Abby the Librarian

The Mighty Mars Rovers

2012-05-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch. Grades 4-8. Houghton Mifflin, June 2012. 80 pages. Review copy provided by publisher.

In 2003, two go-cart-size rovers were sent to Mars. Their names were Spirit and Opportunity and their mission was expected to last six months before the harsh climate and dust of Mars rendered the rovers unable to function. Controlled by scientists on Earth, the rovers sent back photos, tested rocks, and reported other information about Mars. Scientists were hoping to find evidence that Mars could have supported life.

The rovers were expected to last six months. The Mars terrain is treacherous, the winters are brutal, blowing dust can easily block the receptors that gather solar power. The rovers were expected to last six months.

Spirit lasted nearly seven years and Opportunity is still rambling around on Mars nearly nine years later. These little machines trekked many more miles than scientists dared to hope they could. They explored craters and mountains and eventually found evidence that Mars could have supported life at some time in the past.

The Mighty Mars Rovers is an incredible story of science and perseverance, of problem-solving from millions of miles away.

You already know that any book in the Scientists in the Field series will provide rich back matter, incredible photos, and an inside look into the life of a scientist. What sets this book apart is Elizabeth Rusch's ability to bring the Mars rovers to life. Of course the scientists that worked on them for so long and had so much invested in their success would feel a connection to them. Rusch is able to bring that across to the reader. Perhaps it's because they look a little like WALL-E*, but Rusch creates characters out of Spirit and Opportunity. She allows readers to get to know them and cheer on their triumphs as their scientists pushed them to achieve more than anyone thought was possible.

Hand this one to young star-gazers and budding astrophysicists and engineers. Publication is perfectly timed: the latest Mars rover Curiosity is scheduled to land on Mars in August 2012. Check out NASA's Mars Rover Mission website for updates on Opportunity and more information.

The Mighty Mars Rovers hits shelves on June 18!

*Okay, technically WALL-E looks a little like the Mars rovers.

It began! (And all was okay.)

2012-05-22T11:07:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of Summer Reading Club at my library. I'm breathing a big sigh of relief. We dug in last week and got all that last-minute stuff done, got all the copies made, all the forms run off, got everything cut apart, got a very good start on stuffing the bags the kids will receive when they sign up. My staff did good and we got it all done.

And yesterday, seeing lots of our regular library families making a point of coming in to sign up for the Reading Club, so excited to get their reading logs and check out books... that made it worth all the stress of the past couple of weeks. (Okay, REMIND ME I SAID THAT when it gets to be a couple weeks before next year's Club.)

Summer Reading Club is a marathon, not a sprint. We've got 10 weeks to go (70 days by the countdown app I put on my phone). But we'll take it week by week, day by day, and we'll try to have as much fun as we possibly can.

The photo shows the amazing bulletin board that one of my staff members A put up. We're having an Elephant and Piggie Day in June just because we all love those books so much. We've been sharing them with our Afterschool kids all school year and hopefully we'll have lots of kids come out. (And yes, I will blog about what we do and how it goes!)

In the photo, you can also see the star lights that we put up at the entrance to our department. Thinking ahead, we purchased them around the holidays and they blink and they're awesome. When we put them up on Sunday, I heard a little boy shouting "STARS!!! STARS!!!" as his family made their way down the hall toward our room. That is exactly the effect I was going for.

Summer Reading Club 2012 is officially here (at my library, anyway). So, it's begun.

Around the interwebs

2012-05-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Now that I am finally back on top of my Google Reader, I've got some lovely posts I want to point you to...

Have you signed up for the Seventh Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge?! Pam at MotherReader is bringing this wonderful event back for its seventh year. The weekend will be June 8-10 and if you've never participated before, be assured that it is great fun. I will definitely be joining in, although I may not be able to devote the entire weekend. That's okay!

One of these days when I'm not super overwhelmed with all the things we're already offering at the library, I totally want to start having Preschool Dance Parties just like Adrienne (and many others who have done them!).

Looking for programming ideas for middle schoolers? Look no farther. Drea at Book Blather has ya covered.

Marge at Tiny Tips for Library Fun (are you reading her awesome blog? If not, you should be!) considers whether traditional Summer Reading Club school visits are actually worth it. There's definitely some food for thought there.

What have YOU been reading around the interwebs?

Audiobook Review: The Other Half of My Heart

2012-05-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee Frazier, read by Bahni Turpin. Grades 4-6. Listening Library, 2011. 7 hours and 55 minutes. Review copy provided by my local library.

Biracial twin sisters Keira and Minerva don't look anything alike. Keira is dark-skinned like her African-American mother and Minnie has blue eyes and light skin like her white father. Growing up in a small Washington State town, Keira is the one who always feels different and sometimes wrong. But when their grandmother insists on entering both girls in the Miss Black Pearl Preteen of America program in her hometown of Raleigh, NC, Minni will discover what it's like to be the one who doesn't fit in. And seeing the world from Keira's eyes will help her find the voice she so desperately wants to shout down injustice.

I love the premise, but the story fell a little flat for me. I felt like it was slow going at the beginning without many opportunities for Bahni Turpin's excellent narration to shine. When the twins arrived in Raleigh, Turpin's voice for Grandmother Johnson brought me back into the story and that's what I liked best about the whole book. It slowed down for me again at the end when Grandmother Johnson wasn't as prevalent. And I think that shows you what I thought of the book overall, that even with this fabulous premise, the most interesting character was an adult.

There were things about the book that I liked. I liked that it explores issues of race in our supposedly "post-racial" society. The book clearly shows that racism still exists. It's great to see biracial protagonists and the book really did make me think about race and ethnicity as something that's deeper than appearances. Even though Minnie looked white, she was just as much black as she was white. And even though Keira looked black, she was just as much white as she was black. My community's home to a large number of biracial kids and they need books that reflect their experiences, so keep 'em coming!

I think where the book fell flat was in the character of Minni. The book was about her struggle to find her voice, to know and claim her own black heritage and to feel and understand racism. However, even with all that development going on, Minni was still the most boring character in the book. I never connected with her, never felt her frustration at not being able to speak out for what she believed (even though Martin Luther King, Jr. is her hero). Sundee Frazier tells us that Minni is all about social justice, but I never felt like that was shown to me.

Like I said, Grandmother Johnson (a no-nonsense, retired Southern teacher) was the most interesting character to me. I, like Minni, was fascinated with her stories of being the first black teacher in a white school in the South. Keira was also interesting to me with her passion for fashion and her exuberant, outgoing personality. I feel like some plot threads were dropped with Keira, though. It's mentioned that she has dyslexia and struggles with reading, but nothing more is said about it after the middle of the book.

Bahni Turpin's excellent narration saved this book for me. I would have put it down right about the spot where Grandmother Johnson comes in, but Turpin so brought Grandmother Johnson to life for me that I was intrigued and kept listening. However, there's not much opportunity elsewhere for Turpin to do what she does best and use voiced narration to bring characters to life.

I'd recommend this book to tweens with a special interest in the subject matter. It's a nice, clean read for a true tween audience - upper elementary and younger middle school. The book also has tie-ins to the Civil Rights movement and would make for interesting discussions about race and racism in today's society. Especially consider purchasing this one where you've got an audience demanding books with biracial protagonists.

Lee at Reading with my Ears has another review of the audiobook.

The Other Half of My Heart is on shelves now!

And so it begins...

2012-05-15T11:07:00.000-04:00

Honesty time here, okay?

For the past couple of years, we've put up a "Countdown to Summer Reading" poster at both of our circulation desks. We generally put it up about 3-4 weeks ahead of Summer Reading and each morning we pull off the number as we count down. It goes up at the circ desks so as to reach the greatest number of people and because we have Summer Reading Clubs for all ages. We put it up to get people excited about the program, but...

This year, it's kind of giving me palpitations every time I walk in and see how close we are.

Yeah, Summer Reading starts on Monday.

There's been a lot going on at my library this year. In the fall, I had a full-timer out on maternity leave. Then our teen librarian was out on medical leave and I was very involved in the teen programming. I was co-chairing our ILF District Conference Planning Committee and I was on the search committee for hiring a new teen librarian. All this adds up to not feeling very reading for Summer Reading.

So, we're taking this next week one day at a time, chipping away at All The Things until they are done. As much as I love to have everything done and perfect and checked off my list, it's not a global crisis if something doesn't get done. We'll get there. And our patrons will probably never know the difference. All they'll know is that we smile and welcome them to the library, find them the books they want and have fun with them at our programs.

This part right now is my least favorite part: the anxiety and anticipation, the struggle to get as much done as we possibly can, the worry about how everything's going to go (not to mention visiting the schools to talk up the SRC, which means many early mornings...). But going through this part right now means we're almost at my favorite part: seeing all the kids come in, reading and having fun at the library all summer long!

Public librarians, take heart. I know what you're going through or what you're about to go through. I'm there, myself. We'll get through it and our communities will be better for it.

And so it begins...

AudioSynced and Librarian Favorites at the ALSC Blog

2012-05-02T08:10:00.003-04:00

Hey, I'm still on hiatus here, BUT I wanted to pop in and tell you that Kelly at STACKED posted a fabulous AudioSynced Roundup with tons of great audiobook reviews and news! I no longer have a commute, but if you do, you'll definitely want to check out some of those audiobooks for your drive.

Also, I have a post up at the ALSC Blog today: Librarians' Favorites: Thinking Beyond Themes... It's all about my very favorite storytime readalouds. Be sure to click on through and leave us YOUR favorites in comments!

A little break...

2012-04-23T11:07:00.000-04:00

Posting's slowed down a bit here over the past couple of weeks (as you may have noticed... or you may not have noticed...) and it's just because other things have been taking some priority here. I'm the co-chair for the ILF District 6 Conference Planning Committee and we just had our annual conference on the 13th. We've also been in the process of interviewing potential teen librarian candidates at my library (a fun process, but definitely lots of work, too). Summer's coming right up and I've been busy getting our plans finalized and scheduled visits to the schools.

And I'm also planning to move to a different state at the end of the week. (Don't worry - I'm not changing jobs or anything. I'm just moving across the bridge to Southern Indiana, much closer to work!)

I've been a little neglectful of this blog (to my mind, anyway) since I got back from vacation in February, and now it's time for me to take a little break so I can concentrate on Life Stuff.

I'll be back in May! In the meantime, here's a portrait of the artist as a young blogger (i.e. me, age 6 or so):

Happy Families

2012-04-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis. Grades 8 and up. Alfred A. Knopf, May 2012. 237 pages. Reviewed from digital ARC provided by NetGalley.

Twins Ysabel and Justin have a pretty good idea about where their lives are headed. Ysabel is an artist and aiming to show her glasswork in some upcoming shows and ultimately go to art school. Justin is master of the debate team and his five-year plan includes getting in to Stanford. But nothing could prepare them for the curveball their dad throws them: he's a transgender person, enjoys dressing in women's clothing, and he's moving out. When Ysabel and Justin are forced to spend their spring break with him, they'll meet some other transgender people and start to heal their family. They say that all happy families are the same... but what if you had thought your family was happy all along?

This is a sensitive portrayal of a family going through some tough changes. It will explicitly appeal to teens who might be dealing with a parent coming out (either as a gay person or a transgender person), but Justin and Ysabel's struggle for acceptance translates to a wide range of family problems. The twins feel like control has suddenly be wrested from them and they're not sure where to turn. Ysabel tries to bury herself in her art, but she can't shape her own family the way she can shape her glasswork. Justin reaches out on a social website for kids of transgender people, finding his only solace even as his mom laments how antisocial he's being, on the internet day and night.

I liked the metaphors built into each twin's primary hobby. Ysabel is constantly forging new objects in her art just as her family is being molded into something new. Glass is still glass, even if its shape is changed. And eventually Ysabel will discover that her family is still her family, even if some things have to be different. Justin, so practiced in seeing all sides of an argument for his debate team, will have to put his skills to the test. He finds himself unable to see his dad's side in this rift, but as he learns more and starts to process his feelings, maybe he will.

The dual narrative didn't really work for me, as I found Justin's and Ysabel's voices to be too similar. It was hard for me to tell them apart. I think the story might have been better served by choosing one narrator, although I did like the twins' relationship with each other. They have their arguments like any siblings, but they really lean on each other when things get tough.

Not just a book for kids dealing with family problems, this is also a great book for expanding teens' understanding of what it means to be transgender. For that, I hope it is widely read. Ms. Davis includes a nice section at the end that explains what terminology to use and what words and phrases are considered offensive.

Readalikes: From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson, Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher, Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger, Luna by Julie Ann Peters and the adult nonfiction books She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Dress Codes by Noelle Howey.

Happy Families will be on shelves May 8!

Audiobook Review: The Running Dream

2012-04-16T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, read by Laura Flanagan. Grades 7 and up. Listening Library, 2011. 7 hours and 3 minutes. Reviewed from purchased copy.

I don't do a lot of rereading. Honestly, I don't make the time for it when I can't read nearly as many new books as I'd like to. Audiobooks are a nice compromise. Listening to an audiobook of a title I've liked is a way to "reread" and also experience the book in a new way. Not all books stand up to a reread, even in audio format, but I'm happy to say that The Running Dream definitely stands up!

I read and reviewed The Running Dream last year and here's some of what I had to say:

I am a runner.
That's what I do.
That's who I am.
Running is all I know, or want, or care about...
Running aired out my soul.
It made me feel alive.
And now?
I'm stuck in this bed, knowing I'll never run again. (pg 6)

When an uninsured truck driver plows into the track team's school bus, Jessica's right leg is smashed beyond repair, requiring a below-the-knee amputation. In the days after the accident, Jessica can't imagine walking again, let alone running, but with the help of her determined friends and family, she just might make it back on the track. The Running Dream chronicles the months after the accident as Jessica returns to school, figures out a prosthetic leg, and slowly regains hope for the future.

If I were to describe this book in one word, it would be "uplifting". Jessica's story is one of hope, of friends and family coming together to help, and of possibilities. It's about small victories and large victories and making the world a better place.

You can read the full review here.

With this reread, I was less sensitive to the fact that everything turned out unrealistically awesome and more sensitive to Jessica's struggles and her determination not only to succeed but to make life better for another person. Possibly this is because I already knew what was going to happen, but I also have to give credit to the audio format. The first-person narration lends itself to audio quite nicely and narrator Laura Flanagan brings Jessica to life, reading the poignant moments of Jessica's struggle with true emotion. Flanagan does a particularly nice job with the high emotions at the beginning of the book as Jessica finds out what happened with the accident and starts to deal with her new reality.

Laura Flanagan's reading is no-frills, although it is partially voiced. Her men's voices sounded a little goofy to me, especially Jessica's prosthetics guy. But she makes up for it with Rosa's voice. In the book, Rosa (who has cerebral palsy) is described as being difficult to understand and Flanagan pulls off her speech impediment while still getting the words across. She also reads Rosa with a warmth that befits her character.

Flanagan's reading reminded me of Sara Zarr's reading of her own works, which I have really enjoyed. They both come across with a sense of authenticity about their characters and a frankness that I find very appealing. I'd recommend this audiobook to anyone who's liked Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl (read by Sara Zarr) or If I Stay by Gayle Forman, read by Kirsten Potter.

Check out more audiobook reviews of The Running Dream at Everyday Reading and Reading with my Ears.

The Running Dream is on shelves now!

* Hey, I'm an Audible affiliate, so if you purchase stuff after clicking the links on this site, I may get a small commission!

Spring Storytime: Librarian's Favorites

2012-04-12T11:07:00.000-04:00

This was our last week of Spring Storytime and this week was Librarian's Favorites! I wanted to challenge my staff to think outside of themes, so we made this last week open for each presenter to choose a selection of their very favorite books. Here's what I did for mine:

Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello

Memory Box: This week's Memory Box item was a cow from Bark George by Jules Feiffer.

Book: Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. One of my favorites, maybe because I love the spread where Sam freaks out about all the reasons he's crying.

Book: Bark George by Jules Feiffer. One of my all-time favorites. This is a great book for all ages, from young preschoolers through early elementary. I LOVE the surprise ending; although the kids don't always get it, it always makes the parents chuckle.

Song: We broke out the shakers for "I Know a Chicken" by Laurie Berkner. It's the first song on this video:

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Book: Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman. I love the illustrations in this book, but it didn't hold my group as a readaloud this time. I had a different group this week - lots absent and several guests since Louisville (our neighboring city) public schools are on spring break this week.

Felt: Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton. Another silly animal story!

Closing Song: Do You Know What Time It Is?

Take-Home Craft: Since we didn't have a theme this week, we sent home a handout listing a handful of each of our favorite books and a magic scratch art bookmark. We actually had the bookmarks leftover from a previous group.

Alternate Books: There are no alternate books since everybody just chose whatever their favorites were!

Honestly, I was a little bummed to have such low attendance this week, especially since it was the week for our favorites and it was our last week. I ended up with 14 kids, but at least 5 or 6 of those were siblings or guests who just happened to be in the department and this was the only time they'd been there. I will have more thoughts on this next week as I take a look back at our spring storytime series!

(Also: I realized I skipped posting last week. We did dogs last week and I will have that up for you shortly!)

Guest Post: Aaron Karo!

2012-04-10T00:01:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gents, I'm so happy to announce that I'm today's stop on the Lexapros and Cons blog tour! This fabulously fresh and funny book hits shelves TODAY, so make sure to hit up your favorite bookstore to pick up a copy... after you read this guest post from author Aaron Karo, of course:

Funny Business
            I wasn’t always professionally funny. Growing up, I was quick to crack jokes and was something of the class cut-up, but I never had any aspirations of doing anything with it. I went to Penn to study business and got a job on Wall Street right after graduation. It wasn’t until 2002, when I was 23 years old, that I tried stand-up for the first time. I fell in love and have been writing and performing ever since.

            For me, it’s hard not to be funny. And I don’t mean to be cocky. I just mean that my default mode is to make light of a situation, no matter how grave it is. I just think I get my point across best with humor. Plus, no girl ever says, “I’m looking for a really serious guy.” They want someone who can make them laugh. That’s just added incentive.

            When I set out to write Lexapros and Cons, I didn’t intentionally try to write a “funny” book. But I did know that Chuck Taylor was going to get himself into some pretty sticky situations, and that it would be fun trying to extricate him from them. Chuck never says the right thing and very rarely even thinks the right thing, and that’s probably because he speaks and talks kinda like me. He’s not trying to be funny. He’s just sort of off. And that’s what ultimately endears him to Amy, which may be some measure of wish fulfillment on my part: that some beautiful girl is going to think I’m hilarious and fall for me. Hey, a guy can dream.

            A lot of people have told me that many YA books are very dark or paranormal, or dark and paranormal and therefore it’s refreshing to read a more comedic story like Lexapros and Cons. The truth is, I actually think that the trials and tribulations that Chuck goes through in the course of dealing with his OCD are pretty dark. It’s just that Chuck’s reactions (and the reactions of his classmates) are so outrageous that it kind of took the edge away. I chalk that up to happy coincidence.

Being a comedian was tremendous training for writing Lexapros. It is much, much easier to make someone laugh when you’re telling them a story in person than it is to get them to laugh from reading something you’ve written. But I think all my experience on stage has translated to the page. The key is misdirection, which is basically making the audience think you’re going to say one thing, and then saying something else instead. In the conversations between Chuck and his best friend Steve in the book, there is a lot of misdirection. They go off on some unexpected and, hopefully, hilarious tangents. That tendency is right out of my stand-up act.

The beauty of comedy is that it is often universal. I think that teens will enjoy Lexapros not simply because it’s targeted to them, but because it’s just funny in general. Teens have a pretty sophisticated sense of humor, probably more so than they are given credit for, but I imagine their parents will get just as much of kick out of the book as they do. At least I hope so, because I really don’t want to go back to getting paid not to be funny.

***

Many thanks to Aaron for stopping by today on his very release day! Be sure and check him out on Twitter @aaronkaro. And thanks, also, to the good folks at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for offering up a copy of Lexapros and Cons for a giveaway!

To enter, please fill out the form below. One entry per person, US addresses only. You must be at least 13 years old to enter. Entries will be accepted through Monday, April 16 and I'll draw one winner on Tuesday, April 17. I will share the winner's information with the publisher who will send the book. Otherwise, I promise your information will not be shared with anyone and will be deleted after the contest is over.

The giveaway is now closed! Thanks to all who entered!

Lexapros and Cons

2012-04-09T11:07:00.000-04:00

Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo. Grades 8+. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, April 2012. 232 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Chuck Taylor (yes, that's actually his name) knows that the little habits and routines he has aren't just habits and routines. He knows it's crazy to continually check the burners and oven knobs, to get up to pee fifteen times before going to bed, to keep a tally of how many times he masturbates (573 times last year). When Chuck's parents insist that he start seeing a psychiatrist, he's torn between freaking out about seeing a shrink and being grateful that he's finally getting some help. But when Chuck meets new girl Amy Huntington and - miracle of miracles - she actually kinda seems into him, he knows he's got to hide his crazy from her at all costs. It won't be easy, but if Chuck can do it, it just might change his life.

Comedian Aaron Karo brings us a fresh, funny male protagonist in a story with as much heart as humor.

I'm always looking for more funny teen books. Humor is something that a lot of my teens crave and it can be hard to find funny contemporary titles on the crowded-with-issues-and-paranormal YA shelves. I'm pleased to be able to hand this to teens (especially teen guys) who want a laugh. You can even find humor in the format of the book: chapters are numbered with post-it note tally marks, just like the post-its on which Chuck keeps his jerk-off tally.

Chuck Taylor has a great voice and his story is one that teens will identify with. OCD is obviously a major issue in the story, but really Chuck's coming of age and figuring out how to deal with his life. He has a crush on a girl, he has a best friend who's in love with his sister (awkward...), he has parents who are trying their hardest but are still relatively clueless.

There's some language and plenty of talk about masturbation, so you need to know your audience with this one. I'd hand it to fans of Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford for the humor and maybe It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini for the psychology aspect.

Be sure to read Sarah's review at YA Librarian Tales!

Lexapros and Cons comes out TOMORROW (April 10) and you'll definitely want to check back because I'll have Aaron Karo himself here tomorrow for a guest post you won't want to miss!

Audiobook Review: The Cheshire Cheese Cat

2012-04-05T11:07:00.000-04:00

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, read by Katherine Kellgren and Robin Sachs. Grades 3-7. Listening Library, 2012 (Peachtree Publishers, 2011). 4 discs. Review copy provided by my local library.

Skilley, a London alley cat, longs for the warm hearth of The Cheshire Cheese Inn, so when he hears that they're looking for a mouser, he shows up. But Skilley has a terrible secret: he eats cheese instead of mice! When the smartest mouse at the inn figures out Skilley's secret, they arrange a deal to benefit them both: the mice will provide Skilley with cheese and he won't hunt them as long as they try to stay out of sight. But things get more complicated when Skilley learns that there's a captive at the inn... and he needs help.

This is a solid, charming story with plenty of fun Dickensian references, very timely for the hundredth anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth. Kids won't necessarily get the Dickens references, but they're fun nonetheless and this just may be the kind of book that kids will revisit at an older age. The characters and the interesting relationship between an educated mouse and a street cat working together drew me into the story and there's no one better to bring characters to life than narrator Katherine Kellgren.

Kellgren rocks it once again with this fully voiced production. I love her range of voices, from the prim and proper (and tiny!) mouse Pip to the rough-and-tumble alley cats to all the humans of the Cheshire Cheese. She has a gift for getting characters' personalities across in the way she voices them, and that truly brings the story to life. Robin Sachs narrates bits here and there from the writings of Charles Dickens as he observes the small dramas happening in the Cheshire Cheese and tries to come up with an opening line for his next novel. Sachs reads with dignity befitting such an esteemed historical figure, and his bits add an authenticity to the story.

I'd recommend this story to fans of classic animal stories like Charlotte's Web, A Cricket in Times Square, or Bunnicula. The audiobook would make a fantastic family listen, as I think it will appeal to a wide range of ages and adults who will pick up on the Dickens references.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat was the 2011 Cybils Winner in the Middle Grade Science Fiction & Fantasy Category and a contestant in SLJ's Battle of the Books. Also check out Betsy's review at A Fuse #8 Production.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat is available now!

* Hey, I'm an Audible affiliate, which means that if you purchase audiobooks after clicking on the links here I may get a small commission.

Dreaming Over at the ALSC Blog

2012-04-04T10:17:00.002-04:00

Oh, yeah. Thank goodness for advance post scheduling because I actually completely forgot that I'm over at the ALSC Blog today talking about dreams. It's just been that kind of month! Please click through and let me know that you have librarian stress dreams, too!

Race Day at the Library

2012-04-03T11:07:00.000-04:00

I am always looking for more ideas for bringing boys into the library (aren't we all?). Last week was Spring Break for our kids and I hosted Race Day at the Library! This program was actually really simple and a lot of fun. We invited kids in K-5th grade to design their own race track at the library.

Of course, I stole the idea from another librarian! A librarian from the Parker Memorial Library (MA) posted this idea on the PUBYAC listserv and I've been saving it for just the right time.

The bulk of our program was making race tracks and I pulled a large selection of racing-related titles to display. Since I had a captive audience of (mostly) boys, I did a little book-talking, too. I kept it short since I had some little ones there and I booktalked:

Skinnybones by Barbara Park (honestly, one of my favorite Wimpy Kid readalikes)
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka (to booktalk this, I just read the passage where they pee on the space heater)
100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet by Anna Claybourne (I keep pushing this one since it gets buried in our 600s. Everyone I tell about it wants to check it out!)
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton (another of my favorites that tends to get buried!)

I checked after the program and every single book I talked about was checked out! Does anything feel better than that??

So, the craft! This is one of those crafts that I could set out all the supplies and just let families be creative and make whatever they wanted (i.e. my favorite kind!).

We made race tracks out of cardboard tubes (paper towel & toilet paper tubes). We had some volunteers cut many of the tubes lengthwise so that they would make troughs. We also kept some tubes uncut in case kids wanted to make tunnels or use the tubes to add height, etc. Kids could design their race track however they wanted. One of our local pizza restaurants actually donated some misprinted boxes that we used as the cardboard base. I put out construction paper, crayons, markers, stickers, scissors, glue, tape, and all kinds of scraps and let them go to town!

The kids and parents had a lot of fun getting creative and designing their race tracks. This is a great, cheap, easy craft that would work really well for family night programs. After each kid finished his or her race track, I let them pick out a handful of matchbox cars (purchased at Oriental Trading) to take home.

It was low-key, but tons of fun. I didn't have a huge crowd, but that wasn't too surprising since we had it in the evening. We tend to get low turnout for our evening programs. I put on some CDs (any excuse to listen to Ralph's World) and just generally chatted with the kids about their favorite books while they worked.

Most of all, I love how creative everyone was with their tracks! It was definitely a super fun night!

AudioSynced: March Roundup

2012-04-01T07:11:00.000-04:00

Huzzah! No April foolin' here. It's the first of the month, which means that it's time for your AudioSynced Roundup!

If you're looking for some great audiobooks, check out the following reviews from around the blogosphere. And, as always, if I missed your link, leave it in comments and I'll add you to the roundup! Didn't review or post about audiobooks this month? Don't worry - AudioSynced will be back at STACKED next month.

Audiobook News and Posts

The Fifth Annual Tournament of Audiobooks is going on right now at Audible.com! 32 of 2011's top audiobooks (Editors' Picks, Customer Favorites, Bestsellers, and Critically Acclaimed) are pitted against each other. One will emerge victorious!

You are invited to participate in The Armchair Audies! Audiobook enthusiasts will be choosing a category or two from the Audie nominees, listening to all the nominated titles, and posting their predictions during the week of May 28th before the awards are announced. Click on through for more info about how to participate!

The Chicago Tribune ran an article about Audible's new line of A-List audiobooks: audiobooks read by some of today's top actors.

Create and submit a video promoting audiobooks and you could win the Audio Publishers Association's "Get Caught Listening" video contest for a cash prize of up to $5,000! Entries are due by May 15, 2012.

Catie, Flannery, and Tatiana at The Readventurer are posting about some of their very favorite audiobooks.

Can the same narrator be excellent for one book and unimpressive for another? Absolutely, and Kim at STACKED is posting about this very experience.

Of course, don't forget about Audiobook Jukebox for lots more audiobook reviews!

Children's/Middle Grade Audiobooks

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri, read by JD Jackson, reviewed by Lee at Reading With My Ears. Lee says, "The narrator JD Jackson... sounds completely natural voicing Cole as well as the novel's many other characters. If his voice sounds a little mature, he more than makes up for it with a youthful rhythm and streetwise inflections."

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, written and read by Catherynne Valente, reviewed by Stormcrow at Audiobook Heaven. Stormcrow says, "Valente has a great voice for narration and her passion for the characters that she created really shows in her reading."

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis, read by Bahni Turpin, reviewed by Allison at Everyday Reading. Allison says, "[Bahni Turpin's] performance as the audiobook narrator really brings this story to life. She has an incredible range, doing a masterful job with women, men, and children's voices alike."

Lee at Reading With My Ears also reviews The Mighty Miss Malone. Lee says, "[Bahni Turpin] reads the novel with the right amount of smarts and with a busybody-ness that's perfect for this 12-year-old know-it-all."

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, read by Anne Hathaway, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "Anne Hathaway’s reading allows you to fully immerse yourself in this Wonderful tale."

Young Adult Audiobooks

Firelight by Sophie Jordan, read by Theresa Plummer, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, "Plummer does an adequate job with the narration, but her voice might have been a bit too soothing, or perhaps lacking enough emotion to keep me invested in the production."

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett, read by Richard Aspel, reviewed by Lisa at Shelf-employed. Lisa says, "Listeners who persevere will be rewarded with a stellar performance."

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, read by Sarah Drew, reviewed by Abby at The Lupine Librarian. Abby says, "The cliffhanger ending of Pandemonium will make you count the days until the release of the final book in the series!"

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan, read by John Keating, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, "Keating’s narration and the audio production is clear and free of flaws, which makes for an enjoyable listening experience."

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham, reviewed by Allison at Reading Everywhere. Allison says, "Steve West as Sean and Fiona Hardingham as Puck deliver solid, rich performances and bring so much life to the characters."

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel, read by Luke Daniels, reviewed by Beth at Nerdy Book Club. Beth says, "I judge an audiobook’s success on how much I look forward to my long work commute everyday and this was one of those audiobooks that helped me forget I spend two hours a day in the car."

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, read by Khristine Hvam, reviewed by Lee at Reading With My Ears. Lee says, "[Khristine Hvam] is pretty darn perfect as Min. She captures Min's superior intellect along with her superiority, yet is as capable of showing her insecurities."

Zombies Vs. Unicorns, ed. by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier; read by Ellen Grafton, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Julia Whelan, and Phil Gigante; reviewed by Laurie at Bay State Readers' Advisory. Laurie says, "I enjoyed most of the stories, but Meg Cabot’s story Princess Prettypants was my favorite of the humorous ones."

Adult Audiobooks

Eat Pray Love written and read by Elizabeth Gilbert, reviewed by Sam at Parenthetical. Sam says, "Gilbert reads... with a tongue-in-cheek self-mocking quality that was essential to my enjoyment of the book."

Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale, read by Angele Masters, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "Full of adventure, dark humor and colorful characters, if you have yet to take a trip with Joe R. Lansdale there is plenty of room on this raft."

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn, read by Marguerite Gavin, reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut. Melissa says, "I'll tell you straight up: I learned a lot from this book. A lot. And that was listening to the audio version. I need to go out and purchase the book, so I can have it as a reference in my kitchen."

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat, read by Dion Graham and Robin Miles, reviewed by Lee of Reading With My Ears. Lee says, "Miles, a narrator I've never heard before, does the lion's share of the work and she is very good, skillfully using her voice to deliver all the pain and sorrow and odd moments of joy that Danticat's women experience."

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, read by Adam Grupper, reviewed by Annette at Annette's Book Spot. Annette says, "I just want to be read to, you don't need to dramatize the text for me, and Grupper was great."

Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva, read by Phil Gigante, reviewed by Lee at Reading With My Ears. Lee says, "As far as I could tell, everyone was consistently voiced, but ultimately it all sounded like a comedy act. The accents mostly sounded authentic to me (I'm really not a judge), but the Russians and Israelis began to blend together, and the French seemed off. The women were overly breathy and femmy and that -- coupled with their accents -- made them seem particularly caricatured."

The Night Swimmer by Matthew Bondurant, read by Hillary Huber, reviewed by Laurie at Bay State Readers' Advisory. Laurie says, "The audiobook edition of The Night Swimmer... narrated absolutely perfectly by Hillary Huber, will be the first on my list of best audiobooks of 2012."

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley, read by Susan Duerden, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "The Rook is one of the most fascinating Fantasies I have experienced in a long time, truly touching that sense of wonder as only the best Fantasies can."

Rumo & his Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers, read by Bronson Pichot, reviewed by Bob at The Guilded Earlobe. Bob says, "This novel reads like Shel Silversteins cleverest poems, and it will remind readers of my generation of classics like The Phantom Tollbooth."

Situations Matter by Sam Sommers, read by Joshua Swanson, reviewed by Janssen at Everyday Reading. Janssen says, "Joshua Swanson is just as good a non-fiction narrator as he is for fiction."

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, read by Ari Graynor, reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut. Melissa says, "I was captivated by Isabel's voice (and Graynor's reading of her), her observations of her ex-boyfriends, the cases, and her family. It was a lot of fun to listen to."

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor...

2012-03-29T11:07:00.000-04:00

So, as you may know, The Hunger Games movie was released last week. Happily, this coincided with our Spring Break and we thought it was the perfect time for a teen Hunger Games program!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this program. Our teen Zombie Prom was a huge hit in the fall and we were having to turn teens away because registration filled up really quickly. We didn't require registration for the Hunger Games program and we ended up with a group of 20, which turned out to be a perfect turnout - full, but not so full that it was overwhelming.

I actually had the pleasure of doing this program twice since I partnered with one of our neighboring teen librarians. She came over to help me with the program at my library and then I went over there to help her run it for her teens!

Here's what we did:

3:00pm - Open doors and welcome the kids in. We gave them a little time to hang out and gush about the movie and books while we waited for everyone to get there. As the kids arrived, we had them put their name on a ticket for "The Reaping" (actually door prizes!).

3:10-3:30pm - Hunger Games trivia. Two of our staff members put together a kind of trivia board game. We taped sheets of paper to the floor for our game board and let the kids roll our large foam dice. In order to move along the board, their team had to answer the trivia question correctly. The kids were super awesome at the trivia.

At the second program, the kids got through the game board very quickly, so we did two rounds.

3:30-4:00pm - Cornucopia Challenge. This was a really fun activity and the kids really liked it. We printed out cards for the items instead of having the actual items, just to save a bit on cost and to keep from having to track down all those items. I'd recommend getting a large posterboard or whiteboard to keep track of the scores. The teens also had some great ideas about different things that could happen in the arena and I think it'd be really fun to have them collaborate on writing a script and then run the game with them!

We had prizes for the winning teams of both the trivia and the Cornucopia Challenge. I let them choose either a candy bar or a free book from my stash of ARCs. If you're low on cash, another prize could be an extra entry in the Reaping (door prize drawing).

4:00pm - 5:00pm Training stations. We had several stations set up around the room, so after we finished the group activities, we gave them some free time to do whatever stations they chose. At my library, we did cookie decorating at "Peeta's Bakery", a costume design station, and a weapons-making station. We also did knot tying at Kate's library.

Cookie decorating is pretty self-explanatory. For the costume design station, we printed out information about each of the districts and I printed out some sheets of Hunger Games costume sketches from Deviant Art for inspiration. We asked teens to design a costume for a tribute from a district of their choice and we put the gallery up in the Teen Scene.

For the weapons-making station, we put out all kinds of scraps and materials that we had on hand and let the kids go crazy. Suggestions for materials: duct tape, aluminum foil, red and black construction paper, pipe cleaners, craft sticks, pie tins*, paper towel rolls, toilet paper tubes, string or yarn, and whatever else you have on hand. They were extremely creative and some of the boys just sat down at this station for the rest of the time.

We assigned staff to stations, but really they were all self-directed. The stations actually kept them busy for the entire hour, and it gave us a chance to mingle and chat with the teens about the books and movie. It's always good to have a backup, though, and we figured we'd bust out some more trivia or some board games if we noticed that anyone was getting bored.

Periodically, we'd draw out a couple of names for the door prizes. At my library we gave out $10 iTunes gift cards (which I found in 3-packs at Kroger) and at Kate's library we gave out a Hunger Games poster. We gave out Hunger Games bookmarks, which I had picked up at the ALA Store in Dallas. Kate also created a perfect Hunger Games readalike bookmark that we gave to everyone.

All in all, it was a wonderful program and a ton of fun for both teens and librarians. I was very happy to have a nice mix of regulars and new faces in our crowd and I hope to see them all again soon!

* Okay, my teens loved used the pie tins, but I realized after they started cutting them up that they were quite sharp. You should probably think about whether you can trust your teens not to slice themselves (or each other) into pieces. ;)

Coming Soon: ILF District 6 Conference!

2012-03-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm going to take a minute here and promote an upcoming event that is near and dear to my heart. The Indiana Library Federation's District 6 Conference is coming up on Friday, April 13, 2012 at Ivy Tech in Lawrenceburg, IN. Lawrenceburg is in Southern Indiana, very close to Cincinnati, OH.

Where else can you hear the inimitable Michael Stephens AND the fantastic Jessamyn West speak for the low, low price of $47 (and even lower - $32 - for ILF members!)? Not only that, but we have some great breakout sessions, including sessions on storytime props, redesigning your website, hosting a Big Read, dealing with teen volunteers, eContent, customer service, and MORE.

Your registration fee covers breakfast and lunch. Parking is free and you will definitely want to check out Ivy Tech's beautiful campus, right on the river. You'll also want to stop by and check out the Lawrenceburg Public Library, which is right down the street.

This will be a great event for librarians in all fields and library school students, as well! If you're in the area, this is an opportunity to network with local librarians and get some great professional development. Please join us and feel free to spread the word!

Click here for more information about the ILF District 6 Conference or to register!

Reminder: AudioSynced!

2012-03-26T11:07:00.000-04:00

It's almost that time... time for your AudioSynced roundup! If you've posted about or reviewed audiobooks in March, I would be ever so grateful for a link to include in this month's roundup! Post your link in the comments or email to abbylibrarian@gmail.com. If you didn't review any audiobooks this month, neverfear! AudioSynced is a monthly feature, hosted by myself and Kelly of STACKED.

Spring Storytime: Fish

2012-03-22T11:07:00.000-04:00

This week, we swam into the library for a storytime about fish!

Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello

Memory Box: This week's Memory Box item was swim goggles from Fish Wish by Bob Barner. Interestingly, no one could remember what was in the box from last week and I wonder if that's because they're not as familiar with knitting needles as they might be with other items we've had in the box. Hmmm.

Book: Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood. I just love the bright, computer generated images in this book and it has a nice, catchy rhyme as we count down from 10 fish.

Rhyme: Five Little Fishies Swimming in the Sea. This rhyme is adapted from "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree"!

Five little fishies, swimming in the sea
Teasing Mr. Shark, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And snatches that fish right out of the sea!

Count down...

Book: Fish Wish by Bob Barner. Simple text and bright, colorful illustrations make this a good choice for your storytime. We also talked about how "fish" and "wish" rhyme. I asked them if they could think of any other words that rhymed with "fish" and we came up with "dish", "splish", "squish" and "mish".

Dance Break: After last week's dance storytime, I decided I want to incorporate more music and action in my storytimes, even if it's not thematic (I have mixed feelings about themes, anyway). So I told them they'd been sitting still for a long time and it was time for a dance break. I passed out scarves and we danced to "Silly Dance Contest" by Jim Gill.

Rhyme: Color Fish. My own Miss T made this prop rhyme for us. It's a box with a slit in the top and as you say the rhyme, you can drop the fish into the tank! Miss T has even labeled the back of the box so we know what order to drop the strings in:

There's a plastic baggie holding each fish in order to keep them from getting tangled.

On Saturday, I got my wish
When I found a tank for a fish.

But an empty tank is not much fun,
So I bought an orange fish and now I have one.

I have a fish, but one won't do,
So I bought a purple one and now I have two.

I have two fish swimming happily,
But I bought a yellow one, and now I have three.

I have three fish, but I want more,
So I bought a red one and now I have four.

I have four fish that jump and dive,
But I bought a pink one and now I have five.

On Saturday, I got my wish
When I found a tank for a fish.

A tank full of fish is lots of fun,
But the cat just saw them so I'd better run!

Book: Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert. A lot of fish books have to do with counting. Hmm.

Activity: Felt color fish. I passed out the fish and as I called out the colors, kids came up and put them on the board!

Take-Home Craft: A fish in a fish bowl. We provided all the pieces (die-cut hand shapes, pipe cleaners for seaweed, shells, a google eye, and the outline of the fish bowl to cut out and the outline of bubbles to cut out. Making the outlines is a great task for our teen volunteers and letting the preschoolers cut things out is good for fine motor control. They loved having real shells in their bags!

Alternate Books: If you don't like or don't have some of the books listed above, here are some other choices:

Fish Faces by Norbert Wu
Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! by Kevin Sherry
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Ugly Fish by Karen LaReau (know your audience with this one - the fish gets eaten at the end!)
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck

Page by Paige

2012-03-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. Grades 6 and up. Abrams, 2011. 192 pages. Review copy provided by my local library.

What's wrong?
I don't know.

What do you want?
I don't know.

Geez, do you know ANYthing?
I know I need to draw about it.
So I bought a sketchbook.
Maybe it will help. (page 6)

Paige's family has just relocated to New York City. It's huge. It's completely different from everything that Paige knows. And now she's faced with starting over: new friends, new school... new Paige? Here, Paige has a fresh start and she can be whoever she wants to be.... but who is that exactly?

You know what? My words can't do the stunning artwork justice, so you'd better just check out this book trailer:

Paige isn't quite sure who she is, but she knows that she's not quite the person she wants to be. And if you've ever felt the same way, this is the book for you. Laura Lee Gulledge's gorgeous art expresses that wish for change and the process of going out to find it better than I could have imagined. This is a book that struck a chord with me and if I could go back in time and hand it to myself as a teen, I totally would.

We definitely see Paige grow and change through the pages of this graphic novel. Her sketchbook helps her sort through things, giving us a glimpse inside her head. Other characters are similarly well-developed and we see Paige dealing with problems with her friends and her parents throughout the course of the year. The romance that develops feels organic and well-paced.

The art is a perfect mix of funny and poignant, whimsical and dark. The art reflects the many facets of Paige's character and what she's dealing with. It changes with Paige's mood and thoughts, sometimes darker, sometimes lighter.

This is a story that will resonate with many teens and it's a great graphic novel for your teen girls. Hand this to your artistically-inclined teens, but make sure it's also out there for the wallflowers who may be too shy to ask.

Page by Paige was a finally for the 2011 Cybils Awards and you should also check out more reviews at GreenBean TeenQueen, Stacked, and Wyz Reads.

These are teens...

2012-03-16T07:11:00.000-04:00

**ETA: SILVER CREEK HIGH SCHOOL WON THE CONTEST!**

This post is for anyone who's ever wondered why teens are worthy of exemplary library service.

As you probably know, we had some bad weather here in Southern Indiana a few weeks ago. One of the worst-hit areas was Henryville, a town about 30 miles north of my library in New Albany. The Henryville schools were completely destroyed. Henryville High School students were sent home with literally minutes to spare before the tornadoes hit. If school administration hadn't acted when they did, hundreds of students would probably have died.

You may also know that the country group Lady Antebellum is holding a video contest for an appearance at one high school prom this year.

Henryville High School students put together a video to enter the contest. But that's not what this post is about.

Students at D.C. Everst High School in Wisconsin, hundreds of miles away, completely unrelated to Henryville made an entry for the contest... an entry asking Lady Antebellum to come to Henryville's prom:

And last night, my friend, Silver Creek High School English teacher Mr. Hankins shared a video that the Silver Creek High School students had made. Another entry for Lady A's contest... asking Lady Antebellum to come to Henryville High School's prom:

If you have any doubts about why teens deserve the very best service and a place in the library to call their own, just look at these videos. I'm so impressed by their capacity for empathy. Look at what they're doing here, for their neighbors, for their fellow Americans who have had a tragedy.

It may seem like a small thing, a contest for a prom performance. But to Henryville, it means the world. It means not being forgotten. It means knowing that people want to lend a helping hand, that other teens are putting aside their worries about tests and dates and jobs to do something nice for them.

If we, as librarians, have the chance to serve these teens (and other teens who are just as capable of great acts of kindness), we need to jump at it and do the very best that we can. Our teens deserve it.

Spring Storytime: Dance

2012-03-14T11:07:00.000-04:00

What better way to get the blood pumping than dancing for 30 minutes with a bunch of preschoolers?! This storytime definitely woke me up after a very blah morning-after-Daylight-Savings-Time-started.

Opening Song: "Body Rock" by Greg & Steve. I switched it up a little bit to get the energy flowing!

Memory Box: This week's Memory Box item was a pair of knitting needles from Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson.

Book: If You're Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera. I had the kids stand up and we did the motions while I sang this book to them. I don't think I read the whole thing and when I was ready to move on, I closed the book and sang "If you're happy and you know it please sit down!"

Book: Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson. I'm a huge fan of the big, bright pictures and the rhyming text. Plus, there's tons of great dance vocabulary here: samba, tango, rhumba, etc.

Song: "List of Dances" by Jim Gill. I wrote out all the dances on a big posterboard that I put up on our easel. This helps me remember what's coming up so I can prompt the kids.

Felt Rhyme: Five Ballerinas. I found two different rhymes that would work just fine for ballerina felt pieces.

Five dancing ballerinas
Prancing on their toes.
They twirl and spin and jump,
Then off the stage she goes!
(And continue with counting down.)

or

Five little ballerinas, dancing across the floor.
One twirled away and then there were four.
Four little ballerinas, stretched tall like a tree.
One leaped away and then there were three.
Three little ballerinas dressed in tutus of blue,
One danced away and then there were two.
Two little ballerinas, having lots of fun.
One twirled away and then there was one.
One little ballerina, dancing all alone.
She danced away and then there was none.

Song with Scarves: "The Freeze" by Greg & Steve. I let the kids select a scarf and we danced however they liked, freezing when the music stopped. When we were done with the song, I had the kids bring their scarves to me by color.

Rhyme: Thelma Thumb

Thelma Thumb is up! (thumbs up!)
Thelma Thumb is down! (thumbs down)
Thelma Thumb is dancing all around the town! (thumbs wiggle all around)
Dance her on your shoulders, (thumb on shoulders)
Dance her on your head, (thumb on head)
Dance her on your knees (thumb on knees)
And tuck her into bed. (fold thumb in and cover with other fingers)

Closing Song: Do You Know What Time it Is?

Take-Home Craft Dancing hippos! This is a super simple craft that can be tailored to any number of themes. We provided the hippos (we have a die), straw, yarn, and bead. You could also provide materials to decorate your hippo with a dancing costume (feathers, cloth scraps, tulle, stick-on gems, etc.).

Alternate Books: As you can see, I didn't even get to all the books I have pulled for this week, choosing to use music instead. But there are lots of great choices! Any book that can be sung will work.

Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont
Color Dance by Ann Jonas
The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
Dancing Feet by Lindsay Craig
The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle (a quieter story, great for settling down at the end)
Down by the Cool of the Pool by Tony Mitton
Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrae

Alternate Songs/Dances: Everyone's taste in music is different! If you don't like or don't have any of the songs listed above, try one of these great action songs:

"All the Ways of Jumping Up and Down" by Hap Palmer (found on Walter the Waltzing Worm)
"Bop 'Til You Drop" by Greg & Steve (found on Kids in Action)
"Get Ready, Get Set, Let's Dance" by Greg & Steve (found on Kids in Action)
"I Know a Chicken" by Laurie Berkner (found on The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band)
"Jump Down, Turn Around" by Greg & Steve (found on Ready... Set... Move!)
"Jump Up, Turn Around" by Jim Gill (found on Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times)
"Let's Dance Now" by Jim Gill (found on Jim Gill Makes it Noisy in Boise, Idaho)
"Move and Freeze" by The Learning Station (found on Brain Boogie Boosters)
"No More Monkeys" by Asheba (found on No More Monkeys or on Putumayo's Picnic Playground)
"Ready Set Move" by Greg & Steve (found on Ready... Set... Move!)
"Shimmy Shake" by Greg & Steve (found on Ready... Set... Move!)
"Silly Dance Contest" by Jim Gill (found on Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)
"Song About Slow, Song About Fast" by Hap Palmer (found on Walter the Waltzing Worm)
"Swing, Shake, Twist, and Stretch" by Hap Palmer (found on Walter the Waltzing Worm)

You can also pass out scarves and dance to whatever music you like! Try picking songs that have different tempos or moods and tell the kids to dance how the music makes them feel. Is it fast or slow? Sad or happy?

And of course, you can throw in dances you can do without recorded music. Try "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "I'm a Little Teapot", "The Hokey Pokey" or "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush".

A Girl Named Faithful Plum

2012-03-12T11:07:00.001-04:00

A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream by Richard Bernstein. Grades 4 and up. Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 270 pages. Review copy provided by my local library.

It took Li Zhongmei three days and two nights on a filthy, crowded train to travel the 1,000+ miles from her tiny hometown in northern China to Beijing for her audition for the Beijing Dance Academy. She was eleven years old and had never left Baoquanling. Her parents had to borrow money for the train ticket.

The Academy would take only 12 girls and 12 boys. From the entire country of China.

Her sister told her she never had a chance. Her fellow dancers she met at the auditions told her she never had a chance.

But Zhongmei was accepted into the Beijing Dance Academy... and began the most torturous year of her young life. If Zhongmei could survive, she had a shot at her dream. But to survive the physical and emotional strain of that first year would take all of Zhongmei's determination.

Zhongmei is a plucky young girl with a stubborn streak and it's easy to sympathize with her struggles. She's looked down upon by both her classmates and her teachers, but their prejudice only serves to strengthen her will. This is an inspiring story, but it's not overdone or didactic. Young readers with empathize and root for Zhongmei, even as they're caught up in the descriptions of the dances she's learning and her day-to-day life in a rigorous school.

As I was reading, I especially liked getting a glimpse of China through Zhongmei's eyes. Depictions of her long journey really brought home just how huge China is, and seeing the differences between her country life and life in the city emphasized how diverse the country is. And although I learned about China while reading this book, it all happened organically as I was swept up in Zhongmei's story.

The writing left a little to be desired. The story was fascinating enough to propel the book through occasionally stilted turns of phrase and some repetitive passages. The beginning was a little slow for me, with it taking over a third of the book for Zhongmei to get to Beijing and get through her auditions. However, I can appreciate an emphasis on how hard auditions can be, as that's something many young dancers are dealing with. I suppose I wasn't expecting so much of the book to be about the travel and audition process since we know from reading the title that Zhongmei makes it as a dancer.

This is an inspiring true story that will be a sure hit for fans of dance and theater books. Although Zhongmei is eleven years old in the book, I think it'll have wide appeal and I'd recommend it to middle grade and teen readers. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down!

I'd hand this to fans of performing arts and dance stories like Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel, or Bunheads by Sophie Flack. I'd also hand it to kids interested in Chinese life, stories like Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah or Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine.

A Girl Named Faithful Plum is on shelves now!

Happy Nonfiction Monday! This week's roundup is at Rasco from RIF, so make sure you check it out!

Young Hoosier Book Award, Here I Come!

2012-03-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, I will trek up to Indy for the start of what I like to call Young Hoosier Book Award Season. Yup, I'm on the middle grade committee for the Young Hoosier Book Award (YHBA). YHBA is Indiana's state kids' choice book award program. There are three lists of 20 nominees set forth each year and announced in November at the Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference. There's a committee for each of the lists - picture books, intermediate books (think 3rd-5th grade) and middle grade books (think 6th-8th grade). ILF also has a high school book award - the Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award.

Last year was my first year on the YHBA committee and I didn't know exactly what to expect. Now that I'm returning for my second year (a term on the committee is generally two years), I have a better idea and I'm really excited to get started! Here's what we'll do.

We have a meeting in March where we get our list of field-and-committee-nominated books (yup, Indiana librarians, teachers, students, and parents - you can nominate books!). Our tireless YHBA committee chairs go through the field nominations to assess eligibility and give us a list of approximately 60 titles that we have to narrow down to 20. We also get many review copies provided by publishers. As a committee member, I really appreciate getting any review copies publishers are able to provide because it makes my job a lot easier!

Once we get our list, we start reading, reading, reading! For YHBA, we also create activity sheets for each of 20 finalists. The activity sheets include vocabulary words, discussion questions, and classroom activities that correlate to the Indiana state educational standards. It does add an extra layer of work to the committee reading, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier.

We read all spring and summer and then have another meeting in September where we hash our the 20 books on the list. We choose 20 books and a couple of alternates, which are used if a publisher doesn't have enough copies of a book to satisfy demand. We spend a day hashing out the list and putting together the activity sheets. And then we sit back and wait to brag on our hard work until the list is announced in November. After that, it's out of our hands! Kids will read the books and vote on their favorites!

Serving on a state book award committee can be a really fun way to get involved in your state library association. I've gotten to know some great people through my YHBA work and it's super fun to talk books with people in my state who are just as passionate as I am about reading. I definitely learned some things from my experience on the committee last year...

1. Start reading right away! Some of the people on my committee (about half, I think) were school librarians or classroom teachers and it makes sense that they might not start reading in earnest until school is out for the summer. For a public librarian, the opposite is true! In July, I was really wishing that I had done more reading in March and April. You can bet that as soon as I get home from Saturday's meeting, I will be placing some holds at my library and getting started.

2. Leave some great books for last! I did the opposite last year and it was such a drag to slog through some of the books I was least interested in at the very end of the summer when I had been reading like a maniac for months. Of course some books will surprise you - books you weren't that interested in turn out to be pretty awesome. But if there are some books on the list by favorite authors, books that have gotten great reviews all over the place, books you've read before and loved... save a couple of these as a reward at the end. It'll be a great motivational tool for getting through some of the ones that you're not that into.

3. Take good notes! I made a YHBA notebook last year so I could keep all my notes in the same place. When I was creating my activity sheets, I jotted down vocabulary words, discussion questions, notes about possible classroom activities, etc. I also took notes about the books I wasn't assigned activity sheets for, just so I could remember what was great or what wasn't so strong. This notebook came in really handy at our selection meeting in September. Rather than vaguely saying "Hmm... I think I liked that one..." I could tell my committee members specifics about the strengths and weaknesses. It makes for a much stronger argument for the books I wanted on the list and the books I didn't think deserved to be on the list.

4. Communicate with your committee members! This was something that didn't happen as much as I would have liked last year. It's understandable - everyone is so super busy, I know. But I'm aiming to make this happen this year. I think it'll make the whole process easier and more fun if we're chatting throughout. We'll see how it goes...

5. Don't forget about audiobooks! Of course, I couldn't use audiobooks for the titles I need to create activity sheets for, but audiobooks are a great way to supplement print book reading. I especially liked audiobooks for rereads, books I needed a refresher for. I also liked audiobooks for books that I thought would be popular with kids, but which weren't really my genre or my cup of tea.

6. Read as MANY of the books as you possibly can. Everyone's going to be different about this aspect, of course, and sometimes things come up and you just can't get to every book. For myself, every time I thought about skipping a book or just giving up near the end and calling it good, I'd ask myself "If my committee members want this book on the list, am I comfortable putting it on there without having read it?" The answer was always NO! There were a few of the books that I didn't finish, but I read enough of them to know that they weren't strong enough for the list.

That's my game plan heading in to this year's YHBA Season. I'm excited to greet my committee members, new and familiar, and to get started reading some fabulous books!