January Book

The January Book Buddies book will be... Angel of the Battlefield by Ann Hood!  We will meet to discuss the book on Monday, January 28th at 3:30pm.

Registration is required.  If you would like to join Book Buddies (for readers in grades 3 - 6) we would love to have you!  To sign up, call the Children's Desk at 401-847-8720 ext. 204 or email me at cgould@newportlibraryri.org.

When their parents divorce, twelve-year-old twins Felix and Maisie move with their mother to live in the attic of a historic Newport, Rhode Island, mansion where they discover a hidden room that carries with it an intriguing secret.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to the members of the Book Buddies Book Club and to all the young readers out there!  Enjoy the winter break, read a lot and have a safe and happy New Year. 

Hope to see you all again in January!

December Meeting Wrap-Up

The Book Buddies Book Club met yesterday afternoon to discuss our December book, The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements.  We had a great meeting and enjoyed popcorn and holiday cupcakes while we talked about the book.

Everyone really enjoyed the book and liked Hart very much.  We thought he was a nice kid, the kind of person we might like to be friends with and that he was nice-popular, not bossy-popular.

We talked a lot about Hart's relationship with the chorus director, Mr. Meinert, and how it changed over the course of the book.  While he started out totally disliking chorus and not treating Mr. Meinert with a lot of respect, Hart learned how difficult it really is to be a teacher and how hard Mr. Meinert had to work to make the chorus good.  He also learned that it's hard to please everyone and sometimes being a leader means making tough choices that don't necessarily make you popular.

Popularity was an important theme in the book and we talked about what it means to be popular.  As Hart discovered, popularity can often be very fleeting and therefore it's more important to be a good person than to be popular. 

We thought the concert turned out well thanks to Hart's father and Mr. Meinert's efforts as well as Hart's dedication to making it a success.  We talked about why the author may have chosen to call the book, The Last Holiday Concert, and thought that it could have a lot of meanings but that, in the end, it might really be the last holiday concert since Mr. Meinert got laid off from his job soon afterward. 

Overall we really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to our friends!  Another winner from the amazing author Andrew Clements.

Thanks to all the Book Buddies members who attended!

Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will meet on Monday, December 17th @ 3:30pm to discuss our December book, The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements.  If you've never attended book club before and want to join us, just drop me an email and let me know you are coming (that way I can make sure to have enough supplies on hand).

Hope to see you on the 17th!

 

Holiday Events

There are two exciting holiday events coming up that you don't want to miss!

On Saturday, December 15th at 10:30am, the Piccolini Players present "Circus in a Trunk."  Music, physical comedy, juggling, pantomime, acrobatics and poetic whimsy as well as contemporary and classic European style clowning. No registration is required for this free program, just drop-in.

On Thursday, December 20th @ 3:30pm come to Frosty's Magic Birthday Party!  Celebrate Frosty's birthday with magician Greg McAdams.  Magic, audience participation and lots of comedy.  No registration is required for this free program, just drop-in.

Reading Recommendations for School Vacation

School vacation week is almost here, just two short weeks away!  Here are a few wonderful new books to curl up with and enjoy during your time off...

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

An innkeeper's chore boy discovers that a visitor's stories hold the key to returning the moon to the Starry River of the Sky.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Percy, Hazel, and Frank are united with Jason, Piper, and Leo. But they number only six--who will complete the Prophecy of Seven? The Greek and Roman demigods will have to cooperate in order to defeat the giants released by the Earth Mother, Gaea. Then they will have to sail together to the ancient land to find the Doors of Death. What exactly are the Doors of Death? Much of the prophecy remains a mystery. . . . 

Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood

Twelve-year-old Rose Bliss wants to work magic in her family's bakery as her parents do, but when they are called away and Rose and her siblings are left in charge, the magic goes awry and a beautiful stranger tries to talk Rose into giving her the Bliss Cookery Booke.

Land of Stories: The Wishing Well by Chris Colfer

Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, twins Alex and Conner leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

December Author: Andrew Clements

Andrew Clements is the author of our December book, The Last Holiday Concert.  He has written MANY wonderful books for children.  His newest include the Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School series, Troublemaker and About Average.

Find out all about him at his website.

The Whites of Their Eyes (Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School #3)

With a key to the Oakes School in his possession Benjamin, his friend Jill, and a new friend continue to seek ways to protect the school and their town but Lyman, the janitor and a spy, has new tricks up his sleeve.

Troublemaker

When his older brother gets in serious trouble, sixth-grader Clay decides to change his own mischief-making ways, but he cannot seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.

About Average

As the end of sixth grade nears, Jordan Johnson, unhappy that she is only average in appearance, intelligence, and athletic ability, reveals her special skills when disaster strikes her central Illinois elementary school.