The Library of Doom series

Could not love this more, so much fun. A new graphic novel series for the younger set by Michael Dahl.

The books have a dark intense look sure to thrill kids with a yen for fearsome adventure but of course what charms me is the series hero being the mysterious "Librarian" and of course, everything book related. Sweet! Who wouldn't be crazy for a series where one of the books is called Escape from Pop-Up Prison? This stuff is as wonderful as my Nancy Pearl doll. Other reviews? My fourth grader says that the "Librarian" is cool but that I am not even though I am a librarian. So harsh. Little does he know what lurks in my closet....Bwwaaahaaahahahaha! Yeah, maybe he's right. But this series is way cool.

Well done!

Always happy for good news about librarians, I am especially pleased to add this bit of news
about my bff Joan's rockin' cousin, Dawn, who is doing the library world proud. Kudos Dawn! And a shout out, of course, to the greatly missed influence, Frances.

Discovery of the day

Googled a nursery rhyme for Scarecrows and I came upon this which was a big hit at storytime - I didn't have the cd music for it, so we just sang it with movements and threw in fun scary faces at the end to chase off those wily blackbirds (Jack and Jill on the hill, of course).
I hadn't realized that so many nursery rhymes and songs and felt board activities and the lot were available on Youtube - what a great resource! Especially for those songs in a lot of the nursery rhyme books that just list the tune as "traditional". I was raised on Mitch Miller, Montovani, the Ray Coniff singers and hymns so "traditional" means very little to me unless they are singing this. Like those old aerobics class I took way back when and the instructor would shout out "cha cha" and "rumba" and people would run me over doing these mysterious movements. Where do people learn to rumba anyway? Well, now I know :)

Charlotte Rabbit

Lagomorphs on the brain lately. And CR is my colleague during Nursery Rhyme Times...

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier, Vt

Last but hardly least of the library visits of the summer - the children's room - where I chatted with a very fun librarian. They have a lot going on, lots of well thought out, creative activities including a brilliant one where children brought in their toys for a toys-only sleepover - the enterprising librarians photographed the stuffed animals and dolls enjoying a pizza supper, games and checkers, and other such library mayhem, and the delighted kids were able to view the photos on the library website (although I'm sure the toys filled them in as well). http://www.kellogghubbard.org/cl.html A great library in a great city - Montpelier, besides being the capital of fair Vermont, is also the home of Bear Pond Books, one of my favorite bookstores, just a whistle down from the Coffee Corner Diner which is home to the world's best chocolate chip pancakes (oh, yes) and corned beef hash my husband swoons over.

Just in time for Halloween

I came across this terrific craft book that includes quite a number of great ideas for Halloween - from face paint, to flickering spooky flashlights, to

cool masks from paper plates - all easy to make (and cheap, too). The book is by DK (Dorling Kindersley to the uninitiated) who are known for their great photographs in their books - and these do not disappoint - I think I might even be able to master the knitting instructions (and I am usually all thumbs).

A lot of crafts for other holidays as well as many things children could make for gifts or just for fun. Also a lot of items librarians and teachers could use for craft time :)

Have fun making cool stuff.

If Lord Franklin was a'stampin'

Stayed up late the other night with some music from Kate Rusby playing while I noodled around with these fun stamps called A B Seas Stamps. I got mine in Burlington, Vt, but you can apparently get yours at the Cricket magazine website - I think it's http://www.cricketmag.com/ but if unsure just click on the image and it will come up (as I swiped the image from their site). Anyhoo - free advert since you cannot find better mags for kids than from the Cricket people (Spider, etc.) which I would say even if I hadn't stolen their photo.