It’s Completed!

After months of searching, evaluating, picking other librarians’ and educators’ brains, painful eliminating, and setting some aside “for future consideration,” they are complete–or as complete as they ever will be.  My annual book orders are now in the hands of the book vendor.  It only remains to be seen how this intense experience will bear fruit.

(An aside: I discovered what an efficient book vendor it is–within two weeks of sending off my first list, I arrived at work to discover several boxes with my name on them.  The timing could not have been more perfect, as their arrival coincided with the last day of school before vacation.  The second order, mailed on the final day before the break, might be waiting when I return.)

There are some gems that I am particularly excited about reading.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu: a contemporary fantasy that should have kids enthralled.

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister by Linda Ravin Lodding: a little girl whose life is overfull of activities would like some time to be a kid–and play.  Another winner from Flashlight Press.

Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein: family members of the beloved poet, who passed away in 1999, put together this collection of his poems and drawings.

Fire from the Rock by Sharon M. Draper: this novel powerfully describes the experiences and feelings of one of the first Black students to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957.

The Ogre of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson: another delightfully unconventional fairy tale by a master, all the more wonderful since it’s one of Eva Ibbotson’s last.

Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos: the story of our fascination with sugar, and how human craving for the sweet stuff has changed lives and societies from early history to the present day.

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley: a lively biography of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two men who were very different, but who had some very important things in common: their concern for the American colonies and their belief that they should be independent from England.

A joyous and meaningful Passover to all!

Everything’s Coming Up Poetry!

 Happy National Poetry Month!

Here a rhyming gem that is guaranteed to please poetry lovers, and are sure to win over a few new devotees as well.

 

The cover of this beyond wacky book tells you what you’ll find inside.  Every poem describes an event in the life of the main character–including the time  “Runny Babbit knearned to lit,/ And made a swat and heater” with hilarious results, and–

“RUNNY’S HEADING RABITS

Runny lent to the wibary
And there were bundreds of hooks–
Bistory hooks, beography gooks,
And lots of bory stooks.
He looked them over one by one
And guess which one he took–
A bience scook? A boetry pook?
Oh, no–a bomic cook!”

Kids from ages 5 to 105 will find their tunnybones fickled by ingenious poetic zanyness as only Shel Silverstein could create it.

If you like your poems humorous, you will love anything by former Poetry Foundation Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky.  A few of his books are A Pizza the Size of the Sun, My Dog May Be a Genius, and Something Big Has Been Here.

Have an incREADable weekend!

Read Green! Check Out a Library Book.

National Library Week is a happy memory, but April has many more notable observances.   Take a look at the books about each!

Earth Month

Before white people came, the Nashua River in Massachusetts was a beautiful, clean waterway enjoyed by Native Americans and wildlife alike.  When cloth mills were built along its length, the river became more and more polluted, until fish, birds, and other animals completely disappeared.  This changed when a group of caring people, both white and Native American,  worked to restore the river to its former beauty.  This book tells the amazing story.

Borden’s father is a logger who lost his job because of the activities of spotted owl conservationists.  As he sets out one day to seek revenge on the birds, Borden finds an abandoned owlet, which he thinks is a barred owl, and takes it home.  Only after Borden and his family become attached to the baby do they discover it is actually a spotted owl.

The popular wildlife biologist (who failed biology in high school) tells the story of how he became interested in animals as a young child, and recounts his adventures around the world.  The fast-paced read will keep readers entertained while they absorb the conservation message.  The stunning photographs are an added highlight.

Each of the 41 poems in this collection is about an important event in American history.

These delightful animals poems are accompanied by the author’s ingenious illustrations.

School Library Month

What happens when a bookmobile ends up at the zoo?  Find out in this hilarious romp.  (Poetry lovers will also delight in this one!)

When kids start reading a popular new horror fiction series, strange things happen to them.  Fanny and her friend Beamer are convinced that the author is responsible, and set out to find her.  (Also check out the sequel, The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy.)

If you have any overdue library books, you are in good company!  Check out this article about our first President:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/04/17/2010-04-17_read_it__weep_by_george_prez_racks_up_300g_late_fee_for_two_books.html