PAWS to Read at the Everett Public Library

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Leslie

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by Lisa Papp is a wonderful new picture book. Madeline Finn DOES NOT like to read. Not books. Not magazines. Not even the menu on the ice cream truck. But Madeline Finn DOES want a gold star from her teacher. Stars are for good readers. Stars are for understanding words. And saying them out loud. Fortunately, Madeline Finn meets Bonnie, a library dog. Reading out loud to Bonnie isn’t so bad. When Madeline Finn gets stuck, Bonnie doesn’t mind. Madeline Finn can pet her until she figures the word out. As it turns out, it’s fun to read when you’re not afraid of making mistakes. Bonnie teaches Madeline Finn that it’s okay to go slow. And to keep trying. Just like the sticker says.

Did you know that the Everett Public Library has just such a program? It’s called PAWS to Read and happens at the Evergreen Branch on Mondays from 3 to 5 PM and at the Main Library on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5:00 PM. This program runs through December 13th, 2016, but will start up again in January. We have wonderful dog and human volunteers who come to the library faithfully each week to help our children learn to read.

The dogs act as an incentive for the children to read more and to read better. Dogs are viewed as a non-threatening entity to promote reading, writing, and increased interaction and social skills in the child. As a result, children experience higher reading levels and higher levels of word recognition as well as word comprehension.

The dogs used in this program are especially calm and unobtrusive and settle in as part of the class. The children view the dogs as lovable and non-judgmental, which are the keys to success in this program. Children report that the dogs give them confidence because the dog does not make fun of them if they read slowly or mess up pronouncing a word. The dogs are great listeners and give the child a sense of comfort while reading. Children have been known to practice with their personal pets at home in preparation for the Paws to Read dogs.

Come on down to the library just like Madeline Finn and meet our PAWS to Read dogs. They’re awesome!

Quick Picks!

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Leslie

Did you know that we have a browsing section of books at the Everett Public Library that consists of newly published trade and mass market paperbacks? They are called “Quick Picks” and you can find great titles that are almost always available because no one can place holds on these books. Think of it: Brand new hot paperback titles, yours for the taking. This is your chance to get those hardbound bestsellers that are just out in paper. Here are a few that I have eyed lately.

Look closely at the photo above. I just spied a book which is on the current paperback non-fiction bestsellers list. Do you see it? S P Q R by Mary Beard is a history of Rome with passion and without technical jargon. It’s history written with common sense, a point of view and a healthy level of snark just to keep things interesting. So this is how perusing the Quick Picks works. You find books that you didn’t even know you needed!

I recently found a stunner of a book, Isabella the Warrior Queen. Kristin Downey takes the Spanish Queen out from behind the shadow of Ferdinand and illuminates her importance in the history of the world. As Queen, she took effective measures against the Muslim threat to western civilization, had the vision to support Columbus’ venture and set the stage for the Spanish/Hapsburg empire building in Europe and the Americas. Oh, yes. And she started the Inquisition. Oops! Nonetheless, this is an amazing story of a remarkable woman that reads like a novel. I highly recommend it!

There’s a great selection of non-fiction in the Quick Picks section. Julie, a co-worker, recommended Pogue’s Basics: Life; Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You). It’s a great ‘nibbler’ book and by that I mean you can open it up anywhere and read a bit. There’s useful information like how to remember how to set the utensils on your table: it’s alphabetical, fork, knife, spoon from the left. Also, fork and left both have four letters while knife, spoon and right have five letters. See? You gotta read this one!

Welcome to Subirdia by John M Marzluff is also available as a Quick Pick. There are always overflow crowds when this University of Washington professor lectures at EPL. Avoid the crowds and get this author all to yourself with this book about how birds have adapted and survived in urban areas. In this fascinating and optimistic work, Marzluff tells how our own actions affect the birds and animals that live in our cities and towns, and he provides ten specific strategies everyone can use to make human environments friendlier for our natural neighbors.

I just grabbed a copy of The Shell Collector which is a collection of exquisitely crafted short stories by the author of the acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning #1 New York Times bestseller All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr. This is a wonderful collection of longish short stories. The loose theme that weaves them together is water, the sea, love of nature, and finding your place in life, even if it means severing ties with those you love. Check it out if only to read the title story. And to gaze at the cover. Beautiful.

Did you miss Paula McLain’s Circling the Sun when it was popular as a hardbound book? Read the Quick Pick! This novel by Beryl Markham transports you to 1920’s Kenya and the world of Out of Africa. This is historical fiction that is beautifully written, historically accurate, and utterly engrossing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes strong female figures and/or has an interest in 20th century colonial Africa. This is one great read.

Who can resist the idea of a book barge on the Seine in Paris where the bookseller, Jean Perdu, uses his intuition to select just the right book to deal with whichever emotion – small or large – is afflicting you? Nina George writes a charming, wise and winsome novel in The Little Paris Bookshop. We go on a journey with Perdu to the South of France as he moves from being lost in grief to slowly reclaiming himself and his life. The further south we go, the warmer the weather and the more Perdu comes alive. Bookseller. Lost love. The wisdom of books. All combine to make an enchanting read. Don’t miss it.

So remember to check out our Quick Picks collections at both locations. Browse a selection of mystery, romance, and notable bestsellers. Don’t waste your money on books when you can borrow them from your library. Quick! Pick a book!

I’m Going on a Car Trip and I’m Taking…

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Leslie

Perhaps you know the car game that is similar to the one called “I’m Going on a Picnic” where the first person says something starting with the letter “A” and the second person says the thing starting with “A” and something starting with the letter “B”. On it goes in alphabetical order until someone forgets or you get to the last letter.

Well, we’re going on a twelve-hour car trip with two young girls, ages two and four, for our family vacation this labor day and I am reminded of that game as I set about packing and checking out items from the library in preparation for the long day’s drive. Here’s my alphabetical library packing list.

I’m going on a long drive and I’m taking an Audio Book. It needs to be one that the whole family will enjoy and so that means a kid’s story. I will probably end up with Hank the Cowdog. Hank thinks that he’s in charge of a ranch in Texas and has a lot of responsibilities that he tries to get his side kick Drover to do. Drover can’t because his leg hurts! We love listening to Hank’s adventures and you’re in luck if you do also, because there are lots of Hank books.

I’m going on a long drive and I’m taking a regular old Book. I’ll need it for reading by the pool in the bright sunlight. I’ll limit myself to one and take Shadows in the Vineyard. The subtitle is: the true story of the plot to poison the world’s greatest wine. I love reading about things that really have happened and Parisian detectives, small towns in France and wine. I’ll have to drink a glass while reading, non? Besides, I just love the feel of our quick pick books: soft and literary, or so it seems.

I’m driving twelve hours to Idaho and I’m taking lots of Children’s CD’s. We always take my favorite Cowboy Playground, but this time we hope to also take Laurie Berkner’s new one called Superhero. This much-anticipated album is her first of original titles since 2008. We are always enchanted by her imaginative and empowering lyrics. I’m excited to listen to this new CD because I’m sure there will be some great songs for storytime song and dance.

We’re driving to Idaho and taking some DVD’s from the library. We probably won’t have Hello, My Name is Doris yet because we’re down the hold list but will take London Has Fallen (which is one big chase scene) or Eddie the Eagle. It’s about an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself, even as an entire nation was counting him out. I want to watch this ‘delightfully feel-good’ movie while on vacation.

I’m driving to Idaho and I’m taking an Ebook. It’ll probably be an audio ebook as I know I’ll be driving the long stretches while everyone else is napping. I love that kind of straight driving without interruptions like tailgaters or traffic of any sort, but you need some distraction. How about something by Bill Bryson like A Walk in the Woods? It’s funny and the author reads it to you and it’s about a wild adventure. Besides, the book is always better than the movie, right?

So, I’ll spare you the whole alphabet and skip F G H I J K and go to L, because I’ll be sure to pack my Library Card. My husband once flew to Idaho with only his library card as identification (back in the day when we had photos on them). Long story, but the point is you need your card to check out ebooks and magazines or to access expensive databases that are free with your library card. Or to board a plane. Don’t leave home without it!

I’m driving to Idaho and I know the way but still want to take Maps. The Idaho Atlas & Gazetteer is awesome if you love topographical maps and don’t want to miss that beautiful lake that is just out of sight. (I’ll never forgive myself for the time we missed Hoover Dam because I was so anxious to get out of Las Vegas!) The atlas notes all of the historic sites, the unique natural features, good hiking, and national forests.

I’m going on vacation and I’m taking a Novel! I just found Invincible Summer by Alice Adams waiting for me on the hold shelf. Spanning two decades, Adams presents the interwoven lives of four friends as they leave college and embark on the unclear waters of adulthood. It has a nice, summery cover (which the previous borrower sprinkled with sand–a nice touch). I’ll give it a go and let you know what I think after the trip.

It’s such a big job packing for an adventure like this that I’d better gather these things now and finish this game when we’re on our way. Road trip!

Summer Reading, Having a Blast!

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Leslie

I’ve signed up for the Adult Summer Reading Program at the Everett Public Library and I’m super happy about my reading stack this summer. I’ve only read three so far, but I’m excited to get some time to read and also to share the whole pile with you. Here goes!

If you’re pining for the old days when you could ride your pony to the candy store, I recommend Elizabeth Lett’s book The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation. This book tells the dramatic odyssey of a horse called Snowman, saved from the slaughterhouse by a young Dutch farmer named Harry. Harry and Snowman went on to become America’s show-jumping champions, winning first prize in Madison Square Garden. Set in the mid-to late-1950s, this book also includes a fair amount of history of the horse. I dare you not to cry when Snowy dies.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky is the fictionalized account of the relationship of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his spunky, older American wife Fanny. It is beautifully written and meticulously researched. This novel met all of my criteria for good historical fiction: believable characters, atmospheric setting, and it leaves you wanting to know even more about the people, places, and events. Besides, the boat that they adventured in is right here on the waterfront in Everett.

Shadows in the Vineyard: the True Plot to Poison the World’s Greatest Wine is by Maximillien Potter. On the surface, it is a true story of an extortion plot against the world’s greatest vineyard, a tiny patch of land in Burgundy, France which grows the universally acclaimed best wine in the world. But it’s also the story of the family that grows the wine: the generations that have owned and run the vineyard, treating the vines like their own children, back to when they bought it after the French Revolution. Cheers!

A Hero of France: A Novel by Alan Furst is set in Paris,1941. Mathieu leads a small group of Resistance fighters. They help British airmen stranded in occupied France to make their way to Spain and then return to England. It’s dangerous work. Mathieu has to rely on his instincts to know who he can trust. He also needs to build a network of people he can rely on and be able to rapidly improvise when things don’t go according to plan (which is pretty much all the time). Meanwhile, a top German detective has arrived in Paris tasked with identifying and arresting members of the Resistance.

Seinfeldia: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything by Jennifer Armstrong is about nothing and everything. If you are a Seinfeld fan this is a MUST READ! It goes in depth on the genesis of Seinfeld from its main characters, the writers and the real-life situations that inspired most of the insane plot lines. It follows the show from it’s inception to finale, including the “reunion” on Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as the effect that Seinfeld has on pop culture even to this day.

I am listening to Here’s To Us by Elin Hildebrand and it looks like the perfect summer read, doesn’t it? Deacon Thorpe was a famous bad boy chef. When he dies at his Nantucket house, his agent calls his three ex-wives together to the house to say goodbye. The story is told by several characters and switches from the present to the past. Secrets are revealed and at the end the family learns to forgive. This is a quick read with some interesting characters.

I’m also listening to The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Ken Burns because we recently drove down to Rainier. Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite and the creation of the world’s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, to the most recent additions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundred sites and 84 million acres. There’s a lot of history and adventure here to be enjoyed. Going to Glacier? Grab these CD’s for the car ride.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven is by Chris Cleave, the best-selling author of Little Bee. The plot centers on three Londoners (Mary, Thomas and Alistair) and how the war orchestrates the choices they make. The story is loosely based on love letters between the author’s grandparents. The beauty of this book is not so much the plot, but how the story is told with beautiful prose, cleverly placed humor, and a quiet urgency. It would make a good book club book.

And lastly, a co-worker suggested Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart the gal who wrote The Drunken Botanist. It is a novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs. Apparently it’s “really good”, so good, in fact, that there will be a sequel titled Lady Cop Makes Trouble. I haven’t actually gotten my hands on this one, but will have to wait. Without a gun.

Well, gotta go. I hear a hammock calling my name. What’s on your reading list this summer? Come on down to the library and check out these and other great summer reads. See you there!

Read To, Make that Read WITH, a Child

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Leslie

Everyone knows that reading together with children is the single most important way to help them get ready to read, but I often hear care-givers reading to children in very boring, monotone voices as if they just want to get through the book quickly and be done with it. I may be preaching to the choir, but I would like to encourage a more enjoyable way for one on one sharing of books with young children.

It’s called dialogic reading. In dialogic reading, the adult helps the child become the teller of the story. The adult becomes the listener, the questioner, and the audience for the child. This is way more interesting for the child (and the adult). No one can learn to play the piano just by listening to someone else play. Likewise, no one can learn to read just by listening to someone else read. Children learn most from books when they are actively involved in the reading process.

In dialogic reading, the book is a conversation starter. Ask open-ended questions such as “What’s this?” or “Tell me about this.” Follow answers with another question or an expansion of what the child has said. For example, “Yes, that’s a frog. A big, green frog.” You can also make connections to past experiences or future events: “When did you?” “How do you feel when?” With dialogic reading, the book is a springboard to a conversation and greater learning. It’s not a race to get through the book. Maybe you’ll read just two pages. But, boy, the fun you’ll have!

There’s a whole mess of interactive books which make dialogic reading really easy. They have the questions and interaction built right into the story and these books are a good way to start your dialogic reading adventure. The idea of interactive books has been around a long time. Think of Pat the Bunny. The child is already actively patting that bunny, so have her tell you what color the bunny might be and what the bunny is doing.

Jan Thomas has written some great books for children and Can You Make a Scary Face? is awesome! Lady bug invites the reader to play a game of let’s pretend: what kind of face would you make if a tickly green bug were sitting on your nose? Or if it were–eek!–inside your shirt? Could you make a scary face to frighten it away? Or, even better, stand up and do the chicken dance? Yes? Then better get to it!

Tap the Magic Tree by Matheson is a wonderfully fun interactive picture book about the changing seasons. We had so much fun with this one in storytime because the children felt like they were doing magic. Tap the tree and a leaf grows! Tap again and there’s a blossom. Tap once more and there’s an apple. Again, and the autumn leaves fall. Give it a ~~try~~ tap.

Touch the Brightest Star is Matheson’s latest offering and is a beautifully illustrated interactive book. Lots of touching, tapping, and swiping changes the scene from dusk – through the night – and then to the new dawn. The text is simple and quiet, the illustrations lovely. There is a glossary in the back that explains all the things the reader found in the night sky as well as the night animals that appear. This is a great cuddle and read before bed book.

Herve Tullet has become a master of the interactive book. In Press Here, you press the dot on the cover and launch yourself into a journey where a book responds to your touch without any flaps, pop-ups or electronics. Follow the directions on each page, turn the page and see what happens next. This is a book that is simple in concept and beautifully executed in design. Readers will enjoy making the dots big by clapping their hands, moving the dots around the page by shaking the book, and turning off the lights by pushing the yellow dots hard. Tullet also wrote Mix it Up and Help! We Need a Title! and Let’s Play!

A great way to start dialogic reading is to use a wordless picture book. There are so many in the library that it’s hard to single any out, but we can help you find them.

Remember, dialogic reading is children and adults having a conversation about a book. Any book. It doesn’t have to be the ones on this list. Be relaxed about straying from the content of the book to interesting events in the child’s life. Children will enjoy dialogic reading more than traditional reading as long as you…

mix up prompts with straight reading
vary what you do from reading to reading
follow the child’s interest

Keep it light. Don’t push children with more prompts than they can handle happily. Keep it fun! Come on down to the children’s room and get some great picture books today.

If You Want Your Children to be Intelligent

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Leslie

Albert Einstein was asked once how we could make our children intelligent. His reply was both simple and wise. “If you want your children to be intelligent,” he said, “read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. The creative imagination is the essential element of a true scientist, and fairy tales are the childhood stimulus to this quality.” He understood the value of reading, and of imagining. If you want to give your children a world in which they will read, imagine, and understand, try some of these, my favorite fairy tales. I try to include one in each of my storytimes.

I love the wording of Paul Galdone’s translations and you’ll find four tales in The Nursery Classics. Paul Galdone created hundreds of books in his lifetime and many of his picture books quickly became accepted as the definitive version of traditional stories. Collected here are four of his most popular picture books: The Three Pigs, The Three Bears, The Little Red Hen, and Cat Goes Fiddle-i-fee.

Galdone also illustrated The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Three clever billy goats outwit a big ugly troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain to a grassy meadow. The troll meets his match and you’ll have everyone at your house trip tramping all about and reenacting this classic tale. It’s a favorite at our house and in storytime.

Try Chicken Little by Rebecca and Ed Emberley and you’ll not regret it! “Chicken Little was not the brightest chicken in the coop. He was very excitable and prone to foolishness. One day he was doing nothing, his usual pastime, when an acorn fell from the sky and hit him on the head. Bonk! EEP!” Chicken Little runs in a panic to his friends Henny Penny, Lucky Ducky, and Loosey Goosey, to tell them the sky is falling. Panic and adventure ensues.

Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger is a children’s classic which is now in a book and CD edition. This African folktale has it all: a monster, a hero, and music. “Abiyoyo” is an ancient lullaby of the Xhosa people of South Africa. Listen to Pete tell (and sing) this story, then read it yourself, and then let your child tell the story to you. That way, you tell the story you want to tell and make it your own. The result is a whole mess of fun!

Here’s a contemporary folktale from a marvelous writer: The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. Just what is the gruffalo? “He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.” But do all those things make him the scariest creature in the deep dark wood? One brave little mouse with a big imagination doesn’t think so! You’ll cheer for this clever little mouse as he fends off all of the animals who want to eat him. I read this one during my ‘I’m Not Scared!’ storytime.

I must include the books of local (Kirkland, Washington) librarian/storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald. She retells folktales from all over the world. The Boy From the Dragon Palace is a Japanese fable about a poor flower seller who gets a gift. Read this to children to reinforce the idea that it’s always good to say thank you.

I love reading Conejito, MacDonald’s folktale from Panama. Conjejito runs into a few obstacles when he goes to visit his Tia Monica on the high mountain. They all say “Oh Conejito! I think I have found my lunch!” but he and his Auntie outfox them all. You’ll be humming: I have a sweet old Auntie, my Tia Moncia. And when she goes out dancing, they all say ‘Ooo la la!’

Mabela the Clever is MacDonald’s retelling of an African story that will entertain you and your child. Mabela may be the smallest mouse in the village, but that doesn’t matter because her father has taught her to be clever. When the cat comes to invite everyone to join the secret cat society, the mice line up with Mabela in the lead. In the end, she leads them all to safety.

And, finally, please check out The Squeaky Door as retold by MacDonald. Grandma tucks little boy in tight. She turns out the light. And he’s not scared. No, not him! But when Grandma shuts the door, SQUUEEEEAK! Who helps little boy? This story is based on a Puerto Rican folk song ‘La Cama’ and is pure joy!

Check out these and many other fantastic folktales from your library so you and your children will be intelligent — just like Einstein. Also, look for the folktale edition of Everett Public Library’s Book Bites which is broadcast on television between shows, on Everett TV Channel 21. It It is also on the City of Everett You Tube Channel.

Make It a Book Christmas!

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Leslie

One of our family traditions when I was growing up was to give and receive books for Christmas. Christmas Eve meant opening that one gift of a book and reading it in new pajamas. I still have my cherished copies of Charlotte’s Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins and Stuart Little that I received as gifts. Giving books is an easy way to show the children in your life how much you value reading and books. Yet, you’ll want to find the perfect book of excellent quality for each child.

What makes a good gift book? I would say that it is a book that a child will love and read over and over again. So, of course, it depends upon the child, but here is a list of wildly popular titles that are so well loved that they are hard to keep on the library shelves.

If you have an elementary school aged person on your gift list, consider giving one of the many wonderful chapter books that have stood the test of time. I can recommend Charlotte’s Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Little House on the Prairie, Stuart Little, and Anne of Green Gables. You can’t go wrong with these excellent classic chapter books.

Newbery Award books like the ones I received as a child are a super idea but there are others I’d like to point out to you as wonderful gift ideas. If you have a very young child on your shopping list, consider a pop-up book. These delicate books cannot be checked out from the library, so it’s nice to own your very own copy.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book is a fabulous choice as a gift. This classic tale comes to life as the familiar caterpillar literally pops off the pages of the book–crawling along branches, munching through food, and in one of the most memorable climaxes ever, emerging vibrantly as a three-dimensional beautiful butterfly.

I checked out the book display at our local warehouse store and found some excellent titles at (of course) great prices. They have sets of Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter, and Nancy Drew books. You can also find the newest Dork Diary and Wimpy Kid books.

Non-fiction books are another excellent idea. I’d say that THE most popular book in the children’s department is the Guinness World Records and it’s already out for 2016! How did they do that? The world’s best-selling annual is back and bursting with thousands of amazing new records, never-before-seen images and mind-boggling trivia. It’s a fabulous ‘look-at’ book which could fill many hours or reading pleasure.

How about Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan? This is an illustrated book that tells of all the daring deeds of Perseus, Orpheus and the rest of the Greek heroes. It is told in the funny, irreverent style readers have come to expect from Percy and is enhanced with vibrant illustrations. This is a great introduction to Greek heroes that will appeal to every modern reader. Give a Greek history lesson as a gift!

Here’s another great idea: Give the hugely popular NEW illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling. This is the beloved first book of the Harry Potter series, now lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Jim Kay making this deluxe format a perfect gift as much for the child being introduced to the series as for the dedicated fan. You could make this gift your new holiday tradition.

You could also give books that enrich the things you do together with your child. Minecraft books are super popular and there’s a boxed series at that store (again) which would appeal to many. Or, give Let’s Knit! which is a DK book with fabulous photos and knitting instruction for the young child.

And finally, it’s a wonderful idea to build your own holiday book collection to share each year. Of course, there’s The Night Before Christmas, and the Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, but please consider Santa Calls by William Joyce. This beautifully illustrated Christmas story is my favorite! An exciting adventure to the North Pole to help out Santa turns into a poignant (but not saccharine) message about the importance of family. The pictures have a sort of 1940’s ‘Vision of the Future!’ feel, if that makes sense, and the final pages feature two letters that you can open and read to discover the secret behind why Santa called.

Give the gift of books this holiday season and you’ll also be fostering a love of reading in that young person’s life. Happy Holidays!

2015 Summer Reading Program!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Leslie

Be a super reader and find your hero in a book this summer!

Everett Public Library has launched the 2015 Summer Reading Program, offering kids and teens a way to have fun and be ready for school come fall. Studies have shown that students who don’t read in the summer come back to school with a lower reading level. If children read just twenty minutes a day, they will return to school at the same reading level. Our program has children reading thirty minutes each day so that they will return to school even better readers!

Pick up a reading log at either the Main Library (2702 Hoyt Avenue) or the Evergreen Branch (9512 Evergreen Way) from June 1 – July 31, 2015.

Start your reading on the first day of summer vacation. The library has special reading programs for pre-readers, readers and teens in which children can read or be read to, in order to earn a free book and other fun prizes.

Choose your path:

The Read with Me program is for children not yet able to read on their own.
The Children’s Program is for children who are reading on their own and are going into kindergarten through soon to be fifth graders. Select your reading goal: 24 hours of Reading (1 line = 30 Minutes) or 48 books (1 line = 1 book)
The Teen Program is for students going into grades six through twelve. Select your reading goal: 24 hours of Reading (1 line = 1 hour) or 24 books (1 line = 1 book)

After earning prizes, children and teens may continue reading and earning stickers to their heart’s content. Additional reading sheets are available for these readers, but not prizes.

We will have lots of copies of Wonder by Palacio (and other fantastic reads) available for all of the Everett School District students who are required to read it this summer.

Plan on participating in the fantastic array of programs planned for children and teens this summer: Paws to Read, Crafternoons, Storytimes and so much more!

A big THANK YOU to our main sponsor, Home Street Bank! If you have any questions about the 2015 Summer Reading Program, please call the Youth Services Department at 425-257-8030 for more information.

Best Blue Books

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Leslie

Occasionally a library patron will be searching for a book and can only remember that it has a certain colored cover. It’s usually hard to find books just by color, but here’s a group of blue books that you’ll surely want to find. They obviously all have blue covers, but they are also about some sort of human frailty. I’ve read almost all of them in the last month. Mostly, they’re all excellent!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is the one that everyone is talking about and you’ll need to cue up for this New York Times best seller. It is a brilliantly beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied St. Malo, France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. That sounds like it’s been written before, doesn’t it? Yet, this book was amazing because of wonderfully complex characters, brilliant writing, a fast-paced tempo, a romantic setting and an interesting plot. I highly recommend it!

Moonlight Sonata at the Mayo Clinic by Nora Gallagher was recommended by a co-worker (Thanks, Julie!). It is a poignant memoir about a woman who is healthy and happy and competent but who all of a sudden has vision problems which lead to a spiral into a new life she calls “Oz”: a life full of doctors, medical appointments, and feelings of powerlessness. She also gains a deeper understanding of human frailty and questions her religion and her God. I enjoyed this introspective book about facing disease.

The Story of Land and Sea is by Katy Simpson Smith who in elegant, lyrical prose, confronts the stark cruelty and hypocrisy of Revolutionary-era slavery, as well as the pain and grief suffered by the powerless and powerful alike. At first, this slim historical novel seems to be this simple story of a Revolutionary-era family, a former sailor whose wife died in childbirth and who is now taking his young daughter to sea in hopes of curing her yellow fever. The story quickly opens up, however, jumping back in time to his wife Helen’s youth on her father’s plantation. There we meet Moll, a slave given to Helen when both were children, and see how uneasily their relationship, a disturbing blend of friendship and mistress-servant obligation, unfolds as they grow up.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova was also recommended by Julie (I make a habit of asking folks if they’ve read anything good lately). This novel reads like a memoir because Genova has used her own background in Neuroscience at Harvard to create a realistic portrait of 50 year-old Alice Howland who is also a professor of Linguistics at Harvard. When Alice begins to forget things -even words- she must face the horrific possibility that she has early onset Alzheimer’s disease. This book is far from depressing as it clearly explains the testing, treatment options, and symptoms of the disease within the context of an absorbing family drama. It is a very readable primer for anyone touched by Alzheimer’s.

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman is the perennial New York Times bestseller soon to be a major motion picture from Spielberg that is “irresistible…seductive…with a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page” (O, The Oprah Magazine). After four years in the Great War, Tom Sherbourne takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on a remote Australian island. His young wife, Isabel, who has suffered two miscarriages and a still-birth, finds a boat washed ashore with a dead man and a live baby. Tom wants to report it straightaway, but Isabel convinces him that Lucy is a ‘gift from God.’ They return to the mainland when Lucy is two and learn that their decision has greatly impacted others. To quote Julie: “Oh my goodness! That was a great book!”

If you’ll humor me, I’ll add two more blue books to this list even though I haven’t read them yet: The Vacationers by Emma Straub and Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam. They’re on my to-be-read pile, they look like great novels and, hey, they’re blue! If you need help finding any of these blue books, just ask your friendly librarians (or Julie) at the Everett Public Library!

Top Ten Books That Have Stayed With Us

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Leslie

If you’re on Facebook and have friends who read, you may have come across the recent meme which asks you to list the top ten books that have influenced and stayed with you in some way. You’re not supposed to think hard about this or take too long to do it. Just list ten!

I thought that it would be interesting to conduct a (very unscientific) poll of the library staff to see which books have stayed with us as a whole. The results included a lot of children’s books and that might be because we tend to read these books at a very impressionable age. Favorite books from these years are more likely to lodge themselves deeply into our memories. It’s probable that the book that made you love reading was a children’s book because that’s when you first had an all-night, under-the-covers, flashlight-lit reading binge.

So what did I do with my responses? I tallied them up, of course, and rated them by their popularity. That, unfortunately, left many favorites by the wayside. I have included a quote from each book that got at least two votes. Here they are in all of their glory:

The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder was the clear winner with a total of four votes. “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” I read the whole series over and over again and it was pure pleasure to read about a young girl who was happy to have an orange at Christmas.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montegomery was a close second with three votes. Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her. This series would make an excellent family read-aloud. Anne: “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

The Hobbit, or, There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien was right up there with Anne and that’s no surprise. This book is a glorious account of a magnificent adventure, filled with suspense and seasoned with a quiet humor that is irresistible. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.

Rounding out the three vote category is (gasp!) an adult book: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. This is a humorous memoir of a Scottish vet who roamed the remote Yorkshire Dales treating every patient that came his way, from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen eye. “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” This is superb comfort reading.

There were many, many books with one vote, but these are the ones which got two votes (in alphabetical order):

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy isn’t one that I read as a child, but it was one I read in college and the one that taught me to love great literary works. It has been described as the best novel ever written and is considered flawless by many. Anna Karenina tells the story of the doomed love affair between the sensuous, rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, the author of Stuart Little, is a classic of children’s literature that is just about perfect. “Some Pig. Humble. Radiant.” These are the words in Charlotte’s web, high up in Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life when he was born the runt of his litter. E. B. White’s Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.

The Harry Potter series was THE most popular on Facebook, but just one of our books with two votes. We must be older. This is the book that ushered in an entire generation of readers, my children included. You know the plot: Harry is an orphan who lives a rather dismal life until he gets a message from an owl which summons him to a life of magic and quidditch at Hogwart’s School. “The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution.”

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was perhaps the first Sci-Fi book you read. Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs, travel to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space. You either love this or put it down like a hot potato. “So long, and thanks for all the fish.”

I read all of the Nancy Drew Series the summer before fourth grade and oh, how I loved Nancy and Ned! This series had an enormous impact on the popular imagination because it features a female main character who is smart and brave and rescues her boyfriend instead of the other way around. These books were so much better than the Hardy boys. “Nancy, every place you go, it seems as if mysteries just pile up one after another.”

Paddle-To-The-Sea is a 1942 Caldecott Honor Book written and illustrated by Holling Clancy Holling. At Lake Nipigon Canada, a native boy carves a wooden model of an Indian in a canoe and sets it free to travel the Great Lakes to the Atlantic ocean. The story follows the progress of the little wooden Indian on its journey through all five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, finally arriving at the Atlantic Ocean. “Put me back into the water for I am Paddle-to-the Sea.”

So, there you have it. Perhaps you can get some of these books into the hands of an impressionable reader, or would even like to re-read them yourself. I can’t leave you without giving you my own personal list. I love each and every one of these!

A Reading Life

All Things Everett Public Library

Tag Archives: reading

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If You Want Your Children to be Intelligent

Make It a Book Christmas!

2015 Summer Reading Program!

Best Blue Books

Top Ten Books That Have Stayed With Us

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