again soon!

The WOMS OBOB champions!!!

2011-06-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

The final round of the WOMS OBOB competition came around last week, and Mrs. Van der Meer's afternoon class of 6th graders took the lead in a hurry and went on to a convincing victory over Ms. Johnson's morning group of 7th graders. Enjoy these photos of the victors with their trophy. Congratulations!

birthdays galore

2011-06-13T09:31:00.001-07:00

A few birthdays from the last few weeks and then a whole group of summer birthday kids! Celebrate!!

Any books still hiding under your bed?

2011-06-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again when Mr.s F-B gets a bit rabid about you returning all your books to the library. Help Mrs. FB maintain her sanity (what little there is left) and get those books back to the library as soon as possible, please.

Mother Daughter book club

2011-06-01T17:12:00.001-07:00

I have been so lucky to have been part of an amazing group of women and their daughters this year again! We met every month to discuss books and share food and build a community. It was great fun and I hope that even with my job changes next year I'll be able to join the group for some of their meetings! Thanks, everyone, for your participation. It's been great!

Happy birthday, Amber

2011-06-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Amber chose a favorite this year - probably one of my highest checkouts for the year! Happy day, Amber!

Enjoy!

Win a free book from Lisa Schroeder

2011-05-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

The lovely author Lisa Schroeder is having a contest over at her blog. You can win a copy of her new book plus other goodies. Check it out HERE.

But you should know that I'm also entering and I'm pretty sure I'm going to win...Just sayin'

Go see A Wrinkle in Time for FREE!

2011-05-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

This Saturday at 2 p.m., all kids with a library card get in for free to see the Oregon Children’s Theatre production of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic tale, “A Wrinkle in Time.” The show is best for ages 8 and up. Adults pay $9 or $12. Call 503.228.9571 before 5 p.m. on Friday to order tickets; offer valid only for new orders at the OCT box office. Watch a preview and learn more about the production here:

Oregon Children's Theatre : A Wrinkle in Time

TWENTY-ONE books blogged today!!!!!!

2011-05-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes, I can't believe I just did that. Hope you enjoy reading about the 21 books I've read in the past couple of months. I definitely enjoyed reading them!

Happy birthdays!

2011-05-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Somebody on this post got to go to Great Wolf Lodge for his birthday and someone writing this post is very jealous...Just sayin'

Enjoy these great suggestions from these two birthday boys.

What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

2011-05-23T10:54:00.002-07:00

Well, as is typical when I read one of her new books, this is not my favorite Sarah Dessen, but it was fabulous. Usually it takes me some time and two or three readings of one of her books to move it up the SD faves list. This is not a criticism, of course, as all her books are great and it would be awfully hard to top The Truth About Forever, Just Listen and Along for the Ride. I mean, come on!

Strengths of this book are the strong, true to life characters, the difficult mother-daughter relationship, and the reprise for characters and places from previous novels (but just a peek, so it doesn't leave people out who never read the earlier books or overshadow the new story). Oh, and I always consider a little romance a plus myself.

Those who love Sarah Dessen already will love this one, too, for all the usual reasons. Those who've never read a Sarah Dessen will be pulled in by McLean and Dave's coming of age story and won't want to say goodbye to this one.

Recommended. Available in the WOMS library now.

Once Was Lost - Sara Zarr

2011-05-23T10:54:00.001-07:00

I listened to this book (read by the author), and it was one of those where I was always looking for the next opportunity to go for a walk or get in the car so I could hear what was going to happen next. It was riveting, and I was not sure what the outcome was going to be, so I had a bit of a stomachache a lot of the time I was listening. That's a good thing, though!

There are sort of two main plotlines in this story. One is that of main characters Sam's family. Her father is a minister with very little time for his own family, and her mother is an alcoholic who just recently entered an inpatient treatment.

The other main storyline is of the disappearance of a young teenager from the small town Sam lives in. The girl went to Sam's church and Sam knows her and her older brother.

Both of these plotlines lead Sam to question her faith - a big issue for anyone to tackle.

I thought the characters were extremely well developed and the plot very intense. Several times I was holding my breath hoping that this person or the next would make the right decision or not have made the wrong one or would get the answer they were looking for.

A great book!

Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

2011-05-23T10:53:00.004-07:00

OK, first of all, the French part of the title is actually about France, so don't panic. and second of all, I am definitely NOT like Anna, the main character in this book whose father sends her off to PARIS for boarding school her senior year. You know why I'm not like her? Because she didn't want to go!!! To PARIS!!!! What is she nuts? It's Paris. Paris, FRANCE. Eiffel Tower. Notre Dame. The Seine. And cute boys with accents. Luckily, that brings her around, finally.

This was a fun story about high school and travel and figuring out who you are no matter where you are. I enjoyed it and people who are interested in travel and/or a little romance will likely enjoy it too.

Available at the Multnomah County Library.

Almost through the OBOB list

2011-05-23T10:53:00.003-07:00

Fifteen down, one to go! These were three I wasn't all that keen on for some reason, but they were all quite good. Airman was the biggest surprise. I didn't love it, but I certainly didn't hate it as I expected to from JUDGING A BOOK BY THE COVER. Yes, once again, I did it. Instead of it begin some sort of fantasy thing, though, it turned out to be a good adventure story with some serious suspense and intrigue. And a little sci-fi thrown in. Checked out the audiobook from Multnomah County and adored the Irish accent on the reader.

Elsewhere was a bit odd, but it was pretty good. Not so many stories are told from the other side of life (by a dead person I mean). I listened to this one as well. I think this was a very challenging idea, and Gabrielle Zevin did a good job of putting it together without making it seem too hokey. I thought the portrayal of Liz was especially well done, as what fifteen year old wouldn't be pretty irritated that she was now dead and wasn't going to get to do things like get her driver's license or graduate from high school?

Of these three, I think First Light was the one that I thought would be the most different from what it was. Reminded me a lot of city of Ember, for obvious reasons if you've read both. I thought it was interesting how this author brought the people of light and the people of ice together. I didn't predict that until close to the end of the story. I'm wondering if there will be a sequel, as it seems ripe for one.

One last OBOB to go - know which one it is?

Ten grown up books

2011-05-23T10:53:00.002-07:00

Just some quick little observations on the grown up books I've read of late. Post me a comment if you want more info on any of the books.

The Truth About Dating. Funny, but it took me until about half way through to realize it was non-fiction. I did read it on my Kindle, so some of my usual cues were not available.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Loved, loved, loved this series, especially the super smart main female character. The violence was not nearly as graphic as I thought it would be, so I wasn't too bothered by it. It might be too much in the movie form, though. Also loved reading about Scandinavia. Made me want to go there again!

Russian Winter Great story that moved seamlessly from present to past and back again. I am intrigued by the ballet, although I have not a balletic bone in my body (if balletic is a word, which I highly doubt). Thought the ending was a little too neat, but overall I really enjoyed it.

Nice Girls Do Fluffy romance book which I don't really recommend. Not enough to the story to hold my interest.

The Great Gatsby A literary classic which we read for book group. I'm still sort of wondering if we can't find a better book to teach in high school - I just can't think many kids would relate to this story.

The Night Season My favorite Chelsea Cain book so far. And yes, she did come to our book club because she's the coolest author in Portland! Plus we had adult beverages.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced The story is intriguing, the re-telling is not so much. It's frightening to think that ten year olds are still being married off to anyone, let alone much older men. Yick, yuck, yick.

Belong to Me Listened to this on audio. again, thought it came together a little too neatly, but I did enjoy it.

Princess for Hire -Lindsey Leavitt

2011-05-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

Ever wanted to be a princess? Well, if you look hard enough at the help wanted ads, AND you have that special something, you may just find yourself in a position to become one - at least for a day. That's exactly what happens to Desi Bascomb in this funny "Freaky Friday"-esque story.

Does Desi want to be a substitute princess when the actual princesses need a break? Not so much. But does she want the money? Yes! and is it sort of fun? Yes. And does she think she can help the real princesses out? Yes. And here's where she runs into a little trouble...Ooooops.

Plus, a little romance never hurt, right?

Book one in the series. Available at the WOMS library courtesy of a generous gift from the author to our Mother-Daughter book group. Thanks so much, Ms. Leavitt!

Racing the Iditarod Trail - Ruth Crisman

2011-05-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is a short but fascinating look at the Iditarod race that takes place every year in Alaska. It's non-fiction and it tells about the history of the race, some of the race's important entrants in the past, the dogs and their training and care, and the people of Alaska. It's very interesting stuff. This book is packed with photographs, too, which I think make it that much more interesting.

If you're at all interested in Alaska, endurance sports, and/or dogs, this is a great book which you will definitely enjoy.

Available at the WOMS library.

Am I Right or Am I Right?

2011-05-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

Just from looking at the picture on the cover of this book, you will probably not be surprised to hear that Calma, this story's main character, is a bit of a drama queen. Her heart is in the right place for sure, but sometimes she leaps before she looks and it can have pretty bad consequences.

I thought the author created fairly believable characters in this novel, but the relationship Calma and her mom had, communicating almost always via notes on the fridge made me kind of sad. Her lack of relationship with her father and her unwillingness to bend even a little on that also made me kind of sad. Luckily, there was a lot of funny stuff to off set the downers.

This book has a lot of plotlines going, so readers will need to stay focused to keep up.

Available at the WOMS library.

Charles and Emma : the Darwins' Leap of Faith - Deborah Helligman

2011-05-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

I listened to this book and I thought it was quite fantastic, although I think it would be a little slow for many middle school students. If there are students, however - middle or high school - who are really interested in science and/or Charles Darwin, I think they would like this book quite a lot.

The book is filled with interesting information about the time period, about the theory of evolution and about Darwin, both personally and professionally. I liked learning more about him personally, as most of what I knew about him was about the science. Most of the book focused on him as a husband and the difficulties he and his wife had because he was more of a religious skeptic than she. It was interesting to follow them through the thought process.

Overall, a great book, but it will take a special reader to appreciate it.

It's that time of year...

2011-05-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Saw this on my friend Ms. Yingling's blog.

No actual kittens are harmed in this or any other library.

But get your overdue books in anyway!

Shefound this picture at
http://www.cute-pictures.net/So-Cute-Kitty_wid_102.html

Want to see Katniss?

2011-05-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

The first picture's been published of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen for the new Hunger Games movie. What do you think?

Here's what Lawrence had to say about the experience from Entertainment Weekly's online edition.

In a free-wheeling interview, Lawrence describes her first encounter with Ross last winter, during the height of Oscar season. “He was asking me what the experience was like,” she recalls, “and I just kind of opened up and said, ‘I feel like a rag doll. I have hair and makeup people coming to my house every day and putting me in new, uncomfortable, weird dresses and expensive shoes, and I just shut down and raise my arms up for them to get the dress on, and pout my lips when they need to put the lipstick on.’ And we both started laughing because that’s exactly what it’s like for Katniss in the Capitol. She was a girl who’s all of a sudden being introduced to fame. I know what that feels like to have all this flurry around you and feel like, ‘Oh, no, I don’t belong here.’”

When Lawrence was offered the role, she describes her response as a mixture of elation — and desperate anxiety. “I knew that as soon as I said yes, my life would change,” she says. “And I walked around an entire day thinking ‘It’s not too late, I could still go back and do indies, I haven’t said yes yet, it’s not too late.’”

And yet, who can turn their back on Katniss? “I love this story,” she says, “and if I had said no, I would regret it every day.” After officially signing on, Suzanne Collins herself called to offer a starstruck Lawrence her most hearty congratulations. “I feel like when you said yes,” the author told her, “the world got lifted off my shoulders.”

Happy birthdays this week!

2011-05-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a happy birthday this week - I know we have some great reading recommendations to post! Enjoy :-)

In stores today - a new Sarah Dessen novel

2011-05-10T12:13:00.001-07:00

See you at Powell's after school? I'll be there!

Click here to see a post from Sarah Dessen's blog - it's about how she got the idea for the book.

6th and 7th graders - are you ready???

2011-05-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

OBOB competitions begin on Monday for 7th grade and on Tuesday for 6th grade. The top two teams emerging from this round will go on to their grade level finals. 6th and 7th grade champions will battle it out for the ALL WOMS WORLD CHAMPIONS trophy!!!

Are you ready to support your class????? Here's one way to check: see if you know which authors wrote each of these books. If not, go back and practice some more.

After Tupac and D Foster

Airman

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

Elephant Run

Elsewhere

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

Fever 1793

First Light

The Goose Girl

Heart of a Shepherd

The London Eye Mystery

Savvy

Science Fair

Skeleton Creek

Waiting for Normal

Happy birthday, Serena!

2011-05-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Loving Serena's birthday book choice - Laurie Halse Anderson's one of my favorite authors!

Happy, happy birthdays!

2011-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

All three students today picked OBOB choices! If you haven't read them yet, you should give them a try.

Happy birthday, everyone!

Sarah Dessen talks about books

2011-05-06T16:26:00.001-07:00

Sarah Dessen's new book, What Happened to Goodbye is coming out May 11th. Here she tells you about some other great books she's got her eye on.

Timeline generator

2011-05-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Click HERE

Book Fair is in the house!

2011-05-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

The book fair is off and running! Tuesday we'll do the bonus tickets for the first five students to spend five dollars one more time. If you spent $5 or more today, listen on the morning announcements to see if your ticket was drawn for $ 5 free merchandise. This is our big library fundraiser, so dig the money out of those couch cushions and come on down!

Two audio books

2011-05-02T10:14:00.002-07:00

I recently finished listening to two audio books, one which I loved and one which I didn't love but which I found myself unable to drop, so clearly something in it drew me.

Oustide Beauty by Cynthia Kadahota was the one I didn't love. Perhaps it was too slow, perhaps I did not love the reader, perhaps I was just not in the the right mood for it as it was a bit of a downer. I'm not really sure. But there was something that kept me going. Something in the plight of the four sisters who made up this story's main plot hooked me in and made me want to read more. Actually, now that I'm really trying to piece it all together, I think it was that I almost disliked the mother in this story - I could not feel sympathy for her self centered view and her poor parenting skills, and I think that turned me off.

How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt was the other book, and this one I really enjoyed. It was a journey story of a girl running away and yet also running toward something, although that was definitely not a conscious decision. This story moved beautifully from past to present and back, and I liked that very much in this book, in part because it was very clear what was happening before and now, and in part because they were always connected and I enjoyed trying to figure out how that was going to work. I really liked the strong girl character in this book and I thought it was fabulous that she learned to build a house and was really proud of that. There is sex mentioned in the story, but not a lot of graphic detail. Better for mature readers. Fans of Sarah Dessen would enjoy this book.

Available at Gresham High School on audio and at Multnomah County Library.

Happy birthday, Rob!

2011-05-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a GREAT suggestion from Rob. If you haven't read the BONE graphic novel series, I also highly recommend it. Everyone loves them!

Book Fair is coming, baby!

2011-04-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

Book fair begins on Monday, and there are all SORTS of great books for you to buy to support the WOMS library. Spend that day off on Friday hunting down the change from between the couch cushions or perhaps even mowing the lawn or doing some other chores around the house to earn some spending money. The first five students to spend $5 on Monday will get FIVE tickets in our drawing. Winners will be drawn on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for $5 of free merch at the book fair. Don't miss your chance to get entered! All profits go directly back to the WOMS library!

Birthday Overload!

2011-04-27T09:15:00.001-07:00

OK, there has been a bit of a backlog on the birthday photos - somehow I didn't even know they were on the camera. Sorry to those of you who were waiting to see your photo and to Ms. Johnston's whole class who came to celebrate her birthday! What fun. Enjoy these great birthday picks (and pics).

Look who I saw when went I to the beach

2011-04-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Not one but TWO current students and a former student! That bike thing looks like fun, doesn't it? Is that a rickshaw or what is it called exactly?

evaluating websites is a good idea

2011-04-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

When you're surfing the Web, you probably only think about one thing when you look at a Web site: whether or not it's fun.
But when you're looking for information on the Web for school -- or really any time that you care that what you find is true and up-to-date -- you have to evaluate the website to make sure that you can trust the information on it.

Here are some questions to ask when you're looking at a website that will help you decide whether or not it's good:

Authority of Web Documents - Who made it?

Accuracy of Web Documents

Currency of Web Documents - When was it last updated?

Objectivity of Web Documents - Is it clear what it's about?

Sometimes, there is no good Web site. In that case, ask a librarian for help, go to a book, encyclopedia or magazine. Sometimes it's hard to believe, but books actually contain a LOT of helpful information!

Want to watch a little PREZI I made on this topic? Click HERE.

SAMPLE WEBSITES TO EVALUATE

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day!

2011-04-13T11:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day, everyone. It was really fun to hear everyone's poems!

Happy birthdays

2011-04-12T09:09:00.001-07:00

We have some great April baby choices here - take a look!

Superdy cool - try this!

2011-04-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

OK, another librarian from Ohio whose blog I read a lot posted this wicked cool website where you can type in your favorite author and then it will make a list of other authors you might like. Try this on for size! I'm telling you, it is good fun!

Thank you, Ms. Yingling.

Poem in your Pocket day next Wednesday

2011-04-06T10:57:00.001-07:00

Next WEDNESDAY we're having our third annual Poem in Your Pocket celebration at WOMS. Find 4 lines of a poem you like and share it with adults in the building to earn PAWS. It's a great way to explore poetry and earn PAWS. Can't wait to hear what you've found!

OSLIS IS HAVING PROBLEMS

2011-04-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

If OSLIS isn't loading, try this today

Gale databases

Click on the OSLIS logo (looks like the state of Oregon - it's blue!)

If you need Citation Maker, click HERE (it might take a while to load)

Art research in the library!

2011-04-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Mandis' class was doing some fabulous art research in the library last week! They're going to take what they learned about a particular artist and then imitate that artist's style in their own work. I can't wait to see what they create!