PaperCuts: Kid Picks Archives

Latkes? That scream?

Seeing as this is the first Christmas with my son, I've been dusting off my old storybooks and trying to remember the lyrics to my favorite carols. Our fellow library bloggers in Cincinnati had a cute entry awhile ago featuring new titles for all ages. Of course, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: a Christmas Story stuck out like a sore thumb and I had to get my hands on it.

A latke is born into this world screaming, like everything born tends to do. He jumps out of a frying pan and runs through the streets screaming his potato-head off as he tries to explain that Hanukah and Christmas are not the same thing. Simple and hilarious, this little book should make its way into your home this holiday season.

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Meghan at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Grown-ups can read William Allen White nominated books too!

Even though I am long past the targeted age group that reads William Allen White Children’s Book Awards nominated books, I do like to read good juvenile fiction. If you are like me, or if you have a preteen or teen that is looking for a good read, you might want to check-out The Sacrifice, by Kathleen Benner Duble. The Sacrifice is the story of Abigail Faulkner. It is 1692 and the hysteria created by the witchcraft accusations is spreading beyond Salem. Abigail, who is ten, lives with her family in Andover, Massachusetts. Two of the girls involved in the trials in Salem are brought to Andover to root out witches, creating fear and suspicion between friends and neighbors. Abigail and her family are caught in the tragedy that results from the accusations.

This novel is written for 12 to 14 year old readers. However, there is much to recommend this book to older teens and adults. This story explores how the accusations of witchcraft devastated not only the accused and their families, but their community as well. It also explores how human beings often forget what they know to be true when they are afraid.

The Sacrifice is well written and grabbed my interest from the very start. Abigail is a likeable and engaging character. My only criticism, and it is a minor one, is that Abigail seemed older than her years. I’m sure that children in 1692 had to grow up much faster than they do now, but to me she seemed too wise, too mature, for her age. Other than that one small complaint, I would recommend The Sacrifice to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
Reviewer, Susan Schafer

The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble is a William Allen White nominee for the 2007-2008 school year for 6-8 grade students. Kansas students vote for their favorite nominated book through their schools. Winners of the William Allen White Awards are announced in April.

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Lissa at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Read with your kids: The City of Ember

The City of Ember (Photo courtesy http://www.jeanneduprau.com)

What if your whole existence was surrounded by miles of impenetrable darkness with no sun or portable light? What if your own source of light and energy came from a generator so old that no one alive knows how to fix it? And what if that generator stops working, causing the entire city to go into permanent darkness? Lina and Doon are desperate to save the city of Ember from this inevitable fate. Will a mysterious document locked away in a secret treasure chest hold the answers to escaping The City of Ember?

This fantastic story (in the same realm as Lois Lowry’s The Giver) explores the possibility of the end of civilization and the rebirth waiting on the other side. With a cliffhanger ending, make sure to grab the sequel, The People of Sparks, to find out what happens when the lights go out! This story is a 2006 William Allen White Award winner. Read it with your kids today!

Posted on February 18, 2007 by Meghan at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Harry Potter #7 Title Announced!

It’s here, it’s here! J.K Rowling has announced the 7^th and final title of her Harry Potter series on her official website. Searching any number of HP sites will reveal the name to you, but if you want to figure it out for yourself, click on the eraser on J.K.’s desk. It will lead you to the “room of requirement” where you can solve a series of puzzles and play a game of hangman to reveal the title. Can’t wait? Click below!

Continue reading "Harry Potter #7 Title Announced!" »

Posted on December 21, 2006 by Meghan at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

2006 Guide Book to Gift Books (for children)

Colin takes a break from reading to play with his block The season of giving (and shopping!) is upon us. Librarians know that many of you will be purchasing books for the special young people in your lives. As a resource for recommendations, I usually rely on the Youth Services staff at TSCPL, but this year I also found a terrific publication from my alma mater. The expert staff at the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books can help you navigate the bookstore wilderness of shiny new children's books.

The 2006 Guide Book to Gift Books features brief annotations for over 300 of the best books for giving (and receiving), entries (divided by age group) including author, title, publisher, and the current list price and a convenient downloadable PDF format that allows you to print out and use the guide right away.

With help from the guide, I decided on Tickle the Duck, The Cow Who Clucked and Wiggle for my favorite young people this year.

You can also buy adorable reading-themed clothing for children (like the one my nephew is wearing in this photo) at the American Library Association online store.

Posted on November 26, 2006 by Lissa at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Behind the scenes of Harry Potter 5!

Originally uploaded to hpana.com. Thanks to Karen for finding this amazing clip from HBO!

Posted on November 21, 2006 by Meghan at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie trailer!

In case you didn't make it out to see Happy Feet this weekend, here's the trailer for the the next Harry Potter movie! Enjoy--and discuss!

Posted on November 20, 2006 by Meghan at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The End is near!

That is, the end of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is near. The final book, the thirteenth in the series, appropriately entitled The End, will be published next Friday. Friday, the 13^th! Will we find out what happened to the Baudelaires’ parents? Have the Quagmire triplets finally been reunited? What do the initials VFD stand for? Is Mr. Poe a volunteer or a villain? Did Justice Strauss survive the fire at the Hotel Denouement (Which happens to have rooms organized by the Dewey decimal system. Yea libraries!)?

If you can’t wait for some more clues to the mystery, you might want to look into purchasing The Beatrice Letters or checking out the Snicket website where you can watch the Vile Videos.

Also being published on the same day as The End, is a compilation of all the theme songs by The Gothic Archies that have been featured on the audio versions of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The cd is entitled The Tragic Treasury: Music for “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. The Gothic Archies is a side project of the band The Magnetic Fields. Check out some of their music today!

And if you want more info on The End, continue reading about Mr. Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) here in a story by CNN.

Posted on October 05, 2006 by at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More monsters that go bump in the night.

From NPR.org:

Mommy? is the newest children's book from artist Maurice Sendak, who is famous for putting child characters in jeopardy in stories like Where the Wild Things Are. And Mommy? is no exception: A small child wanders among scary monsters like Frankenstein and the Mummy, looking for his mother.

But the mood turns lighthearted when the youngster realizes that he can outwit the monsters. The book is Sendak's first pop-up (although that format presents its own dangers -- "Don't get your fingers caught," Sendak warns). He collaborated on the book with author Arthur Yorinks and paper engineer Matthew Reinhart.

Continue reading this article here (the audio of Morning Edition is also available).

Posted on September 27, 2006 by Meghan at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is Roald Dahl's Birthday!

On September 13, 1916, the beloved children’s author Roald Dahl was born in southern Wales. Even though his stories were fantastical, Dahl was one of the first modern authors in the children’s field to portray the lives of children realistically. Along with Louise Fitzhugh, author of Harriet the Spy, Dahl’s child protagonists are smart, well-behaved children who deal with families and adults that are verbally abusive and neglectful. It’s no wonder that fantastic things happen to the children in Dahl’s world; he creates an escape for the horrible lives that these children lead. Dahl’s inspiration for these stories come from his own tragic childhood and varied life. He lost his father and sister at an early age and attended an abusive boarding school before traveling the world and joining the Royal Air Force in WWII as a fighter pilot. After being shot down and recovering, he spent some time in Washington D.C. as an attache before becoming a writer. Read more about Dahl's life here.

I always enjoyed reading these books as a child as they made me feel empowered. They helped me to see that I am capable, smart, and invaluable.Since "growing up", I've reread these titles and find I feel the same way about them and they give me the same empowered feeling. My only wish is that I could rememdy situations in my life by befriening a BFG, have the genius of Matilda, save people from Witches, and escape from monotony by voyaging in a giant peach with some friends (Although, I wouldn't have giant insects as friends. That scares me a bit). Relive the magic of Dahl's world or experience it for the first time. Check out some of his books today!

Posted on September 13, 2006 by at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Homework help for your kids!

Homework Kansas, a new online tutoring resource offered by the State Library of Kansas and Kansas Public Libraries, was launched at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Kokari Computer Training Center with a special appearance by Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Leah Anderson’s fourth grade class from Lowman Hills Elementary helped demonstrate the program for the press, the Governor, 53^rd District Representative Ann Mah, State Library Director Christie Brandau, TSCPL Director Gina Millsap, and Tutor.com CEO George Cigale.

“One of the best kept secrets about public libraries is that we partner with schools and parents to improve literacy and student achievement.” says Gina Millsap. “Now with the addition of Homework Kansas to the Overson-Campbell homework center, the library is positioned to help children succeed in school.”

Continue reading "Homework help for your kids!" »

Posted on September 06, 2006 by Meghan at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let Your Voice Be Heard! Vote for the Quill Awards

What was your favorite book published in the last year? Would you rather see Al Franken, Calvin Trillan, Bobby Henderson, Tyler Perry, or Bill Watterson accept the award for best humor book? Now YOU have a chance to let your voice be heard, at the Quill Book Awards webpage. Consumer voting is now open for the awards, which feature a list of finalists in 20 categories chosen by librarians and booksellers. The Quill Awards were started last year as a kind of "people's choice" book award, complete with a televised gala award ceremony which will be aired on NBC on October 28 (check your local listings for times).
According to the website "The Quills celebrates the best adult and children's books of the year in 20 popular categories, including Book of the Year, plus an committee-selected award for best Book to Film." So no matter what your reading taste, from romance to business, there will be a chance for YOU to choose your favorite. Be sure to vote during the consumer voting happening right now until September 30th at www.quillsvote.com. Then tune in to NBC on October 28th to see if your favorite author is a winner!

Posted on August 26, 2006 by Deb at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New children's title from Mary Higgins Clark

From The Book Standard:

Bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark will take her suspense-filled books to kids when her first children’s book, Ghost Ship: A Cape Cod Story, is published in April 2007. Simon & Schuster, Higgins Clark’s publisher, will release the book under its Paula Wiseman Books imprint.

The book is about two little boys, one on vacation at Cape Cod and the other there taking a break to tell the tales from his sea-faring adventures from hundreds of years ago. Illustrator Wendell Minor will also work on the book.
Continue reading this article here.

Posted on August 17, 2006 by Meghan at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, to be a child again

James Earl Jones loved The Cat in the Hat, Stephen King also liked Dr. Seuss as well as Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and Paul Newman enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Almost everyone has a favorite childhood book (for a list of more celebrity favorites click here).

Mine, or at least one of mine, would have to be The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. This book is memorable to me because it is the first book I can recall staying up all night long to read! I was still in school at the time, and I remember the dread and excitement that came over me when I realized that I had stayed up all night. I may have been really tired in school the next day, but I just couldn't put the book down until I had followed every last one of the adventures of Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad. By the way, I did try reading William Horwood's The Willows in Winter, which he wrote as a sequel to Grahame's classic novel, but I don't remember enjoying it half as well as I did the original.
So what was your favorite book as a child? Click on the comments link below this post to let us know.

Posted on August 12, 2006 by Deb at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in theaters Thanksgiving '08!

The 5^th movie isn’t even out yet, but HP fans now have another date to add to their calendar!

From Reuters.co.uk:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth instalment of the lucrative franchise, will come out in cinemas on November 21, 2008.

Now, Warner Bros. just needs to hire a director and confirm the cast. The fifth instalment, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," bows in July.

The "Prince" date will mark a return to the Thanksgiving period for the sorcerer series. Of the four "Potter" films to date, only the third instalment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," has been released during the summer.

Paramount Pictures also has just planted a flag in November 2008, declaring November 7 for DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar" sequel. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith and David Schwimmer are set to reprise their roles as the main characters of the animated franchise.
Continue reading this article here.

Posted on August 09, 2006 by Meghan at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't kill Harry!

From CNN.com:

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Two of America's top authors, John Irving and Stephen King, made a plea to J.K. Rowling on Tuesday not to kill the fictional boy wizard Harry Potter in the final book of the series, but Rowling made no promises.

"My fingers are crossed for Harry," Irving said at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

The author of "The World According to Garp" and a string of other bestsellers said he and King felt like "warm-up bands" for Rowling, who is working on the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series, and who has said two characters will die.
Continue reading this article here.

Posted on August 01, 2006 by Meghan at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harry Potter works magic in schools.

From the Scholastic website (publisher of the American version of the Harry Potter series):

New data from The Kids and Family Reading Report™, released today by Yankelovich, a leader in consumer trends tracking and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, quantifies for the first time the impact that the Harry Potter series has had on kids’ reading attitudes and behaviors. According to the study, both kids and their parents credit the popular books with getting more kids to read for fun and with helping kids do better in school. Just over half (51%) of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 years old say they did not read books for fun before they started reading Harry Potter, but now they do, and 65% say they have been doing better in school since they started reading the series. Parents see an even greater impact. The vast majority of parents (89%) say that reading Harry Potter has helped their child enjoy reading more, and 76% say that reading Harry Potter has helped their child do better in school.

Continue reading this article here.

Thanks to staffer Julie for sending us the article!

Posted on July 27, 2006 by Meghan at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Is this the end for Harry?

Fans all over the world are stunned—would J.K. Rowling really kill Harry Potter? Apparently every character is up for grabs in her last installation of the Harry Potter series. During a recent interview on the British “Richard & Judy” show, Rowling let it slip that she was planning on killing two of her main characters. Could Harry be one of them? As of now the book isn’t finished (nor is there a tentative release date) but J.K. says she has had the final chapter done for several years and has it locked away for safe-keeping.

Check out her interview on MSN and stay tuned to The Leaky Cauldron and J.K.’s official site for more details.

Posted on June 27, 2006 by Meghan at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Going on a Trip? Don't Forget the Audiobooks!

We often have people ask for help in choosing the right audiobook for their vacation drives. Many people like to have a book that is just the right length for their drive, but searching for audiobooks by playing time just hasn't been possible. That's why I was excited to see an article in AudioFile Magazine about a new tool for vacation planners--Random House Audio's Audio Wizard. It not only allows you to put in the number of miles that you will be driving, you can also enter details like whether you will be travelling with children and what kinds of genres you are interested in. The Audio Wizard will then give you a suggestion and the option of listening to a clip from the book. If you don't like the book suggested, you can ask for another suggestion. Try it out, it's lots of fun!

Posted on June 24, 2006 by Deb at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Audie Award Winners Announced

Every year the members of the Audiobook Publishers Association get together for a gala award ceremony to honor the best audiobook productions of the previous year. This year the ceremony was hosted by popular narrator Grover Gardner and "Audie Awards" were given to audiobooks from over 25 categories, including a "Hall of Fame" winner and "Best Audiobook of the Year". A partial list of the winners follows, a complete list can be found on the Audiobook Publishers Association website. Listeners can also go to http://www.theaudies.com/ and download a sampler of the winners and nominees, which includes sound clips and reviews.

Hall of Fame Award (for "an audiobook series that continually promotes the industry and showcases excellence in audio publishing")
The Harry Potter Audiobook Series written by J.K. Rowling, performed by Jim Dale, published by Listening Library.

Audiobook of the Year
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Tertiary Phase by Douglas Adams, performed by BBC Radio, published by BBC Audiobooks America and The Audio Partners Publishing

Spanish (Judges Award)
El Codigo Da Vinci by Dan Brown, narrated by Raul Amundaray

Fiction, Unabridged
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin, narrated by Simon Jones

Mystery
Serpent on the Crown by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

Romance
Origin in Death by J.D. Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

Classics
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, narrated by Jim Dale

Nonfiction, Unabridged
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, narrated by Oliver Wyman

Personal Developement, Motivational
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, narrated by Gary Chapman

Children's Title, ages 8 & up
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson, narrated by Patricia Connolly

Inspirational/Spiritual
Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey, narrated by Mel Foster

Inspirational/Faith Based Fiction
Grace Will Lead Me Home by Katherine Valentine, narrated by John McDonough

Humor
The Truth (With Jokes) by Al Franken, narrated by Al Franken

Short Stories/Collections
Runaway (Stories) by Alice Munro, narrated by Kimberly Dakin

Solo Narration--Female
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, narrated by Davina Porter

Audio Drama
The Sherlock Holmes Theatre by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, William Gillette, and Yuri Rasovsky, narrated by a full cast

Audiobook Adapted From Another Medium
Hidden Kitchens by Nikki Silva, narrated by Frances McDormand, Davia Nelson, and Nikki Silva

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Deb at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watch out! This summer will attack!

From CNN.com

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lemony Snicket has a suggestion for your summer plans.

"Mr. Snicket believes that summertime is such a dangerous season, what with sunburn and melted ice cream and the possibility of summer camp, that it's best to stay indoors and read," said Snicket's "representative," Daniel Handler, who still denies the overwhelming evidence that he is in fact the author of the million-selling Snicket books, "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

…"Students who read any eight books of their own choosing, list them, and record their favorite part of the book in their 'A Summer of Unfortunate Events' journal, can receive a Barnes & Noble coupon for a free book from a list of best-selling paperback titles," the superstore chain said.
Continue reading this article here.

Reread the most miserable series ever written and check out the movie based on the first three horrible books (but I wouldn’t recommend it).

Posted on May 23, 2006 by Meghan at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Free Comic Book Day is coming!

This Saturday, May 6^th, is the 5^th Annual Free Comic Book Day! All across the nation independent comic book stores will be handing out select comic books to anyone for free!

Free Comic Book Day celebrates the stories, artwork, history, and longevity of the artful medium that are comic books. Comic books have ever been popular, but the surge in popularity has grown over the last decade with films such as the X-Men and Spider Man movies, as well as many others, boosting the comic book industry by increasing its fan base.

Check out local participating retailers of Free Comic Book Day in your area here.

Don’t forget, you can always get comic books, graphic novels, and films based on these two mediums for free at the library every day!

Posted on May 03, 2006 by at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Do you have your Ticket to Read?

Starting on Monday, May 1^st 2006, Ticket to Read (the Adult Summer Reading program) officially starts! We will be running the program all the way through August 31^st. Here’s how to participate:

-         Tickets (or reading logs) require the patron to read or listen to FIVE books/audiobooks. Tickets should be completed with titles, authors and the patron’s contact info.
-         Patrons may fill out as many tickets as they like. The more tickets they fill out and return, the better the chance of winning a prize in our weekly drawings or having a chance at one of three grand prizes to be awarded at the end of the summer.
-         Patrons may turn in tickets to the following locations: Periodicals Reference, New Books desk, Red Carpet desk or any Bookmobile.
-         Tickets will be collected at 4pm every Friday for the weekly drawings. Drawings will start on May 19^th.
-         We will have several programs featured in conjunction with Ticket to Read. Check the web calendar and stay tuned to PaperCuts for more details!

Why bother filling out tickets? Did we not mention FABULOUS PRIZES? Yes! We will be giving away MP3 players in our grand prize drawing, perfect for downloading e-audio titles from Netlibrary and music from OverDrive. Get your ticket today!

Posted on May 01, 2006 by Meghan at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

William Allen White award winners announced!

From the Emporia.edu website:

“Donuthead” by Sue Stauffacher is voted winner of the third-fifth grade and “The City of Ember” by Jeanne DuPrau winner of the sixth-eighth grade.

Sue Stauffacher a professional journalist from Grand Rapids, Michigan has been writing children’s book reviews for ten years. Jeanne DuPrau lives in Menlo Park, California where she keeps a big garden and a small dog. DuPrau has been a teacher, an editor, and a technical writer, The City of Ember is her first novel for young adults. For more information about these authors visit their websites: Sue Stauffacher and Jeanne DuPrau.

Don’t forget to order your tickets. This year’s ceremony is October 7, 2006.

Posted on April 26, 2006 by Meghan at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The next Harry Potter movie release date has been announced!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

For those of you who can’t wait for the next Harry Potter book, Warner Brother’s announced last week that the next film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, will be released on July 13, 2007. Is it possible that Jo will release book 7 the same year this movie comes out? One can only hope, but I’ll be happy with a movie if that’s all I get next year.

For news updates and all things Potter related, check out some of the websites below.

Continue reading "The next Harry Potter movie release date has been announced!" »

Posted on April 13, 2006 by at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Rabbit Goes to Kansas: Meet the Author and Illustrator

Join us for some storytelling as children’s author Deborah Duvall’s reads one of her famous Cherokee children’s stories about mischievous Rabbit and his forest friends. A book signing will follow.

When: Saturday, April 08, 2006, 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Where: Lingo Story Room
Cost: FREE!

A repeat performance will be given the next day:
When: Sunday, April 9, from 1-3:30
Where: Sabatini Gallery

Deborah Duvall and illustrator Murv Jacob will also be giving an Artists' talk about how they created the Grandmother series and breathed new life into the traditional Cherokee “Rabbit” character. A book signing will follow.

When: Saturday, April 08, 2006, 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Where: Lingo Story Room
Cost: FREE!

For more information call the Gallery at (785) 580-4515.

Posted on April 06, 2006 by Deb at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Author and Illustrator of Cherokee Legends speaking at TSCPL Friday

Illustrator Murv Jacob and children’s author Deborah Duvall will talk about their experiences creating children’s books. Their “Grandmother Series” of books for children is the result of collaborating together. Their work is featured in the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery’s 5th Annual Annual Art Exhibit for Children: Rabbit Goes to Kansas. A book signing will follow in the Sabatini Gallery.

When: Friday, April 07, 2006, 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Where: Marvin Auditorium 101C
Cost: FREE!

For more information call the Gallery at (785) 580-4515.

Posted on April 05, 2006 by Deb at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) in KC!

On Friday evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Handler, otherwise known as Lemony Snicket. Handler, along with the authors Kate DiCamillo, Molly Bang, Lisa Brown (Handler's wife), Naomi Shihab Nye, and Chris Raschka were on hand at the Reading Reptile for booksignings in coordination with The Reading Reptile's 10th Annual DNA Literature Festival.

Besides the book signing, the DNA Literature Festival featured live Jazz Renditions with the author Chris Raschka (this year's Caldecott winner) and a day of conferences on Saturday, April 1st. The conference was held at the Community Christian Church and featured the authors talking about the creative process that they go through in order to write books. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the conference due to the very fun The Boddy at the Library: a foolish, clue-ish, caper program that we hosted here at the library on April 1st, 2006 (check out how much fun we had here!). Even though I was unable to attend, I was completely overjoyed and star-struck when I met Mr. Handler as he signed my books. He politely agreed to let me take a photo of him, saying about the photo that "This is what my head would look like if I didn't have a body." After meeting Brett Helquist last year (the illustrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events) at our annual children's art show and Daniel Handler this past Friday, I just might be able to die happy.

Check out Lemony Snicket's books here and Daniel Handler's books here. Be sure to watch for Snicket's last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events coming out on what couldn't be a better day for it: Friday, October 13th, 2006.

Posted on April 04, 2006 by at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Who Reads What? The Famous Club shares their current reading for National Library Week

Each year, Maine librarian Glenna Nowell's queries celebrities across the US for her annual "Who Reads What?" list. National Library Week is April 2-8, 2006. Nowell started writing to celebrities in 1988 and has since heard from presidents, actors, athletes and a couple of United Nations secretaries general.

Read more about this year's list here. What are celebrities reading in 2006? Who else has participated in the "Who Reads What?" survey?

Thanks to staffer Lissa for this entry!

Continue reading "Who Reads What? The Famous Club shares their current reading for National Library Week" »

Posted on April 02, 2006 by at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Librarians on the Loose: PLA @ Boston, Day 4

On Thursday I got to eat lunch with one of my personal heroes, Jon Scieszka (rhymes with “Fresca”). Author of the hysterical Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and the brilliant Math Curse and Science Verse, Jon entertained over 1,000 librarians with stories of his childhood, why nuns were very influential on his writing career and how he came to start the Guys Read movement. When in doubt, ask yourself, “What would Sister Margaret Anne not approve of? Put that on the table!”

The topic of his talk was, “Humor: Why We Need More of It!” He began his talk (which quickly turned into a personal therapy session) with a question a second grade girl asked him during one of his book tours—“What happened to you?” When he was growing up, Jon attended Catholic school. He was the quiet kid in the back of the room (no, really!) making the other kids giggle (which was perfect for him, seeing as they got in trouble for laughing but he was respected for being “that funny guy”). Because Catholic school wasn’t strict enough for him, he eventually moved on to a military academy for some “real discipline.” Later he became an elementary school teacher and was the deviant of the faculty encouraging his students to read whatever they wanted to for book reports—not just the “good stuff.”

Greatly influenced by Dr. Seuss, Jon also loved The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mad Magazine, Go, Dog, Go, The Stupids Die and all the Calvin and Hobbes comics.

Check out his Guys Read project and all of his hilarious titles (perfect for a silly Sunday afternoon of quips, puns and parody).

Posted on March 26, 2006 by Meghan at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Newest Additions of Note

The following items have just been ordered and entered into the TSCPL catalog:

Fiction

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark, Publication Date 4/4/2006

Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag, Publication Date 3/21/2006

Gone by Lisa Gardiner, Publication Date 2/28/2006

Nonfiction

Game of Shadows by Mark Fainuru-Wada, Publication Date 3/23/2006

My Lives by Edmund White, Publication Date 4/11/2006

My Life in France by Julia Child, Publication Date 4/4/2006

Children’s

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Publication Date 4/2006

Half-Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer, Publication Date 4/2006

The Powers of Deduction by Michael Buckley, Publication Date 4/2006

DVD’s

Capote, Publication Date 3/21/2006

Brokeback Mountain, Publication Date 4/4/2006

Dreamer, Publication Date 3/21/2006

The Squid And The Whale, Publication Date 3/21/2006

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Deb at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seaman keeps book on evolution

Local news from CJonline.com:

Seaman Unified School District 345 school board members for the second time in two months refused on Monday to remove a book from an elementary school library.

And board members declined to require teachers to notify parents when a book used in their classrooms has been challenged.

"Some things are best left to the judgement [sic] of the teachers," said board member Ann Minihan.

This month, the challenged material was an illustrated children's book about the scientific theory of evolution: "Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story."

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