Book Review "Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid"

by Lemony Snicket

I loved the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket growing up... unfortunately for some reason I never finished the series! Either I outgrew the Series waiting for the next book to come out ... or I was too creeped out! 

But really the series is like no other, and the creator behind the tales is not only ominous in his writing but hilarious and clever! 

This book, Horseradish, is a collection of quotes from the works of Lemony Snicket that are honest and sometimes harsh about the world. If you want to get an idea of the book you need only read the prologue, which is very very pragmatic and has quite the harsh ending that kinda slaps you right in the face!  

The Quotes are divided into different aspects of life, like work, school, entertainment, and books! I picked a few of my favourites - and of course they're about books! Here they are!!

This one, by the by, is probably one of my favourite quotes ever!! Mr. Snicket is quite clever, indeed!

Update! Book Reviews for Masterminds and Adventure Picnic next week!

Bonjour my friends! This week has been a pretty chill week. I've been focusing on organizing the oncoming summer programming for the Superhero's (ages 6-9). And early in the week, on Tuesday, we had another splendid visit from another local kindergarten class. I got to take the kids on a tour of the library, while Carly gave some story and craft time for the kids to enjoy!

Today, I'll be working on planning out the rest of the summer reading club days for the Superhero's (ages 6-9) and Masterminds (ages 10-12)!!! I'm hoping to reiterate an idea from last year for the 10-12 aged kids with the return of Book Reviews!!! I think it's important to not just encourage kids to be reading, but to also get them to start to analyze and talk about the content of the stories they are reading! It's one of the best parts of reading - for me anyways!

Here's what we got for our Book Review Template:

Anyways, it's a very merry TGIF here at the library, cloudy morning with an oncoming hot afternoon according to the weather channel. I'll have to enjoy the fancy weather from inside - which is fine as I feel like I may have caught some sort of flu or nasty sickness -_- at least I'll have a weekend to recover!

Hopefully I'll be better for the awesome Adventure Picnic on Monday! I'm looking forward to the fun at the Beaver Valley Arena and BOUNCY CASTLE!!! woot! Here's a little snippet from our children's programming handout: 

 

The Adventure Picnic was also mentioned in yesterdays newspaper, here's the scoop:

Library Children's Book Review: "Library Mouse"

written and illustrated by Daniel Kirk

Book Description (from the author's website: http://danielkirk.com/dankirkbookspread22.html)

A small creature offers his big voice for aspiring authors everywhere!
Every child can be a writer—and Library Mouse shows them how! Beloved children's books author and illustrator Daniel Kirk wonderfully brings to life the story of Sam, a library mouse. Sam's home was in a little hole in the wall behind the children's reference books, and he thought that life was very good indeed; for Sam loved to read. He read picture books and chapter books, biographies and poetry, and ghost stories and mysteries. Sam read so much that finally one day he decided to write books himself! Sam shared his books with other library visitors by placing them on a bookshelf at night…until there came the time that people wanted to meet this talented author. Whatever was Sam to do? The joy of reading, writing, and sharing is brought to life in this warmhearted tale.

Today we had a lovely visit from the local kindergarten classes, who were entertained by a tour of the library, book readings, songs and crafts!!! A fun and busy time indeed!
One of the books that Carly read today was the "Library Mouse" by Daniel Kirk.

This is such a perfect and lovely library based book about a cute little mouse that likes to write books and share his work with the library in which he lives. Each day Sam writes a new book and every morning the library patrons who discover Sam's books marvel at his new stories and books and wonder who the author is!

This is such a cute and imaginative book that really inspires others how awesome and fun writing books can be! Everyone has a story!!!

I really enjoyed the story and I think the kids liked it too, based on how intently they listened to the story! It's a great precursor to motivate kids to write and tell stories! Make sure you pick this up for your kids next time your at the library!


Here's some pictures of today's visit!

 Carly with the kids!

 Today's craft: lollipops!! 'Cause we are all suckers for the Beaver Valley Public Library!

Open Close 'em song before our storytime!

Finished crafts!! A+ job!

Library YA Book Review: The Leviathan Trilogy

"Leviathan"
"Behemoth"
"Goliath"

                   by Scott Westerfeld

                   illustrated by Keith Thompson

These books are the reason I type here before you suffering from tired eyes and sleep deprivation, and really it was so worth it!

Goodness me, I love Scott Westerfeld! I discovered the Uglies Series in the Crowe High School Library and then moved on to read most of his well known books: the Midnighters Series, the Uglies Series, the subsequent add ons to the Uglies Series, like the manga for Shay's Story! (I bought it at Crockett's in the Mall back when I thought they were closing and everything was on sale! Perhaps I'll review that in the near future!), and So Yesterday. (FANTASTIC BOOK!)

I also discovered that Scott Westerfeld is a writer friend of my favourite writer, John Green! MAKES ME LOVE HIM EVEN MORE! :) Seriously, so cool.

So I read "Leviathan" the first of the series, a couple of years ago, but I hadn't keep up with the series as the books came out! And I love it when you get the chance to read a series and all the books are already out! No need to wait in anticipation like the pain of waiting for the new Harry Potter, when I was younger! (although sometimes the wait is fun!)

Now first off all these books are gorgeous, they were published on super thick, lovely paper and are adorned with awesome illustrations from Keith Thompson! And plus it reminds me of a steampunk version of Airborn by Kenneth Oppel!! Love Kenneth Oppel! See my review of his newest book, "This Dark Endeavour" here: http://beavervalleylibrarykids.blogspot.ca/2012/07/library-book-review-this-dark-endeavour.html

So I may not be the biggest fan of studying history and stuff like that, but it doesn't mean I can't appreciate it! And I love the premise of this series, it totally reminds me of my favourite videogame "Bioshock" (which you young kids should stay clear of, lest you wish to be sleep deprived and haunted by scary scary zombie-like monsters!! Oh! and its rated M, so definitely stay away!)

Seriously, how beautiful are the inside pages??!?! Look at this map!

But "Bioshock" is set in the past and creates an alternate reality on past events, which I loved, everything looked snazzy and 50's/60's glam.

And with the Leviathan series, the same sort of alternative reality is made where in the past during and before the WWI, the main super powers of the war are divided by two different sciences. For instance, the Central Powers of the German Empire, Autro-Hungarian Empire are referred to as "Clankers", since here in this rewritten version of history, the Clankers are advanced in mechaniks and robotic-like war machines (very steam punk and AWESOME! ... but wait it gets even better!). And the Entente Powers, of the UK, France and Russia, are called Darwinists, and are super advanced in genetically engineering war monsters, that are seriously the coolest of the cool!

So anyways, the two powers don't get along, obviously, and in this story the Archduke Franz Ferdinand has a son named Aleksandar, and following the events of his father's assassination he and his trusty liege make for an escape to Switzerland.

The other half of our story follows a young and daring Scottish girl named Deryn who wishes to join the Air Force of England, however this is during a time were women don't even have the right to vote, much less join the Air Force! She disguises herself as a girl and soon ends up on board the great airship, the Leviathan!

I mean, this series is epic! I read through Behemoth and Goliath in a week and these are action packed books, that are just so fantastical! Plus, Scott Westerfeld is a genius at dialogue and really creating a world that is truly imaginative and amazing (along with the help of the illustrations, which are very beautiful!). I love the way the characters are developed and how each one has a specific way of talking and thinking, for instance the slang of the English Darwinists ("bumrag!") and the German Clankers ("Dummkopf!").

I don't want to spoil too much of the story for you, but if you like epic adventures, READ THESE BOOKS! :) please!

I mean seriously, read it. now. :D

All these books get a legit 5/5 from me! Let me know what you thought of 'em!

Library Children's Book Review: "Sophie and the Sea Monster"

by Don Gillmor
illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Now in one of my previous posts I mentioned this book, "Sophie and the Sea Monster", Rhonda read it to the Little Einsteins this Tuesday and I loved it so I read it twice this week with the Young Professors and the Mad Scientists - who shared and agreed that this was a good book! You can see the post about the Little Einsteins reading this during their Dragon Week here (but I warn you, like all Little Einstein posts, this post is incredibly and astoundingly adorable!): http://beavervalleylibrarykids.blogspot.ca/2012/08/week-6-dragons-with-little-einsteins.html

So this story, written by Don Gillmor, follows a young girl named Sophie who is pestered by her brother about a sea monster under her bed! From the first page we learn about Sophie's many fears and thoughts. She's afraid of anteaters, pythons, bats! She's afraid of losing her homework! And she's also curious as to what holds the moon in the sky and fears that one day the moon will fall from the sky and land on her house!!

The illustrations, it's worth noting, is outstandingly done by the great Michael Markchenko, you may recognize the style from many Robert Munsch books, of which Markchenko illustrated! And I love his illustrations!  

So, to continue the story, Sophie must get up the courage and strength to look under her bed and discover whether or not their is a monster under her bed!

This is a lovely and heart-warming story that I think a lot of the kids could relate to from the pestering sibling, the elaborate and many fears Sophie has, and the sense of courage and curiosity that she has to grow and discover!

As I said, I read this book with the 6-9 and 10-12 year olds and Rhonda also read it to the 3-5 year olds, we all loved it! So it just goes to show how well this book can transition for all kids! The Young Professors laughed non-stop and the Mad Scientists totally related to losing their homework!

So thank-you Mr. Gillmor for a great, short and cute book about being curious and about finding your courage and not letting your fears stop you from having a good time! I give "Sophie and the Sea Monster" a happy 5/5!

Happy Reading!

Library Book Review: YA Fiction "My Favorite Band Does Not Exist"

by Robert T. Jeschonek

(American published I'm assuming so "Favorite" rather than "Favourite")

So I'm in Metrotown Chapters, waiting for my sister's plane to land ... and I thought, let's do a book review! Hurray!

So I finished off this book a couple of weeks ago ... and let me first say that I am a big fan of Young Adult Fiction, how else does one survive high school!? So now, working at the Beaver Valley Public Library, of course my eye is continually wandering back to the Young Adult Fiction area with longing!  And if you haven't checked it out already here's a post where I talk about the YA/Fiction books for YA that I recommend: http://beavervalleylibrarykids.blogspot.ca/2012/07/young-adult-novels-book-list.html

Anyways, this book caught my eye among the shelves and I was impelled by the summary on the inside flap! This book sounded different and interesting. It had this sort of meta-esque quality in how one of the main characters has an anxiety issue in thinking he's stuck in a book and that some ominous "author"/"fate" is in control of his life.

Children's Book Review: "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler"

by E. L. Konigsburg

Wow! This book is fantastic! I can't believe I never read this book when I was younger!


I'm lucky enough to have some of the absolute best co-workers, both at the library and the theatre! And Miss Kim from the theatre is a great book aficionado and all-around great person! I mentioned to her my enthusiasm of working at the library and she quickly rolled off about all the great, classic children books and shared some great ideas with me about what to do for the summer! 


She also recommended the book "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler" by E. L. Konigsburg and the dear that she is she brought me a plethora of lovely children's books for me to go through! 


I decided to tackle down "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler" first, since Kim had raved so much about it! I'd never heard of it! So I was excited to read it! 


May I just say that reading this book was like rediscovering a lost part of my childhood, a missing puzzle piece of my past!


It's lovely! The story follows the adventures of Claudia Kincaid and her younger brother Jamie. The story itself though, is written from the perspective of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, who is writing a letter to her lawyer, Mr. Saxonberg. This book is in fact a from the files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler!  Claudia, a headstrong, dramatic, and independent child, is sick and tired of the monotony of life and the injustice she faces at home. 


The story from Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler's perpective introduces us to Claudia, who, these injustices are perhaps not so bad as they are blown out to be! Setting up the table, cleaning up the table and low allowances are putting quite the toll on her life, and Claudia no longer feels appreciated at home!


Claudia is a mastermind of planning the first chunk of the book deals with her methodically planning out where she''ll run away to, when she'll run away, and who will runaway with her! 


This is such a lovely story and I fully recommend it to anyone, young or old!

5/5 for sure! Thanks Kim! and thank-you E.L. Konigsburg and Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler!

Happy Reading!!

Library Book Review: "This Dark Endeavour"

 - The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
by Kenneth Oppel

I grew up reading lots of Kenneth Oppel, starting from at around Grade 6 or 7 ... I just remember at RSS, Mrs. Popoff reading to the class "Airborn". That was a pretty cool book. And then when I went to Crowe I rediscovered Mr. Oppel and the subsequent sequels to "Airborn", "Skybreaker" and "Starclimber"!

After that I read through his Darkwing series, featuring herds of bats and strange creatures. And more recently I bought and read the chimpanzee/anthropology-like book "Half Brother".

All he books, needless to say, are great, adventure-packed and set in wonderful words of fantasy grounded in some truth.

So when I started working at the library I noticed one of his newest titles "This Dark Endeavour", lying lonely and low on the general fiction! So I took it out for a read!

This book is fantastic, the premise itself, intrigued me greatly. The story follow a young teenage Victor Frankenstein, living in the chateau Frankenstein with his family. Joining his adventures are his twin brother Konrad, good friend Henry and adopted cousin Elizabeth! Here in the novel you learn a backstory to the darkness of Victor Frankenstein and find new found purpose in his past that lead to his future as a experimenter or magicks and science.

Here is a book trailer released for "This Dark Endeavour":

Like Oppel's other novels that I've read this one is packed with excitement, but what I enjoyed the most with this book was the character arcs, writing style and maturity of the story!

The characters (well really just character being Victor) are well fleshed out in this novel! Victor is such a well written and dynamic character! His complete sort of fragmentation of morality and desire, good and bad and right and wrong is fascinating, and I really enjoyed the alchemic aspects to the book! Victor is such a relatable character I think, especially for young adult readers who are going through a stage in their life where emotions are running wild and important choices are being made. You get that feeling from Victor and at times when he goes through this internal struggle of what he should do or not do, this sort of feeling is very reminiscent to me of growing up and being super dramatic!

Also, since this is a period piece dating somewhere in the 18th century, Oppel's writing is ripe with ye old English time sayings and I loved it! The way this is all written is charming, romantic and delightful. It takes you in a time machine to a different time and a different place entirely! It's lovely.

After reading this though, even given the sort of mature themes of love, morality and death, I definitely felt that this book belonged in the YA section of the library.

All in all, this was an enjoyable book to read and also very enlightening to me about the history of Frankenstein. It also made me want to continue the saga by reading the original Shelley version of Frankenstein. I'll have to add that to my reading list!

Thank you, again Mr. Oppel for a stunning novel! 5/5 to you good sir! And for those of you who haven't read any of Kenneth Oppel's books, I suggest "Airborn"! That is a wonderful read!

Happy reading!  

Mad Scientist Book Review: Sarah Giles

YAY! Our first Mad Scientist Book Review! HURRAY! 


So, if you missed the scoop, the Mad Scientists were given the task this week of writing book reviews for the books they are reading this summer! See this previous post for more information: http://beavervalleylibrarykids.blogspot.ca/2012/07/week-2-biggest-faster-first-with-mad.html


So today the lovely Miss Sara Giles handed in her first and our first book review for the summer! I'll be typing it down here for your enjoyment!!! (Sara's words will be blue and I'll be typing in my words in black!) 


Here we go (also heads up! This review has spoilers!): 

Book Review

Title: The New Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Golden Slipper
Author: Melinda Metz


What was the book about? 
This book was about 2 girls who are detective. And they get invited to a ball then the princess kidnaps herself.


What did you like about the book? 
I like the part when the princess kidnaps herself. 


Were there any parts you didn't like? 
No


What was your favourite part of the book? 
My favourite part was when they found her. 


Would you recommend this book to a friend?
Yes


How many start would you give this book? (5 - Excellent, 1 - Poor)
5/5

Children's Book Review: "My Father's Dragon"

by Ruth Stiles Gannett (published in 1948)
illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett (the author's stepmom!)

My goodness, how I love this book!?!? Let me not count thee ways and just tell ya about it!

I grew up reading this book religiously! Young Amanda just loved the pictures, loved the story and loved loved the map! I was a fool for maps as a young one! And this book has the grand-daddy of all awesome maps in it!

Now this story follows the writer's father, Elmer Elevator, and his mysterious and adventure-packed journey to Wild Island to save a baby dragon from the grips of the wild and very very mean animals of Wild Island! Now Mr. Elmer Elevator is a very smart and cunning young boy and equipped with his street smarts, thinking prowess, and very well packed backpack, he makes his journey possible!

Such a lovely map!

Now not to give away the whole story, since it is only 10 chapters long, this story is great! A definite 5/5! There is a sequel and I think even a third book to the series, of which I haven't read yet! Perhaps I'll read 'em and continue to review the series!

But really this book is such a sweet little thing, easy to read, filled with beautiful pictures and filled with cool exotic animals ... who can talk! AWESOME!! oh yeah, and a DRAGON!!! Can't get better than that really.

Thank you Ruth Stiles Gannett, you made my childhood awesome! 

Library Book Reviews: Children Books! "The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear", "Extra Yarn", and "Wumbers"

So, I've been planning out the program for this coming week, Week 2, which has the theme: Biggest, Fastest, First - World Records and Incredible Feats. So I've been devouring through the Children's section of the library once again to find books that fit into the theme, or that are just awesome and here are my findings that I'd like to share!

"The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear" by David Bruins and Hilary Leung (2009)

This book is perfect! One thing about this week's theme that I was a little weary of, was the idea of competition. I know at a young age we can sometimes become very attached to the thought of being a winner and not a loser and I didn't want to encourage the kids to think this way! 

This book tells the lesson of how everyone of us are different and have different strengths and abilities and talents. It also ends with a fun variation of the classic "rock, paper scissor" game and also ties in well with the game "ninja" that I plan on teaching to the Mad Scientists! 

Besides loving the story itself, I really really enjoy the design and illustration of the book. Hilary Leung did an excellent good and my goodness everything is just too cute! 

I think the kids will really enjoy this story! Its beautiful (story, lesson, and art!) and fun. 

"Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen (2012)

I'm so lucky to have found this book among the shelves! I know it doesn't really fit into the theme for this week, but its so lovely that perhaps I'll save it for a future week. I'm thinking Week 5: True Story or Week 6: Trick or Truth? 

Anyways, the book tells the story of a young girl named Annabelle who finds a wonderful box of yarn of every colour! The illustrations and juxtaposition between the black, gray, white and dreary world against the colours of the yarn is beautiful! It's a book that just leaves you happy in the end.  

I totally agree with Lane Smith's - author of "It's a Book" - review on the book of the book "There's only one thing to say: 'perfect.'"

"Wumbers" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (2012)

This is a fun book that I'm hoping the kids will enjoy! I'm thinking I'll get everyone sitting in a circle and one by one each person will read a page aloud - if they are comfortable reading! This book is cute because it does that sort of internet short hand of using numbers in place of words... like to become 2 and for becomes 4 ... and takes it to - or should I say 2? - a new level! for example the front cover says wri10 by Amy Krouse Rosenthal + Illustr8ed by Tom Lichtenheld! So each page is full of scenarios and sentences with numbers that are lovingly illustr8ed 2 boot!

TLDR: These books are all awesome! I grant thee three eacheth its owneth 5/5 rating-eth