Friday, December 27, 2013

Reading Goals



Do you have reading goals for the next year?  Do you talk about reading goals at your library?

I have personal ones, but I never talk about them with teens or even co-workers. But I wonder if they have them too. There are several teens who take home piles of books from the library. I've never asked if they keep track of the books that they read, but I think I might start a conversation about it this year.

I use to try a notebook, but I found I wasn't good at writing down all my books. 
I now use the Goodreads Challenge tool to keep track of my books.
Are there other tools?

If you've talked about this in your library - leave some tips in the comments

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Books That Delight

Since it's December 24th, I couldn't help but give some holiday love to my favorite Christmas books.

Here's a short list of some of my favorites:

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Oh that little lovable llama...while Llama Llama Red Pajama will always be my favorite, this is a wonderful book to share during the holiday season with little ones. All sorts of holiday preparations to finish before Christmas actually arrives, but little llama is having a hard time waiting.

The Polar Express by Chis Van Allsburg
 Oh, the magic of this story. What an amazing train ride that would be! To this day, I have to check all jingle bells to make sure I can still hear them ring.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin
How fun the Pete the Cat stories are (especially the ones written by Eric Litwin). When Santa gets the sniffles, thankfully Pete is there to save Christmas. Another fun Pete the Cat read-aloud with a nice message.

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Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Originally printed in 1963, this was one of my favorites as a child. When I rediscovered this book just a few years ago (it was reprinted in 2000), I read each page with a mix of anticipation and familiarity that only an old favorite can bring. This enchanting story all begins with Mr Willowby's too big Christmas tree...

The Night Before Christmas (A Hallmark Pop Up Book)
This is a 1980 pop-up version of Twas The Night Before Christmas and was an annual tradition with my siblings. We would pour over this book and all of it's movable parts year after year. Then when we received a reading of this classic poem on cassette tape, we knew all the words and would listen to it on Christmas Eve as we tried to fall asleep before Santa arrived.

Little Santa by Jon Agee
 A silly Christmas story about Santa as a little boy? It's a great new edition to the holiday books we have to choose from. Just promise one thing, don't take this book too seriously.

Santa Duck by David Milgrim
I recently discovered this book as a fun read-aloud for a holiday storytime. Who can resist Santa Duck's catchy "jingle quack, jingle quack"? What would some of the animals ask for if they got the chance, you must read to find out!

Don't see yours? Please share your favorite (when you are all settled with your Christmas festivities)!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Books for Fans of Frozen



A Tale of Two Sisters (Disney Frozen)Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?The ReaderGreat Reindeer RebellionSnow Princesses (Disney Princess)

Tale of Two Sisters
Who's that Knocking on Christmas Eve
The Reader
Great Reindeer Rebellion
Snow Princesses

The Wolf PrincessWinter's Child (Once upon a Time Series)Singer in the SnowWinterlingThe Two Princesses of Bamarre

Wolf Princess
Winter's Child
Singer in the Snow
Winterling
Two Princesses of Bamarre

Any others you can think of?

Friday, December 13, 2013

Books for Hobbit Fans

I'm wicked excited about seeing the Hobbit - are you? I can't wait to see the dragon!


Here are 10 books that will interest you/your readers that deal with quests or have similar creatures in the Hobbit. 

The Cry Of The Icemark (The Icemark Chronicles)
Cry of the Icemark
 
Keeper of the Grail (The Youngest Templar, #1)
Keeper of the Grail
 
The Singer of All Songs (The Chanters of Tremaris, #1)
Singer of All Songs
 
The Seer and the Sword (Healer and Seer, #1)
Seer and the Sword
 
The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)
Ranger's Apprentice
 
Eon (Eon, #1)
Eon
 
Wings (Wings, #1)
Wings
 
 Knife (Faery Rebels, #1)
Knife
 
Giants, Trolls, and Ogres
Giants, Ogres, and Trolls
 
A World Without Heroes (Beyonders, #1)
World Without Heroes
 
As usual, I couldn't stop at 10. Here's two more:
 
Firelight (Firelight, #1)
Firelight
 
Scorched (Scorched, #1)
Scorched

What else would you recommend?


Friday, December 6, 2013

Bookish Gifts

I love giving books out for the holidays (not to mention getting them in return). The books I give each year always changes, depending on my favorite reads and the people getting them.

I won't mention the ones that I'm giving out, but I have about ten that I'm gifting - not all YA. I've also asked for three books for myself.

Do you gift books? Do you have a book you regularly gift?  Or is there a certain book you're hoping someone will gift to you?