Word Play and Figures of Speech

"A bicycle can't stand alone because it is two-tired."

I was just getting ready for book club on Monday and I found a great website that I wanted to share. It's got links to great sites that give examples of anagrams, palindromes, oxymorons and puns. Also be sure to click on the link, "Figures of Speech Sites." There are explanations and activites for all kinds of figurative language including similes, metaphors, idioms and my favorite: onomatopoeia.

See you Monday!

Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will hold its final meeting of this school year on Monday, May 18th at 3:30pm in the Children's Program Room. We will discuss our last book, Punished! by David Lubar, and have a party to celebrate another wonderful year of the book club. There will be plenty of food but if you'd like to bring something let me know!

Have a great weekend!

First Edgar, Now Agatha...

A couple of days ago I posted about the nominees and winner of the Edgar Awards (mystery awards named in honor of Edgar Allan Poe). Well, another famous mystery writer has awards named after her which were just announced as well. The Agatha awards (named for the incomparable Agatha Christie, pictured above) were announced at the Malice Domestic annual conference on May 2nd. Here is the list of nominees in the category of Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery:

• Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams
• A Thief in the Theater (A Kit Mystery) by Sarah Masters Buckey
• The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• The Great Circus Train Robbery by Nancy Means Wright

And the winner is... The Crossroads!

When eleven-year-old Zack Jennings moves to Connecticut with his father and new stepmother, they must deal with the ghosts left behind by a terrible accident, as well as another kind of ghost from Zack's past.

Children's Poet Laureate Presents...

National Poetry Month is now over but since poetry is wonderful all year long I wanted to pass along this video link. Children's Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, has filmed a series of video podcasts available online at the Poetry Foundation's website. In them, Ms. Hoberman reads from her own work as well as from the works of other classic poets. Check them out today!

And while we're on the subject of poetry, the Children's Department has just gotten in two new fantastic poetry books that I encourage you all to check out!

A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell (2009)

Beginning with this poem featuring the title words...

Eau De Forest: A Woodsy Cologne

It's spiderwebs

and dogwood trees,

a muddy trail,

a blue-green breeze,

A nest, a leaf,

a sycamore trunk,

A whiff of pine,

a hint of skunk.

Can you beat that?

Be Glad Your Nose is On Your Face and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky (2008)

Try this one which reminds me of Shel Silverstein's For Sale...

Eyeballs for Sale!

Eyeballs for sale!

Fresh eyeballs for sale!

Delicious, nutritious,

not moldy or stale.

Eyeballs from manticoves,

ogres, and elves,

fierce dragon eyeballs

that cook by themselves.

Eyeballs served cold!

Eyeballs served hot!

If you like eyeballs,

then this is the spot.

Ladle a glassful,

a bowlful, or pail -

Eyeballs! Fresh eyeballs!

Fresh eyeballs for sale!

Summer Reading Preview

Summer is just around the corner and with it the annual Summer Reading Program at the Newport Public Library! This year's theme is "Be Creative @ Your Library" and will celebrate everything arts-related including music, dance, theater, photography, culinary arts and much, much more!

To celebrate the arts, the Newport Public Library is hosting an imaginary Carnival of Creativity. When you register for the program you will receive a map of the carnival which includes suggestions for different activities you can do to explore your creativity. To complete the program, you'll need to read 6 books, log the titles of those books in a reading log, and complete at least 2 activities in 2 different areas of the carnival - see the map for details.

The program officially kicks off on Tuesday, June 30th with a craft program for children ages 4 - 8 and continues through August 13th. During that time we will be having lots of entertainers and special programs for kids so be sure and check the Summer Reading calendar and website for details.

Sign up now by visiting the Children's Department or calling 401-847-8720 ext. 204. In the coming weeks you will also be able to sign up online so stay tuned for that. If you have any questions, feel free to comment on this post or visit us at the library!

2009 Edgar Award Winner

The 2009 Edgar Award winners were announced on April 30th. The nominees for Best Juvenile Mystery were:

• Enigma: A Magical Mystery by Graeme Base
• Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
• The Postcard by Tony Abbott
• The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow by Riford McKenzie
• Cemetery Street by Brenda Seabrooke

And the winner is... The Postcard by Tony Abbott!

While in St. Petersburg, Florida, to help clean out his recently-deceased grandmother's house, thirteen-year-old Jason finds an old postcard which leads him on an adventure that blends figures from an old, unfinished detective story with his family's past.

Anagrams, Palindromes and Oxymorons - Oh My!

Punished! is a book filled with word play. Logan must complete three quests in order to stop his incessant punning and the quests involve anagrams, palindromes and oxymorons.

Here are a few other books overflowing with word play that you might enjoy...

Double Trouble in Walla-Walla by Andrew Clements

It's an ordinary morning in Walla Walla until Lulu, her teacher, the school nurse, and the principal are all infected by a word warp which makes them reduplicate everything they say.

Born to Drive (Otto Undercover #1) by Rhea Perlman

After thwarting bad guys to win the Yazoo 200 race, with the help of his trusty racecar and his eccentric Aunts FiFi and FooFoo, Otto Pillip receives a note from his long-lost parents inviting him to join the secret family business. Includes words spelled backward, anagrams, and palindromes.

Cat's Eye Corner by Terry Griggs

When Olivier is invited to spend the summer with his eccentric grandfather and his even more eccentric third wife, Sylvia de Whosit of Whatsit, at their strange old mansion, Cat's Eye Corner, he knows that he is in for a real and true adventure. And, Olivier is not disappointed, for on his first morning at Cat's Eye Corner, his step-step-stepgramma sets him off on a scavenger hunt to keep him amused. As Olivier forages in and around the seemingly ever-changing mansion in search of all the items on his list, he acquires various odd friends, including a witty fountain pen and a resourceful dragonfly. Together they find all of the items, stop the nasty Mr. Mirrific from rewriting the dictionary and other literary classics, and generally have a grand adventure. (School Library Journal Review)