• Lists

    9 Crafty Characters in Middle Grade Books

    kids crafting

    At our library, we’ve found that our middle school students (grades 5-8) really enjoy the opportunity to craft for fun. It’s not tied to a school project or even a specific product. We pull out a bunch of the craft supplies we have lying around and let the kids craft,…

  • Lists

    Cats & Dogs Picture Books

    cat and dog snuggling

    It’s the age-old question,”What do you like more cats or dogs?” Well, with today’s book lists (that’s right two!), you don’t have to choose! Whether you love those sweet, but saucy little cats or the lovable and energetic dogs, you’ll find everything you’re looking for right here with these cats…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Defied My Expectations

    Top Ten Tuesday

    All of these middle grade books surprised me in the best way possible! They are all books that defied my expectations when I read them, in that I liked them more than I expected to. Many on the list lean toward the fantasy and science fiction genres. Both genres, which…

  • Lists

    12 Best Books for Teacher Gifts

    teacher header

    Celebrate the special people who make a huge impact on their students with these 12 best books for teacher gifts. As a child of two educators myself, I know the hard work and dedication it takes to be a good teacher and it’s not for the faint of heart, that’s…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Water

    Top Ten Tuesday

    I’ve been doing Top Ten Tuesday for years and this is probably one of my most favorite topics ever! I love being around water – I’m not even picky, a creek, river, pond, lake, ocean, I’ll take whatever I can get! Water really grounds me and destresses me in a…

  • Lists

    12 Best Books for Graduation

    graduation header

    Yes, this post should have gone live way back in May or even April, but since I didn’t get anything together at that point, I thought I’d still try and post something that can be a helpful gift guide for the next graduation season. It’s probably not surprising that books…

  • Lists

    18 Middle Grade Books Featuring Cats

    cat lying down

    I’m going to start with a statement that might seem a little sacrilege as a librarian – I am much more a dog person than a cat person. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy cats and will always give pets to any of my friends’ cats, but personally,…

  • Lists

    12 Books About Chess for Kids

    chess header

    We’ve been lucky enough to have an amazing volunteer willing to help us at my library by offering chess classes for our kids! Thankfully, we have a volunteer because my staff and I know a little bit about chess, but not enough to offer a series of classes for beginner…