There's a Little Wheel A-Turning....

...somewhere in a Fauquier County Public Library branch. We're into the second week of early registration at our branches, and our prizes wheels are turning, thanks to our terrific readers!



I think I'm going to have to go back on my "I usually don't like verse novels, but..." mantra, because I think I've repeated that a bit too often on this blog! However, I'm very pleased to make an exception for Make Lemonade, the first title in the Make Lemonade trilogy. Fourteen year old LaVaughn accepts a babysitting job in order to save for college. She quickly becomes involved in the baby's mother, a high school dropout (much to the consternation of her mother). Make Lemonade is a deeply affecting look at teenage pregnancy and parenthood (without lionizing or demonizing the mother) that will definitely make you want to read the next two books in the series.



A Caldecott Celebration is a quick read, but it's an enjoyable look at 6 Caldecott-winning artists. It might be of more interest to librarians/teachers than most children, but it's a neat book.




17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore is a hilarious picture book about a rambunctious young girl. She's always getting into trouble, which accounts for her list of 17 things forbidden to her.



Finally, I Dreamed I Was a Ballerina is a beautiful picture book autobiography by Anna Pavlova, one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. Pavlova tells her of her first trip to the ballet, which inspired her to become a ballerina. Degas prints are ingeniously sprinkled throughout the story, lending a grand presence to this perfect biography for young ballerinas.