Old and New Fictional Friends

September 18, 2015September 14, 2015 / Mary / Leave a comment

It was quiet in the Children’s Room. The preschool crowd had gone home for lunch and the after school crowd had not yet arrived. As I wandered around, picking up books to reshelve, I spotted a copy of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.

How I loved (and still love) that book! It was one of my favorite’s from childhood. I wanted to be Meg Murry and travel to other worlds. I still know the story by heart.

This got me to thinking about the books my daughter loved as a child. Yes, A Wrinkle in Time was one, but she also loved The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, featuring Cimorene, the princess who ran away to live with the dragons. Like my love for Meg, my daughter wanted to be Cimorene.

When it came to historical fiction, I loved Laura Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie series. My daughter also enjoyed the tales but had new heroines such as Patience Goodspeed (The Education of Patience Goodspeed) and Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack).

Same thing for mysteries. Nancy Drew was my detective. My daughter had Enola Homes, Sherlock Holmes’s younger sister in the Enola Holmes mystery series.

As I put A Wrinkle in Time back on the shelf, I wondered what my future grandchildren would be reading and who their favorites would be.

Movies or Television Shows and the Books You Did Not Know They Were Based On

September 9, 2015August 19, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

We know that many television shows and movies are based on books. Love them or hate them hits like Twilight, Harry Potter, Gone Girl, True Blood, Game of Thrones, and many more were based on (or inspired by) the written word. However, there are so many more movies and television series that you have already seen, or could be currently binge watching, that are also based on books and you just do not know it. Here are some of the titles that I thought were the most interesting or surprising.

Pitch Perfect the film may have been based on Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin, a non-fiction book about a capella competitions, but I have to imagine that the movie version is much more audibly entertaining.

The movie Die Hard is based on Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. The book was published in the late ’70s, and went out of print before the movie adaptation was released almost a decade later.

Shrek! by William Steig is a picturebook about an ogre who falls in love with an “ugly” princess, so part of the concept remained when the animated version of Shrek was made.

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom might have been changed a great deal in the film adaptation of Forrest Gump. However, the award-winning film certainly helped book sales.

Gordon Buford wrote Car, Boy, Girl in 1961, seven years before the first Herbie the Love Bug adaptation.

The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas M. Disch was a critically acclaimed science fiction novella long before it was turned into a beloved children’s movie, also named The Brave Little Toaster, it was nominated for both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award.

The self-help book Queen Bees & Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman might not seem like the typical book to inspire a movie. However, it is what Mean Girls is based on.

Ted Hughes, former poet laureate of England, wrote a children’s book called The Iron Giant in 1968. The animated movie, also titled The Iron Giant, was released in 1999.

Jack Bickham wrote The Apple Dumpling Gang, a novel about orphans during the California gold rush. Disney adapted it into the classic The Apple Dumpling Gang with Don Knotts in 1975.

I know of a few more that were surprising, either because I did not know the book existed or because the adaptation so barely resembled the book that I could not recognize it. Are there any here that surprised you, and do you know of any more book to movie or television series adaptations that might be surprising? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Young Adult Spy Novels That Adults Can Enjoy Too

August 12, 2015August 4, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you have a young adult reader that loves detective and spy novels but has moved past The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and N.E.R.D.S.? Perhaps you love young adult fiction and a great spy novel. Well, whatever the case, here are some of the best spy and espionage books to be had in the young adult section of our library. Did I miss one of your favorites? Please mention it in the comments so that others can enjoy it as well!

1. Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1) by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6.

2. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, #1) by Ally Carter
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from “normal teenage life” until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

3. H.I.V.E. Higher Institute of Villainous Education (H.I.V.E., #1) by Mark Walden
Swept away to a hidden academy for training budding evil geniuses, Otto, a brilliant orphan, Wing, a sensitive warrior, Laura, a shy computer specialist, and Shelby, an infamous jewel thief, plot to beat the odds and escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.

4. The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey, #1) by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey, a fourteen-year old who has Tourette’s syndrome and special electric powers, finds there are others like him, and must rely on his powers to save himself and the others from a diabolical group seeking to control them.

5. Independence Hall (I, Q, #1) by Roland Smith
Teenagers Q (Quest) and Angela go on tour with married rockers Blaze and Roger and, while in Philadelphia, become submerged in a world of danger when they discover the identity of Angela’s real mother, who is a former Secret Service agent.

6. Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1) by Elizabeth Wein
In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage and great courage as she relates what she must do to survive while keeping secret all that she can.

As always, I have trouble stopping with just a few. There are just so many great books out there. So, if you have already read the books on my short list, here are some more recommendations; Palace of Spies (Palace of Spies, #1) by Sarah Zettel, Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs, All Fall Down (Embassy Row, #1) by Ally Carter, The Lab (Agent Six of Hearts #1) by Jack Heath, The Recruit (Cherub, #1) by Robert Muchamore, Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, #1) by Gail Carriger, Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted, Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy (Dukovskaya #1) by Elizabeth Kiem, Two Lies and a Spy (Two Lies and a Spy, #1) by Kat Carlton, Also Known As (Also Known As, #1) by Robin Benway, A Spy in the House (The Agency, #1) by Y.S. Lee, Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) by Robin LaFevers, Sekret (Sekret, #1) by Lindsay Smith, Fledgling (Jason Steed, #1) by Mark A. Cooper, SilverFin (Young Bond, #1) by Charlie Higson, and Spy High Mission One by A.J. Butcher.

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Books about the First Day of School

August 7, 2015July 15, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The first day of school can be scary for all grades, but especially for those in Preschool, Kindergarten, and the other lower grades. New teachers, new schools, and new classmates can spark anxiety and excitement for every child. Whether they are worried about being away from home, making friends, or what to expect it can be a stressful time for children, and their parents. Here are some great picturebooks to read with children (or parents) that are a little worried about going back to school that can help them get excited, confident, and ready for the big day.

1.Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

2.My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

3.Chu’s First Day of School (Chu, #2) by Neil Gaiman

4.First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

5.Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin

6.Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

7.The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing

8.Miss Nelson Is Missing! (Miss Nelson, #1) by Harry Allard

9.Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

10.Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George

And because you might have read all of these, and because I just cannot stop myself, here are some additional titles you might want to check out: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon, David Goes To School by David Shannon, Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton, Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell, The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont, First Grade Stinks! by Mary Ann Rodman, Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty-Pants by Elise Primavera, Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London, Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School by Herman Parish, If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Joffe Numeroff, and The Teacher from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon, #1) by Mike Thaler.

Picturebooks about Animals in Libraries

July 31, 2015July 24, 2015 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

My daughter is animal mad. She loves anything and everything animal related. Animal print clothes, pretending to be a wolf cub, watching Wild Kratts, and so on. I am a librarian, and so it follows that I love all things book related. I love the feel of books, the smell, and of course the reading experience. This inspired me to combine our passions and look at picture books about animals in the library. There is an unexpectedly large number of picture books featuring critters of some nature spending some quality time at their local library.

1. Dewey: There’s a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter

2. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

3. The Fox in the Library by Lorenz Pauli

4. Can I Bring Woolly to the Library, Ms. Reeder? by Lois G. Grambling

5. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

6. There’s a Dragon in the Library by Dianne de Las Casas

7. Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

8. Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea

9. No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo

10. Homer, the Library Cat by Reeve Lindbergh

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You might want to look at A Library Book for Bear by Bonny Becker, Library Mouse: a Friend’s Tale by Daniel Kirk, Our Library by Eve Bunting, Library Mouse: Home Sweet Home by Daniel Kirk, Dewey’s Christmas at the Library by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, Quiet! there’s a Canary in the Library by Don Freeman, and Llama in the Library by Johanna Hurwitz as well.