Used Children's Book Sale Feb 29/Mar 1

Richfield Library is hosting a Used Children's Book Sale to celebrate Dr. Seuss's Birthday. Our sale will be Friday, Feb 29 and Saturday, March 1, from 11 am to 5 pm in the Children's Library. Come and buy used children's books (much used and greatly loved) for 10 cents each! For more information call the library at 896-5169. The library is located at 83 E Central, Richfield UT.

Enter a Deaf Girl's World in "Hurt Go Happy"

(Grades 5-adult) -- The 2008 Schneider award winner "Hurt Go Happy" by Ginny Rorby (The Schneider Awards go to kid's books with a disabled protagonist) will win your heart. Joey is a girl who is now deaf; her mother desparately wants her to "act normal" and learn to lip read, but Joey is fascinated by the ease of communication of American Sign Language. By chance, Joey makes friends with a professor who has a chimpanzee who is learning sign language. As the plot deepens, you feel what it is like to lose your hearing, and what accomodations you can and cannot make. Joey becomes responsible for her chimpanzee friend, and must make a desperate journey to save the chimp from an animal testing facility. Strong story line, engaging characters, and an ethical dilemma will engage your interest. Robin recommends this book especially for those who want to understand how it feels to be deaf in a hearing world.

You Can't Give Up while in the White Darkness

Grades 5-adult -- An edge of your seat thriller,
The White Darkness is set in an Antarctica so white and cold and real you can feel the Ice creeping in on you as you read it...

Told you I couldn't put this book down in my last post; the writing carries you into a survival story that never loses its grip. No wonder it won the prestigious 2008 Michael L Printz Award for Teen Literature. (Robin)

"Stunning, gorgeously written, suspenseful, gripping, terrifying. I stayed up reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open. Then I picked it up over my breakfast cereal. The story begins with 14 year old Sym embarking on a trip to France from England with her mother and "Uncle" Victor. There is a very little bit of backdrop to this: We learn that Sym's father has recently died, the Uncle Victor is a friend of the family, and that Sym has a vivid inner imagination where she often withdraws to talk to Titus Oates, a famous (and dead) Arctic explorer who Sym idolizes. At the airport Sym's mother cannot find her passport, and Victor and Sym go ahead without her. After this the story develops quickly, and the reader is given a spark of unease and distrust about "genius" Uncle Victor. As it progresses, you see Sym begin to have questions, to doubt, and then not trust her own instincts. After all, how can she doubt her Uncle Victor, her surrogate father, the self-proclaimed genius, the man who loves her more than her own father? As this smart, shy 14 year old grapples with complex and bewildering adult behavior, not letting herself ask the questions that are begging to be asked, we the audience are shown the quick unraveling of a bizzare, pitiful and utterly insane plot by Uncle Victor to whisk Sym away to Antarctica where his life's work is awaiting to be realized. There is a horror in this survival story that is difficult to describe. Uncle Victor's mad obsession, when it is finally revealed to Sym, is so bizarre and absurd, that it would be laughable if its outcome wasn't so deadly. I felt cold for hours after I finished it. " Review thanks to Reepicheep from Amazon

Newberrry, Caldecott & other 2008 Awards for Children's Books

The 2008 Children's Book awards are out, and Richfield Library has purchased many of the books which have gotten awards. The Newberry winner and honor books, including Elijah of Buxton, The Wednesday Wars, Feathers, and the 2008 winner Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village are here. The 2008 Caldecott winner and honor books for illustrations have come, and you can check out The Invention of Hugo Cabaret, Knuffle Bunny Too, and First, the Egg. Don't forget the "Dr Seuss Awards" for First, The Egg and There is a Bird on Your Head. The Printz Award for teens is The White Darkness, a thriller by G. MCCaughrean. (I have only just pried myself away from White Darkness to update this blog and let me tell you, I'm going right back to it!)

The Schneider awards go to the best books featuring a disabled protagonist, and this year Kami and the Yaks has a wonderful hero in a deaf child in Mongolia. Hurt, Go Happy is a great teen book of a deaf girl who has only done lip reading who meets a scientist with a signing chimpanzee.

I'll be reviewing all these books in the weeks to come, but I can already recommend Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Curtis (author of that children's classic Bud, Not Buddy - a great book & read in the audio version by James Avery in on of the most marvelously read books on audio). Curtis has once again melded a black historical setting with a set of unforgettable characters. Not only will you learn about Buxton, the highly successful Canadian settlement carved out of the wilderness by ex-slaves who escaped from America. You'll also meet villians, buffoons, and quiet heroes, who can find the courage to do what they need to do to resist an inhumane system while helping their fellow man.

Is Llama Llama Mad at Mama?

Preschool-Grade 2 -- Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can’t leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he’s having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-read follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama. Ann Dewdney does it again in Llama Llama Mad at Mama!

Knuffle Bunny Too - Two Bunnies!

Kids Preschool-3rd grade -- Mo Willems is back with another adventure for Knuffle Bunny in this 2008 Caldecott Honor Book for kids 3-8 years old. Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny. Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove. After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny! Daddy comes to the rescue again as a midnight swap is arranged with the other bunny, the other little girl, and the other daddy. Needless to say, the daddies are not very happy. By the end of the story Trixie has her beloved bunny back, but she has also gained something new: her very first best friend. Knuffle Bunny, Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity is another heartfelt, hilarious picture book that children (and their parents) will love.