• Activities

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid Event

    There’s not much to say about the phenomenon of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.  Jeff Kinney has created a series of books that kids are dying to read; epseically boys and that’s awesome!  We decided to host an event at this time of the year because the last…

  • Activities

    Wacky Wednesday Book Discussion #2 (3rd & 4th graders)

    Our second book discussion for 3rd and 4th graders happened this afternoon.  If you missed out on the first one I did, check out the link here.  I had 15 kids participate with all of them actually reading the book.  For this book discussion, I chose Frankie Pickle and the Closet…

  • Activities

    Anything But Typical – Book Discussion

    Nora Raleigh Baskin’s Anything But Typical is about Jason Blake, a 12-year-old boy diagnosed on the autism spectrum.  He’s not very good in social situations and often misunderstands facial expressions, but he is also an amazing writer.  He becomes friends with a girl on the Storyboard website where he posts…

  • Reviews

    White Fur Flying

    White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachlan was a quick read – perfect for young readers just starting to read chapter books.  This story hit home for me because my aunt rescued a Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix and the story surrounding these loving giants was exactly how her dog, Madison, is…

  • Lifestyle

    Wonder & Wonderfilled

    Every time I see the new Wonderfilled commercials for Oreos, my mind automatically goes to the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  It’s probably one of my favorite books of all time, which is not easy for me to say because I love so many books!  If you haven’t seen the…

  • Reviews

    Hold Fast

    I fell in love with Blue Balliett’s writing after reading her first middle grade novel – Chasing Vermeer.  She was able to combine so many unique elements into one story that held me spellbound from beginning to end.  In fact, Chasing Vermeer, was the first book discussion book choice that I…

  • Reviews

    The Unforgotten Coat

    Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of Millions and Cosmic, has created a short novel called The Unforgotten Coat written about two Mongolian brothers who appear in Julie’s playground at school.  Chingis, the older brother declares Julie their “Good Guide” a nomadic tradition of welcoming strangers, and Julie takes her job seriously teaching the…

  • Activities

    Middle School Book Discussion

    Part of my library’s summer reading program involves 2 different middle school (grades 5 – 8) book discussions.  The first is called “Literary Lunch” and is an hour long book discussion once a week for five weeks during lunch time.  The students bring their lunch and the library provides some…