GreenBeanTeenQueen

For those of you that attended the Missouri Library Association Conference last week (or for those that missed it!) here is the booklist of titles I talked about. I'd love to hear your thoughts on them and if you have any favorites of 2016! Trends : Origin Stories & Retellings (fairy tales, classics, history retold, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland) Sequels and Series Contemporary Fiction continues to rise Creative formats ( Replica by Lauren Oliver, Between Worlds by Skip Brittenham) Middle Grade/Young YA: Ghost by Jason Reynolds Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz It Ain't So Awful, Falafel  by Firoozeh Dumas Pax by Sara Pennypacker Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks & Gita Varadarajan Shadow Magic by Joshua Kahn Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo Some Writer! by Melissa Sweet Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk Young Adult: And I Darken by Kiersten White Exit, Pursued by ...

Today I'm presenting at the Missouri Library Association/Kansas Library Association Join Conference! I'm presenting on "Need to Know YA of 2015" My session is only 45 minutes, so I sadly don't get to talk about very many books, so I made a long booklist of books I'm talking about as well as others to know. Here is my handout and booklist from the session. And if you're at the conference, I'd love to see you! Need to know YA 2015 from greenbeanteenqueen Need to Know YA 2015 MLA/KLA Joint Conference Sarah Bean Thompson sarahbean@thelibrary.org www.greenbeanteenqueen.com Trends in YA Religious Extremism and Cults, End of the World Beliefs Devoted by Jennifer Matthieu Eden West by Pete Hautman No Parking at the End Times by Bryan Bliss The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oaks Seed by Lisa Heathfield Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle Watch the Sky by Kristin Hubbard Mental Illne...

It's the end of the year! My favorite part of year end festivities is all the best of lists. And of course, as a librarian and a reader, I have to make my own! I couldn't pick just a top ten, so I decided to include different categories and include a long list of what my top picks area. This are my personal favorites, books I've enjoyed for various reasons throughout the year, and what I felt were my personal top books of 2014. Also, it's hard to put them in a list order of what is number one, so I just did them alphabetically-I am a librarian after all! I'd love to hear more suggestions if you have favorites too. My TBR pile is never too long! Ha! Top 2014 Picture Books: The Baby Tree by Sophie Blackall -Seriously, I adore anything she illustrates, and this book is perfection when it comes to talking about babies with kids. Bedtime at the Nuthouse by Eric Litwin - Once I read this one aloud in storytime, I was sold! The Boy and a Jaguar ...

I am very excited to present on Need to Know Teen Lit (and some Middle Grade!) at the Missouri Library Association Conference. Here is the list of books I talked about. Let me know if you have any others to suggest! Trends :  #weneeddiversebooks- be sure to check out the Tumblr page "The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park": I’ll Give You the Sun Maybe One Day Say What You Will Side Effects May Vary Zac and Mia Other John Green and Rainbow Rowell connections: Althea and Oliver ( Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Eleanor and Park ) The Drowned Forest (Looking for Alaska meets Stephen King Let’s Get Lost (Paper Towns) Love and Other Forgien Words (for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell) The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy (for fans of John Green All the Bright Places (out in 2015) Everyday Angel ("John Green for middle grade with a touch of magic") Teen Written Memoirs: Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek P...

If there was one big trend in picture books this year, I would say it's birds. Last year I started noticing a trend in publishing across all ages about books being published featuring bird watching . Birds have always been a popular topic, yet this year it seems as though 2014 year of the bird in picture books. Take a look: Froodle by Antoinette Portis -A silly story about a bird who is tired of the same old song, only to be met with some opposition. A nice simple commentary on accepting change and adapting that's great for storytime. Peggy by Anna Walker -A sweet and funny story about a chicken who sets off on a big adventure to the city. Also, I love the illustrations. Bluebird by Lindsey Yankey -Another bird on an adventure story with gorgeous illustrations.  Henny by Elizabeth Rose Stanton -A chicken with arms? Odd but adorable! Another good choice for storytime and a sweet book about being different. Mama Built A Little Ne...

I presented at the Missouri Library Association this past week on teen lit. It's always great to see everyone and talk books. The room was so full that I ended up running out of handouts! So here's the list I talked about: Teen Literature Update 2013 Sarah Bean Thompson Links of Note: Someday My Printz Will Come: http://blogs.slj.com/printzblog/ Stars so Far 2013: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=11651 YA Novels of 2013: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7362.YA_Novels_of_2013 Middle Grade Bad Unicorn by Platte F. Clark Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle Doll Bones by Holly Black Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked by Jarrett J. Krosoczka School for Good and Evil by Soman Chaiani Young Adult The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger Far Far Away by Tom McNeal The 5 th Wave by Rick Ya...

I am very excited to introduce a new blog series here at GreenBeanTeenQueen! If you're a reader of this blog, you know I love reading and talking about middle grade. I recently did a post for my friend Kelly at Stacked for their series " So You Want to Read YA?"  We talked about doing a middle grade series along the same lines, and here it is! So be sure to check back for some great suggestions on what to read if you're looking for some great middle grade books! Here are some of my favorites to get you started: Shug by Jenny Han - Shug was one of the first "tween" books I read when I started working in the library and it rang so true with it's pitch perfect middle grade voice. I think it was one of the books that got me excited about working with this age group and wanting to do programming for the 8-12 year-old set. It's still one I love to recommend! A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban -Linda Urban is the queen ...

Ever since the Veronica Mars movie was announced, I've been obsessively checking the Kickstarter page , watching Logan and Veronica clips on YouTube , and reading every piece of news about who is going to be in the film and what the plot my be I can get my hands on. Yep, I love Veronica Mars and I'm thrilled she'll be making a comeback. Obsessed like me? Or new to Veronica Mars and need to get in a YA mystery mood? Here's what you can read while waiting for the Veronica Mars movie: Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas -Before he was creating TV show detectives, Rob Thomas was writing YA novels. The book just got a new cover and re-released this month. All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab -This is one I've seen tagged as a Veronica Mars readalike and in my review I even mentioned how Veronica Mars fans need to get ahold of this smart character driven mystery. Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday -High school murder mystery and total fluffy fun ...

Trends are a funny thing. Some come all at once and others seem to slowly creep up on you as you read. I feel like in the dystopian genre there more books coming out that take a fairy twist in a dystopian world. Fairy tales are always popular, but the dystopian twist seems to be taking off. Here are a few I've noticed: A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan -This was the first dystopian fairy tale I noticed. I listened to it on audiobook when it came out in 2011 and really enjoyed it. It's a dystopian/future/scifi take on Sleeping Beauty. From Goodreads:   Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose-- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interpl...