Humor

June is National Bathroom Reading Month

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Yes, you read that right. June is actually National Bathroom Reading Month. I never knew a month was dedicated to this, but I guess everything has a special time set aside to celebrate it’s uniqueness these days.

So what kind of list do you think I will offer up here? It took me awhile to decide myself. Should I offer up books about bathroom renovation, dirty jokes, short stories, potty training, or something else completely? There are just so many options! I decided to go with reading material, mostly of a humorous bent including some memoirs, that are portioned out in short tidbits, stories, or facts, best suited for reading in short periods of time. Not that I promote reading library books in that particular room of course, but these books would do well while waiting in the car or for any short reading time spans.

1. The Ten, Make that Nine, Habits of Very Organized people. Make that Ten: the Tweets of Steve Martin

2. Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin

3. Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth by The Onion

4. Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes go Hilariously Wrong by Jen Yates

5. Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up by Dave Barry

6. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris

7. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened by Allie Brosh

8. I Didn’t Ask to be Born (But I’m Glad I Was) by Bill Cosby; illustrations by George Booth

9. Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: on Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities by Chris Kluwe

10. Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

And because I can never leave well enough alone, here are some more options: America again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t by Stephen Colbert, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris, Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut: Essays and Observations by Jill Kargman, Totally Mad: 60 Years of Humor, Satire, Stupidity and Stupidity by John Ficarra, Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern, The 50 Funniest American Writers*: an Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to the Onion *according to Andy Borowitz, Humor Me: an Anthology of Funny Contemporary Writing (Plus Some Great Old Stuff Too) edited by Ian Frazier,
Our Front pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, and Moral Rectitude from America’s Finest News Source, The Onion, and Let’s Pretend this Never Happened: (a Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson the Bloggess.

 

Fiction for Young Tech Fiends

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you have a child that loves the computers and all things internet or computer game related? If you are hoping to get those kids looking at books on paper rather than computer screens, then perhaps some books about computers, the internet, and related games might interest them in  reading a little bit more. Here are some novels that feature computers and related technology in the story.

The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman
Four fifth-grade students–a geek, a class clown, a teacher’s pet, and a slacker–as well as their teacher and mothers, each relate events surrounding a computer programmed to complete homework assignments.

The Boggart by Susan Cooper
After visiting the castle in Scotland which her family has inherited and returning home to Canada, twelve-year-old Emily finds that she has accidentally brought back with her a boggart, an invisible and mischievous spirit with a fondness for practical jokes.

Mousenet by Prudence Breitrose; illustrated by Stephanie Yue.
Sent to live with her chef father and his wife in Oregon after having stayed with her inventor uncle and scientist mother in Cincinnati, ten-year-old misfit Megan is lonely until she starts working with some computer-savvy mice to try to save Mouse Nation–and the planet.

Snail Mail No More by Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin
Now that they live in different cities, thirteen-year-old Tara and Elizabeth use email to “talk” about everything that is occurring in their lives and to try to maintain their closeness as they face big changes.

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori
When their father is kidnapped and danger looms, the Strega-Borgia children, their mysterious new nanny, and a giant tarantula use magic and actual trips through the Internet to bring peace to their Scottish castle.

Even more great computer, video game, and internet based fiction is out there. Here are some more of the titles I would recommend first; Monsters in Cyberspace by Dian Curtis Regan with illustrations by Melissa Sweet, Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian, Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde, The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 by PJ Haarsma, and Curses, Inc., and Other Stories by Vivian Vande Velde. Do you or your children have a favorite I missed? Please let us know so we can spread the word!

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in June

/ Louise / Leave a comment

Summer reading never looked so good, here are some great new titles for your beach bag!

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 June are:

  1. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healy
  2. China Dolls by Lisa See
  3. The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman
  4. I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum
  5. The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
  6. Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
  7. The Lobster Kings by Alexi Zentner
  8. The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank
  9. The Quick by Lauren Owen
  10. Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

 

Not Your Typical Princess Picturebooks

/ Sharon Tyler / 4 Comments

My little princess is much more likely to get dirty playing in the mud than her big brother, but still enjoys the occasion frilly dress and ruffles. She is far from the typical princess, and I relish that. Like her, I was more likely to be found playing ‘boy’ games then rocking the pick dresses I was often decked out in. I love the independent nature and rough and ready style of my little girl, and want to encourage her to continue being herself and help both of my kids ignore the standard gender roles and do what makes them happy rather than conforming to the roles of pretty princess and brave knight.

In my efforts to find books that break the stereotypes, I have found a large number of books that feature princesses breaking the standard image. Some of the princess are up to saving themselves, and sometimes saving the prince as well, others are just content in being who they really are and encourage readers of all ages to do the same.

Lovabye Dragon by Barbara Joosse; illustrated by Randy Cecil. When a lonely dragon follows a trail of princess tears, a beautiful friendship is born. They march and sing, roar and whisper, hide and seek, then settle into snug companionship at bedtime.

The Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen; illustrated by Jill McElmurry. Tired of the royal life, Princess Bea boards a pirate ship and sets out for adventure on the high seas but soon finds she is not good at swabbing decks, cooking in the galley, or keeping watch from the crow’s nest.

Princess Peepers by Pam Calvert; illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. When the other princesses make fun of her for wearing glasses, Princess Peepers vows to go without, but after several mishaps–one of which is especially coincidental–she admits that she really does need them if she wants to see.

Part-Time Princess by Deborah Underwood; illustrated by Cambria Evans. A girl escapes her annoying little brother and the drudgery of school and home life when she travels to a magical kingdom each night and embarks on a series of adventures.

Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. Not wishing to marry any of her royal suitors, Princess Smartypants devises difficult tasks at which they all fail, until the multitalented Prince Swashbuckle appears.

Thankfully books like these are becoming easier to find, books where a princess (or any girl) is measured by more than her looks and ability to be sweet and quiet. Here are some more great books about princesses that break the mold; The Barefoot Book of Princesses retold by Caitlín Matthews; illustrated by Olwyn Whelan, The Storytelling Princess by Rafe Marti; illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root, The Apple-Pip Princess by Jane Ray, Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle; illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon, Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple; illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin, Princesses are Not Quitters! by Kate Lum; illustrated by Sue Hellard, Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funk ; illustrated by Kerstin Meyer; translated by Chantal Wright, The Paper Princess by Elisa Kleven, The Paper Bag Princess written by Robert N. Munsch; illustrated by Michael Martchenko, and Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated by Florence Parry Heide; illustrated by Lane Smith.

 

Wacky Weather Picture Books to Share

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Even without the snow filled and freezing cold winter we have just had weather is always an interesting topic to discuss with your children. From snow storms and the school free days they often bring to sunny days at the beach weather is always with us and affects our daily lives and activities. Here are some picturebooks about wacky weather than can make children of all ages laugh and start a discussion about nature and weather in your house.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett; drawn by Ron Barrett. Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers–until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds; pictures by Sachiko Yoshikawa. A young girl and her cat must change clothes many times as the weather goes from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snowy.

Aunt Minnie and the Twister by Mary Skillings Prigger; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. After a tornado rearranges their Kansas house, Aunt Minnie and the nine nieces and nephews living with her add on a much-needed new room.

Un-brella by Scott E. Franson. In this wordless book, a little girl uses her magic umbrella to give her the weather she wants, regardless of what the conditions really are outside.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. The King, tired of rain, snow, sun and fog, commands his magicians to make something else come down from the sky, but when oobleck falls, in sticky greenish droplets, Bartholomew Cubbins shames the King and saves the kingdom.

As usual, there are too many great books to limit myself to the size allotted here, so I will offer a few more and invite you to offer more suggestions in the comments. My other suggestions include; Sector 7 by David Wiesner, Miss Mingo Weathers the Storm by Jamie Harper, Sun, Snow, Stars, Sky by Catherine and Laurence Anholt, Mouse & Mole and the All-Weather Train Ride by Doug Cushman, and The Magic School Bus Kicks up a Storm adaptation by Nancy White and illustrated by Art Ruiz.