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.

Summertime....And the Reading is Easy

Hello, readers!


I recently read The Middle Moffat. I'm working my way through the Newbery Medal and Honor books. Having read Ginger Pye some time ago, I was familiar with Eleanor Estes's charming books about small-town children. Just like in Ginger Pye, not much happens other than amusing incidents in the children's lives (featuring Jane, the Middle Moffat), but they are fun to read. Unlike Ginger Pye, there weren't many indicators that this was a book published in 1942 (other than a Civil War veteran that turns 100years old0; not even a mention of war. Jane is an adorable character and often finds herself in little troubles, which makes it a darling read.



If you've ever wanted to know more about mehndi, check out Mehndi: The Art of Henna Body Painting (Note: what a weird cover. Our cover is different.). Carine Fabius does a terrific job in explaining the significance behind the art of mehndi, and includes fabulous designs. Really worth a look.



I had never heard of Tressa Prisbey before I read Bottle Houses. Prisbey's startling bottle architecture is amazing! This would work well as a read aloud.




I'm planning a Jackson Pollock activity for Tween Scene, so Action Jackson immediately caught my eye while I was browsing the shelves. While centered around his unique painting technique, it does offer a brief biography and mention of his other work. It's rather long for a read aloud, though.

Have you signed up for our summer reading program yet? We have a lot of fun activities planned!

The Season

Yes, it is the season for summer reading program (registration starts today!). I'm talking about The Season by Sarah MacLean.

Admittedly, when I saw the cover, I immediately thought, "Luxe knock-off!" And indeed, it does have an enthusiastic blurb from Anna Godbersen. However, if The Luxe made you reach for your smelling salts, The Season should do quite nicely. It's not as....hmmm...racy (!) as The Luxe, for one thing. What it does have are a few breathless kissing scenes, your ubiquitous handsome rake, tons of dukes, earls, and duchesses, a heroine longing to break the bonds of society that strain her, a friendship that threatens to turn to love, and a murder mystery. The raciest things that happen are a few stolen kisses and some talk about a woman's reputation being "ruined" (basically, for being caught unchaperoned with a man, which means that the two must be married immediately! Oh, the drama!). You pretty much know what's going to happen and who is going to end up with who (although it is all very exciting).... meaning that this is a great fun summer read. Meg Cabot fans should love this. If you're looking for (or know a teen who's looking for) a romantic YA book that doesn't have the more "adult" themes of The Luxe or Gossip Girl or adult historical romances, read this one. Hopefully, Sarah MacLean (who wrote an adorable essay about her love of Jane Austen and the Regency period) will turn this into a series (the ending seemed pretty final, though), or at least write more YA fiction.

Recent Reads for May 18

Belle Prater's Boy

Set in small town Virginia, this is a heartbreaking and remarkable read of loss and family.



Jamestown 1607

This is a good overview of the Jamestown settlement, but it didn't engage me, for some reason.



Empire State Building

Now, this is a pretty cool read. As you can guess, it's about the incredible construction of the ESB. The pictures of the workers casually balancing themselves are unbelievable! I didn't know that the construction of the building inspired such hopeful pride in Depression-era New Yorkers.



Cowboy: An Album

A great read for young buckaroos interested in the cowboy lifestyle. They'll quickly learn that it wasn't all fun and games; it was often a lonely and dangerous lifestyle.



Inside the Alamo

Having lived in Texas for two years (and still able to recite the Pledge to the Texas Flag that everyone said at school events and meetings), I thought I knew quite a bit about Texas history. Inside the Alamo, crammed with amazing details and illustrations, proved me wrong!

Middle of the Week Roundup

(Rummages through book bag)

Oh, yes. Won't you try these on for size?



Tap Dancing on the Roof

Everyone's heard of haiku, but sijo? What's that? Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park explains it all for you in Tap Dancing on the Roof. Sijo are Korean poems that have an unexpected twist at the end of the poem. If you're looking for creative writing ideas for your classroom/writing group/etc, pick this one up.



Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam

Walter Dean Myers undoubtedly drew upon his Vietnam War experience while writing this striking poem about a soldier in the midst of the Vietnam War.

The Way I Feel-Sometimes

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers artfully captures the many emotions and situations children face in everyday life. Delightful.



Don't Forget Your Etiquette

Etiquette rules turned upside down! Not for the prim and proper among us.



What is Goodbye?

And now for something completely different....What is Goodbye is a heartbreaking story (in poems) of a sister and brother dealing with the devastating loss of a beloved older brother. Nikki Grimes consulted with child psychologists and experts in child bereavement while writing this, so the emotions and actions of the family are true and realistic. The book ends on a tender and uplifting moment one year after the tragedy, when the family gathers for a new family portrait. A true treasure of a read.

Happy Birthday, Fauquier County!

It's a big weekend for Fauquier County. We had today's parade (narrated by Willard Scott)and activities in honor of the 250th anniversary, and tomorrow is Gold Cup!



Speaking of Fauquier County history....you really should read Annie Between the States. It's a terrific YA Civil War novel set in and around Fauquier County (mostly Upperville and Warrenton).



I recently read Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. No one has it checked out right now, and I want to change that! It's a beautiful and heartbreaking (but uplifting and inspiring) story of 13 women who trained with the NASA program in its infancy, but were denied the opportunity to go into space. The majority of the book is centered around Jerrie Cobb (the lady in the upper right hand corner of the book), who is probably one of the most fascinating women I've learned about in recent years. It's not a perfect book, of course, but pretty amazing.

Recent Reads

Yay! Now it's my turn to tell you what I've been reading (I'll do a wrap-up of staff favorites later in the week). I'm going back to a twice-weekly (or so) roundup of recent reads. I just won't have time to blog every day like I used to.

I'm reading in reverse Dewey order, so nonfiction books will come in clumps of the same subject. I'm still doing not-so-random reads (choosing one book per shelf).



Hello, Twins!

Am I just totally missing out, or are there not that many picture books about twins (I can think of several chapter books off the top of my head)? Weird, since practically everyone knows a twin. This is an adorable picture book about twins who couldn't be more different.



The Blacker the Berry

Honestly, some books based on positive affirmations of skin color are quite boring. Blacker the Berry is not one of these books. This marvelous collection of poems celebrate the skin and hair color diversity among African Americans: very dark black, tan, "yellow," reddish, and nearly white.



Birmingham 1963

Centered around a (fictional) young witness of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Birmingham 1963 is a haunting and memorable work of art.

That's all I have time for today. Good luck to all the Battle of the Books contestants!