Take Part In Bullying Prevention Month with Books

October 19, 2014October 20, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

October is Bullying Prevention Month, which means it is important to revisit the damage bullying can cause, how we can stop it, and how we can help the people on all sides of the problem. One way to help ourselves understand, and help young adults deal with bullying related issues, is to read about it. Here are some young adult novels that deal with bullying and the aftermath of what pain it can cause on all sides.

If you or someone you know needs help now, or more solace than a great read can offer then please check out the official website StopBulling.gov, StompOutBullying.org, or the Nation Education Association’s Bully Free page for information, resources, and assistance.

The Bully by Paul Langan

A new life. An new school. A new bully. That’s what Darrell Mercer faces when he and his mother move from Philadelphia to California. After spending months living in fear, Darrell is faced with a big decision. He can either keep running from this bully–or find some way to fight back.

Brutal by Michael Harmon

After being left by her mother to live with a father she hardly knows in the middle of suburbia, Poe is happy to have found a few new friends at her new school, but when her new friends become the target of dangerous pranks by the popular jocks, Poe is determined to take down the group’s egomaniacal leader and put an end to his mean games.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jane Asher

When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the

mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

By The Time You Read This I’ll Be Dead by Julie Annie Peters. High school student Daelyn Rice, who has been bullied throughout her school career and has more than once attempted suicide, again makes plans to kill herself, despite the persistent attempts of an unusual boy named Santana to draw her out.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Regina Afton, a high school senior in the popular–and feared–crowd, suddenly falls out of favor and becomes the object of the same sort of vicious bullying that she used to inflict on others, until she finds solace through Michael Hayden, one of her former victims.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

After her boyfriend goes on a shooting rampage at school, Valerie is implicated because of her involvement in writing the list of names and so now must come to terms with what has happened, her feelings for the boy she once loved, and the part she played that resulted in such tragic events.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
A fifteen-year-old “geek” who keeps a list of the high school jocks and others who torment him, and pours his energy into creating a great graphic novel, encounters Kyra, Goth Girl, who

helps change his outlook on almost everything, including himself.

As usual, I cannot list all the great books in the post, or I would bored you all. But, I cannot help myself from adding a little bonus list at the end and asking you to comment with any books you would like to recommend. Here are my bonus books; The Misfits by James Howe, The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence, Before, After, and Somebody In Between by Jeannine Garsee, The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, Indigo’s Star by Hilary McKay, Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden,Diary Of A Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde, The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander, Freak by Marcella Fleischman Pixley, Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson,Darius & Twig by Walter Dean Myers,Cornered: 14 Stories of Bullying and Defiance edited by Rhoda Belleza, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield, and Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.

For more books about bullying for all ages, and some non fiction resources, check out some of the books I mentions in these previous posts; 10 Picturebooks that Deal with Bullying, Powerful Fiction Focused on Bullying for Children and Young Adults, and Top 5 Non-Fiction Books about Bullying.

Crafting and Costume Guides for Halloween

October 7, 2014September 23, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Are you one of the people that just loves Halloween? The decorations, movies, and dressing up can be great fun for adults and children of all ages. There are just so many activities and crafts that are great fun this time of year. If you are planning a Halloween party, looking for some good costume ideas, or just want to go crazy with the seasonal crafting, then here are a selection for books to get you started. I have broken the list down into two sections, one for the adults and one to give ideas for using with children.

Books for Adults:

1. Halloween: a Grown-up’s Guide to Creative Costumes, Devilish Decor & Fabulous Festivities by Joanne O’Sullivan. Finally, here’s a Halloween book that’s definitely for adults. It’s brimming with practical and inventive ideas for parties, decorations, and costumes, and with an amazingly atmospheric design that’s a luscious treat for grown-up eyes.

2. Halloween by Matthew Mead. A stylish celebration of Halloween for the entire family presents an array of holiday foods, spooky decorations, and entertaining suggestions that includes easy-to-follow instructions for pumpkin treat holders, personalized candy boxes, black cat cupcakes, black duct tape stencils, and other creative projects.

3. Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Pumpkins & Parties: 101 Spooktacular Ideas edited by Carol Field Dahlstrom. Half of this book features Halloween celebrations and entertaining, while the rest highlights creativity with pumpkins.All-new ideas for both crafters and noncrafters.One-of-a-kind Halloween how-to with detailed instructions, patterns, and recipes.Third in a series of highly successful Halloween books from Better Homes and Gardens.

4. Glitterville’s Handmade Halloween: a Glittered Guide for Whimsical Crafting! by Stephen Brown. A great book for intermediate to experienced crafters, Glitterville’s Handmade Halloween will delight readers as they make their way through the playfully photographed pages of the book, which include full, never-before-published instructions for making some of Glitterville’s most sought-after items, including Halloween candy garland and the studio collection of folk figures.

5. The Big Book of Halloween: Creative & Creepy Projects for Revellers of all Ages by Laura Dover Doran. This complete source book is the perfect treat—with lots of tricks, too! Adults and kids will enjoy the mixture of fun, food, and fright. There are 50 great projects and loads of imaginative ideas—everything from decorations to costumes, party ideas to pumpkin-carving patterns. A wealth of Halloween legend and lore help illuminate the holiday’s rich history.

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Book with Ideas to Share with Children:

1. 175 Easy-to-do Halloween Crafts: Creative Uses for Recyclables edited by Sharon Dunn. Easy-to-follow directions and full-color photographs show young craft makers how to create frightfully funny decorations, pumpkins, gifts, masks, costumes, and so much more. All of the crafts are made of recyclable materials and everyday items found around the house.

2. Halloween Crafts by Fay Robinson. Provides information about the origins and customs of Halloween, ideas for celebrationg this holiday, and instructions for making a bat sock puppet, a construction paper haunted house, and a treat bag that looks like a coffin.

3. Celebrate Halloween by Deborah Heiligman. Trick or treat? Celebrate Halloween is a real treat. Vivid images and Deborah Heiligman’s lively, inviting text illuminate the spookiest night of the year.

4. Paper Crafts for Halloween by Randel McGee. Provides instructions for making paper craft items for Halloween along with a brief introduction to the holiday and its history.

5. Fun-to-Make Crafts for Halloween edited by Tom Daning. Each of these 150 craft projects for Halloween can be made from easy-to-find materials and the easy-to-follow directions include full-color photographs to help make the assembly simple.

6. Halloween Fun: 101 Ideas to Get in the Spirit! edited by Carol Field Dahlstrom. A spooky guide to Halloween fun contains an abundance of ideas, recipes, projects, and instructions for creating frightening foods, devilish decorations, scary costumes, and much more.

As always, there are plenty more books about Halloween crafts, costumes, and fun here at the library. This includes scary stories, history, and books for all interests and age groups. Come check out the selection, unless you are scared? Oh, and have a fun and safe Halloween!

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in October

October 5, 2014September 23, 2014 / Louise / Leave a comment

The days are getting shorter, the evenings chillier. It’s the perfect time to curl up with a new book. Luckily, there are a lot of great new titles coming to Cheshire Library in October!

Every month, librarians from around the country pick the top ten new books they’d most like to share with readers. The results are published on LibraryReads.org. One of the goals of LibraryReads is to highlight the important role public libraries play in building buzz for new books and new authors. Click through to read more about what new and upcoming books librarians consider buzzworthy this month. The top ten titles for October are:

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming
Some Luck by Jane Smiley
The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskins
Reunion by Hannah Pittard
Malice by Keigo Higashino
Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver

It Is Ask a Stupid Question Day!

September 28, 2014September 29, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Did you know that September 28th is Ask a Stupid Question Day? No matter how much we are told that there are no stupid questions, there are times for each of us when we feel like a question that we need to ask might just qualify. Well, today is the day to get any of those questions you have been too afraid or bashful to ask off your mind.

To get things started here are some books that offer unusual facts, crazy questions, and some questions that just about everyone has but are afraid to ask out loud. If none of these books answer your questions, then please ask at the reference desk and we will find you an answer!

1. Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?: and 114 other Questions from New Scientist

2. Why You Shouldn’t Eat Your Boogers: Gross But True Things you Don’t Want to Know about your Body by Francesca Gould

3. Do Cats Always Land on their Feet?: 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered about Feline Unfathomables, Medical Mysteries & Befuddling Behaviors by Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori

4. You Blink Twelve Times a Minute: and other Freaky Facts about the Human Body by Barbara Seuling

5.Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You’d Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg

6.Because I Said So!: the Truth Behind the Myths, Tales and Warnings Every Generation passes down to its Kids by Ken Jennings

7.Can you Hear a Shout in Space?: Questions and Answers about Space Exploration by Melvin and Gilda Berger

8.Why Does Popcorn Pop? and other Kitchen Questions by Catherine Ripley

9.Do Tornadoes Really Twist?: Questions and Answers about Tornadoes and Hurricanes by Melvin and Gilda Berger ; illustrated by Higgins Bond

10.Do Fishes Get Thirsty? by Dr. Les Kaufman and staff of the New England Aquarium

For even more questions and answers that you might have been afraid to bring up you might want to take a peek at; What Makes an Ocean Wave?: Questions and Answers about Oceans and Ocean Life by Melvin and Gilda Berger, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask by Jack Rollins-Charles H. Joffe and Brodsky, Why is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: and other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask by Jancee Dunn, Why Dogs Eat Poop: and Other Useless or gross Information About the Animal Kingdom by Francesca Gould and David Haviland, Why Feet Smell and other Gross Facts about your Body by Jody Sullivan Rake, Don’t Know Much about History: Everything you Need to Know about American History, but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis, The New York Public Library Amazing Women in American history: a Book of Answers for Kids by Sue Heinemann, Why Do Men Fall Asleep after Sex?: More Questions You’d only Ask a Doctor after Your Third Whiskey Sour by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg

On Our Shelves: New Picturebooks

September 23, 2014August 20, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Just in time for back to school, we have been cataloging new books in the children’s area like mad. In the process I have seen some great books, and had to check some out to read for myself and share with my own children. There have even been some that are staff storytime picks. Here are some of my favorite picturebooks that have recently been added to our collection.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems. The latest entry in the best-selling series that includes the Caldecott Honor-winning Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! finds a mussy Pigeon refusing to take a bath and insisting he had one a month earlier

Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won. Elevated from a bad mood when he receives an exciting new hat, Elephant cheers up his equally grumpy friend Zebra before marching to the homes of other downcast friends who join them in a fabulous hat parade

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson. After a chance encounter at the park and a switch of places, Antoinette the bulldog and Gaston the
poodle learn that family is about love, not appearances, in an adorable doggy tale from a New York Times best-selling author.

Ninja! by Arree Chung. A little boy flexes his ninja chops in an adventure that finds him silently creeping through his home and overcoming formidable obstacles, like the coffee table, to pounce upon his unsuspecting father’s tummy.

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. An imaginary friend waits a long time to be imagined by a child and given a special name, and finally does the unimaginable–he sets out on a quest to find his perfect match in the real world.