ALSC Blog post

I made the ALSC blog!  I'm very excited to be featured.  Here is a link:

ALSC Blog Post

Book Review: The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp

Kathy Appelt's True Blue Scouts

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp follows twelve individuals (some human, some animals, one mythical), all of whom live or are connected to the Sugar Man Swamp, on the far end of the Bayou Tourterelle in Texas. Two of the main characters, Bingo and J’miah, are raccoons who work as Information Scouts keeping the swamp safe. They’re tasked with waking the mythical Sugar Man (a cousin of the Yeti and Sasquatch) and alerting him to any dangers that may affect the swamp. When a strange rumbling begins, the scouts have found their first real mission. The other main character is Chap, a 12 year old boy who must become “the man” of the house now that his beloved grandfather has died. Chap and the swamp are both in trouble: Chap and his mother may lose their house and their pie-making business to the greedy Sonny Boy Beaucoup and Jaeger Stitch, who have plans to bulldoze the swamp and turn it into an alligator wrestling stadium. Appelt’s writing is laugh-out-loud humorous and has a folksy quality that is pleasant and welcoming. And although it’s a fun read, the flow of the story meanders slightly and the resolution seems to occur before it really begins. Readers may not mind this, however, as the characters and their adventures are so engaging. This is a good read with a light ecological focus. A strong choice for readers, 9-12.

We Made the News

My branch was recently featured in a news article by our local NPR affiliate, WHYY.  Here is a link to the article:

Northwest Free Library tour shows innovations as well as needs     

Work Blog Post: Princess Picture Books

Some of my book reviews have made their way to our blog at the library!  Check out a link here:

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/blog/index.cfm?postid=2030

Book Review: Strange Fruit (volume 1): Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History

My supervisor brought me back a copy of Strange Fruit from BEA this year and I was pleasantly surprised by the gift.  I have been trying to make a concerted effort to read more graphic novels this year.  They're not the section that I naturally gravitate towards, so when it comes to book talking titles, I think the kids can see the nervous flop sweat that I develop. 

Strange Fruit by Joel Christian Gill

Strange Fruit was good; there were nine stories in the book which ranged from the better known (Henry "Box" Brown and Bass Reeves) to the obscure (Richard Potter and Marshall "Major" Taylor).  The stories were colorful and seemed well researched.  The artwork was very cartoon-like but was not a distraction from the overall theme of each story.  The hand-lettering of the speech bubbles was hard for me to read, but became easier as I became more familiar with Mr. Gill's penmanship. 

I think this book serves as a good starting point for 'tweens and teens who are interested in African American History.  The bibliography in back is extensive and is broken down by each person.  Books are intermixed with websites, but the hand-lettering becomes problematic again as lines seem to blur together.  Mr. Gill's unusually drawn "E's" (Three parallel lines without a connecting bar) do not help the situation. 

July Bulletin Board: Book Recommendations

I've taken a few days off while I recovered from the ALA conference this year.  I'll post a bit about that as soon as I finish gathering my thoughts (and pictures!).  As always, it was a great conference!  I'm so glad I'm becoming more involved with the organization.

For summer reading this year, our Library System is playing Bingo.  So far, I'm loving it!  The bingo cards are fun and are set up with enough flexibility that all readers can play.

Both sets of cards (one for pre-K and one for school age) have a space for a librarian's book recommendation.  Since we have a lot of activities planned at my branch, I can't always be on the main floor.  As such, our July Bulletin Board is a list of books that are worth a read.  (At least I think they are!)

Here's a picture of the board:

Our July Board! 

Here are pictures of the recommendations.

A great book for storytimes

I love the illustrations by Diana Cain Bluthenthal

I love this easy reader.  I recommend it frequently.

Oh Pete, you glorious, glorious cat. 

I would love to see Isadora's artwork in person. 

I love reading this title during school visits.

These mysteries were a hit in our after school storytime! 

This series is really popular at my branch.

So far, this is the best new book I've read this year.

I love this series!  I wish more kids would check it out.

I'll be reviewing this on the blog soon.

I love the flow of this story. 

I didn't think I would like this series, but I did! 

The illustrations really enhance this story. 

I've created a simple mini handout that will allow people to add their own recommendations to the board.  I've quartered a piece paper in Word and have spots for people to list their name, age, the title of the book, and a few lines about why they loved it.  It's very similar to the cards I put in the back of the children's fiction.  I can't wait to see the bulletin board by the end of the month!