GreenBeanTeenQueen

I had a favorite librarian moment last week. A young patron, about age 9, came into the library a few weeks ago looking for the Harry Potter series. He had just started reading them and was looking for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my favorite in the series). Of course, this started us talking about the Harry Potter series, what characters we liked, what our favorite scenes were, and how much we enjoyed the series. He came in again last week looking for book four since he had just devoured book three. His mom said he had just started reading the books and was obsessed with the series. Then, after each book was read, the entire family was watching the movies. I told them about Pottermore and how they should check it out-I wish I would have had Pottermore the first time I read the series! It was one of those wonderful moments as a librarian where you get to share with a reader about your favorite books-it's what makes my job worth getting up for every day. ...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen. Add your links below and discover new reads for tweens! Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Animal Fantasy Release Date: 9/7/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Aldywn is a typical ally cat-trying to find food and running away from the local animal bounty hunter. When Aldywn is running for his life, he ducks into a pet store to escape. But this isn't just any pet store-it's a pet store for familiars, animal companions to wizards. Aldywn doesn't know anything about the wizarding world or magic, so it's just his luck that a young wizard chooses him to be his familiar! Aldwyn tries to fake his way in his new home and pretends to be a magical cat. When the familiars young wizards are kidnapped, Aldwyn and his new familiar friends must help them before it's too late-and Aldwyn has to decide if he should reveal the truth or not. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I remember when this book first came out ...

I love looking at cover changes from hardcover to paperback. Some are good, some can be bad, and they're always interesting! I'm highlighting cover changes that have happened mid-series this time around. I hate whey they change covers mid-series both as a librarian and a reader. It can be very frustrating as a librarian because now our first book in the series doesn't match what the teens are seeing online or in stores, so they don't think we have the book. And the cover that pulls up in the catalog now is different from what we actually have on our shelves. When a patron comes into the library asking for one cover and you show them a different one, it can be very frustrating-especially when working with kids and teens who only want the book they saw. As a I reader, I just don't like when my books don't match. So let's take a look at some series changes: This is the hardcover for Black Hole Sun . I actually kind of like this cover-it's simpl...

Credit: Anna Destefano, Facebook As many of you know, I am serving on the 2013 Printz Committee, which means no YA reviews from me this year. I can't talk about YA books unless it's with my committee members, which I'm sure you can guess is really hard! But I thought I would share a little bit about my committee experience so far-and hopefully share advice for those you wanting to be part of a committee in the future. -People in the YA book world know about the Printz Award. People in the non-bookish world or adult bookish world know about Caldecott and Newbery, but not the Printz. This is somewhat understandable-the award is a fairly new award. The first Printz Award was given in 2000, so it only has twelve years under its belt. What that means though is that we need to do our work to promote this award! Not just the committee members, but librarians, readers, teachers and bloggers. We need to spread the word. Read the books, recommend them to others, blog about th...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen. Post about tween reads, share the link and discover some new reads! Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 10/12/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book:  A group of students are having mixed feelings about starting fifth grade with a new teacher Mr. Terupt. Seven of the students share their stories-the bully, the shy student, the outcast, the smart kid, the one who hates school, the troublemaker, and the new girl. Never did they think they would care about their teacher-or each other. But when a tragedy strikes Mr. Terupt's classroom, the students join together and learn more about each other than Mr. Terupt could ever teach them. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I picked this book up because it's on our state book award list for grades 4-6 ( The Mark Twain Award ). Sometimes these books can be hit or miss, so I never go into reading the nominated titles with high expectations. Yet sometimes ...

I had to put together a storytime at the last minute when my staff called in sick, so I threw together what I called "Sarah's Favorite Books!" I used this plan twice-once with Toddlers and once with Preschool. I also included stations and crafts in this plan. Honestly, I go back and forth on if I like stations and crafts-I like that they add an extension to the storytime, but I very often see them being used as playtime for the kids and the parents don't really understand that it's a time to play and talk about the books they've just heard. I think when we do stations, we need to explain their purpose. OK, enough soapboxing-here's the storytime plan: Opening Song: Shake Your Sillies Out by The Wiggles Literacy Skill: Love Books! I explained to parents that when they read books that they love and enjoy, that comes through in their reading and they are sharing that enjoyment with their kids. So make sure you read your favorite books with kids too! ...

I have been eagerly awaiting this news since I heard about J.K. Rowling's new book back in February. Today Little Brown has released more information to tease us readers with! The novel will be called The Casual Vacancy and will be published on September 27. The plot is being called "blacky comic" and according to Publishers Weekly:  " The novel is set in a small English town called Pagford, which comes undone after one of its denizens, a man in his early 40s named Barry Fairweather, unexpectedly dies. The event shakes the town and reveals the rampant unrest bubbling under the surface in the deceptively perfect hamlet." Here's the link to the full release from Publishers Weekly So now that we have more details, will you be reading the book? Honestly, I would read it even if was my least favorite genres! I can't be the only one!:)

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun, add your post below, and help us discover great reads for tweens! Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic/Fantasy Release Date: 4/10/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Claudette dreams of being a giant slayer. But her village has no threats from giants since a giant slayer years ago. Claudette doesn't believe the stories though and she believes it's her duty to find and slay the giant that lives beyond her city. Along with her best friend Marie (an aspiring princess) and her brother Gaston (a pastry chef in the making), Claudette sets out on a fantastical journey to slay the giant and become a hero-so giants beware!! GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: If your library tweens are anything like mine, they are always asking for the graphic novel series Bone . Giants Beware is the perfect graphic novel to hand over to those readers who like ...

If you read GreenBeanTeenQueen, you know I love celebrating the movies! So of course I was thrilled when I found out about this awesome Mirror Mirror Prize Pack for my readers! One lucky winner will receive: -$25 Fandango Gift Card - Mirror Mirror: The Movie Novel Two lucky runner ups will receive: - Mirror Mirror: The Movie Novel Prizeing courtesy of Relativity Media About the film: One of the most beloved stories of all time is coming to life in the motion picture event for the whole family, Mirror Mirror.  A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins (The Blind Side) as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts as the evil Queen who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom. Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the...

(photo credit: Gerry Nelson) Welcome to the next stop on the tour for The Five Lives of our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin! I am thrilled to be hosting Ms. Rocklin today on the blog. As I love to do, I asked Ms. Rocklin to share her memories of the library and I found I related very much to her story! I was an indoor kid who loved spending my time at the library. I was shy and always found solace in books. That's what I love so much about sharing these stories-we find true kindred spirits! I'm sure many of you can relate! :) My childhood library was a Catholic chapel in my Montreal neighborhood. (photo: Benny Library, Montreal Quebec) The fact that it was a converted chapel was unimportant to me, an imaginative Jewish girl. Books lined the walls, and a librarian in a sweater-set, rather than priestly robes, presided solemnly at the front desk. But to me, it was still a church, the very first one I’d ever been inside. It had high windows and soaring rafters, a clean,...

Tween Tuesday is a meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun and add your link below! (And yes, Tween Tuesday posts have been scarce-I'm deep in YA reading now, but I promise I'll post more tween posts in the coming weeks!) Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 4/1/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Oona is worried about her cat Zook-he's not doing so well and Oona wants to figure out a way to break him out of the vet's office and bring him home. As Oona tries to take care of everything, she tells Fred that cats have nine lives, so they don't need to worry about Zook. Oona decides to make up the stories of Zook's previous lives. Oona always worries about her brother, Fred, who hasn't had the best appetite since their father died two years ago. And on top of that, Oona's mom has started to date The Villain...well, really Dylan-but Oona's sure he's a villain! Oona's...

I want this playroom! I used to figure out how to get to Narnia from my house (sadly, I didn't have a magic wardrobe). But this is the next best thing! Thanks to BoingBoing for sharing!!