Nonfiction on the Rebecca Caudill List

Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman is a really wonderful nonfiction book that was honored by inclusion on the 2010 Rebecca Caudill list. I just finished reading it last week and I truly enjoyed it. (I love anything with a lot of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes!) I thought it gave a really balanced account of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and a lot of really interesting information about Rosa Parks and the other major players. It was well-researched and told in a narrative format, making it accessible to kids. Check it out!

Books for Older Teens

There are a couple of books I've read recently that I think older teens would really enjoy. I picked up Laurie Halse Anderson's Twisted because it made the Teen's Top Ten list and because I have heard good things about her other book, Speak. Twisted was an incredibly absorbing read. I couldn't put it down and I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. It was about this guy who used to be labeled as a nerd at school, until he spends a summer doing lots of manual labor as part of his community service punishment for defacing school property. When he comes back to school he attracts the attention of one of the girls in the popular crowd, and all of a sudden his life starts to spiral out of control.



If fantasy adventure is more your thing, you absolutely should not pass up Kristin Cashore's phenomenal first novel, Graceling. Katsa is a teenager who has been widely feared as a killer since childhood because of her unusual Grace (superhuman talent). Her uncle, King Rada, puts her to work as a violent thug in his service, but she secretly fights back by organizing a resistance effort. A foreign visitor named Po, who is also Graced with fighting ability, convinces Katsa to openly rebel against the king and to join him on a quest to find his kidnapped relative. This book has a little of everything: fantasy, adventure, romance, and mystery. Reader beware: at the end you will be desperate for the sequel, which won't be released until later this year.

I Met Candace Fleming!

Candace Fleming visited Lincoln School on Tuesday night for a Family Reading Night event organized by librarian Patty Barr and others. I would really like to thank Patty and Lincoln School for getting Candace to come over! It was a wonderful presentation and event, and I walked away smiling.

In case you're not familiar with Candace's work, she wrote the popular picture book Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! and its sequel, Tippy, Tippy, Tippy... Hide! about the bunnies and grumpy old Mr. McGreely's attempts to outsmart them. Her book Boxes for Katje also made the Monarch award list recently.

Anyway, it was great to meet her, and she was kind enough to sign the three books I mentioned above, which are part of Allerton Library's collection. So, anyone who wants to check them out will (temporarily, at least) have a signed copy!

Saturday Events for Kids

On Saturday, April 18 we will have a Craft Day. There will be a storytime and craft at 10 a.m. for children ages 3-6, and another craft for children ages 7+ at 2:30 p.m. Sign up at the library if you are interested.

We will also be having a Library Luau on Saturday, May 30 from 2-4 for children of all ages. Activities include a bean bag toss, coconut bowling, a chocolate trivia game, fishing, sand dollar painting, snacks, drinks, and music. Kids who sign up in advance will be able to pick a prize from the Treasure Box. The sign-up sheet will become available in the last week of April.

New from Brian Selznick

Brian Selznick, author of the Caldecott-award-winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret, has produced another great book called The Houdini Box. This one is much slimmer than Hugo, but just as absorbing, with the same wonderful artwork. It is the story of a boy named Victor who loves Harry Houdini and finally gets to meet the great man. This is recommended for all kids who like magic and mystery.

New Feature

To go along with the summer reading theme, Read on the Wild Side, I have added a new feature to the blog. You can now see the National Geographic Picture of the Day as one of the widgets on the left-hand side of the page. (Can you tell I just went to a technology workshop today and learned a few new things? :D ) Enjoy!

Amazing finds in Nonfiction

The nonfiction section isn't just for reports! Fiction lovers like me will find lots of interesting things in there--like Jon Scieszka's new memoir, Knucklehead. Full of hilarious stories in short chapters, plus illustrations and drawings, it's a really fun read, especially for boys, who will relate to the madcap stories about living with brothers and goofing off with buddies down the street.

You can also find all the folk and fairy tales in the nonfiction section. One of my favorite children's authors, Margaret Read MacDonald, has books in the folk tale section. She wrote some great picture books like The Squeaky Door, Little Rooster's Diamond Button, and Go to Sleep, Gecko!. Guaranteed fun for 3-6-year-olds. Actually, they're all fun for adults too, in a wonderful Pixar-movie-like way.