#bookaday The Bored Book by David Michael Slater Illustrations by Doug Keith

Such a wonderful wordless book with tons of  ideas for writing prompts. Doug Keith's illustrations remind me of David Wiesner's. This is the kind of book that will be enjoyed again and again and again.

#bookaday The Best Book in the World by Rilla Alexander

The Best Book in the World by Rilla Alexander from Flying Eye Books.

Summary from Flying Eye Books website:

THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD

Rilla Alexander

£12.99 / $17.95 / €14.50

48 pages | 280 × 240mm | Hardback, embossed gold foil | Picture books | 5-7 years

If you found the best book in the world, would you stop reading? Could you stop reading? If you had homework to do, or dinner to get through, could you put the book down? On a train to the zoo or on a flight to Kalamazoo, would that break the spell? If in a forest you walked, while scary monsters stalked… would that be enough? If every animal in the land were to be led by a big band, in a grand parade in your honour made… would you put the book down?

What could possibly be so good about a book? Well, open me up and find out for yourself!

Alexander’s superb artwork makes this an unforgettable and magical tale that encourages children to read. The Best Book in the World draws young readers into the richly rewarding world of books.

As a treat to all you fans of Rilla Alexander’s work, we’ve got 50 signed copies of the book which will be sent out to the first 50 orders. Better hop to it! (Signed copies available in UK and Europe only).

My Three Favorite Book Blogs

During my stint as an elementary librarian, I searched blogs to find new, and old, children's books. There are many good blogs, these three I'm mentioning today are GREAT blogs.

The Nerdy Book Club  has many members, a lot of them are teachers. But all are book lovers. Each day has a different post about books. Today, they have 10 picture books about children and activism. Go here to read it. Be sure to peruse the rest of the articles.

John Shumacher is an elementary librarian extraordinaire. He has been on the cover of School Library Journal magazine as a mover and shaker in the world of school librarians. He was also on the Newbery committee this past year. I'm pretty sure he never sleeps. His blog is called Watch. Connect. Read. The sub headline is, "Exploring Children's Literature through Book Trailers".  He and his friend Donna, another wonderful school librarian, go on a driving trip each summer to celebrate literature. They take a giant sized box of books to leave around the United States. This year's trip included leaving a book in a Little Free Library in Loveland, Colorado, one of their many stops. Thank goodness for librarians like John and Donna! Click here to see their trip!

The third blog is Anita Silvey's Book-A-Day-Almanac. A former editor of The Horn Book review journal and a publisher of children's books at Houghton Mifflin, she gives us a children's book each day that she considers to be the cream of the crop. Three hundred and sixty five days of books that you should not miss!

Library Bag Fave: TIGER IN MY SOUP by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

4 stars for the story, 5 stars for the pictures. Kashmira Sheth Jeffrey Ebbeler

It's the illustration on the cover that catches the eye. They are just magnificent throughout the book, the inside cover, and the end pages! The story is fun, too, about a little boy being babysat by his teenage sister. She has the earbuds in, reading a book of her own, and not paying much attention to her brother. He keeps begging her to read to him but she ignores him. So his imagination runs wild, jungle wild, since the book is about a tiger! She makes him lunch but still won't read the book to him. So the tiger comes alive and ends up in his soup! And then the real mischief begins!

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

So...have you been listening to me about just how GOOD young adult books can be? Have you gone out and TRIED some of these books? Because if you haven't, what the heck!? Go browse the YA section at your nearest library. Do I sound insistent, maybe a little worried? Well, of course! I don't want you to miss some of the best writing around. But, thankfully (notice the Thanksgiving segue?), my students are gobbling (#2) them up and that's what matters...to me, anyway. 

The current YA book that I am devouring is SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT by Derek Landy 12 year old Stephanie is dumbfounded when she inherits her author-Uncle's estate. At this point she has no idea that he was murdered. Suddenly, she is attacked but then saved by a detective known as Skulduggery Pleasant. Funny thing is, he's dead. And nothing but a skeleton. A well-dressed skeleton with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. A skeleton who can throw fireballs. Now THAT was unexpected!

Derek Landy is a young author from Ireland who thankfully (#3) read WAY too many fantasy books and comics in his youth. And still does. This makes for one of the most action-packed, hilarious, page-turning, fantasy-lovers-dreams-come-true kind of book.

Don't be turkey (#4) and miss this book that kept me surprised, laughing, entertained, and wanting more! Gratefully (#5, last one, I promise) there are several sequels waiting for me and YOU!  YAY BOOKS!

I'm on Twitter Now, Check It Out!!

I'm hoping it will work this time!

Read this from my friend Natasha!

RANTS FROM MOMMYLAND: Borrowing from the Library...and Life

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS movie review

Even though it didn't even come CLOSE to living up to the books, it was still a fun event. About 15-20 of my students and their families showed up! As well as my principal, a teacher and her own kids as well as many from her class, and George's brother and wife!

I was a little concerned throughout, what with the violence and all. But no blood, thank goodness. A lot of bad guys, fighting, and scary moments, but everyone I talked to the next day said they loved it.

My brother and sister-in-law just raved about the animation, and I agree. The detail and sheer talent of artists blow me away! The attention to detail in everything about the owls was stunning. How long it must have taken to make! But I was really surprised that I ended up thinking that the 3D was totally unnecessary, even with the flying, which was phenomenal in Avatar and How to Train Your Dragon. Maybe because the animation was so well done, the 3D just messed with it too much. I think that says a lot about the artistry!

One of my favorite parts of movies these days are the credits. I won't let my hubby leave until ALL of the credits have played. You never know when they will throw something in at the end. But I also like to read all the names, see who the songs were performed by, where in the world they filmed the movie, etc. I guess it's my love for the intricate and trivial. HA!

And now, they are starting to make the credits fun to watch! Either by the style they use or the little things they insert. I LOVE IT!!

So, my recommendation is to read the books for Kathryn Lasky's writing. Her obvious love of books, learning, friendship, and owls makes it a great read!  And see the movie for the animation! You won't regret reading the books and gasping at the detail will be worth watching the movie.

THIS BOOK IS OVERDUE: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson

Marilyn Johnson has written an amazing little book about librarians and their part in world peace.  

My friend Diane found this book in NYC one day and got it for me. Thank you Diane!

I have so many sticky notes in it it's ridiculous! 

Here's the Facebook page, too.

Here's a synopsis from our public library: Those who predicted the death of libraries forgot to consider that in the automated maze of contemporary life, none of us--neither the experts nor the hopelessly baffled--can get along without human help. And not just any help--we need librarians, who won't charge us by the question or roll their eyes, no matter what we ask. Who are they? What do they know? And how quickly can they save us from being buried by the digital age? This book is a romp through the ranks of information professionals and a revelation for readers burned out on the clichés and stereotyping of librarians. Here are bloggers, radicals and visionaries who fuse the tools of the digital age with their love for the written word and the enduring values of free speech, open access, and scout-badge-quality assistance to anyone in need.--From publisher description.