Review – Baby Love

Photography, quotes, poems and babies…!!  What a lovely coffee-table book this turned out to be.

Baby Love: An Affectionate Miscellany

Filled with precious cherubs captured in cute settings and with gorgeous light, Baby love : an affectionate miscellany by Rachael Hale is full of inspiration for new parents and grandparents alike.

Sure does make you want to get your own camera out and try your luck making photos like these of your special little one.  ABC’s Good Morning America recently featured Rachael Hale and Baby Love where Hale offered tips for doing just that!

Well-known for her bestselling animal portraits, Hale’s previous books — which include 101 Salivations, 101 Cataclysms, It’s a Zoo Out There, Smitten, Snog, and Dogs: 101 Adorable Breeds, have sold millions of copies in 11 languages. She has been designated as a Master of Photography at the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography Awards

Baby love : an affectionate miscellany by Rachael Hale is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

McNet Librarians Get Physical

McNet Librarians have once again out-performed themselves! This talented and fun-loving team were stars of the show during the Kentucky Library Association annual meeting’s “Out of the Stacks and Onto the Stage IV” KLA Talent Show.

A recent Los Angeles Times story reported on a Duke study that finds reading may be new way for tweens to slim down.  But leave it to these creative librarians to demonstrate working out with an encyclopedia and a computer mouse!

Representing the Paducah and McCracken County consortium of public, school and special libraries, the McNet Librarians getting physical are:

• Terri Kirk, Reidland High School
• Jennifer Wetzel, Hendron – Lone Oak Elementary
• Sheila Swab, Lone Oak Middle School
• Lisa Hughes, Heath High School
• Bobbie Wrinkle, McCracken County Public Library
• Brenda Metzger, Lone Oak High School
• Lynda Hiles, Graves County High School

The talent show was sponsored by the Special Libraries Section, KLA Recruitment, Mentoring and Diversity Committee, the African American Librarian & Library Employees Round Table, and KLDivERS of Kentucky Library Association.

Review – The Comeback Season

Once again the Chicago Cubs have broken hearts and seemingly handed a winning season away to the wind.  Oh, the disappointment; oh, the hurt; oh, the pain.  For what all true fans know is more than just a game.

So very much like the game of life as related by Jennifer E. Smith in her first novel, The Comeback Season.

The Comeback Season author Jennifer E. Smith is interviewed on The First Book.

The story of Ryan and Nick as they struggle to learn about life and loss is forever aligned when they both skip school to catch the Cubbies game.  Not just any game but the magical opening day in April at Wrigley Field.  Their trials, much like those of the historical Cubs baseball story, hold tight to bargains, curses, and hope.

But what if the one you loved wasn’t around to disappoint you any more?  What if Ryan didn’t have the bargains to blame?  What if Nick didn’t believe in some curses?  What if we, what if they, had no hope, no reason to remember, no way to hold on?

As the current Cubs hopeful season ends on a strike three and they’re out, The Comeback Season proves to us that the game of life is all about how you play it.  There is always next year, hopefully.

Ryan and Nick get my most valuable player award for knowing that there may not always be a “next year”.  They would rather cherish the deja vu than to risk never loving the magic that comes from both baseball and life.

They hope; they learn; they love for their Cubs and themselves. For just a game.  The game of life they play most beautifully.

The Comeback Season, published in 2008 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, has been nominated as a YALSA 2009 Best Book for Young Adults.

Corduroy Jump Starts Read for the Record

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record

Help bring national attention to the importance of early childhood education by making Jumpstart’s Read for the Record the largest shared reading experience ever.  You can make a difference just by reading with one child in your life.

Jumpstart is asking adults and children to support early education opportunities for all children by reading the official campaign book, Corduroy, together on October 2, 2008 to break the record for the largest shared reading experience ever, which was set by 258,000 people on September 20, 2007 during the 2nd year of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Learn more about the value of quality early education and acquire new tips on how to make the most of reading time with a young child.

Reading Resources – a variety of great early reading tools and links for parents and professionals.

Best Books – Jumpstart’s list of favorite books to spark a conversation with a young reader!

Corduroy Lesson Plan – Courtesy of Pearson and the Pearson Foundation

Review – Sweetsmoke by David Fuller

Do you delve into murder mysteries?  Then I highly suspect you will devour Sweetsmoke.

Do you desire love stories?  Sweetsmoke should thoroughly satisfy your cravings.

Do you revere historical fiction?  Your journey though Sweetsmoke is sure to be enlightening.

Screenwriter David Fuller’s first novel, Sweetsmoke, combines all three of those genres by brilliantly entwining intrigue, romance and fact.

Sweetsmoke by David Fuller

We navigate the story by following the personal agenda of Cassius, enslaved but favored by his Virginia master Hoke.  His soulful narrative makes twists and turns much more resembling the undercover paths of the Underground Railroad than the long straight tracks that the troop trains travel of the time.

Fuller carries us along with a story of courage, faith and devotion that honors the lives of slaves most often left unrecorded.   Sweetsmoke provides us with a safe passage through the uncertainty doubt and fear.

Newly released by Hyperion, you can may read more reviews and ratings for Sweetsmoke on LibraryThing or find it in a library near you.

Review – Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Please allow me to repeat myself:

“I want to know the answers to questions about ancient legends and mythical monsters, impossible fairytales and absolute truths, magic and ghost stories.

I cannot wait for Bella to help me figure those out.“

And most fantastically did Breaking Dawn deliver exactly all of that…!!

The above quote is from New Moon and was used in my review of Stephenie Meyer’s second book in the Twilight Saga. So, let’s see… did I get my answers… did I figure it out… with Bella’s help…??

Did we find answers to questions about:

Ancient Legends ? CHECK

Mythical Monsters ? CHECK

Impossible Fairytales ? CHECK

Absolute Truths ? CHECK

Magic ? CHECK

Ghost Stories ? CHECK

Well, I was so satisfied with all those answers. But also, in that review, I wondered:

With love this strong, how do you live with difficult choices? What kinds of love are the most sustaining? Can you really go home again?

Breaking Dawn helped me realize those answers as well. You sometimes get lucky with difficult choices if you are determined to make those multiples of those choices work. Sustaining love comes in so many different forms and yes… you can go (or stay at) home again.

And finally, after reading New Moon, I had noted that I loved the contrasts of hot versus cold, dark versus light, and puberty versus maturity. How abundantly all those contrasts were continued in Breaking Dawn!

Thank you Stephenie Meyer for the most happily completed book series that I have ever read. After Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse you left me desperately wanting more. I spent so much time trying to figure out what might happen next and I was so seriously wrong with my predictions.

But with the conclusion of Breaking Dawn you truly happily-ever-aftered Bella, Edward and Jacob for me and that, my dear author, left me totally satisfied and so very very happy.

Life is Full of Choices

Sometimes you really feel like something you have been involved in made a difference. And thankfully, sometimes there is someone to contribute to making that involvement possible. Thank you, thank you so very much, Oprah.

Today our library completed the three-part reading and discussion series called the “Great Stories CLUB.” The McCracken County Public Library and McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center were selected as one of 173 partnering organizations nationwide to receive a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) to host this series, developed by the ALA Public Programs Office (PPO) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Funding was provided for this program by Oprah’s Angel Network.

The Great Stories CLUB is a reading and discussion program that targets underserved, troubled teen populations. The program reaches teens through books that are relevant to their lives, inviting them to read and keep the books, and encourages them to consider and discuss each title with a group of their peers. It seeks to show that reading can be a source of pleasure, a tool for self-exploration, and a meaningful way to connect to the wider world. Its ultimate goal is to inspire young adults who face difficult situations to take control of their lives by embracing the power of reading.

And believe you me, these students truly face difficult situations.

We met for four weeks, the first time to introduce the program and the following three weeks to discuss the books they had read. First was “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, next was “Hole in My Life” by Jack Gantos and finally we read “Tyrell” by Coe Booth.

Totally pumped and naturally high, each week I left the McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center after our Great Stories Club book discussion eager to share my experience with a story on the blog here.

However, within an hour after my return from the facility, I was drained. Melted like a puddle of butter. So weak-kneed that I could barely stumble along. Reliving my discussion experience with the 11 young men serving detention time for murder, rape and drug dealing took everything I had out of me.

What a worthwhile feeling, truly.

So instead of my own words, which I am sure you could barely comprehend or bear through my emotion, I will share their words instead.

Mrs. Mills, their teacher, had given them a writing assignment to work on before they read the books and had prompted them to write about a choice they themselves had made with these words:

Life is full of choices.
One choice can lead to another. Some can take us down the wrong path and others can lead us to glory. Our background leads us down a road that is chosen for us, but eventually we choose our own path.

Students at McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center read about choices

Here are the words they shared, edited only to remove personal identifying names or dates and typed as nearly exact as I could possibly make them.

When my auntie have caught on fire I was I the shower and I saw smoke and II got out rapped my self in a towel and ran to the kitchen and saw my uncle with the sink sprayer trying to put the fire out the fire only got bigger so we called 911 and ran out side what I forgot was that it was winter and it was snow outside

***

One choice I wish I had not did was going arrest in get sent to mccracken

***

I made the choice to be immature and mess with a gun, and the outcome resulted in my killing one of my best friends.

***

Protecting my little Brother After I was drinking.

***

I was at the store and I had to choose a Snicker or a Hershy and I chose the Snicker and loved them every since

***

My Time Is when one Time I had to make a choice To go To Church and Try To Do what god wanted Me To Do But I Failed and now I am using god to Help me make Decisions Because I made a couple mistakes In my Life But I never gave up on god To Help me Through them.

***

A decision I had made in my life was to let my old friend alone. She is also my ex which I’ve been with for nearly two years. Things started to straighten up now but I still care for her in a way.

***

I got in a lot of trouble with the court system and I chose to go to a treatment Phacility on my own to get better.

***

My family was going through serious problems like different finances and my family needed money at that time real bad so we could eat and have decent clothes and not get kicked out the house because of not paying for the gas, light, water and rent. At that time my mom didn’t have a job because she was going through stress at court because of my brother and his behavior in life. So she lost him for a short period of time to a boy’s group home. We stayed in a house that barely had light, water, no gas in the winter and not enough food for all 5 of my momma’s kids including herself.

So I made a choice. A decision. A big heartbraking risk that I knew would hurt my momma because of her love for a child and I knew the possibilities that would occur on the streets and in the courtroom.

My “decision” at that time could of lead to death, Years of being incarcerated and heart broke family.

My “decision” at that time to secretely help my momma and brother and sister was me selling work “crack.”

My momma didn’t know when I started. I started by stealing things from the streets such as jacking cars and every criminal thought you could think of as a 14 year old hood rat. I sold them and was thinking that this is not enough money. So I turned my eyes on the things that I saw on the corners, in the houses, out the cars of ever block. Making, buying, and selling work. I went to a person I knew that was real cool to me and was down for any thing that came his way. I knew that he had it, make it, and everything. So he made me his right hand, his Ace, his “goon.” I watched day by day, night by night, how he ran his operations with his clientele’s. And to my imagination it was the hard “life” that was scary, exciting, exhilarating, and more feeling’s I never thought exist. So I was anxious to “start”, anxious to get in the game. He told me he would put me on and that I didn’t know him. I was like alright. The rist thing he told me was that all money ain’t good money and it’s not what you do, but how you do it. I wasn’t thinking about that at the time, but little did I no, I found out what that mean after leaving 1,000$ dollars in my momma’s mailbox, room and car. She was swearing it was a difficult scary feeling to find money like this. But little did she know it was me. I had got my momma and family moved into a different good luxury house within A month and my brother ”was” on his way home and we had food! We had expensive clothes and everything. But that say “All money ain’t good money” bit me so hard when I sold a lot of drugs to an undercover. I froze up but the toughness knew what it was and I was just waiting for that check-point to come. Se this is the decision I made that lead me on a bad road that I chose. But eventually I was lucky to choose my own path to life by not ever touching “crack” let alone any drug in my life. Thanks to my savior who forgave me. I turned my life around.

Believe me these young men now know ALL about choices and consequences. As do I.

And I choose to do this again and again, every time ALA, YALSA and Oprah’s Angel Network can help me.

The Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion series, is a grant initiative of the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office (PPO) and Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA).

Breaking Dawn is Coming…

in 1 day, and some odd hours… depending on where you live and how you intend to get your copy of Stephenie Meyer’s new release in the Twilight Saga…!!

EMBARGOED - Do not open until August 2, 2008

Just so you know, these copies, delivered today, are under lock and key, protected by snarling, fanged librarians who are SO drooling to get their own claws on them.

Twilight Portrayal – The Legend Prevails

The Legend Prevails, originally uploaded by A. Denomay. © All rights reserved

If you are a fan of Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, then stop whatever it is that you are doing and click over to flickr to enjoy this photograph made by Alexander Denomay,

A sixteen year-old fashion and conceptual photographer from Ottawa, he has not read the books… yet…;) Thankfully he was encouraged by his makeup artist and lighting assistant, Clody, who came up with the idea for this photo shoot.

I love the feeling the photo conveys. Especially the contemplation and confusion that seems to be on the model Bella’s face.

Remember, as much as you love it, Alexander’s work is © All rights reserved and may not be copied or used in any way without permission.

Check it out and see what you think… and then also see his blogspot for a behind the scenes view of the photo shoot…!!

The Twilight Saga Continues

Team Jacob T-Shirt

Originally uploaded by littlebrownbooks

For Stephenie Meyer fans, midnight tonight signifies a most thrilling darkness with not a shred of gloom. The countdown is almost complete. Eclipse is about to be released!

As an original, self-appointed, charter member fangirl of the Twilight Saga, I am extremely thirsty for this third book in the series. First Twilight and then New Moon seduced me. Teaser quotes, such as this one, #11- “Does my being half naked bother you?”— Jacob Black, released at StephenieMeyer.com each day for the past month, have done much the same.

All of the fan sites are intensely desirous as well. Little, Brown Books has updated the Saga’s site for the occasion. A new official discussion group is open there. Who will be the first to post? Do you love Bella, Edward or Jacob the most?

Absolutely do not miss their Cullen Family Photo Album on flickr or the streaming audio playlists for Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse! There is even a trailer with code to copy and paste on your blog or MySpace.

I confess now to howling at the moon for Jacob. Although the thought of a bite from Edward sends sweet shivers deep down my spine, Jacob is my fervent fantasy! How about you – Vampire or Werewolf?