Picture Book: Worms by Bernard Friot

Worms by Bernard Friot

 Pub Date: September 1st, 2015

 What is the best thing to do when you're sitting at a boring dinner??? Why add worms to the mix of course!!!

This is an adorable picture book about the best of plans gone awry! This is the story of a little boy forced to attend a fancy dinner by his father for his boring employees. What else is a little boy to do? This book has delightful animations that make the simple text come to life. It is sure to enthrall every reader from the youngest to the young at heart!

Most importantly this can also be a morality lesson book. What comes around, goes around! Simplistic and hilarious at the same time!

A Very Busy Weeked=No Time For Reading

I had a wonderful visit with my oldest bestie this weekend! Somehow we let just shy of 3 years slip away without seeing each other. We live about 4 hours apart and we both have kids, so it was real easy for the time to slip away. Thankfully my very adventurous friend decided not to let those four hours come between us anymore and made the drive up to me! YEAH!!! We have always balanced each other out well. She's adventurous and kind and I'm outspoken and loud and apparently pretty funny. I try to keep the people around me in stitches.

We mostly kept it lowkey this weekend. We basically just hung out, let the kids play and enjoyed our time together. I loved getting to snuggle and play with Manny. What an adorable baby! We did get to top it off though with a Foam Glow. I can say now that I probably won't do another Foam Run. It feels totally icky when your shoes are full of that solution and everybody stopped in the middle of the foam to take pictures and we were stuck trying to get the stroller through. At the first foam station we had Manny in the stroller. We hit that foam and next thing we know he was completely buried in it! When all is said and done it was still a fun night, but a poorly put together event. I think this company just decided to jump on the 5K wagon and get all the money with the least amount of effort put into it.

 Here's Marcie and I at the last foam station.

Here's the fabulous group that we went with! I love my coworkers. They are awesome! We do a few 5Ks together throughout the year!

When I say no time for reading, I mean that I only snuck in maybe an hour or two worth of reading. I know for some people that could be a whole week worth of reading. Currently I am finishing up the newest Janet Evanovich title, Wicked Charms, which comes out tomorrow, June 23rd. As usual Janet takes us on a wild caper all over the northeast part of the U.S. I'm partial to the Stephanie Plum novels because honestly I am in love with a fictional character, RANGER. Who wouldn't be in love with Ranger. I know Joe is probably the right guy, but that magnetism that Ranger has is WHOA and he's just a FICTIONAL CHARACTER....as usual though I have completely gotten off the subject here. Back to Wicked Charms, its been a great read so far. If you've read the other two books in this series, then you know that there's a little of the mystical taking place. We're never sure exactly where or what Diesel is. We know he's HOT and MAGICAL, that might be all that matters! No matter what, I can honestly say though that this is another fun comedic undertaking and you'll be panting from laughter or from being in heat for Diesel the entire book. I'll update this post when I finish this book, probably tonight.

Wicked Charms

Check out Janet's FB page and Website. She is always running fun contests, games and ways for fans to interact! 

Janet's FB Page

Janet's Website

Wallabys, Lemurs and Pigs: Oh My!

Today was so much fun! It was our first day of summer reading and what better way to kick it off than with a Zoofari! I loved seeing the looks on the kids faces when they got to learn about and pet 6 different baby animals! There was a pig, Ring tail lemur, cockatoo, wallaby, chinchilla and  porcupine. I work for a small library so to have over 60 people in our small meeting room was amazing. I honestly expected more people since we have 3 times that many registered, but I'm glad that was it. The room had just enough space left for the presenter to walk around the kids and introduce the animals to the entire room.

 I would say the best part were the excited kids, but who am I kidding!?!? The best part was that I got to snuggle the adorable wallaby! I'll probably never get to do that again in my life! Look at that face! I would have snuggled the piglet too, if I'd had the chance.

Wonderful World of Words Wednesday

Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.

Can you think of a smell that relaxes you more than the way it smells outside just after the rain. It's as if everything has been renewed and washed clean. There's something about the smell that centers me and makes me feel at peace. Of course we are preparing to get another deluge as a storm is brewing in the gulf right now, but I'm still happy about the rain and I pray that everyone makes it through the storm.

If you would like to get a little more scientific on the scent then here ya go...

What do you think of today's word? Let me know in the comments below!

Ami Rubinger: Picture Books for the Very Young

I was looking through NetGalley and I ran across a series of picture books by Ami Rubinger. I really liked what I saw and I will be adding these to the collection to use in storytimes for preschoolers!

 

 Big Cat, Small Cat

I love a picture book that encourages kids to guess. This book teaches kids about opposites. It doesn't always tell them what the opposite is though, it leaves it open for the reader or listener to fill in the gap themselves. I also liked that it didn't stick with basic opposites of big/little, tall/ short etc, but explored more varied opposites. Some that are even quite silly.

 

 I Dream of an Elephant 

I loved how Ami didn't shy away from the color orange. She could have left it out of her book entirely, but instead she went right and ahead and included this color in a very special way. Like the other two books Ami helps the reader out through rhyme and the colors in the illustrations, but leaves the actual answer up to the child! 

 Dog Number 1, Dog Number 10

I really find that I like Ami Rubinger's style. She gives the kids the context clues to figure out what is next. It's really a great way to encourage kids that they know the answers without giving it to them. As you count up in the book, there is a little rhyme for each dog. You know what the number is, but she leaves it blank so that the kid can take a guess and feel great when they get it right.

What do you think of these picture books? Do you think they would be helpful in teaching little ones these early essential lessons? Let me know in the comments below. #bookreview

New Book Alert: The Witch Hunter

The Witch Hunter
Pub Date: June 2nd, 2015

Lately, I am finding a love for books about the supernatural. I guess pre Harry Potter and Twilight, I would not read a book about witches or vampires. I was strictly a romance girl. Bring me Gone With The Wind, Scarlett, Anne of Green Gables, and the like! Those were my gravy. In the last 10 years my comfort zone with books has really grown. I love just about a little bit of everything. Even some horror books, GASP! I find that where I can't watch scary and bloody things, I don't have a problem reading about them. 

All that being said, I really liked The Witch Hunter. I was able to get wrapped up in the characters. I was Elizabeth, trapped in the jail. I was in a fight to choose between Caleb and John. It's always so hard to choose between your first love and your true love. If life were perfect they would be one and the same, but we know life ain't perfect.

Besides a good amount of the gushy romantic stuff that us girls like it also held a moral story. Elizabeth had been taught from an early age that magic is bad. Magic is the root of all evil. What happens though when you are forced into that world that you thought was wrong?  What happens when you learn more about that forbidden world? What happens when you find out everything you were ever taught was a lie?

What I liked best about this book was that it was wrapped up nicely, with enough wiggle room for a sequel, which has to be coming. I need to know what happens!

Will you take this journey with Elizabeth? Will you find out what happens in the end? Let me know what you think about the book in the comments below!

Virginia Boecker on Twiiter

#SRO15

Wonderful World of Words Wednesday

Ever just get the urge to kiss somebody...there's a word for that! 

No, not anorexia...we're not talking about a disease. Unless you think this is a disease, and in that case, where the heck do you come from??? I'm down for this. Who can resist the kisses or their lover, or sometimes a stranger? Weirder things have happened. I'm not saying I've kissed a strange, at least not in the last 10 years or more.

So the next time you feel the urge to kiss someone, don't worry, the urge has a name!

OMG could this clip be any more perfect! The first kiss is from Pride and Prejudice. You know the one with Colin Firth, cause it's the best one to watch!

Are you feeling it? The urge the kiss someone?? Let me know in the comments below!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

FOOTBALL IS BACK TWO MONTHS FROM TODAY!!!

I don't care if it's just preseason. It's still football, and any kind of football is AMAZEBALLS! I used to be very single minded in my love of the game, it was Texans and only the Texans. The Texans are still my team, but after watching for years now, I can now enjoy and find something to root for in every game I watch. I like to think I am a more rounded fan than I was just a few years ago!

 Just a little over 2 months and 6 days to TEXANS football baby!

I so need this summer to fly by so that I can get back to the weather I love and FOOTBALL!!!!

Summer Reading Isn't Just For Kids!!!

 

Do you love to read? Do you love the possibility of winning fabulous prizes? Then head on over to the link below and join this fun online program that gets adults reading too!  Don't let some of the peoples goals scare you! You can read as much or as little as you want. I set my goal at 12 books, I'm hoping to exceed that though. Join in the fun!

Summer Reading Program Online

#SRO15

New YA Book: Pixelated by L.S. Murphy

Pixelated by L.S. Murphy 

 Pub Date: June 30th, 2015

This is a typical YA romance. I must say that ever since I read Endangered a few months ago, I find I'm drawn to books about photography.

Some of you know that I am all about my Texans. For some reason the description of Les made me picture JJ Watt. Soooo, while reading it I would say JJ in my head everytime I came across Les. Let me tell you, every dream I've ever had of JJ matched perfectly with how Les treated Piper in this book. Good ol', too nice country boy. The last play in the football game at the end of the book really drove home the JJ Watt fantasy! Oops, I seem to have gone off on a totally different tangent here! Hey a book is really good though if it makes you think of someone! I'll always image JJ Watt when I look at the cover of Pixelated!

OK, so  after all that, here's what you need to know! If you like YA books, you're good. If you like romance books, you're good. If you like a little mystery, once again, you're good! I really loved the whole inner struggle that Les was going through, and thought that L.S. did a great job of writing his character. I could feel Piper's drive to keep going and her heartbreak at several points in the book.

Picture Book: The Princess and the Fog by Lloyd Jones

The Princess and the Fog

Pub Date: June 21, 2015

It's hard to imagine a depressed child, well at least for me it is. Children are supposed to be happy and go lucky and perfectly happy. What happens though when a child isn't? This is a perfect book for youngsters. For those of you who know children facing depression this could be a handy tool to let them know they are not alone and that the people around them could help. For children who are happy and don't have these problems it could be a useful tool to teach them why other kids are different and how they can help the depressed child out. Most importantly it teaches about friendship and leaning on those close to you.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this title. The king and queen are something else with all their funny antics. They were willing to do anything to see their little princess smile. This would be a great addition to a storytime where we talk about how we are different. The book even includes a guide at the end for parents who are dealing with the issue of childhood depression.

Star Wars Cover Reveals! Nerdgasm!!!

Squeeeeee! I'm so excited! If you haven't heard there are new Star Wars novels being released. These are three new original YA takes on the original 3 movies. The authors were given some free rein to reinvent them! I was lucky enough to meet the three authors in April at the Texas Library Association annual conference! Check out these covers! Aren't they awesome!

 Need alert! I was able to get my advance sneak peek at all three books autographed!

This is Tom, Adam and Alexandra at TLA! Tom also writes the Origami Yoda series which is also in my TBR!

New Book Alert! Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

Fans of the now defunct TV show REVENGE will love this book! I know what you're saying, the show just ended, but it was a really good show. I was pretty upset when I heard they were ended it after this season. I am so getting off subject right now. I meant to tell y'all about this book.

This is the story of Libby/Frances. Hmmm does this sound already a little like the Emily/Amanda thing? Yes! Sorry back to topic. Libby/Frances was pulled out of the ocean 4 years prior to the main events in this book. She was on a cruise ship that was taken out by a rogue wave....or was it? You seriously just need to read this book to find out.

Daughter of Deep Silence has all the angtsy YA stuff you love, but also this full of revenge plot that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Carrie wrapped the story up nearly and I don't know if there's room for a sequel, but I would like the possibility. Either way this is a great book.

When I started it, I was blown away by Carrie's use of descriptive language. I felt like I was right there in the raft with Libby and Frances. I could smell the salt air and taste the salt water. I swore I could feel my tongue swelling in my mouth from her descriptions. I really fell in love with Carrie's style of writing and I hope to read more.

This book was released on May 265th. If you haven't yet please head to your nearest library, bookstore, or reading device and get your hands on a copy! You won't regret it!

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Wonderful World of Words Wednesday

****Dreamt****

 

Dreamt  - verb - a simple past tense and past participle of dream.

One little word, but so very special! Do you know what it is that makes this word amazing? It's the fact that DREAMT is the only word in the English language to end with the letters -mt! I know what you're thinking, it just can't be so! It is though. You will not find another word with those two letters ending it. I'm not much of a poet, but here's a little ditty. Hopefully it inspires you!

Before I knew you, I dreamt of you.

I dreamt of a world where dreams came true. 

I dreamt of a world with you.

I know it's a bit redundant, but who knows maybe it will be the start of something more. I dreamt it before I knew it.

On a lighter note....

I once dreamt of an all Texas Super Bowl...the Texans won of course!

Does anyone rememeber that old King of The Hill episode where Hank says...I dreamt of an all Texas Superbowl, and Gods will be done....lol

What have you dreamt of? What is worthy of this magnificent word.

Every Hero Has A Story! Summer Reading Club 2015

In my part of the world there is now less than a week of school left. There are many people everywhere beginning to rejoice that the summer season is upon us. For my fellow library workers our busy season is just beginning. SUMMER READING IS UPON US!

This seems to be the most popular meme for children's librarians right now!

I thought I would give you a sneak peak into some of what goes into preparing for our Summer Reading Program. What you see below is a streamlined version of multiple months of planning. Many great ideas were found and tossed as being too difficult or just not doable with time, money and other constraints. Below you will find the finalized itinerary for the next 2 months.

Week 1
Heroes of the Wild
I am bringing in an Austin, Texas based Zoofari! They will bring with them 6 baby animals for the kids to learn about. It doesn't really fit with the theme, but after holding the baby monkey at TLA, I had to have them out! At the close of this program we will make playdough out of corn starch and conditioner. I tried it out and its pretty fun and easy. A bit messy though. Two Ingredient PlayDough

Week 2
Ronald McDonald
Ronald is pretty darn entertaining. Last year we had him do a magic show and the kids loved it. Once again it doesn't really fit the theme, but it's free programming. After Ronald we will introduce salt art to the kids and let them makes their own pictures. Salt Art

Week 3
Face Your Fears
Every hero is scared of something, but they face it, right? I have an archeological service out of Austin coming with several varieties of spider! I know I have a few adventurous souls who will be brave enough to hold a spider. I just hope the rest of the room doesn't have a heart attack! The activity this day will be handprint spiders on paper plates with yarn webbing over the top. Spider Hand Prints and Yarn Webs

Week 4
Community Heroes
This one is pretty simple, but hopefully will have a big impact. I have asked various community helpers to come out and help. The county will be bringing their SWAT truck, deputy cars and hopefully a mounted patrol. I will have the Fire Department bringing a truck, a local police cruiser and the EMS will be bringing an ambulance. In additon to these I have the Department of Health and Human services set up a table and Texas Children's Health Plan will be providing popcorn and other goodies for everyone! I'm excited to have the kids make thank you cards for all these departments that are helping us out! At the end of this we will make paper plate hats. I plan to print out various logos and the kids can decide what kind of community hero hat they would like.

Week 5
Hero Training/Hero Games
This day will be a variety of activities. The kids will get to make capes out of table cloths, Pin the Star on Captain America's Shield, Choose Your Power Super Drops, Creating Your Own Shield, Play Super Hero Bingo and participate in other fun activities. I won't have a craft after this program because they will already make items and have many hands on activities to do.

Week 6
Julian Franklin
We have this amazing performer in the Houston area. Julian Franklin always puts on a mesmerizing show. Kids and adults alike are just entralled when Julian enters the room. He keep everyone in stitches until the very end.This day ends in a pizza party and prize giveaway so we don't have a craft on this day either.

We end our summer reading program at 6 weeks every summer. Sometimes we have a float in the annual Watermelon Festival Parade as another incentive to finish the program, but not always. When Summer Reading ends we then go into a Backpack Giveaway. We buy some pretty awesome backpacks and stuff them full of school supplies. We then use the same guidelines for summer reading and the kids can earn raffle tickets to put in the backpack of their choice. It's a great incentive to keep kids reading all the way up until school starts. It also helps out the parents of the area too!

In addition to the summer reading program, I also host a Lego Club and multiple family movie nights throughout the summer.

What do you do for Summer Reading? Do you have any unique ways to keep the kids reading all summer long? 

Some of my summer reading decor!

You know you're a children's librarian when...

...a random kid walks up to you in the park and whispers, "a tooty ta".

Well actually first she whispered, "do you know me?". I looked at her and asked if came to the library with MET Head Start. That earned me an eager nod of the head. Then she kept looking at me and saying something so very quietly I couldn't understand her. Finally on the third try I heard those magic words....A TOOTY TA! 

I was up for it. I was game. I totally started doing it, but she didn't want to dance along with me. Still it was pretty funny though.


For those of you wondering what the heck is A Tooty Ta, well here ya go.