Summer Library Clubs: Oceans of Possibilities

 

  

The Summer Library Program for all ages is starting soon!  The theme this year is “Oceans of Possibilities.” Starting June 13^th, you can choose whether you’d like to participate in person or virtually on the Beanstack app: fpl.beanstack.org/reader365.  Here’s a brief description of how each program works:

Children’s Reading Challenge

Make your own goal of how much you’d like to read this summer!  Add a bead to a keychain or necklace for every hour you read.  After 10 hours, earn a free pass to our Pool Party Finale on Aug. 20^th!  When you make your goal, choose a book prize from our cart, available July 18-Aug. 20.

 

Bonus Bingo: Try the Library Bingo on the back of your reading log for a chance at our Prize Drawing! One row of Bingo=1 slip for the drawing, finished Bingo card=an additional chance at the drawing.

 

Teen Reading Challenge

Make your own goal of how much you’d like to read this summer!  Add a slip to your grade’s jar for every hour you read to see which grade reads the most!  After 20 hours, earn a free pass to our Pool Party Finale on Aug. 20^th!  When you make your goal, choose a book prize from our cart, available July 18-Aug. 20.

 

Bonus Bingo: Try the Library Bingo on the back of your reading log for a chance at our Prize Drawing! One row of Bingo=1 slip for the drawing, finished Bingo card=an additional chance at the drawing.

 

Adult Reading Challenge

Pick up a BINGO reading log to keep track of the number of books you read over the summer. (You can also sign up online on Beanstack.) Read (or listen to) five books that fit the categories in one line: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. You will earn a raffle ticket for the completed BINGO card and an additional raffle ticket for each additional book read.  Turn in your completed Reading Log by Aug. 20 and a book of your choice will be ordered for you.

 

Prize Drawing: Earned raffle tickets will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing. Winners will receive a bag of goodies!

 

Summer Programs Preview:  We are excited to be able to offer regular programming again! Look for a photo art exhibit by Native American teens from Wisconsin in the lower level this June, and in-person events like the Friends Ice Cream Social, a Beach Play Day for tots on the patio, live turtles from the Welty Environmental Center, an “I Survived” program (scheduled at the same time as an adult craft program for easy child care), a Teen Escape Room and Scavenger Hunt, kid science programs, and so much more.  Pick up a Summer Library Programs flyer at the Library for all the details!

Teen Mysteries

 

Have you read any good mysteries lately?  Here are a few teen mysteries that we absolutely loved! We talked about the award-winning Firekeeper’s Daughter a few weeks ago, which we are still reeling from; here are a few others that we can’t stop thinking about:

Jackaby                William Ritter

(series) Richly atmospheric with a supernatural twist!  It is 1892 and Abigail Rook has just stepped off the boat, looking for adventure in America.  She is badly in need of a job and when she meets a man named Jackaby, an investigator in need of an assistant.  On her first day, they are caught up in a murder mystery with some odd elements.  Warned by many townsfolk to stay away from her employer Jackaby, Abigail realizes that Jackaby can see supernatural beings that are invisible to others. That along with his autism and cluelessness about social norms, makes it unlikely anyone will believe Jackaby’s claim, but in order to catch the killer, Jackaby must convince the police chief that the killer is on the police force…

Study in Charlotte           Brittany Cavallero

(series) Jamie Watson has always been curious about Charlotte Holmes. Their grandfathers (Sherlock Holmes & Watson) were a pretty famous duo after all.  Jamie was raised in the U.S. by his mother, but when he chooses to attend a boarding school in England near his father, he finally gets to meet Charlotte. She is quite aloof with some rather odd habits and they probably would not have talked much except someone has reenacted a scene from their grandparents’ books and they are both framed for murder.

I am Princess X                 Cherie Priest and Kali Ciesemie

Libby and May were best friends who created a comic book character together named Princess X. Libby passed away in a car accident and May was heartbroken.  A few years later, however, she stumbles across a poster for Princess X with the same character she and Libby had drawn.  May is sure they haven’t told anyone about it.  Is Libby alive?  Or how has someone found the character they created?

One Came Home             Amy Timberlake

(set in Wisconsin! Historical fiction that is also a murder mystery.)  Georgie refuses to believe it when her mother says her older sister Agatha is dead.  Agatha had run away with the pigeoneers and the sheriff brings back a body wearing her sister’s dress, but the body is too mutilated to make identification certain.  Georgie is known for shooting abilities and her straight talk, and she decides to go to where the body was found to investigate.  Georgie knows there was something odd about her sister’s recent engagement and love triangle, and when one of her sister’s love interests insists on coming along, Georgie is not at all happy.  The combination of a humorously straight talking narrator with an unusual murder mystery and a detailed look at how passenger pigeons changed the frontier landscape, makes this is a highly memorable book.

Cozy Quilt Picture Books

 

We’re almost halfway through 2022 and we’ve loved seeing everyone’s quilt squares come back for the Stronger Together: Community Quilt Project.  A reminder that Carol Culberson will be speaking on Barn Quilts this Thursday,  May 19 at 6 pm. We’re also having an Open Art Studio next week on Tuesday, May 24 at 10 am with fabric paints and fabric markers available if you’d still like to decorate a quilt square.  (We have some wood blocks that kids can play with to make their own quilt patterns as well!)

There’s something so comforting about quilts, the thought of them on cold winter nights and the image of a mother or grandmother working hard to save scraps and create beautiful patterns. For the community quilt, we love how each square reflects the personality of the maker and comes together as a miniature representation of the people of Evansville.

Here are some picture books about quilts that we especially love:

 

The Katha Chest by Rahiah Chowdhury

(Bangladesh) Asiya loves to go through her grandmother’s chest of quilts and imagine the scraps of fabric as outfits  her relatives once wore.

 

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

The author relates how her Russian great-grandma came to the U.S. and made a quilt out of her babushka and dress that reminded her of home.  The quilt lasted for generations, symbolizing the family, but changing slightly with each generation in how it was used.

 

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

Clara learns to sew and creates a quilt as a map to help escaping slaves find their way on the Underground Railroad.

Parenting Books

 

Parenting can be hard!  For Mother’s Day, we thought we'd share a compilation of parenting books that we’ve found helpful:

 

 No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel 

Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle While Other Kids Shine

By Dr. Michele Borba

 

 The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children

By Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.

 

Positive Discipline: The Classic Guide to Helping Children Develop Self-Discipline, Responsibility, Cooperation, and Problem-Solving Skills by Jane Nelsen Ed.D.

 

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel 

 

 Middle School Makeover  By Michelle Icard

(Good explanation of the brain development happening at this time and how it affects decision making and personal identity. Also includes dating, social media, etc.)

 

The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children

By Dr. Shefali Tsabary

 

 How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

By Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

A classic with scripts and examples. (Also “How to Talk so Little Kids will Listen.”)

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too

By Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

By Jessica Lahey

An eye-opening book about how trying to protect kids from failure actually inhibits them from being resilient and creative.

Parenting Apart: How Separated and Divorced Parents Can Raise Happy and Secure Kids

By Christina McGhee

No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls

By Katie Hurley

The “Me, Me, Me” Epidemic: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Capable, Grateful Kids in an Over-Entitled World By Amy McCready

 

If I Have to Tell You One More Time…: The Revolutionary Program that Gets Your Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding, or Yelling by Amy McCready

Award Winners

 

  

The 2022 Book Awards  were announced in January, and we’ve been excited to read them! (It took us  awhile to get through the list.)  While the Caldecott is for best picture book, the Newbery is for best middle grade book, and the Printz is for the best teen book written in the past year, we found all three to be powerful, thoughtful reads that are just as intriguing for adults.

Watercress by Andrea Yang: 2022 Caldecott Winner (also the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature!)

Watercress is the story of a first generation Chinese-American girl who is embarrassed of her parents,  who stop to pick watercress by the side of the road.  When her mother tells a story of life in China, however, the girl gains new perspective and connects more with her heritage.  Beautiful watercolor illustrations in a style that has Chinese influences. 

A quote from the book: "I take a bite of the watercress, and it bites me back with its spicy, peppery taste. It is delicate and slightly bitter, like Mom's memories of home."

 

Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera: 2022 Newbery Winner (also the Pura Belpre Winner!)

So good on so many levels.  Set in a future where Earth will be destroyed by an asteroid, a few groups of select scientists are chosen to undertake a journey to a new planet. Petra is the daughter of 2 scientists chosen, although her interests lie more with storytelling than science.  She is desolate at leaving Lita, her grandmother, the one who has taught her a wealth of Mexican folklore, but is soothed by knowing the rest of her family will be there to work together.  When she wakes up, however, she finds she is one of the last groups to be awakened and the Collective is a rigid organization that wants to eradicate history and stories so that everyone works toward a collective ideal. Although Petra feels weighted by loss, she gathers enough strength and hope to attempt to save the others.

A truly spectacular piece of writing that weaves folklore and questions of humanity into a gripping quest for survival in an unknown land.

 

Firekeeper’s Daughter:  2022 Printz Award Winner

Daunis is half Native American, but not an enrolled tribal member. She is an exceptional hockey player and is intrigued by a new guy on her brother’s hockey team, though his story doesn’t seem to add up. Her birth had a scandalous backstory and she feels like an outcast from both worlds, but she is determined to be a healer and gain acceptance in her father’s tribe.  When she witnesses a murder, the FBI hopes she can use her connections to gain more clues about the murderer, but Daunis is wary about trusting them, given their past conflicts with her family’s tribe and she also finds it hard to know who to trust within the tribe.

A nailbiter of a read, this is also an intense read with triggers of sexual assault, violence, racism, and abusive parents. While disturbing at times, it is also richly nuanced with rare insight into tribal culture. A gorgeous read about the lengths you would go to for love and justice, with a powerful Native female heroine at the helm who is battered by tragedy yet displays admirable resilience.   The solitary nature and strong female lead reminds me a bit of Where the Crawdads Sing, though the intensity was more on the scale of Danish murder mystery authors like Stieg Larsson.

 

Do you have any favorite books from the last year that you think should have won an award?  We’re keeping an eye on the ones coming out in hopes of guessing the 2023 picks!