Love the Library!

Many things are celebrated in the month of February, but one celebration that is really close to my heart this month is the focus to "Love the Library." So, here are a couple of library-related Royal Reads to check out:

The Legend of Spud Murphy
by Eoin Colfer

CATEGORY: Realistic Fiction
TYPE: Novel

Will and Marty are carted off to spend the summer in the library - home of Spud Murphy, the legendary librarian who uses a spud gun on misbehaving children. But as Will and Marty soon discover, books aren't as bad as they had originally thought (and neither is Spud Murphy)!

ONLINE CONNECTIONS:
Eoin (pronounced "Owen") Colfer shares his thoughts on this Royal Read:
http://www.meettheauthor.com/bookbites/222.html

Author website

http://www.eoincolfer.com/about/

KEYWORDS: library, reading, brothers, summer, legends

The Library Dragon
by Carmen Agra Deedy

CATEGORY: Fantasy
TYPE: Picture Book

Miss Lotta Scales, a fire-breathing, smoke-blowing dragon, believes it is her job to protect the school's library books from the children and their grubby hands. Things change when a young student, Molly Brickmeyer, helps her realize that books are meant to be read, turning Miss Lotta Scales from overprotective library dragon into Miss Lotty, friendly librarian and storyteller.

ONLINE CONNECTIONS
Listen and read along
http://www.booksprogram.com/readalong/library_dragon.htm

Author website:
http://www.carmendeedy.com/news.html

KEYWORDS: librarian, reading, school, dragons

Today's Royal Read = Realistic Fiction

The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles

House Jackson, age 12, is a regular kid who respects his dad, takes care of his little sister, and loves to play baseball. House Jackson is also a kid who has a secret that not even his best friend, Cleebo, knows about...yet. When everyone learns House's secret, that he has been spending time reading books to a reclusive elderly man that the kids in town have nicknamed "Mean-Man- Boyd," he comes to understand that standing up for someone takes courage and strength, traits he didn't know he had until he was put to the test.

Another great book by Deborah Wiles! The lazy days of a small town summer where baseball and 4th of July pageants take center field transport the reader to a nostalgic place in time when neighbors looked out for one another and life was enjoyed outdoors. Wiles creates characters with whom the reader can relate and masterfully includes the return of a favorite character from an earlier book as Ruby Lavender (from With Love, Ruby Lavender) staunchly claims her spot on the boys-only baseball team. Additionally, through the incorporation of Walt Whitman's poetry, Wiles brings a deeper level of appreciation to this story.

The topics within this story such as: baseball, community, girls v. boys, celebrating historical roots, friendship, and poetry make this a book that appeals to a variety of readers.

KEYWORDS: baseball, poetry, friendship, family, community, history

Online Connections:

Author website:
http://www.deborahwiles.com/index2.html

Take Me Out to the Ballgame:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGws1yR0tg8

MLB Kids' Games:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/kids/games.jsp

The Walt Whitman Homepage:
http://waltwhitman.org/

What happened to time?

Forgive me for letting so much time go since my last postings to the treasury of the kingdom! With wrapping up a busy summer semester teaching online classes, and starting up a new year at a new school, who knew time would fly by so fast! But now the Queen has returned with a Royal Read to share!

Today's Royal Read:

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar

Freshman year... the excitement, the anticipation, the gut-wrenching nervousness that comes with finding classes and mingling with Seniors... welcome to high school!

Scott Hudson knows first-hand how hard it can be to start high school. As he tries to make his way through his freshman year, Scott finds that life has suddenly become complicated: hanging out with his best friends isn't as easy as it used to be, girls he has known his entire life have become gorgeous and unattainable, he overcommits to practically every known school activity, homework is harder, and oh yeah, his mom is pregnant. Scott's only refuge from the insanity that has become his life is the survival guide he is writing for his soon-to-be-born sibling.

Lubar does an amazing job of capturing the voice, the emotion, the personality of a teenage boy and presenting the reader with a realistic look into the angst that comes with entry into high school. The world presented by the main character is one that is familiar to a variety of readers and Lubar captures the essence of how life is in constant motion, changing from one day to the next.

I loved this book and found myself sympathizing with Scott and reflecting on my own life in high school as he makes his way through the ups and downs of his freshman year. A definite read for anyone who has "been there, done that" or is currently "doing this same thing!"

Enjoy listening to an excerpt from this book at the following site:

http://www.davidlubar.com/sfnl.mp3

KEYWORDS: High school, friends, family, siblings

Mystery's the Theme

It seems as though I am currently drawn to the mystery genre and now I have stumbled upon a new investigator with lots of spunk and individuality!

Meet Gilda Joyce, created by Jennifer Allison.

Gilda is a character with a flair for drama. In this first book, as Gilda is looking for a summer adventure, she decides to "seize the day" and invites herself to visit relatives of her mother's whom she has never met and who live in San Francisco. Determined to become a psychic investigator, Gilda packs all the necessary items she might need to solve any impending mysteries while she is gone, taking great care to include: a pink wig, an evening gown for seances, a ouiji board, her psychic handbook, and the typewriter her father used to write novels before his death. The items she packs come in handy, and she does solve her first mystery, just not in the way she expects. The mystery to solve requires bridging the distance between her relatives, Lester Splinter and his daughter Juliet, and discovering what has kept them at odds.

While at times Gilda can be a bit over-the-top and somewhat blind to the needs of others, she is a character that infuses energy and excitement into the ordinary hum-drum of life. The storyline of this book is one that is filled with many plot lines, all neatly wrapped together, yet each carrying its own importance and weight, a literary skill masterfully woven by the author.

The epitome of good characterization is having multiple feelings and reactions to a character, which was my own experience while reading this book for I found myself reacting in many ways to Gilda: I was irritated with her, I laughed at her, I felt sympathy for her, I liked her. And now I have additional titles to add to my Need-to-Read list since there are two additional Gilda Joyce books available.

In recommending this book, I would suggest it for 6th grade and up due to some of the more mature themes that occur within the story.

Keywords: family, death of a parent, individuality

Check out Gilda Joyce online at: http://www.gildajoyce.com/

The Creek

The Creek by Jennifer Holm is an intense and suspenseful novel that is hard to put down. A quiet, peaceful suburban neighborhood is turned upside-down when a juvenile delinquent returns to his parents' home. Horrible things associated with this young man's past begin to happen again when he returns, and it seems as if his acts of violence are targeted toward one particular group of friends who live in the neighborhood, especially a young girl named Penny. To save Penny, the truth of these acts must be discovered, yet in this book the truth is not always what it seems.

The mystery of this story is one that pushes beyond the typical plot of a child-turned-detective tale and I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the book, waiting anxiously to see what would happen next while wondering what would happen to Penny. The author does a fantastic job of creating a heightened sense of suspense as the action unfolds, making this a book that readers of mystery and suspense will enjoy.

Due to the intensity of the events in this story, I would recommend this book for students in grade 8 and above.

Keywords: friends, neighbors, community, murder, suspense