Books That Will Fright and Delight!

We have selected our favorite books for this creepy season! We hope you enjoy our suggestions.

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage. Kathy Dawson Books, 2014.

Image from Amazon

Miss Mo LoBeau may be the most charming southern detective I have encountered! This book is the sequel to Turnage's Three Times Lucky, Mo's introductory story and equally amazing book. Mo is one half of the Desperado Detective Agency, along with her pal Dale. Together they tackle a possibly haunted inn, the new kid in town, and all the other every day problems a sixth-grade has to deal with. This book is so spectacular, I could not put it down!

The Game of Shadows by Hervé Tullet.  Phaidon Press Limited, 2013.

Image from eslite.com

This time of year leads us to think about what may be hiding in the shadows. Tullet's board book takes an interesting look at light and dark, and invites readers to play with the pages! Grab a flashlight, shut the curtains, and investigate the wonderful cut-outs that adorn each page. You may find that some shadows are worth exploring.




Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara. Square Fish, 2008.

Image from Amazon.

When a young girl moves into the big house at the edge of town, she discovers a spooky problem: her house is haunted! She takes a witty and unexpected tactic to deal with her specters. Her approach will have younger readers delighted with this ghost story.




Guys Read: Thriller edited by Jon Scieszka. Walden Pond Press, 2011.

Image from Goodreads.

Jon Scieszka is the founder of Guys Read, a group that encourages boys to read. In the second book of the Guys Read library, Scieszka has compiled ten stories that will make you squirm and shriek until the very end. 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. HarperCollins, 2008.

Image from Goodreads.

This Newbery award winner begins with a murder, and ends with readers wanting more. Nobody Owens, or Bod for short, is orphaned and taken in by the inhabitants of the local graveyard. His new ghostly family teach him the way of the world, both now and as it was during their own lives. Bod has to try and make his way in the human world and leave the ghosts of his past behind. This book is now available as a graphic novel, as well.

 


If you are looking for some spooky series to read, we have you covered! Take your pick of over 70 Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine, the Creepover series by P.J. Night, or the Poison Apple books. Ask your librarian for more recommendations.


If you are looking for spooktacular ways to celebrate the season, we will be hosting several programs!

Trail Tale:
The Grafton-Midview Public Library and the Lorain County Metroparks are collaborating to bring you a new way to share reading and nature with your families!
All week long you can find pages from Click, Clack, Boo: A Tricky Treat by Doreen Cronin along the Beech-Maple Trail at Indian Hollow Reservation to read while you hike. Once you finish the hike, head to the Grafton-Midview Public Library and tell your librarians your favorite part of the story for a prize. Registration is not required.

If you would like to get extra wear out of your costumes, we will be hosting a Spooky Stroll to hike and read the Trail Tale at Indian Hollow from 1-2 PM on Saturday, October 25th.

The Great Pup-kin:
Join GMPL for a howlin' good time at this 4th annual event. Bring your dog in a costume for a chance to win doggone good prizes. Dog rescue groups promoting National Dog Adoption month. Adoptable dogs will be available. Meet your new best friend. Professional photographer Laura Bower will be on hand to take pictures during this event. Door Prizes, doggy goody bags and much more. Registration is required.

Monster Mash:
*Please note: we will not be having our regularly scheduled storytimes the week of Halloween. Join us on Wednesday, October 29th from 6:30-7:30 PM for a fun-filled night of stories, games, and creepy snacks. We'll monster mash at this Halloween bash. Coming in costumes would be wise, you don't want to be caught without a disguise! 

Celebrate Children's Book Week

Children's Book Week is May 12th - 18th this year! Children's Book Week, or CBW, has been held every year since 1919, making this the nation's longest-running literacy initiative. Children's Book Week is a project of Every Child a Reader and the Children's Book Council. You can find ideas for celebrating and more historical information on the Children's Book Week website.  

Children's Book Week Logo

 CBW is intended to expose our young readers to new stories and authors, and spread the joy that reading can bring. Getting children interested and invested in reading is just the thing your librarians at GMPL are passionate about! We have two special events this week just for that purpose, so check out our upcoming events page. 

Quote by Mason Cooley

 The Children's Book Council offers a great searching tool if you are looking for books to dig into this week. Your librarians have also created several suggested book lists for you by genre. You can scope out these lists on our website. We also have several sets of book club selections available for check-out so you can host your own book club with your friends! Ask your librarians today for titles and discussion guides. You can also find us on Goodreads to see what your librarians have been reading.

Vintage Book Week Poster, 1924

 In order to keep up with the fabulous books available for kids, we read a lot of blogs. We want to share some of our favorites with you today! Hopefully they will become your new favorites and give you ideas for CBW.

• Growing Book By Book is a great site that shares tips for helping new readers, book lists, and even ideas for a family dinner book club.
• No Time For Flash Cards has so many great ideas for themed reading lists, fun activities, and crafts searchable by age.
• The Fourth Musketeer features historical fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens.  Her great reviews will make kids want to learn about history if they don't already.
• Reading Confetti shares crafts by theme, a virtual book club, and a ton of ideas for book-related activities sorted alphabetically by title (which the librarian in me loves).
• Storytime Secrets is an amazing tool for us librarians, but it would also be useful for parents and educators.  You can search book reviews by reading level, topic, genre, or age level.      
• Literary Lunchbox is home to many book reviews from picture books up to YA novels.  
• Picture Books and Pirouettes matches picture books and movement in a way that is so fun!  If your wee readers need to get some wiggles out as they listen, this may be the site for you!

Artwork created by The Black Apple

 Whether you read a book a day, dress up like your favorite character, or have a book swap, we'd love to hear how you're celebrating Children's Book Week, 2014!

Love is in the air!

We are getting ready for Valentine's Day here at GMPL!  Amid the school parties and sugar highs, we wanted to give kids a few other reasons to love Valentine's Day. Kids can celebrate the power of friendship with these special, heart-warming books:

Up first is Friends: True stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships by Catherine Thimmesh (HMH Books for Young Readers)

This beautiful book shows odd pairs of animals displaying affection for each other.  Each picture is accompanied by a sweet little poem and a brief history of the animals shown. Your heart will grow three sizes just looking at these pictures.

"Friends can be different-

with stripes on their face;

or friends can have 

fingers

to touch and embrace...

but it doesn't matter- 

not in the end-

because deep where it counts,

one knows a true friend."

Thimmesh, C. (2011). Friends: The Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

 Another book that shows how far friends will go to be together is Eric Carle's latest, Friends (Philomel). 

Using his trademark collage art work, Carle lets the true beauty of friendship shine in this book.  After his friend moves away, the boy in our story takes action and journeys great lengths to be reunited with his friend.  After learning that the book was inspired by Carle's own relationship with his wife, I love it even more!

My favorite book of love and friendship has got to be Sandra Boynton's Your Personal Penguin (Workman Publishing).  

This super quirky board book brings a smile to my face every time I read it.  In case you thought this book couldn't get any sweeter, you were wrong.  Davy Jones, of The Monkees, used the words from this book to record this awesome song.

This Valentine's Day, nothing would be sweeter than sharing books you love with your little ones.

February is African American History Month

February is African American History Month in the United States, a celebration that first began as a special week in 1925 and was later expanded to an entire month of recognition of African American contributions in 1976. In the words of President Gerald R. Ford, African American History Month is a time for Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” Since 1976, each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations in February. Each year, a theme is chosen for this celebration. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History chooses the annual theme and the 2014 national theme is "Civil Rights in America." 

There is truly an abundance of great educational resources on the web for children to learn about African American History this month. 

Smithsonian Education Black History - A great teaching resource including a virtual history tour and various lessons focusing on important African American individuals throughout American history, such as Sojourner Truth and Ella Fitzgerald.

African American History Month - A government website that provides historical images, online exhibits and collections and teacher resources. Brought to you by various government institutions including The Library of Congress and The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Scholastic Culture and Change: Black History in America - Children can listen to jazz music, explore the Underground Railroad and meet famous African Americans with Scholastic's interactive timeline. 

Scholastic Cyberhunt: African Americans Who Changed Our Nation -  Click on the provided links to visit websites that will help you find the answers to the crossword puzzle while teaching you about important African Americans.

National Geographic Education: The Underground Railroad -  Experience the journey to freedom that many slaves braved in this interactive video that allows children to imagine themselves making important decisions as a slave in 1850s Maryland. 

PBS Kids African American World -  This great site PBS site, in association with National Public Radio (NPR), allows children to play games, make e-cards and read about African American children's interests in their "Kid Talk" section.

Multnomah County Public Library Homework Center: African American - You can find an extensive list of links and resources on the library's homework center site, including specific topics in African American history, such as civil rights and African colonization. 

Kids.gov History Resources - Search this government website just for kids for articles, games and videos about American history and important time periods and events, such as the Civil Rights Movement. 

Arty Factory African Masks- Get creative with your African American history! Learn about African masks on this fun site and then design your own mask.  

Common Sense Media: African American Experience Movies - Check out this list of great movies that span a variety of ages and topics addressing the African American experience for another way to learn this month. 

Of course, there are plenty of amazing books available for children and teens to read and learn about African American history. 

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards - These awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. 

2014 Coretta Scott King Award Winner

Reading Rockers: Favorite Books for Black History Month -  A list of themed books that address African American history as well as universal children's experiences. Suggested age levels provided. 

PBS : Books that Bring the Black Experience to Life - A list for parents to refer to which highlights stellar books for children of all ages. These titles help readers to appreciate black history and focus on both historical accounts of African American life as well as contemporary perspectives. 

A highlighted book for toddlers from the PBS booklist.

Take some time this month to stop into the library and pick up a book to share with your family about African American history. We have many books that will be on display in the Children's Department all month just waiting for you to take home! Be sure to visit some of the above websites and perhaps have a family movie night watching one of the great suggestions from Common Sense Media. You have an entire month ahead of you to share, learn and appreciate the contributions that African Americans have made to this country!