Sports Romance Books

January 30, 2014September 15, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Sports romance books are becoming increasingly more and more popular. These athletes are generally at the top of their game, rich, and famous. They are confident, stubborn, dedicated, focused, passionate, and have a soft side – which makes them strong, interesting characters. All of them eventually realize that the love of a woman is what they need to make their life complete. These stories are not overloaded with sports scenes or terminology. There is just enough to give you a realistic insight into the sport and the challenges these athletes and the women in their lives face.

(On a side note: Model Jed Hill seems the most popular choice for the many “naked chest” covers of sport romance books. See his “stats” here and his facebook page here. Enjoy!)

With the cold days and nights ahead, turn up the heat with a Sport Romance! Here’s a sampling of some titles available at the Cheshire Library. Some are series where the first title is listed to get you started, although you don’t need to read them in order.

Tracy Solheim’s Out of Bounds footballseries. Book one – Game On. Book two – Foolish Games. The funny, sexy and heartwarming exploits of the Blaze football stars and the women in their lives.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has a sports series centering around football called Chicago Stars. The first title is It Had to be You. A sexy, outrageous New York woman inherits a football team.

Let’s Misbehave by Lisa Plumley is a football story centering around Quarterback Cash Connelly and his need to find a nanny.

Another football themed title is Sweet Spot (book two of the Bakery Sisters trilogy)by Susan Mallery. A touching, heartwarming story of a youth football coach and a bakery owner going through hard times.

Rachel Gibson has a hockey series, Chinooks Hockey Team. The first title is Simply Irresistible. Realisticstory about a hockey jock tamed by an irresistible woman.

Deirdre Martin also has a hockey series, Blades with the first title being Body Check. Fun, sexy, withwonderful characters and story line.

Just In Time (Alaskan Night series) by Addison Fox about an injured hockey star returning to Alaska to heal and try to make things right with the girl back home.

Molly O’Keefe – two of her best poignant and deeply sensual books are hockey stories – Crazy Thing Called Love and Can’t Buy Me Love.

Jill Shalvis offers two baseball theme books – Double Play and Slow Heat. Jill’s books are humorous,sexy and fast reads.

Stealing Home is part of Sherryl Woods’ series Sweet Magnolias. It’s about a single mom and her son’s baseball coach.

Staying with baseball, Pitch Perfect (A Cricket Creek Novel) by LuAnn McLane. A hard-swinging baseball team and three hometown heroes try to revitalize the community.

Let Me Be The One by Bella Andre. Part of The Sullivans – focusing on baseball pitcher Ryan Sullivan.

Pamela Britton has an exciting NASCAR series. The first title is Slow Burn. An action packed, sexy read.

Also in the race car theme – Erin McCarthy’s series, Fast Track. Try Slow Ride and Jacked Up. Fast paced, steamy with a touch of humor.

Some miscellaneous sports:

Fast & Loose by Elizabeth Bevarly and The Horsemaster’s Daughter by Susan Wiggs. – Equestrian

Table for Five by Susan Wiggs – Golf

On Thin Ice by Susan Andersen. – Ice Skating

Extreme Bachelor and Wedding Survivor by Julia London – Extreme Sports

Crash Into Me by Jill Sorenson – Professional Surfing

Freefall by Jill Sorenson – Rock Climbing/Kayaking

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – Sports Agent

Causing Havoc by Lori Foster. Her series, SBC, is based on the Ultimate Championship fighting world of bad boys and the women they love.

Pete Seeger, An American Bard

January 29, 2014January 29, 2014 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Pete Seeger, the granddaddy of American folk music, passed away peacefully in his sleep January 27, at the age of 94. Pete left a legacy of not only a tremendous contribution to American music, but of political activism and ecology with an emphasis on peace.

If you’ve ever heard The Lettermen sing “Turn, Turn, Turn,” if you’ve ever heard “We Shall Overcome” sung at a protest, if you ever listened to Bruce Springsteen belt out his We Shall Overcome album, you’ve been touched by Pete’s music. If you’ve ever driven along the Hudson River in New York and noticed the lack of garbage floating in it, you’re looking at Pete’s work.

Pete began singing with the Almanac singers back in the 40’s, alongside the bedrock of American folk singers such as Woody Guthrie (who wrote the iconic and ironic song “This Land is Your Land”), Lee Hays, and Cisco Houston, among others. The Almanac singers morphed into The Weavers by 1950, with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman, and enjoyed great popularity (including a number one hit in “Goodnight Irene”) until 1953, when they were blacklisted by McCarthyites as being suspicious for singing about such things as worker’s rights and political oppression around the world. This did not stop them from playing Carnegie Hall in 1955. By the 1960’s folk music was only increasing in popularity, and Pete had a great influence on such upcoming folk singers such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Arlo Guthrie, Woody’s son, with whom he kept a life-long friendship. Seeger – four of his six siblings are also folk singers – continued to influence music through the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s by working with mega-musicians such as John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen, who released a well-received folk album after mentoring from Pete.

If Seeger was anything, it was tireless. It was he who introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to the song “We Shall Overcome.” In 1966 he became part of the Clearwater effort to clean up the toxic waste and raw sewage that was destroying the Hudson River in New York, something he never stopped doing. He stood behind Occupy Wallstreet. He played at President Obama’s inauguration, at the age of 89. He was still playing and giving concerts at 93. He was predeceased by Toshi, his wife of 70 years, just last summer. He has been a part of, well, generations of American history, from WPA projects to serving in World War II to facing down the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities to the civil rights movement, ecology, founded music festivals, and more. He is truly an American Icon, one we can all be proud of.

If you want to listen to classical truly American music, if you’re looking for great songs for singing or guitar, if you want your children to listen to some fun and rolicking children’s songs, check out some of Pete’s extensive legacy. Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen walk in his shadow, but there is no one alive who can come close to filling Pete’s giant footprints.

What Kind of Reader is My Child? (Part 1)

January 28, 2014June 18, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The language dedicated to explaining reading development and skills can quickly become confusing. Part of the trouble is that there are a number of different systems available to measure reading skills, and they rarely translate to other systems very easily. I am going to do my best to explain some of the terms you are most likely to come across, and offer some resources to help you help your child master and enjoy reading. Lets start with some of the basic terms that are almost universal about the developmental stages of reading. I will tackle the different systems for measuring the skills in a later post.Aspiring readers, “Pseudo Readers”, or Pre-readers are just beginning to understand the basic ideas of book, print, and the joy of sharing of a book. They are gaining a command of the alphabet along with the ability to recognize and name letters. They are also developing many phonological awareness skills, such as recognizing phonemes, syllables, and rhyme. They will often pretend reading and telling the story via the pictures on the pages. Reading picture books and board books to your child is a great way to help children in this stage develop their skills and learn to love books.

Early Emergent Readers are beginning to learn sound/symbol relationships,starting with consonants and short vowels,and are able to read consonant-vowel-consonant words, and a number of high-frequency words. Readers in this stage typically are in Preschool through Grade 1 and test to Guided Reading Levels (GRL) A-C, DRA Levels A-3. Picture books and some easy reader books are good choices to help continue your child’s reading development. Read to them and with them as often as you can.

Emergent Readers are developing a much better grasp of comprehension strategies and word-attack skills. They can recognize the difference between fiction and nonfiction, and recognize that reading has a variety of purposes. Readers in this stage have developed an understanding of the alphabet, phonological awareness, and early phonics. They have command of a significant number of high-frequency words. Readers in this stage typically are in Kindergarten through Grade 1 and test to GRLs D-G, DRA Levels 4-12. It is time to really encourage your child to read to you and themselves, while continuing to read to them to help increase their vocabulary and comprehension.

For Early Fluent Readers or Transitional readers reading is more automatic, with more energy devoted to comprehension than word attack. Readers are approaching independence in comprehending text. These readers are experiencing a greater variety of text and are able to recognize different styles and genres. Independence often varies with the type of text being read. Readers in this stage typically are in Grade 1-2 and test to GRLs H-M, DRA Levels 14-28. Your child can read to you and themselves more and more now. Encourage reading independence, but do not be afraid to keep reading to them.

Fluent Readers have successfully moved from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Their reading is more automatic and includes expression and proper pauses. These readers read a wide range of text types and do so independently. For the most part, they are capable of improving their reading skills and selection of materials independently through increased practice. Readers in this stage typically are in Grade 3-4 and test to GRLs N-Z, DRA Levels 30 and higher. Keep encouraging them to read and let them explore a variety of books so that they can find the ones they enjoy in order to keep them interested in reading.

For more information about reading development and helping your child both enjoy and excel in reading check out some of these books: Silly Books to Read Aloud by Rob Reid, The New York Times Parent’s Guide to the Best Books for Children by Eden Ross Lipson, Read With Me: Best Books for Preschoolers by Stephanie Zvirin, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esmé Raji Codell, Connecticut’s Blueprint for Reading Achievement: The Report of the Early Reading Success Panel by the State of Connecticut State Board of Education, Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach your Child to Read and Write by J. Richard Gentry, and Growing a Reader from Birth: Your Child’s Path from Language to Literacy by Diane McGuinness.

2014 Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards Announced

January 27, 2014June 30, 2014 / Louise / Leave a comment

The 2014 Children’s and Young Adult book awards were announced Monday January 27 by the American Library Association. And the winners are…

Locomotive by Brian Floca

The Caldecott Award is for the most distinguished American picture book. This year’s Caldecott Medal went to Locomotive written and illustrated by Brian Floca. It is the summer of 1869, and trains, crews, and family are traveling together, riding America’s brand-new transcontinental railroad. These pages come alive with the details of the trip and the sounds, speed, and strength of the mighty locomotives; the work that keeps them moving; and the thrill of travel from plains to mountain to ocean.

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

The Newbery Award is for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. This year’s Newbery Medal went to Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures written by Kate DiCamillo, (who also won in 2004 for The Tale of Despereaux). The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart.

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is for the most distinguished book for beginning readers. This year’s award went to The Watermelon Seed, written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli. An endearing little crocodile accidentally swallows a watermelon seed and envisions worst-case scenarios, from vines sprouting from his ears to his crocodile skin turning pink.

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

The Michael L. Printz Award is for excellence in literature written for young adults. This year’s award went to Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking: the seven stories in this compelling novel all take place on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed where a curiously powerful plant that resembles a dragon grows. What binds these stories together? What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this idyllic countryside? And what might be powerful enough to break the cycle of midwinterblood?

For more information and to see the full list of this year’s winners, visit the ALA website.

Linda Reads: Foolish Games by Tracy Solheim

January 26, 2014September 15, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Foolish Games is a wonderfully written sports romance. The author gives us great insight into the NFL with a believable storyline and a wonderful cast of characters. This is actually book two in the Out of Bounds series. Book one is Game On.

Bridal gown designer Julianne Marchione has an uncharacteristic one night stand at a client’s wedding that results in a surprise pregnancy. Julianne plans to raise her son, Owen, on her own, until he is born with a life-threatening blood disorder that requires a transfusion—and Julianne is not a match.

Will “William the Conqueror” Connelly is an NFL star that grew up a bastard child born on the wrong side of the tracks. He is blindsided with the news that he has a son that needs a blood transfusion from him. He quickly takes charge of the situation, insisting on a marriage of convenience so his son will not have to endure growing up a bastard.

Will has a lot of insecurities stemming from his childhood and he is also dealing with a scandal involving his college coach that could bring an end to Will’s NFL career. Julianne has had to sell her bridal design company to pay Owen’s medical bills and has lost her ability to design. She is also struggling with issues from her past. With so much conflict going on in their lives, they almost miss the fact that they are falling in love with each other.

The book is multilayered with a wonderful cast of supporting characters. There is a secondary romance between Will’s mom and his boss that intertwines beautifully with the main story.

A realistic storyline told with passion, humor and wit with wonderful interaction between characters and how they grew to be a true family.