Ryn the Librarian and the Case of the Chronic Non-Finisher

Hello everyone. I know it has been awhile since I wrote about a book I read, but I have my crazy reasons. I had a book club book to read and host as well as other chores that needed care.  By this date, I wanted to have finished Hawaii in the Reading Across America in YA Challenge, but it is just not going to happen. I guess I should just come out and say that I am a (saw this word in an article somewhere) chronic non-finisher. That sewing project I started back in December, yeah that never happened.  My goal to take more photography classes most certainly did not happen. Now, where my chronic non-finishing ways tend to appear the most is in reading.

I started the selection for Hawaii, Under the Blood Red Sun, when I got back from California in mid-April. For some reason, I just could not get through it. I am still only 40 pages into it and that took several tries.

This is not to say that the book is awful, in fact, it would be perfect in many aspects. If you are an elementary or middle school teacher, this would be a great historical fiction pairing during a World War II lesson.  This novel is inspirational and gives an accurate account of Japanese-American prejudices and trials in America after Pearl Harbor. The writing is done well and so far the characters are dynamic and realistic. It's just not my kind of read and therefore I am having problems with engagement. I have included a synopsis from Amazon.com below.

Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty.

World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats.

But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.

I do not know why I could not finish this book, but at some point I have to move on to something else. My problem is patience. I would make a horrible Jedi, as I have no friggin patience.  This is definitely the issue right now as I know Divergent is coming up for the Illinois selection and I just want to get to it. Everyone has talked about how wonderful that book is and I just want to read it!

I know I should give this book more of my time, but I really need to move on. It’s just not keeping me engaged at the moment. Well that’s ok, the goal of this challenge was to continue my study and knowledge of YA literature. I cannot always be perfect, but there are 39 more books to go!

Preschool Story Time: Reading is Magic!

This past week was National Library Week so I decided to do a storytime on reading and books. It had some highs and lows. I think I am getting the hang of storytime, but I still have some kinks to work out. Just a note, we go back and forth on video or craft for storytime. For my next few weeks, I will probably be doing a video each time. The craft usually goes well, but I think the kids and parents want a video as it is less chaotic than gluesticks and paint. So here is how it went! 

Welcome/Motion: If you’re happy and you know it

You know…to get those wiggles out and introduce everyone. 

Book: “Dog Likes Books” by Louise Yates

The kids loved this one. This was great opportunity to talk about how books take us on adventures and into our imagination. I thought Dog was so adorable too. Definitely will do again. 

Song: “Five Little Monkeys Reading in the Bed”
Five little monkeys reading in the bed
One fell out and bumped their head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 
"Turn out the lights, it's time to go to bed!" 

Book: “The Old Woman Who Wanted to Read” by John Finch

No one could pay attention to this one. And to be honest, I only chose this one because I thought the whole working-on-the-farm thing as distraction would interest the kids. The illustrations were cute and had lots of farm animals, but man the kids did not care! 

Motion: “This is the Way We…” (Tune: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we go to the library, go to the library, go to the library. This is the way we go to the library, all through the day. (Repeat with “read the books”, “turn the page”)

Book: “Lola at the Library” by Anna McQuinn

I love this one! This gave me the perfect opportunity to discuss our policies and talk  about the library. The kids liked this one and even took turns telling me what books they like to look for. It was successful! 

Song: Love, love, love your books (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Love, love, love your books,
Read them everyday,
Keep them somewhere safe and clean,
Don’t let them run away. 

Closing: Video “Wild About Books”

The kids who were between the proper ages of storytime (3-5), were able to sit quietly and enjoy this video. Kids who were younger…no dice. This can sometimes be a problem as families enjoy bringing all their kids to storytime no matter their age, but the storytime really is only geared towards kids between 3 and 5 years old. So then I have little 2 year olds and sometimes infants, who cannot sit still for anything longer than 2 seconds creating havoc. Well it is leaving it as is OR enforcing some age rules. I’d rather leave as is so that families still feel welcome, but when it comes to personal space, the death stare is coming.

Georgia: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Hello from California my peeps! This past week my husband and I have been in the sunny state of California. We went to Los Angeles to start off the trip and loved it! I have a few friends there from high school and they showed us around town, took us hiking, and let us eat all the delicious food we could handle. We are now in San Diego for a friend's wedding and I finally have time to discuss my most recent read…Hex Hall. 

I read most of the book on my 6-hour flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles then finished the last few chapters in little breaks from all the touring. My first impression was that this book is a more girly, dramatic Harry Potter. I have no idea if that is a good thing or bad thing, but in many ways it works. This is of course the first one in yet another YA series. I just can't catch a break with these. They all have these cliffhangers and it just feels like I will never have closure. 

Back to the Harry Potter esque plot, Sophie knew that she was a witch from an early age, but has a mother who is a (and I'm just gonna come right out and use it) "muggle." Sophie's spells tend to go horribly awry and after a major fiasco at muggle high school prom, land her in a reform school for magical beings (Prodigium). There are all these cliques among the magical beings and of course spiffy uniforms, but instead of awesome classes where they learn about magic, they have pretty much the History of Magic and Gym. I guess since they are in a reform school, they do not deserve to learn more about magic. Totes the lamest of punishments.

There is one thing I like about this story as oppose to many others in the genre, which is that this novel recognizes that there is potential for many magical creatures in one continuous universe. You have faeries, werewolves/shapeshifters, vampires, and warlocks/witches. Besides say the Sookie Stackhouse series, many books in this genre tend to stick to just one of these races of fantastical beings, but Hawkins brings us all of them. I believe it worked well considering the reform school scenery. 

The reform school aspect I have to admit I loved. Many books tend to do a private, college preparatory school,  but this is one where it felt like juvenile hall rather than elitist snobbery. There was definitely cliques and elitist feelings among the multi-racial students of Hecate Hall (its nickname among students being Hex Hall), but everyone there was in trouble for something. All the creatures had secrets and were also a bit untamed.

On the level of relatability, I would give it a meh. Sophie being the new student, but also feeling like a freak among freaks can be relatable on many levels, but it just feels so over-the-top to me. This book is clearly for fun and excitement and would be a great series for the summer. I would recommend it for the YA collection of a library.

That's 10 down, 40 to go! I am 1/5 of the way there!

Preschool Storytime: Rain, Rain Go Away!

Hey guys! I know it has been awhile since I have discussed library stuff with you peeps, but it has been a crazy few weeks. I am hosting next book club and wanted to get ahead on the book. So NOW I am finally starting Georgia’s Hex Hall. 

I want to talk about my Preschool Storytime today, which went….meh. The theme I chose was to read and sing about rain and clouds. I thought it would be fun, but again it went meh. My kids were not at all focused and wanted to chat the entire time. I could not get them calm even after doing several songs and motions. Just not in the cards I guess? Well here was my plan for today’s storytime, but again kids were not into most of these. 

Welcome/Intro: Rain, Rain Go Away. (Child’s Name) wants to play today.
 *I actually loved this. I saw it on someone’s blog (blanking on it right now) and thought it would be great to have as an introduction to me and learn the kid’s names. I used a duck puppet and went around to each child. Then we all sang to that child to make them feel special. It went very well.

Book: “Rain Drop Plop” by Wendy Lewison 
*I loved this book and this was the one book that I could keep kids interested in. I did lots of counting with them on each page and it rhymed. The pictures were quite vibrant and fun, so I totally approve. 

Song: If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be! Standing outside with my mouth open wide, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah. If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be!

*I thought the kids would love this song, but they kind of just stared at me as we sang. I did get at least one kid to do the ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah...tongue out and everything. I will have to scrap this one for the future.

Book: “Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car” by John Burningham

*This book is a classic and I saw this on Storytime Katie's blog. She said it went very well with her group, but my group was just not in the mood. At this point, I should have just scrapped everything else and gone straight to the craft.

Felt Board: Itsy Bitsy Spider

*Luckily, the kids knew all the fingers so I did not have to explain that. What worked for me was that I did the feltboard once and then did the fingers with them. I felt this helped those children who perhaps did not grow up with these nursery rhymes. Our storytimes can be dynamic. Between stay-at-home moms, babysitters, and mentors helping families, we get a variety of children with very different backgrounds and experiences. 

Book: “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle

*I thought this one was going to be a hit. All the different shapes Little Cloud makes and connecting cloud shapes we see with the object Little Cloud turns into. Yet, no dice. The kids were almost beyond help. One child started to talk to the rest, while another kept saying how he didn't like the book. Oh well. I am still learning. 

Song/Motion: The Puddle Song (Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Jump, jump, jump in puddles jumping all day long

Jumping’s what we do when we sing the Puddle Song.(Spinning and stomp)

*I had to do this one. Fortunately, the kids got tired out which was my secret plan (mwhahaha). In trying to keep the kids engaged, I asked them for further opinions, but apparently no one had anything additional to jumping or stomping. 

Craft: I used this craft to help the children connect to the Little Cloud book. I had the kids create their own cloud scene including rain. With blue card stock paper the kids can glue on cotton balls for clouds and pom poms for rain, or anything in between.  

Supplies:Blue cardstock paper, glue sticks, bowls of pom-poms and white cotton balls, dye cuts of colorful umbrellas, and markers. 

*This craft was a hit! The lone hit of the day. The kids got super creative with the pom-poms and cotton balls. So many colors were represented and one little girl attempted a scene from Mary Poppins. I had to make the one and most important rule...no cotton ball fuzzies on the glue sticks. I said very clearly and specifically that all glue must go on the paper and not on the object. This is because the glue sticks are literally the only ones we have and I couldn't have the kids destroying them with fuzzies. Thank goodness they listened and I had no problems with fuzzies. That all being said, I loved this craft and the kids did too. 

Talk to you peeps soon with hopefully a Reading Across America with YA soon.

Audiobook Awesomeness: The Host

Hello my peeps! I still haven't caught up on my reading challenge so it may still be some time before you see a posting about Hex Hall from Georgia. Additionally, I am hosting the next month's book club and I think I am going to introduce my group to some YA Literature (heehee excellent). I will probably base my choices for book club on this NPR article. The article goes into details about the choices being the public selection and that an expert panel decided if some of the classics were not actually young adult. It was very interesting. I will have to think about my 5 selections. Ah it will be fun!

What I want to talk about today is a medium of reading that is helpful to the reluctant readers audience...the audiobook. In my new position, I have roughly a 40 minute commute to work. I thought that audiobooks would be a great way to not only give me an interesting car ride, but to get involved in a medium that most librarians and teachers claim to help reluctant readers.

In terms of choosing an audiobook, I chose a YA Author that makes some librarians scowl and fans rejoice. This is not a YA book, but has a lot of qualities that I would consider young adult. The two main characters share a body that is 17 and the romance triangle plot is very...uh...juvenile I would say. Ah wait, very Twilight would be a better description. For a general synopsis of plot see below:

Synopsis via Amazon.com. Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love. Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.

 I thought the premise was amazeballs. I was looking forward to reading/listening it and since a movie is coming out (using Imagine Dragons as trailer music), I felt another perfect opportunity for reluctant reader investigation. Books that get turned into popular movies bring in readers. After listening to...oh dear lord...20 discs, which took 3 1/2 weeks I have to say it was not too bad and didn't go as I expected. I liked the premise and expected an action-packed, science fiction adventure. It was really more a dramatic romance with a shy, self sacrificing alien who only cares about others and not herself. She also just wants to be with one of these two guys who she loves and loves for completely different reasons...oh holy shit! Its friggin' Twilight, but with aliens instead of vampires and werewolves. KNEW IT!

Here is the thing. I dont think I could have read it ever, but listening to it was great. The narrator did an excellent job, though when the male characters said anything romantic her voice made me giggle. There were parts that I had to push through because they were toooooo overwhelming in the high school girl emotions. Sometimes it was just painful.

All this being said, I enjoyed the audiobook and feel that audiobooks can have a great impact on reluctant readers. If you have a great narrator that can keep listeners engaged then you could potentially lead readers to more ambitious novels and plots. Remember teens are one of the most reluctant reader populations. If we as librarians, teachers, or parents can help them find a medium of information absorption that suits them, then we can improve their ability to achieve.

Preschool Story Time: Pets

I did my first preschool storytime today and I think it went rather well. This week’s theme was Pets. Since I started at the new job, I have been following a slew of storytime blogs. For this one, I used recommendations from several websites.  They had a good reception, but the kids had a big case of the wiggles. Luckily, I had a lot of motion songs for them to do in between books. My storytime guide is below.

Welcome:  Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. We did this three times, getting faster each time. They loved it and very much needed it.

Book: What Pet to Get by Emma Dodd.  The reaction on this one was…muted. I couldn’t tell if they liked it or were silenced by its awesomeness. I am also rather new to this, so maybe I unconsciously rushed because of first time jitters? The illustrations were adorbs and the conversation between and Jack and his mom were cute. If you have relatively calm kids, this could be a good one to use again.

Song/Motion:  “I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee”

I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee.

Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?

I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee.

Ouch! It stung me!

…Squishing up/Eew! It’s all over me!

…Wiping off/Look! All clean!

Book: Pet Shop Lullaby byMary Ann Fraser.  I had the most fun reading this one. This one I used to start a discussion of pets that keep us up at night and how that can influence our decisions on pets. There were lots of sounds on the pages that I got to act out.  I really got the chance to act animated and make up my own voices. I would love to do this one again and the kids seemed to like it.

Song/Motion:  “Puppy dog, puppy dog turn around”

                Puppy dog, puppy dog turn around.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog claw the ground.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog wag your tail.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog let out a wail (AAAAWWWOOOO!)

Book: Hieronymus Betts and his Unusual Pets by MP Robertson. This one had the best reaction. The kids loved the mystery of what pet could be slimier, noisier, greedier, and stranger than the crazy pets that were mentioned. I also loved reading this one and it was the easiest for me to have the words down pat. I highly recommend this one.

Song/ Motion: “If you’re a pet and you know it…”

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                If you’re a dog and you know it and you really want to show it,

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                …kitty/meow and bird/tweet.

Craft: For this craft, I showed the kids how to do simple origami dogs and cats. The parents are also very hands-on and helped kids in the trickier parts. I connected this craft to the book Hieronymus Betts and his Unusual Pets and allowed kids to choose whatever colors, eyes, or markers they wanted. They had lots of fun showing me their creations when they left the room. There was one kid who didn’t want a dog or cat, so his mom did an impromptu origami bird.

Supplies:

Multiple sheets of square paper in a variety of colors.

Sticky eyes

Markers

All in all, a very successful first storytime with many more to come!

Florida: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Book review via barnesandnoble.com. After Mara survives the traumatizing accident at the old asylum, it makes sense that she has issues. She lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s sister, and as if that weren’t enough to cope with, her family moves to a new state in order to give her a fresh start. But that fresh start is quickly filled with hallucinations—or are they premonitions?—and then corpses, and the boundary between reality and nightmare is wavering. At school, there’s Noah, a devastatingly handsome charmer who seems determined to help Mara piece together what’s real, what’s imagined—and what’s very, very dangerous.

This fast-paced psychological—or is it paranormal?—thriller will leave you breathless for its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer.

So, I know I said I would read my book club reading before this book, but then I read the synopsis and decided to just get started at least. Well, that led to an entire Saturday night and Sunday afternoon reading the book. That’s alright though, because I still have time to read the book and discuss. Alif the Unseen is 300 and something pages, while Hodkin’s thriller was close to 500. The only distraction I see coming up is the fact that it’s MARCH MADNESS! I have Friday off and though I should spend that time reading, I will not be. It’s my favorite sports month of the year y’all!

Now for Florida of the YA reading challenge.  So, my husband says that my main problem with reading     (and stories in general) is that I do not have the “suspension of disbelief” gene. It’s true, I have issues with it. I feel if stories are written with a style in the realistic fiction genre then they should feel realistic. It’s why The Splendor Falls caused me some problems.  With that, Hodkin has a great fast-paced thriller here. I tried my best to suspend my skeptic thoughts and just read the story.

The book went by quick and was very action-packed. Mara’s hallucinations and PTSD is disturbing and detailed…in a good way.  The type of trauma that we later learn the details would provide some of these horrific incidents that she experiences.  We are meant to sympathize with Mara. Technically someone with these abilities, we would be more fearful rather than sympathetic, but I like that Mara is written that way. Sometimes I like a disturbed character written in a likeable manner, like Snape in Harry Potter. The story is suspenseful and has many twists and turns.

In addition to the paranormal suspense, there is the realistic high school problems aspect of the novel to discuss. Being the new student is used in so many YA novels that it almost seems boring sometimes.  When I noticed that Hodkin was obviously going this route, I kind of rolled my eyes thinking ‘yeah, yeah Mara is new and misunderstood, blah blah’.

It is done a lot you have to admit. I mean out of the books I have read for this blog? Let’s see there was Sylvie Davis moving to Alabama for the summer dealing with new surroundings. Then Alaska in some ways when Julie/Miyak moved around the tribal groups, but this was muted. With Everybody Sees the Ants, Lucky spends the rest of the summer in Arizona, a new surrounding and meeting local teens. Arkansas is the first one where I can’t find that “new student” aspect.  Then there is Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.  This very much addressed the “new student” genre with not just Sydney, but also with Jill, the vampire girl she is protecting. This felt more prominent with Jill, than Sydney.  With the rest of the books I read, the story reflected with characters who were already established in their community. So out of nine I have read, five discussed the new student jitters. Yeah boring…just like the paragraph I just wrote.

To wrap up, this book ended with a cliffhanger and I wish I didn’t have to wait a year to read yet another great YA series.  Mara is a relatable and sympathetic character and this book is a page-turner. I would vote getting it for your library’s YA Fic section as there is nothing like a thriller with more books on the way. That’s nine down, 41 more to go. Now I need to read the book club novel!