Summer is almost here!

I have been reading alot of children and young adult books, but I have a problem! I am presenting my titles during a webinar this month. My dilemna is obvious. If I share all my books here, then you won't be excited or engaged about the books I share on the webinar. So I decided to talk about summer reading. Most folks think beach, backyard, good book, (though I do my best reading in January and February when I can't go outside at all AND it gets dark early. When it stays light I do not settle down till late!) So anyway, here is a list of books I hope to get to this summer! I hope you will share some of your summer reading ideas with me.
I have already started NO TIME TO WAVE GOODBYE by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I know that rings a bell. This book is the sequel to DEEP END OF THE OCEAN. This is proving to be a very unique mystery with all the characters from the first book.
My dear friend, Carol, gave me a B& N gc for my birthday and I also bought THE MAN WHO LOVED PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I have been in a Jane Austin period lately so this caught my eye. It is set in modern times using a bit of Austin thrown into the love affair. I have a couple more but I shall save those for later, thanks for reading!

Funding

Is everyone worried about funding? Funding of every kind. My god-daughter is worried about losing funds for the arts. She works at a college and it will hit their department hard. Two years ago I was worried about book budgets disappearing but now I feel like we need to worry about real, live jobs. Will someone have to be split between libraries? Will be lose money to pay assistants and secretaries? Where will money come from? If you have not responded to the VEMA budget survey, PLEASE do it. Only 111 people have pushed the click here button. I urge you to participate. With the proposed cuts in state budgets, localities are left with little choices. Please post what you are hearing. I am very curious about how other districts are handling the shortage of funding!

Titles for February

Today I want to share three wonderful and touching books you may want to use or recommend during Februay. The first is Abe's Honest Words. When you pick up the book, the cover is incredible, you will never forget it. It is a large picture of Lincoln's face with the American flag in the background. It is a truely beautiful cover. The illustrator is Kadir Nelson, an extremely gifted artist you may have heard of since he has been involved in many great projects ( www.kadirnelson.com ). This book is no different, the artwork is so realistic, lifelike and stunning, it draws me into each page. A picture book by nature, it is much, much more than that. It is a moving account of his life with strong quotations from his speeches or writings on each page. These quotes actually finish the author's thoughts for each segment of his life. A book not to be missed by young or old. The next book is actually a poem written by Langston Hughes entitled The Negro Speaks of Rivers. It is illustrated by E. B. Lewis and it another stunning book. According to Lewis' note in the back of the book, Hughes wrote this amazing poem when he was just 18 years old. Now what a great book to share with high school students to introduce the poetry of Langston Hughes. I hope my secondary friends are not making fun of me when I saw these things. I do believe them with all my heart. I will be visiting with some of my high school LMS friends in March and I plan to have this book with me! We'll see. It was a labor of love for Lewis and it is well worth it for me the reader. Lastly, another picture book. Going North is written by Janice N. Harrington who actually had the experience of going north as a young girl. It could be a very dangerous thing for a Negro family to travel north during segregation and this book with its beautiful yet haunting pictures shares this story in a lyrical verse. You feel the tension in the story as Daddy gets close to running out of gas just trying to find a station welcoming to Negros. Awesome book that really gives students a first hand look at a different aspect to segregation- moving north. That's all folks!

Current Book

Have you all read The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peeling Pie Society? Last summer we had some ladies from our neighborhood participate in a book swap. We brought books, did a bit of book talking, ate dessert and chatted. Well, a lady I really like suggested I read the above book. I started it and laid it down for other more pressing book titles as well as work related titles. In December I was in Barnes and Noble with a very old friend ( that is I have known here since I was 19) asked me if I had read it. Of course, I was quick to say I had laid it aside. She said you must finish it. Then last week when Lisa suggested I check out THE LIBRARY THING, I saw this same exact book was on the most reviewed list. I did pick it up again and really have been enjoying it. One of the reviewer said something to the effect, it reminded her of the reason she loved books. bought books, and read books! That is some testimony. The book is about a book group which stated during WWII when their island was occupied by the Germans and the night curfews were very strict. It is a series of letters to a young lady author. It has a bit of mystery, a bit of a love interest and of course, lots about books! Quite a nice read for all you bookie people! Here is the link for their website, http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey/ For those of you who want a picture book title, I just finished reviewing Guinea Pigs Add Up by Margery Cuyler. I just love it! It is a rhyming tale of a teacher who brings a guinea pig in for the new class pet! Excuse my typos today, my glasses are downstairs since the baby just wanted to keep pulling at them.

Happy New Year!

I know I am a little late saying Happy New Year as well as late posting a new year's post but I didn't get the Christmas cards out until 2010 had already started. The good thing about that was folks had a moment or two to look at it. On the other hand I usually send a bunch of cards but not this year nor did I get very many. The ones I got were from family or my young people friends. Well, let's get on with the meat of the matter. I want to share LIBRARY THING with you. Have you used Shelfari? LIBRARY THING is a similar website. It is an online place to store your book titles. Titles of books you plan to read or have read. I am reading or supposed to be reading a great deal of children's books and I am having trouble keeping track of all of them so I can comment on them for different workshops, presentations or Open Houses. One of the young gals I worked with suggested the site she uses. I liked it. It is a bit easier to navigate and has some additional features. Try it and see what you think. I am interested. On the book end I got 8 new books this month to review ( speaking of reviews, did you see I had 6 published in LMC this month?). The Big Swim is due out soon and it is a boy book for upper middle school boys. It is about a boy on his first trip to camp. Very odd story but I think that is because it originates from Canada. I also was sent Glenn Beck's picture version of the Christmas Sweater. This is sweet story and would be a good gift book. The last one I want to mention is called Once Upon a Twice. I love this book and I can see multiple uses for it. It is a rhyming book filled with nonsensical words, like Jabberwocky. The pictures are dark and beautiful to demonstrate the danger of the night. It is a tale of warning to a daring little mouse. This would be a great intro to a creative writing assignment in the upper grades. I love this book! Well, welcome 2010 again. I look forward to posting again this new year.

Coffee Table Books

Do you love coffee table books? I do! Guess why? I love the pictures. When one teaches elementary school too long, their vocabulary goes to pot so maybe that's why I love the pictures so much. Honestly, not all my books on the coffee table, hearth, floor, and end tables are just pictures, but very close! I have three new ones, perhaps you are interested. The first one is Ruin Photographs of a Vanishing America by Brian Vandren Brink. Brink is a much sought after architectual photographer. This book contains pictures of abandoned structures in America. Their beauty is ehanced by Brinks' amazing photography. The beautiful photos, in both black and white and full color photography highlight Brinks' PURE talent in this field. The book is quite large and has some real weight to it, imagine a small atlas and is a historical comment on buildings once so useful and stunning, now lost amongst grass and apathy. On a lighter note, I purchased, at VLA, Golden Legacy by Leonard S. Marcus. This book is the how, when, why anniversary book about Golden Books! I have been collecting old Golden Books for years so this book was an instant purchase! Two hundred forty four pages chock full of history and information about the pheno called Golden Books. It was 1942 and these little books cost 25 cents. I wonder if your favorite one is pictured inside?? Last one for tonight's post is compiled by Anita Silvey who will be one our keynote speakers at VEMA next year. I have been a fan of hers for quite some time and then when I read the title, I knew this book had to be in my personal collection as well. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book. She has interviewed many people, written about them, and used quotes from the interviews to hightlight their favorite children's book. This is lots of fun and I would have shared this with all my teachers when I was an LMS. Anita Silvey is on fb and has a website, www.anitasilvey.com, in case you are interested. Think Christmas gifts today as you finish this post or perhaps your personal Christmas list would be more appropriate. Lots more thoughts to share with your before the holidays kick off. See ya, Roxanne

Latest reads

Hi,
I have some new titles to share with you. I wonder if you have already read them as sometimes I am a bit behind some of you and then again some of you are behind me. Funny, how reading books works out that way. The Letter Writer by Ann Rinaldi was very engaging. It put a human face on the Nat Turner uprising. Told from the perspective of a young lady who was living on a plantation with her dad's ex-wife ( not her mother) she befriends Nat Turner and unwittingly gives him critical information. Rinaldi is an excellent writer and I think this book shows off her talents very well. I also finished Return to Sender. This book also brings a human face to the story, but this story is current realistic fiction. Return to Sender is about illegal migrant workers from Mexico. Several different sides to this story are presented through the eyes of the youngsters who are living this story. Using alternate chapters, the author uses a young farm boy and a young Mexican girl whose family is working his family's farm. His father has suffered a heart attack and is in danger of losing the farm without workers wiling to work the fields. Numerous events occur in this book which strength the relationships between the white family and the migrant workers. This is such a hot topic in the news right now so this book could spark some excellent pro/con discussions. Both these books are from my readings for my multicultural grant work. Both will be part of our workshop at ODU next month. I hope some of you will come over and check out our extensive book collection. ODU is the Southeastern Regional Examination Center so publishers send wonderful books to the Learning Resource Center. I have been very busy reading as many as I can. Next I will share some of the picture book titles with you.