Sad Day

Today is a sorrowful day.  It is the day I have to announce the end of the Mother/Daughter Book Clubs.  I've had a lot of fun with the club and I'm sad to see it go, but due to lack of interest and some other concerns, it will be ending. 

Thank you to everyone who participated, and made this a great experience.  I loved getting to know both the moms and the girls and I hope you will visit me at the Washington Branch.

There is a ray of sunshine, though.  There is the possibility of the club starting again at a later date. I'll let you know if that happens. 


Thanks again for everything.


Gloria

Attention!

We have a meeting time!  The meeting will be at 5:00 pm August 8 (next Wednesday) at the Washington Branch.  The address for that branch is 220 North 300 East, Washington, Utah.  I know this is kind of short notice, but I hope you will be able to make it.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Gloria

Changes!

I just looked at the blog and realized how long it's been since I've posted anything.  I really hope you will forgive me for not keeping this blog as current as usual.  With Summer Reading, the flood and *surprise*  my new promotion to Children's Librarian at the Washington City Branch (this just happened today) it's been pretty crazy lately. 

This is to let you know the Mother Daughter Book Club will be moving with me to the Washington City Library.  We will also have to start a little earlier because the Washington Branch closes earlier than the St. George Branch.  I will let you know exactly what time when I am able to finalize some things.  Plan for about 5:00 or 6:00 starting time.  We will discuss a more permanent meeting time when we see each other again, so ask any of your interested friends what time they'd like to meet!

Just a reminder, the current book is the The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleishman.  I hope you enjoy it and I will see you at the Washington Branch!

Meeting Musings

I know this is a little late.  The summer reading program has kept all of us at the library quite a bit busier than usual.  I talked to Mrs. Mann and she said that the last meeting was really fun.  She enjoyed meeting all of you and making the dream catchers.  She also said she now knows why I like the Mother Daughter Book Clubs so much.  I'm really sad I missed out on our last meeting.

On that note, I'm really glad I won't miss the next one.  Our book is Kit Saves The Day.

 

Kit meets a young hobo who shares his exciting life on the road. When Kit decides to pursue some adventures of her own, her curiosity gets her into trouble!




The next meeting will be on July 11, 2012.  I hope to see you there!

Creative Crafting: The Dream Stealer

I'm going on holiday!!  Unfortunately, it worked out to be the same week as our next meeting.  Mrs. Mann jumped at the chance to step in for me and be there for the meeting.  She's already put the book on hold to read it so you will be able to talk about the book.

For the craft, Mrs. Mann is going to show you how to make dream catchers.  Here's a picture to give you an idea of what you will be making.

This picture taken from http://www.naturallyeducational.com/2010/09/dreamcatcher-childrens-craft/

The meeting is on June 13 at 7:00 pm.  It's going to be fantastic, so please come!


Gloria

Book Blurb: The Dream Stealer

There is a bandit who comes in the night. He does not want pretty silver earrings or dangly gold necklaces, not diamonds or rubies.
What does he want?
Listen, I will tell you.
He wants dreams.
He is supposed to take only nightmares—the dreams of monsters and phantoms—but he's grown scared. He's been taking the good dreams instead.
But one night he steals from the wrong girl.
                                                      Susana is clever. She is wily. She is brave.
                                                      And she wants her dream back.
 

About The Author

Sid Fleischman wrote more than sixty books for children, adults, and magicians. Among his many awards was the Newbery Medal for his novel The Whipping Boy. The author described his wasted youth as a magician and newspaperman in his autobiography The Abracadabra Kid. His other titles include The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, a novel, and three biographies, Sir Charlie: Chaplin, The Funniest Man in the World; The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West; and Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini.

Taken from http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780061755637

For more information about the author please visit http://sidfleischman.com/biography.html

Meeting Musings: Tuesdays at the Castle

Sorry this post is almost a week late.  It's almost time for the next one. 

The small notebooks we made at the meeting were a big hit, I think.  There were some pretty creative girls who made some great books.  We were so interested in the notebooks that we didn't talk much about Tuesdays At The Castle.  We did get a little talk in and the general consensus was that it's a wonderful book.  The main character, Princess Celie, is pretty amazing.  I think I like Castle Glower the best, though.  It has a great sense of humor.  We liked the tricks the kids and castle played on the bad guys to try to get them to leave.  When I read it, I was laughing out loud.

If you had a hard time finishing the book, you'll be happy to hear the next one is a lot shorter.  It's called The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman.  It goes along with the Summer Reading theme which is "Dream Big, Read." 

The next meeting is on June 13, 2012 at 7:00 pm.  I'll see you there!


Gloria

Creative Crafting: Tuesdays at the Castle

If you are anything like me, you have been thoroughly enjoying Tuesdays at the Castle.  It's a great book with a great heroine, Celie.  I wanted to have a craft that associated with her or the castle.  (Castle Glower is pretty awesome, too.)    The activity I finally decided on has to do with both of them. 

In the book, one of Celie's favorite things to do is map the rooms of the castle.  To do this, she needs a notebook.  I thought it would be fun if we made our own notebooks.  We made these in the Sr. group about a month ago so here are a couple of examples from that meeting.

They are really easy to make and lots of fun to decorate.

I look forward to seeing you next week! 

Get Talking: Tuesdays at the Castle

I hope you have loved this book as much as I did.   I think it's absolutely wonderful.  Here are a few questions to start discussions about the book.

Castle Glower is an amazing castle that creates rooms and moves stairways.  What kind of room would you want it to create for you?

Who was your favorite character?  Why?  Who didn't you like?

After her parents disappear, Princess Celie refuses to believe they're dead.  What makes her think they're still alive? 

Have you ever believed something that everyone else thought was wrong?  If so, what did you do?

How does Princess Celie interact with her family?  Is it good or bad?  How does is compare with the way you see families interact in TV shows and other books?

Visitors from two of the neighboring kingdoms come for the funeral, but don't seem to want to leave.  Why?

Why doesn't Prince Rolf want to be crowned king?

When the royal family discovers the plot against Prince Rolf how do they fight back?  How does Castle Glower help?  What would you have done?

Did the book end the way you expected?  Is it how you wanted it to end?


Just a reminder the meeting is next week on the 9th of May!  I'll see you there!

Book Blurb: Tuesdays at the Castle

 

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic.

About the Author

The Official Story

Jessica Day George earned a BA in Humanities/Comparative Literature from Brigham Young University, where she enjoyed classes in Pottery and Old Norse, and dutifully forced herself to take Algebra and Biology. Originally from Idaho, she now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their young son, and a five pound Maltese named Pippin.

The Rest of the Story:

It's all about the books. Friends, family, school, "real jobs", they were just obstacles to be tackled so that I could return to my true love: books. All I have ever wanted in this world is to read and write books. My criteria for choosing a purse is that it must be able to fit a paperback book inside. I took books on my honeymoon, and bought more while we were there. I picked my major because it looked like I would get to read a lot of books, and also I thought it would provide me with interesting background information for my own books (which it did). From the time I was twelve on up, I told people that I wanted to be a writer. When they said, "So, you’ll teach and then maybe try to write a book?" I would just shake my head. No, I was a writer, and that was all I wanted to do. So over the years until I got published, I lived in Idaho, in New Jersey and Delaware, and in Utah, because it didn’t matter. I could read and write anywhere. I’ve worked at a wedding invitation factory (Bet you didn’t know they made them in big scary factories, did you?), at a video store (back at the birth of DVD), at libraries and bookstores, and even been an office lady at a school while I waited to get published. I knew that I would be published eventually, because . . . well, I just had to be.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I have other interests. I took eight years of German, four of Norwegian, and even studied Old Norse so that I could read the great Viking sagas in the original language. I knit like a maniac: hats, scarves, sweaters, dog sweaters, socks, felted purses, you name it. I play the piano and viola, love to travel and to watch movies.
But mostly, it's about the books.



Book and author information taken from http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/default.aspx