This Week @ Storytime

We read...

Tales for 2's and 3's
Theo’s Thanksgiving by David Steinberg
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

Fun for 4's and 5's
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kaza
A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker

* Also, if you haven't yet filled out our Story Time Survey, please take the time to do so.  You can fill it out online here. Thanks to everyone who has filled one out. We really do appreciate your input!*

2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Kathryn Erskine's Mockingbird has won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Could this be an early predictor of a Newbery Award? Check it out at the library and let us know what you think. You can also read an interview with the author here.

Other finalists for this award were One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers, Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, and Dark Water by Laura McNeal.

More Newbery Thoughts: Karen Cushman's Alchemy

It is hard not to compare a book like Alchemy and Meggy Swann to the author's previous works. Karen Cushman writes historical fiction.  She writes about girls who, because of their place in history, have little to no power. Girls who have large obstacles to overcome. But if you were on the Newbery committee you couldn't compare Alchemy and Meggy Swann to the Midwife's Apprentice or Catherine Called Birdy. You would only be allowed to compare it to other books published this year. So I am going to pretend I'm on the Newbery committee and even though I really want compare Alchemy with Cushman's other books I am going to refrain. 

I enjoyed Alchemy and Meggy Swann. There were bits of historical information that I found very interesting.  I liked learning about the players and their troubles and I liked the bits about alchemy. But I found Meggy a little too lucky.  I couldn't get rid of the feeling that she achieved things too easily. Did any one else feel this way? I could see Alchemy winning a Newbery Honor but THE Newbery Medal?  I don't think it's the very best of the best from this year.  However I also still feel like I haven't come across that book yet.  We'll keep reading and discussing books in the children's department and we want to hear from others, so please recommend books to us.  We can't wait to hear from you!

NYT Book Review 2010 Best Illustrated Books

You'll want to take a look at the NYT Book Review's list of the best illustrated children's book of 2010.  Such beautiful design! Such great artists!  Some of these book are favorites of ours here at the library. But keep in mind that the list is for the best illustrations and some of these books, while beautiful, may not be abundant in kid-appeal.

Which ones from the list do we particularly love?

Children Make Terrible Pets written and illustrated by Peter Brown

 Here Comes the Garbage Barge! written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Red Nose Studio
 and....

 Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile

You can see the entire NYT list here.

This week @ Storytime

We read the following:

Tales for 2's and 3's
Ducking for Apples by Lynne Berry
A Cake all for Me! by Karen Magnuson Beil

Fun for 4's and 5's
Easy as Pie by Cari Best
Ugly Pie by Lisa Wheeler
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie by Judy Sierra
I Know and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

Fancy Nancy Fantastic Fan Photo Contest

If you know a Fancy Nancy lover, you won't want them to miss this contest. You can win the chance to make an appearance in a future Fancy Nancy book! See how you can enter here.

Game Day!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for our game day last week. We had a great time and  YOU got to be the game pieces!

Here's a few pictures of the game-tastic event:

We had Human Candyland...

Human Tic-Tac-Toe...

and Human Hungry Hunry Hippos!

Plus, more fun games!

All of our game pieces were created with easily accessible items.  Parents, this could be a great activity for a birthday party or even for a rainy day.  Feel free to ask us any questions about how we made our life-sized games.