Blog Posts by Subject: Children's Literature

The Silver Blades Scholarship lands unassuming skater Claire Boucher in Lake Placid. No longer is ice skating a winter activity in the neighborhood skate center that she affectionately refers to as "Cow Pond." No longer is skating an ancillary activity to the rest of her life. Four-hour long practices dominate Claire's life as she perfects jumps and attempts to please her new coach, Mr. Groshev. Claire is his "next big talent." Her best friend Natalie resents being "dumped" by Claire for ice and all of its glory.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving Day traditions is sitting down to watch the Macy's parade with a bagel and a cup of tea. Watching the parade helps get me ready for the long day of cooking that awaits.

We were lucky to have Betsy Bird and NYPL host the Kid Lit Con on September 29, 2012. Kid Lit Con is an awesome experience, and I completely recommend it.

The afternoon session on Critical Book Reviewing was especially scintillating and enlightened me to realities inherent in the author-reviewer relationship that I was completely unaware of. I previously was unaware that authors contact reviewers and try to sway them into not being critical about their work. I think that is unethical.

Today's Pic Pick is...

Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

Of all the books in last year's Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading & Sharing, my favorite title turned out to be Anne Ursu's Breadcrumbs. Anne was nice enough to answer a few questions about the book and provide valuable insight on one of the most imaginative literary works published last year.

It's the spookiest time of the year, when a young man's thoughts turn to scares and gore, children beg for scraps ... 'scuse me, I mean trick-or-treat, and people everywhere unleash their inner demons. In a good way, we hope! Here's a spotlight on cool apps for all ages to enhance your Halloween fun. There are iOS and Android apps to be found here, most of the them free and all of them good fun.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, 2005

Miri finds herself, a mountain girl, in a class with the more elite "lowlanders," learning royal ways. The other girls clash with her when she gets them in trouble with tutor Olana, whose policy to keep the girls in line consists of palm lashings and locking them in closets. They band together and threaten to leave Olana with no students and tell the prince of her tactics.

I love it when librarians put their story time plans online. I “borrow” them all the time! In an act of reciprocation I figured I might as well throw my story time themes at the Internet to see what sticks.

Do you remember the first time you read a book by Syd Hoff? If you were too young to read on your own, maybe someone in your life shared the book with you. For some, books such as Danny and the Dinosaur, Grizzwold, Barney's Horse and Sammy the Seal bring back vivid childhood memories. For others, these books were discovered as one's children or grandchildren began to explore the world of children's books.

This summer the staff of the Children's Center at 42nd Street planned an array of food-related craft activities to help highlight the ongoing Lunch Hour NYC exhibition. We started with bean/lentil picture frames and moved on to food label collage. On August 3rd, we decided to try an edible activity involving sushi made out of an array of tasty treats.

The young writers of the 67th Street Library continue to impress local authors, library staff and even themselves as session three of the four session Dream Big Imagination Academy, a free writer’s workshop program for 9-12 year olds, culminated this Friday with each writer creating their own graphic novel! All week long this talented young group met at the library from 1-4 p.m. and with the guidance of local graphic novelists, authors and illustrators, realized their dreams of writing and illustrating their very own books.

Last week was an exciting one for the young writers of the 67th Street Library! It was poetry week for the Dream Big Imagination Academy, a free writer’s workshop program for 9-12 year olds. All week long, Tuesday through Friday, these budding writers met at the library from 1-4pm and honed their skills learning more about writing poetry and how they can use it to share their big ideas and dreams with the world.

To Ride the Gods' Own Stallion by Diane Lee Wilson, 2000

In 640 BC, in an ancient Assyrian kingdom, 13-year-old Soulai created horses and other animals out of clay and decorative harnesses. Soulai's father said that he should never have been born, and continues in that vein when he sells Soulai to a king in order to repay a debt. His father's apology does little to mollify Soulai's shock and pain as he is wrenched away from his family. It is every boy's worst nightmare, sold into slavery at age 13 and freed at 18. Five years of bondage to repay a father's debt. Beaten and bloodied, Soulai nurses his wounds. Five years of looming incarceration weigh on 

Booktalking Duchess by Ellen Miles, 2011

In the wonderful Kitty Corner series by Ellen Miles, Mia and Michael and their family foster cats and kittens who need a temporary home, much like people foster children. Mia met Duchess through her friend Logan, who alerted her to the fact that Duchess's owner Abby was moving to Iceland, and she did not want to subject the gorgeous white Persian to weeks and weeks of kenneling. Mia and Michael's parents let them foster cats to determine if they are ready and willing to accept the responsibility of caring for a permanent cat.

Alice-Miranda on Vacation by Jacqueline Harvey, 2010

Seven-and-a-half year old Alice-Miranda is home from boarding school, and she is making a splash. She brings her friend Jacinta with her to a wonderful mansion that is their playground during the school break. She has no qualms about letting anyone know what she thinks, but in a matter-of-fact, somewhat super-humanly polite way. She seems oblivious to intended or unintended slights from others, and she is completely adorable. Alice-Miranda has an uncanny ability to never take anything personally.

Since we can't visit all the great statues across the country, In observance of Paul Bunyan Day we're reading about the larger than life lumberjack and his best blue buddy, Babe (and, of course, celebrating anything really tall)!

I was so excited when I saw that Presley and Melody would be performing at the Fort Washington Library on June 7, 2012. I have been waiting a year since they performed at the opening celebration of the Kingsbridge Library in June 2011. I started blogging last year, and this was definitely a children's program that I wanted to write about. I am somewhat a groupie fan of Presley and Melody, like I am of LuAnn Adams, a storyteller that performs in NYPL libraries.

We have started offering internships for aspiring judges here at the Institution of Judging Books by their Covers, and our first intern is a jubilant Young Adult patron of the New Dorp Library, Stacey.

Today we will attempt to judge the book The Sylvia Game by Vivien Alcock.

Have you ever had a slice of cake or pie for lunch? I hate to admit it, but it is a guilty pleasure that I have partaken in numerous times.

Red Velvet, German Chocolate, Lemon Meringue and Strawberry/Rhubarb are just a few of my favorites. Next time you have lunch, have dessert first. The children in your life will get a kick out of mixing up the menu.