#48HBC: Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. Grades 3-7. Scholastic, September 2011. 637 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

In 1977 in Gunflint, Minnesota, twelve-year-old Ben is missing his mom who died in a car accident. Going through some of her stuff, he finds a strange book about museums which starts him on a quest to New York City to track down the father he never knew. The freak accident that left him completely deaf won't stop him. Will it?

In 1927 in Hoboken, New Jersey, twelve-year-old Rose watches the world from her window. She longs to explore the streets of New York, just across the water, but her parents don't think it's safe for a deaf girl to be out exploring. Rose decides to take matters into her own hands and runs away from her house.

These two stories, one in prose and one in Brian Selznick's inimitable images, are tightly intertwined and will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

You guys. I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret and the kids at my library are CRAZY for it. And I am telling you that I loved Wonderstruck even more. Hugo was innovative. And here, Brian Selznick takes that same format and creates an even more compelling story. The intertwined stories are tight and switch quickly back and forth. Since Ben grew up with partial hearing, it made sense to me that Ben's story was in prose, while Rose, who has been deaf from a very young age, her story is told in images.

As I started reading, I was questioning everything. Could a person really go deaf in the strange way that Ben did? They had sign language in 1927, right? So why didn't Rose's parents use sign language? Well, I skipped to the extensive author's note that Mr. Selznick included in his acknowledgements and the next words in my notebook were "TRUST BRIAN SELZNICK." This guy has done his research. (Of course he's done his research and shame on me for ever doubting him!)

This story's of particular interest to me since I studied sign language in college and have some knowledge of Deaf culture, but it will DEFINITELY appeal to a large audience. It's such a wonderful format, too. Kids love that feeling of finishing a really THICK book and combining text with images in this way makes the book accessible to kids who might never attempt a full-prose book of that size.

Wonderstruck will be on shelves September 13 and YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS BOOK.

And for the 48-Hour Book Challenge Update...


Time spent reading: 5 hours
Time spent blogging: 30 minutes
Time spent social networking: 30 minutes
Books completed: 1 (and 2/3 of Divergent, but my nook's battery died, so I'll finish it tomorrow!)
Pages read: 637 + about 200 = 837

I was tired around 9:00, but now I think I've gotten a second wind, so I'll probably start another book before going to bed...

48-Hour Book Challenge Starting Line!

It's here, it's here!! The Sixth Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge! I've got my reading food, I've got the whole weekend to dedicate to the challenge and, of course, I've got some books to choose from:

There's no way that I'll get to all these books, but I like to have lots of choices. I've got a selection of e-books on my nook and I fully intend to take advantage of the audiobook clause and listen while I take "reading breaks", do chores, etc.

I'm not going to make any goals for the number of books or pages I'd like to read, but I'd like to dedicate at least 24 hours to reading and I'm hoping to log 30 challenge hours (including time spent blogging and social networking). Last year, I spent 23 hours reading and 5.75 hours blogging & social networking for a total of 28.75 challenge hours and that was with having to go in to work for a few hours for a program, so I think that should be no problem for me this year!

Don't forget to follow and use the #48hbc tag on Twitter!

My time will run from 7pm Friday to 7pm Sunday. Ready? GO!

Summer Reading Club (Week 2)

Two weeks in and eight more weeks to go! This was a busy week since our kids are now officially out of school and they have been coming to the library in swarms! It helps that it's been really hot this week, so I think our patrons are enjoying our nice air conditioning (I really hope I didn't just jinx the fact that our AC has been working...).

Tons of kids are signing up and yes, we've had some finishers come in, too. Even though we just started, I've been thinking a lot about how we've structured our program and if we might want to change it next year.

For the past several years, we've given kids the choice of counting books or pages. To complete the program, kids read either 20 books or 1000 pages. It's simple and easy for staff and kids to keep track of. But I've also been thinking about whether it would be better to track time spent reading instead of books or pages. I feel like tracking time might be a little harder for kids and parents, but, as one of my best librarian buddies pointed out to me, counting time spent reading is an equalizer because then it doesn't matter if the kids are reading picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, magazines, etc. It's all about the time they spend reading.

Then again, we've got a pretty good system going right now and people are used to it and staff are used to it and we've got a computer database set up already to track the books and pages... Why change something that's working okay?

Well, I firmly believe that I owe it to my community to develop a program that's going to help our kids retain their skills and have something fun to do over the summer. I am so lucky to live in a community populated by adults who are passionate about helping our children succeed. That's why I want to put a lot of thought into the Summer Reading Club and make it the best program it can be. Of course, you can't please everybody always, but that doesn't change the fact that the Summer Reading Club deserves critical thought.

Can the Summer Reading Club save the world? Well, maybe.

In other news, I am trying not to obsess about statistics (in particular, having better statistics than last year). It helps that our computer database had to be revamped this year and I can't run reports yet. Although it's nice to have good numbers, I'm keeping in mind that if we reach even one kid who didn't like reading or who has never read over the summer before, we're doing a great job.

This is actually not too bad. :)

And with all those kids coming in, our shelves... Oh, I don't even know if I can talk about our shelves. They are A MESS. That's just something I have to accept - over the summer, the shelves will be a mess. Luckily, we have several volunteers who are going to come this summer and help us keep things straight. The other thing about our shelves is that they are becoming empty! Already, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are all checked out and yesterday we only had about 5 Magic Tree House books left on the shelf.

It's funny how different series become the "it" series and disappear during the summer. Last year, we had tons of Magic Tree House books on the shelves all summer long. This year, we're 2 weeks in and they're all gone, gone, gone! While I hate to disappoint a kid by not having the book they want when they come in, we're happy to place holds and this is also a great opportunity to practice our readers' advisory.

Our programming starts next week and I am equal parts excited and anxious about it. I'm excited because I haven't seen my Mother Goose kids in a month and a half and I get to see teens for a writing program next week. I'm anxious because I just know how busy we're going to be!

And one last thing... an update on my Summer Reading Log:

Have you started your Summer Reading? Do you count books, pages, time, or something else?

AudioSynced May Roundup!

It's the first of the month and that means that it's time for your AudioSynced Roundup! AudioSynced is a monthly roundup of audiobook reviews from all over the blogosphere and it's hosted by Kelly of STACKED and myself. June is National Audiobooks Month and summer is a great time to listen to audiobooks as you go on vacation or lounge by the pool (um, just don't get your iPod wet...).

So, check out some of these great audiobooks reviewed in May to pick out your summer listens. And if you have a review that I missed, please leave a link in the comments or email abbylibrarian@gmail.com and I'll make sure it's added! :)

New to audiobook reviewing or wondering how you can amp up your audiobook reviews? Check out Kelly's post with some tips on what to evaluate when listening to audiobooks and last year's post at Stacked about what Kelly and Kim look for when writing their audiobook reviews.

Audiobook News & Posts

Jen at Devourer of Books is hosting Audiobook Week during the week of June 6-10, so be sure to check that out! If you've been meaning to get caught up on your audiobook reviewing, that would be a great time to start! (And remember, you can include one audiobook in your book total/reading time for the 48-Hour Book Challenge, coming up the weekend of June 3-5!)

If you're heading to ALA in June, be sure to stop by the Odyssey Award presentation, Monday, June 27, at 4 p.m. in the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, room 356-357. Speakers include narrators Bahni Turpin, MacLeod Andrews, Emma Bering, Katherine Kellgren, and Nick Podehl! This free program will conclude with a reception sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association. (Thanks to Sharon G. who shared this info with Kelly, who shared it with me! You can bet your boots I'll be there if I can. I have a huge voice crush on Nick Podehl and Katherine Kellgren!)

Love free audiobooks? (And who doesn't, right?) Make sure to check out SYNC, back for another summer of free downloadable audiobooks for teens! Each week, two different titles will be available for free download and it all starts the week of June 23-29, so mark your calendars!

Publishers Weekly has launched an audiobooks blog! Listen Up will highlight PW audiobook reviews and feature audiobook news and Q & A with narrators.

Update your links to Audiobook Jukebox as the site has moved! Be sure to check them out for more audiobook reviews and to submit your audiobook reviews!

And now, my roundup of reviews (divided into Children's/Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult)...

Children's/Middle Grade Books

Closer (Tunnels #4) by Roderick Gordan and Brian Williams, read by Steven Crossley, reviewed by Brenda at proseandkahn. Brenda says, "This is definitely one to try on your reluctant readers."

Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume, read by Kathleen McInerney, reviewed by Julia of Spine Label. Julia says, "Kathleen McInerney provides a brilliant performance."

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens, read by Jim Dale, reviewed by Brenda at proseandkahn. Brenda says, "This is a must purchase book for school and public libraries."

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, read by Alex Kalajzic, reviewed by Jen at STACKED. Jen says, "...I am thrilled that I finally picked this book up on audio. Narrator Alex Kalajzic masterfully brings the voice of Ted to life."

NERDS by Michael Buckley, read by Johnny Heller, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "This will make a pretty good car-trip book, because there's actually plenty of stuff to keep the adults laughing as well."

Octavia Boone's Big Questions About Life, the Universe, and Everything by Rebecca Rupp, read by Ellen Grafton, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "I enjoyed this short little book, mostly for Octavia's spunky personality."

The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi, read by Teri Hatcher, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "And she [Hatcher] surprised me, she's quite good. She has a slightly husky speaking voice which is very pleasant to listen to."

Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, read by Robert Sevra, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "His [Sevra's] narration reflects that child love and admiration for a parent that underpins the tales and then blossoms into the right tone of humor and ridiculousness that the stories deserve."

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, read by John Keating, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "I found his [Keating's] interpretation of Joey to be almost subdued -- he reads in an overly soothing, almost lulling manner that kept me, I think, from fully connecting with him emotionally."

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Joel Johnstone, reviewed by Mary Ann at Great Kids Books. Mary Ann says, "This was a perfect audiobook, one whose first person narration is brought to life by a versitile, nuanced narration by Joel Johnstone."

Young Adult Books

As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynn Rae Perkins, read by Chris Sorensen, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, "The audio was a lifesaver for this book.  I don't think I could have made it all the way through the novel if it hadn't been for the audio version." 

Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren, reviewed by Kristen at Book Blather. Kristen says, "...if you’ve never tried audiobooks before, you should start with these. I find myself making excuses to drive around more or clean more or jog more just to listen to these books."

Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson, read by Will Patton, reviewed by Brenda at proseandkahn. Brenda says, "This narrative reads like a thriller and literally starts with a bang on the title page..."

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, read by Jennifer Ehle, reviewed by Laura Ashlee at Earphoria. Laura Ashlee says, "I absolutely loved this book, from beginning to end."

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, read by Allyson Ryan, reviewed by Melissa at Mel's Books and Info. Melissa says, "The audio is clear and Allyson Ryan is the perfect voice for the scarred and guilt ridden Annah.  Definitely worth a listen." 

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, read by Allyson Ryan, reviewed by Brenda at proseandkahn. Brenda says, "Good stuff. All-in-all a satisfying conclusion. I hope it's the conclusion. I don't think my heart could take much more."

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve, read by the author, reviewed by Brenda at proseandkahn. Brenda says, "The performance by the author was terrific. Not many authors read their work well. Reeve managed to keep an objective distance."

His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman, read by a full cast, reviewed at Librarian Pirate. Librarian Pirate says, "[T]hese audiobooks are fantastic."

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, read by Jennifer Ikeda, reviewed by Laura Ashlee at Earphoria. Laura Ashlee says, "Jennifer Ikeda did a terrific job reading this one. Though the sound quality on the playaway device I checked out was lacking, it was still obvious to me that she did a good job."

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, read by Alan Cumming, reviewed by Angie of Fat Girl Reading.
Angie says, "This was one of those audiobooks that’s so good that you sit in your car to listen more, that you bring inside and listen to while you’re falling asleep." [I agree - check out my review!]

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, read by Joshua Swanson, reviewed by Lisa at Shelf-employed. Lisa says, "Joshua Swanson does an admirable job, though the voice of Leo Valdez... did remind me a bit of Cheech Marin."

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles, read by Roxanne Hernandez and Blas Kisic, reviewed by Julia at Spine Label. Julia says, "Roxanne Hernandez and Blas Kisic deliver commendable performances as Kiara and Carlos."

Virals by Kathy Reichs, read by Cristin Milioti, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "Unless [you're] a Reichs fan, I'd give this one a pass."

White Cat by Holly Black, read by Jesse Eisenberg, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "I liked listening to Eisenberg read with increasing confidence as Cassel gets smarter, figures out what happened to him, and takes action."

Adult Books

The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning, read by Phil Gigante, reviewed by Laura Ashlee at Earphoria. Laura Ashlee says, "This was yet another great installement of Moning's Highlander series."

The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman, read by Laural Merlington, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "For the most part, I enjoyed Merlington's reading; she translated the compelling story with humor and pathos."

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton, read by Zachary Brewster-Geisz, reviewed at Free Listens. The reviewer gave this 7/10 and says, "Brewer-Geisz is an excellent amateur reader with a young-sounding American voice.  He brings out the wry humor in Chesterton's writing and varies his pacing to keep the action interesting."

A Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft, read by Sean Puckett, reviewed by Free Listens. The reviewer gave this 8/10 and says, "Puckett narrates this story in a melancholy tone that fits well with the mood."

Shutter Blind by Dennis Lehane, read by Tom Stechschulte, reviewed by Lee at Reading with My Ears. Lee says, "I listened to this one quite fast -- just three days. It's just like a book where pretty much everything else in your life comes to a halt because you just have to keep turning the pages. Well worth the lost weekend."

Snow Blind by Katherine Newlin Burt, read by Roger Melin, reviewed at Free Listens. The reviewer gave this 8/10 and says, "Many forgotten books are rightly forgotten since they're no good. This book, however, is a find."

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, read by Scott Brick, reviewed at Free Listens. The reviewer gave this 9/10 and says, "Scott Brick is a professional reader and one of the best in the business. He reads this story with a cultured English accent, appropriate for the frame story narrator's position."

Wild Decembers by Edna O'Brien, read by Suzanne Bertish, reviewed by Lanea at Books for Ears. Lanea says, "A beautiful book, poorly served by bad audio quality and frequent mispronunciations."

Gettin' Ready for 48-Hour Book Challenge

Oh, I'm enjoying my Memorial Holiday weekend, for sure. But I'm also really looking forward to next weekend, which is like another holiday weekend at my house... It's the 48-Hour Book Challenge!

I'm saving some books I have really been looking forward to. I'm making a list of all the yummy snack foods I want to stock up on. I'm thinking about what my goal will be.

And most of all, I'm looking forward to dedicating an entire weekend to reading and to bonding with my blogging community. If that sounds like an awesome weekend to you, head on over to MotherReader and sign up for the challenge!

The more people who participate, the more fun it will be!

(Want to see what the challenge might be like? Check out my posts from previous 48HBCs!)

Summer Reading Club (Week 1)

Photo Credit: TheCreativePenn

Yes, Summer Reading Club has begun at my library. I'm aiming to write a post about it every week as we go through the summer and today I'd like to talk about sign-ups.

I already talked about our promotional visits to the schools. We finished up the last of our visits this week (hooray! No more early mornings!) and starting signing kids up on Monday. To sign up, kids or parents come in to the library and fill out our registration slip. We enter all the registrants into a computer database that our IT guy created, but we have paper slips so that we can keep track and so that when we have a line at the desk, more than one person can be filling them out at once.

For the first few weeks of summer, we have a special table set up at the entrance to our department. This table is staffed in the morning and afternoon and is only for SRC sign-ups. We have all the materials on a cart so that in the evenings when we have only one staff person, we can wheel it over to the reference desk. We'll take this table down once sign-ups start to slow down.

We allow parents to sign up their kids even if their kids are not present, but of course kids can sign themselves up, too. When people sign up for the Summer Reading Club, each child gets a sign-up packet and a plastic bag to hold their books this summer.

In the sign-up packet, we include: 

 1. A Reading Log. We ask kids to read either 20 books or 1000 pages to complete the Summer Reading Club. They can be any books they want, all we ask is that they're reading books at their reading level. If they want to keep reading after they get their prizes, they will get an additional chance for the grand prize drawings for every 20 books or 1000 pages they read.

2. An Instruction Sheet. We includes all the rules and information about the club (including ending date!) on an instruction sheet that every child will get. We have not done this previously and, while we're always happy to answer questions about the club, we're hoping that this will cut down on the number of people who forget what they're supposed to do or what the deadline for reading logs is.*

3. An entry form for the Dollars & Sense program. One of our local banks partnered with us to provide a financial literacy program for kids. If the kids read a book about money this summer, they can fill out the form and their name will go in a drawing for a $50 Savings Bond (donated by the bank). We create a display of money books that we keep up all summer long.

4. A book review form. If kids read a book set in another country, they can fill out a book review form that we'll put up on our Reading Around the World bulletin board. I wasn't sure kids were going to be interested, but we've already had several submit reviews! Watch the ALSC Blog for more info (and pictures) about this next week!

5. A slip for our adult Summer Reading Club. Our library started an adult Summer Reading Club several years ago and this year our department is really trying to help them promote. We've announced it at all the schools we've visited and we're including an entry slip with all our kids' packets. For the adults, they don't register them the way we register the kids. Each time an adult reads a book, they can fill out a short review slip and submit it for a prize drawing. I'm hoping this will really help boost their numbers. We also can sign up teens for the Teen Summer Reading Club. We hate to send anyone to a different desk to sign up, in the fear that they might not make it before walking out the door. A bird in the hand, and all that...

6. A bookmark. Kids are always needing bookmarks and we like to include a little something extra for them. In the past we've done stickers, door hangers, temporary tattoos, and other things. This year I decided to keep it simple and use that money on other things, so we're just doing a bookmark.

We also started a Pre-Readers Club this year in an effort to make the Summer Reading Club more beneficial to babies and toddlers. We've always allowed parents to sign up their very young children for the SRC and previously they just counted the books they read to them/with them. This year, we're offering the option of a pre-readers game board where parents can check off early literacy activities that they do with their children. I'm hoping this will help educate parents that many of the things they already do with their children help develop early literacy skills!

Here's our Pre-Reader gameboard. Please feel free to borrow, steal, edit, and use for your own purposes! We don't give our pre-readers the bookmarks, book review forms, or Dollars & Sense forms, although if anyone asks for them we're more than happy to give them out.

And we aim to be flexible with our Summer Reading Clubs. We give parents the option to do the new Pre-Readers Club or choose the reading log and write down the books they're reading together. Parents with older and younger kids might read to them all together, or maybe little brother wants to do everything that big brother is doing. Maybe a parent with a special needs seventh grader wants to sign up for the children's club. Maybe an advanced fifth grader wants to sign up for the teen club. I'm all about bending the "rules" to make patrons happy.

What do your kids get when they sign up?

Reminder: Audiosynced is coming up!

Remember, AudioSynced is coming up on June 1!

Did you review or post about audiobooks this month? Don't forget to drop me a link so I can include it on our June 1 AudioSynced Roundup! Leave a link in the comments here or shoot me an email at abbylibrarian@gmail.com!

If you're taking a road trip for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, that's the perfect time to listen to some great audiobooks!!