January 2014 Book Buddies Book

The Book Buddies Book Club will meet on Monday, January 27th @ 3:45pm to discuss The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors.  Copies of the book are available for check-out at the Children's Desk.

New members are always welcome!  To sign up for Book Buddies, visit the Children's Desk, call 401-847-8720 ext. 204 or email me at cgould@newportlibraryri.org.

Spending the summer in his grandfather's rundown town, ten-year-old Ben meets an adventurous local girl and together they learn that the town's veterinarian runs a secret hospital for imaginary creatures.

Holiday Hours and Closings

 The Newport Public Library will be CLOSED the following days over Christmas vacation:

Tuesday & Wednesday, December 24th and 25th 

Sunday, December 29th

Tuesday, & Wednesday, December 30th & January 1st

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We will be OPEN Thursday - Saturday, December 26th - 28th

Regular hours will resume on Thursday, January 2nd

Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and a very Happy New Year! (2014!!!!)

New Chapter Books for Winter Break!

The Children's Department has recently gotten in a whole bunch of wonderful new chapter books that will keep you busy over Christmas vacation.  Visit the library and check out all of the books on our "new" shelf, visit our Kids Read webpage for more suggestions or read one of the terrific books below...

Smells Like Pirates by Suzanne Selfors

Homer thought membership in L.O.S.T., the mysterious Society of Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures, would help him find pirate Rumpold Smeller's missing treasure. But when Homer's enemy, Lorelei, forms an evil organization called FOUND, Homer and Dog face an impossible decision: Work with Lorelei to find the prize once and for all, or abandon their lifelong quest to locate the treasure.

Who Stole New Year's Eve? by Martha Freeman

Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, College Springs has a winter carnival, complete with ice sculptures.  However, this year someone has stolen all thirty-seven of them, including one on Chickadee Court. Unfortunately, the twelve-year-old sleuths, Yasmeen and Alex, are having friendship issues--Yasmeen thinks that she's being replaced by a new girl who has come to Chickadee Court. Then, the whole gang comes together to solve the frosty mystery. Believe it or not, the clues lead to a fracking operation and the laboratory of a professor who is racing to invent a new alternative fuel before his competitors do.

Alexander Graham Bell: Master of Sound by Ann Hood (Treasure Chest #7)

Time travelers Maisie and Felix meet a young Alexander Graham Bell (the inventor of the telephone). When the twins get separated from Alexander, they join the thousands of orphans in the streets of Victorian London.

The Life of Ty: Penguin Problems by Lauren Myracle

Seven-year-old Ty gets into mischief and big-hearted schemes while navigating second grade and becoming a big brother.

Rhode Island Children's Book Award

Here are four more titles from the current list of Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominees.  Read and get ready to vote for your favorite in February 2014!

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Eleven-year-old Princess Celie lives with her parents, the king and queen, and her brothers and sister at Castle Glower, which adds rooms or stairways or secret passageways most every Tuesday, and when the king and queen are ambushed while traveling, it is up to Celie--the castle's favorite--with her secret knowledge of its never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani

When Sonia's father loses his job and she must move from her small, supportive private school to a public middle school, the half-Jewish half-Indian sixth-grader experiences culture shock as she tries to navigate the school's unfamiliar social scene, and after her father is diagnosed with clinical depression, she finds herself becoming even more confused about herself and her family.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

King of the Mound by Wes Tooke

Twelve-year-old Nick loves baseball so after a year in the hospital fighting polio and with a brace on one leg, Nick takes a job with the team for which his father is catcher and gets to see the great pitcher, Satchel Paige, play during the 1935 season.

December Meeting Wrap-Up

The Book Buddies Book Club met yesterday afternoon to talk about our December book, The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman.  We had a great discussion with snacks including popcorn and holiday cupcakes followed by a wish ornament craft project!

Our discussion focused on wishes, what we would wish for if given the opportunity and how long it would take to come up with a really great wish.  We talked about the different types of wishes, selfish wishes and "world peace" kinds of wishes and the different wishes that the class came up with.  Many of the class's wishes weren't that good, because they were too small (getting a dog, a TV the size of a wall, truck full of candy, etc.) and in many cases not specific enough (wishing the world would be a better place).  Also, for some of the wishes it was obvious that the consequences hadn't been considered at all (for example, wishing for all the money in the world is not a good wish because if you have it all and everyone else has none, it becomes worthless).

The things we would wish for included to become a famous artist, becoming a famous pop star, becoming a superhero with many superpowers and for there to be no more bullying in the world.

We all agreed that Genie Bob would not be a good Santa Claus and that even though William wished it, he will not become the real Santa.  Perhaps Genie Bob could go back to space (maybe via another meteorite) and be a Space Santa but he could not be the real Earth Santa.

Following our discussion we made wish ornaments! 

It was a terrific meeting and thanks to all the Book Buddies members who attended.  See you in 2014!

Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will meet this coming Monday, December 16th @ 3:45pm in the John Clarke Children's Program Room to discuss our December book, The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman.

Come for book discussion, snacks and a wish-ornament craft!

Hope to see you Monday!

Dan Gutman Online

First, I wanted to share this interview with Dan Gutman that I found very interesting and this profile by Simon and Schuster with some revealing questions and answers.

I also found a couple of videos for you to enjoy:

Books for the Christmas Season

If you are enjoying The Christmas Genie, and like to read books set a Christmastime, here are a few you might want to read:

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

Relates the surprising gifts bestowed on twelve-year-old Bob Barnhart and his family, who have recently moved to a small Illinois town in 1958, by their larger-than-life neighbor, Mrs. Dowdel.

'Tis the Season by Ann M. Martin

Christmas is coming to Camden Falls, and Flora and Ruby don't know how to feel about it. It's their first Christmas without their parents, and the memories are both happy and sad...

Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce

Nicholas St. North, a daredevil swordsman seeking treasure in the fiercely guarded village of Santoff Claussen finds, instead, the great wizard Ombric Shalazar and a battle against the Nightmare King and his evil Fearlings--a battle Nicholas can win only if he finds five other Guardians in time.

Kringle by Tony Abbott

In the fifth century A.D., as order retreats from Britain with the departing Roman Army, orphaned, twelve-year-old Kringle determines to rescue his beloved guardian from the evil goblins who terrorize the countryside by kidnapping and enslaving humans and, in the process, with the help of elves and others along the way, discovers his true destiny.

Featured Author of the Month: Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke (birthday December 10) is the featured author of the month!  Ms. Funke has written many books for children including Dragon Rider, Ghost Knight, Igraine the Brave, The Thief Lord as well as the Ghosthunters series and the Inkheart trilogy.  Her newest book is Fearless: a Mirrorworld Novel.  She lives in Los Angeles, California with her family.

Watch a video interview at Scholastic and check her out at Reading is Fundamental.  Visit the library today to check out his wonderful books.

Author Dan Gutman

Dan Gutman is the wonderful author of our December book, The Christmas Genie. He has a terrific website with a very interesting biography that I encourage you to take a look at. He has written a TON of books for kids including the Baseball Card Adventure series, the My Weird School series and the new Genius Files series. Here are just a few of his books that you might want to read:

Getting Air 

After foiling a terrorist hijacking aboard their airplane, fourteen-year-old Jimmy, his younger sister, and two skateboarding friends crash-land the plane and try to survive in a forest wilderness until help arrives.

Nightmare at the Book Fair 

When fifth-grader Trip Kindleman, who does not like to read very much, is hit on the head by a heavy box and becomes a character in a series of different books--from a sports story to a science fiction novel to an adventure tale--his view of reading is changed forever.

The Talent Show 

After a devastating tornado destroys much of Cape Bluff, Kansas, residents come together as a community to put on a talent show as a fund-raiser.

Mission Unstoppable (Genius Files #1)

On a cross-country vacation with their parents, twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to be thirteen, fend off strange assassins as they try to come to terms with their being part of a top-secret government organization known as The Genius Files.

Featured Homework Resource

Looking for a great book to read?  Did you know that you can search NoveList to find:

• all the titles in a fiction series
• all the titles written by an author you liked
• fiction books about a topic that you are interested in or like to read about
• read-alikes for every author, title and series

Find NoveList by visiting the Kids Read webpage.

Questions?  Visit the Children's Desk or call 401-847-8720 ext. 204 for more information.

December Book Buddies Book

The Book Buddies Book Club will meet on Monday, December 16th @ 3:45pm to discuss our December  book, The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman.  Copies of the book are available for check-out at the Children's Desk.

New members are always welcome!  To sign up for Book Buddies, visit the Children's Desk, call 401-847-8720 ext. 204 or email me at cgould@newportlibraryri.org.

When a meteorite crashes into a fifth-grade classroom at Lincoln School in Oak Park, Illinois, the genie inside agrees to grant the class a Christmas wish--if they can agree on one within an hour.