GreenBeanTeenQueen

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 4/1/2014 Add to Godreads About the Book: A. J. Fikry is the curmudgeonly owner of a small bookstore on Alice Island. Since his wife died, A. J. has been isolating himself from everyone on the island, his bookstore isn't making much money, and now his prized book of rare Poe poems has been stolen. But things take an unexpected turn when a special package arrives at the bookstore. It's a mysterious package that gives A. J. a new outlook and second chances. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says:   Every once in awhile a book comes along that is so special and delightful and wonderful that you just want to hold it close and sigh with happiness as you read it. And The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry  is one of those books for me-and I think it will be that type of special book for book lovers, avid readers, librarians, and storytellers. At the center of the novel is books-how they can change our lives, how they connect people who might no

Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Alternate History/Fantasy Release Date: 4/1/2014 Add to Goodreads About the Book : Aelwyn Myrddn is returning the palace after four years away  in Avalon. She is the daughter of the Head Merlin and will serve the kingdom and her  childhood friend Princess Marie and the Franco-British Empire with her magic. In order to secure peace with Prussia, Marie is to marry Prince Leopold, but she has no desire to rule.  Leopold was previously engaged to Isabelle, but that engagement is dissolving and Isabelle is determined to keep Leopold for herself-she needs an escape from her awful cousin and guardian. Leopold's brother, Wolf, is reckless and rebellious and an embarrassment to the kingdom. Ronan Astor is traveling to London for the season to catch a rich titled bachelor to save her family's wealth.  Aelwyn and Marie find themselves caught between duty to the kingdom and dreams of a different life. So when they devise a plan that could grant their wishes

It's the first day of  Spring-hopefully Spring is coming soon! To celebrate, here's a special So You Want to Read Middle Grade post all about natural magic. Julia Mary Gibson’s novel  Copper Magic  has grandmothers in it, and a girl who believes she needs magic.  Visit  juliamarygibson.com  to find out more, or follow her on Twitter @juliamarygibson. NATURAL MAGIC AND THE GRANDMOTHERS Growing up, my summers were spent in the woods.  Our woods weren’t very wild (no bears, no way of getting lost), but there were plenty of fern shadows and shafts of magical sunlight and mossy places that my grandmother said fairies might visit if we left a crumb of sponge cake for them.  To me, magic lived in the wind and tangled roots and completely existed.  And so my favorite books were about feasible magic, believable magic, the magic of natural law.  Of  course  there could be borrowers like Arrietty Clock beneath our floor.  Of  course  there could be a way into Narnia i

I'm over at the ALSC Blog today talking about my office windows-and how I learned to use them as a display space, And check out my post about Life-Size gaming at my library.

Stephanie Smallwood is an Early Literacy Specialist Librarian (and an awesome co-worker of mine!) Middle grade literature is the equivalent to getting a driver's license to young readers.  So much practice for so long leads up to the freedom of finally being able to sit down with a book ALONE and read it.  This is a critical moment for children, so much can go wrong at this point: the books can be too hard, too easy, too boring, too far from their comfort zone, too close to their comfort zone, they can fall in love with a book that a friend doesn't like, and so on.  Some kids love the freedom, others are overwhelmed and unsure how to choose.  So much pressure!  What's a librarian/teacher/parent/caring individual to do?  Exactly what we've been doing here, talking about different books so when the child that needs that book is in front of us we have something in our head to put in their hands.  So, here are a few books that have been important to me, a couple

Hello to the lovely readers of Sarah’s blog! My name is Kelly Jensen, and I’m a blogger at Stacked , as well as Book Riot , and I’m running on the ballot for the 2016 Printz Committee . Sarah was generous enough to let me talk a little bit about some of my favorite Printz titles in her space today. But rather than talk about my favorite winners, I thought it’d be fun to talk about some of my favorite honor titles. So here are three awesome Printz honor titles that if you haven’t checked out, you should. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson I was 13 when Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak came out. I don’t think I read it when I was 13, but I know I picked it up and read it when the library developed its first teen-only section and this was one of the books I found in it. I remember finding Melinda’s story and her voice haunting and chilling in equal measure. It’s impressive that this was Anderson’s first novel. I think that the Printz committee’s decision to award it an honor

Stepahnie Whelan is a children's librarian and blogs at http://shanshad1.wordpress.com/ When it comes to science fiction, let’s face it: the genre tends to get lost in amid more prolific genres on the middle grade shelves.  Fantasy (which is often lumped together with science fiction) tends to overshadow the genre.  There’s still quite a bit out there if you know where to look and what kind of science fiction you’re looking for. The last few years we’re beginning to see an upswing  in SF books for kids.  The first half of my list are all titles that have been published within the last year. 1. The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore (Walker Books, 2013) This is near-future or contemporary science fiction.  One of the better books from last year, it is possible to imagine everything in the story has a fact-based explanation, but for the science fiction crowd, the possibilities also allow for other interpretations.  The focus on scientific pursuits and e