Hoping for Spring!

I don't know about you but I am soooo ready for spring! Too much snow, slushy streets and gray skies! These three books really lifted my spirits and I hope they lift yours, too.

Easter Bunny Blues by Carol Wallace is an Easy Reader chapter book, meant for those children just learning to read (approximately first thru early third grades). The Easter Bunny has the flu and Petey and Old Jack are determined that children will still get their Easter baskets. All the animals on and around the farm contribute time and resources to create the baskets. Cooperation is the theme here (along with a little springtime magic!)



Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas is hysterical! Large, brightly colored dust bunnies have fun rhyming words, except for Bob. For some reason, he just doesn't seem to be into rhyming words. Bob saves the dust bunnies once but....read this picture book! Hey, that reminds me that spring cleaning is around the corner...poor dust bunnies!






Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson tells the story of our old friend Fletcher the fox as he becomes alarmed by the appearance of what he thinks is snow. Fletcher rushes to his friends who have just migrated or have just come out of hibernation to alert them to the situation. They all hurry down to play in the snow but find spring blossoms drifting down from the trees instead. Tiphanie Beeke's beautiful illustrations fill each page and will have you hungering for spring flowers and gentle breezes!

Lincoln's 200th Birthday and Valentine's Day

What an exciting week! First we will be remembering Abraham Lincoln on what would have been his 200th birthday on February 12th. If we all lived our lives as Lincoln lived his with integrity, honor, intelligence and humor, this nation would certainly be better off. Check out our Youth Services window for famous quotes from Lincoln, spoken by your favorite children's book characters. My favorite? "The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend." Wise man, Abraham Lincoln. Want to learn more about Abraham Lincoln? Check out the Smithsonian Institute.
And then there's Valentine's Day on Saturday, February 14th! Red and pink paper, candy and lots of hugs and kisses from your parents make this the best low maintenance winter holiday ever! Don't forget to give your parents extra hugs for dealing with all the snow this year. Come on, spring!

James Patterson says READKIDDOREAD

One of the most prolific and popular authors, James Patterson, has created a website promoting reading: http://www.readkiddoread.com/ When Patterson's own son seemed indifferent to reading, Patterson not only began to write children's books, he created this website to help kids, parents and teachers find those books that will appeal to kids who just don't want to read. Much like Jon Scieszka's http://www.guysread.com/, Patterson has assembled a site that is easy to maneuver and appeals to kids. Not only does he highlight current fiction and nonfiction, he also lists these books by style (great illustrated books, great transitional books, great page turners and great advanced reads) and then breaks it down into age categories. Colorful book covers make the site appealing and by clicking on each, parents or kids can read a review of the book. Books listed there are current and popular here at the library so I know Patterson has really done his homework. Try it out!

It's awards time again!

An exciting podcast from the ALA midwinter conference announced the winners of the Newbery and Caldecott awards yesterday. This is the equivalent of the Oscars here in Libraryland! This podcast had Ms. Barnes and I glued to our monitors and gasping in surprise, as there were some unexpected winners. How many of them have you read? I just finished "The Graveyard Book" and it was spectacular! If you are a fifth through seventh grader, you should read this unusual horror book. Imagine, a child raised by ghosts in a graveyard and saved from death with the help of the Sleer. What's a Sleer? Imagine a huge snake with three corpses' heads....creepy!
Here are all the winners and honor books; why not check a few out and compare notes with your friends and teachers? Just a reminder, some of these books are found in the Youth Adult area of our library and could contain mature themes.

Newbery Medal

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Newbery Honor Books

"The Underneath" by Kathi Appelt

"The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom" by Margarita Engle

"Savvy" by Ingrid Law

"After Tupac and D Foster" by Jacqueline Woodson

Caldecott Medal

"The House in the Night", illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson

Caldecott Honor Books

"A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever" by Marla Frazee, Harcourt, Inc.

"How I Learned Geography" by Uri Shulevitz, Farrar Straus Giroux

"A River of Words: The

Story of William Carlos Williams", illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant

Batchelder Award

"Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit" by Nahoko Uehashi

Batchelder Honor Books

"Garmann's Summer" written and illustrated by Stian Hole, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett

"Tiger Moon" written by Antonia Michaelis, translated from the German by Anthea Bell

Belpré Author Award

"The Surrender Tree: Poem

s of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom" by Margarita Engle

Belpré Author Honor Books

"Just in Case" by Yuyi Morales

"Reaching Out" by Francisco Jiménez

"The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos" by Lucia Gonzalez

Belpré Illustrator Award

"Just in Case" by Yuyi Morales

Belpré Illustrator Honor Books

"Papa and Me" illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Arthur Dorros

"The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos" illustrated by Lulu Delacre, written by Lucia Gonzalez

"What Can You Do with a Rebozo" illustrated by Amy Cordova, written by Carmen Tafolla,

Carnegie Medal

"March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World"

Coretta Scott King Award

"We Are the Ship: the Story of Negro Baseball League" by Kadir Nelson

Coretta Scott King Honor Books

"Keeping the Night Watch" by Hope Anita Smith

"The Blacker the Berry" by Joyce Carol Thomas

"Becoming Billie Ho liday" by Carole Boston Weatherford

Geisel Award

"Are You Ready to Play Outside?" written and illustrated by Mo Willems

Geisel Honor Books

"Chicken Said, 'Cluck!'" written by Judyann Ackerman Grant

"One Boy" written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

"Stinky" written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis

"Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator" written by Sarah C. Campbell

Odyssey Award

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," written and narrated by Sherman Alexie,

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks

"Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady," written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren,

"Elijah of Buxton" written by Christopher Paul Curtis, narrated by Mirron Willis

"I'm Dirty" written by Kate and Jim McMullan, narrated by Steve Buscemi

"Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale" written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy

"Nation" written by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs

Sibert Medal

"We Are theShip: The Story of Negro League Baseball" written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Sibert Honor Books

"Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of the Past" written by James M. Deem

"What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!" written by Barbara Kerley

Wilder Medal

Ashley Bryan, author and illustrator of numerous books, including "Dancing Granny," "Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum" and "Beautiful Blackbird."

Create your own Storytube!

It's almost time for the annual Storytube contest at the Gail Borden Library in Elgin. What is a Storytube? Children from around the country video themselves booktalking their favorite books, complete with costumes and different locations. How cool is that! It is simple to enter:
· Get your parent or guardian's permission if you are under 18
· Make your video up to two minutes long
· Feature one book in your video
· Enter as an individual or as part of a group of two to five people by uploading your video to YouTube or TeacherTube
· Enter between January 8 and February 15, 2009
· Be creative!
Get more updated details about participating at www.storytubes.info.

Picture Books for All!

Most parents love the closeness they share as they read to their children. There are those among us, however, that also read picture books for their own enjoyment--yes, I'm one of those!


In "The Boy Who Went Ape" by Richard Jesse Watson and Benjamin James Watson, it's field trip season for Alcatraz Elementary School. Benjamin has been very naughty, inadvertently releasing a chimp at the zoo who grabs his coat and hat, locks him in the cage and takes his place on the bus. You can imagine the adventures the chimp, Ms. Thunderbum the teacher, and the rest of the class has. Hint--a bank robbery is involved! Large, bright illustrations highlight the story perfectly.


"Doo-Wop Pop" by Roni Schotter is the story of five shy kids in school and the melodious Mr. Searle, a janitor who used to sing doo-wop back in the day. Mr. Searle finds just the right way to encourage his five fledglings to have confidence and believe in themselves. This is a universal issue that has a satisfying solution. A must read!






Advertised as "a petrifying parody", "Goodnight Goon" by Michael Rex is a take-0ff on the much loved classic "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown. We find a little wolfman getting ready for bed, saying goodnight to the hairy claws, set of jaws, a loud screechy bat and a black hat. For all you monster lovers out there and your kids too!





"Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty's Little Sister" by Bob Graham puts a new spin on the Humpty Dumpty story. The Dumpty family works as circus performers--all but Dimity, that is. Dimity prefers to stay out of the spotlight, playing her tiny flute away from the crush of the crowds. That mischevious Humpty, while spraypainting his name on a wall, has a great fall and it's up to Dimity to find the courage to summond the help Humpty needs.






In Francesca Chessa's "Holly's Red Boots" the first snow of the season has fallen and Holly is anxious to get outside. She tries on quite a selection of items before she finds her boots. (The sombero will have you giggling!) This is a silly story, guaranteeing many laughs.

Yes! Even More Holiday Suggestions! Whew!

What a rash of good books, right?! I read two historical fictions and a fun fantasy this last weekend that I know one of your readers will fly through!

"The Floating Circus" by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer begins with two brothers in an orphanage. The oldest, Owen, is a daredevil, while his younger brother, Zach, is kind and quiet. While climbing the highest tree on the orphanage's yard on a dare, Owen falls and injures his arm, rendering it useless. After healing the two boys are put on an orphan train to the West, but Owen fears no one will adopt Zach if he has a handicapped brother and jumps from the train. With the help of a freed slave, Solomon, Owen gets a job on a circus paddleboat. All the elements of a Mark Twain adventure are here--life on the river, learning compassion and acceptance and just growing up. A marvelous, exciting book for anyone but great for your reluctant reader! Why not look up the history of the floating circus?

"The Leanin' Dog" by K.A. Nuzum. It's the 1930's and Dessa Dean has suffered a terrible tragedy. While walking with her mother in the woods , a massive snowstorm made them lose their way home. Dessa Dean's mom died as Dessa Dean lay next to her. Dessa Dean suffered frostbite on her ears and can no longer leave her house, as it brings back those memories of her mom. One day Dessa hears scratching on her door and finds a brown dog. Will Dessa Dean be able to lure this dog into the house? And will her big, gruff father chase away the dog as it growls menacingly at him? This remarkable dog will help Dessa conquer her fears, reunite her with her father, and bring back the spirit of the holidays. Again, check out the history of the 1930's while you're at it!


My last book is a fantasy called "The Fairie Door" by B.E. Maxwell. I will give you the description of the book by Amazon, as they can report it more succinctly.

"Long ago the Faerie Queen created portals between our world and hers, so that children could summon help from faeries whenever the need arose. But a wicked entity called the Shadow Knight is endeavoring to control the doors between the two worlds, and only evil can get through. It falls to two imaginative eleven-year-olds—Victoria Deveny, from 1890 Britain, and Elliot Good, from 1966 America—to thwart his plan.

The Faerie Queen dispatches the youths on separate quests to retrieve orbs of power that will ultimately defeat the Shadow Knight. Their bravery and friendship are tested as the children travel to fantastic realms and face life-threatening dangers—from dragons to flying pirate ships to a wicked sorceress queen—before they're reunited to confront the dreaded Shadow Knight." You fourth through sixth graders will be waiting on pins and needles til the sequel comes out, guaranteed!