GreenBeanTeenQueen

2013 was a crazy year for me in my book life!  In January I finished up my term on the 2013 Printz Committee. It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it. It was a ton of work, exhausting, and so much fun! I loved celebrating with our authors at annual and it was so amazing to listen to their speeches and know that I was part of the committee that honored their books! After Printz, I was an Audies judge which was a great way to take a break from committee work and listen to audiobooks.  I fell into the after committee reading slump but at the same time I started reviewing for Booklist and AudioFile, which kept me reading. And at the end of the year (unless I finish some books on New Year's Eve, which is highly possible!) even with a reading slump, I read 125 (chapter and audio) books and 155 picture books this year, so I guess it wasn't much of a reading slump after all! Even though there were a lot of books I missed that I wanted to read

Robots have always been a popular topic in children's literature, but it seems like the last two years, robots have taken over picture books! I first noticed it with one of my favorite books of 2012, Robot Zombie Frankenstein! And the robot books just kept coming: And some of this year's offering: This is a trend I can fully get behind! I love robots and robot stories! So of course, when I had the chance to read, Sometimes I Forget You're A Robot by Sam Brown , I knew I had to read it! The cartoon illustrations are simple and reminiscent of Diary of a Wimpy Kid . A young boy dreams of having a robot, but when he gets his dream robot, it turns out his robot can't do anything he always thought robots should be able to do! This robot can't fly, swim or talk-he just beeps! But there's more to the robot than meets the eye and it just might be that his greatest strength is not being a robot, but being a friend.

I love Elizabeth Scott, so I am of course so excited about her newest release, Heartbeat . Just check out the amazing cover: Front Cover Back Cover Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound About the Book:  Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with. But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her. Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma—the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia—New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love? P

With the holidays almost here, this will be the last So You Want to Read Middle Grade post of 2013. Don't worry-the series will be back in 2014!! As the year wraps up, I thought it would be fun to look ahead at the coming year of middle grade. Here are just a few of the middle grade books I'm looking forward to in 2014. A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd Ok, full disclosure, Natalie is a friend of mine I can't wait to read her debut!  The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler Holly is a local author who is making her middle grade debut and I'm so excited she's writing for a younger audience this time around! Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald This book has a comparison to From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler -I'm sold! Wanderville by Wendy McClure And this one is being compared to The Boxcar Children . It's a perfect year for nine-year-old Sarah! When Audrey Met

Rating: 3/5 Stars Genre: Historical/Adventure/Graphic Novel Release Date: 8/27/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book:  Delilah Dirk has traveled all over the world and had many adventures. With her newfound friend Selim, Delilah decides that this adventure will lead her to rob from a rich and corrupt Sultan. Selim isn't so sure about Delilah's adventures, but one thing is certain-there is never a dull moment! GreenBeanTeenQueen Says:  Delilah Dirk is a bit Robin Hood, a bit Annie Oakley, and a lot of fun. She's an adventurer who never stops moving-and her adventures never seem to slow down. She feels she should help the poor and she has a flying ship. She is a very awesome strong female character who finds her way out of crazy situations and it's awesome to read it about-and lots of fun. Selim is the straight man to Delilah's crazy and wild ways. He finds her to be a bit too much, but when he's not on an adventure with her, he finds himself a bit bo

Sourcebooks Fire has offered a special holiday sneak peek at one of their upcoming Spring releases. If you're looking for a great read that will make you laugh out loud, check out Geoff Herbach. Check it out and be to sure to Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders to your reading list ! Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach Sourcebooks Fire MEMORANDUM From: Henry P. Rodriguez, Attorney at Law Submitted To: Seventh District Court, Otter County Re: Case No. 1745321—Gardener et al v. MLA Independent School District SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON JUNE 15, GABRIEL JOHNSON, A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD FROM MINNEKOTA, MN, WAS APPREHENDED OUTSIDE CUB FOODS BY OFFICER REX McCOY. JOHNSON POSSESSED $17.75 IN SMALL BILLS AND CHANGE, WHICH HE CONFIRMED HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE VENDING MACHINE AT MINNEKOTA LAKE AREA HIGH SCHOOL. POLICE SUGGESTED THE ALLEGED ROBBERY WAS RELATED TO A LARGER CONFLICT INVOLVING ASSAULT, VANDALISM, AND DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER THAT HAS COME T

Today I'm over at the ALSC Blog talking about tween programming and how to measure program success . Come join me!

Middle grade readers can be picky readers, so Penguin Books has made a handy flowchart to help you find the perfect read for your middle grade reader (or non-reader).  

Some friends and I were talking recently about how we arrange our bookshelves, especially when committee work comes involved. I had an elaborate arrangement when I was on the Printz Committee last year, with books arrange by books I needed to read, books read, and books that I needed to re-read. There were piles everywhere in my office and on my shelf. Some of that organization has stayed with me even though my committee term is over. Plus, I'm a librarian and I like to organize things!  Here's what the shelves in my office look like: The first shelf is books I need to read/review/or are in my most current TBR pile. Towards the end of the shelf is when I start my collection of books, in alphabetical order by author's last name of course.  I used to organize them by children's, YA, and adult, but I put them all together in the last couple of years and I think I like that better. There's a mix of books I have read and books I want to read, but I mov

I kicked off this series about middle grade titles a few months ago with a few of my favorite middle grade titles. And since I love middle grade, and it is my blog after all, I thought I would take the chance to share a few more of my favorites-old and new.  Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman -This was one of my favorite books growing up. I don't know how many times I read it, but each time I loved it even more. I loved reading Catherine's diary entries and she had such an attitude-I loved it! Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan -Maybe it was because we shared a first name, maybe it was because it took place in Kansas, or maybe it was because I wanted to go back in time, but all those things combined made this book near and dear to my heart. The movies are also some of my favorites! Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin -Cats that could fly? Yes please! I was never an animal fantasy reader, but that changed with this book. I was all ab

My husband, aka, Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan just started his first year of teaching this Fall. He's teaching middle school geography. I asked him what his students were reading in school and here's what he's noticed as the most popular: Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling -This series is standing the test of time and a new generation of readers is discovering it for the first time. It's one of the most popular choices among students. The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan  -Students were excited about the most recent release in this series and it's been circulating in my classroom. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -Not many of my students were as excited about this series-I'd say only about 15% of my students went to see Catching Fire over the weekend, but those that did see it were excited to talk about it and enjoy the series. Other popular choices- The students in my class also seem to be reading whatever is one our

Can you name all of The Hobbit characters? I am a big geek and one of the things that I love about working in the library is that I get to work with people who share my love for geeky pop culture-both staff and patrons. I've been wanting to do a geeky storytime for awhile and finally hosted one a couple of weeks ago. Here's what I did: To help set the mood, I had the kids walk into Hedwig’s Theme Opening Song: Clap Your Hands by They Might Be Giants Book : Star Wars ABC-I had the kids help out and call out the characters they knew when they came across them. They knew most of them and I had quite a few Star Wars fans in the group which made this book fun. Song : Soft Kitty-when I announced this song, I got a big laugh from the parents in the room Soft kitty, Warm kitty, Little ball of fur. Happy kitty, Sleepy kitty, Purr, purr, purr. Book : Robot Zombie Frankenstein by Annette Simon Song : Robot Parade by They Might Be Giants