Meeting Reminder

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will meet this coming Monday, October 24th at 3:30pm to discuss The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn. We'll meet in the John Clarke Children's Program Room for our book discussion and snacks. Hope to see you there!

Books for Halloween

Looking for a spooky story to get you in the spirit of Halloween? Try one of these ghostly tales...

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret

Apprehensive about spending the summer in Washington State with his Aunt Ethel when his parents get an overseas job, twelve-year-old Josh soon finds adventure when he meets the ghost of a coal miner.

Ghost Town: Seven Ghostly Stories by Joan Lowery Nixon

A collection of stories about eerie encounters in various ghost towns across the United States. Each story is accompanied by an afterword about the actual town on which the story is based.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others.

Skeleton Man by Joseph Bruchac

After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life.

Something Upstairs: A Tale of Ghosts by Avi

When he moves from Los Angeles to Providence, Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted by the spirit of a black slave boy who asks Kenny to return with him to the early nineteenth century and prevent his murder by slave traders.

Author Mary Downing Hahn

Mary Downing Hahn is the author of our October book, The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall. She has written many wonderful ghost stories for children. Come in to the library and check out her books today!

All the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost Story (2008)

While spending the summer at their grandmother's Vermont inn, two prankster siblings awaken young ghosts from the inn's distant past who refuse to "rest in peace."

Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story (2007)

When thirteen-year-old Ali spends the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family's vacation home, she stumbles upon a secret that her mother and aunt have been hiding for over thirty years.

The Old Willis Place: A Ghost Story (2004)

Tired of the rules that have bound them ever since "the bad thing happened," twelve-year-old Diana ignores her brother's warnings and befriends the daughter of the new caretaker, setting in motion events that lead to the release of the spirit of an evil, crazy woman who once ruled the old Willis place.

Wait till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story (1986)

Molly and Michael dislike their spooky new stepsister Heather but realize that they must try to save her when she seems ready to follow a ghost child to her doom.


And find out more about Mary Downing Hahn and her books by visiting her website!

October Book Selection

The October Book Buddies book will be The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn. It's a ghost story perfect for the days leading up to Halloween and the first Book Buddies book by the incredible queen of children's ghost stories, Mary Downing Hahn. We'll meet to discuss this book on Monday, October 24th at 3:30pm in the John Clarke Children's Program Room.

*It's not too late to sign up for Book Buddies! If you are in grades 3, 4, or 5 and are interested in joining our book club simply call the library (401-847-8720 ext. 204) or email me at cantonio@newportlibraryri.org. Copies of the book are available for check out at the Children's Desk.*

Want to know more about The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall? Read on.....

In the nineteenth century, ten-year-old Florence Crutchfield leaves a London orphanage to live with her great-uncle, great-aunt, and sickly cousin James, but she soon realizes the home has another resident, who means to do her and James harm.

September Meeting Wrap-Up

The Book Buddies Book Club met yesterday afternoon to discuss the book The Lemonade War and to interview the author, Jacqueline Davies! We had a terrific meeting and a wonderful time talking with the author! And, of course, we had snacks and lemonade to drink.

Everyone liked the book and the sibling rivalry between Evan and Jessie. We talked about our own experiences with siblings, having our own lemonade stands, what it would be like to skip a grade in school, and what we would do if we each had $100 to spend, save or donate. We liked the format of the book, told in alternating chapters from Evan's and Jessie's perspectives and the inclusion of graphs, receipts and charts. We would all recommend this book to our friends and look forward to reading the sequel, The Lemonade Crime.

Following our discussion we had the privilege of interviewing the book's author, Jacqueline Davies. She was absolutely delightful to speak with and thoughtfully answered all of our questions.

The most exciting thing she told us is that there will be 5 books total in The Lemonade War series! The third installment will be out in the Spring of 2012 and takes place over New Year's Eve when Evan and Jessie visit their grandmother. We can't wait!

Ms. Davies told us that there are parts of her in both Evan and Jessie but that she's probably a little more like Jessie. Some of her children's traits are mixed in to their characters as well. She never bases a character entirely on one real person because it would be too difficult to do.

She did not have a conscious reason for eliminating Evan and Jessie's dad from the story but she knew she wanted the focus to be on the kids with limited adult interference. However the dad's character does keep coming up and will be come important and the series progresses.

Ms. Davies does not write everyday because she is busy with her family, school visits, research and traveling and also because she has to be in the right frame of mind to work creatively. But she writes as often as her schedule allows and yesterday when we spoke with her, she told us she had written for 4-5 hours that day!

In her free time she likes to read, go to plays, watch basketball and football, knit, garden, run and spend time with her friends.

She also has very detailed advice for young writers:
1- READ as much as you can and read widely - not just books you think you'll like but ones you ordinarily wouldn't choose as well
2 - WRITE as often as you can and try different kinds of writing like non-fiction, poetry, etc.
3 - SHOW your writing to someone else and LISTEN to what they have to say - feedback is critical so get the tips you need to make it better!

A BIG thank you to Ms. Davies for her time and willingness to participate in our book club. It was a thrill to speak with her and hear about her life.

A great start to the school year! See you next month!

Meeting Reminder and Author Phone Call!

Just a reminder that the Book Buddies Book Club will meet this coming Monday, September 26th @ 3:30pm to discuss the book, The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies. If you plan to come (and you're not already registered), please send me an email (cantonio@newportlibraryri.org) so I know how many to plan for! It's going to be a lot of fun so please come and bring your friends!


In addition to our book discussion and snacks (lemonade, anyone?) we are going to be interviewing the author! Ms. Davies has agreed to speak to us via telephone about the book and her life as an author! So be thinking of some great questions we can ask her. If you have any ideas ahead of time, go ahead and post them to the blog!

See you Monday!

The Lemonade War Website & The Lemonade Crime

The Lemonade War has its own website! Read more about the author, letters from readers and visit the pod lounge! There's also a Lemonade War book trailer to watch.

In addition, the sequel to this amazing book has just been released. The Lemonade Crime is now available. Find out more about the new book and read it today!