Friday, September 30, 2011

WILD THINGS

On Mrs. Wilson's recommendation I read Clay Carmichael's Wild Things as my next choice from the 2012 Rebecca Caudill nominee list. It seemed strange to start a book with the thoughts of a cat, but as I read further I found that I looked forward to the chapters told by the cat. I like the cat's voice! The story is about a girl Zoe who lived her first eleven years with a mom who had mental problems and a variety of stepdads. When Mom dies, Zoe goes to live with her step-uncle who was a famous heart surgeon and is now a sculptor in metal. The uncle's house is out in the country next to a forest that holds secrets. As Zoe explores the area and her relationship with her uncle, the neighbors, and the townspeople, she begins to unravel many of these secrets. The "wild things" in the story are sometimes unexpected, the title definitely fits.

Friday, September 23, 2011

IF YOU LIKED TWILIGHT...

...I think you will like Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, a love story with a werewolf. Grace has always been fascinated by the wolves that live in the woods behind her house. In fact she was bitten as a young child when some of the wolves dragged her into the forest. Now as a teenager in high school she meets Sam who has the same yellow eyes as her favorite wolf. Grace finds out that Sam is a werewolf who changes into a human in the warm months of spring and summer and turns into a wolf during the cold months of fall and winter. The story is told with alternating points of view from Grace and Sam. At the beginning of each chapter you are given a temperature reading which makes sense after you learn about when the humans turned into wolves. Shiver is currently in the New Book Display.

Friday, September 16, 2011

WE NEED YOUR HELP

There is a very bare looking tree on the bulletin board by the Exit Only door. We need your help to decorate it. I am featuring Book Award books this year and the bare tree is part of my plan. In first trimester the featured award is the the Newbery. Read any Newbery Medal or Honor book. Take a minute to tell me about the book - Did you like it? Do you think it deserved the award? What was it about? Then you get a fall leaf with your name and the book you read to add to the bulletin board. As we get closer to Halloween, there may be ghosts, witches, and bats to add to the display, too.

I am currently reading the 2011 Newbery Medal book Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool. It's a story that takes place in a small Kansas town in 1936 where Abilene has been sent to stay by her drifter father. Manifest is the town where her father grew up and Abilene finds a mysterious group of letters that connects to the time when her father was a boy. There seems to be a mystery developing and I can't wait to read more.


To help you pick a book for the Reading Tree, the bulletin has a pocket with a checklist of Newbery books in our library. There is another pocket with a checklist of Anderson's Mock Newbery books for those of you who prefer more modern books. (The Newbery Award goes back to 1922!) Please read and help us decorate the Reading Tree.