Author Archives: Sally Snyder

Stephen King stopped by a high school in New Brunswick, Canada, recently because the students had conducted a letter writing campaign for him to visit.  You can see part of his visit here,  (31 minutes) or catch the short version (5 minutes) here.  In the video he says he was “blissed out” to get the many letters.

Many of you know how much I love Scaredy Squirrel, imagine my delight when I saw Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Christmas: A Safety Guide for Scaredies by Mélanie Watt!  As in the other books, Scaredy has a plan, suggestions, and a unique outlook, this time on what to avoid during the Christmas season.  He covers Christmas completely, including Chapter 8: “When All Else Fails.”  (Play dead.)  Great fun, and maybe your young ones will think of one or two items Scaredy forgot.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Recently on YALSA-BK one of the members posted an email encouraging librarians to have their teens recognize Movember or NoSHAVEmber in support of men’s health.  This looks like a lot of fun and can promote reading as well.  Take a look at their facebook page to see their ideas.  Even though November is flying by, you could still have some involvement and spill over into December, what could it hurt?  As the librarian said, “Don’t shave it for later!  Join in now.”

I thoroughly enjoyed Rabbit & Robot – The Sleepover written and illustrated by Cece Bell.  Unlikely friends, Rabbit is hosting Robot for their first sleepover.  Rabbit has written a list of things they will do, and surprises Robot with it when he arrives.  They have different tastes and likes which become evident as the evening moves along.  Rabbit likes carrots and snow peas on his pizza. Robot likes nuts and bolts on his.  Lots of fun and readers will enjoy the fact that they are able to work things out.  This is a beginning reader for early elementary age children.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Patrick Ness Webinar on Tuesday, Nov. 13!

Those of us who love to hear authors speak will want to participate in an opportunity from Candlewick Press and Booklist, Patrick Ness will talk live from England via webinar.  Get to know more about him, including his writing process and his inspiration, as he talks with Booklist’s Book for Youth senior editor Dan Kraus.  Joining them will be Robin Brenner and K.T. Horning, librarians who will talk about how they use his books in the library. Sign up for this free webinar here.

The webinar will be archived for a whole year after the live date.  If you are unable to attend, you can access it  here.

Splat Says Thank You by Rob Scotton shows a considerate side of Splat.  His best friend, the mouse Seymour, is under the weather.  He is covered in spots and not smiling.  Splat shows Seymour a book he has made for him, all about the many things Seymour has done to help Splat, some a bit dangerous for Seymour.  A fun picture book  that might inspire some young readers to create a thank you book for a parent or librarian in their lives.  This could be a fun story time book and project.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman, has a website that can be very helpful to librarians.  Along with book lists that recommend titles from board books to books for high school age that represent American Indians in a non-stereotypical light, she also offers additional helpful information.  A recent post she wrote is titled “Creating a Library Atmosphere that Welcomes American Indians.”  Take some time to read it and look around her blog page, I hope you find something useful to you and your library.

I completely enjoyed The Second Life of Abigail Walker by Frances O’Roark Dowell.  Teased by the girls at school, Abigail (6^th grade) chooses to walk alone in the nearby field rather than join them again.  Here she finds trees, a stream, and a boy, Anders, on the other side.  Soon they are friends and she is involved in helping Anders’ father find information on all the animals Lewis & Clark saw on their famous trip.  Ander’s father, Matt, is struggling to overcome his PTSD from serving in Iraq.  Anders grandmother also lives with them and is a steady influence on Matt and on Abigail.  Written for 4-6^th graders, this is a enjoyable tale of a girl who finds a way to help someone else, and by doing so, overcomes some of her own troubles.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Last Friday at the NLA/NSLA/MPLA conference in La Vista, NE, I attended Sandy Wallick’s session on tips to a fun story time.  She reminded those of us at her session about the Flannel Friday website that lists flannel board (and other) ideas for sharing.  Take a look for links to lots of ideas!

Here are the links from Sandy’s handout: Flannel Friday: on the web, & on PInterest.

I just finished reading UnWholly by Neal Shusterman.  Wow!  This is the sequel to Unwind, and a third book in the series will be published sometime in the future.  Connor (the Akron AWOL) is now in charge of the Graveyard, the old airplane dumping spot in the Arizona desert where many runaways are hiding.  A new character, Cam, is the first “human” successfully rewound from unwound teen body parts, a new age Frankenstein. Is he human, does he have a soul?  What are his creators’ intentions for the future?  This title in the series has lots of action and things to think about, carries the story along in a satisfactory way, and leaves more to wonder about as we look ahead to book three.

As was mentioned by a participant at the NLA/NSLA/MPLA conference, there also is an ebook of a transitional story between Unwind and UnWholly.  It is titled UnStrung – I haven’t read it yet.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Anyone who works in a school or public library with middle school aged kids, is welcome to join the new electronic discussion list jointly created by ALSC and YALSA designed for you to use to discuss the issues that come up around serving this age group. Sign up to join the discussion list!

This is a little tricky at first.  You need to go here to ask for a password, click on “first login” in the box on the left. They will email it to you and also tell you where to go to change it to something you can remember.  After you sign up and sign in, you can click on this link and you are given the option to subscribe. Click on the word “Subscribe” and you are subscribed to this email group.  (I ended up going to the “List of Lists” link at the top of the page and scrolling down to ““middlegrd@ala.org.”  I clicked on it and was immediately added to the group.) Now we will see what kind of discussions and information are shared in this group.  Today there are 305 subscribers, so far I have only received a few messages.

Are you or your young readers looking for some wacky, slapstick fun?  Try Hooey Higgins and the Shark by Steve Voake.  Hooey and his best friend, Twig, decide they can make some money if they capture the shark people saw near their ocean-font town.  Catsup and a rope are their tools – madcap humor will appeal to readers looking for slapstick silliness (and sharks!).  This early chapter book is a British import and so has a few terms American kids don’t use, but it won’t stop the fun.  For grades 2-4.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Congratulations to a Nebraska Author!

I recently learned that James Solheim’s book Born Yesterday: The Diary of a Young Journalist, won the Vermont children’s choice award, titled the Red Clover, comparable to Nebraska’s Golden Sower Award.  There were ten titles for the children to consider in the picture book category, and his took the top prize.   Visit the Vermont Department of Libraries web site, here to learn more about the award.   Congratulations to Mr. Solheim!

So of course I will talk about Born Yesterday.  I first read it in 2010 and completely enjoyed it.   As soon as she is born, a baby is ready to write in a diary about her first year of life.  Her enthusiasm about things in the world, her not-quite-knowing what something is for, and her determination to be a writer will be enjoyed by young readers.  It is a good introduction to journaling as well as clever and fun.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” will be held on October 4, 2012.   Beginning in 2006 Jumpstart has promoted reading aloud each year by encouraging everyone to read aloud a particular book on a designated day.  The first book they promoted was The Little Engine that Could.  Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad by David Soman and Jacky Davis is their selected book for this year.  See their web page for more information on the organization and for a number of activity guides you are welcome to use.

A recent favorite title of mine is Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London by Andrea Warren.  This double-purpose biography tells of Charles Dickens upbringing and adult years while also describing the horrible conditions experienced by the most poverty-stricken people in London at that time.  Dickens was particularly interested in helping poor children (having been one himself) and he was a main force in changing the opinion of the time that the poor deserved their place.  Well researched and well-written, the book uses reproductions of illustrations from his books, paintings of other members of the elite who cared about the poor, photographs, and line drawings to add to the text.  An excellent choice for middle school age readers.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

NPR’s List of “Best Ever Teen Novels”

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I sent an email to the CHILDLIB-L group giving you a link to National Public Radio’s list of 235 finalists and asking you to vote for ten of them as your choices?  Well, the list has now been set at 100.  Visit their web page  to see the list and decide how much you agree with the voters and the panel of judges.  Looking at the list it is clear their definition of “Teen Books” differs from YALSA, they are using an “appeals to teens” approach.  It’s an interesting list that would be fun to discuss with others and to contemplate what is missing and what is there that you feel should not be.  And, maybe, you will find a title or two that you really must read.  I know I did.

Rosemary Wells has a new series for young readers called “Kindergators.”  The first book in the series is Hands Off, Harry and it addresses personal space.  Harry is usually bothering the other students: poking one and shouting “surprise” from behind another.  Babette brings the bumper tube (inner tube type item) back from the gym.  Harry cannot touch anyone while wearing it and he finally spends some time thinking about personal space.  Cute and clever, even with this didactic message kids will enjoy the story.  Just so you know: Book #2 in this series is Miracle Melts Down, however, I haven’t yet seen a copy of it.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Ideas from Story Time Titles!

I was looking back over my notes I used to put together the Basic Skills, Library Services to Children and Youth class and noticed, again, how many books of story time ideas we have in our collection.  I ended up using one example out of Storytimes for Children edited by Stephanie G. Bauman (2011).

I pulled a few other titles off the shelf to look over again and share with you:

Storytimes for Two-Year Olds by Judy Nichols  (2007)

Baby Rhyming Time by Linda L. Ernst  (2008)

52 Programs for Preschoolers: The Librarian’s Year-Round Planner by Diane Briggs  (1997)

They are all full of great ideas, activities, and information.

My favorite (so far) is: Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting (who gave two excellent workshops in Nebraska last spring on “Every Child Ready to Read”) and Pamela Martin-Díaz (2006).  It has good information on the development of the brain in young children, and plenty of ideas.  I can barely wait until their newest book, Storytimes for Everyone!, is released on Oct. 31.  We will be purchasing a copy for the Library Commission collection so mark your calendar to request it from us in November.

I recently finished Plunked by Michael Northrup and it made my head ache, just for a minute.  Jack (6th grade) is hoping to get the starting position in left field with his Little League team, he has a chance.  But after getting clobbered in the head by a wild pitch, he’s not sure he can stand at the plate, especially during an inside pitch.  If he can’t find a way to overcome his hesitation, he may have to give up the game he loves.  Jack tries hard to stand steady at the plate and I admired his determination, even while in the back of his mind he thinks about how giving up the game would spare him this anxiety.  An excellent choice for upper elementary and early middle school readers.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Recently someone posted to YALSA-BK asking for people to suggest good books for guys.  The recommendations began immediately, and one of the best I encountered was Robin Brenner’s suggestion to look at the Guys Lit Wire blog.  So I did.  It has been around since at least 2008, they have more than 25 regular contributors and generally have a new post Monday-Friday of each week.  That’s a lot of books and topics.  There is a “search this blog” button on the left column if you scroll down a bit.  I searched for several books and found entries for all but one.  Take a look and find some new and new-to-you titles to share with teen boys in your library.

Bink and Gollie, Two for One by Kate DiCamillo & Alison McGhee, and illustrated by Tony Fucile is another winner (the first book about Bink & Gollie received the Theodore Seuss Geisel Medal  for beginning readers in 2011; see this site).  This second book about the two best friends also contains three stories – all set at the state fair.  The first story shows Bink trying to win a prize at the Whack-a-Duck stand – it is quite painful.  The second is Gollie participating in the Amateur Talent Show.  The third is a visit to find out what Madame Prunely sees in her crystal ball.  Another great look at friendship and the ups and downs of going to the fair.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Jim Aylesworth and Lisa Campbell Ernst at Oct. 17 Pre-Conference!

“Run, Run to Reading Aloud!” on Wednesday, October 17 is an opportunity to hear authors at the Read Aloud Nebraska preconference for the 2012 NLA/NSLA/MPLA conference in La Vista this fall!  Jim Aylesworth and Lisa Campbell Ernst will speak.  There will also be a panel discussion by four Nebraska authors for children, as well as time set aside for book signing.  Information is available on the Read Aloud Nebraska web site.   Support for this preconference is provided by Read Aloud Nebraska, the Nebraska Regional Library Systems, and the School, Children’s and Young People’s Section (SCYP) of the Nebraska Library Association.  I hope to see you there!

Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke (pronounced FOON-ka according to her audio section here.) was full of great fun and adventure.  Jon (11) is sent to his late father’s boarding school in Salisbury, England, only to encounter a vengeful ghost and his minions who are out to get him.  The granddaughter of the local ghost expert has befriended him and together they wake the ghost of a knight who has pledged to help those in trouble.  The 330 pages move quickly thanks to lots of action, occasional illustrations, and larger type.  Another winner from a popular author.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

Recognition and praise from Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman, for Lincoln Public Schools project to help classroom teachers select books that do not perpetuate stereotypes of cultures.  See her blog posting of Betsy McEntarffer’s article here.   Debbie Reese’s blog is a good place to visit to find out more about what is, and is not, acceptable to her culture.  I especially appreciated her side panel that told me to refer to her as “a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman” instead of some other terms I was considering.  Debbie posted this link to her blog on the YALSA-BK mail group (Young Adult Library Services Association), which you could also join if you don’t mind a lot of email.  She alerts members to concerns or praise in new books as they are published.

The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins has incredible illustrations (of course!) and basic information about the huge order of creatures called beetles.  Jenkins first introduces the basic physical design of beetles after which each two-page spread discusses activities of beetles such as different ways they communicate, what they eat, ways they protect themselves, and how they move.  Jenkins notes at the beginning of the book, “Line up every kind of plant and animal on earth and one of every four will be a beetle.”  Each two-page spread has two to twelve illustrations all on a white background.   Many of the pages have silhouettes showing the beetles’ actual size.  Aimed at upper elementary and early middle school readers it is great for bug fans and browsers – just open the book to any page and begin reading.  Reluctant readers will likely do just that.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

“Library Links”

Every day I am in the office I read the emails from YALSA-BK, a mail group sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association of ALA.   Last month the Batavia Public Library of Illinois shared a terrific family program with us.  Last year they held a miniature golf tournament inside the library!  Visit their web page to see photos of their event and it can get you started on ideas for your own family golf program.  Theirs is obviously a Halloween event, but you could hold it anytime that works for you.  Another library shared their Flickr account photos of their event, too.  They used some different objects to guide the players through the course.  Maybe your local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and/or 4-H Clubs can come up with some good ideas for you.  Looks like fun!

More by I. C. Springman is a picture book that has a few words on each page combined with the extraordinary illustrations by Brian Lies to give readers the concepts of “more” and “less,” and maybe a bit of a lesson about greed.  The magpie continues to gather more and more shiny things until it is too much.  Then the mice step in to help him out of his mess.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

I Love Libraries – A new website from ALA!

Here is something to share with your patrons.  The American Library Association (ALA) has launched a new website “for the public, designed to keep America informed about what’s happening in today’s libraries” as stated under “About Us” on the new page.  Visit here and explore the various sections.  My favorite section so far is “Library Quotes” which you can find on the list going down the left side of the page.  You can explore it to find new quotes to share and you also can submit one you love if your favorite quote is missing.

The nonfiction book for teens titled Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery is amazing, because Temple is amazing!  This well-written biography of Temple Grandin will give readers insight into how at least some people with autism see the world, and why we should learn about and value their perspectives.  It is also the story of how one girl became the leading authority on feed lots and slaughterhouses.  Temple shares her understanding of cattle, and other animals, and how their lives can be much better with a few changes. Inspirational.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

A Comparison of Teen Book Covers of 2011

Visit this site to see one author’s compilation of book covers.  As stated at the beginning of the post, the complier notes this is not a scientific study, just a look by an individual at the titles published as “young adult” in 2011.  It is frustrating to see such a discrepancy between the book covers and the ethnicity of the United States.  Clearly we have a very long way to go to represent all teens in the books they read, and on the covers of those books.

She examines several topics in her post, starting with the colors on the cover, then moving to minority representation on the covers. Beyond that she notes that 20% of “YA covers featured a model whose head was mostly/completely missing.” (Personally, I hope this trend is about over.)  And maybe the most alarming: “6.6% of 2011 YA covers featured characters who appeared to be dead or dying.”  Book covers have always been interesting to me and it was enlightening to visit this web site for the compilations of cover types.

I recently finished Dumpling Days by Grace Lin (and it made me hungry).  Pacy Lin, the middle child, dreads the idea of spending a month visiting relatives she doesn’t know in Taiwan for her grandma’s birthday.  But she and her sisters, Lissy and Ki-Ki, are soon on the plane with their parents.  Culture shock slowly gives way to enjoyment of her relatives and the many different things to do in this new place, and a love of dumplings.  A celebration of family, customs, home, and acceptance.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

IBBY Books Awards Announced May 1!

The 2012 Independent Publisher Book awards have been announced.  There are 72 categories, mostly for adults, still there are several for children and teen titles: Children’s Picture Books (7 & under), Children’s Picture Books (all ages), Juvenile Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Juvenile-Teen-Y/A Non-Fiction, Multicultural N-F Juv-Teen-YA, Multicultural Fiction – Children’s.  Take a look at the variety of categories and titles that won a gold, silver or bronze award here.  You may find some titles to add to your collection. I need to borrow some copies from the library, since there are titles here I haven’t seen.

I recently read Ghosts in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion by Samantha Seiple.  This was something I did not know happened until I read this book.  With more than 12 pages of source notes, this is a well-researched account of the well-kept secret of Japan’s invasion of the Aleutian Islands during WWII.  Illustrated with maps and photos from the time, teen readers will learn about the suffering of the Aleuts, both from the Japanese and from the American forces.  The American efforts to force the Japanese out were heroic, in light of the fact that the almost constant bombing of the Japanese was made through continuous fog and bad weather.  Adult readers interested in titles about WWII may also want to take a look at this book.

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers.  After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)