WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
Beetle Boy by Margaret Willey
When he was seven, Charlie told his father a story. A story meant only to soothe his unstable father. But then the story took on a life of it's own and before he knew it, Charlie was a best selling author. Now eighteen, Charlie is doing his best to put his fame behind him.
I'm fascinated by stories that chronicle the damaging effects of fame on kids and this could be a really good one. I've only finished a few chapters but I like the way Charlie narrates his story, parceling out small amounts of information. Those few chapters have left me with a lot of questions and I look forward to discovering the answers.
 
What did you recently finish reading?
Half My Facebook Friends are Ferrets by J. A. Buckle
Josh is 16. He dreams of being in a metal band. That and getting a girlfriend. Both seem impossibly hard to achieve. The world is stacked against him and the only one who seems to understand him is his pet ferret Ozzie. 
Josh is a sort of everyman, oblivious and self-centered but in a way that is more endearing than annoying. This isn't a very deep book but it is entertaining and touches on some serious subjects. 
 
What do you think you will read next?
Mary: the Summoning by Hillary Monahan
Most of us have heard some version of the Bloody Mary story and the dangers of chanting her name, usually three times in front of a mirror. I'll be interested to see what approach this book takes.

Book review - The Wednesday Wars

Title: The Wednesday Wars
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
                     The Watsons Go to Burmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Rating:

One of my all time favorites

Summary: When he starts seventh grade, Holling Hoodhood wants nothing more than to play baseball with his friends and avoid his older sister. The problem with seventh grade: Wednesday afternoons half his class goes to Hebrew school and the other half goes to Catechism leaving Holling, the sole Presbyterian, in class with Mrs. Baker who seems to hate him. She makes him read Shakespeare, the last thing any self-respecting boy wants to do with his time. Meanwhile, the Vietnam war is raging and Holling's father is putting increasing pressure on him to behave well and represent the family business.
My opinion: Gary D. Schmidt is probably my favorite youth author and this is the book that introduced me to him. His characters have real problems and behave in a believable way. Holling's voice is distinct. He struggles with forming his own identity in a politically turbulent time with a father who wants to control his future. He struggles to understand his family and the world around him. It's a book about war, yes, and about a strict teacher. But it's also about learning what it means to truly be a man. It doesn't give any easy answers but encourages the reader to think.
More information: There is a sequel to this book entitled Okay for Now which is a fantastic read in it's own right.

Detective puppet: a collaborative project

One of my nephews in very enthusiastic about puppetry. He's been a part of our library puppet group the last two years and intends to participate again this year, taking a little bit more of a leadership role. He doesn't just think about puppets at the library, though. He plans puppets at home as well. In fact, last fall he and I roughed out plans for a puppet show that we have been working on here and there ever since. This weekend he was over at my house and we created the first puppet for the show.

Introducing: Burt the cow, private eye.

 

 

Burt's head is made out of the toe of a sock, heavily stuffed and carefully shaped, then painted with acrylic paint. His body is cardboard. His trench coat is made from a canvas end left over from a tote bag project. We made his hat out of craft foam.

We're pretty pleased with how Burt turned out and look forward to making more characters.

I want to tell you a story

With summer reading at an end we had just two programs this week. The first was a special guest at my Tuesday storytime. Two members of our library puppet group (ages 11 and 12) who had to miss our annual puppet show performed their story at storytime. They adapted the picture book Wait! I Want to Tell You a Story by Tom Willans. After the show they answered some questions, played with the kids a little, then helped them to make simple puppets of their own.

They laughed like this the entire time

The snake and the lizard

Hard at work on our puppets

Trying out the puppet stage with one of the puppeteers

Yesterday was the last planned day of the Story Laboratory. We've enjoyed this program so much and it is so easy to do that we may schedule it again in the future. Here are a few shots from yesterday.

I love this back cover

If I remember correctly, the right-hand pages reads "Don't step in poo"

I'm quite fond of the dolphins and manatee jumping out of pink and red water.

Book review - Rocky & Bullwinkle

Title: Rocky & Bullwinkle: Volume 1
Author:Mark Evanier
Genre: graphic novel
Similar books: Meet the Muppets by Roger Langridge
                     Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns by Ian Brill
                     Chickenhare by Chris Grine
Rating: 

Awfully funny

Summary: This book contains 8 stories: 4 Rocky and Bullwinkle and 4 short Dudley Do-Right. Rocky and Bullwinkle get involved in psychic predictions, try to help out a struggling magician, journey to the moon, and start selling burgers while Dudley is contaminated with a wicked perfume, tries to get his man, gets tricked into buying a useless item, and runs a suspicious errand.
My opinion: Both illustrations and plot wise this new graphic novel follows the format of the original cartoon. The plots are punctuated by cultural references and terrible puns. Many of our favorite characters are present: Captain Peachfuzz, Gidney and Cloy, and of course Boris, Natasha, and their Fearless Leader. It is laugh out loud funny in it's ridiculousness and has some awesome visual elements (the fellow who looks awfully like the Doctor in The Burger Monster/Bullwinkle's Swap Meat for instance). Great for old and new fans.
More information: Rocky & Bullwinkle releases September 23rd.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

Today's multi-age picture book is the perfect example of what I had in mind when I first came up with this feature.

If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey and Colin Jack

Firstly, dinosaur books are pretty much always a win. Plus, this book is very quirky and has absolutely fantastic illustrations. There's tons to look at on each page. Apart from the sheer entertainment factor, this is a great book for encouraging creative thinking. I read this to my 4s and 5s storytime and we all had a grand time speculating about uses for various dinosaurs. I imagine this would go even better with older children. It would also make a great starting point for a creative writing assignment for homeschoolers.

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
Somebody on This Bus is Going to be Famous by J.B. Cheaney
The nine middle schoolers on Mrs. B's bus route are all very different. They have different concerns and different goals. The mysterious bus stop on their route draws them together. Why do they always stop there when no one gets on? The mystery will change lives and at the end of it, someone is going to be famous.
The first couple of chapters set up these characters nicely, giving just enough information about each kid to make their story compelling. The description on Amazon promises mystery, self-discovery and comedy so this should be a good one.

What did you recently finish reading?
Rocky and Bullwinkle: volume 1  by Mark Evanier
Four stories of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose butting heads with villains Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. As in the classic cartoons, each story is broken up with a brief adventure starring Dudley Do-right.  
I've been a Bullwinkle fan since the first time I saw the show on LaserDisc, so I was pretty excited to read this new graphic novel. The stories maintain the sensibility of the show while also using modern references to better appeal to a younger audience. An absolute riot.
 
What do you think you will read next?
The Opposite of Love by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
A tale of two "disappointments" who find each other and then are torn apart by circumstance. Teen romance is not typically my favorite but I'm trying to stretch my reading life a little bit more out of my comfort zone. 

also

Rust by Royden Lepp
I've wanted to read this graphic novel about a young man trying to keep his farm going after war and the mysterious kid he finds in the barn since I first spied it at a conference last year. At last I've gotten my hands on a copy. Hopefully it lives up to my anticipation.