GreenBeanTeenQueen

Sometimes paperback covers can be for the better and sometimes they can be for the worse. Here are some  recent cover changes I've seen: First up, Code Name Verity , a book that is near and dear to my heart. That shiny sticker looks so pretty, doesn't it? I like this cover, but the paperback is really growing on me: I'll admit at first I hated it, but the more I look at it the more I like it. There's just something so beautiful about this cover.  Here's another one I really like. The hardcover for The Catastrophic History of You and Me makes sense with the book, but I just don't like the way it looks as a whole and I'm not sure why. I think it's the fact that I don't like the dress. But I really like this paperback cover, even if it does look a bit like other covers. It's just simple and beautiful   Here's one I really dislike. I love the hardcover for Keeping the Castle : But the paperback loo

When I was at ALA Midwinter, I attended a discussion on storytimes. As a youth services manager, I oversee ages birth-18 and part of my job includes doing two or more storytimes a week. I attended this session with a friend of mine who is also a youth services manager and who was proudly wearing a YALSA ribbon on her badge. When we walked in, someone expressed surprise (in a somewhat snarky manner) at the fact that a YALSA member would be interested in storytime. Umm...what???  Why can't I be part of both children's and teen services and work with all ages? Why do children's and teen services have to apart? Why can't they work together? Maybe because I have always worked closely with both children's and teen departments, but they never seemed separate to me. I've worked in children's and teen services and see both of them as part of my job as a youth services librarian. I always have. Yet in the library world children's and teen services are o

Class is now in session at the Mandel Academy, the school for criminals in Kirsten Miller’s new book, How to Lead a Life of Crime ! To help you solidify your schedule for the semester, we’re highlighting different class options each day along the tour. Choose your favorites, pick up a copy of How to Lead a Life of Crime , and enroll in the Mandel Academy today! About the Book:  A Meth Dealer. A Prostitute. A Serial Killer. Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear. Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them bot

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Nonfiction Release Date: 1/22/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: During World War Two, soldiers are fighting against discrimination and injustice. Yet prejudice was happening on the home front in America as black soldiers were not being integrated into the army and many were given service jobs. A group of soldiers fought back against this injustice and formed the 555th-an all black soldier unit that trained to become paratroopers. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says:  I really like Tanya Lee Stone's nonfiction. It's easy to read, accessible for a wide range of readers (this could easily be given to fifth grade students and high school students) and the detail is obvious. I'm not an avid reader of nonfiction. In fact, it's one area I struggle with as a librarian because it's so out of my reading comfort zone. But Courage Has No Color is an incredible story that pulled me in. This is a book that I think readers of nonfiction will enjoy, but

For the Winter storytimes, I've themed all of my preschool storytimes around Caldecott winners and honor books. You can read all my Caldecott storytime plans here . For week five, I did a bathtime/water storytime. Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin by The Wiggles Literacy Skill: Love Books (especially because one of the books this week is my favorite!) Read:  Read :    In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming The kids really enjoyed this book and I had great interaction from them as we named all the animals we saw and made animal sounds. They all agreed the pictures in this book were very good. Song : These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood This is one of my all time favorite books and maybe my top Caldecott winning book. As a kid I would pour over the pages looking at all the details in the illustrations. I'm lucky that my library owns a big book copy of this one so it's

The King Who Wouldn't Sleep by Debbie Singleton, illustrated by Holly Swain Rating: 4/5 Stars The king very protective of the princess and would not sleep until he found the perfect prince for his daughter. But he is outwitted by a farmer who knows of the perfect way to get the king to fall asleep! This is fun, humorous bedtime story about getting kings (and kids) to fall asleep. I love the illustrations which have a nice cartoon feel. This would be a great read for a bedtime storytime. And I really love that the princess finds love not with a prince but with someone else. Yay for common folk! :) The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett, illustrations by Poly Bernatene Rating: 5/5 Stars A princess and a pig switch places which ends up causing a lot of craziness!   This is one of my new favorite princess books! The story is hilarious and the fun cartoon-style illustrations add to the humor. I mean, a big in a princess dress? How can you not crack up? I really

 Here's a look into what it's like to be a librarian! 8:00-Arrive at work to get storytime stickers for outreach visit, drive to first Chat & Chew group at local middle school. 8:15-8:45-First Chat & Chew book group with 5th and 6th grade. We're discussing Drizzle this month. We have four students for our discussion. 8:45-9:00-Drive to next outreach visit. 9:00-9:45-Two outreach storytimes for local elementary school Wonderyears (preschool) classes. The outreach storytimes include books and songs and since I go to the same classroom every month, I always get greeted as the library lady! 9:45-10:00-Drive to next outreach visit. 10:00-11:15-Outreach storytime visit to local daycare-visit five classrooms ranging in age from 2-5. More books and songs and greetings of "it's the library lady!" 11:15-11:50-Lunch 11:50-12:00-Drive to next outreach visit. 12:00-Arrive at Chat & Chew for 4th grade at local elementary school.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars Genre: Magical Realism Release Date: 3/4/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Polly Peabody lives on a magical farm. They grow chocolate rhubarb, it rains every Monday at exactly 1:00, and her best friend is a plant named Harry. When the rain stops, Polly's brother falls ill, and her aunt wants to sell the farm, Polly must figure out a way to save her beloved home. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Drizzle is on our state book list and one of our Chat & Chew book club picks. The kids reviews were mixed on this one and sadly, it was my least favorite of all the books we read for Chat & Chew. The kids that liked it said it had action, but for me the plot was slow and dragged too much. The book could have been edited down and I lost interest in the story. I liked the magical farm that Polly lived on, but the magic wasn't enough to hold my interest. I felt like the plot went around in circles too much and never got going. The ending was also a bit

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles):                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A couple Julian Fellowes reads:                And a few re-reads:                    Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?

In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Caldecott Medal, I am doing Caldecott themed storytimes with my preschool storytime group this semester.  Read about my previous Caldecott storytimes here. Theme : For week four I decided to go with a getting dressed/snow theme hoping that by this far into the Winter months, snow might have fallen. Sadly, we still haven't gotten much snow in Missouri, but we still had fun in storytime! Opening Song: Where is Thumbkin by The Wiggles Literacy Skill:  Talk & Read Read :   Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine -The kids liked this book as it has a repetitive line about what Ella Sarah wants to wear. They caught on and told the story along with me. Song : These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner (we sing this every week) Read :  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats -This is one of my favorites and the kids loved it. They really liked figuring out that Peter's snowball melted in his pocket. Rhy