Female Role Models in Fantasy

July 2, 2013June 24, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

I am a fan of books from a wide variety of genres, for a wide variety of age groups. However, there is one common thread in the books I feel the most passionate about, and that is well-written characters. When I find a book with a strong protagonist that I can actually like and yet also believe in as real, I am thrilled. Sometimes finding one of these characters that just happens to be female, and one I would want to hold up to my daughter or nieces as a role model, is very hard. A teen or young female character who does not act as a victim even if the situation might make others feel like one. They act and do everything they can to make their life, and the lives of others, better. Thankfully, I have read fantasy for a long time, and have found a few. Here are the authors, and some of their noteworthy books that you can recommend to the young girls and young adults in your life.

1) Tamora Pierce is my go-to recommendation for everyone that walks into the library and is looking for a fantasy book. Alanna: The First Adventure is the first book in the first series, Song of the Lioness, by Pierce. Alanna is a young girl that poses as her twin brother to become a knight and deals with the issues of bullying and personal strength. There are currently nine series by Pierce, two of which are geared for young adults, while the rest are for children, and she is still actively writing in at least one of them. My favorite series starters from Pierce are Alanna: The First Adventure, First Test (Protector of the Small), Trickster’s Choice (Daughter of the Lioness), and Terrier (Beka Cooper).

2) Robin McKinley has written a number of books that take classic stories, or plots that are reminiscent of them, and give them a solid twist. One of my favorites, The Hero and The Crown is about Aerin, who has the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the blue sword to secure her birthright as the daughter of the Damarian king and a witchwoman of the mysterious, demon-haunted North. The Blue Sword, Beauty, Chalice, Spindle’s End, Pegasus, and Sunshine are other books I would recommend from McKinley.

3) Cornelia Funke is the author of the Inkworld series, which begins with Inkheart. You might recognize the shared title from the movie which was released in 2008. In Inkheart, twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can “read” fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service. The sequels Inkspell and Inkdeath are equally good reads. For younger readers, I recommend Funke’s Igraine the Brave, The Princess Knight, and the Ghosthunter’s series which begins with Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost!.

4) Patricia C. Wrede is the author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles quartet, which begins with Dealing with Dragons in which Cimorene is everything a princess is expected not to be. She is headstrong, tomboyish, and smart. But most of all she is bored, so bored that she runs away to live with a dragon and in the process finds the family and excitement she’s been looking for. Other books that I would recommend by Wrede are Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, Thirteenth Child, Mairelon the Magician, and Shadow Magic– all of which begin their own series.

Other authors that tend to offer up strong female children, teens, and adults as main characters in fantasy include: Libba Bray, Kristin Cashore, Cassandra Clare, Robin LaFevers, Maria V. Snyder, Garth Nix, Holly Black, Lilith St. Crow, Rachel Vincent, Elizabeth Moon, Kristen Britain, Edith Nesbitt, Dianna Wynne Jones, Patricia A. McKillip, and Sharon Shinn.

I know I left some great authors out, some are on the tip of my tongue even as I type this. Do you have a favorite fantasy book or author with strong female characters?

Top 5 Non-Fiction Books about Bullying

June 23, 2013June 6, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

Bullying is a huge issue for children of all ages, and in some cases adults. The recent rise in awareness of this problem, and the sometimes tragic results, have made people sit up and take notice. Bullying has always been an issue to those involved, and a constant source of inspiration for authors, therefore there have always been books that discuss bullying on some level. However, in recent years it seems to be a much more prevalent topic in news and literature. Here are some of the non fiction books for children, teens, and the adults in their lives that I have found to be the most useful and moving on the subject.

1. Sticks and Stones : Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy by Emily Bazelon defines bullying and what it is not. This includes when intervention is essential and when kids should be given the freedom to fend for themselves.

2. It Gets Better : Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living by Dan Savage is a collection of essays and testimonials written to teens from celebrities, political leaders, and everyday people in order to show LGBT youth that happiness, potential, and satisfaction is in their future if they can get through the early years.

3. Letters to a Bullied Girl : Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner includes letters originally written to Olivia by that can speak to all young people who have been bullied, offer advice and hope to those who suffer, and provide a wake-up call to all who have ever been involved in bullying.

4. We Want You to Know: Kids Talk about Bullying by Deborah Ellis contains more than thirty profiles in which teens honestly and openly talk about bullying and the roles that they played: as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders.

5. Bullied : What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know about Ending the Cycle of Fear by Carrie Goldman ties the advice of leading authorities to candid accounts from families that have dealt with peer victimization to offer proven strategies and practical tools for helping children speak up, carry themselves with confidence, call each other out on cruelty, resolve conflict and cope with taunting in the physical, verbal, or cyber format.

It’s National Audiobook Month – 10 Great Audiobooks to Listen to With Your Kids

June 18, 2013June 19, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you feel like you spend all your time driving your children back and forth from school, to practice, to friends houses, to wherever? These days we are all busy, and parents chauffeuring their children around know it well. Whether it is on the way to scouts, sports, or a family vacation you can turn a search for quiet into some serious quality time. Put that CD player or iPod to work and steer your car-full towards some of your childhood favorites, or new popular books, and you have the bonus of knowing exactly what they are reading (or hearing as they case might be) so that you can start conversations about the books with your children.

Many classic and new, popular books for children are now available on audiobook, and they are often read by very talented voice actors, the author, or sometimes even a full cast of voices. Here are ten quick suggestions, in no particular order, for audiobooks you might want to listen to with your children or for your own enjoyment.

1. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making, written and read by Catherynne M. Valente.

2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (and the rest of the series), written by J.K. Rowling and read by Jim Dale.

3. Anything written and read by Neil Gaiman, such as Coraline, M is for Magic or The Graveyard Book.

4.Green Eggs and Ham and other Servings of Dr. Seuss, read by Jason Alexander, Michael McKean, and David Hyde Pierce.

5. The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan and read by Jesse Bernstein.

6. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, written by Tom Angleberger and read by Mark Turetsky, Greg Steinbruner, Jonathan Todd Ross, Julia Gibson, and Charlotte Parry.

7. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber, Freckle Juice, or anything else from Judy Blume. Some books are read by the author, others by Halley Feiffer or Laura Hamilton.

8. Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass written by Lewis Carroll and read by Ralph Cosham.

9. Magic Tree House Collection Books 1-8 (other book groupings are also available), written and read by Mary Pope Osborne.

10. The works of E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan read by E.B. White, and Stuart Little, read by Julie Harris.

If you prefer downloading audiobooks rather than juggling cd’s in the car, do not forget that you can use Overdrive to download free audiobooks. Many of these titles, as well as more great audiobooks and e-books to share with the family can be found there as well.

Sharon Reads: Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

June 4, 2013June 3, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Exclamation Mark is a picturebook written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (a favorite of mine) and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. The exclamation mark stands out, no matter what he does or where he goes. He would really like to be more like everyone else, but he is just too different. Finally a friend shows him that being different is a good thing, and that he has endless potential. It is his differences that make him special, make him wonderful, and gives him his abilities. I know I have gone through moments (or years) where I thought I had to twist myself to fit other’s expectations to some degree, and I think that everyone regardless of age can remember going through it as well.

Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark seems like a simple enough story, but like in Little Pea, Spoon and Chopsticks, we see that it can be the simple things that can really change us. I highly recommend Exclamation Mark to everyone. That’s right, everyone. I also recommend taking a peek at Rosenthal’s other books and enjoying the combination of a simple of the story with the impact larger concepts hidden in that story. Liking yourself and being yourself is something that readers of all ages might need to learn, and be reminded of on a regular basis. This book can help with that, and make you smile about it the whole time.

Allons-y! To the Foreign Language Books!

May 30, 2013May 22, 2013 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Did you know the Cheshire library has a wonderful collection of books printed in foreign languages? From Histoire de la Mafia by Gaetano Falzone, to Charlotte Link’s Das Haus der Schwestern, there is a wide variety of both fiction and non-fiction books in French, German, and Spanish. These are located in a special area of the upstairs Moss Room; just ask and we’ll be happy to open it for you.

In the children’s room, there are beginning storybooks and alphabet books in Russian, Spanish, Latin, French, and Chinese. We are also able to request books in Russian, Polish, and more from surrounding libraries.

If listening to language is more your style, check out an audiobook to learn a new language or improve your skills in Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Hebrew, and more (Dewey number 468). Are you a foreign speaker trying to learn English? We have discs for that as well. There are audiobook language sets geared for children, too. Prefer an online approach where no one can hear you stumble? Check out the free on-line language programs on our website.

Grab your dictionary, dust off your skills, and with a little practice, you’ll be ready to take on our foreign films without subtitles!