2008 Edgar Award Winner

On May 1st the 2008 Edgar award winners were announced (mystery awards named after Edgar Allen Poe - for more information see the Mystery Writers of America website). The nominees for Best Juvenile mystery were:

• The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch


• Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman


• Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn


• The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh


• Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen

And the winner is... The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

Jack Perdu, a ninth-grade Classics prodigy, lives with his father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack's life forever.

His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City - where Jack hasn't been since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station's hidden places - the ones only true urban explorers really know about. Eight flights below the station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases. He has stumbled upon New York's ghostly underworld. This, Jack believes, is his chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri's past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack's visit to the underworld.

Come in to the library today and check out one of these great mysteries!

Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month

In case you didn't know, May is Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month. There are a lot of wonderful Asian American authors and books out there - I encourage you to check them out! Here are just a few:

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin:

In this sequel to The Year of the Dog, Pacy has another big year in store for her. The Year of the Dog was a very lucky year: she met her best friend, Melody, and discovered her true talents. However, the Year of the Rat brings big changes: Pacy must deal with the possibility of Melody moving away, find the courage to forge on with her dream of becoming a writer and illustrator, and learn to face some of her own flaws in the process. Pacy encounters prejudice, struggles with acceptance, and finds the beauty in change.

When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park:

For Kim Sun-hee's whole life, Korea has belonged to Japan. Sun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, have grown up studying Japanese and speaking it at school. Their own language, Korean, can be spoken only at home, and some Korean things - like the flag - are not to be spoken of at all. When the Emperor of Japan decrees that all Koreans must take Japanese names, Sun-hee and Tae-yul become Keoko and Nobuo. It is just one more step in a familiar process, but somehow it changes everything.

Then WWII comes to Korea. No battles are fought on Korean soil, yet soldiers are everywhere. At school, the students have war preparation duties instead of classes. But making Koreans take Japanese names has not turned them into loyal subjects, ready to fight for Japan. When Tae-yul sees a chance to help his beloved uncle, whom the Japanese suspect of aiding the Korean resistance, he leaves home. Sun-hee stays behind, entrusted with the life-and-death secrets of a family at war.

The Star Fisher by Laurence Yep:

It is 1927, and fifteen-year-old Joan Lee is taking a long train ride from Ohio to West Virginia with her Mama and Papa and her younger brother and sister. They are going there in pursuit of the American dream, to open a new business and start bright new lives. But when they get off the train, the first words they hear are "Darn monkeys!"

Joan is Chinese-American. That makes her and her family outsiders - so "different" that the narrow-minded townspeople think they belong in a zoo. How could that be? They live in America! She was born here. And she's going to fight to stay here.

Minn and Jake by Janet S. Wong:

Fifth-grader Minn, the tallest girl in school, begins a rocky friendship with Jake, a new student who is not only very short, but is also afraid of the worms and lizards that Minn likes to collect.

Also, check out this great website highlighting "New Novels for Young Readers to Celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month!"

Author Interview!

Well, I have amazing news. We are going to end the year the same way we started the year - with a telephone interview with an author! As you know, we are reading The Penderwicks this month, and I decided to try and contact the author, Jeanne Birdsall, to see if she would allow us to interview her like we did earlier this year with Ellen Potter and Grace Lin. I contacted her publisher, Random House, and everyone there was so encouraging and helpful. It was very easy! They suggested that I write a letter to Ms. Birdsall explaining what we want to do and I've heard back from her and she has agreed to do a telephone interview! So at the May meeting we will call Ms. Birdsall at her home and have a chance to ask some questions about her books and her life as a writer! Start thinking of some great questions now and feel free to post any as a comment on the blog.

A big thank you in advance to Ms. Birdsall for her time and the wonderful people at Random House for helping make this happen. Authors are the best!!!

Foreign Editions of The Penderwicks

I love seeing how the covers of books are changed when they are published in other countries. It's not always easy to find that information but fortunately some authors are now including it on their websites. We saw that in March with The Tail of Emily Windsnap - Liz Kessler had images of the Japanese cover on her website. And now Jeanne Birdsall has a wonderful page on her website with The Penderwicks covers from England, Greece, China, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Holland! View these covers here.

This is the British cover by artist David Frankland. It's very similar to the American version except it's darker and he's added Jeffrey to the back cover!

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This is the Greek cover:

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And this is the German cover...fascinating, isn't it?

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Author Jeanne Birdsall

Jeanne Birdsall is the wonderful author of our May book, The Penderwicks. She has a website and a blog where you can find out all about her and her books.

Also check out this interview with Jeanne from the April 10th Publishers Weekly!

April Meeting

The Aurora County All-Stars = 4 STARS

The Book Buddies Book Club met on Monday to have snacks and discuss The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles. Overall, Aurora County was not one of the club's favorite books. A lot of the members found it confusing and hard to get through. One member didn't like the setting and most didn't understand the references in the book (For example, House adopts Mr. Norwood Boyd's dog, Eudora Welty, named after the famous southern writer). Everyone did like House as a character and felt he was a good guy but in general this one didn't go over well. I was surprised at the reaction because it is one of my favorite books but that's ok. We don't all have to like the same things! That's what makes it interesting.

After snacks, we made baseball picture frames for our craft project which were fun to do although a bit messy. Most of us were covered in red marker by the end!

Finally, members discussed other books they are currently reading and enjoying including The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Harry Potter, Babymouse, How I Saved My Father's Life (And Ruined Everything Else) and Babysitting Wars.

Have a great few weeks and I'll see you at the next (and last) meeting on May 19th!

The BIG reveal...

Ok, so I was going to wait until Monday but I decided I'd let you all know now what the next (and last) book is going to be for this school year. We actually have a little less time than usual before the next meeting because we had to schedule the May meeting a week early due to Memorial Day. So for those of you who want to get a head start.....the May book is going to be The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall. (Great title, huh?) I really love this book and I think it's such a great way for us to get ready for summer vacation by reading about four wonderful sisters on summer vacation...

Meet the Penderwicks, four different sisters with one special bond. There's responsible, practical Rosalind; stubborn, feisty Skye; dreamy, artistic Jane; and shy little sister Batty, who won't go anywhere without her butterfly wings.

When the girls and their doting father head off for their summer holiday, they are in for a surprise. Instead of the cozy, tumbledown cottage they expected, they find themselves on a beautfiul estate called Arundel. Soon the girls are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel's sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the most wonderful discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel's owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.

The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will - won't they?

One thing's for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget.

Anyone interested in getting started over the weekend, feel free to come in and pick up a copy of the book! Otherwise I'll pass out copies on Monday at our meeting...