Hey, Kids! Which Book is YOUR Favorite?

All children in grades 3 to 6 are invited to participate in the ACPL Mock Newbery for Kids program -- to be held on Saturday, December 3, 2011, from 2:00-3:30 p.m in Children's Services at the Main Library.

So far, we have included the 4 titles pictured above on the Mock Newbery for Kids reading list --- with one more soon to come -- that we hope you'll read and then come to the library to talk about (snacks included).  We'll also learn a little about the Newbery Award, and then you'll get to cast your vote to help pick the winner of the 

2012 ACPL Kids' Mock Newbery Award!

Interested?  Click here to register!

Children's Choice Book Awards

The Children's Choice Book Award winners were announced on May 2, as a kick-off to last week's Children's Book Week. Over 500,000 votes were collected from children from all over the United States! Winners included...

Author of the Year
Rick Riordan, for The Lost Hero, Book 1 in the Heroes of Olympus series









Illustrator of the Year
David Wiesner, for Art and Max








For a complete list of winners and more information about the Children's Choice Awards, see the Children's Book Week website.

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary

A belated happy birthday wish goes out to children's author Beverly Cleary, who turned 95 on April 12 this year! Her wonderful stories have stood the test of time, remaining favorites through generations. Here's an article from the New York Times, singing Ms. Cleary's well-deserved praises.













I can remember my third grade teacher reading Ramona Quimby to our class, and favorites of my own children were Ralph S. Mouse and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. What are your favorite Beverly Cleary titles?

ACPL Author Fair -- Saturday, April 23

This Saturday, the library is providing a wonderful opportunity.

It's the first annual Author's Fair! Visit the downtown library on Saturday, April 23, to chat with local authors, including children's authors
Helen Frost and Lynn Rowe Reed,
and attend presentations and author readings.

Click here for more information.

Peter Pan

From now through April 10, the Foellinger-Friemann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne has a special Peter Pan exhibit on display in the Showcase Garden.

Brush up on your knowledge of this classic story by visiting the library and picking up a copy of the
original story written by J. M. Barrie ...









... or one of the many adaptations that have been created over the years, such as this one by pop-up illustrator Robert Sabuda.










Happy Reading!

Explore Narnia Today!

Families with children ages 6 - 11 are invited to Children's Services in the downtown library to learn about the classic series written by C. S. Lewis...
The Chronicles of Narnia.

We'll have...

• a trivia game
• crafts
• books to check out
  
• and door prizes!

It's all happening TODAY, December 18, from 2 - 3:00 p.m.

Percy Jackson Fans -- Take Note!

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, has recently published

The Lost Hero,

the first title in his newest series,
Heroes of Olympus.

Place your copy on hold today!

Happy Halloween!

We hope that you have a great Halloween!

Yesterday, Junie B. Jones & Pippi Longstocking spent some time reading at the Reading Tower in Children's Services.

Note: Pippi can't really read. She doesn't have time with all of the thing finding that she has to do to learn about reading and plutification. Junie B. is in first grade now and is a big important reader and that is all.

Rainbow Magic fairies have it all...

The Rainbow Magic series has something for every child who loves fairies and...

• dancing? the Dance Fairies!
• weather? the Weather Fairies!
• parties? the Party Fairies!
• sports? the Sports Fairies!
• music? the Music Fairies!
• flowers? the Petal Fairies!
• gems? the Jewel Fairies!
• days of the week? the Fun Day Fairies!

Visit the Rainbow Magic website and play games and create your own fairy!

This is a fun series and your child will have a hard time finishing the complete set! Although, we have a certain patron, by the name of Helena, who rifles through them pretty quickly!

He gives me goosebumps....

Today is the birthday of prolific author, R. L. Stine. He is the author of the Goosebumps series, the Rotten School series and Goosebumps Horrorland series. In total, he has written more than 300 books! Visit his website for fun, creepy games and you can even listen to a story!
His favorite book that he has written is The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. Stop by your library and check it out!
Believe it or not, R. L. Stine is also in the 2003 Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 best-selling children's book series author...
Happy birthday, Mr. Stine! Thanks for the goosebumps!

39 Clues Scavenger Hunt !

Come to the downtown library on Saturday and take part in our 39 Clues Scavenger Hunt! Find out about this popular chapter book series, and then use your best clue-solving skills to figure out our library clues. We'll have some give-aways, and of course books to check out.

It's all happening this Saturday, September 25, at 2:00 p.m.

The Newest Title in the Clementine Series!

Fans of the Clementine books by Sara Pennypacker will be tickled to know that the newest title in the series is now available!

In Clementine, Friend of the Week, Clementine prepares for the special privelege of being the third grade Friend of the Week, in classic Clementine style.

Amy Hodgepodge Has Arrived!

Amy Hodgepodge is a new series by Kevin and Kim Wayans. The series features a fourth grade girl, formerly homeschooled, who is attending a "real" school for the first time! Read along as she learns to navigate friendships, teachers and life in general. You will meet her friends, her twin brother and Giggles, her dog! Amy is endearing and adorable ~ stop in your library today and get started on book one in this series!

If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid...

Try the Popularity Papers. Ignatow's hilarious scrapbook-style debut novel follows two best friends on their quest for popularity in junior high. As the girls write their own story, their friendship evolves in touching and relatable ways.The story is told in a notebook format, this heavily illustrated title shows their research in dramatic handwritten entries and colorful, funny drawings.

2010 Children's Choice Book Award Winners

On Wednesday, May 12th, the winners of the
2010 Children's Choice Book Award Winners
were announced, as part of
Children's Book Week.

They are:

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Lulu and the Big Chick
by Paulette Bogan

3rd - 4th Grade
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
by Jarrett Krosoczka

5th - 6th Grade
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
by Rachel Renee Russell

Teen Choice
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins

Author of the Year
James Patterson, for Max

Illustrator of the Year
Peter Brown, for The Curious Garden

Congratulations to the winners!

New Series for Children

When Luke Watson turns into a werewolf for the third time, the Government Housing of Unusual Lifeforms (G.H.O.U.L.) moves his family to Scream Street a frightful community of vampires, zombies, witches, and sundry undead. Though Luke quickly makes friends, he vows to find a way to take his terrified parents home. The secret to opening the exit, he learns, is collecting six powerful relics the founding fathers left behind. But with a sinister landlord determined to thwart Luke at every turn, will he even get past the first hurdle alive?

Cosmic!

I just finished reading this book, and I can't wait to tell you about it!

Imagine being 12 years old, but looking more like you're 30...and...imagine all the stuff you could do! ...like, pretend to be a teacher on the first day of school! ...or...talk a car salesman into letting you test drive a new sports car! Liam, the main character in Cosmic, does just that...and more!

Liam pretends to be his friend Florida's dad, and together they enter a contest...little do they know that the contest will end up taking them all the way to China, and then....into space! Liam, who is a self-proclaimed video game expert and in the "Gifted and Talented" group in school, thinks he knows all there is about being a grown-up, but finds out there's more to it than he realized...

To find out what happens, read Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

At the end of the book, you'll find several links to some fun websites, like
NASA's Space Your Face
and
NASA Kids' Club .

Happy reading!

Newbery Medal Winners - Ranked!

A group of interested and opinionated individuals just met to place Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me on the Newbery Medal Winners - Ranked! list. With our bellies full of good food, we discussed various titles and their merits (or lack thereof). Although many of us find the placing of some titles outrageous (The Witch of Blackbird Pond does NOT belong at #45), we easily settled on #10 for When You Reach Me. The newest addition to the Newbery canon stood out for each of us as a title that belongs near the top, in fact on the first page of the ranking list. Though really, so does Island of the Blue Dolphins - oops sorry did I actually type that?? If you have an opinion about the newest addition to the list, or any other title for that matter, share it here.

Keep your eyes peeled for the updated list. It will be here soon. To see the titles being discussed for Newbery 2011, check out our Mock Newbery blog.

New Series ~ Hiro's Quest

Eleven-year-old Hiro had heard stories about Fujita. The evil ninja was said to have mysterious powers. And no ninja who had faced him had lived to talk about it. And now his shadow loomed over Hiro's remote mountain village. Fujita sought an ancient amulet that would bring him one step closer to absolute power over the Kenkoro kingdom. Hiro and the rest of the Hinata family had to find the amulet first. But Hiro still had much to learn, and many ninja skills to master. How could a young ninja-in-training help defeat the most evil ninja in the kingdom?

The 39 Clues: Book 7: The Viper's Nest

Fans of this popular series won't want to miss the newest book:
The Viper's Nest
by Peter Lerangis

The 39 Clues series, written by a variety of authors, features Dan and Amy Cahill, siblings who are on a quest around the world to find the answers to 39 clues that reveal secrets about their family's history. In previous adventures, they have investigated clues left by Cahill ancestors Ben Frankin and Mozart. In this latest book, they travel to the country of South Africa, where they find an ancient drawing of a famous tribal king...