The BK Club

The Children’s Room picture book collection includes many many stories about going to bed.  Some are classics such as Goodnight moon by Margaret Wise Brown, or newer classics like Time for Bed by Mem Fox.  This week as a checked the new book shelf I found several brand new books, all about going to bed, having trouble sleeping, or wanting to go to bed.  In While the world is sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards, the young child takes a ride on an owl who shows them all that happens at night “while the world is sleeping”  Rabbits play, foxes hunt, and raccoons climb in and out of garbage cans.   In Little Rabbit couldn’t sleep by Beth Shoshan, Little Rabbit is afraid to go to sleep before he sees the moon because he wants the moon to watch over him.  So he goes in search of the moon, finds many other things, and falls asleep as the moon arrives.    Race you to bed by Bob Shea has the speedy rabbit challenging readers to beat him to bed.  Once in bed rabbit discovers the reader is already in bed so he says “Race you to sleep”.  This will definitely make bedtime fun for any kids who don’t really want to go to bed.    And finally, what would bedtime be without hugs and kisses.  One of my favorite and classic bedtime stories is Mother, mother I want another by Maria P. Robbins.  In the new story One more hug for Madison by Caroline Jayne Church Madison Mouse can’t sleep so she keeps calling her Mom back for “one more thing”.  She gets a stuffed animal, blanket, water, and a hug and kiss every time.  In the end nothing has helped so Madison asks for one more hug, a great big hug.  Reading before bedtime always helps me settle down.  I hope these new books and old favorites will become part of your bedtime routines.

Tonight we celebrate Andover’s newest authors and illustrators published in the latest edition of AppleSeeds and AppleSauce literary magazines.  These magazines are published by the Greater Lawrence Education Collaborative twice a year.  Students will represent Bancroft, High Plain, Sanborn, South and West Elementary Schools, and Doherty, West and Wood Hill Middle Schools.  AppleSeed and AppleSauce are made possible in part by grants from The White Fund and the Lawrence Cultural Council, Andover Cultural Council, Methuen Cultural Council and the North Andover Cultural Council-local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.  All are welcome to attend to listen to the poetry and short stories of students in grades 3-7.  The readings begin at 6:30pm in Memorial Hall, top floor of the library.   For more information contact Beth Kerrigan at 978-623-8401 x39.

We had this really neat book come into the Children’s Room this week.  It’s called My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall.  It’s a book that depicts in rhyming text how love can be many different things, such as eager as a beaver, steady as yak, or silly as a seal.  What’s so neat about the book is that all the animals in the book are made out of hearts!  Do you have a special animal that you love?  If so, do you think you think you could make one out of hearts?  Click on this link to make your own puppy dog made out of hearts!  To see more “hearty” animals, stop in and check out Michael Hall’s book.

Congratulations to Katherine Paterson, our new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!  She takes over from the first ambassador, Jon Scieszka.  You might have heard of him if you have read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, or the Time Warp Trio books.  Katherine Paterson has been a writer for a long time.  She has won the Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature twice!  Some of her most well-known titles include Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, and The Great Gilly Hopkins.  She grew up in China before moving to the United States with her family.  In the March/April issue of The Horn Book Magazine, she is quoted as saying: “I woke up one morning and realized that what I wanted to say to everyone–children, young people, adults–was: Read for your life.”  What a wonderful motto that is, one that I hope everyone will embrace.  You can click here to take a look at her official website.  Remember, you can be an ambassador for reading too, in your family, school, wherever you go!

Well, today marks the first day of the Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska!  It is a race which covers over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain you could ever see.  This race trail throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers (the racers) and their dog teams.  All of this got me to thinking about the arctic conditions these sled teams face.  We had a wonderful book come into the library this week.  It’s called I is for Inuksuk : an Arctic celebration by Mary Wallace.  Each letter of the word “Inuksuk” is represented by an Inuktitut word, which together create a wonderful overview of life in the Arctic.  Within the pages of this book you will see different types of Inuksuit, meet arctic animals, see words written in Inuktitut symbols, and more!  Now, back to the Iditarod…click on this link and you will find all kinds of great information about the Iditarod.  Now mush!