What I read this summer continued...

At the end of May, The Necromancer by Michael Scott was finally released, and I had been anxiously awaiting its arrival for the past year. This 4th installment of his 6-part series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel did not disappoint. I am so incredibly addicted to this series. It is fast-paced, young adult literature at its best. I think one of the things I love most about the series is how Scott incorporates real people from history, along with mythological beings, into this action-adventure story. He does it in such a way that the reader is completely drawn into the fantasy of it and is ready to follow the Flamels, Sophie, and Josh on their quest to save the world from what the Dark Elders have planned.
And, the master of the cliffhanger ending, Scott leaves his reader thirsty for more. I, for one, cannot wait until Book #5 gets here in May! In fact, I have it marked on my calendar. Yep, I'm that much of a book nerd.
Find out more about this great series at Michael Scott's website - http://www.dillonscott.com/the-secrets-of-the-immortal-nicholas-flamel/index.htm

What I did (read) this summer...

Things are in full swing in the library now, and I have some fun things planned for featuring authors this year (and you better believe that Judy Schachner, author of Skippyjon Jones, will be featured). So far, however, it seems all we have had time for is procedures and Book Fair. As I anticipate the things we will do together this fall, I'd like to reflect a little on what I read over the summer and into the start of the school year.

One of the things I read over the summer was Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. I picked it up at a Scholastic Warehouse Sale in May only because I wanted to see the movie, and I'm a sucker for books that are made into movies. I'm a "read-then-watch" kind of gal, so once I had the book in hand, I made myself wait for the movie. The basic rundown of the book is that it is a diary of the ups and downs of Julie Powell as she navigates her way through Julia Child's famous cookbook in one year. Along the way, she teaches herself how to cook, but the bigger picture is that she learns about herself and her true passions. In between, there are accounts of Julia's life in Paris in the form of letters written by her husband. Some things are a bit fictionalized, I think, but for the most part, the book is based on Powell's blog when she truly did spend a year cooking from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. If you are a foodie, or a Julia Child fan, and you don't mind a bit of a foul mouth, then you should read this book. There were moments in the book when I laughed like I hadn't laughed since reading Bridget Jones's Diary. And as for the movie, well, it wasn't bad either. Or at least the Meryl Streep parts were great.

Stay tuned for more later...
The Necromancer from The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott...

Fall Into Reading 2010 - My list

Well, the other day as I was baking, I stumbled upon a fantastic blog called Callapidder Days. I was mainly interested in her experiences making cake pops which so closely resembled my own, but then I noticed that she does a reading challenge too! Well, you know me. As a librarian, I simply cannot resist a reading challenge. Now, you'll have to forgive me because I haven't had much time to get my reading list together, and as always, it is an ever-changing work in progress.

My list is going to include all sorts of things, from children's picture books to young adult fiction to adult bestsellers. And, naturally, a couple of cookbooks I've been dying to get my hands on as well.

So, here we go. Let the reading adventure begin!

1) Cake Pops by the fabulous Bakerella (Of course, this one had to be tops on my list because that is what led me to this reading challenge in the first place - now if I could just find a copy).
2) Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
3) The Missing: Book 3, Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix
4) School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari
5) The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
6) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (I actually started this one quite some time ago, but I put it away because Mockingjay and then the last of the 39 Clues series came out, so I'm just now getting back into it).
7) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (I want to see the movie, so now I have to read the book).
8) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Again, I've been wanting to see the movie, but I won't watch it until I've read the book).
9) Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
10) Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
11) Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
12) The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
13) Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Okay, that will get me started. I'm going to come back later after I get home and see what else I have in my bedside stack.

If you'd like to participate in this challenge yourself, here's the link - http://callapidderdays.com/2010/09/fall-into-reading-2010-start-reading.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CallapidderDays+%28Callapidder+Days%29

Tammi Sauer Slideshow

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

A Visit from Tammi Sauer

This year the library hosted Tammi Sauer of Edmond, OK, author of Cowboy Camp, Chicken Dance, and the soon-to-be released, Mostly Monsterly. We enjoyed two full days of her presentations to Pre-K through 6th grades in which she discussed her books and her secrets for successful writing. Oh, and she did some magic tricks too! The students thoroughly enjoyed her visit and learning about what it takes to be a writer. (I think the adults learned a few things too!) My family was also lucky enough to host Tammi in our home for dinner, and my kids listened to their own personal reading of Cowboy Camp by the author herself. More pictures of Tammi Sauer's visit will be blogged soon. In the meantime, pop on over to www.tammisauer.com for more information on this awesome author and her books!

How have I missed these?

Skippyjon Jones is the new favorite book at my house. I have been hearing about Skippyjon for several years, but I haven't been too interested. I'm not sure why. Due to their popularity and the great deal I found in my son's Scholastic book club order form, I bought the first two - Skippyjon Jones and Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse. These books are pure fun. Skippyjon is a cute little Siamese cat who is under the mistaken impression that he is a chihuahua. This hyperactive kitty has an overactive imagination, and it leads to chaotic fun as he embarks on a mission to retrieve some stolen frijoles, from refried to jelly. The books contain fun rhymes and Spanish expressions that kids are sure to love. I'm just sorry it took me so long to figure out how good these books are, and I can't wait to purchase the rest of them.

More fun is to be had at the Skippyjon Jones website - http://www.skippyjonjones.com/. There you'll find games, downloads, coloring pages, and teacher info.

This week in the library...

We have been doing an author study on Graeme Base for the last few weeks, and our most recent book was Uno's Garden. This is probably my least favorite of the books that Base has written; however, I still enjoyed it. The illustrations are beautiful and intricate, as can be expected from a Graeme Base book. True to form, Base includes hidden pictures in the illustrations too. The message of this book is pretty deep for little kids. It is one of conservation and balance in nature. As people move into the forest, the plants and animals begin to disappear at an alarming rate, but in the end, the people realize that finding the proper balance is crucial to their happiness and the survival of these unique plants and animals. Full of fantasy, this book is still pleasing for kids of all ages, even though the younger set may not appreciate the deeper message. Another great thing about this book is its use of math concepts to teach the lesson. This would be a wonderful book for an interdisciplinary lesson in an elementary classroom.