New books, socks, a hat, and a poodle.

Scholastic Book Fair is over. I want to thank all the parents who helped out over the course of delivery, sale days, family night, and pack up. You really help to make things go smoothly. Extra super thank yous to Saskia Choudry for chairing the Book Fair once again and to Michelle Fine for being her right hand lady. I've said it before and I'll say it again because I mean it, you are a rock star Saskia! I appreciate you taking this on for the benefit of the library and for the kids.

So, all of this means we have new books in the library! As you can see in the picture, I've got a couple new Geronimo Stilton books, the new Judy Moody book, some Ready Freddy books, some Star Wars books and lots more. I also got a copy of The Exquisite Corpse which I wrote about last year.

One of the books I picked up, The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, by Barbara O'Connor, is a book I didn't realize I already had in the library. Scholastic has given it a new cover for the paperback edition. Anyway, I was intrigued by this book (the new cover is way better than the old cover, pictured) so I took the library copy home to read. I'm happy to report that it is a delightful story. It is exactly what it promises to be on its cover - a small adventure. This was a very nice change of pace from the World Saving Orphans Who Get Their Special Powers When They Turn Thirteen type of books that permeate children's literature these days. Which isn't to say that Popeye and Elvis's lives aren't completely different from yours or mine, because they are. The story takes place in modern Fayette, North Carolina, but Popeye has no computer, no cell phone, no video games. Elvis's family lives in a motorhome. But when these two boys meet, they enjoy a few days break from summer boredom, and even though their adventure is small, it is still very compelling. I highly recommend this book and have added it to my favorites list. To see what else is new in the library, go to the library's online catalog and click the What's New icon.

And now, here's what I've been knitting:

And here's a picture of my poodle:

Scholastic Book Fair Comes to Marshall Lane

I'm sure you already know by now that the Scholastic Book Fair has moved into the library. You can come and shop the book fair before school, after school, and at lunch recess. Also there is a family night Wednesday, December 7 from 5 to 7 pm. There will be lots of guest readers including Dr. Andrews, Mrs. Mund, Mrs. Medalen, and quite a few more! I helped some of them select their books so it should be lots of fun! I've had some time to browse around and I've selected some terrific titles to add to our library, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, all of the Big Nate books, Bad Island (a graphic novel by the author of Ghostopolis) and the Origami Yoda and Darth Paper books.

I noticed that one of the books that had been highlighted on the preview video has become the high demand book of the Scholastic Book Fair. It is The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn. I find this terribly interesting that this has become such a hot title all of a sudden. I've had this in my library for a year now and even listed it as a good scary story to share in my All Hallow's Read blog and it's been checked out all of twice. Two times. In the last year. The last time it was checked out was February. It is currently sold out at the Scholastic Book Fair and on reorder while stacks of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever remain on the tables. It's just so interesting how the power of suggestion works and what will capture the imagination of a population of children at any given time.

Anyway, come down and visit the book fair. Lots of wonderful titles for children of all ages and the proceeds benefit the library and the PTA.

The mysterious paper sculptures of the libraries of Scotland

I love Twitter. I admit it. I'm kind of addicted to it. Very few people that I actually know are on Twitter so I follow a lot of people that I don't actually know but can sometimes interact with through Twitter. These people are mostly writers, bloggers, comedians, and podcasters. What's really neat about Twitter is sometimes you get to watch a story unfold that you wouldn't normally hear anything about because it happens half a world away. For example, the story of some mysterious paper sculptures that appeared in various libraries and museums throughout Edinburgh, Scottland. The story began in the spring when the first sculpture was discovered in the Scottish Poetry Library and periodically, new pieces were left as gifts in other libraries, museums, and at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Each piece was accompanied by a gift tag which was addressed to the Twitter handle of the organization where the gift had been left. The phrase "In support of libraries, books, words, ideas..." was also included on the gift tags. The artist has remained anonymous. I first read about it when Neil Gaiman tweeted about it from the Edinburgh Book Festival as the mystery was beginning to capture everyone's imagination. As more pieces were discovered, other people would pass along the tweets and eventually NPR picked up the story. It was very exciting to find out over Twitter when a new piece had been discovered, to click on a link and to read how the piece was found and see pictures of it. Well, the story has at last come to an end with the final piece (10 of 10) being discovered where it all began, at the Scottish Poetry Library. Accompanying the final piece was a letter of explanation in which the artist mentions "the twitter community who in some strange way gave rise to the idea in the first place." I strongly urge you to go here to read the complete story with pictures and updates that tracks the mystery as it unfolded. It's fascinating and magical and joyful and I'm sure it will brighten your day.

14 Authors and a pair of socks.

Last Saturday, Mr. Richards and I spent the day in San Francisco and one of the things we did there was we went to the San Francisco Public library to see a couple of my favorite authors in conversation about a new book that I now have in the library. The book is called The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. It is a collection of short stories written by many famous authors inspired by the picture book by Chris Van Allsburg called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick was originally published back in 1984 and the story goes that an editor was presented with a stack of pictures from 14 stories written by Harris Burdick, who wished to be published. The editor was intrigued by the pictures which were accompanied by titles and captions, hints of the larger stories, and asked Mr. Burdick to bring the complete stories to him the following day. Mr. Burdick left the pictures with the editor, but never returned. The editor could not track him down. The editor handed the pictures over to Mr. Van Allsburg who compiled them into a book to allow readers to imagine the stories that might accompany the drawings. Which is exactly what the 14 authors of The Chronicles of Harris Burdick have done. This great collection of authors includes Stephen King, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, Lois Lowry, Louis Sachar, and Linda Sue Park with an introduction written by Lemony Snicket, who was at the San Francisco Public Library along with Chris Van Allsburg and Mac Barnett (The Brixton Brothers Mysteries). Here is a picture of me and Mr. Snicket yucking it up while he signs my book:
Here is a picture of the slightly more phlegmatic Mr. Van Allsburg signing my book. (Yes, you have to look up the word phlegmatic for yourself.)
Sadly, I didn't know that Mr. Barnett would be moderating the discussion so I didn't have a book for him to sign. I'll get him next time, though!

In other news, I finished that pair of socks I started while waiting for Brian Selznick to give his presentation a couple of weeks ago. Here is what they look like now:

In other other news, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever has been released. I don't have it in the library yet, but the Book Fair is coming to the Library December 5th and I'm hoping I can get a couple copies for the library then. Until then, I should be getting a new shipment from Junior Library Guild very soon and there's always good stuff in those boxes! If you've already read Cabin Fever, leave a comment and tell me what you thought of it.

Wonderstruck

Brian Selznick came to Willow Glen Middle school tonight to talk about his new book Wonderstruck. He gave a wonderful presentation explaining how he took all his ideas and inspirations and crafted them into this book over a period of 3 years. Similar to The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the story is told through both words and pictures. What makes this book different is that he is telling two separate stories - one through words and one through pictures - which come together in the end. He was inspired by a film he saw called Through Deaf Eyes, which is about the history of deaf education and deaf culture in America. He was also inspired by a class he audited about the history of museums and includes many references to the book From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg, and a great chunk of the story comes from his desire to draw a lightning strike. You can see a preview of the book and a video about the book at wonderstruckthebook.com. Mr. Selznick also shared with us some of his experiences in Hollywood as his book The Invention of Hugo Cabret was being made into a movie. He showed us a trailer, which you can see here, and he told us that the film is very faithful to the book, which is very good hear! He gave a very interesting talk and when one of the kids in the audience asked how he became a successful artist, he answered that he is always working at. He said if you want to be good at a thing, you have to keep doing the thing. So whatever it is you like to do and are good at, keep doing it!

Here is a picture of me getting my book signed:

And here is a picture of his shoes because a lady at Hicklebee's told me he would be wearing silver shoes, and sure enough, he was!

While I was waiting for the presentation to start, I started a sock:

Because I finished a pair last night:

All Hallow's Read

I've spoken here before about All Hallow's Read. Here's a video of Neil Gaiman explaining what All Hallow's Read is about (click here if you can't see the video or it doesn't work properly):



So in the spirit of All Hallow's Read, here are some books that can be found in the Marshall Lane library that can be checked out and shared with a reading buddy.

Story Collections:

Half Minute Horrors, edited by Susan Rich

Don't Open the Door After the Sun Goes Down, by Al Carusone, illustrated by Andrew Glass

The Dark-thirty, by Pat McKissack, illustrated by Brian J. Pinkney

Things That Go Bump in the Night, edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, collected and retold by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Stephen Gamell

Tales for the Midnight Hour, by J. D. Stamper

Troll's Eye View, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.

Picture Books:

Night of the Gargoyles, by Eve Bunting, illustrated by David Wiesner

The Dangerous Alphabet, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Gris Grimly

The Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean

There's a Nightmare in my Closet, by Mercer Mayer

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, by Adam Rex

The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Botham Howitt, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi

Novels:

The Seer of Shadows, by Avi

The Light, by D. J. MacHale

The Ghost Road, by Tony Abbott

Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow, by James Howe, illustrated by Eric Fortune

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

The Blue Ghost, by Marion Dane Bauer

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall, by Mary Downing Hahn

Dying to Meet You, by Kate Klise

There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around, by Vivian Vande Velde

Graphic Novels:

Babymouse; Monster Mash, by Jenifer L. Holm

Coraline, by P. Craig Russell and Neil Gaiman

Ghostopolis, by Doug TenNapel

Goosebumps; Creepy Creatures, by R. L. Stine

Murder & Myster, by Mike Vosburg

Classics:

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories of the Supernatural, by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Raven and Other Poems and Stories, by Edgar Allen Poe

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving

The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells

War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells

Eight Tales of Terror, by Edgar Allan Poe

Some of these books are already on display in the front display case in the library. Come in a check some out. There are even more scary books in the library than what's on the list above. Ask me where you can find them. And share a scary story with a loved one today!

Yes, Virginia, Grown-ups Do Read Comic Books

Way back in April, I read and reviewed Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel. I thought it was a terrific book so whenever a student checks it out, I tell them that I think it's a really good book and that I enjoyed reading it. Nine times out of ten, the student in question will give me a quizzical look and ask "You read it?" They seem a little surprised. This happened earlier this week when a boy checked out Ghostopolis. I told him how much I enjoyed it and he was very surprised that I had read it. Since then, he's been coming in every day to give me updates on where he's at in the story. Today he came in to update me and also told me that he had told his dad that I had read Ghostopolis and his dad was very surprised to hear that. I asked why and he told me that his dad didn't think grown-ups read comic books. I reassured him that lots of grown-ups read comic books. He then went on to tell me that his dad doesn't read anything because he has to work all day. I told him his dad probably is reading things, just not fun things. I know this because Mr. Richards used to have the same problem. He still has to work all day, but he reads more fun stuff now than he used to.

Two Books (audio) and a scarf

The weather suddenly feels very autumnish, which makes sense because it is, in fact, autumn.
I've finished a couple of audio books this week. The first one is called Masterpiece by Elise Broach. This is a story of a boy who befriends a beetle that can draw. The beetle draws a picture as a birthday gift for the boy but the boy's family thinks he drew it and that he's suddenly revealed a hidden genius talent. The boy and his beetle get drawn into a plot to foil some art thieves who are planning to steal a famous drawing from the local art museum. One thing that bothered me in this story is that the art thief turns out to be someone that the boy and his father and his father's friend know, and when they find this out, they actually consider not turning the thief in to the police because he is their friend. They actually say he is 'good' friend. This bothers me because a good friend doesn't use his friend's connections to art museum collections in order to steal from said art museum. That's not being a good friend. Otherwise, if you have an appreciation for art, you'll probably find a kinship with this author. She definitely likes to talk about art.

If you like mysteries with a scottish flair, this book is for you. Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer is a terrific noir mystery featuring a hard-boiled 12 year old detective named Fletcher Moon. Eoin Colfer seems to have tapped in to the preteen psyche. As in the Artemis Fowl series, he deftly crafts grand adventures for his heroes while balancing the action with the kind of humor that preteens and the parents of preteens can easily appreciate. The book was expertly read by Sean Patrick Reilly who really brought the noir mood to life. Think of a 12 year old Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade. I highly recommend this one.

Now, I know you want to know what I've been working on while listening to these audio books. Remember the Nerd Wars tournament I participated in over the summer? Well, Tournament 3 has commenced, but this time, I'm on a zombie themed team called Team Braaaaaains. Here is my first project submission, it's called You've Got Red On You.

This particular challenge required us to write a haiku to go with our projects. Here is my haiku:

Shamble, moaning, bite
Swing cricket bat at the head
You’ve got red on you

More than red on you
It seems you have intestines
Wrapped around your neck

Now you must be inspired to write your own zombie haiku so share it in the comments!

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Well, of course I went to Hicklebee's this afternoon to see Tom Angleberger, the author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back. I ran into my friends Kenji and Timmy who also came to see Tom Angleberger because Kenji's mom is an informed reader of this very blog!

Mr. Angleberger gave an excellent and very funny presentation about his book. I especially liked how he called any kid he was talking to by the name of Larry - even the girls! He did such a good job of demonstrating how funny his book is that I went right home and read the book. And you know what? I loved it! It was so funny, yet Origami Yoda's Jedi Wisdom shines through. (He really does give good advice!) I can't wait to share these books with everyone tomorrow - and I have a surprise!

Here is Mr. Angleberger drawing a picture of a pair of pants that plays a key role in the third chapter. And here is me getting my books signed. (Can you see Darth Paper?)

Well, I took a break from listening to Masterpiece by Elise Broach to read Origami Yoda. I'm about half-way through it so I will finish that while I try to finish another sock so I have a pair. I'll let you know how that goes.

New Books! And a sock.

Yesterday, a box of books from Junior Library Guild arrived at the library! Yay! Here's what came:

These awesome books are brought to you by our generous Marshall Lane PTA, whom I'd like to thank for providing the library with funds again this year to buy materials for our library. And here is the sock I was knitting at the PTA meeting last week:

A couple of other things I'd like to share with you. I know I've mentioned Mo Willems' Blog before but I want to mention it again because recently he had Eric Carle and his wife over for dinner and doodles and he shares pictures of the doodles.

Also, we are almost into October now so it's time to think about All Hallow's Read again. Why not give someone you love a scary book to read?

One last thing! Tom Angleberger, author of The Strange Tale of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Stikes Back is going to be at Hicklebee's tomorrow, September 29 at 3:00 and will be talking about his books and signing books afterwards.

Banned Books Week

September 24th - October 1 is Banned Books Week. Exercise your right to read by selecting a banned or challenged book to read this week. Here's a few titles to get you started:

The Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Series), by Phillip Pullman

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (#1 challenged book in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010)

Olive's Ocean, by Kevin Henkes

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor

Julie of the wolves, by Jean Craighead George

That should keep you busy for a bit. To see complete lists of the top ten banned or challenged books by year or learn more about banned and challenged books, go to the ALA website.

There's something hiding in the library

You may have heard there is a shelf elf in the library. He was in my desk drawer but he's taken to hiding amongst the books. He's causing quite a stir with the lunch bunch. Kids are reporting that he's leaving clues all over the library. The say they can hear him breathing. They've seen him dart under bookshelves. One kid reported that the shelf elf bit him! One of the kids found him at recess today and I put him back in the drawer. I went into the computer lab to do some work and when I came back he was gone again. Hiding in the shelves, I'd guess. I'm sure he'll turn up tomorrow.

Eeeeeww! Germs!

I read "Should I Share My Ice Cream," an Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems today to a group of kinders who seemed to be very concerned about the spread of germs by sharing food. They really did not want Gerald sharing his germs with Piggie. I finally had to explain to them that Elephant and Piggie are drawings and drawings don't have germs. That seemed to satisfy them.

I'm back in the library again!

Welcome back to school everyone, now that we've made it through the first week. Here is what was waiting for me on Monday:

Those are textbooks that were waiting to be distributed. And some other things that needed dealing with. Also, there were some new books waiting for me, which is much more fun!

Wow, that went quick!

Well, this is it. The last week of Summer. That sure went by quickly. I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked but I did have some fun. I went to visit my mom and dad in Tehachapi. We caught up over quilting and knitting. My mom has become quite adept at quilting and is working on a beautiful quilt for her first great grandchild that she's expecting to come someday, but not soon. I worked on this Doctor Who illusion panel for Nerd Wars:When you look straight down on it, it just looks like blue and white stripes, like this:Pretty cool, eh?

After that, I paid a visit to my dear friends in Fullerton who had their first baby in June. Remember, I knitted a blanket for the baby back in May? The baby is healthy and happy as are her parents and I had wonderful visit with them.

Next, I flew to Portland to visit two of my highschool girlfriends and together we went to see The Go-Go's perform at the Portland Zoo. It was super fun and just like old times. One of them I see about once a year, the other I haven't seen in about 16 years but when we were all together it was like no time had passed at all. We promised each other that we wouldn't let that much time pass before our next visit.

And now school is about to start and here is what I did accomplish this summer:

As for reading, I've been busy with A Game of Thrones, which is long and not for children. I enjoyed very much so now I'm on to the next volume A Clash of Kings. There are 3 more books in the series so I'll finish these as fast as I can and get back to the kidlit soon! In the meantime, I have lots of terrific books to bring back to school and I have orders waiting for my return. I'll give you a sneak peak next time.

I am looking forward to getting back to school next week, partly because I'm out of money, but mostly because I miss everyone and all the books over the summer. See you all next week!

Just what the Interwebs needs - more me!

So, a couple of weeks ago at the end of a blog post I confessed a childhood desire to be a writer and then whined a little bit about having no talent. Then this happened: I met the lovely editor of the Campbell Patch this morning and, long story short, I will be blogging for the Local Voices section of the website! So I've got that going for me. Anyway, if you aren't familiar with Campbell Patch you should check it out. It's a news and community site that focuses on all things Campbell. There is a Patch site for Los Gatos as well. This totally feeds my fascination with social media and how people can make connections, who may otherwise have never met, to create opportunities for each other. And I feel now that I should revise my statement about having talent. I do think it's less about "talent" and more about having something to say, finding your voice. And the way to do that is by writing. If you want to write, write; and you will eventually find your voice and have something to say.

Go go, Gryffindor!

So Mr. Richards and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 last week and it was fantastic! I wore my Gryffindor house scarf:

I was very impressed with the number of people dressed up in line at the theater. Most were dressed as Hogwarts students. Speaking of the line, we happened to line up right behind the library clerk from Forest Hill who was there with her daughters and their friends. At the same time, I was texting my daughter who was in line for a theater in Oregon, where she lives now. She wore the Quidditch sweater I had made for her. It made me happy that she wore it but sad that we weren't together.
Back to the movie. My expectations for this movie were pretty high, as were the world's. I was not disappointed! It was very satisfying. Harry finally steps into his hero role and defeats ulitmate evil. (I don't think this is a spoiler at all because even if you haven't read the books, you know this is coming.) I think it's important, when critiquing the movie, not to compare it to the book. One of the biggest complaints I hear about the movies is how much of the story is left out. But that's why books are always better and you just have to take the movies for what they are. They have limitations in storytelling. Putting words on a page costs nothing. Sets, costumes, actors, special effects, etc., cost millions of dollars. So accepting the fact that some things are left out due to time or budget constraints, I feel like they left all the important stuff in. I thought Harry's final conversation with Dumbledore was handled beautifully. Everyone in the theater cried when the fatalities were revealed. It was so quiet you could hear the sobbing (I'm sure it wasn't just me). Likewise, everyone cheered when Molly confronted Bellatrix and for Neville's big moment. The epilogue was also very nicely done. The aging effects were perfect and it was a lovely, quiet goodbye to these characters we've been following for 10+ years. Really, a very satisfying close to the franchise.

So, I know your next question is, Mrs. Richards, what have you been knitting? Well, it's round two of the Nerd Wars tournament and I've finished one project so far:I submitted these fingerless gloves with a fishtail lace pattern for the Mythology challenge. The are supposed to represent mermaids and they are linked to Harry Potter because mermaids live in the lake on the Hogwarts grounds. I'm also working on a large piece of illusion knitting for the Big Nerd Love challenge. We are supposed to knit something from one of the other nerderies in the tournament. It's hard to explain what the illusion knitting is so I'll show it to you when it's finished. It's pretty cool though.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer and reading lots of books. I've been reading and listening to lots of different things, but I'll tell you about it next time because this post is already too long! Leave me a comment and tell me what you've been reading.

Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter

The final Harry Potter film opens next week, bringing to a close the story of the boy who lived that began 14 years ago. I'm going to miss ol' Harry Potter. Reading the books and seeing the movies played a significant role in my kids' lives, especially my eldest daughter who has been a big Potter nut since the 4th grade, about 12 years now. I'm a little sad to see it all end. But wait. There's this: pottermore.com I don't know exactly what this is yet, but it looks like it's never going to end after all! Yeay!

In the mean time, I can still participate in Nerd Wars* on Ravelry.com on team Dumbledore's Army and relive the glory days! Here are some of the projects I've completed so far:

In this photo, we see a first year Gryffindor scarf, Mrs. Norris - Filch's cat, and a miniature first year Gryffindor scarf for Mrs. Norris. This is an elf hat for a baby. One of the challenges is called "Giving Geeks" and in June, we were to make baby hats and donate them to needy babies. I made two more hats in addition to this one and donated them to an organization which distributes them to homeless families. And this is a Golden Snitch.
There are three rounds in the tournament, each round is 1 month long. There are 6 challenges per round. In June, I could only complete 4 of the 6. I don't think I'll be able to complete all 6 this month either. It really is a challenge!

*Nerd Wars is a knitting/crocheting tournament with a nerdy theme.