GreenBeanTeenQueen

Are you excited for Once by Anna Carey ? The book comes out July 3 and I've got a special excerpt sneak peek to get you ready for the book! And don't forget you can enter to win a copy in my Once giveaway! Once Excerpt Anna Carey This excerpt is from the first chapters of ONCE. After spending several months in Califia, Eve has been kidnapped by one of the King’s soldiers. She’s taken to the City of Sand, a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. Here she sees the Palace for the first time and discovers the fate that awaits her... The Jeep was turning left, cutting up a long road that snaked toward a massive white building. Rows of government Jeeps sat out front. Soldiers were stationed along a strip of narrow trees, machine guns slung across their backs. I stared up at the expansive structure. The main entrance was lined with sculptures—winged horses, angels, women with their heads cut off. After driving so many miles we were here. The Palace.  The King was waiting for me.  S

I'm back home from ALA Annual. I really think each ALA I attend gets better and better and this conference had some amazing highlights!! (Also, I apologize that my pictures turned out very blurry-that's what I get for using my phone!) After I registered and picked up my very awesome tote bag that zips up into a nice little foldable bag (nice touch!) I went to lunch with Kelly where we talked books of course. Then I wandered around the area for a bit to stake out where my meetings would be the next day (I have to plan things out!) and scoped out eating options since I have limited options sometimes (I have to eat gluten free). My best non book related find was discovering Annie's gluten free snickerdoodle bunny cookies at Target!  So back to the real ALA stuff!  After my adventures, I went back to my hotel room to prep my notes and get everything together for my first committee meeting.  Friday evening I went to the Anaheim White House for dinner hosted by Simon

I know, the sea of dystopian lit is very full. Which means a book really has to do something to make itself stand out. Which is excatly what Eve by Anna Carey did-there's a scene in the book that still haunts me (and if you've read it, you know which scene I mean!!) And the book ends with cliffhanger, so of course I can't wait to see what happens! About the Book: From the Publisher—SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ EVE!!!!!! When you're being hunted, who can you trust? For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleepsoundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America. But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves,wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, t

Our library Summer Reading Theme is Dream Big! so many of our summer storytimes are themed about night and bedtime. So far, this toddler time bedtime storytime plan has been my favorite! Opening Song (we use Finger Poppin' by Georgiana Stewart) Early Literacy Skill: Sing & Rhyme (typically we do crafts and stations, but for this plan, I didn't use any activity stations or crafts and concentrated on lots of action rhymes and songs) Read: Time to Say Goodnight by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jane Chapman- this is a sweet bedtime book with great illustrations. I also liked that it had some animal noises we could make! Song: These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner (I repeat this song every week and the kids love it! We took the month of May off from storytime and the first week back, when I mentioned we would sing this song, there was this murmor of excitement that went through the room from the kids and parents-it was hilarious!!) These Are My Glasses (make

I love my book club! It's a group of librarian friends and we call ourselves the NOprah book club. We read whatever we want (typically fantasy and YA) and we don't worry about having literary discussions about the book-it's OK if we just want to gush over the hot literary boys! It's seriously the best book club ever. Last year, a book came out that my book club was all abuzz about. We read and loved A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. So of course, with the sequel coming out, my book club is eagerly anticipating the release! You know what we'll be reading in July! I know we're not the only ones waiting to read Shadow of Night, so I'm thrilled to offer one lucky reader a chance to win a copy of the book (plus some very awesome swag!) thanks to Penguin Books. About the Book: (From Publisher) SHADOW OF NIGHT picks up right where A Discovery of Witches left off.  Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont, a witchhistorian and vampire geneti

No Tween Tuesday today! I'm prepping for ALA Annual and it's crunch time with committee reading and note taking, which means not a lot of time for MG reading. I'd love to know what great tween books you've read recently so I can add them to my pile of after committee reads.

I love reading picture books! And as much as I try to write about them on the blog, I haven't had much chance. But I had to share these books from Candlewick Press-they are publishing some of my favorite picture books! Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton Rating: 5/5 Stars If A Ball For Daisy was the book for dog lovers in 2011, Oh No, George! is the book for dog lovers in 2012. George is left at home and he really wants to obey and be good, but there are so many tempting things around-a cake! a cat! trash! What's a dog to do? If you have a dog, you'll be sure to laugh out loud as poor George tries to be good, but isn't always successful. Bold retro-style and simple text make this one perfect for storytimes. I can see preschoolers having a blast yelling out "Oh no, George!" This is one of my favorites of 2012! Robot Zombie Frankenstein! by Annette Simon Rating: 5/5 Stars It's the ultimate game of one-up-only this time it's with robo

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight and share great reads for tweens! Join fun, add your link below, and discover a new tween read! Parents should never stop reading with their kids, which is why I'm so excited about Scholastic's brilliant plan for the summer to keep parents and kids reading together: The Mother-Daughter Book Club! About the Mother-Daughter Book Club: Start a tradition of reading with your daughter with a Mother-Daughter Book Club ! Scholastic’s monthly selections will help you choose books that you and your daughter will enjoy! The book club launched in May with 4 titles and there will be 2 new featured titles each month. June’s book selections are Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski and The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Along with book selections, the Mother-Daughter Book Club website also features discussion questions and snack suggestions for your book club meetings and a

If you're a regular reader of GreenBeanTeenQueen, you may have noticed that the blogging has been light this year due to my committee work. I'm gearing up for ALA Annual and lots of meetings, which means lots of reading and re-reading and note taking, and sadly less blogging. Then, add in the Library Summer Reading Program and I'm one busy librarian! I seem to get asked about being a librarian a lot and I think it's fun to share what different libraries do for Summer Reading. I'm planning on posting more about our Summer Reading Program, how we run it, how it works, etc. But I thought I'd share a bit about what I've been doing so far this month. I just finished a nine day working streak and seven of those days had programs! Here's a glimpse into what it's like to be a public librarian during Summer Reading Program: Saturday: Summer Reading Program Kickoff Event! Our theme this year is Dream Big, so I decided to host an Astronaut Academy event for