• Reviews

    Book Review: Symphony For the City of the Dead

    I’ll be honest, this book took me a while to read. Not because it was boring, it was very informative and fairly dense. But, I now feel lke I know a lot more about the eastern front of World War II against Nazi Germany than I ever did. This is…

  • Lists

    2015 CYBILS WINNERS

    Definitely take time to check out the amazing list of CYBILS winners for 2015!  This was the first time I’ve been a part of an award committee and although it was a lot of work, it was great working with librarians, teachers, and bloggers who all care as much as…

  • Lists

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/15/16

    This week I read Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler, Snappsy the Alligator by Julie Falatko, Fairy Tale Comics edited by Chris Duffy and Frankencrayon by Michael Hall.  I’m also working my way through Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson – it’s a pretty…

  • Lists

    Children’s Books for Black History Month

    Celebrate Black History Month with some amazing children’s books. There are so many talented African American authors and illustrators, there are also authors and illustrators of different races portraying black characters in their stories.  These are just a few books to highlight during Black History Month and is by no…

  • Lists

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 2/8/16

    I read exactly what I had planned this week, plus a few picture books thrown in!  I got the chance to read On the Run by Tristan Bancks, check out my review.  I also read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate both by Jacqueline Kelly a turn of…

  • Activities

    Family Storytime Theme: Snow

    My storytime went really well this morning.  We’re offering a family storytime on Friday mornings at 10:30am which is something we’ve never done before and it seems to be a BIG hit already!  I think I scared the parents a little because most were very attentive and participative. Hopefully, it…

  • Lists

    It’s Monday, What Are Your Reading? 1/25/16

    I had all the plans in the world to do a TON of reading this weekend as we got hit by Winter Storm Jonas which dumped over two feet of snow on us in 24 hours.  But, shoveling takes a lot of time and we’re not even done yet.  So…

  • Lists

    It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 1/18/16

    Over the past week I finally got to read I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson – a world that I was so intrigued by, with two protagonists sharing the same story from two time periods with two points of view. I think John Green, Sarah Dessen and the like…

  • Lists

    ALA Youth Media Awards 2016

    Wow!  I’m not even sure where to start.  I got up extra early, skipped my gym workout and got to work by about 7:15 so I could listen to SLJ’s pre-game show before the live webcast of the Youth Media Awards at 8:00am.It was so worth it.  I know everyone…