Keeper and Kid

Edward Hardy's Keeper and Kid was not a book that I "couldn't put down", but it did have it's good points. It is a story of an ex-wife that dies and leaves her three year old son with the father that never knew he had a son. And this was the man that didn't want children either. He was happy with his life with his new girlfriend and kids were not in the plan. But when he's left with Leo, his son, he has no other option but to take him and raise him. It turns James Keeper's world upside down but it also shares with him the deep love of a child. I did think it was a good story - maybe all parts didn't appeal to me, but the storyline was good.

Toon Books

This wonderful new series is SURE to delight young readers - if you haven't seen them yet - YOU MUST!!! My first encounter with this series of Graphic Novels for younger readers was at PLA this year. I have purchased them all!

To Visit the Toon Books Website, click HERE.

To see their blog - go HERE.

Twilight

So I am probably THE LAST person on earth that hadn't read Twilight by Stephenie Meyers - but now I'm not!!!! I finished it just yesterday and all I can say is that the second one better be in soon!!! So here's my disclaimer - I don't normally like vampire books and yes, I am happily married and not even a teenager!!! But I still thought this story was totally absorbing - I think Meyers' is brilliant - she has crafted a book that not only hooks every teen that reads it - but I am finding hooks adults - yes, even men! So I'll leave you with this thought - you don't know who Bella or Edward are????? Neither did I, but it's time you found out!!! Hey, and just in time for the upcoming movie!!!

Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

I am telling you - this is one for EVERY librarian to read - oh yeah, and every kid too!! What a riot!! What you didn't know is that librarians are a cult and their plan is to blind people to the truth. That is where Alcatraz comes in - he must stop them - by infiltrating the local library!!!! Go Alcatraz - just see if you can stop us!! Thanks to Brandon Sanderson for such a great book - Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians is a winner - one that boys, especially, will LOVE!!

Change of Heart

Jodi Picoult's latest book did not let me down - Change of Heart - was fast paced and kept me going until the very last page - when I didn't want it to end! This book dealt with so many issues that are great for discussion - the death penalty, the gnostic gospels, different faiths, etc. I think it would make a great adult book discussion. You have a death row inmate that wants to donate his heart to the daughter of the family that he was convicted of committing a murder. SO, he has to get it overturned so that he does not need a lethal injection, but so that he can die by hanging. VERY interesting read - I find her work compelling - and this was true to form - I say, "Read it!" There is ALWAYS a twist at the end - be ready!

The 2008 InfoTubey Awards

Yes - they rolled out the red carpet tonight at CIL 2008. The 2nd Annual Info Tubey Awards were held - goodness, I was underdressed, but other than that - it was a riot!!! So, without further ado - here are the winners:

Amazing Library 101 Challenge - University of Ottawa Morisset Library
Visual Resource Center - DePauw University Greencastle, Indiana

MCLS Year of the Teen - Monoe County Library Systems Monroe, Michigan
Now Your Library is Open Late Night, Too - Gibbsboro, New Jersey
Library Zombies - Allen County Public Library - Fort Wayne, Indiana

They were all winners - and such great library promotion - go check them out - I'll be curious to see what you think!

Washington, D.C.

I am here - learning alot, but that is why I am not blogging on books - just in case you cared! I will be back soon - hmmm, may have to share some other fun new stuff I learned too!

Our New Favorite

Is there a book that your child brings to you to read over and over??? This one is ours right now - Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard - and I have to say - it STILL makes me smile EVERY TIME!!! We can't keep it in at our library either. Oh, and my favorite - I took it to read at HeadStart and when I was done - ALL of the kids were raising their hands to take it home - it's that good!!!

So when you are having a grumpy day - this IS the book for you!!!

Astrid & Veronika

Linda Olsson's Astrid and Veronika is a wonderful novel about friendship. It is one of those tender novels that you just don't run across very often and you want to savor every minute of it. It is the story of a dear elderly lady, Astrid, with quite a sad past. She meets up with her new younger neighbor, Veronika, who is also struggling to rid herself of memories and hurts from her past. Working together, and building a strong friendship, they are able to help one another with their past hurts and move forward stronger. Very powerful!

The Shack

Having just finished The Shack by William P. Young, I am left with LOTS of questions. Has anyone else read this?? It is incredibly popular right now - we can hardly keep it in at our library - and with a review from Eugene Peterson like this, "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!" I just had to read it. So, I read it - I am finished I just have a million questions!

It really is a fascinating story - that is supposedly told to the author by Mack - the main character in the story. Mack looses his daughter at a campground - she is abducted and murdered. Mack is, obviously, horrified, and blames himself and is very angry with God. So he gets an invitation - an invitation written from "Papa" to come and meet at the very shack near where his daughter was killed. Mack goes - he, questioningly goes to the shack and has a weekend encounter with physical manifestations of the trinity. It shakes up everything that I have been taught in some ways - in others, it brings to life - and explains many of the questions I have had for years. All I can say is - Would someone please read this and chat with me!?!?!? :)

There is even a website dedicated to the whole idea of this book - theshackbook.com.

Free Books!!

Wow - never thought YOU could win books AND your library could win books with you!?!?! And all just for bragging about your favorite book!?!?! Well,you can.

Here's some info:

StoryTubes is here! From New York to California, kids in Grades 1-6 are talking up their favorite books. You can too!

Along with your parent or guardian, follow these simple steps:
Make a 2-minute video about your favorite book;
Upload the video to

YouTube; and
Come to this StoryTubes website and send in the link to your uploaded YouTube video using the online Contest Entry Form.

Beginning April 1, your video becomes part of a national contest!
Voting mania will then begin and happen each week in May! At the end of each week, one lucky contestant will win $500 in books. Their sponsoring organization (school, library or designated organization for home-schooled youth) will receive $1,000 in books.

Four Video Categories:
Hair-Raising TalesFrom or For the HeartOf Heroes and HeroinesFacts, Fads and Phenoms
Tell the story about your favorite book today. When entering, please don’t use your last name in the video. Entries will be evaluated on creativity, content and performance.

For MORE - Go HERE.

Live Blogging

Well - my goal was to "live blog" everyday of PLA, but so far we have been keeping SO busy that that hasn't happened!!! So I'm trying to carve out some time here to post some thoughts - my day started off with a bang - I attended a workshop led by a fellow kidlit blogger - Adrienne - that was SO fun to meet a fellow blogger in real life!! AND she did a wonderful job with the workshop - how to work with homeschoolers in your library - near and dear to my heart. THEN - to add to my day - I got to hear a reader's theater with none other than: Avi, Brian Selznick, Sarah Weeks, and Pam Munoz Ryan. I am telling you - is there anything better!?!?! Lest you think it is all fun and no work - I am also learning SO much - watch out my little town - I am coming back with library ideas GALORE!!!

Sue and I posing with Baker and Taylor - I am telling you - we are meeting ALL the celebrities!!

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie

Jordan Sonnenblick's Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie is Right up there at the top!!! I love to find a strong "guy book" and this is certainly one of them. Don't get me wrong - girls will love it too - but the main character is 13 year old, Steven. He goes through all the normal 8th grade stuff - girls, band - drums, and friends - but throw in there a 5 year old brother diagnosed with leukemia. The emotions are varied and oh-so-real - I just loved this one and am already scoping out another Sonnenblick novel to read. You can be sure I am selling this one to all my guy readers!!

Christmas In March

You know, tomorrow is March 25- maybe that is why my new box of books felt like Christmas time!!! I'd love to review each one but I am just pulling out a few of my favorites and highlighting them!!!!
Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri

My Life as a Chicken by Ellen A. Kelley

Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski


Wolf! Wolf! by John Rocco

Cottonball Colin by Jeanne Willis


Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic


What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas


Duck by Randy Cecil

Thank You

I just wanted to say a BIG Thank You to Kelley over at Caffeine Created Designs. I wanted something fun for my header that was book-related and SHE came up with this great book design. She said it "popped into my head yesterday when I remembered a Chinese proverb that I once read somewhere and wrote in my quote book…”A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.” I just LOVED it and wanted to thank her publically - her work is wonderful and unique - she is SO good!!

So I took her design - made just for me - and I built my header and page. If you are reading this and want a blog makeover - feel free to contact me - I am doing blog makeovers as a fundaiser for our upcoming adoption. To learn more - go to Lady in Waiting Blog Designs.

Spring Reading Thing

Spring Reading Thing 2008 is ready to go!!!!
March 20 - June 19

Here's my list: (in no particular order)

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs
Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson
Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
From China With Love by Emily Buchanan
True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Spatulatta

Found this fun website -and I'm thinking others will find it neat too. Spatulatta is a website for cooking with kids. It's done by Scholastic and it's very good!! I think you will find lots of fun recipes to make while you are there! They even have a cookbook - AND you can order it signed!! I am telling you THIS mommy could use a website like this!!

One Whole and Perfect Day

Judith Clarke's One Whole and Perfect Day is BRILLIANT!!! I can not tell you how much I LOVED this book. It is one of those books where you are introduced to characters you think you will never see again - seemingly insignificant characters - and they just keep popping up throughout the book - tying it all together. I thought the book was wonderful - it hits the life of a teen girl - and yet gives hope through all of the struggles - struggles we all deal with living in families. Lily feels her family is just too eccentric to be normal and she wishes for just "One Whole and Perfect Day." I love the way the whole book is her search - just to have that one perfect day that no one can ruin. It doesn't even look possible, but is it!?!?! I have read some reviews that it ended a bit "pat" but I disagree - we have enough books out there with tragedy - I love to read one, once-in-awhile, that ends "perfect"!! I was hesitant to read this one, as sometimes Printz books aren't all I hope them to be, but this one was SUPERB!!! All I can say is, "Read It!!"

The Best Nest

Doris L. Mueller's The Best Nest - is SUPERB!!! Another Sylvan Dell book that makes top marks with me!! (And it isn't just because I am a bird lover either!!) Ever wondered why birds build their nests differently - well this book explains it! It is told in story format, so it's non-fiction learning with fiction story - I love that. The illustrations, by Sherry Neidigh, are beautiful - eye-catching pictures of birds and nests. AND the best part of a Sylvan Dell book?? All the parent/teacher helps in the back of the book - oh yes, and their magnificent website - see, I could just go on and on.

Green, Glass Sea

I just finished this book that I have wanted to read for ages!!! And I'm glad I finally read it - The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages is just wonderful!!! It is about two girls that spend a year in Los Alamos as their parents work on the "secret gadget" together - the "secret gadget" that will end World War II. Dewey is a wonderful character - she is a bright, mechanically-minded 10-year-old who gets along fine with adults and the scientists at the site, but is made fun of by girls her same age. When her father is sent away for work, Dewey moves in with Suze, another scientist's daugther, who detests her. This is one of the best parts of the book though as you see the two begin to draw closer. Their friendship is tender and will touch a chord with many kids.

Unexpectedly, Dewey's father is killed, and we spend the rest of the book finding out what will happen to Dewey. After the atomic bomb test succeeds, Dewey wonders what will become of her since all of the workers will move back home and now she has no father (and no mother as she left them years ago). This book is a great way for us to see the secretive scientific community of Los Alamos - and see it through the eyes of the kids that lived there. I did not know much about the atomic bomb project, and this book was a great way for me to learn about this period of history.

Don't miss this wonderful book - and I hear a sequel is in the works!!