Book Expo

Book Expo - over 1000 booths of books and book related items finished up yesterday in NYC.  It was smaller than last year, taking up only one level of the Jacob K. Javits Center but it was still the biggest collection of the publishing industry in America.  Every major publishers was represented in some way and 1000s of Advanced Reader's Copies and book galleys, as well as trade edition books, stationery, and gadgets were handed out to bookstore owners, booksellers, book bloggers, librarians and book lovers of every shape, size, sex, and age.

I love everything Book Expo - the authors, the books, the displays, the stationery, the books, the stickers and the toys, oh and the books.  Since I usually go under the auspices of the library, I feel duty bound to see as much and do as much in one day as I can.  Some year, I intend to stroll.  I will not rush through the aisles with a list of must-dos.  I will pause and admire and talk and page.  If I can possibly afford it, I will go both days.  I will attend more talks and lectures.

The Guys from Guys Read held a panel and were hilarious.  I hope they put the trailer for their first collection online.  Oh, wait here.  I'll go check.  Yeah!  Here it is.  I LOVE book trailers.  Watching this trailer while some of the people in it are actually right there in the room with you is even funnier.  So order the book. (I know I will.)  Oh, and I know that Kate DiCamillo is not a Guy but she and Jon Scieszka collaborated on a story.  The way Jon told it the story sounded quite droll.

And I got a copy of Adam Rex's Fat Vampire ARC (Advanced Reader Copy), signed by the author.  He wrote The True Meaning of Smekday and wrote and illustrated Tree Ring Circus - among other titles.


Jeff Kinney was on stage with the Guys Read panel and he was signing copies of the movie diary Wimpy Kid book.  Alas, I didn't get a ticket.  I did get some other great ARCs which lucky Summer Reading Club members will be able to earn as their very own.  Rosemary Wells wrote a great time-travel book for middle grade readers, The Blue Comet, that centers on Lionel trains.  Ah, Lionel trains!  Time Travel!  Bank robberies, kidnapping and the Great Depression!  I managed to finish THAT ARC in double quick time. 

Well,  I have some serious, serious reading to do this Memorial Day weekend.   Enjoy the three day weekend.  I'll be back next week.

I didn't take my camera this year but here's a picture of me and Andrew Clements from an earlier trip to Book Expo.

Last First Line

The last First Line quiz has been posed - until this summer.  Poor Christopher and his wild dreams!  If you know my taste in books, you may have guessed the answer.

The first line last cited here came from The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, a book I have read more times than I want to admit.  If you guessed  The House at Pooh Corner, you picked another of my all-time favorite books.  

The coming week is full of a lot of excitement.  If you attend either Ironton or Fogelsville schools, watch for my appearance on Morning Announcements.

Book Expo America opens in New York tomorrow and the whole Book World is buzzing with excitement. 

Pick up a copy of the Summer Newsletter at the Parkland Community Library, Township buildings and some churches.  Or check those backpacks; newsletters are being handed out in the elementary schools this week.

Guys Read!

Today I learned about GuysRead.com, a site created by the author, Jon Scieszka, (Stinky Cheese Man, Time Warp Trio) from local author, Josh Berk,  (who is a guy who reads, by the way.)  GuysRead is a great place for boys and parents of boys who want to find good books to read or listen to.  Check it out. 

Oh!  I forgot.  Yesterday's first line!  May, 1889
"'It has now been more than eight months since the girl went missing - '"
Well, it came from Nancy Springer's book, The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan.  The book stars Sherlock Holmes' much younger sister, Enola, as a runaway and a successful detective in her own right.  This book is only one in a wonderful series.

Now, here is the first line for tomorrow.  This line comes from one of my favorite books.

"It was years before Christopher told anyone about his dreams."

Here are your choices.  Choose well.
A.  Nightrise by Anthony Horowitz
B.  The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
C.  The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

Summer fun - first lines

Yesterday's first line was purposely devious. "It was night and some fireflies danced around the moon." is the first line of Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug.  Yeah, I know!  Tricky!  I have another puzzler for you at the end of the post.

The "Make a Splash-READ!" Summer Reading Club starts on June 14th but the kick-off is scheduled for 7 pm on June 24th.  "The Voyage of the Vikings" is a wonderful interactive program that re-lives the drama of Viking sea voyages and their everyday lives.  Kitty Jones of Kit's Interactive Theatre is the performer who will lead the audience on this adventure.  Jones is an actress who has performed in movies, on the New York stage and on TV.  She performs over 300 interactive performances in schools, libraries and museums every year.  Don't miss this Summer Reading Club kick-off.  The program will be held in the South Whitehall Township Building.

Today's First Line puzzle delves into fiction written for teens.  To help you out, I have added the chapter heading as well.

May, 1889
"'It has now been more than eight months since the girl went missing - '"

Your choices are:
A.  The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer
B. Once Was Lost : a novel by Sara Zarr
C.  Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde

Have fun guessing.

First Lines of Great books

So did you guess that "It was a dark and stormy night." was the first line of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle?  Good for you if you did.  Check the end of this post for the next first line.

 "Make a Splash - READ!" is the theme for this summer's reading club.  The Youth Services staff has already posted the summer calendar on the Children's Area wall.   And all the dates are on the Events Calendar on the Parkland Community Library website.  Click here for a look at some of the activities planned for this summer. 

Check the Parkland Community Library website for updates on the Summer Reading Club as the sign-up date - JUNE 14th - approaches.


Now for today's first line.

"It was night and some fireflies danced around the moon."
Here are three choices:

A.  Counting our Way to Maine by Maggie Smith
B.  The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
C.  At the Firefly Gate by Linda Newbery

Good luck!

New Games

There are new games out there that rely on the players' knowledge of books!  One game, called "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" gives the players an opening line or paragraph of a book.  All the players know about the book is the genre and the time period it was written in.  HARD!!! 

Another game, "Lie-brarian", (I think this is a Barnes & Noble exclusive),  is like the writing game "First Lines". The players are given the title, author and plot summary of a book and they have to create an opening sentence for the book.  The actual opening line is hidden among the players' entries and players get points for choosing the right first line AND for tricking their opponents into choosing their faked first line.  This second game can be played without the expensive box of cards.  Just gather some cool looking books and take turns being the "Lie-brarian" by telling the other players about the book and scribbling down the first line.  The Lie-brarian (I HATE that name), then reads ALL entries as if each one might be the first line.  The game is a lot of fun.  Try it with older readers (grades 5 and up).

Now, I want to play a form of "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night".  I will write out the first line of a book written for children or teens.  Then I will give you three choices.  Check back tomorrow (or the next day) to see if you have chosen correctly.

First line:  (I couldn't resist this one.) 
"It was a dark and stormy night."  

Choices:
A. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S Lewis
B. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
C. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle 

Good luck!

New books at PCL

Here are some new titles to enjoy during Children's Book Week:
Picture books:
Push Button by Aliki.  A little boy loves to push all kinds of buttons until he hurts his finger and finds  other kinds of fun. Aliki's clear colorful drawings make this book easy to enjoy.

Pigs to the Rescue by John Himmelman.  The pigs want to help with everything on the farm much to the farm family's dismay.  The last page is the funniest page in the book.

Juvenile fiction: (grades 3 through 7)
Griff Carver, Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg.  Griff Carver is the only safety monitor who has ever been expelled from school in the line of duty.  This is a seventh-grader who takes his job seriously. (grades 5 and up)

Zebrafish by Sharon Emerson.  Actually the whole title is Peter H. Reynolds and Fablevision present Zebrafish.  Vita starts a band at her new school even though none of the members can play instruments.  The band is called Zebrafish, in this colorful graphic novel about making new friends and making a difference.  (grades 3 and up)

Juvenile Non-Fiction
If Stones Could Speak :unlocking the secrets of Stonehenge by Marc Aronson.  Wonderful photos, charts and maps tell the story of the ongoing effort to understand the huge stones of Stonehenge.  (grades 5 and up)

Authors, Children's Book Week and the Wimpy Kid

Amy Ignatow visited the Parkland Community Library today to talk about her first book, The Popularity Papers. Amy is a wonderful presenter.  She drew cartoons for the audience, explained how her books came about and revealed that Lydia and Julie will star in a book about their first year of middle school!!  The library has a few signed copies of The Popularity Papers left.  So rush over and buy one now.

Children's Book Week begins on Monday, May 10th.  The Parkland Community Library is giving away two signed copies of Amy's book, The Popularity Papers, two signed copies of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin and two copies of What a Treasure! by Jane and Will Hillenbrand.  There is a catch!  Entrants must write a short review of a favorite book for children or teens when they enter this drawing.   Pick up an entry form the next time you come into the Parkland Community Library.

Greg Heffy has left the building for awhile. If you can't wait for another Wimpy Kid  to come out, try these titles and authors:
No more dead dogs by Gordon Korman.  When a sixth grader takes over the school's production of a play based on a "dead dog" book, things quickly get crazy.

The strange case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger is the story of an origami finger puppet that gives advice - or does it?  Homework, love and friendship woes are all illustrated with line drawings in this case study of a paper phenomena.  Very funny.

Or look at Henry Winkler's Hank Zipfer series. The curtain went up, my pants fell down is just one title in this series.

Jon Scieszka's Time Warp Trio series has a lot of action and weird humor in each book.

Soup and Soup & Me by Robert Newton Peck show that guys repeat the same craziness over and over and over...  The books look old-fashioned but the high-jinks are up to date.  Read the other books in the seris, too.