Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Blog Tour: Busy Builders, Busy Week! Interview with Jean Reidy!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis
busy builders_1Busy Builders, Busy Week, by Jean Reidy/Illustrated by Leo Timmers, (June 2016, Bloomsbury), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1619635562

Sunday! Dream day! Study, scribble, scheme day. Map, measure, plan a treasure. Gather up a team day!

The author-illustrator team that brought us All Through My Town – a storytime staple at my library – comes together to bring readers a book about working together! Over the course of a week, animal characters pull together to build a brand new playground in their community. Each day brings new things to do, from planning, to digging, to fixing and planting!

This is such a fun story to read out loud, and has entered regular rotation at home. Kids can practice their days of the week and get lost in the rhyming story, which has the added benefit of showing readers how to group tasks to get things done in the best way. On Sunday, the builders come up with plans for their big job ahead; on Monday, they clear the area. Tuesday is for infrastructure: cement, pipes, boards, fixing fences. On Wednesday, we load everything up and take it on the road. Thursday is for getting the place shaped up: drills, nails, rake and spread. Friday, the plants go in and the final details, like painting and sanding, get the park ready for their big opening on Saturday!

I love Leo Timmers’ bright, bold acrylics here. The bright colors and cartoony animal characters are a perfect accompaniment to Jean Reidy’s bouncy, happy rhyming text. Even the endpapers bring on the fun, with yellow, diamond-shaped construction signs featuring different animals working at different tasks leading readers in and out of the story.

Transportation books have done well at all of my libraries, so this is a no-brainer for my collection. If your readers love books like Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, and Kate and Jim McMullan’s series (I Stink!, I’m Brave!, et al), this is a perfect fit. Busy Builders also lends itself to a days of the week read-aloud, right next to fun books like John Himmelman’s Chickens to the Rescue!,  or Albert Bitterman’s Fortune Cookies.

I was lucky enough to get a few minutes with author Jean Reidy, and we talked about Busy Builders, Busy Week! Read on!

 

MomReadIt (MRI): I love the idea of the characters coming together to create a playground! Did you decide on the idea of building the playground as the best way to talk about the days of the week, or did the story come together separately?

Jean Reidy (JR): A little bit of both, I’d say. When my editors at Bloomsbury asked me to write a days-of-the-week book for their list, I loved the idea. So I brainstormed a variety of approaches that ranged from the mundane to the wildly weird. But that’s the way I like to work, creatively uncensored, putting all the possibilities out there. I’ve always wanted to write a construction trucks book, so when I hit on the notion of a “construction week” the only decision left was, “What can we build in a week that will resonate with a child?” Well, a playground, of course. Even better, a playground designed by illustrator Leo Timmers. And while the premise was fun and uncomplicated, the idea of a community coming together to transform an old, abandoned city lot into something fun and beautiful felt like it added an additional layer of meaning to the essential story. I like that layer. I think it gives readers more to talk about. And Leo did a fabulous job bringing it to life.

MRI: When you were working on the text, did you plot out the different phases of construction to help you group together the tasks the characters undertake each day?

JR: That would have been really smart, eh? But my process was a little looser than that. I tried to keep my free association of the topic going as long as I could before I forced it into any kind of order. I wanted to fully explore all the fun possibilities for structure and language. So, I developed word lists—starting with the days of the week and then all the construction actions, sounds, vehicles and tools I could think of. I played with those lists until I sounded out the bouncy rhythm and rhyme scheme I wanted for my young readers. From there, I made sure that the construction tasks were logically ordered and grouped so that the artwork could then bring sense to the process of building the playground.

MRI: You’ve also written a book called ALL THROUGH MY TOWN that features animals as the main characters. Do you think these two books could take place in the same storytelling universe? Could the kids from All Through My Town come and play at the new playground built in Busy Builders, Busy Week?

JR: Oh my goodness! What a brilliant idea! I love unexpected connections, surprises and meta moments in storytelling. So let’s play that out. ALL THROUGH MY TOWN is loosely modeled after the Chicago suburb in which I grew up—a self-contained town with its own shops, library, gardens, fire department and only thirty miles from Chicago. The Chicago and Northwestern train line—now called the Metra—whistled through multiple times each day, taking commuters to and from the Windy City. BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! takes place in an urban area where the characters transform an old empty lot. So yes, let’s have our town characters hop on their train and visit their city friends—all meeting up at that brand new playground. Bloomsbury, how ‘bout it? Readers, toss me a title! Let’s do this!

 

Jean Reidy photoJean Reidy is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award. Especially gifted at writing for very young children, Jean is a frequent presenter at national and local literacy, writing, and education conferences and at schools across the country—in person and via Skype. She is a member of the Colorado Council International Reading Association and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and she serves on the board of Reach Out and Read Colorado. Jean writes from her home in Colorado where she lives right across the street from her neighborhood library, which she visits nearly every day. Visit her at www.jeanreidy.com and on Twitter: @JeanReidy.

 

Follow Jean on the BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! tour!

Mon, Aug 22 Cracking the Cover
Tues, Aug 23 Literary Hoots
Wed, Aug 24 NC Teacher Stuff
Thurs, Aug 25 Mom Read It
Fri, Aug 26 Unleashing Readers
Sat, Aug 27 Booking Mama
Mon, Aug 29 Bluestocking Thinking
Tues, Aug 30 Jean Little Library
Wed, Aug 31 Geo Librarian
Thurs, Sept 1 Mrs. O Reads Books
Fri, Sept 2 Where Imagination Grows

Click here for a free classroom curriculum guide and storytime kit!

Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to receive a copy of BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! (U.S. addresses, please.)

Posted in Early Reader, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

A touching portrait of a Canadian strongman: The Great Antonio

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

antonio_1The Great Antonio, by Elise Gravel (Oct. 2016, TOON Books), $12.95, ISBN: 978-1-943145-08-9

Recommended for ages 6-8

Antonio Barichievich was a bear of a man: he weighed as much as a horse, once wrestled a bear, pulled passenger buses full of people, and could eat 25 roast chickens and a dozen donuts in one sitting. He was also a beloved figure: an immigrant from Eastern Europe who loved his adopted country of Canada and its people. He was a wrestler and a strongman; he was a kind and gentle soul who twirled kids around on his gigantic braids, who lived simply, and could often be found in his neighborhood donut shop.

Even if you’re not familiar with The Great Antonio – I wasn’t, before this – this is a sweet tribute to a beloved public figure. The book is accessible to anyone, because it’s a story about a larger-than-life person who did larger-than-life things. Add bright and bold illustration to a story about a man that some people thought of in Paul Bunyan-type terms, even joking that he may have been from another planet – and you have a modern tall tale for a new audience.

A note from the author/illustrator at the end of the book explains her interest in Antonio. She “illustrates a little “About Me”, showing readers things she likes, like fart jokes, grumpy unidentified things, and strong and funny girl characters, which assures that I should probably become BFFs with her, because I like those things too, and my kids and the kids in my library know it. This will make life so much easier when I booktalk this book (and try to find more of her illustrated books in the US).

Check out Elsie Gravel’s website for more of her artwork and books. The Great Antonio‘s page on TOON Books will also have a link to an educator’s guide closer to pub date, so keep it bookmarked. The Great Antonio is a Level 2 TOON Book, so it’s appropriate for readers in grades 1-2 (but you can read it to younger – my 4 year old loved seeing Antonio swing kids from his braids and wrestle a bear). If your kids’ school uses Guided Reading, the book is appropriate for levels G-K, and it’s a Lexile BR-240.

As a biography, it’s pretty niche, at least here in the U.S., but as a story about a person who touched lives and made headlines, it’s a great read.  I love the art and the story, so I’ll see how this one does in my collection, especially with some booktalking/storytimes.

 

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Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Meet the Wyverns in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hi, all! I’ve fallen a bit behind in my posts – I was a bit too ambitious in my Summer Reading – so please forgive me. Here, I’ve got a great author post from Keira Gillett, author of the Zaria Fierce Trilogy, who’s going to talk about one of my favorite mythical creatures, the Wyvern. Enjoy!

Good day everyone! I’m so happy to be back here hanging out with Rosemary and all of you. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Keira Gillett and I am the author of the Zaria Fierce Trilogy, which is about a young girl who moves to Norway and discovers that trolls and things from her fairytale books really do exist. Along her journey, Zaria and her friends encounter all sorts of beings and creatures. Today I’ll be talking about three of them – the wyverns.

Now traditionally, wyverns are two-legged winged dragons. I already had dragons in the books, so I used the wyverns as beasts of burden. I made them hybrid creatures so that they could live in the far north of Norway and still be part reptile. My hybrid wyverns are able to regulate their core temperatures, spew fire under various conditions, and some of them can even fly.

Let’s start with the first wyvern. I call this wyvern a winter-wyvern. The most famous one is Norwick, who helps Zaria and her friends throughout the books. What sort of creatures might you expect to be smushed together to make this creature? I’ll give you a hint, here’s Eoghan Kerrigan’s illustration of Norwick in the books:

zariachapter5
If you guessed saber-tooth tiger/snow leopard, bear, bat, and wyvern you would be 100% right! How many did you guess correctly?

Winter-wyverns are the only ones that can fly. They have bear-claw feet with dragon scales, a body that’s a mix of bear and tiger/leopard, a saber-tooth tiger head, snow leopard markings, and bat wings. They can comfortably fly two people and can pull a heavy load over short distances. In duress they’ve been known to spew fire, but it takes some time for them to build up to that, making them highly susceptible to attacks by trolls who employ devious tricks against them.

Now the second wyvern is a water-wyvern. In book three we meet one for the very first time guarding the entrance to some terrible dwarves and their city-state of Malmdor. His name is Vingar and he’s very upset because he’s too big for the quarry lake the dwarves stuck him in. Knowing that he must live in the water, what animals do you think make up a water-wyvern? Hint, here’s a picture that Eoghan drew of Vingar for the book:

zaria3chapter4

If you guessed seahorse, shark, eel, crocodile/alligator, and wyvern, you would be correct! How many did you guess right at first glance?

Water-wyverns have seahorse faces filled with rows and rows of serrated shark teeth. His roar of rage would send you scurrying under the covers if you could hear it. Grr… Their body is the shape of an eel with small limbs like a crocodile/alligator. Their legs let them propel their bodies onto the short to snap at unsuspecting prey coming in for a drink of water. However they can’t stay out of the water for very long. They have smooth shark skin that cuts into the delicate skin of its prey at the merest brush. Vingar never used his inner fire in the books, but water-wyverns are able to spit boiling hot water at victims, but only under the water, and only when extremely vexed. Thank goodness!

In the book, Vingar has an unfortunate run-in with Zaria and her friends and gets shrunk to the size of a small dog. Now his roar of rage is much much cuter sounding. I’m told that when he got small I wrote some of his mannerisms and behavior after my dog, Oskar. I don’t know about you, but I would totally prefer a run-in with my dog vs a run-in with Vingar. I mean, just look at his cute little face.

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The last wyvern is a weather-wyvern. Do you sense a alliteration theme going on yet? This wyvern is introduced within the heart of Malmdor. The original ones in Norway were gifts from Vikings who found them while on their travels to the eastern countries along the Mediterranean. Knowing that they come from a different part of the world, somewhere hot and dry, what do you think they look like? Hint, here’s a statue of one that the kids come across while they’re underground. This one is a bit cheating for me because I know what makes up the head, but go ahead and guess anyway, let’s see what you can extrapolate from Eoghan’s drawing.

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The weather-wyvern is a combination of thorny lizard its body, road runner feet (if you said bird that counts), and jerboa (tail). Now the head, which you can’t see is lizard-like with great big and tall goat horns. How close were you to the truth?

The weather-wyverns are used by the dwarves to stoke their great forges and furnaces. Weather-wyverns are the only wyverns that can spew fire easily whenever they want it. They prefer burning hot and dry spaces, which means they live in the forges and furnaces. It’s a win-win as far as the dwarves are concerned they get magically hot fires that last for ages, the weather-wyverns are treated well and given homes to suit their needs.

Of the three wyverns, which is your favorite? If you created a hybrid wyvern, what animals would you use to make one up? I’d love to hear your thoughts, be sure to leave a comment!

Thanks again Rosemary for having me here at Mom Read It.


Zaria3Book Three in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy

Summary: “Nothing can save you now, Princess.”

How can anyone be tricked twice? Isn’t there even a saying about that? Zaria Fierce is determined to get things right this time and with the Drakeland Sword in her possession she’s ready to take on trolls, dragons, and whatever else may come… but first she and her friends are going to have to figure out just how much trouble they’re in at home.

Release Date: July 1, 2016

Available in E-book, Paperback, and Audiobook (Coming Soon)

Praise for Zaria Fierce and the Dragon Keeper’s Golden Shoes (Book 3):

“That’s the great thing about the Zaria Fierce trilogy: adventure is fast, furious, and loaded with Norse mythology, but the friendship between Zaria and her group of friends is the heart that drives this story.” Rosemary, Mom Read It

“I think the Zaria Fierce series mixes together all the things that I love about reading fantasy books, there is a sense of good versus evil, strong friendships, dragons, gorgeous illustrations, a captivating world, a perfect middle-grade book for someone looking for an action packed story filled with Norse mythology.” – Brenda, Log Cabin Library

“Zaria Fierce and the Dragon Keeper’s Golden Shoes was a spectacular conclusion to a great trilogy (though the ending left the door open for more adventures). Filled with magic, a great story line, amazing and real characters, wonderful settings and beautifully explored themes, Keira Gillett created a trilogy that I will always cherish and will visit anytime. If you like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Spiderwick Chronicles or simply love a book filled with Norwegian folklore and fantasy, then this is the ultimate series for you to read, devour and lose yourselves in.” – Ner, A Cup of Coffee and a Book

Excerpt:

Hector was right that the group wasn’t far from Malmdor. They reached the entrance before night fell, and in the gloomy dusk that slipped around them like a cloak, they reached the edge of the forest and stopped. Below them in a wide clearing was an abandoned quarry filled with water.

The lake was nestled at the bottom of a deep, steep pit. Its deep blue water was smooth and glassy, protected from wind by the rocky walls and surrounding forest. Zaria could see the lakebed in the shallower areas. Something large swam in the center, too deep to see clearly.

“What is that?” asked Filip, having spotted the creature at the same time.

Hector said, “It’s a water-wyvern.”

“Is that like the Loch Ness Monster?” asked Christoffer. “Cool. No wonder they can’t find it in Scotland.”

“You haven’t seen a winter-wyvern,” Zaria said. “I bet it’s more like Norwick.”

“The flying snow leopard-bear-bat thing you told me about? Even better,” Christoffer said, rubbing his hands together in glee. “Do we get to meet it?”

“Is it friendly?” worried Geirr.

“The beastie is not friendly,” said Hector, grimly. “And yes, we will be meeting it. Water-wyverns are wild, unpredictable creatures. This one is particularly nasty. It was captured and transported to this quarry lake over a century ago. It can’t escape – water-wyverns aren’t able to live out of water for very long. This makes it very angry. The lake is too small for him.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Geirr said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “So, can it eat us?”

Hector nodded. “It once devoured an entire legion of dwarf handlers because they smelled bad. They’ve showered regularly ever since.”

Geirr looked at Zaria. “Why?” he moaned. “Why do we have to meet it?”

“Look on the bright side, mate,” Filip said, clapping Geirr on the back. “Maybe we get to ride it.”

Hector shook his head. “The water-wyvern is the guardian of Malmdor. Its job is to keep out all trespassers.”

Christoffer sighed, disappointed. “Too bad. I would have loved to ride him.”

“Will we have to feed it to get by it? What does a water-wyvern eat?” Aleks asked, readjusting his backpack and bow.

“It eats whatever it can catch,” Hector said forebodingly. “We’ll have to be careful as we near the shoreline. A water-wyvern might not have much in the way of limbs, being adapted to the water, but it has enough leg-power to propel itself onto the shore and attack.”

“At least it can’t fly,” said Geirr, relieved. “Small favors.”

Zaria and her friends gasped as it breached the surface, blowing out a large stream of air. The water-wyvern was magnificent with a gray-and-white pattern. It had a seahorse face, with a long snout, and no ears. The top of its head bore a wavy crest that trailed down its neck.

As the creature dove beneath the water, it flipped its body into the air. There were no scales anywhere on it, as far as she could see. Zaria half-expected a whale fluke, but its tail looked like an eel’s. The thing was massive, at least four times bigger than Norwick, and hideous.

They stood there, watching the shifting, undulating, shadow in the water. Aleks wore a pensive frown, his brown eyes narrowed. “Does it have a name?”

“The dwarves call it Vingar.”

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29983980-zaria-fierce-and-the-dragon-keeper-s-golden-shoes

Keira Gillett author pictureAuthor Bio: Keira Gillett is a technical publications librarian, book blogger, world traveler, artist, and now author. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing and Painting. From an early age her mother instilled a love of the written word, as such she has always been a big reader. Her first book, Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, is about a young girl who must complete a quest to save her friend from a nasty river-troll.

Website: http://keiragillett.com

Social Media: Twitter (keiragillett), Facebook (zariafiercetrilogy), Pinterest (zariafierce)

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Posted in Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction

Animal Planet’s Animal Atlas is a passport to the world’s habitats

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

animal-planet-animal-atlas-hardcover-book-658_670Animal Planet Animal Atlas, by Animal Planet (May 2016, Animal Planet), $17.95, ISBN: 978-1618931658

Recommended for ages 7-10

I have tons of animal nonfiction books in my library, and I have a bunch of really good books on habitats, too.  What Animal Planet’s Animal Atlas does it bring together explanations of different biomes/habitats, and the animals who live in them on each continent and in the oceans of our world.

The atlas begins with a map to present the major biomes of the world, and describes each biome: alpine, desert, marine, grassland, rain forest, temperate forest, tundra, and taiga. Animal tour guides for each continent take readers through a look at different animals that inhabit each biome on each continent, and features like ROAR (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) – Animal Planet’s initiative, dedicated to improving the lives of animals worldwide – empower kids with knowledge about how humans are working to change the world for the better through conservation and protective measures. Surprisingly Human boxes provide facts about the similarities between animals and people. Each continent section ends with a spotlight on an animal from the area, giving readers a close-up look at animals like the bald eage, anaconda, or Sumatran tiger. Spotlights include a Where in the World section, where maps detail the animals’ living areas; Animals Facts, and information on what they eat and how animals adapt best to their environments.

Combining colorful illustration and full-color photographs of over 200 animals, the atlas is a great resource for young readers. It’s got information ready at a glance for my Corona Kids, who come in asking for books about various habitats and then, what animals live in those habitats. It’s a strong companion book for slightly bigger kids, who will need more in-depth books to complete a report, but it’s a great starting point for anyone who wants a little more info on different habitats, and who may not realize that different continents have so many different biomes. A brief glossary and index round it all out.

This is a good addition to primary nonfiction collections if you have strong books that provide more detail that kids can jump to if they want to go further into a topic. Or, if you’re like me, and your kiddo just loves learning about different animals, where they live, and what they eat, it’s a nice add to your bookshelf. The passport and guide animal features add a cute touch that brings something different and fun to learning. Hmmm… now, I’m thinking of an animal program for my Discovery Club… learning about a new animal each week, and stamping a “passport” with an animal sticker or stamp… I’ve got to talk to my Discovery Team!

Posted in Horror, Humor, Teen, Tween Reads

Gina Damico’s Wax: You’ll never look at a candle the same way again.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

waxWax, by Gina Daminco, (Aug. 2016, HMH Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 9780544633155

Recommended for ages 12+

Welcome to Paraffin, Vermont, home of the Grosholtz Candle Factory. The town stinks. No, really, it does; imagine all those different scents in the air all the time, and what they must smell like when combined? Seventeen year-old Poppy is so tired of Paraffin and their candle tourism, but she and her bestie end up touring the factory one day, for giggles. She ends up discovering some batty old woman talking about living wax, and gives Poppy a candle that will protect her. When gets home, there’s a naked teenage boy in her trunk. A boy who looks suspiciously like a wax figure that she saw in the batty old woman’s workshop. He doesn’t really know much about who or what he is, but he answers to the name, Dud. A fire destroys the workshop, and with it, any chance for Poppy to talk to the woman and discover more, but no worry: she’s going to find out what’s really happening in the town of Paraffin soon enough. People are starting to act a little odd. A little… waxy.

Wax, like Damico’s previous book, Hellhole, combines horror with humor, with laugh-out-loud results. If you’re like me and love horror comedies like Evil Dead: Dead by Dawn and Return of the Living Dead, with a little less gore, you’re going to enjoy Wax. There’s something really horrific going on in the town of Paraffin, but with a sarcastic lead character like Poppy and a sweet, but dense sidekick named Dud, just sit back and enjoy the ride. There’s some true creepiness here; it’s not all snorts and giggles, so horror fans, if you want a break from gore and just want some good storytelling, pick up this book.

I loved Wax because there’s a good story and good characters, and it reminded me a little bit of Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets one of my favorite cult films from the late ’80s. Does anyone remember Waxwork? I have such great memories of being in college, staying up all night, and watching movies like Waxwork and the Puppet Master movies from Full Moon Entertainment. If you haven’t treated yourself to a viewing of Waxwork, I highly encourage it. Here’s the trailer.

But back to the book. Give this to your morbid humor fans who enjoy a little chuckle with their scares. Please booktalk this one with Damico’s Hellhole, because I feel like that book doesn’t get the love it deserves. Quirk Books has a great list of horror comedies that you can display, too, and don’t discount the tried and true work horses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Have teens who love movies? Have a horror fest with the cheesiest of cheese! My teen and I bonded over Evil Dead 2, and my tween understands the power behind the phrase, “Hail to the King, baby”.

Shop Smart, shop S-mart, and consider adding Gina Damico to your horror collection if you’re a fan or have fans in your patronage.

 

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle School, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

In The Gallery, art speaks volumes – who’s listening?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

galleryThe Gallery, by Laura Marx Fitzgerald, (June 2016, Dial Books), $16.00, ISBN: 9780525428657

Recommended for ages 10+

It’s 1929, and 12 year-old Martha has gotten herself thrown out of school for the rest of the school year. Her Ma certainly isn’t going to let her sit home and do nothing, so Martha ends up going to work as a maidservant for Mr. Sewell, the wealthy owner of a major New York newspaper, and his reclusive wife, Rose. Martha’s mother is in charge of the household and oversees all the staff, and Rose isn’t getting any favors by being Ma’s daughter: she’s put straight to work in the kitchen, scrubbing, sweeping, and mopping. She also hears a lot of talk from the servants in the house, who say that Rose is crazy, but Martha isn’t buying it: there’s more there than meets the eye, especially because Mr. Sewell gives her the creeps. When she discovers the Sewell gallery, a conversation with Alphonse – a servant who also seems to know more than he’s letting on – confirms Martha’s suspicions. By learning more about the art that Mrs. Sewell sends down from her locked room to be displayed in the gallery, Martha puts together the real story about what’s going on at the Sewell house.

The only thing better than the story taking place in The Gallery is the fact that it’s based on a true event. Ms. Fitzgerald’s captivating author’s note at the end of the story fills in some crucial details about the story, the true story that inspired it, and more information about events taking place at the time the story unfolds. The Jazz Age, on the brink of the stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression, had anarchists, performers both glitzy and outrageous, defined separation of classes, and a lot of backstabbing, both professionally and personally. It was a fascinating time, and The Gallery is a fascinating look into some of that era.

The Gallery is a metaphor for there being more than just face value to things. Martha sees past Mr. Sewell’s exterior, to be sure, but there’s also a touching subplot about a girl coming of age in the middle of this madness, and realizing that her father isn’t the person she thought he was, either.

Every single character in this book is interesting; the story’s pace is perfect, with just enough exposition, then a slow but consuming buildup to the big finale. The bookend story that frames the entire narrative is just so good, and brings readers full circle. This is a great book to introduce to middle schoolers who want something… more. You know the readers: they want something, but not what everyone else is reading. They aren’t really sure what they’re in the mood for, but they want a good book. This is that book. Suggested books I’ve seen are Chasing Vermeer and The Westing Game, neither of which I’ve read, but have heard great things about. As they’re art-related mysteries, display them together. I’d also suggest The Girls at the Kingfisher Club, an excellent Jazz Age re-imagining of the beloved fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and also includes an autocratic, wealthy male figure that wants to keep the girls in his life locked away so he doesn’t have to deal with them.

Definitely worth the add to your collections. I’m thinking of gifting this to the eldest’s girlfriend; she loves a good story. It’s lovely when there are readers all around you!

 

 

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction

This Fall, Natumi Takes the Lead!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

natumiNatumi Takes the Lead, by Gerry Ellis with Amy Novesky, (Nov. 2016, National Geographic Kids), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-4263-2562-5

Recommended for ages 4-8

I completely dropped the ball on World Elephant Day last week; I was away with Husband and my brain was on vacation. I’m so sorry, because in addition to my loving elephants, I wanted to let you all know about a great book that’s coming out from NatGeo Kids in early November.

Natumi Takes the Lead is the true story of a young elephant who was orphaned, rescued by a farmer and sent to an orphanage. Sounds like a Disney film, right? But it’s so much  more than that, because this story happens too often. Poachers and hunters still slaughter elephants for their ivory tusks or for big game trophies, leaving young elephants, like Natumi, to fend for themselves.

Pages 3-4

Natumi is also a powerful story of a shy elephant who gains the confidence to become the leader of her new little family group. With the love and nurturing she receives from her rescuers at the orphanage, she gains confidence and takes the lead in bringing her new family back to the wild: a protected African preserve.

Pages 20-21

I first discovered Natumi at PLA earlier this year, and fell in love with the beautiful photos and the elephant’s story. NatGeo has a way of making these animals more realistic than any animated movie character. NatGeo, through beautiful, empathetic writing and photography, brings out the personalities of the world’s animals, and their stories motivate readers to take action. The best part is that NatGeo tells kids HOW they can take action: by learning more about their world, and providing resources to help kids do just that.

Resources at the end of the book include a map of Natumi’s home and where the elephant’s live in Africa; lists of organizations, websites, and books; facts about elephants, and an infographic on elephant growth, to give readers a frame of reference about Natumi’s age and size when she was orphaned and where she’ll be as she ages.

Natumi isn’t due out until November, but it’s a great addition to your younger nonfiction sections, and a great book for young animal lovers.

 

 

Posted in Fantasy, Intermediate, Middle Grade, programs, Summer Reading, Tween Reads

Summer Reading programs: Harry Potter Week

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’m sorry I’ve been away for a while, Husband and I took our yearly date vacation to Boston Comic Con, and I decided to embrace the joy of being a little less available than usual. But I’m back, and I’m here to crow about what was possibly the most successful week of programming I’ve had as a children’s librarian: Harry Potter Week. I set all programming to take place during the last week of July, culminating in both a celebration of Harry’s July 31st birthday AND a chance to rile everyone up for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Cursed Child release that week. It was a success, leaving me in the debt yet again of amazing librarians and Pinterest pinners.

I started things off on Monday by getting everyone ready to attend Hogwarts, initially handing out tickets to the Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts student IDs, and a Hogwarts origami sorting hat so they could sort themselves into houses. I decorated my bulletin board to look like Platform 9 3/4, and made sure no one actually decided to make a run for the wall. I don’t want to fill out accident reports. I helped the kids fold their origami sorters, and we were off to the next part: button making!

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I came across the button maker when I first arrived at my library, and it’s been a successful part of my maker programs. Finding House buttons on Pinterest made things so much easier; I printed a few sets out on my home printer (I don’t have a color printer at work), brought the pages in, and got to hole punching. Once the kids selected their houses – I didn’t make them stick with a house they didn’t want – I had them come make their own House buttons. They LOVED it.

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See the Hogwarts button in the middle? I made a bunch of those and handed them out to my coworkers, explaining to the kids that any of the librarians, computer people, or helpers were like the Hogwarts faculty, so if they needed help and I wasn’t around, they could just look for the Hogwarts button. My coworkers enjoyed being part of things, and the kids were excited to see a Hogwarts atmosphere taking shape around them. I welcomed the kids to their Houses as they made their buttons, and then moved onto the next part of the opening ceremonies: their Spell Books. I told them that every student at Hogwarts needs to start out with a basic book of spells, and handed out this great PDF including just about every spell in the Harry Potter universe. The pages are 4×6, and since I didn’t have the budget to buy small photo albums as suggested, I just let the kids cut them out and staple them together. We talked about some of the more popular spells, like Expelliarmus and Wingardiuim Leviosa (I totally did the Hermoine “Levi-oh-sah”), and I reminded them NOT to use Unforgiveable Curses on one another. It’s all fun and games until someone Avada Kedavras, you know. Day One at Hogwarts was a success.

On Day Two, we made Marauder’s Maps. I LOVE this one from Harry Potter Paraphernalia, which made things easier on my Corona Kids. There’s a lot of folding, but there’s a lot of wiggle room for someone who isn’t a master folder. I helped the kids with their maps, and everyone was insanely happy with the results. There’s another great map on Instructables, but I ultimately didn’t go with it, because the cutting and folding looked like it would have gotten confusing for most of my kids. The Harry Potter Paraphernalia map was a great introduction to folding for my group, and with some more practice and increasingly complex projects, I hope we can tackle the Instructables map next year.

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After we made the maps, we talked about Patronuses. There are still a bunch of kids in the library who haven’t read the books or seen the movies, so introducing them to Hogwarts was exciting, and the Patronus really got them interested. I handed out black construction paper and put out a basket of sidewalk chalk and told them to create their own Patronuses. I figured the chalk on black paper would give the Patronuses an ethereal, otherworldly quality, and I was right! Plus, the kids loved working with the chalk and paper, and let their imaginations go wild. It was great! We had all sorts of Patronuses: a turtle, a giraffe, a unicorn; I even had a kid ask me if it was okay to make Medusa her Patronus. She wasn’t sure if a Gorgon was in Harry Potter’s world, and I told her that Fluffy, the three-headed dog at Hogwarts, is a Greek mythological figure named Cerberus, so if she wanted a Gorgon to be her Patronus, that she should go for it.

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On Wednesday, I showed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and put out Harry Potter/Hogwarts coloring sheets – there are TONS on the Internet! The kids love a good movie day, and since I don’t know how many have cable, this was a first for quite a few. Movie day tends to be my own little oasis in the week, because I tend to between 2 and 4 programs a day during Summer Reading.

Thursday was our Wand Workshop, and despite there being many amazing wand workshops online, I have way too many kiddos to pull out the hot glue guns, so I stuck to chopsticks – I bought a pack of 100 for $1.99 from a local Asian grocery, some glitter glue, duct tape, and stickers. It was just fine; the kids love having something to do, and they love to create. I was able to crop down some of the wand pictures – I can’t publish pictures of the kiddos here on the InterWebs – but you can see some of the imagination that went into their wandmaking here, and that would make Mr. Ollivander proud.

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Friday was the big finale: Harry’s Birthday party and a Horcrux Hunt! The Horcrux Hunt is just like my other weekly treasure hunts: I put up pictures of the Horcruxes, plus a bonus picture (the Deathly Hallows), and gave the kids sheets to find them and write down the number on each picture. Prizes were bookmarks, Oriental Trading craft kits, and temporary tattoos. For Harry’s birthday, I set up a few coloring stations and we made paper bag and book page owls, inspired by this French Harry Potter party site. It’s super easy! We used brown lunch bags for the owl’s body; pages from books destined for the garbage made up the ruffle in front. I traced circular objects of different sizes for the eyes, using the bottom of a small mug for the brown eye feathers, my 1″ hole punch for the whites of the eyes, and a bottlecap for the black of the eyes. I asked the kids to put their owls on a bookshelf when they were done, so we could take a picture of our owl post. It looked amazing!

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Of course, no Harry Potter party would be complete without a HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD? Wanted poster, which I quickly whipped up with a poster board I had.

20160729_131735I am nothing, if not dedicated to getting kids excited about books.

All in all, I had between 30-50 kids take part in each day’s program, and everyone seemed really excited and happy. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is on several school reading lists this year, so I hope that the kids took away a little of the magic from the books. I do know that when Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hit shelves that Monday morning (we’re not open on Sundays, so the books stayed in a lockbox in my manager’s office), they were grabbed up quickly and joyously!

Thanks again to the wonderful bloggers and librarians that shared their ideas and helped me create a great program. I’ve got a Harry Potter party Pinterest board where I keep the pins I used and will add to for future parties, and you can check out my Harry Potter Week Google Drive folder for any printables that I used, all in one spot.

Posted in Early Reader, Fiction, Humor

The Pruwahaha Monster gives kids a little jump!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

pruwahahahaThe Pruwahaha Monster, by Jean-Paul Mulders/Illustrated by Jacques Maes, Lise Braekers (Oct. 2016, Kids Can Press), $15.95, ISBN: 9781771385664

Recommended for ages 5-8

A cute story about a boy and his dad outside enjoying the autumn, The Pruwahaha Monster is a story the father tells his son while the son plays on a swing. It may be a bit high-concept for younger readers – it took me a couple of reads to put it all together – so I’d suggest reading it to school-age (Kindergarten-Grade 2) kids, rather than toddlers or preschoolers.

A dad tells his son a story about the Pruwahaha Monster – a stinky, ugly, terrible monster with a taste for children – but when the monster tracks down a little boy, all he does is laugh! The last picture in the story tells you everything you need to know about the monster and his relationship with the boy.

Originally published in Belgium, this is a sweet story about a father and son, and the joy of storytelling: especially spooky storytelling! A fun additional add to collections where kids are ready for a scary story that ends up being very safe, after all. Teach the kids how to make shadow puppets on a wall when you’re done, and let them make their own monsters!

There’s a lot of visual interest here, with bright orange artwork drawing the reader’s attention to woodland animals and leaves. Spooky monster paws fade into and out of existence. There are beautiful spreads and pages of work against light blue, bright orange, and beige backgrounds. There are so many little elements to look at and notice in each spread – you’ll find something new every time.

Jean-Paul Mulders is a Flemish journalist and writer, and the author of several books for adults; The Pruwahaha Monster is his first book for children.Jacques Maes & Lise Braekers are a graphic design, web design and illustration duo from Belgium. The Pruwahaha Monster is their first book for children.