I couldn't do my usual Friday post, but it worked out well. Today I can write a little bit about Harry Potter.
Harry Potter is hugely popular. Even if you haven't read the books, you've seen it on TV, in the movies at amusement parks, even at the grocery stores! But what do you really know about Harry Potter?
Harry Potter shares JK Rowling's birthday. So Happy Birthday to you too JK! He was born on July 31, 1980. I didn't read the book when it was first first published. When I finally did get around to reading it something struck me in the first chapter. Harry's Aunt Petunia, and his Uncle are discussing Harry before he came to live with them. The Uncle asks Aunt Petunia the name of her sister's son. She says "Harry. Nasty common little name if you ask me."
Not too long after that, the second son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was born. He is Prince Henry, but is called "Harry."
That always amused me. Wonder if Diana enjoyed the books or if she liked the name? Either way, just to give you an idea of how old the Harry Potter books really are, the first was written before the strapping, young prince, who just recently stood up as best man for his brother, was born!!!
Since the point of my blog is to encourage reading, you might be wondering why I am writing about HP? Birthday aside hasn't everyone read his books? The answer is no. I just found out people love HP, see the movies but don't nessecarily read the books. My Tim's girlfriend is one of those people. She is a bright young lady who doesn't like to read. <I am working hard on this flaw and hope to have it alleviated soon!> She didn't know which character's died at the HP movie. During the movie, we sat together. Being the evil person I am, just before certain things happened, I would lean forward and whisper to her "So and so gets it now. You'd know that if you read the books."
My Sarah said she would have killed me or least moved to another seat, but if Jayme is nothing else, she is sweet. She stayed next to me the entire time.
The point is, just because you've seen the movies, don't assume you know Harry Potter. There are many things in the book that are missed in the movie. The many nuances that help bring everything together. The books are big, so that may intimidate a non reader, but trust me on this. You'll find yourself loving every word.
Happy Birthday Harry Potter. Tell your mother JK Rowling we said thank you for bringing the written word back to an electronic generation!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Ramona, Beezus, Henry Huggins and friends
What do you do if you are a librarian who loves children but feels there aren't a lot of books to which they can relate? You write them of course!
Now fast forward. You are 95 years old, a widow who spent many years working while raising a family. What do you now? You continue to write children's books!
Meet Beverly Cleary, multiple award author of "Ramona and Beezus", "Henry Huggins", and "Ralph the Mouse". Amazingly, at age 95, she is still writing for children.
When I was a little girl we used to spend summers in Belmar NJ. Even though we were summer residents, my mother made sure we had library cards. At least once a week my sister and I would ride our bikes up 10th Avenue to drop off our old books and pick up new ones. Inevitably one or the both of us would have a book by Beverly Cleary. My favorite were anything about Ramona or Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy.
I don't think there is a person my age today who hasn't read her books at one time or another. Ramona is a little girl we first meet as a preschooler whose older sister Beezus is always doing the right thing, while Ramona seems to always do the wrong thing. But it isn't always easy to try to explain to the grown ups how you feel when you are so young. Her older sister tries to be understanding, but sometimes it can be very difficult. Like when Ramona scribbles on a library book that Beezus has to pay for. Luckily the librarian understands difficult little sisters!
Henry Huggins is another person who has trouble understanding Ramona. Henry is her neighbor and Beezus' friend. Ramona follows Henry around town, which can be very difficult for a 10 year old boy. Especially when he is trying to show how responsible he is by being the youngest newspaper boy in town. To prove it he first has to outsmart Ramona, who has taken to stealing the newspaper and placing them at other houses. Henry soon proves he is smarter than a preschooler and is allowed to keep his job.
Besides Ramona, Henry has other difficulties to cope with. In his first book <written in 1950!> Henry finds a dog who is so thin that Henry decides to keep him. But in order to get him home he has to figure out how to sneak him onto the bus. Things like that aren't always easy, but in the end Henry manages to get his dog home and Ribsy becomes an important part of Huggins family.
Besides the children of Klickitat Street, Beverly Cleary writes about others as well. "Jean and Johnny" is the story of a young teens first experience with a boyfriend in the late 1950s. While it may seem quaint now, it is nice to think back to a time when first kisses were awkward and innocent. She also wrote "Sister of the Bride". A book about just that, being a sister to a bride in the 1960s. Originally written for preteens and young teenage girls, the books can still be enjoyed by the same age group. By reading these stories, girls that age can get an idea of what it was like when their mothers <or even God help us, their Grandmothers!!> were young and starting out.
The best part of Beverly Cleary's books, is how she allows us to see another point of view. And how well she still understand ours. In her 95 years, Beverly Cleary has shown us not only how "once upon a time" was, but how it is now. Thank you Ramona and Company!
Now fast forward. You are 95 years old, a widow who spent many years working while raising a family. What do you now? You continue to write children's books!
Meet Beverly Cleary, multiple award author of "Ramona and Beezus", "Henry Huggins", and "Ralph the Mouse". Amazingly, at age 95, she is still writing for children.
When I was a little girl we used to spend summers in Belmar NJ. Even though we were summer residents, my mother made sure we had library cards. At least once a week my sister and I would ride our bikes up 10th Avenue to drop off our old books and pick up new ones. Inevitably one or the both of us would have a book by Beverly Cleary. My favorite were anything about Ramona or Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy.
I don't think there is a person my age today who hasn't read her books at one time or another. Ramona is a little girl we first meet as a preschooler whose older sister Beezus is always doing the right thing, while Ramona seems to always do the wrong thing. But it isn't always easy to try to explain to the grown ups how you feel when you are so young. Her older sister tries to be understanding, but sometimes it can be very difficult. Like when Ramona scribbles on a library book that Beezus has to pay for. Luckily the librarian understands difficult little sisters!
Henry Huggins is another person who has trouble understanding Ramona. Henry is her neighbor and Beezus' friend. Ramona follows Henry around town, which can be very difficult for a 10 year old boy. Especially when he is trying to show how responsible he is by being the youngest newspaper boy in town. To prove it he first has to outsmart Ramona, who has taken to stealing the newspaper and placing them at other houses. Henry soon proves he is smarter than a preschooler and is allowed to keep his job.
Besides Ramona, Henry has other difficulties to cope with. In his first book <written in 1950!> Henry finds a dog who is so thin that Henry decides to keep him. But in order to get him home he has to figure out how to sneak him onto the bus. Things like that aren't always easy, but in the end Henry manages to get his dog home and Ribsy becomes an important part of Huggins family.
Besides the children of Klickitat Street, Beverly Cleary writes about others as well. "Jean and Johnny" is the story of a young teens first experience with a boyfriend in the late 1950s. While it may seem quaint now, it is nice to think back to a time when first kisses were awkward and innocent. She also wrote "Sister of the Bride". A book about just that, being a sister to a bride in the 1960s. Originally written for preteens and young teenage girls, the books can still be enjoyed by the same age group. By reading these stories, girls that age can get an idea of what it was like when their mothers <or even God help us, their Grandmothers!!> were young and starting out.
The best part of Beverly Cleary's books, is how she allows us to see another point of view. And how well she still understand ours. In her 95 years, Beverly Cleary has shown us not only how "once upon a time" was, but how it is now. Thank you Ramona and Company!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Goosebumps
For every child who read Goosebumps 20 years ago we now have adults playing Zombie
Well over 100 books in the Goosebumps series were written with such deliciously scary names as "The Werewolf of Twisted Tree Lodge", "The Bride of the Living Dummy", and "Please Don't Feed the Vampire!".
R. L. Stine <Actually his real name!> writes many other horror themed novels for children.
In addition to the Goosebumps series he has written "Fear Street", "The Nightmare Room", "Rotten School", and "Mostly Ghostly" series. But before you get the idea that R.L. Stine is some sort of crazy psycho nut bent on giving our children nightmares, you should be aware he has also written joke books as well as game books. Even some science fiction!
R.L. Stine's books work on children's fears, the kind of stories we used to tell around the campfire, about ghostly victim's coming back from the grave for dark revenge. While the stories might be too intense for some of the younger set, most readers will come back for more. Let's face it, at any age, being scared if fun!
In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named R.L. Stine the best selling children's writer of all time.
I remember back in the day how children used to line up to buy those books. Every week, as a new book came out, the 8-12 year olds would show up. Many had put their names on lists to be called as soon as the books arrived.
If your young readers enjoy stories about monsters, ghouls and all manner of scary things, then R.L.Stine's Goosebumps is the series for them. Just make sure they leave the lights on!
Apocalypse games, watching scary movies, and generally working on their inner vampire.
Goosebumps was a series of books written by R.L. Stine, that gave young readers their first experience at being scared. Well over 100 books in the Goosebumps series were written with such deliciously scary names as "The Werewolf of Twisted Tree Lodge", "The Bride of the Living Dummy", and "Please Don't Feed the Vampire!".
R. L. Stine <Actually his real name!> writes many other horror themed novels for children.
In addition to the Goosebumps series he has written "Fear Street", "The Nightmare Room", "Rotten School", and "Mostly Ghostly" series. But before you get the idea that R.L. Stine is some sort of crazy psycho nut bent on giving our children nightmares, you should be aware he has also written joke books as well as game books. Even some science fiction!
R.L. Stine's books work on children's fears, the kind of stories we used to tell around the campfire, about ghostly victim's coming back from the grave for dark revenge. While the stories might be too intense for some of the younger set, most readers will come back for more. Let's face it, at any age, being scared if fun!
In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named R.L. Stine the best selling children's writer of all time.
I remember back in the day how children used to line up to buy those books. Every week, as a new book came out, the 8-12 year olds would show up. Many had put their names on lists to be called as soon as the books arrived.
If your young readers enjoy stories about monsters, ghouls and all manner of scary things, then R.L.Stine's Goosebumps is the series for them. Just make sure they leave the lights on!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Junie B. Jones
I was thinking today about how much I miss my time in the bookstore. Spending all that time there helped me to develop a fine sense of children's stories. I don't care if I am an adult, children's books are the best
Junie B. Jones is another book brought to me courtesy of my niece Christina. While babysitting them one night she brought me over to book to read, and I was instantly hooked. Not because Junie B. is sweet and has exciting adventures. Far from it. Junie B. Jones is a brat. She is loud, has poor impulse control, and is a very literal thinker. And I love little girls like that. I love them because they grow up to be strong women who aren't afraid to fight for what they believe is important. They don't look for life to hand them anything, they work for it instead.
Junie B. Jones shares her world with us through her adventures in kindergarten and first grade. Her trials include being the only person not invited to a classmate's birthday party, dealing with a new baby, coping with her best friends who alternate between Junie and other children, and the adults who simply don't understand her no matter how loudly she tries to explain things.
When I read about Junie B. I think about all the people in restaurants, or church, whose child is loud emphatic and frustrated. Those who've raised Junie B's know what wonderful women they can become if they are taught to temper an iron hand with a velvet glove.
Little girls all the way up to fifth grade still enjoy Junie B. They start enjoying them at around 4 or so. As their ability to read on their own improves, the adventures of Junie B will most likely be a regular purchase or library trip. Don't be surprised if you wind up with all 28 <and counting> of Junie B Jones!
Barbara Parks, who wrote the Junie B series, was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended Rider when it was a College and not a University. In addition to the Junie B series, she has written other books, including picture books and middle schoolers stories. She lives with her husband in Arizona, and has two adult sons.
Junie B. Jones is another book brought to me courtesy of my niece Christina. While babysitting them one night she brought me over to book to read, and I was instantly hooked. Not because Junie B. is sweet and has exciting adventures. Far from it. Junie B. Jones is a brat. She is loud, has poor impulse control, and is a very literal thinker. And I love little girls like that. I love them because they grow up to be strong women who aren't afraid to fight for what they believe is important. They don't look for life to hand them anything, they work for it instead.
Junie B. Jones shares her world with us through her adventures in kindergarten and first grade. Her trials include being the only person not invited to a classmate's birthday party, dealing with a new baby, coping with her best friends who alternate between Junie and other children, and the adults who simply don't understand her no matter how loudly she tries to explain things.
When I read about Junie B. I think about all the people in restaurants, or church, whose child is loud emphatic and frustrated. Those who've raised Junie B's know what wonderful women they can become if they are taught to temper an iron hand with a velvet glove.
Little girls all the way up to fifth grade still enjoy Junie B. They start enjoying them at around 4 or so. As their ability to read on their own improves, the adventures of Junie B will most likely be a regular purchase or library trip. Don't be surprised if you wind up with all 28 <and counting> of Junie B Jones!
Barbara Parks, who wrote the Junie B series, was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended Rider when it was a College and not a University. In addition to the Junie B series, she has written other books, including picture books and middle schoolers stories. She lives with her husband in Arizona, and has two adult sons.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Encyclopedia Brown
When I asked my kids this week which book I should feature they suggested Encyclopedia Brown. I was surprised at the enthusiasm they have for that series, even after all these years.
Donald Sobol starting writing Encyclopedia Brown back in 1963. Encyclopedia Brown is a series of mysteries solved by a young man named Leroy Brown. Unlike the old song though, Leroy is good, not bad. Leroy's friends call him Encyclopedia for a very good reason. He has a brilliant mind and tends to remember things he's read very easily. This helps him solve the day to day mysteries and problems that they local children, and sometimes adults bring him.
Encyclopedia Brown is the son of the local police chief. Sometimes, when his father is baffled by a case he puts on his hat and walks home to lunch. While eating he will pose the problem to his son, who will usually have it solved by dessert.
But Encyclopedia doesn't only help the adults of his town. Sometimes the local children will have a problem with Bugs Meany, the town bully and his gang. When that happens Encyclopedia will call in his partner, Sally Kimball. Sally is brave enough to stand up to Bugs and strong enough to back it up. Bugs has sported more than one black eye when tangling with Sally.
Bugs and the Tigers aren't the only charactors to watch out for. Wilford Wiggins, a high school dropout spends his days trying to scam the children and adults out of their money. Because of Encyclopedia's quick mind, people can keep their money in their own pockets instead of Wilford's.
The really great thing about the Encyclopedia Brown series is that the reader is presented with the mystery then given a chance to solve it before the answer is revealed. The mysteries are usually very quick, maybe 3-5 pages long. Then it stops, allowing the reader a chance to think for herself. When the reader believes she knows the answer, she can turn to the back of the book, where the answer is revealed and the story is concluded.
Donald J. Sobol, the writer of the Encyclopedia Brown series, originally wanted to be a professionally baseball player, but became interested in writing in college. In addition to the Encyclopedia Brown series, Donald Sobol has written Two Minute Mysteries. This is a similar series to Encyclopedia Brown, but features Dr. Haledijian as the detective.
Donald J. Sobol is a versatile and prolific writer. Besides children's mysteries, he has also written non fiction and historical books, ranging from the topic of the middle ages, to the stock market. Donald J. Sobol has won the prestigious Edgar Award for his writing of children's mysteries.
Encyclopedia Brown is an excellent series for the independent reader. The fact that the stories are short encourages readers who might need a bit of a boost in the reading department. Children aren't faced with a huge book that takes forever to go through, but instead have quick, interesting stories that allow them time to enjoy them.
If your child loves mysteries, pick up an Encyclopedia Brown book and let them browse through it. And when they are through take a look at it yourself. You might be surprised at how many of the mysteries might fool you!
Donald Sobol starting writing Encyclopedia Brown back in 1963. Encyclopedia Brown is a series of mysteries solved by a young man named Leroy Brown. Unlike the old song though, Leroy is good, not bad. Leroy's friends call him Encyclopedia for a very good reason. He has a brilliant mind and tends to remember things he's read very easily. This helps him solve the day to day mysteries and problems that they local children, and sometimes adults bring him.
Encyclopedia Brown is the son of the local police chief. Sometimes, when his father is baffled by a case he puts on his hat and walks home to lunch. While eating he will pose the problem to his son, who will usually have it solved by dessert.
But Encyclopedia doesn't only help the adults of his town. Sometimes the local children will have a problem with Bugs Meany, the town bully and his gang. When that happens Encyclopedia will call in his partner, Sally Kimball. Sally is brave enough to stand up to Bugs and strong enough to back it up. Bugs has sported more than one black eye when tangling with Sally.
Bugs and the Tigers aren't the only charactors to watch out for. Wilford Wiggins, a high school dropout spends his days trying to scam the children and adults out of their money. Because of Encyclopedia's quick mind, people can keep their money in their own pockets instead of Wilford's.
The really great thing about the Encyclopedia Brown series is that the reader is presented with the mystery then given a chance to solve it before the answer is revealed. The mysteries are usually very quick, maybe 3-5 pages long. Then it stops, allowing the reader a chance to think for herself. When the reader believes she knows the answer, she can turn to the back of the book, where the answer is revealed and the story is concluded.
Donald J. Sobol, the writer of the Encyclopedia Brown series, originally wanted to be a professionally baseball player, but became interested in writing in college. In addition to the Encyclopedia Brown series, Donald Sobol has written Two Minute Mysteries. This is a similar series to Encyclopedia Brown, but features Dr. Haledijian as the detective.
Donald J. Sobol is a versatile and prolific writer. Besides children's mysteries, he has also written non fiction and historical books, ranging from the topic of the middle ages, to the stock market. Donald J. Sobol has won the prestigious Edgar Award for his writing of children's mysteries.
Encyclopedia Brown is an excellent series for the independent reader. The fact that the stories are short encourages readers who might need a bit of a boost in the reading department. Children aren't faced with a huge book that takes forever to go through, but instead have quick, interesting stories that allow them time to enjoy them.
If your child loves mysteries, pick up an Encyclopedia Brown book and let them browse through it. And when they are through take a look at it yourself. You might be surprised at how many of the mysteries might fool you!
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