The Buzz on Books Book of the Week #11

What would it be like to live in the library? Melvin spends hours and hours at his local public library. The librarians who work there are always helping him with school assignments, and helping to answer his questions about the world. As Melvin gets older, he continues to appreciate the information and kindness that the Livingston Public Librarians have offered him. What does the boy who was raised by librarians decide to be when he grow up? A librarian of course! Be sure to check out this week's book, The Boy Who was Raised By Librarians, by Carla Morris. The story is sweet, the pictures are bright and amusing, and the book is one that many library patrons will be able to relate to.

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 10

Well, we've made it up to double digits now with the blogs, and because it has been about a week and a half since the last post, I will have 4 books mentioned in today's blog. When I am not working here at the library, I go to school full time at Kent State University. One of the classes I am taking this fall semester is Children's Literature. In this class we just finished up talking about folktales, and now we are discussing fairytales. Therefore, the books written about this week will be from that genre.

The first two books are both retold by Mary-Joan Gerson. Why the Sky is Far Away is a Nigerian folktale telling how there was a time when people could look up to the sky and pull down food, clothes, and everything that they needed in life. The people became wasteful, however, and would throw their extras onto a garbage pile. The sky became very angry, and warned that if the people did not stop being wasteful, there would be consequences. To find out what happens in the book, come on in to the Children's Place and read this book, as well as the following...

The second book is called How Night Came from the Sea. This one is a story from Brazil, and is about the daughter of an African goddess who left her home in the ocean to be with her husband in the land of daylight. Soon the bright light was too much for her, and she told her husband about night, which she had back home in the ocean. Her husband immediately sent servants to find the African goddess and ask for night. I will stop with the description now so there is still surprise for you as you read the book.

One fairy tale that may not be so familiar to you is The Fisherman and His Wife. This particular version is by Rosemary Wells. The characters in this book are cats, but in the role of humans. The husband and wife lived in a small cottage and did not have much, but what made them happy was seeing the smiles on each others faces. And happiness was all they truly needed, until one day when the husband was at the dock fishing when he caught an unusually colored fish. The fish promised the fisherman that if he was released back into the water, the fish would grant the man a wish. When the wife heard of the deal, she began greedy and asked for many things that she truly did not need. After asking for many things, the husband and wife realized that they were plenty happy just how life was, before all of the extra material items in life.

The last book for this blog is the classic book Puss in Boots. This one is retold by and illustrated by Steve Light. The story tells of a man who lost his father, and between him and his brothers were the father's belongings divided. The youngest son received a cat, and was not too happy about that. As the man wondered how this cat was going to help make him money, the cat spoke up. He asked for a pair of boots and a sack, and would take care of the rest. The cat hunted and brought gifts to a king, and explained that they were from the Marquis of Carabas. That was not the truth, but the king was grateful. After continuous days of this, the king met the son, who was pretending to be the Marquis of Carabas. The king's daughter also met the pretender, and they instantly fell in love. Remembering what the cat had said as he brought the king gifts, that they were all from this Marquis of Carabas, the king felt it suitable for his daughter and the man to marry. Thereafter, the pretender and puss in boots were wealthy and lived happily ever after.

There are several versions of these books and other fairytales here at the Twinsburg Public Library. To find these and other tales visit the Children's Place. Until next time have a wonderful rest of the week!

The Buzz of Books Book of the Week # 9

This is a special weekend Buzz on Books Book of the Week posting in recognition of the Cleveland Indians winning Central Division of the American League. Go Tribe!! To help everyone get into the spirit of October baseball, I have chosen the books Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer and Casey Back at Bat written by Dan Gutman. Casey at the Bat is a popular book that was a Caldecott Honors book thanks to the detailed illustrations by Christopher Bing. The story of Casey at the bat is in rhyming text and describes the tense moment of a baseball game when the team of Mudville was in need of a run. Casey stepped up to the plate with great confidence, ready to shine. The fans in the stands were screaming from their seats, all waiting to see their opponents lose in defeat. I won't give away the ending to the book for you.

The second book, again in rhyming text, has colorful, kid-friendly pictures. Up at bat for Mudville was Casey, and he hit the ball so high and so far that it just kept going. It soared past birds, all the way to Italy, to Egypt, India, and finally all the way out into outter space! Casey rounded third and headed home. The other team began to leave the playing field. Suddenly, the shortstop Moe saw something heading directly toward him from up, up above. He put his glove up in self-defense, and found to his surprise that he caught the baseball hit by Casey! And Casey was out of the game as Mudville lost.

Thankfully, the Indians did not face such misfortune in the game they played today. Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians and good luck playing in the American League Division Series. Again, GO TRIBE, and check out these as well as many other books about baseball at the Twinsburg Public Library!

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 8

The 4 books chosen for this week are fun family reads. The first book, My Family is Forever was written by Nancy Carlson. This book is a subtle book about adoption. The narrator describes how her parents wanted a child to love, and how even though she and her parents are not biologically related, they are still very similar and have an incredible amount of love for each other.

The second book is titled 31 Uses for a Mom, by Harriet Ziefert. As the title says, the book lists 31 things that mothers do for their children. The list mentions everything from being a bottle opener to a fixer-upper to a bank, mothers do all kinds of things for their children, and are awesome for it!

The Daddy Book by Todd Parr is similar to the previous book, but talks about fathers and how they interact with children. "Some daddies like to build sand castles... Some daddies like to cover you in sand." Some daddies should read this book with their children.

Finally, When I Am a Sister by Robin Ballard is a book that explains how it will be once the expected baby is finally born. The soon-to-be older sister asks questions as to how things will soon be, and her papa reassures her that everything will be perfectly fine, although some changes will have to be made.

Stop in to the Children's Place of the Twinsburg Public Library today for these and many more books about families.

Fall Children's Programs

Fall Children's Programs kicked off this week and are off to a great start! Our Story Time classes began the week of September 10th and will run through the week of December 10th.

Our Lapsit classes for children just born through 23 months are available:
Mondays at 10:45 am
Tuesdays at 6:30 pm
Wednesdays at 10:45 am
Registration is not required for our Lapsit classes so feel free to mix up your schedule or keep a regular class session.
Mommy and Me classes are for children ages 2-3 and their caregivers. There is still room in the following classes if you would like to register:
Mondays at 1:00 pm, 7:00 pm
Tuesdays at 9:45 am, 1:30 pm
Wednesdays at 6:30 pm
Thursdays at 9:45 am, 10:30 am
Our Story Time classes for older children ages 3 1/2, 4, and 5 also have spaces available in the following classes:
Mondays at 9:45 am
Tuesdays at 10:30 am, 1:30 pm, 6:30 pm
Thursdays at 1:30 pm, 6:30 pm

Language classes also began this past week. Sign Language classes held with Miss Debbie are Mondays:
4:15-4:45 for ages 4-6
5:00-5:30 for ages 7-9
6:00-6:45 for advanced 6-12
Baby Sign Language classes are birth to 36 months and are held on Fridays 10:00-10:30 am
Mandarin Chinese classes are held Mondays 5:45-6:15 pm for ages 4 and up.
There are still openings for our Spanish classes on Saturday mornings with Miss Charlene: 10:00-10:30 for ages 3-5
10:45-11:15 for ages 6-9
11:30-12:00 for ages 10-12
English for new American children is a brand new class starting up this fall on Wednesdays 5:30-6:30 for 1st graders and up.
Lastly, starting on Tuesday September 18th is another brand new class which is Bilingual Storytime. This is for ages 3 1/2 to 5 and is from 7:00-7:30.

Please call the Children's Place at 330-425-4268 ext. 3 to sign up!

The Buzz on Books Book of the Week # 7

Quick joke: What did the tree say to the leaf? Don't LEAF me!!! This week's Buzz on Books Book of the Week topic is leaves (in case you couldn't tell). I have gathered a handful of books about leaves for this week's suggestions. In the book Seasons: A Book of Poems by Charlotte Zolotow, there is one poem in particular that is perfect for autumn.

"Falling Leaves"

Autumn time is falling leaves

red and brown, yellow and brown

rustling rustling over the ground

drying stalk and piles of leaves

burning in the wind

smoke and fire

pumpkins and cider

autumn time is falling leaves.

The second book, Fall Leaves by Don L. Curry, has the main character describe everything that she can do with leaves once they fall. In the back of this Rookie Reader is a list of the words mentioned in the book.

The third book, Fall Leaves Fall by Zoe Hall, explains the life of leaves, when they change colors, and how to draw animals with leaves. On the last page, there is a description of how leaves grow through the year.

Finally, the book Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace is about a mother and child bear that go hunting for leaves. They determine what shapes or objects the leaves they find look like, and they compare jagged edges before they begin to draw a tree full of leaves.

These four books will help to get you in the mood for fall and get you looking forward to the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. Leaf for the Twinsburg Public Library now and check out these and more books about fall!

Input Welcome

We want your input!! If you, our loyal reader, have anything you would like to ask, comment, or request we put on our Booking for a Look blog or perhaps something about the Children's Place at the Twinsburg Public Library, you are more than welcome to do so! Please feel free to post a comment on our Booking for a Look blog or e-mail us at Miss Elizabeth's e-mail address, estefano@twinsburg.lib.oh.us and we will be sure to take your comments into consideration and answer your questions to the best of our ability. We encourage new ideas, opinions, and interests from all of our patrons. Thanks for reading and keep coming into the Children's Place at the Twinsburg Public Library for programs, books galore and more!