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

Meeting Musings: Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia

We had a great meeting on Wednesday.

The friendship bracelets were a big hit.  We learned how to do two of the patterns I brought examples of.  The first one we learned was the Chinese Ladder.  It's the one with the swirls of knots, second from the left.  The other one was the Cross Knot.  That's the black and white one on the far right. 

We had fun discussing the book, too.  We talked about how much we liked Bird.  She's such a unique character, and so real.  We also liked how her opinion of Mr. Moody changed through out the book as she got to know him better.  It's a really good book that I hope you'll pick up if you didn't get a chance to. 

Our next book is a really great one.  It's called Tuesdays At The Castle by Jessica Day George.  It's about a Princess, her family and their very unusual castle.  The meeting will be on May 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the library.  I hope to see you there!

Creative Crafting

It's crafting time!  I have to admit, I decided to cheat.  We are going to do the same craft for this book that we did for the last one.  I was trying to come up with a good craft, but the main theme for Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia is the same as the last book we read.  Friendship!  I really liked the friendship bracelets, but I wanted something new.  Then I realized that since we didn't have many people at the last meeting, (ok, no one was able to make it that week) no one would know the difference.  I have a picture of the samples I made.

These are the bracelet patterns I will be teaching you.  They are all fairly simple and most of them take only a short time to make.  And yes, that is my arm.

Get Talking: Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia

Here are a few questions to get you thinking about the book.  I hope you are enjoying it so far!

At the beginning of the book Bird says she doesn't have any friends. Why do you think this is?

Why does Bird want to be friends with Harlem? If there was someone you wanted to be friends with, what would you do to let them know you want to be friends?

Bird and Harlem both go through times when they want to give up on their goals. Is it okay to give up? When is it okay to give up?

The spelling bee has lots of cool prizes: a gold necklace, 3 speed bike, 4 free haircuts, 2 free guitar lessons, free dental exam, a grocery gift certificate, 1 month of karate lessons, 2 months of ballet lessons, a set of encyclopedias, a CD player and a clock radio that projects the time on the ceiling. What would you pick?

Why does Miss Delphine live in Freedom, Ga? Do you think she minds watching over her father? Why or why not?

For much of the book, Bird does not like Mr. Moody. Why doesn't she like him? What changes her mind?

Harlem and Bird become friends. What do they do to encourage each other?

 

Why did you think Harlem lost the spelling bee? How well do you perform under pressure? What do you do to prepare for a big game/recital/ competition?

 Have you ever had to do something for a friend when they were having a problem?

Sometimes we make assumptions about people, like when people assumed Harlem was mean and dumb. What kind of problems come from assuming things?

What happens after Harlem gets new glasses? Do you think he and Bird will stay friends? Why or why not?

Meeting Notes: Kenny and the Dragon

Well, we had our meeting this week, so we are moving on from Kenny and the Dragon to a new book.  It is Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O'Connor.  The next meeting is on April 11.  See you there!

Gloria

Get Talking: Kenny and the Dragon

Here are a couple of questions to get you thinking about the book.

1. How would you feel if your town wanted to “exterminate” your best friend?
What would you do to stop them?

2. If the king gave you specific orders you had to follow, but you did not agree
with them, would you still follow the orders? Why or why not?

3. The first paragraph on page 76 explains many details of such a beautiful day.
Write a paragraph about your perfect day the way the author did on page 76.

4. Place yourself in the show Kenny and his friends put on. What character
would you be and why?

5.  In the book, they talk about tying a dragon’s tail in a knot to make him helpless.
What other silly ways can you think of to make a dragon helpless?

Creative Crafting

As some of you know, we've been doing crafts at our meetings lately.  I'm going to start posting before hand what crafts we are going to be doing, so here is the craft for the March 14 meeting.  We are going to be making...

Friendship bracelets!  Kenny is such good friends with Graeme and George, I thought it would be fun to do an activity that reflects that.  The bracelets are easy to make and I will have the patterns for several types of bracelets available.  I will have all the materials available, but you can bring your own string or embroidery floss if you like.  I'll see you there!

Gloria