Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Cybils early chapters 2013: Statistics


Every year I've done something a little different for a Cybils statistics post. My first year, 2009 (Easy Readers/Early Chapters), I posted a list of all my reviews and what I was doing with the review copies. In 2010, (Fiction Picture Books) I reviewed every single title and had only energy enough for a quick commentary on the shortlists of various categories by the end. In 2011 (Nonfiction Picture Books), I posted a more complex shortlist commentary, but I also broke down all the nonfiction nominations by subject, type of illustration, etc. In 2012 I was on the Graphic panel and also took over Nonfiction Picture Books as category chair. I posted a list of all the Cybils titles I purchased for my library as well as a break-down of the graphic nominations by genre. I also posted a reflection on collaboration and the benefits of Cybils (in addition to reading lots of great books!).

This year I have a running list of every Cybils nomination I've reviewed, but I also returned to my first love, Easy Readers/Early Chapters and continued as chair of the newly reorganized Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction categories. SO MUCH DATA. I've mostly looked at titles libraries would have on their shelves, so the data doesn't include several self-published or very small press items. My library is in a consortium of 42 libraries, with access to a huge range of libraries across the state, in case you're wondering if I had a truly representative sample.

Early Chapters: 44 nominations
  • 30 titles (estimate) were entries in a series. 2 titles from the same series were nominated from 3 series.
Early Chapters: The protagonists
  • Girls
    • Amelia Bedelia means business
    • Clementine and the spring trip
    • Nancy Clancy secret admirer
    • Heidi Heckelbeck goes to camp
    • Ivy and Bean take the case
    • Kelsey Green, reading queen
    • Like bug juice on a burger
    • Lulu and the cat in the bag
    • Lulu and the dog from the sea
    • My happy life
    • Princess Posey and the new first grader
    • Starring Jules as herself
    • Starring Jules in drama-rama
    • Stella Batts who's in charge
    • Big hairy secret
    • Gum girl: chews your destiny
    • Two and only Kelly twins
    • Violet Mackerel's natural habitat
    • Violet Mackerel's remarkable recovery
  • Boys
    • Calvin Coconut extra famous
    • Danny's doodles
    • Ellray Jakes and the beanstalk
    • Gone fishing
    • Home sweet horror
    • Iggy Loomis
    • Super Schnoz
    • Life of Ty penguin problems
    • Notebook of Doom: rise of the balloon goons
    • Dragonbreath: the case of the toxic mutants
  • Group of indistinguishable friends OR gender not clearly defined OR both genders get equal time
    • No-Sneeze Pet
    • Campfire crisis
    • Jo Schmo shifty business
    • Milo and Jazz, case of the locked box
    • Sidney and Sydney: Third Grade Mix-Up
  • Other: Adults, anthropomorphic adult animals, inanimate objects, etc.
    • Mysterious traveler
    • Barefoot book of Jewish tales
    • Three-Ring Circus 
    • Claude in the city
    • Arnie the Doughnut
Early Chapters: Other data
  • Children with divorced parents
    • Calvin Coconut
    • Violet Mackerel
    • Calvin Waffle (secondary character in Danny's Doodles)
  • Children with deceased parents
    • My happy life
    • Big hairy secret
    • Third grade mix-up
    • Home sweet horror
  • Children of color (has to be main protagonist, not a friend thrown in for the purposes of diversity)
    • Calvin Coconut
    • Ellray Jakes
    • Lulu (2 titles)
    • Mysterious Traveler
    • Milo and Jazz
    • Gum Girl
  • Children in poverty or lower middle class (or at least not in suburban middle class or wealthier; this is hard to define)
    • Clementine
    • Big hairy secret
Genres (other than contemporary, realistic fiction (home/school/friends)
  • Fantasy (4 of these are faux superheroes)
    • Dragonbreath
    • Big hairy secret
    • Iggy Loomis
    • Shifty business
    • Super Schnoz
    • Gum girl
  • Horror
    • Home sweet horror
    • Notebook of doom
  • Other
    • Arnie the doughnut
    • Claude in the city
    • Mysterious traveler
    • Barefoot book of Jewish tales
    • Three-ring rascals
Easy Readers: 39 nominations
  • Picture Book Tie-Ins:
    • Fancy Nancy Apples Galore
    • Splat the cat blow snow blow
    • Very Fairy Princess teacher's pet
    • Tony Baloney school rules
  • Seuss-Style Silliness
    • Pet named Sneaker
    • Squirrels on skis
  • 2 Friends (adult - Frog and Toad style)
    • Ant and Honey Bee
    • Bink and Gollie best friends forever
    • Dodsworth in Tokyo
    • Inch and Roly and the very small hiding place
    • Joe and Sparky go to school
    • Monkey and elephant get better
    • Mr. Putter and Tabby drop the ball
    • Pinch and Dash and the terrible couch
  • 2 Friends (children)
    • Elephant and Piggie (2 titles)
    • Fly Guy and the Frankenfly
    • Ling and Ting share a birthday
    • Monkey and robot
    • Spooky friends
    • You can do it
  • Graphic Novels
    • Elephant and Piggie (2 titles)
    • Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas
    • Otto's backwards day
    • Patrick eats his peas
    • Robot go bot
    • Big wet balloon
  • Other
    • Car goes far
    • Dig Scoop Ka-Boom
    • Love is in the air
    • Me too!
    • Missy's super duper royal deluxe class pets
    • Murilla Gorilla jungle detective
    • Penny and her marble
    • Poppy the pirate dog
    • Buddy to the rescue
    • Squirrel's fun day
    • Meanest birthday girl
    • Twinky the dinky dog
    • Urgency Emergency big bad wolf

Monday, December 30, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree by Jane Kohuth, illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles

I'm generally skeptical about biographies for very young children - I don't think they have the context to really be interested in historical figures, which is why, in my opinion, picture book biographies really only work in schools, where teachers can introduce them in the context of classroom units. However, this easy reader biography of Anne Frank really, really works and I was surprised and pleased to see how good it was.

The story talks briefly about how Anne was an ordinary little girl, who liked to play with her friends, write, and collect pictures of movie stars. It explains the Nazi invasion in simple terms and shows their persecution of Jews without being too graphic or frightening. Most of the story focuses on Anne's life in hiding and how, despite the difficulty and sadness of her life, she still maintained hope, as symbolized by the chestnut tree. The story ends by explaining that although Anne did not survive the war, she lives on in her words and in the hope and kindness she believed in.

This is a level 3 Step Into Reading title, intended for 1st through 3rd grade. The language still has the brief, declarative sentences of an easy reader, but more complex vocabulary (collected, thoughts, opinions, memories, complained, etc.) is included as well as the more complex context of the story itself. The art is soft and pastel, conveying the fear and sadness of the story without making it nightmarish. The dark, earth-colored art doesn't do as well in the final illustrations, showing Anne's legacy and the hope she left behind though.

Verdict: I would definitely recommend this for a public library. It's a great introduction to Anne Frank for young children, as well as being a good story for them to read, even without complete context. Parents (and teachers) will want to be prepared to offer more explanations of the historical events, including Anne's death, since kids will probably be curious to find out more about her life.

ISBN: 9780449812556; Published 2013 by Random House; Review copy provided by the publisher; Added to the library

Saturday, December 28, 2013

This week at the library; or, Interrupted by the holidays part 1

Random Commentary
  • This was a short week. My aide is not here and my second aide doesn't start until January, so I did a fair amount of shelving (although not as much as our awesome circulation staff, who rallied valiantly to the cause). Mostly it was a bits and pieces kind of week - we're closed the 24th and 25th. I spent a lot of time working on end of year reports and statistics, fiddling with minor things, cleaning off my desk, and rummaging through Pinterest to see if I could actually USE some of those ideas I've been collecting. If you're the kind of person who likes data, you can look forward to three very lengthy posts on budgets, programming, and circulation data coming up in January!
  • Weeded the Ws in the picture books and the Christmas books. Phew!
  • And, of course, zombie books. We delete them, a few months later THEY RISE FROM THE DEAD! Some of the holiday books seem especially prone to this.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Deep in the Sahara by Kelly Cunnane, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi

Books about kids in other countries, especially picture books, are hard sells at my library. My picture book audience is all young children and many of these books are aimed at a grade school level. Since I'm looking for picture books that make good storytime read-alouds for younger children, it's hard to find something that genuinely portrays the children in a foreign culture but doesn't make it so foreign that the kids in my small town can't relate to it. I think this book manages to hit all my exacting requirements.

Lalla wants, more than anything else, a beautiful malafa. She wants one for beauty like her mother, for mystery like her sister, to be a lady like her cousin, to be like a long-ago queen like her grandmother. Finally, in the quiet of the evening, Lalla wants a malafa so she can pray like her mother. In her beautiful new malafa, Lalla knows that a malafa is all the things she thought it was and more; it's for faith.

A note from the author explains how she came to change her views on women's veils after spending a year in Mauritania. There is also a glossary for pronunciation.

Although American culture has very few rites of passage for children anymore (think about how many small girls don't need to borrow their mother's high heels anymore - they have their own) I think small children will definitely get the idea of wanting to play dress-up or borrow the pretty things their mother or older sisters wear. The unfamiliar words are clearly defined in the context of the text. There are brief references to the Koran and Muslim faith, which may bother parents who are uncomfortable with introducing their young children to a different religion (The closest Mosque to our town is at least 30 minutes away and we have maybe 3 Muslim families, so this is something kids are unlikely to be familiar with) but the religious references are very general and I think parents can easy cover it all under faith and prayer if they're not ready for a discussion of comparative religious beliefs.

The art is what really sells this for me. The malafas glow with color and pattern and swirl enchantingly around the warm and comforting extended family. In some ways this isn't just about wanting to grow up, religious beliefs or cultures; it's about the strength and relationships of the women in Lalla's family. The settings include lots of tiny details to intrigue children from bats in the trees to the houses like "tall cake".

Verdict: This is a lovely way to gently introduce young children to a different culture as well as a celebration of growing up. The art and story is accessible and this is a good selection even for a small, homogeneous community like my own.

ISBN: 9780375870347; Published 2013 by Schwartz & Wade/Random House; Review copy provided by the publisher; Added to the library

Monday, December 23, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: ChopChop: The kids' guide to cooking real food with your family by Sally Sampson

I sometimes think the "making stuff" books are the hardest section to do collection development for. It seems like there's no lack of excellent nonfiction on a variety of subjects, but try to find a book of crafts or recipes that is easy enough for kids to tackle, complex enough not to bore them, interesting enough for adults to be involved, has good directions, attractive layout and photographs, but not too easily outdated, diversity in the models and activities, and is unique enough to be worth purchasing but not so weird that nobody will ever pick it up...phew!

This is a pretty good cookbook. It's not ideal, and my personal preference is still for the DK books, even though they often have confusing British terms, but it's definitely worth purchasing. Most of my patrons and their kids want books on baking, but I try to add in some general cookbooks from time to time.

ChopChop is apparently a magazine, although I've never heard of it (which wouldn't be surprising, as I don't read magazines). The layout of the book is quite magaziney though, with lots of photographs, bold and large text, and the title is only available in paperback.

It starts with a simple introduction to kids on why it's fun to cook and not to be scared to try new things. Then there's a series of general tips, like being willing to try new tastes, and more specific things like remembering to clean up. There's instructions on how to wash your hands. The next section is an introduction for parents. It acknowledges the extra mess kids in the kitchen can make, but encourages parents to let kids try anyways! There's a list of essential ingredients - I don't agree with their thoughts on kosher salt, but they do say you can use any kind of salt. The photograph shows organic yoghurt, 365 (Whole Foods brand) oil, King Arthur flour, white tuna, dijon mustard, and organic chicken broth. The essential equipment list is pretty reasonable - knives, bowls, measuring tools, etc. and there's a second "not essential" list that includes a blender, salad spinner, and food processor.

The first "recipe" is actually a "seasoning experiment." It shows the kids how to cook plain potatoes and try out different kinds of seasoning to see what they like. This was a pretty good idea and one I haven't seen before. The recipes in the book are divided into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Desserts. Breakfast starts a section on things that don't need to be cooked, then has smoothies, oatmeal and granola, pancakes, french toast, eggs, and breakfast sandwiches. Lunch stars with a section on sandwiches, including quesadillas, then has some more egg dishes, and tuna and chicken salads as well as a recipe for trying your own mayonnaise. The rest is a wide variety of dips and spreads ranging from hummus to guacamole and peanut butter. Then they have "lunch bowls" which are things like "pasta or grain bowl" sort of salads.

In between lunch and dinner they have a section on soups and the introduction emphasizes how easy it is to change soups to match your own tastes. I, personally, feel I have eaten enough beans to last me a lifetime and refuse to eat any soups containing beans. Except maybe lentils which aren't really beans in my opinion. There's also a section on breads in the soup section - cornbread, multigrain rolls, and buttermilk biscuits. After the soup section is a salad section, which is actually a salad dressing section since that's what all the recipes are. The actual salad "recipe" is lists of ideas of things you can put in salad.

The last section on dinner once again encourages kids to try new things and experiment with "family dinners" using candles, having conversation, etc. Again, it may not be to my personal taste (I remember family meals where we were supposed to "talk about our day" with great distaste and much preferred being in my room with a good book, but again that's just me and most parents will probably applaud the ideas presented here. Just...if you have introvert kids or sulky teens, do you really need to have conversations about what they would change about the world or if they could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be? My choice would be dead because they wouldn't talk to me while I was trying to read.) Ok, a little off topic here. Anyways.

There are a lot of basic chicken recipes, then a selection of burgers (including a bean burger). There are tofu recipes and then customizable meals like chili, baked potatoes, and tacos. There's a section on pasta (and I'm sorry, but there is no point in eating whole wheat pasta when "you will learn to appreciate its flavorful, grainy goodness." It starts out tasting like cardboard and keeps on that way. Again, just my opinion.) which includes lasagna and then finally some vegetable recipes, mostly different things you can roast. I did notice with appreciation that they include artichokes which makes me wonder if they didn't have some California influence somewhere - only people I ever met who regularly eat artichokes were from California.

The dessert section is probably the weakest part of the book, but I wouldn't be buying this for that part so it doesn't really matter. It starts off rather patronizingly saying that "Of course, we think a piece of fruit is itself a lovely and satisfying dessert - but we understand you might feel otherwise." The first dessert is baked apples, not bad, then applesauce (since when is that a dessert?) fruit crisp, frozen yogurt, and fruit tart. Then they have brownies. Now, I can't speak from personal experience but having done quite a bit of baking with whole wheat flour, I am highly skeptical of their statement that brownies made with whole-wheat flour makes them "nutty, rich, and amazingly yummy." Banana bread, yes, cupcakes, yes, chocolate chip cookies, yes. Oh wait, chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat or whole wheat graham flour. Here I can speak from personal experience. Cookies made with whole wheat flour are disgusting. They taste like sugar-infused cardboard. They make great weapons, being as hard and heavy as a brick, but not great desserts. Molasses cookies might be ok with whole wheat flour, and their peanut butter cookies have no flour. Fruit and nut energy bars are not a dessert.

The final section is drinks and has lots of things kids will enjoy mixing like fruit, honey, mint, etc. The book ends with acknowledgements, an index, and a brief note about ChopChop magazine and the author.

Verdict: There's a really great diversity of recipes (and kids used in the pictures) and they're laid out in a way that's easy to follow, with some things marked "expert" and most being projects kids could easily handle with a little adult help. There are a couple slightly patronizing areas and I think they should have either left out the desserts section or relabeled it fruit and just skipped the baking part but I think people will be able to mostly overlook that. It's not the book I'd hand to kids and parents who have no experience cooking or are just starting trying to eat more healthily; the emphasis in the photographs on expensive, brand-name or organic food and again several patronizing areas could be very daunting, but for families who are serious about kids being involved in cooking and family meals and who already have done some research about their food choices, this is a good selection.

ISBN: 9781451685879; Published 2013 by Simon and Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library

Saturday, December 21, 2013

This week at the library; or, Starting to finish everything

Programs
Random Commentary
  • I took off Monday and Tuesday to do fun things then I had my last outreach visits on Wednesday and Thursday, sort-of interviews for the aide position (it seems silly to have a whole sit-down interview for a six-hour a week shelver. Basically we just wanted to meet them.) and miscellanous stuff.
  • Other projects this week included: cleaning off my desk, cleaning out the storyroom, publicity for next year, Maker Kits for next year, my sections of the newsletter, working on programs for next year, weeding, processing new books, and sorting donations. Some of these things barely got started...
  • We had a fairly massive ice storm Thursday night, so Friday was very quiet. I meandered in late, since it took a while to get the ice off my car (and decide whether I wanted to risk the drive at all)
  • Then I worked Saturday. Crazy!
Our new flannel and magnet boards (you can hang backgrounds on both, but the white one on the left is really a magnet board)

Friday, December 20, 2013

Joe and Sparky go to school by Jamie Michalak, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

I quite liked the first Joe and Sparky easy reader I read, but the years came between us and when I saw that another saga in the Joe and Sparky adventures had been nominated I wasn't quite so enthusiastic off the bat. Would it live up to my memories? Had Joe and Sparky lost any of their fizz?

Well, I am a bit more of a critical reviewer now, but Joe and Sparky still have most of their pizzaz.

In the classic easy reader odd couple style, Joe is a giraffe who's always curious and eager for new situations. Sparky is a turtle who just wants to sit in the sun and relax. But no matter what crazy trouble Joe gets them into, they are still friends and they make it through together. In this story, Joe sees something big, yellow, and loud. What could it be? "Well," said Joe, "from the looks of it, it is a bus for noisy short people." One little accident later, and somehow Joe and Sparky are on their way to school. Fortunately (or unfortunately from Sparky's point of view) Miss Hootie breaks her glasses, so she doesn't realize she has two new students - who have decided to take a field trip to school. But school isn't as fun as they'd hoped. Joe tries and tries but he just can't get a star, while Sparky is soon covered in stars - but just wants to go home. They try the math dance, math food, the interesting "pond" in the boys' room (since there's no giraffe or turtle room) more and more things go wrong for Joe, but Sparky is learning something new - he loves school! With a little help from Sparky, Joe gets a star after all and they both head home after their fun field trip.

The illustrations are bright and really pop with Joe's bright yellows (Sparky thinks he looks like a bus!) and splashes of green and blue. The "class" is mostly shown as the same four or five kids, with a fairly decent show of diversity. The real focus is on Joe and Sparky of course, and their antics and misunderstandings. These are a bit like Amelia Bedelia, but not quite so over the top. The difficulty level of these easy readers is intermediate. There are complete sentences and paragraphs and some challenging vocabulary, as well as the word play.

Verdict: These are great intermediate easy readers. Funny, with humor that will reach kids on their own level, attractive art that adds to the text, and while each story follows a similar pattern, the plot is different enough to keep kids' interest going. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780763662783; Published 2013 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Bink and Gollie: Best Friends Forever by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile

Bink and Gollie have the best of both worlds, with a classic style and a contemporary flair. In the classic tradition of easy reader odd couples, Bink and Gollie are total opposites, both physically and in personality, but they're best friends nonetheless.

There are three chapters, each containing a separate story. In the first story, Gollie is thrilled to discover she's really royalty. When short and spunky Bink comes over to hear the exciting news, she's disappointed that Gollie is no longer going to cook pancakes for her and leaves. At first, Gollie enjoys being a queen, but eventually she misses Bink and is happy to go back to being plain old Gollie again.

In the second story, Bink is tired of being short and tries out a marvelous invention to grow taller. It doesn't quite work the way she had hoped, but with some help from Gollie she feels taller in the end, even if she hasn't grown at all. In the third and final story, Bink and Gollie decide to start a collection, hoping to get their names and picture in a book of records. With a little help from another friend, they find a way to make a record even if they don't have an amazing collection.

Fucile's facile illustrations use an economy of line to express emotions, humor, and action. Bink and Gollie are splashes of bright color in a gray and white world, their backgrounds fading behind them as they skate through the story.

In addition to being an odd couple, Bink and Gollie returns to another older style in not fitting perfectly into any of the tightly boxed publishing categories. Are they an easy reader? Well, they're a little oversized, but they have the odd couple, three short chapters, brief text, and spot illustrations. But the text is much more advanced than the typical easy reader. Are they a beginning chapter book? They're way oversized for that genre, and while the vocabulary level matches a chapter book, the limited text and colored illustrations are more in line with an easy reader. Some libraries just give up the fight and put them in graphic novel, or even picture book. I recently moved them from easy reader to the general juvenile fiction area to fully honor what I think is the most classic part of their style - stepping out of the bounds of typical publishing levels and creating a story that's both sweet and tart and utterly unique. The emphasis in Bink and Gollie is on the fun of the story, the suspension of disbelief, the delightful illustrations and not on what reading level or comprehension is appropriate for whoever is lucky enough to light upon the adventures of Bink and Gollie.

Verdict: Wherever you decide to put these stories, they are a delight with a sly sense of humor and a topping of silly. For the right child, these are the stories that will stick with them until they go searching for them again to introduce them to their own child.

ISBN: 9780763634971; Published 2013 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library

Monday, December 16, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: See what a seal can do by Chris Butterworth, illustrated by Kate Nelms

I've always been a fan of sea lions, not seals. Seals look like slugs, big furry-whiskered slugs. At least, that's what I always thought until I read this book.

This book falls into one of my favorite new styles for read-aloud nonfiction, double text (I just named it that). There's a basic story in big, bold letters and simple text. In this case, it starts with the seal dragging himself across the sand and into the sea to look for food, takes him through a long search, escaping from predators, and finally back to the beach where he relaxes.

The second part of the book's text is in small, inset paragraphs and adds facts about gray seals from how they swim to how they can open their mouths underwater to catch fish without drowning.

The book starts with a brief note about wild seals and ends with a simple index (which would make a great introduction to indices for very young children) and a couple websites kids can go to for more information about seals.

The endpapers show the eighteen different kinds of true seals, draw on a cream-colored background in shades of brown. The illustrations in the book look like adapted photographs. The seal's huge, liquid black eyes and sharp details of his whiskers and some of his surroundings are shown, but they're softened and given an underwater look with swirls and a shifting overlay of colors.

Verdict: When I'd finished this book I knew a lot more about seals and they were a lot more interesting! Although they could never live up to sea lions, I'll definitely take a longer look next time I'm at the zoo. This would make a perfect storytime book, as well as a great introduction to both seals and nonfiction for young children. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780763665746; Published 2013 by Candlewick; Borrowed from the library

Saturday, December 14, 2013

This week at the library; or, Last week of programs!

Programs:
Random Commentary
  • It has been a week of highs and lows. Some things I can't talk about - administrative stuff like wages and salaries are keeping our lives interesting. 
  • We always replace the last Toddlers 'n' Books of the season with a cookie program and a LOT of people came. 50? 60? Something like that. Of course, it was this morning that Hammie chose to go to that great hamster wheel in the sky, but fortunately I didn't check him until everyone was gone. Right now Hammie is visiting Santa and next week he's going to return (having gone on a diet and dyed his fur a little darker) with a brother, Humphrey, who will hopefully distract from any changes!
  • A few more kids returned challenges for Paws to Read and I am hopeful that we will make my overall goal of 50 participants for this first year.
  • So...forwards! I have a couple weeks now to go on vacation, relax, sleep in...
  • HA HA HA that's just what people think I do when there are no programs. I'm going to be planning winter programs, scheduling and organizing outreach, overhauling Preschool Interactive, working on reader's advisory and other resources, lots of marketing and publicity, end of year reports, hiring and training a second aide, and doing a lot of shelving while my first aide is gone over the holidays. I'll also be working on my newest idea (I know, hard to keep track!) Maker Kits! More on that later!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Sea monster and the bossy fish by Kate Messner, illustrated by Andy Rash

Sea Monster Ernest is eager to show the new fish around school. But the new fish isn't nervous, like Ernest was when he first came. In fact, the new fish is a little...make that a LOT...bossy. He gets more and more controlling, until he starts the Fresh Fish Club for cool fish and Ernest, while happy to be included, is worried about the fish who are left out. Ernest comes up with a non-confrontational, if a little sappy, solution and everyone is happy again, even the new bossy fish.

Andy Rash's cartoons are bright and colorful, with silly fish faces and lots of clever artwork fitting the giant sea monster in with the other fish. The fish have big, bulbous eyes and a plethora of patterns and shapes. With their very human expressions matched to fishy bodies, kids and adults will get a kick out of the child-pleasing art.

I have to admit I was skeptical when I first picked this book up. I'm not a fan of bibliotherapy and I dislike the whole bullying theme in books for younger kids. Parents do ask for them - I had a patron request picture books on bullying because she said there were a lot of bullies at her child's preschool - but I'm personally not a fan of labeling bully behavior in such young children. A three year old, in my opinion, isn't a bully - they're a three year old! Not to mention so many of these books fall into the "big stupid bully" cliche or the "bully who really just wants to be friends" cliche.

However, I should have expected an excellent author like Kate Messner to steer clear of these pitfalls and this is one book I'd feel happy handing to parents whose kids are having social difficulties in school. Her fishy kids are very realistic, from Ernest who's easily swayed by the exciting new kid, even if he has doubts, to the bossy new kid himself. I especially appreciated that she didn't label the kids and showed the subtle social interactions that went on without making on of the kids out to be the bad guy - just not understanding how to play nicely. While the solution is a little mature for the kids to come up with on their own, and a little sappy, it fit in well with the book.

Verdict: If you have parents clamoring for anti-bully books, and you probably do since that's one of the "hot topic" issues right now, this is a really good choice for younger kids, with a funny story, a gentle lesson, and no black and white labeling.

ISBN: 9781452112534; Published 2013 by Chronicle; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's tentative order list

Monday, December 9, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Brown Bear by Suzi Eszterhas

I saw this series, Eye on the Wild, at an ALA conference a few years back and fell in love. This one is my particular favorite, because I love bears.

Beaaaars, so round and furry and awesome. Beaaaars.

Ahem. So, this is a picture book format, simple introduction to the life cycle, especially the growing-up years, of a brown bear. The story of the bear's lives begins with their birth in the den and moves through their growing up years until they set out on their own. The text is simple and bold, using plain language to explain to young children how the bears' mother takes care of them and adding in interesting facts seamlessly to the text. It's a little longer for reading aloud to very young children, but four year olds up through first grade will enjoy listening to this.

Of course, the big draw of these books, and this one especially is the bears. Eszterhas is a wildlife photographer and specializes in photographing families and baby animals, so you know there are going to be lots of awesome bear pictures. I loved the way it started out showing the bears when they were small and they slowly grow through the story, following the text, so at the end they're as big as the mother bear. Close-ups show the cubs nursing, fishing, digging for clams, and more.

A final page gives a list of bear facts and there are more photographs on the endpapers. I would have liked to see some sources or bibliography, but this is an introduction for very young children so it's really not necessary.

Verdict: Adorable photographs and simple, clear text perfect for older storytimes or bear fans. There are also volumes on the cheetah, gorilla, lion, orangutan, and sea otter, which is my other favorite. There was supposed to be an elephant and tiger next year, but they appear to be cancelled on Baker & Taylor, although they show available for preorder on the author's website. Hopefully that will change, since these are great books to introduce young children to popular and endangered animals.

ISBN: 9781847803023; Published 2012 by Frances Lincoln Children's Books; Purchased for the library

Saturday, December 7, 2013

This week at the library; or, Foooooooog

Programs
Random Commentary
  • Monday was a definite Monday-After-A-Holiday. In a word, it sucked.
  • Tuesday was AWESOME. I felt like singing that song from Annie "yesterday was plain awful, you can say that again, yesterday was plain awful, but that's not now, that's then" (yes, I had that in my head). I listened to a great webinar about the annual report and realized I could be counting a lot more things! I am going to have phenomenal numbers next year! It was gloriously foggy all day (I love fog) and I felt no guilt for the kindergarteners being insanely wiggly b/c, as I had told the teachers when they asked if I could switch to two weeks earlier at the last minute, it was pot-luck storytime.
  • Then other stuff happened. I spent a lot of time finishing fiddly little things and had some long, heart-felt communions with the laminator. The result being all new signage in our children's area! As you can see, I put new signs on all the tubs and baskets and matching signs on the shelves, so kids can easily put things away. Certain People were skeptical about whether this will work or not, but I have faith in my families!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Creature Department by Robert Paul Weston

Other than his food-critic parents' inventive threats (and equally inventive but much less palatable food) Elliot lives a pretty boring life. Then, one day, the letter arrives. To his amazement, he's been invited to tour his Uncle Archie's workplace - the Research and Development department of DENKI-3000. Not only that, his friend Leslie has been invited as well. There's just one problem...he doesn't have a friend named Leslie! But he soon will...

Together, Elliot and Leslie discover the Creature Department, the most mysterious and inventive section of DENKI-3000. But all is not well; the company is in trouble, the creatures who staff the department are threatened, and there's something terrible hiding in the park.

This is a wild romp featuring fantastical creatures, gross-out humor, wacky inventions, and some old-fashioned villains. The final version will have additional illustrations and multimedia aspects which I didn't see (I read this as an egalley).

At 326 pages the book felt too long for its intended audience to me. Of course, I can't tell from my egalley how much of that will be taken up by the multimedia aspects, but it's still quite a chunk of book. I would say it's directed at a younger middle grade audience with the cartoonish creatures, gross-out humor, and several digressions into didactic discussions of how the inventions are fueled by the essence of hope, etc. and those kids are generally less likely to pick up something really thick. Elliot and Leslie are one-dimensional and the plot skips wildly around, throwing in new characters and creatures and ending with the actual hero being a creature everyone discounted and teased.

Verdict: Older kids looking for fantasy where they can get immersed in the plot and characters will be disappointed, but hand this one to those kids who are camped out in your 398 section perusing the guides to monsters and dragons and other books with lots of fun pictures and creature trivia and they'll love it. Not a top pick perhaps, but definitely an additional purchase that will find a happy home in most mid-sized to large libraries.

ISBN: 9781595146854; Published November 2013 by Razorbill; Egalley provided by the publisher for review

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The girl of the wish garden: a Thumbelina story by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Nasrin Khosravi

Mostly, I purchase books of general interest. The more "arty" books, the fancy award-winners, the books with subtle meanings and delicate art that the critics rave over, I glance at and pass over without regret.

We own a lot of Fancy Nancy and Llama Llama.

However, sometimes a book that's a little different, that's haunting and artistic and poetic and all those words that usually make me cringe, comes along and I fall in love.

The author has written a number of books with extensive reviews and awards, none of which I have ever heard of. The illustrator (now deceased) was apparently a well-known Iranian illustrator. I saw the cover of this book at ALA last summer and was intrigued enough to request it via inter-library loan, as no libraries in our consortium owned it.

The story is a poetic retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina, although the original story is referenced only in the subtitle and author's note. Each page features a poetic interpretation of one of Thumbelina's adventures facing a full-page illustration. The text, while a little lengthier than the average children's picture book, will make word lovers quiver with delight.

"In a land of dreams, where time itself
can shift and change,
I once saw this tale unfold.

The child was named Lina.
Her mother had found her in a silken flower
in a garden of wishes, where the birds sang wild
and the winds blew free."

It would take someone who actually knew something about art to adequately describe Khosravi's illustrations, but when I look at them I see numerous details that will keep drowsy children occupied while the words flow around them. Thumbelina's skirts billow about her as she floats through complex landscapes of color and pattern, with picture layered upon pictures. Repeated motifs dance from page to page as the colors shift from blazing reds and dark browns and blues to the billowing white of snow, winter, and finally Lina's dress shifts from red to white as Lina rides off on the wind.

Verdict: This is one unique book that will have a fairly wide appeal, thanks to the intricate and beautiful artwork. Some parents might balk a little at reading the poetry aloud, but I would booktalk this as a lovely bedtime story, sure to provide sweet dreams.

ISBN: 9781554983247; Published 2013 by Groundwood Books; Borrowed via inter-library loan; Added to my tentative order list

Monday, December 2, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Things that float and things that don't by David A. Adler, illustrated by Anna Raff

I almost didn't borrow this book to preview because I thought the illustrations looked blah and unattractive. Well, I still think they're not the strongest part of the book, but it's such a good explanation of science concepts for young kids that I purchased it for the library anyways.

The book starts with a sort of general introduction and question. There is a lot of water in the world and people have been using it to travel and move things for a long time. However, how do you know what floats and what sinks? Why does a boat full of people float, but a pebble sinks?

The rest of the book uses a combination of narrative and experiments to explain the concept of density; how and why things float. There isn't any back matter, but the various vocabulary words (density, dissolved, displacement) are explained in the text and I would say that this title doesn't need any, because of the young audience and the layout of the book, which incorporates experiments. If you are doing any programs with preschool science, this whole book is a program just waiting for you!

Now, I really didn't care for the illustrations. As Ms. Yingling has noted, covers (and sometimes illustrations) don't seem to be Holiday House's strong point. These illustrations are very bland and simplistic, with awkward perspectives especially in the hands. The drawings illustrating the scientific principles are the best, but the cartoon illustrations for the rest of the book don't work well, in my opinion.

Verdict: Illustrations aside, this is a great explanation of density for young kids and I really liked the smooth way the author blended the scientific explanation and the experiments illustrating his explanations. I have three swimming pools that I mostly use for science programs, so having this book is kind of a must for me!

ISBN: 9780823428625; Published 2013 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library

Saturday, November 30, 2013

This week at the library; or, Let the holidays commence

Programs:
  • 5th grade library visits
Random Commentary:
  • I don't do programs Thanksgiving week - attendance is just too spotty and it's easier to take the whole week off rather than explain which days we're closed. I worked about 10 hours on Monday, a full day on Tuesday, and left early on Wednesday. We close at 5:30 on Wednesday and don't open again until Saturday.
  • However this year I did get the 5th graders from our closest school coming to check out books. I was a bit nervous about this since they've only visited once a year in the past for a scavenger hunt, tour, and booktalking, but the teachers were enthusiastic, we needed the circulation, and I was just going to hope I had enough mysteries for 70+ kids. It worked out great - I'll do more booktalking next time, since we won't have a tour.
  • Mostly this week was finishing all the shifting and getting ready for Paws to Read, which starts next Monday. See the shifting!
Paws to Read Challenges and drawing slip box


Audiobook shelf, shifted and beautiful!

Back of the audiobook shelf - series

In process - Favorite Characters section at the beginning of juvenile fiction

Shifting Spanish, biography, and new nonfiction

Shifted!

Favorite Characters done - lots of empty space for things that still have to be labeled

Friday, November 29, 2013

Poppy the pirate dog by Liz Kessler, illustrated by Mike Phillips

When I first saw the cover of this book at ALA, I thought it was very attractive, but perhaps a bit too British. However, once I had checked it out I was won over by sweet Poppy.

Poppy is thrilled about going on vacation, especially when she gets a pirate scarf to wear around her neck. But a real pirate dog needs a pirate ship! Poppy is certain that each new boat trip will be wonderful, but they all end in disaster...until she finds the perfect pirate ship for her.

The book is divided into five short chapters with colorful illustrations on each page. Poppy is the central figure in both the text and art and her responses to her new experiences range from excited to humorous as she discovers that sailing isn't all she expected. The text is big and bold, with just a few sentences on each page, broken up by the art.

This is one that falls exactly between an easy reader and beginning chapter book. Think Bink and Gollie, if you're trying to find a comparison in reading level. My general dividing line between when a book goes to the juvenile section and when it stays in easy reader is chapters vs. colored illustrations, but this book has both. I'd probably put it in the juvenile fiction, because it doesn't quite have the feel of an easy reader.

From the description, it does sound a bit overly cute. However, Kessler is great at the light British mix of solid cute. Not twee, just cozy and happy. Poppy's disappointment each time "her" boat isn't what she expected and her delight when she finds the right craft are simple but satisfying.

Verdict: Kids not quite ready for Down Girl and Sit will enjoy this easy but well-written story. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780763665692; Published August 2013 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's tentative order list

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Dance Divas: Showtime! by Sheryl Berk

I'm really torn about this new series. So, it's one of those dance/friendship plots. There's a group of girls, The Dance Divas, and they're going up against another team of dancers. Unfortunately they've got their own personal problems too. The main protagonist of this story is Scarlett. She's worried about the new girl, Liberty, who seems to be more popular with Miss Tony. Liberty has a pushy mom who's designed costumes and routines for famous Hollywood stars. Scarlett's also annoyed with her little sister Gracie, who isn't handling their parents' divorce well. Her friend Bria is worried about school, especially since her mom thinks good grades are more important than dancing. Rochelle is kind of left out of the dance troupe because she does hip-hop and jazz and not so much ballet or group dancing. They have a big competition coming up and Miss Tony is pushing them all to excel, bringing each girl's issues and arguments to the surface.

Of course, by the end of the story we learn that Miss Tony has her own friendship problems with the rival dance group leader, but she really just wants her girls to have strong friendships and focus on teamwork. Except...she never says or does anything about all the gossip and backbiting the girls partake in. She's very strict and makes it pretty clear all she cares about is winning, although she does say she doesn't want them to win unethically by spying on the other team. She doesn't explain why Scarlett is no longer dancing solos or offer her more help when Liberty starts taking her place as teacher's pet.

There's a real mean girl flavor to this story that no amount of happy, feel-good endings could diminish for me. While the girls do come to a kind of agreement, there's a lot of hurt feelings and general meanness distributed that's never addressed. Now, I'm not in favor of didactic stories, but when a book is so obviously trying to teach friendship with a fun coating of pink sparkly dance, it should do a better job. As far as the dance, I am not a "ballet mom" as the author is, but a lot of things struck me as unrealistic. The girls seemed very young to be going on pointe and I couldn't figure out exactly what kind of dance they were doing; it also seemed odd that they would just co-opt Gracie to do a lot of dangerous-sounding acrobatics without even really asking her parents. Then again, this is kind of a dance fantasy, so maybe those details don't matter. It's like those series where the girls all go to expensive private schools and have brand clothes and accessories, only for dance. The final thing that bothered me was the stereotypes. None of the girls seemed like individual characters. They were just the average girl (except for being a redhead) who tries to keep everything together, the mean girl, who's being pressured by a pushy mom to succeed. The Asian girl whose parents only care about grades and studying. None of the girls seemed unique or really stuck in my head.

Verdict: On the one hand, this would definitely fly off the shelves. Girls love these formulaic books no matter how old they are - look at Gossip Girl and Clique. It's pink and sparkly and the author knows what will sell a book; she's the author of the popular Cupcake Club and other celebrity projects. On the other hand, I'd rather hand the girls something like Whoopi Goldberg's Sugar Plum Ballerinas that's a little more realistic, not to mention diverse and closer to the middle/lower class income of my town. I'm going to think about it some more. Again, the cover is really attractive and girls do like reading these gossipy fantasies. I don't like being a gatekeeper and my objections are just the way I see the book. I don't know, I can't decide. The only professional review I've seen is Kirkus, and they pretty much agreed with me - stereotyped, but dance fans will love it. I think I will give the galley to some of my pink dance fans and see what they think.

ISBN: 9781619631823; Published September 2013 by Bloomsbury; ARC provided by publisher at ALA Annual 2013

Monday, November 25, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Locomotive by Brian Floca

If easy, nonfiction read-alouds are some of the hardest children's books to write (and I think they are) then historical subjects have to be the hardest to tackle. Young children don't have any context for historical events or figures, most of which are oriented to adult concerns and ideas. I was skeptical about this book, although it features a train, since it tackles a complicated era in history (what historical era isn't complicated?) and I haven't always been a fan of Floca's watercolors in the past.

I am won over, proved wrong, and in awe. Brian Floca has written a book that will appeal not only to the youngest of train fans, but also to history buffs, both young and old.

The history of the railroad is framed around a journey a woman and two children take, going west on the train. As they travel, information about the building of the railroad, the various people who worked on the railroads and trains and the mechanical operation of the train itself are all woven into the journey.

The book is written in flowing free verse, separated into chunks of text. The text is further separated by the watercolors sprinkled throughout the book, scenes of railroad stops, gazelles racing the trains, explosions, and the wild landscape that the train races through. You can pick and choose sections to read aloud to the youngest children, while they ooh and aah over the train-filled landscapes or read the book at one sitting with an older listener, especially one who can sit still for a long time. Independent readers will want to pore over the text and illustrations themselves, especially the history-rich endpapers, with information closely packed together. The book ends with a lengthy author's note and extensive sources.

Verdict: This is a beautifully illustrated and accessible story of the building and growth of the railroad. It will be appreciated by both children and adults and find a wide audience. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781416994152; Published 2013 by Atheneum/Simon & Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library

Saturday, November 23, 2013

This week at the library; or, The weird weather is affecting my brain

Programs
Random Commentary
  • Lots of stuff was happening this week, but nothing really noteworthy. Lots of moving things around and planning things and shifting things and discussions and LOTS and LOTS of budgeting for next year.
  • 80 kindergarteners plus 60 "regular" people came to the Puppet Story Theater - I am so glad a neighboring library suggested this for storywagon last summer, and that I had a little extra grant money this fall!

Friday, November 22, 2013

Dog Diaries: Barry by Kate Klimo, illustrated by Tim Jessell

Barry was a well-known rescue dog and the inspiration for today's Saint Bernard breed. Believed to have rescued over 40 people, his life is a legend among dogs (heh heh).

This book weaves the legends and sparse facts about Barry into an engaging narrative from the dog's point of view. Barry starts out by explaining where his breed came from and why they were in the Alps. His own story begins with his puppyhood in the basement of the Great Saint Bernard Hospice in 1800. He tells the reader about how he was raised and the Hospice, including encounters with Napoleon and various travelers. After many years of rescue work, Barry is injured by a confused traveler and loses his beloved friend. After that, he is taken to live with a kindly friend and eventually his body was stuffed and put on display in a museum.

The appendix explains more about the history of Saint Bernards and the changes in the breed. There are several online sources for more information on Barry's history and the breed and some general information about owning a Saint Bernard.

This is the third book in the Dog Diaries series. I haven't seen the first two, but from their description it appears that each book is about a different breed, not necessarily a specific, historical dog. The first book, Ginger, is about a fictional golden retriever named Ginger and puppy mills, the second book is about Buddy, the first seeing eye dog.

Verdict: The blend of fiction and nonfiction is exactly what a lot of kids love. Join that with dogs, cute black and white pictures, historical drama, and a nice easy length and readability and this series will be a sure winner with your younger middle grade readers and beginning chapter readers ready to transition to a harder series. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780449812808; Published 2013 by Random House; Review copy provided by the publisher; First two books in the series added to the library's tentative order list

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Absolutely Lucy: Thanks to Lucy by Ilene Cooper

I looked at some Lucy books a few years ago, but when I got a review copy of the sixth book in the series I was in the mood to zip through it.

Lucy is a friendly if excitable little beagle, still not much more than a puppy. Her owner, Bobby, is a typical, if shy, little boy with all the fears, worries, excitements, and enthusiasms of a regular kid. In the first book, Absolutely Lucy, Lucy helped Bobby break out of his shell and make new friends. Together they've gone through Lucy being lost, trying out for soccer, a dog show, and a little mystery at school. In this book, it's time for a new sibling.

Bobby's parents are planning to adopt a baby and Bobby is worried. What if he's not a good big brother? On top of that, Lucy seems to be sick and everyone is so busy getting ready for the new baby and preparing for Thanksgiving that nobody has time to listen to Bobby's concerns.

These are what I think of as fill-in series. They're not earth-shattering, particularly unique, or so well-written that they blow your mind, but they're perfect for what they do; keep kids reading and engaged as they build comprehension and reading skills to move to the next level. Each book has a simple "issue" but they're not overly didactic and Cooper has a good grasp of how real kids think, act and talk.

Verdict: I'm working on building our beginning chapter series and I know this is a popular one that a lot of kids in school are reading. This was a good reminder that I need to add the whole series! If you have really limited budget, I would go with Down Girl and Sit for your token dog beginning chapter series, but if you have a little extra moolah, definitely add this one.

ISBN: 9780375869983; Published 2013 by Stepping Stone/Random House; Review copy provided by publisher; Added books 1-5 to the library's order list.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Sneaky Art by Marthe Jocelyn

This book is full of adorable crafts, most of them miniature, that you can hide or otherwise use to pleasantly surprise people.

The introduction cautions the reader that the art should not be vandalism or graffiti, that's it not permanent, messy, or damaging. Most of the projects can be done with just a few simple things like paper, scissors and glue. The artistry lies in the placement and presentation.

There are several projects involving leaving collage faces, tags, and speech balloons in various places, including libraries. Yarn bombing is briefly referenced and there are a number of suggestions for miniatures.

The photographs are bright and cheerful and the projects very clearly arranged with suggestions on where to leave the projects, materials needed, how to make it, and any additional sneaky instructions on placement that are needed. There are some templates on the endpapers.

After reviewing in my mind my patrons, I don't think I'd put this book in the general collection. I can see the warning about graffiti going right over their heads. It's also spiral-bound, which won't last long. However, there are quite a few projects I'd like to do with the middle schoolers and as stealth programs. One I especially liked was having kids write book recommendations on speech balloons and stick them in books. I think the middle schoolers would have the dexterity to make a lot of the miniature crafts and since they usually don't want to take what they make home, would enjoy hiding them in the library for littler kids to find.

Verdict: Probably not something for the general collection, but I'd buy it for my professional collection and will do so as soon as I have the money.

ISBN: 9780763656485; Published 2013 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's tentative order list for my professional collection

Saturday, November 16, 2013

This week at the library; or, Let's all relax

Programs
Random Commentary
  • Weekend Musings - thinking about delegation, balancing programming/storytimes, outreach, and all the other things I do as more projects get added to my plate and our attendance continues to grow. OMG I'm turning into a MANAGER. Spent a lot of time talking to folks in various library groups and re-reading all the posts on the Linkedin Youth Services Managers group about balancing programming and administrative duties (not that I have that many administrative duties, but other stuff...)
  • Also thinking about ways to get around over-crowding in some storytimes and low attendance in others. I'm thinking seriously about shifting our 10am storytimes to 9:30 so that if we need to add a second session it will be early enough for people to actually attend. Registration is never going to work in our town - and I want to avoid it if at all possible anyways.
  • Otherwise this week was pretty calm. I mean, there was plenty of drama, but none of it was new drama (other than the complete death and sudden, mysterious resurrection of my computer).

Friday, November 15, 2013

Dragonbreath: The case of the toxic mutants by Ursula Vernon

I almost never review sequels and most kids' series I stop reading after the first book or two. Every time a new Dragonbreath book comes out, I tell myself "well, this will be the one where it stops being funny." This is book 9 and I have to say...

It's still funny and Ursula Vernon is amazing.

So, Danny Dragonbreath (the only mythical creature in a school of reptiles who's still working on his fire-breathing skills) collects his friend Wendell (complete geek, afflicted with a health food-addicted mother and a best friend who likes, ugh, adventures) and his frenemy Christiana (super logical, doesn't believe in dragons. Or fairies, even after the whole kidnapping episode) and goes to see grandfather Turlingsward. Not Danny's favorite activity, because his grandfather is the epitome of all that is grumpy and kid-hating. Danny is even more upset when they arrive and it turns out they're going to have to do some detective work; Grandad's dentures have been stolen. For a dragon the size of a house, that's a seriously large theft.

Things look up right away though, when mysterious creatures start appearing and disappearing and they discover there's been a lot of mysterious thefts. Even though Wendell and Christiana make Danny go to the library to do, gasp, research, it turns out to be more fun than he expected when he discovers an awesome book about detectives through the ages. Danny comes up with an idea to trap the thief and when the three follow him down a dark tunnel (Wendell isn't happy about this, but he's even less happy about having to tell his mom his new retainer was stolen, so he goes along) they discover an awesomely terrifying world of toxic mutation.

Vernon is as wackily hilarious as ever with snarky asides on everything from pre-regulation hospital toxic waste to respecting (or not, as the case may be) the elderly. Not to mention yard decorations, pack rats in little hats, and the triumph of reality over logic. If you haven't read Dragonbreath before, it's what I think of as a blended graphic novel, with short comics, art, and speech bubbles integrated into the text.

Verdict: You don't have the whole series? Why the heck not? Get out there and fill it in right away. You might want to buy a couple extra copies of the first book while you're at it. This is my go-to series for parents who want their kids to read "real" books when the kids adamantly want to read comics. It's also great for kids who like wacky humor, it's an amazingly easy series to booktalk, and even down the line as far as book nine can still make me laugh. Every library should have a complete set of Dragonbreath!

ISBN: 9780803738478; Published 2013 by Dial/Penguin; Purchased for the library; Purchased for my personal collection

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Once upon a northern night by Jean E. Pendziwol, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

I will admit, quite frankly, that I mainly buy mainstream, popular books. I try to keep a balanced collection, but when it comes down to brass tacks I need books that will circulate frequently and that the majority of people will check out. However, that doesn't mean I can't occasionally add a book that will be special to just a few people. I don't necessarily think these lower-circulating books have any more literary merit (and frankly I wouldn't care if they did) but there is a certain amount of "I'll buy 5 cheap Barbie paperbacks and then I can buy something a little more esoteric" in my thinking.

One of the illustrators I like to indulge in is Isabelle Arsenault. Her art is beautiful but not necessarily the thing most parents will grab off the shelf when they're looking for something to read to their kids.

This latest book, with poetic text by Jean Pendziwol, might be just a little more accessible than some of her other work and I'm excited to see if it gets more people aware of Arsenault's beautiful art. It's a lovely winter bedtime story with poetic verse on each page matched with Arsenault's stark illustrations in winter colors of white, frozen blue and dusky brown with splashes of orange and red. A little sample of some of the poetry

"Once upon a northern night
pine trees held out prickly hands
to catch the falling flakes
that gathered into puffs of creamy white,
settling like balls of cotton,
waiting."

Verdict: While my town isn't quite far enough for pine trees, we certainly have our share of winter snows and I think this will be a lovely book for some special readers. It won't rival Llama Llama in circulation, but may just find a nook in that one child's memory. If you have the budget, I'd make this your "special" purchase of the month or year.

ISBN: 9781554981380; Published 2013 by Groundwood Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's tentative order list; Added to my personal wishlist

Monday, November 11, 2013

Nonfiction Monday: Call of the Klondike: A true Gold Rush adventure by David Meissner and Kim Richardson

Most people are familiar with the California Gold Rush, but fewer know of the Klondike gold rush, nearly fifty years later. Told primarily through source documents, this is the story of the experiences of two men hoping to strike it rich.

Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond start out their journey to the Klondike with enthusiasm and optimism. Both have experience in the mining industry and their fathers provide capital for what they are sure will be a highly profitable expedition. They start out in advance of the crowd and things are going well, until they hit the first mountain pass. Gradually, their letters and and reports change to a more grim outlook as they encounter more and more troubles and dangers and by the time their year in the Klondike is over, they're more than ready to return home, without the rich reward they so eagerly expected.

Most of the book is composed of excerpts from the two men's letters and diaries, as well as some of the newspaper reports written by Stanley Pearce. The original documents are connected by brief introductions and explanations of the various events and people referenced in the source materials, as well as additional facts about life during the gold rush. Additional information, such as a timeline, authors' notes, and a brief discussion of the effects of the gold rush on native cultures are also included.

I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand, I found it interesting and the source documents are fascinating - Kim Richardson is the great-great-nephew of Stanley Pearce and supplied all the original documents. There's not a lot written for kids on the Klondike gold rush and I really liked the way the documents were excerpted and the narrative woven together to show the struggles and gradual disappointment. On the other hand, I'm worried that kids used to more fast-paced history and fictional adventures will find this bland and boring. Most of the letters were written to their parents and in the stylistic conventions of the time the more "exciting" events were downplayed. The whole book is pretty low-key and slow-paced.

Verdict: Although it's well-written and I like the layout, I'm doubtful about its kid-appeal.

ISBN: 9781590788233; Published October 2013 by Calkins Creek; ARC provided by the publisher at ALA Annual 2013

Saturday, November 9, 2013

This week at the library; or, the ideas are just popping!

Programs
Random Commentary
  • Monday
    • Pre-work work - laid out a plan for my department's new positions, hiring schedule, etc., visited Game Stop to talk about suggestions for adding a new format of games to the library. PS3 seems to be the best option. Emailed back and forth some plans with Pattie.
    • Actually at work now - monthly report, weekly newsletter to staff, minutes from all staff meeting last Friday, collection development project, clean off desk and put away all the stuff I bought last Friday, hauled in the laundry (yes, I never thought I'd say that either), finished most of the publicity through the end of the year, updated all our digital photo frames.
  • Tuesday
    • Pre-work work - sent a budget request to my director (in free verse. I am a fun employee), had an awesome idea combining bird feeders, writing centers, and citizen science and started working it out
    • Actually at work now - finished most of the programs through the end of the year, made book bundles, started some weeding, complicated av order for my director (I am the queen of Amazon), worked some more on my collection development project, drew up new plans for the children's area. Dealt with sudden schedule drama as I suddenly realized we have nobody to do Books 'n' Babies on Thursday, or next Thursday. Worked on my art and stories program series for next year a little. Went through some stacks of new books.
    • After-work work - drew up a brief Facebook poll. Our toddler storytime is getting out of hand again and I want patrons' feedback while the chaos is fresh in their minds.
  • Wednesday
    • Prepped for storytime, put several carts of picture books in order, storytime, chatting with parents, more new books, discussions with my director about various issues, phone tag with a teacher, middle school madness, clean-up, and done!
  • Thursday
    • Budget discussions, set up fifth grade visits (phone tag from yesterday), various collection development things, decided to try a poll on facebook and see if we can switch toddler times to a better slot than 10am (to which everyone is crowding again) and 11am (to which hardly anyone comes), a couple hours on the information desk, then had to clear everything off the youth services desk b/c the city guys are going to take my desk top and round the corners! Yay! No more small heads careening by sharp corners! Happily, our head of circ unhooked the computers for me, which was very nice. Especially since for a number of reasons I had missed most of my meals and felt pretty sick as a result. Only 20 people at Lego Club. Not sure if this is the natural ebb and flow of programming or I need to send more marketing to the schools. Probably a combination.
    • After-work work - made the mistake of checking Facebook to see what the toddler moms thought about the times. Not that anyone was rude at all, but these things always make me stressed b/c somebody could get mad and then I would have to deal with it and be stressed and...yeah. Stressed.
  • Friday
    • The big thing today was Kohls Wild Theater. I always invite all the 4K classes from the biggest daycare/preschool/4k, which means about 80 kids plus all the families who come on their own. Last year the 4K kids came early and we split them into two groups and did tours. I think. I can't really remember exactly what we did last year. The school coordinator thought the teachers ran some tours. We decided to talk about it later, closer to the date. On Thursday I suddenly thought "hmmm....we never talked about it." So I came in before 9, prepared for anything! I grabbed a staff member to help me break down all the tables and then at 9:30 the kids showed up, so I went and got my director and was all "so, hey, you are running two back-to-back tours for 35 kids!" and she was cool with it, which is why being a small library is nice! We had about 60 people in addition to the 70 kids and teachers, everyone loved the show and it was All Good. Then I weeded the entire juvenile reference section (all two shelves of it) b/c I'd already pulled it off yesterday b/c of my desk being under construction and it's almost all 10 years old and covered in dust. I put our newish World Book back to circ and a couple other things and that's it. Then a couple hours on the desk, then I did all the end of year weeding of the magazines, moved the back issues to a new place, and relabeled boxes! Phew!
    • After-work work - collection development for about an hour. Because it's relaxing.
  • Other Thoughts
    • Anna, at Future Librarian Superhero, is inviting people to write their stories of how they became librarians. I don't really have an exciting story...it never occurred to me that I wouldn't be a librarian. When I was about 12 I started cataloging my personal library, by the time I was 16 I was creating personalized reader's advisory lists for local homeschooling families and had convinced my dad to turn my closet into a mini library (no word from my sister on how she felt about keeping our clothes in my mom's closet. hey, she got at least FOUR shelves!) When I was 17 some people who knew of my interest recommended me for a cataloging project in a church/school library. I had decided when I was a teen that I was going to work maybe in Boston, b/c the library there looked cool. I volunteered in a large public library and a high school library in college and decided that what I really wanted to do was work in a small public library so I could do lots of different things. I interned/worked in a lot of different places in graduate school, just in case I developed a sudden love of academic libraries (I didn't) and then I got pretty much the job I'd always wanted. A couple years after I'd started there, I actually went out and interviewed at a LOT of different libraries, like maybe 15? b/c I'd pretty much taken the first offer I'd gotten and in the end I decided that, although someday I'd like to work in the Puget Sound area (and the Sno-Isle system is AMAZING) I'm pretty happy just where I am.