Twice upon a review- Fairest of All and The Wishing Spell

For most of my book reviews, I just look at one book. But since the last two books I read are similar in plot ( siblings magically entering the world of fairy tales) and age range ( 7 and up), I decided look at them in one review.


First the summary of the two books:
Fairest of All ( Whatever After, Book 1) - Sarah Mlynowski- Once upon a time, life was normal for Abby and her younger brother, Jonah. That is, until Jonah finds a magic mirror in the basement, which hisses and glows... and sends them to Snow White's cottage. There, they accidentally save her from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray..oops. Now it's up to Abby and Jonah to help Snow find her happy ending ( plus a way home.)


The Wishing Spell ( Land of Stories 1)-Chris Colfer- Once upon a time, twins Alex and Conner receive a treasured book of fairy tales for their birthday. But this is no ordinary book,  because it sends them to a  land where fairy tales come to life. The only way to get home is collecting magical items, like Cinderella's glass slipper,  to perform the Wishing Spell.

My opinion: Both are great reads ( and great first books  to exciting new series.) I'm also a fan of all things dealing with the fairy tale world, particularly the ABC show Once Upon a Time and The 10th Kingdom ( an underrated but really long  NBC miniseries of the 90s.)

I've enjoyed Mlynowski's past books for teens and women, so I knew I would enjoy her first book for middle schoolers ( plus the cover was cute!!) Fairest is a fun, sassy ( and very quick) take on Snow White. I really enjoyed the dwarfs ( three of which are girls) and Jonah, who provides most of the comic relief. Even the ending is cute. It is a bit girly in tone ( most of Mlynowski's stuff is), but boys might like it. I'm actually planning to use this for my Cool Kids program this week, and can't wait to read If the Shoe Fits, the second book in the series coming in January.

Wishing Spell is a great debut for Colfer ( best known from the  Fox show  Glee) despite a few flaws. He writes with a lot of vivid detail that one wishes they could  go to this land of fairies, princesses, and trolls. There's a lot of heart and humor in the journey, and a great blend of reinvention and staying true to the fairy tales. There are even cool illustrations at the beginning of each chapter ( and a very cool map of all the lands in the story.) It does tend to drag a bit at times (plus sometimes gets a bit heavy with the plot, not something one would not expect to find in the first book of a series.) Still, it is a very worthwhile read ( and so is the audiobook, which shows that Colfer may a future as a  voice actor.) I'm considering using Wishing Spell for a future program, and can't wait to see more in the series. ( I did see online that Colfer does have another book coming in November, Struck by Lightening, but it is for older readers and based off a screenplay of a movie he wrote and stars in.)

Fairest of All  (Whatever After)-Sarah Mylnowski
Age Range: 7-12
Lexile: 500
***** ( 5 stars)

Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell- Chris Colfer
Age Range: 8-12
**** 1/2 ( 4 and a half stars)

By the way, both have cool websites-
Whatever After-http://www.scholastic.com/whateverafter/

Land of Stories-http://thelandofstoriesbook.com/index.html

Storytime for 2 and 3-yr old: Pet Day

Seeing some of the blogs share a little of what they do in story time, I decided once and while to share a little of what I do for programming ( daycare, 2 and 3, and school-age/family. Pictures sometime in the future.)

Yesterday was the first 2 and 3-yr old program for fall 2012. Between toddlers, parents, and tagalongs ( a few babies), I had 21 in attendance. It was Pet Day ( because it was around Labor Day weekend of last year that Baxter, greyhound/lab mix, came to live with me), so we had a book about a dog ( Homer by Elisha Cooper)  a book about cats ( I love Cats by Sue Stainton), and made a dog puppet. We also did a book about identifying colors, did some counting songs and a  bear hunt ("Going on A Bear Hunt"), and shook some eggs to " I Know a Chicken" and " Hey Diddle Diddle" ( and I was  almost attacked by the felt board.LOL)

Here are just a few of the songs we did-

Two Little Birdies Sitting on a Hill
Two little birdies sitting on a hill,
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! Fly away, Jill!
Come back, Jack! Come back, Jill!

Twinkling Stars (Movement Chant*)

(Sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars, (Wiggle fingers)

 Stand and twinkle where you are. (Stand up while wiggling fingers)

Twinkle high and twinkle low. (Put hands in the air then at your feet)

 Twinkle fast and twinkle slow. (Shake hands fast then slow)

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars (Continue wiggling fingers)
 Now sit and twinkle where you are. (Sit back down) 

Going on Bear Hunt

Refrain: (clap)
We're going on a bear hunt,
Going to catch a big one.

Oh look, some grass.
We can't go over it, can't over under it, can't go around. ( Motion under, over, and round)
We got to walk, walk, walk (Pretend to walk)
Oh ( Refrain)
Oh look, a river
We can't go over it, can't over under it, can't go around.
We got to swim, swim, swim. (Pretend to swim)
Refrain
Oh look,  a cave.
We can't go over it, can't over under it, can't go around.
We got to tiptoe (Tiptoe-improvise that it is dark, turn on "light", see bear!!)
Oh no, there's a bear, but he's not happy!
So run out of  the cave...the river... the grass.. shut the door. Phew

(More can be added, such as a tree, a hill, etc, if you have time.)

The next Storytime for 2 and 3-yr olds will be Monday, October 1 at 10 am.  We'll be asking " What falls in the fall?"
  See you soon!

 

Upcoming Programs in October

Here are some programs that will happening next month in the Children's Dept at the Central Library. Please visit Library Events for information and register.


Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, Oct. 1 and 15 at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, Oct 2 and 16 at 10 am-Audience: Infants Birth to
23 months and caregiver (s).

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday, Oct 9 and 23 at 10 am and 2 pm- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.


Gaming Night- Wednesday, Oct 17 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Lego Club- Wednesday, Oct 22 at 4pm- 2nd to 6th grade.

A Good Night For Ghosts-Thursday, Oct 25 at 4pm-Audience: K-5 and families



See You Soon!

Review-Glory Be- Augusta Scattergood

 

In the town of Hanging Moss, Mississippi,  young Gloriana ( "Glory") June Hemphill is looking forward to the summer of '64 by spending time at the  public swimming pool, especially for her birthday. The community then closes  the pool for " repairs",  but Glory soon learns that there is a greater issue behind it's closure. Along the way (and with support from family and friends), Glory learns to find her voice and to stand up for what is right.

This is a very great  coming- of -age, Southern read for all ages. Similar to To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help, it does a great job of introducing the issues of racial tension and  civil rights of the 60s', and the message that anyone can make a difference, no matter who they are . A future classic.

For information on the author, check out her website.


Glory Be- Augusta Scattergood
Age Range: 9 and up   Lexile: 680***** ( 5 stars)

Cool Kids Have a Library Card is Coming

  September is right around the corner, and so is National Library Sign-Up Month! In the Children's Dept, we call it Cool Kids have A Library Card ( because having a library card is cool!!). This month, children who show us their library card  get a sticker and enter a drawing for a free book. They will  also get a free prize, too.  To those who dont' have a library card, don't worry. It's free and easy to do, just have Mom or Dad show their driver's license or something with your current address at the Circulation Desk, and you get check out 2 items for 2 weeks, and after 2 weeks, 50 ( yes, this is true. But I don't  know anyone who has actually checked out 50 items).

We'll  also be having a program, " Cool Kids Celebration", on Thursday, September 27 at 4 pm. It is open to grades K-5th grades and families. ( Please sign up via our  Library Events online calender).

 Our book display for the month of September  features cool books to check out ( cool music, too.)

Some of our featured titles include:

• I Can Draw: Wild Animals by Helene Leroux-Hugan
• Demolition by Sally Sutton
• My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Ruurs
• For the Kids, Too ( Various Artists)
• Philadelphia Chickens ( Various Artists)

 Keep reading!

Review-Tracing Stars-Erin E. Moulton

 

Indie Lee Chickory is not as cool as her big sister Bebe. Sure,  she is an expert at making fish faces, but she is viewed as  Fish Freak.  And accidentally bringing her pet lobster to school on the last day doesn't help either,  especially when it leads to her losing him and causing her sister embarrassment. So she wishes on a star to help her find her lobster and be friends with her sister again. Soon, it leads to a summer job working backstage at a community production and becoming friends with a  nerdy boy named Owen, who helps on her quest to "be a better Indie."

This is great coming of age book for middle school readers, full of quirky characters and fun adventures. Similar to Beezus and Ramona, it is a perfect read for the beginning ( or end) of summer.

Tracing Stars by Erin E Moulton
Age Range- 9-12
***** ( 5 stars)

Upcoming Programs in September

Here are some programs that will happening next month in the Children's Dept at the Central Library. Please visit Library Events for information and register.


Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, Sept. 4 and 20  at 10 am-Audience: Infants 6-23 months and caregiver (s).

Lego Club- Monday, Sept. 17 at 4pm- 2nd to 6th grade

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday Sept 11 and 25  at 10 am and 2 pm- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Gaming Night- Wednesday Sept 12 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, Sept  17  at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Cool Kids Celebration- Thursday, Sept 27at 4 pm- Audience: K to 5th grade and families


See you soon!!!

Review- Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and her Cat -Susanna Reich

 

This year marks 100th birth anniversary of Julia Child. Born August 15, 1912 in Pasadena, California ( she died August 13, 2004), Child is best known for the cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the PBS cooking show , The French Chef ( which ran from 1963 to 1973).

In Minette's Feast, we visit's Child story through her cat, Minette Mimosa McWilliams Child. Minette was the luckiest cat of Paris, each day and night smelling hollandaise, cheese souffles, and other dishes of Child. But, the feast that Minette most prefers is mouse.

This is a neat way to introduce Child to children (and I think adult fans of Child will want to add this to their bookshelves). I especially love the use of actual quotes from Julia and her husband, Paul, French words ( glossary included at the end, along with biographical information on Child) and the rich and colorful watercolor and pencil illustrations of Amy Bates ( including a fun scene of the feline feasting and playing with a leftover bone).

Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and her  Cat by Susanna Reich
Age Range: 6 and up
Lexile: 810
***** ( 5 stars)

Bookworm List: Going for the Gold

Once again, a big thanks to all that took part in this year's summer reading program. We hope everyone had a good time ( even amidst the renovations, which will be continuing well on to perhaps the next year or so) and will continue to come to the library.

Last Friday, about 200 or so  countries came to London, England for the Opening Ceremonies of 2012 Summer Games . ( The best parts were the 50  Mary Poppins fighting Voldermort and the Skyfall trailer.) The games will continue from now to August 12th. For information, including scheduling of events ( which are  airing on NBC and all NBC-owned stations), please see the official site. 

To celebrate, the Children's Dept has a display of books on the different sports of the Summer Games, like swimming and gynamstics, and the host country, London, England, ( plus some biographies on athletes and British personalities) for checking out. ( The Cedar Lake Library will be offering a program on Saturday,  August 4th, from 10-11:30 am for all ages. Please contact the Cedar Lake Library at 374-7121 or http://www.lcplin.org/calendar.htm to register.)

Here are some titles to check out:

• The Olympics-Jane Duden
• The Story of the Olympics-Dave Anderson
• Track and Field-Shane Frederick ( part of the Summer Olympic Legend series)
• Look What Came from England-Kevin Davis

 By the way-
2014- Winter Games ( Sochi, Russia)
2016- Summer Games ( Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Keep reading!!

Just a reminder...

 Just a reminder...

Next week is the last week of Summer Reading program 2012-Dream Big-Read! We hope everyone had a good time and that everyone keeps reading and coming to the library. Saturday, July 28th is the last day to turn books in for prizes. Please return all children's books to the book drop at the new, pretty Circulation desk after July 28th.

Here are our final three programs. Please register via the Library Calender at the www.lcplin.org or call 769-3541 ext 360.

  Blast Off! ( 4-5 yr old program) Tuesday, July 24th at 10 am or 2 pm

Family Movie Day (Happy Feet Two) All ages, please no dark or red-colored drinks- Wednesday July 25th at noon

Starry Starry Night ( K-5 and family program)- Thursday, July 26th at 4 pm ( Note-Because there is painting involved, children are asked to wear old clothes or paint shirts).


We will also be having a book exchange on Friday, July 27th from 2:30-4:30 pm. No registration is required for this program, open to infant to 6th grade. They are welcome to bring up to four gently-used books to exchange for four new gently-used books.