Family Reading Night

Each year our local elementary school held a family fun night. This year the parent teacher organization has decided to put the focus on reading, so it has become Family Reading Night. This is a welcome change, especially after reading this article about how less than half of children aged nine to 14 read fiction more than once a month.

The goal is to focus on award winning titles such as Caldecott Medal winner The Lion & the Mouse, Geisel Award winner Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!, Newbery Medal winner,When You Reach Me, and books by the Wilder Award winner, Ashley Bryan .

During this year’s Family Reading Night, the school will also announce the winner of the 2010 Family Reading Night Kids’ Choice Award. Entry boxes were placed in the school library, public library, and here at BayShore Books. The choices are:

Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type(Cronin)
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Archambault/Martin)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Numeroff)
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Scieszka/Smith)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (Yolen)

Tough choices! Which would you choose? Or is there a favorite not on the list?

It would be great to see this idea spread to the middle school and high school, too. Even the entire city. Many communities, including Brown County, have One Book, One Community which is an initiative that brings communities together to read and discuss the same book. This is a partnership between the schools, libraries, and independent bookstores. What a great concept!

Something Old Something New

In this day of living green, recycling has become more important than ever. Recycling can mean so much more than hauling bins of paper and bottles to the recycle center each week. Reusing is a form of recycling as well. HGTV actually built and decorated a completely green home which they gave away this month. Sadly I wasn’t the lucky winner, but there was a lot to be learned about living green.

I suppose purchasing second hand books would be a way to recycle, although, I have to admit, I have never thought of it that way. Used books aren’t just trash to be hauled away, but treasures waiting to be found. The library is another great location for a treasure hunt. In my city, the treasure box is as endearing as the treasure. The Farnsworth Public Library has a history of it’s own since it was dedicated on this day 105 years ago!

I thought everyone thought as I do about the joy of browsing through classic and out of print titles, so imagine my surprise when I came across this this Guardian Books Blog post by Chas Newkey-Burden, an author who hates second hand books. Not only used books, but library books as well! Oh horror!

Now you may not find it odd that an author would hate used books, or even a bookstore owner for that matter. After all, don’t they lose money when customers purchase used books or even pick them up at their local library? Surprising enough, I don’t think so.

Growing up, I spent endless hours at our local library finding the perfect titles to spice up my summer. I soon became the type of reader no single author could possibly keep up with. Visiting the library or used book store is the perfect way to discover new authors. Of course, when my favorites release a new title, only a new book store can help me. I can’t possibly wait for someone else to read the book first!

What about you? Do you adore or abhor used books? Do you feel the same way about the library?

Brag!

What a month! Last week we helped our local library, Farnsworth Public Library , celebrate National Library Week . Librarian Wendy read three stories, including one of my personal favorites, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney and one of hers, Wake Up, It’s Spring by Lisa Campbell Ernst. A percentage of all sales during this special preschool story time was then donated back to the library. It definitely made for a lively Friday morning in the bookstore!

Last week was also the first National Poem in Your Pocket Day since April is National Poetry Month . Of course this is incorporated into our teen writing club. This month each member will be writing their own poem to read aloud at the next meeting. The teen book club also chose Crank by Ellen Hopkins, which is written in verse, as their next pick.
This week wraps up TurnOff Week . Were you able to catch up on some of your reading instead of sitting in front of the TV or computer? Maybe you were out enjoying the beautiful weather that finally showed up for a short visit. Or were you busy riding your bike or picking up litter to celebrate Earth Day ?

This is a week to brag.

What great things did you accomplish this month to support your library or help the environment?