Music and Monsters

This week marked the end of our kid's summer reading program. So, Wednesday was our End of Summer Reading party, hosted this year by Judy Pancoast. This was the first time we had a presenter for the party and it went pretty well. The kids enjoyed singing and dancing with Judy. As is our custom for the party, each kid went home with two free books.

Today was our Monster Tea Party. Each kid got a monster hat to wear. Then, after hearing a story (Don't Play With Your Food), we made some monster tea. This involved scooping baking soda into cups filled with vinegar, food coloring, and (in one case) dish soap. We also added gummy worm pieces that had been soaking in baking soda water. Mostly, I just let the kids experiment freely. This actually lead to a brief discussion with one child about what causes baking soda and vinegar to foam (yay for impromptu science lessons). Once all the baking soda was gone and they'd had enough of mixing the cups of foam each kid got a small stuffed monster to take home. These were made out of t-shirt sleeves and a little fiber-fill.

 

 

Book review - The Book of Bad Things

Title: The Book of Bad Things
Author: Dan Poblocki
Genre: Horror
Similar books: The Seer of Shadows by Avi
                     Frenzy by Robert Lettrick
Rating:

Pretty darn creepy

Summary: Cassidy is excited to spend her last summer in Whitechapel, even if things did end badly last year. When she gets off the bus, though, she can tell immediately that something is wrong. Her friends are not there to pick her up. And they they get home, she learns that the neighborhood hermit has died, revealing that she was secretly a hoarder. People from all over the neighborhood are picking through her trashing, hunting for treasures. And now those people are starting to die.
My opinion: Poblocki writes the perfect level of eerie. Every moment in Whitechapel has an underlying sense of unease. Once you add in zombies, haunted belongings, and grizzly murder it becomes terrifying. What makes this book more than just a creep-fest is Cassidy's fears and her book. I loved the way she relied on her notebook, using it as a sort of touchstone. Her friendships with the neighborhood kids happened a little bit easily but that is only a minor complaint. This is a great read for when you want a scare.
More information: The Book of Bad Things releases August 26th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Books on Screen

The Borrowers/The Secret World of Arrietty

As a kid, I adored the Borrowers and their world. I loved imagining how they might use various items. The Borrowers has been made into 4 separate movies, but The Secret World of Arrietty is the one that has captured the most attention. Produced by Studio Ghibli (which brought us My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and the like) Arrietty captures both the adventurous spirit of the original novel as well as the sensibility of anime. While this movie is a far cry from what I pictured, its a lovely tale that adds new elements to the story, specifically Shawn and his heart condition providing a parallel to the Borrowers' struggles and teaching a gentle lesson about change and fear. It's a beautiful movie with even more beautiful music. Talk about a fantastic soundtrack. While this may be different from the movies we are used to as an American audience, it's truly lovely and worth a watch. 

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
The Zero Degree Zombie Zone by Patrik Henry Bass
Bakari Katari Johnson has problems at school. He's shy and has a hard time making things happen. So when his best friend Wardell signs him up to run for Hall Monitor against the most popular boy in the fourth grade, Bakari doesn't think things could get much worse. Then ice zombies show up at his school. They've lost a magical ring. Bakari has until the end of the day to return it to them. Or else.
At 3/4 finished I've got to say this has not been my favorite book. It just hasn't really captured my attention very well. I'm reserving full judgement until I reach the end (who knows -that ending might just be amazing) but I'm thinking this isn't likely to make my list of favorites.
 
What did you recently finish reading?
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo
Leroy wants nothing more than to be a real cowboy. He has the hat. He has the boots. He has practiced his cowboy dialogue. All he needs is a horse. When he goes to look at a horse he found in a newspaper ad, Leroy knows almost instantly that Maybelline is the horse for him. Maybelline loves compliments and spaghetti. When Leroy forgets the most important rule, that Maybelline hates to be alone, he begins a desperate search to get the horse of his heart back.
I've not read the Mercy Watson books but after reading and enjoying this little book I think I ought to give them a try. Easy to understand with a great sense of humor, this book will be great for kids just starting to read chapter books (as well as working as a read aloud for younger siblings).
 
What do you think you will read next?
One Death, Nine Stories edited by Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith Jr.
Short story collections are always fun and this one has some big names attached. I'm particularly intrigued by the link between the stories, they way one person's death will affect different people's lives.
 

Book review - Greenglass House

Title: Greenglass House
Author: Kate Milford
Genre: Mystery/Adventure
Similar Books: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
                     The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Rating: 

Surprising, clever

Summary: When mysterious guests begin to arrive at Greenglass House, Milo is initially annoyed to have his normally quite Christmas with his parents interrupted. He can't help but notice, though, how strangely these guests are behaving, all of them keeping secrets and asking odd questions about the house itself. With the help of Meddy, the cook's daughter, Milo sets out to discover what is really going on at Greenglass House.
My opinion: The beginning of this book reminds me of Treasure Island, I think because the house is kind of like the Admiral Benbow Inn. In execution it is probably closer to The Westing Game, what with the wide variety of characters, their secrets and motivations. The use of LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) was unique. You don't really get role-playing games in much fiction. I loved the way the plot unfolded in this book, especially the way Milford uses the storytelling scenes to reveal character motivation. There are some great secrets that come to light throughout the story. And most of all, I liked how solving the mysteries taught Milo some things about himself. This was a book that I enjoyed far more than I had anticipated and I look forward to recommending it to patrons.
More Information: Greenglass House releases August 26th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

They are a hoot

Last week I showed you a sketch of a redesign for a shoe I had bought. This week, I have the finished product.

A pair of happy owls

I did all of the decoration with acrylic paint. Now I can't wait to wear them.

I've been working on some other craft projects as well, all of them for my Monster Tea Party program which takes place this weekend, so I'll have more photos for you on Saturday.

It's magic!

We had a pretty busy week, program-wise, so I have plenty of photos to share with you today.

We had a special guest reader at my storytime on Tuesday. Miss Judy is a volunteer storyteller with a national program. She read the kids a story about loons. They were really interested in the facts and photos she shared as well.

Our Wednesday night performer was one of our favorites, magician Peter Boie. Peter puts on a really funny, engaging show.

And lastly, yesterday was our second installment of the Story Laboratory, now with the slogan "we provide the materials, you provide the awesome." Here are a few books that the kids made.

This one is probably my favorite