Where Donna Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta

Where I Read This Summer: Lake Louise, Alberta, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

Donna took a moment out of her day to read the latest bestseller. Oh, yeah, that is Lake Louise behind her. Isn’t it just fantastic?

Found in Powell’s Books

Found in Powell’s Books, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

“San Fran Public Library waives fines if delinquent borrowers submit creative excuses for lateness.” Priceless!

The Reason I’ve been so horrible about updating Litandmore

I am taking Library Materials for Young Adults this semester. It requires more reading and time than I could have ever imagined. I spend every non-working moment experiencing the pain and angst of the teenage years. Below is a look at the titles I’ve read in just three weeks.

 

Tonight @ Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville

How Dolly Parton Saved My Life

The Rebecca Caudill books will need to wait another week because I’m finding How Dolly Parton Saved My Life at Anderson’s tomorrow! A little light reading after so much Dominican work!

Product Description
Dolly Parton once said,” If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” In the bustling city of Atlanta, four very different ladies take her advice to heart and open a catering business that will cater to them—successful, independent women who put their families first.

But flouting the traditions and expectations of Southern society turns out to be more complicated than they ever anticipated. Even as the pressure of running a business bonds them together, the realities of managing real life threaten to tear the whole thing apart. As financial woes, personal hurts, and family troubles test the strength of their business and their friendship, they discover that sisterly support and lots of heartfelt prayer just might be the only way to survive.

Full of sass, grit, and good old-fashioned faith, How Dolly Parton Saved My Life is a hilarious and poignant look at friendship with a distinctly Southern flair.

What will happen to the Baudelaire orphans?

Photo from Flickr

Becky Anderson, of Anderson’s Bookshop, is quoted! Thank you, dear friend, for the link!

Young readers, already worried about Harry Potter, now face a new threat. Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler, 36) says at least two characters will die in his 13th and final “A Series of Unfortunate Events” book, “The End.” The fate of the Baudelaire orphans and their nemesis, Count Olaf, will be revealed when 2.5 million copies go on sale at 12:01 a.m. on the appropriately unlucky day of Friday, Oct. 13. The first dozen “Unfortunate” books have sold more than 50 million copies.

Booksellers applaud the timing. Mary McCarthy of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hates to see the series end, but says “certainly 13 is the way to go.” In a Potter-less year, “this will fill sort of a void,” says Becky Anderson, owner of Anderson’s Bookshops in Illinois. On Oct. 13, her stores will hold trivia contests with “unfortunate prizes” like moldy cheese and socks with holes. And Barnes & Noble will raffle off 797 autographed copies (one at each of its stores). “The books have a Dickensian charm,” says Josalyn Moran, B&N’s VP of children’s books. Readers’ lives “are a piece of cake compared to the poor orphans.”

On Sept. 5, HarperCollins is releasing “The Beatrice Letters,” a book with clues to how the “Unfortunate” series will end. Paramount/Nickelodeon has the rights to more movies. As for “The End,” the book’s editor, Susan Rich, promises that it delivers an “unhappily ever after” finish

Read the rest @ http://www.newsweek.com/id/45508

The Black Book of Colors

Title: The Black Book of Colors

Author: Cottin, Menena and Faria, Rosana

Reading level: 3.6

Schu’s rating: Four :) out of four

Note: It was originally published in Spanish as El libro negro de los colores.

This is the perfect book to convey the power of touch. It encourages children to use other senses to experience colors, and helps them better understand what it is like to be blind. The left hand side of each double- page spread has white text at the bottom and Braille letters at the top. The right hand side brings to life the pictures through raised black lines. It is unlike any other ”picture book” and must be experienced.

Are you Indiebound?

www.indiebound.org

Exactly!

 

Laundromat Featured in Knuffle Bunny

 

 

 

Sally and the Purple Socks

 

Title: Sally and the Purple Socks

Author: Lisze Bechtold

Reading Level: 1.5

Schu’s Rating: 3 out 4

Sally, the duck, orders a pair of tiny purple socks from a catalog. The socks go from being way too tiny to quickly growing and expanding. She uses them as curtains, carpeting, a scarf, and blankets. They expand so much that Sally creates a Circus tent and invites neighbors to join in on the fun. A rainstorm eventually shrinks the socks back to its normal size. 

Sally will appeal to kindergarten and first graders.   

 

BN Summer Reading with Andrew Clements

I worked at Barnes and Noble Booksellers for nearly three years. Does this surprise you since I constantly endorse Anderson’s Bookshop? Because of my strong feelings toward Anderson’s, it felt strange spending an hour this afternoon browsing BN. (It’s only because a student gave me a gift card.) It felt like going against Anderson’s.  However, I support Anderson’s whenever possible.

Barnes and Noble always hosts a good summer reading program. This summer BN teams up with Andrew Clements and offers participants the chance to win a free autographed copy of an Andrew Clements book.  

See the flyer in above picture? It reads as follows:

“Imagine if you Called it a Frindle”

Bellef in the power of words is at the heart of Andrew Clements’s stories and books, especially the bestselling Frindle.

“Sometimes,” Clements writes, “kids ask how I’ve been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time.” Clements’s words have added up to become popular books like No Talking, The Landry News, and Lunch Money–school stories that are funny and wise. Now Andrew Clements wants you to join him in taking reading outside the classroom this summer–and to help you earn a FREE book from Barnes and Noble.

Here are the steps:

1. Read any eight books of your choosing.

2. Use your Summer Reading Journal (get a copy in the store or online @ www.bn.com/summerreading)

3. Bring your completed Reading Journal to a Barnes and Noble store between May 29th and Sept. 3nd.

4. BN will give you a coupon for a FREE book! Choose from a list of exceptional paperback titles.

 

My Summer Reading List

 

My Summer Reading List, originally uploaded by Litandmore.

 

The Library

Title: The Library

Author: Sarah Stewart and illustrations by her husband David Small

Schu’s rating: FIVE out of four

The Incredible Book Eating Boy started the school year and The Library ended it. This marked at least the dozenth reading of The Library,but it never held as much relevance.  Not only do I identify with Elizabeth Brown, the main character, but next year I move from teacher to librarian.  I hope to show students the power and beauty of the library: the library as place.  (However, I am not comfortable with “Library Director” until MLIS follows my MA.)

 Elizabeth Brown never leaves the house without a book. During college she made library cards and distributed her books to classmates, and often went on midnight raids to collectoverdue books. Elizabeth Brown preferred books to dates. Her collection grew so wide that she couldn’t even open the front door. Elizabeth Brown walked into town and…

 It won the following awards:

IRA Teachers’ Choices, 1995

New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Books of the Year, 1995

New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year, 1995

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of the Year, 1995