Banned Books Week

I'm getting ready for Banned Books Week (September 30-October 6) and I decided to make wanted posters of books that are banned, but are so popular that they are rarely in the library.  I was able to find a free wanted poster that I could download here and added the cover art to the poster.  I plan to laminate them and hang in the Teen Lounge next to my book display.  Throw in some flames and caution tape and here is what I came up with.

Pumpkin game for preschoolers

I saw this on Pinterest (of course) and thought it would be a fun game to play in my evening stortyimes this fall.  The dice (snatched from the blocks in the kid's section of the library) has a pumpkin  on every side.  Each pumpkin has an eye or a nose, or a mouth.  Kids take turns rolling the dice and putting the face together on their pumpkin.  There are two pumpkins on the dice that are plain pumpkins.  If a child rolls the plain pumpkin they have to put one piece of their pumpkin face back.  The game continues on until someone has a pumpkin with two eyes, a nose, and mouth.  Pumpkins and face pieces were all made out of felt.  I used clipart to print out six pumpkins and added the facial feature on the individual pumpkins.  I cut the pieces and mod podged them to the wooden block.

Another book review

Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle.
I read this one in a day.  Miranda, a young actress whose parents are Shakespearean actors, struggles in her school play of The Taming of the Shrew.  The first performance of the play does not go well for her and before she can escape the school and go home to sulk fellow classmate and actor, Stephen whisks her away to sixteenth century England.  There she must rescue the young William Shakespeare and save history.   This book offers a great blend of fact and incite into the time period, romance, and mystery.

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

I recently read Waiting by carol Lynch Williams.  This is a great YA novel for teens.  It's a story filled with sorrow and grief as told by London a teenage girl who loses her brother Zach.  London tells her story in short bursts as events unfold.  Her small missionary family is broken by the loss of her brother.  London's mother refuses to talk to her after Zach's death and blames her for his death.  London struggles through dealing with the pain of loss and the blame that is placed on her all while adjusting to the new normal.  This is a great story that leaves the readers with hope for a new beginning for London.

Let the programs begin!

Ahhh, the start of another school year.  That means the start of school-year programming at the library.  Time management is key during these months.  I have 3 storytimes per week, 1 teen program, 1 family program per week and 2 home school programs per month.  My schedule tends to get pretty crazy, but I love staying busy.  Starting Monday I have my evening storytime for preschool-first grade.  I always do a craft activity during these storytimes.  Check back each Monday to see what crafts the kids will be making.

Corner Bookmarks

I just came across this on Pinterest and had to share.  These are the most adorable bookmarks I have ever seen.  I plan to make them with the teens during Art Club this month.  Here is a picture of what they look like.

This is from Tally's Treasures and there are a ton of other great ideas.  I will post the bookmarks that the teens create later this month!

Here is my first attempt at these adorable little monsters...

Fallen Series by Lauren Kate

I just finished reading Rapture by Lauren Kate.  This is the final book in the Fallen series.  I finished the book in a day, I just couldn't put it down.  This series follows a group of fallen angels who fight for love and save the world.  Great for teens who like books with supernatural themes.  The books provides harrowing  fight scenes and the love story that teen girls crave.  I suggest this series to teens who are looking for something different to read.

Rapture by Lauren Kate